In the First Age, werewolves were servants of Morgoth bred of wolves and inhabited by dreadful spirits (fallen Maiar, or the fëar of orcs), imprisoned so by Sauron. Unlike werewolves of other literature, these did not transform from man to wolf at night, and their behavior had no lunar influences.
Werewolves inhabited Tol-in-Gaurhoth, which became known as the "Isle of Werewolves".
History
Origins
The progenitor of all werewolves was Draugluin at Tol-in-Gaurhoth, and the greatest werewolf after him was his descendant Carcharoth, guardian of Angband. The form of the werewolves was first fashioned by Sauron, their lord, who 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
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
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
A giant werewolf of Angmar in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II - The Rise of the Witch-king
Translations
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Weerwolwe |
| Albanian | Njeri-ujk |
| Amharic | ዌርዉልቮች |
| Arabic | مستذئب |
| 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 |
| Dutch | Weerwolven |
| Esperanto | Homlupoj |
| Estonian | Libahundid |
| Filipino | Asong lobo |
| Finnish | Ihmissudet |
| French | Loup-garous |
| 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 |
| Luxembourgish | Werwëllef |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Wереwолвес |
| 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 | වෙල්වෙල් |
| Slovak | Vlkolaci |
| Slovenian | Volkodlaki |
| Spanish | Hombres Lobo |
| Swedish | Varulvar |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Wереwолвес |
| Tamil | மிருகங்கள் |
| Telugu | వేర్వోల్వేస్ |
| Thai | มนุษย์หมาป่า |
| Turkish | Kurtadamlar |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | перевертні |
| Urdu | چھپے انسانی بھیڑیے |
| 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
- ↑ 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]
