The Werewolf in Central European Folklore: Between Shamanic Warrior and Diabolical Monster

An illustration of a werewolf consuming children, created by the German painter Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1512

The figure of the werewolf, or wolf-man, occupies a dark and powerful place in the European imagination. Far from being a monolithic creature, the werewolf of Central European folklore is a profoundly contradictory entity, split into two opposing archetypes by centuries of historical and theological pressures. On the one hand, the familiar image of the … Read more