Wolf Deities & Wolf Myths

[Mystic Wolf]

Wolf Deities & Wolf Myths https://ralphhaussler.weebly.com/wolf-deities-and-myths.html
Forget the fairy tales and horror stories! For centuries, people across the globe respected and honored wolves. Wolves were venerated and worshipped, they were considered divine messengers and even gods! Wolves play an important role in many creation myths, they were (and still are) the ancestors of many peoples! Rome's founding fathers were saved by a she-wolf, the god Apollo was born from a wolf, deities took the form of wolves, wolves came to the rescue of humans and gods, guiding and protecting them! This was the time before wolves had been demonized... Let us explore some of these myths!

 

For the 'Celts', we need to distinguish different regions of the Celtic World and different periods, notably between the Continental 'Celts' and the Insular 'Celts', between Antiquity and the post-Roman (medieval / Christian)l period.
In medieval Celtic mythology (i.e. mainly Wales and Ireland, and also Britanny), where ancient myths and legends were written down in a Christianizing context, wolves play a number of important roles. Similar to the Roman story of Romulus and Remus, a future king was once again reared by a she-wolf: Cormac mac Airt grew up to become an important High King of Ireland (v. infra).
In many Irish/Welsh myths, the wolf is usually a helper and a guide. We also find myths of deities in wolf form, like the goddess Morrigana appearing in wolf form, but was defeated by the hero Cú Chulainn - the 'Hound [or Wolf?] of Cuainn' (cf. The Táin).
There is also the old Gaelic/Irish month faoilleach, which comes from faol or faol-chù, "wolf", i.e. the "Month of the Wolf", February (in other cultures it is often January: January/February are obviously a period in which wolves may be more present [mating period]).

The pre-medieval 'Celtic World' is of course much larger, covering most of Europe for over one millennium, from the Hallstatt period down to late Antiquity. It is therefore no surprise that wolves probably played a different role in each local myth and local religion, though there might be some common denominator.
Since religious affairs were not written down in ancient times (according to Caesar, in his "Gallic War / de bello Gallico", the druids did not allow this!), our knowledge of ancient Celtic mythology is largely based on iconographic representations in art and on coinage. We are really dealing with a jigsaw puzzle where most of the pieces are lost.
Various objects provide important clues. For example, the wolf does appear on a number of coins in the Iron Age, for example among the Carnutes, but it is difficult to explain his mythical, religious role. See the coins below with a variety of wolf depictions.

 

https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/ma...

Its Gaelic names were Luh, Madadh Alluidh, and sometimes Mac Tire, meaning ‘earth’s son-. In Scotland, and indeed throughout Northern Europe and America, it was hunted ruthlessly, and eradicated from many areas. In Scotland, as early as the 2nd Century BC, King Dorvadilla decreed that anyone who killed a wolf would be rewarded with an ox, and in the 15th Century James the First of Scotland ordered the eradication of wolves in the kingdom. ‘Last wolf’ legends are found in many parts of Scotland, although the very last was allegedly killed in 1743, near the River Findhorn by a stalker named MacQueen. However, the historic accuracy of this story is dubious.

The wolf lives on in a number of Scottish place names, such as Mullinavaddie (‘Mill of the wolf’) in Perthshire, as well as Lochmaddy, Ardmaddy and Craigmaddy.

The images conveyed in wolf folktales vary: in many, they are depicted as ruthless and fierce; in others, they have an image of nobility and loyalty. In Norse Mythology, the Fenrir was a symbol of chaos who eventually swallows Odin whole. However, the wolf was also associated with warriors, and Odin had two wolves as loyal companions.

We are all familiar with tales such as Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs. It is interesting that much European folklore portrays the wolf as a threat to humans. While there have been recorded attacks on humans, these have been so rare, and the statistical risk of attack so negligible, that it serves as a clear example of the power of the imagination to exaggerate a perceived threat. It is a fact that domestic dogs, horses, and work-related stress are all far more dangerous than wolves!

In contrast, there are a number of folktales with the theme of human children being raised by wolves. The Roman story of Romulus and Remus, and of course Mowgli in Kipling’s The Jungle Book, are classic examples. Such stories reflect the strong maternal instinct attributed to wolves, and wolves generally had a positive image in Roman culture.

In Scottish folklore, there are a number of tales of the Wolf and Fox. These tend to convey the Wolf as somewhat more gullible than the cunning Fox. In one tale Fox tricks Wolf out of a whole keg of butter, and in another Fox’s trickery results in Wolf losing his tail!

Wolves were known to dig up dead human bodies and for this reason, corpses were often buried on islands, such as Handa off the north-west coast of Scotland. The church often associated them with the devil, giving even stronger incentives for their eradication.

Werewolf legends were particularly prevalent in parts of Eastern Europe until very recently. The Scottish equivalent is the legend of the Wulver on Shetland. The Wulver was said to have the body of a man and the head of a wolf. He was usually seen sitting on a rock, fishing, and would then leave a gift of fish on people’s windowsills ‘not your average werewolf!

The wolf has enriched our culture through its presence in countless stories, as well as non-fictional works of nature writing. In A Sand County Almanac, 20th Century American ecologist Aldo Leopold wrote an evocative account of an encounter with a wolf he shot:

‘We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes-something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.’

Dan Puplett

 Sources & further reading

Anon, 2007. Scottish Folk Tales. Lomond Books: New Lanark.

Leopold, A. 1949. A Sand County Almanac. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

MacLeod, F. 2008. Selkies and kelpies: The fairytale degree The Scotsman 06 March 2008.

Short, J. Wolf’s Tale ‘ The history of the wolf in Scotland