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Werewolves
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction (often a bite or the occasional scratch from another werewolf) with the transformations occurring on the night of a full moon. 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 related by a common development of a Christian interpretation of underlying European folklore developed during the medieval period. From the early modern period, werewolf beliefs also spread to the New World with colonialism. Belief in werewolves developed in parallel to the belief in witches, in the course of the Late Middle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werewolf Fiction
Werewolf fiction denotes the portrayal of werewolves and other shapeshifting therianthropes, in the media of literature, drama, film, games and music. Werewolf literature includes folklore, legend, saga, fairy tales, Gothic and horror fiction, fantasy fiction and poetry. Such stories may be supernatural, symbolic or allegorical. A classic American cinematic example of the theme is '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) which in later films joins with the Frankenstein Monster and Count Dracula as one of the three famous icons of modern day horror. However, werewolf fiction is an exceptionally diverse genre, with ancient folkloric roots and manifold modern re-interpretations. Literary origins In Greek mythology, there is a story of an Arcadian King called Lycaon who tested Zeus by serving him a dish of his slaughtered and dismembered son to see if Zeus was really all-knowing. As punishment for his trickery, Zeus transformed Lycaon into a wolf and killed his 50 sons by lightning bolts, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Therianthropy
Therianthropy is the mythological ability of human beings to metamorphose into animals or hybrids by means of shapeshifting. It is possible that cave drawings found at Les Trois Frères, in France, depict ancient beliefs in the concept. The best-known form of therianthropy, called lycanthropy, is found in stories of werewolves. Etymology The term ''therianthropy'' comes from the Greek ''thēríon'' ηρίον meaning "wild animal" or "beast" (implicitly mammalian), and ''anthrōpos'' νθρωπος meaning "human being". It was used to refer to animal transformation folklore of Europe as early as 1901. Sometimes the term "zoanthropy" is used instead. Therianthropy was used to describe spiritual beliefs in animal transformation in a 1915 Japanese publication, ''A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era''. One source, ''The Human Predator'', raises the possibility the term may have been used as early as the 16th century in cri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werewolf Witch Trials
Werewolf witch trials were witch trials combined with werewolf trials. Belief in werewolves developed parallel to the belief in European witches, in the course of the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. Like the witchcraft trials as a whole, the trial of supposed werewolves emerged in what is now Switzerland (especially the Valais and Vaud) during the Valais witch trials in the early 15th century and spread throughout Europe in the 16th, peaking in the 17th and subsiding by the 18th century. The persecution of werewolves and the associated folklore is an integral part of the "witch-hunt" phenomenon, albeit a marginal one, accusations of lycanthropy involved in only a small fraction of witchcraft trials. During the early period, accusations of lycanthropy (transformation into a wolf) were mixed with accusations of wolf-riding or wolf-charming. The 1598 case of Peter Stumpp led to a significant peak in both interest in and persecution of supposed werewolves, primarily ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Stumpp
Peter Stumpp (c. 1535 – 1589; name is also spelled as Peter Stube, Peter Stubbe, Peter Stübbe or Peter Stumpf) was a German farmer and alleged serial killer, accused of werewolfery, witchcraft and cannibalism. He was known as 'the Werewolf of Bedburg'. Sources The most comprehensive source on the case is a 16-page pamphlet published in London in 1590, the translation of a German print of which no copies have survived. The English pamphlet, of which two copies exist (one in the British Museum and one in the Lambeth Library), was rediscovered by occultist Montague Summers in 1920. It describes Stumpp's life, alleged crimes and the trial, and includes many statements from neighbours and witnesses on the crimes. Summers reprints the entire pamphlet, including a woodcut, on pages 253 to 259 of his work ''The Werewolf''. Additional information is provided by the diaries of Hermann von Weinsberg, a Cologne alderman, and by a number of illustrated broadsheets, which were printe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shapeshifting
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ability. The idea of shape-shifting is in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existent literature and epic poems such as the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' and the ''Iliad''. The concept remains a common literary device in modern fantasy, children's literature and popular culture. Folklore and mythology Popular shape-shifting creatures in folklore are werewolves and vampires (mostly of European, Canadian, and Native American/early American origin), ichchadhari naag and ichchadhari naagin (shape-shifting cobras) of India, the huli jing of East Asia (including the Japanese ''kitsune'' and Korean ''kumiho''), and the gods, goddesses, and demons and demonesses like succubus and incubus and other numerous mythologies, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolfssegen
In Bavarian folklore of the Early Modern period, a ''Wolfssegen'' (; also ''Wolfsegen, Wolf-Segen'') was an apotropaic charm against wolves; conversely, a ''Wolfbann'' (''Wolf-Bann'') was a malevolent spell causing a wolf attack. The ''Wolfssegen'' is just one specific example of various distinct kinds of '' Segen'' ("blessing; charm, incantation") in the folklore of German-speaking Europe. While early examples of ''Wolfssegen'' survive from the Late Middle Ages, use of these charms seems to have peaked during the 17th century, when they were offered by professional "wolf charmers" (''Wolfssegner'' or ''Wolfbanner''). This corresponds to the cold period known as the Little Ice Age, for which there is ample historical evidence of wolf populations in much of the Bavarian Alps. There is no extant text of a ''Wolfbann'', the malevolent opposite of the ''Wolfsegen''; however, there is the text of a spell ''reversing'' a ''Wolfbann'' recorded in 1635 (in effect again a ''Wolfsegen'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renaissance). Around 1300, centuries of prosperity and growth in Europe came to a halt. A series of famines and plagues, including the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the Black Death, reduced the population to around half of what it had been before the calamities. Along with depopulation came social unrest and endemic warfare. France and England experienced serious peasant uprisings, such as the Jacquerie and the Peasants' Revolt, as well as over a century of intermittent conflict, the Hundred Years' War. To add to the many problems of the period, the unity of the Catholic Church was temporarily shattered by the Western Schism. Collectively, those events are sometimes called the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages. Despite the crises, the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gothic Horror
Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of early Gothic novels. The first work to call itself Gothic was Horace Walpole's 1764 novel '' The Castle of Otranto'', later subtitled "A Gothic Story". Subsequent 18th century contributors included Clara Reeve, Ann Radcliffe, William Thomas Beckford, and Matthew Lewis. The Gothic influence continued into the early 19th century, works by the Romantic poets, and novelists such as Mary Shelley, Charles Maturin, Walter Scott and E. T. A. Hoffmann frequently drew upon gothic motifs in their works. The early Victorian period continued the use of gothic, in novels by Charles Dickens and the Brontë sisters, as well as works by the American writers Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Later prominent works were ''Dracula'' by Bram Sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folklore Studies
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the academic study of traditional culture from the Cultural artifact, folklore artifacts themselves. It became established as a field across both Europe and North America, coordinating with ''Volkskunde'' (German language, German), ''folkeminner'' (Norwegian language, Norwegian), and ''folkminnen'' (Swedish language, Swedish), among others. Overview The importance of folklore and folklore studies was recognized globally in 1982 in the UNESCO document "Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore". UNESCO again in 2003 published a Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Parallel to these global statements, the American Folklife Preservation Act (P.L. 94-20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and clockwise, from the southwest, by the Austrian states of Carinthia, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and Burgenland. The state capital is Graz. Etymology The March of Styria derived its name from the original seat of its ruling Otakar dynasty: Steyr, in today's Upper Austria. In German, the area is still called "Steiermark" while in English the Latin name "Styria" is used. The ancient link between Steyr and Styria is also apparent in their nearly identical coats of arms, a white Panther on a green background. Geography * The term "Upper Styria" (german: Obersteiermark) refers to the northern and northwestern parts of the federal-state (districts Liezen, Murau, Murtal, Leoben, Bruck-Mürzzuschlag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carinthian dialect group, Carinthian Slovene dialects, forms of a South Slavic languages, Slavic language that predominated in the southeastern part of the region up to the first half of the 20th century, are now spoken by a Carinthian Slovenes, small minority in the area. Carinthia's main Industry (economics), industries are tourism, electronics, engineering, forestry, and agriculture. Name The etymology of the name "Carinthia", similar to Carnia or Carniola, has not been conclusively established. The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' (about AD 700) referred to a Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps, Slavic "Carantani" tribe as the eastern neighbours of the Bavarians. In his ''History of the Lombards'', the 8th-c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern period or about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 50,000 executions. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like Africa and Asia, contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, and official legislation against witchcraft is still found in Saudi Arabia and Cameroon today. In current language, "witch-hunt" metaphorically means an investigation that is usually conducted with much publicity, supposedly to uncover subversive activity, disloyalty, and so on, but with the real purpose of intimidating political opponents. It can also involve element ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
