In thephilologist and fantasy authorJ. R. R. Tolkien'sMiddle-earth fiction, awarg is a particularly large and evil kind of wolf that could be ridden byorcs. He derived the name and characteristics of his wargs by combining meanings and myths fromOld Norse andOld English.In Norse mythology, avargr (anglicised as warg) is awolf, especially the wolfFenrir that destroyed the godOdin in the battle ofRagnarök, and the wolvesSköll andHati, Fenrir's children, who perpetually chase the Sun and Moon. InOld English, awearh is an outcast who may be strangled to death.
ThroughTolkien's influence, wargs have featured infantasy books by authors includingGeorge R. R. Martin, and in media such asvideo games androle-playing games.
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The Tolkien scholarTom Shippey states that Tolkien's spelling "warg" is a cross ofOld Norsevargr andOld Englishwearh. He notes that the words embody a shift in meaning from "wolf" to "outlaw":vargr carries both meanings, whilewearh means "outcast" or "outlaw", but has lost the sense of "wolf".[3] In Old Norse,vargr is derived from theProto-Germanic root reconstructed as*wargaz, ultimately derived from theProto-Indo-European (PIE) root reconstructed as*werg̑ʰ- "destroy".Vargr (compare modern Swedishvarg "wolf") arose as anon-taboo name forúlfr, the normal Old Norse term for "wolf".[4] Shippey adds that there is also an Old English verb,awyrgan, meaning both "to condemn [an outcast]" and "to strangle [an outcast to death]"; he adds that a possible further sense is "toworry [a sheep], to bite to death".[5] He writes that
Tolkien's word 'Warg' clearly splits the difference between Old Norse and Old English pronunciations, and his concept of them – wolves, but not just wolves, intelligent and malevolent wolves – combines the two ancient opinions.[5]
InNorse mythology, wargs are in particular the mythological wolvesFenrir,Sköll andHati. Sköll and Hati are wolves, one going after the Sun, the other after the Moon.[6][7]Wolves served as mounts for more or less dangerous humanoid creatures. For instance,Gunnr's horse was akenning for "wolf" on theRök runestone.[8] In theLay of Hyndla, the eponymousseeress rides a wolf.[9] ThejötunnHyrrokkin arrives atBaldr's funeral on a wolf.[1]
The medievalist and Tolkien scholarMarjorie Burns writes that Tolkien uses the fact that wolves were among the Norse godOdin's war beasts "in a particularly innovative way".[10] Odin kept two wolves, Freki and Geri, their names both meaning "Greedy"; and in the final battle that destroys the world,Ragnarök, Odin is killed and eaten by the gigantic wolf Fenrir. Thus, Burns points out, wolves were both associates of Odin, and his mortal enemy. She argues that Tolkien made use of both relationships inThe Lord of the Rings. In her view, both the dark lordSauron and the evil WizardSaruman embody "attributes of a negative Odin".[10] She points out that Saruman has wargs in his army, while Sauron uses "the likeness of a ravening wolf"[T 1] for the enormous battering ram named Grond which destroys the main gate ofMinas Tirith. On the other side, the benevolent WizardGandalf leads the fight against the wargs inThe Hobbit, using his ability to create fire, and understands their language. InThe Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf again uses magic and fire to drive off a great wolf, "The Hound of Sauron",[T 2] and his wolf-pack; Burns writes that the wolves' attempt "to devour Gandalf hints at Odin's fate", recalling the myth of Fenrir and Odin.[10]
... and in the middle of the circle was a great grey wolf. He spoke to them in the dreadful language of the Wargs. Gandalf understood it. Bilbo did not, but it sounded terrible to him, and as if all their talk was about cruel and wicked things, as it was. Every now and then all the Wargs in the circle would answer their grey chief all together ...
InJ. R. R. Tolkien's books aboutMiddle-earth, wargs are a malevolent wolf-likerace.[11] They are usually in league with theOrcs whom they permit to ride on their backs into battle, sharing any spoils. InThe Hobbit, they can speak: they plan their part in "a great goblin-raid" on the woodmen's villages.[T 3][12]
Tolkien's wargs influenced the ten-year-oldRayner Unwin to write a positive review ofThe Hobbit, with the words "Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who lived in his hobbit hole andnever went for adventures, at last Gandalf the wizard and his dwarves persuaded him to go. He had a very ex[c]iting time fighting goblins and wargs." The review led his father,Stanley Unwin, to publish the book, still doubting its likely commercial success.[13]
Peter Jackson's film adaptations of Tolkien'sThe Hobbit andThe Lord of the Rings extend the role of wargs as mounts for Orcs, battling the horse-riders of Rohan.[14]
The critic Gregory Hartley treats wargs as "personified animals", along with thesentient eagles,giant spiders,Smaug the dragon, ravens and thrushes. Tolkien writes about their actions using verbs like "[to] plan" and "[to] guard", implying in Hartley's view that themonstrous wargs are "more than mere beasts", but he denies that they "possess autonomous wills".[15] T. A. Leederman calls Tolkien's wargs "a species of semi-intelligent but evil-aligned mount wolves ... on whom the orcs rode into battle". He notes that they may have been derived, in the fiction, fromFirst Agewerewolves likeCarcharoth, with their own "proto-language".[16]
In the context of the tabletop gameDungeons & Dragons, "wargs" first appeared inGary Gygax'sSwords and Spells supplement (1976),[17] but were renamed to "worgs" (along withbalrogs to "balors,"ents to "treants," andhobbits to "halflings") in response to a lawsuit from Tolkien's estate.[18]
In the first edition of theMonster Manual (1977), "dire wolf (worg)" appears under the entry for "wolf."[19] In later editions, such as the 2014 edition,[20] "worg" receives its own entry.
The worg ofDungeons & Dragons is a larger, more intelligent, and demonic version of thewolf, with a fiendish, demonic countenance and glowing eyes. They areneutral evil in alignment, and count asmagical beasts. Despite their demonic traits, worgs tend to behave for the most part like regular wolves. They stalk around in dark forests and gloomy plains, hunting in packs (though they are also sometimes solitary). Lone worgs tend to hunt creatures smaller than themselves, while packs hunt large game. They attack with their teeth, and benefit from stealth and keen senses. Worgs bring gloom and menace wherever they go, and are said to have connections withdemons. Worgs are sometimes enslaved byorcs,goblins, and other such creatures to act as mounts or as attack dogs. Sometimes they are specifically bred for these purposes.
Worgs, unlike most animalistic creatures, can speak. They can speak their own language,[19][20] as well as Goblin and Common.
InGeorge R. R. Martin's series of epic fantasy novels,A Song of Ice and Fire, and the series' television adaptation,Game of Thrones, Wargs areskinchangers who can enter the mind of animals (and inBran Stark's case withHodor, a person), see what they are seeing, and control their actions.[21] InWen Spencer'sTinker (Elfhome) series, wargs are large magically engineered wolves.[T 4]
Similar Tolkien-based creatures appear in some fantasy video games, includingThe Lord of the Rings Online,Age of Conan, andWorld of Warcraft, both as four-legged monsters, and as a race ofanthropomorphic werewolves, the Worgen.[22]
Apparently designed as weapons of mass destruction in some ancient magical war, wargs were far more than pony-sized wolves; it was quite possible they could climb.
Hunnestadsmonumentet kom till i en tid då makten centraliserades i Norden. Inristningen bör ha skett under en period, åren 985-1035, då Sven Tveskägg eller Knut den store hade makten i Skandinavien, eller de närmaste åren efter denna period.
Hati is the brother of Skoll, and the son of Hrodvitnir. Skoll pursues the sun and Hati is always after the moon.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Worgs speak in their own language and Goblin, and a few learn to speak Common as well.
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