Vargr/Warg/Wearg

The Vargr is a term present in Norse myth with multiple meanings. The word comes from Old German and was sometimes used as a blanket term for supernatural beings. The word referred to wolves, and was also used to describe outlaws and oathbreakers. The comparison was that both wolves and outlaws lived in the wilderness and could be killed without consequence. The term Murðvarg is someone who’s killed someone; this translates to Murder Warg. Brennuvargr is someone who commits arson; this translates to Fire Warg. The famous giant Grendel is also referred to as Heorowearh, meaning Sword Warg. Because the term means wolf, and has been associated with the devil, some relate these individuals to werewolves. They are known to eat flesh and drink blood, as well as feed on carrion. They’re often associated with Fenrir, and are sometimes seen as a beast that gnaws on corpses in the underworld.

Citations:

Hultgård, Anders. The End of the World in Scandinavian Mythology: A Comparative Perspective on Ragnarök. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2022.

Morris, Katherine. Sorceress Or Witch? The Image of Gender in Medieval Iceland and Northern Europe. United Kingdom, Bloomsbury Academic, 1991.

Myth in Indo-European Antiquity. United States, University of California Press, 2021.

Pettit, Edward. The Waning Sword: Conversion Imagery and Celestial Myth in ‘Beowulf’. United Kingdom, Open Book Publishers, 2020.

Ruickbie, Leo. The Impossible Zoo: An Encyclopedia of Fabulous Beasts and Mythical Monsters. United Kingdom, Little, Brown Book Group, 2016.

Rydberg, Viktor, et al. Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland …. United Kingdom, Norrœna Society, 1906.