Werewolves were servants of Sauron. They were bred from wolves, and were inhabited by dreadful spirits that their master had imprisoned within their bodies.
Werewolves inhabited Tol Sirion, which hence became known as Tol-in-Gaurhoth ("Isle of werewolves").
History[]
Carcharoth is a known werewolf
The progenitor of all werewolves was Draugluin and the greatest werewolf after their sire was his scion Carcharoth, guardian of Angband. The form of the werewolves was fashioned by Sauron, their Lord, who took the shape of a great wolf himself at least once.[1]
In the First Age, after the lieutenant of Morgoth drove the Ñoldor from Tol Sirion he made the isle's bastion into his abode and werewolves followed in his wake. When news of Beren's valiant deeds reached him, Morgoth put a price on his head, with Sauron at the helm of an army of Orcs, werewolves, and other foul things on his trail. During the Quest for the Silmaril, Sauron captured Beren, Finrod, and their companions as they attempted to bypass his watchtower and so threw them in his dungeons; to force them into revealing their names and purpose, the subversive Maia sent a werewolf to devour the prisoners one by one before the very eyes of their horrified peers. Finrod died by the wounds inflicted in wrestling with a werewolf to save Beren; the rest of Sauron's minions were defeated by Huan and Lúthien, after which their master turned into a giant wolf himself, but was overcome by Huan, yielded and flew into the forests of Taur-nu-Fuin.
By the Third Age, werewolves are still among Sauron's servants; Gandalf mentioned them in conversation with Frodo Baggins, after the events at the Ford of Bruinen, together with Orcs, wraiths, and wargs as serving the whims of the Dark Lord.
Characteristics[]
Unlike werewolves of other literature, these did not transform from man to wolf at night and their behavior had no lunar influences. Therefore, 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. Carcharoth apparently had a venomous bite. It is unknown if this was a common trait of the species or if was related to his status as the werewolf destined and designed to slay Huan.
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' (plural of gaur="werewolf").
Portrayals[]
A giant werewolf of Angmar in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II - The Rise of the Witch-king
Werewolves appear in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king in the form of the giant "Shade of the Wolf", a monster that can be summoned by the Angmar faction.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Weerwolwe |
| Albanian | Njeri-ujk |
| Amharic | ዌርዉልቮች |
| Arabic | مستذئبون |
| 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 Arda
Ainur (Valar & Maiar) | Dwarves | Elves | Ents | Great Eagles | Hobbits | Huorns | Men | Petty-dwarves | Skin-changers (Beornings) Servants of the Shadow:
Barrow-wights | Ettens | Dragons (Fire-drakes & Cold-drakes) | Ogres | Orcs (Uruk-hai) | Spiders | Trolls | Úmaiar (Balrogs) | Úvanimor | Vampires | Wargs | Werewolves |
References[]
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIX: "Of Beren and Lúthien"