slask-i-sudety: Wilkołak

Evidence: 75 • authority: 72

In folklore, a werewolf (from Old English werwulf 'man-wolf'), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek λυκάνθρωπος 'wolf-human'), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf or therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either voluntarily or involuntarily due to a curse or other affliction. In modern fiction, especially film, transformations are often depicted as triggered by the full moon and transmitted by a bite or scratch from another werewolf. Early sources for belief in this ability or affliction, called lycanthropy, are Petronius (27–66) and Gervase of Tilbury (1150–1228). The werewolf is a widespread concept in European folklore, existing in many variants, which are…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

In Slavic mythology, a werewolf is a human-shapeshifter who temporarily takes the form of a wolf. Werewolves were often described as ordinary wolves, though some accounts noted peculiarities in appearance or behavior that hinted at their human origin. Werewolves retain human intelligence but cannot speak. According to folk beliefs, transformation into a wolf is the most common form of shapeshifting among Slavs. The concept is ancient and appears to varying degrees among all Slavic peoples, with the most detailed accounts among Belarusians, Poles, and Ukrainians. In Russian folklore, the character is often simply called a shapeshifter, sharing clear similarities with the werewolf. South Slav…

Evidence: 37 • authority: 80

The Werewolf as the Slavic and Germanic “Other”: Czech Werewolf Legends Between Oral and Popular Culture

Evidence: 35 • authority: 72

Proto-Germanic paganism was the beliefs of the speakers of Proto-Germanic and includes topics such as the Germanic mythology, legendry, and folk beliefs of early Germanic culture. By way of the comparative method, Germanic philologists, a variety of historical linguist, have proposed reconstructions of entities, locations, and concepts with various levels of security in early Germanic folklore (reconstructions are indicated by the presence of an asterisk). The present article includes both reconstructed forms and proposed motifs from the early Germanic period. Linguistic reconstructions can be obtained via comparison between the various Germanic languages, comparison with related words in o…

Evidence: — • authority: 62

in. słowiańskiej i germańskiej) i legendach człowiek, który przemieniał się z własnej woli lub wskutek klątwy w wilka lub postać będącą połączeniem tego zwierzęcia z człowiekiem. Zdolność tę nazywa się wilkołactwem lub likantropią. == Historia == === Starożytność === W starożytnej Grecji wierzenie w przemianę w wilka wiązano ze złamaniem tabu kanibalizmu oraz z arkadyjskim kultem Zeusa Lykajosa, któremu niegdyś miano składać ofiary z ludzi.