In the First Age, Werewolves were servants of Morgoth, bred from wolves and inhabited by dreadful spirits (fallen lesser Maiar or the fëar [souls] of orcs) imprisoned in these wolfish forms by Sauron. Unlike werewolves of other literature, the werewolves of Middle-earth do not transform from man to wolf at night and their behavior is not influenced by the full moon or other lunar cycles.
They inhabited Tol-in-Gaurhoth, which became known as the "Isle of Werewolves".
History 
Edit
Origins Edit
The first werewolf was Draugluin at Tol-in-Gaurhoth, and the greatest werewolf after him was Carcharoth, the guardian of Angband, and a descendant of Draugluin as all other werewolves were. The form of the werewolves was first thought of by Sauron, who was their lord, and took the shape of a great wolf himself at least once.
Gandalf suggests in his talks with Frodo after the Ford of Bruinen that werewolves survived into the Third Age, and makes a distinction between them and wargs. The latter, though, might simply be descended from werewolves, as they could speak, suggesting they had fëar (souls).[1][2]
Characteristics Edit
The werewolves of Arda were not shape-shifters, and were always in the form of great beasts. They were similar to wolves and the later wargs, but were as intelligent as Man, rendering them capable of negotiating and communicating with others.
Etymology Edit
The name werewolf is Anglo-Saxon for "man-wolf", although those of Middle-earth are not actually lycanthropic. The Elves of their time called them 'gaurhoth'.[3]
Portrayals Edit
A giant werewolf of Angmar in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II - The Rise of the Witch-king
Translations around the World Edit
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Weerwolwe |
| Albanian | Njeri-ujk |
| Amharic | ዌርዉልቮች |
| Arabic | ذئاب ضارية |
| Armenian | Աբորոգեններ |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | пярэваратні |
| Bengali | ওয়্যারউলভস |
| Bosnian | Vukodlaci |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Върколаци |
| Catalan | Homes llop |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 人狼 |
| Croatian | Vukodlaci |
| Czech | Vlkodlaci |
| Danish | Varulve |
| Dari | وهرهوولوهس |
| Dutch | Weerwolven |
| Esperanto | Homlupoj |
| Estonian | Libahundid |
| Filipino | Asong lobo |
| Finnish | Ihmissudet |
| French | Loup-garou |
| Galician | Lobisomens |
| Georgian | მაქციები |
| German | Werwölfe |
| Greek | Λυκάνθρωποι |
| Gujarati | વેરવુલ્વ્ઝ |
| Hebrew | אנשי זאב |
| Hungarian | Farkasember |
| Indonesian | Manusia serigala |
| Hindi | वेरेवोल्वेस |
| Italian | Mannari |
| Japanese | 狼男 |
| Kannada | ಗಿಲ್ಡರಾಯ್ |
| Kazakh Cyrillic | Уереуолвес |
| Korean | 늑대 인간 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Wэрэwолвэс |
| Latvian | Vilkačiem |
| Lithuanian | Vilkolakiai |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Wереwолвес |
| Malayalam | ചെന്നായ ? |
| Marathi | श्वापदमाणूस |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Хүн чононууд |
| Nepalese | वेरेवोल्वेस |
| Norwegian | Varulver |
| Pashto | وېرېوولوېس |
| Persian | گرگ نماها |
| Polish | Wilkołaki |
| Portuguese | Lobisomens |
| Romanian | Vârcolacii |
| Russian | Волколаки |
| Sanskrit | वेरेवोल्वेस् |
| Serbian | вукодлаци (Cyrillic) Vukodlaci (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | ෴එරෙ෴ඔල්වෙස් ? |
| Slovak | Vlkolaci |
| Slovenian | Volkodlaki |
| Spanish | Hombres Lobo |
| Swedish | Varulvar |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Wереwолвес |
| Tamil | மிருகங்கள் |
| Telugu | వేర్వోల్వేస్ |
| Thai | มนุษย์หมาป่า |
| Tigrinya | ውአረዎልቨስ |
| Turkish | Kurtadamlar |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | перевертні |
| Urdu | چھپے انسانی بھیڑیے |
| Uyghur | ۋەرەۋولۋەس |
| Uzbek | Wереwолвес (Cyrillic) Kurtadam (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Người sói |
| Welsh | Blaidd-ddynion |
| Xhosa | Oodyakalashe ? |
| Yiddish | ווערעוואָלוועס |
|
Races of the Creatures of Arda
Free Folks:
Ainur | Dwarves | Ents | Hobbits | Men | Elves | Great Eagles Servants of the Shadow:
|
References Edit
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIX: "Of Beren and Lúthien"
- ↑ The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
- ↑ Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia, by way of Google Books [1]
