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The Werewolf in Medieval Icelandic Literature

People throughout the world have long been fascinated by the idea of shape-shifting. In all corners of the world there are stories about people who have the ability to transform themselves into animals. the ability is generally viewed negatively, and those with such powers are often sorcerers or witches. While the environment may determine the species into which human beings are transformed, the results are most often large predatory animals, for example, leopards, lions, hyenas, jaguars, tigers, and—not least—wolves and bears.2 Traditions about shape-shifting have been studied from various perspectives: literary, folkloric, historical, anthropological, and even etymological.3 The following article will focus on stories about werewolves in a wolf-free country, Iceland. In northern regions much prominence is given to two kinds of shapeshifting: the ability to change into either a bear or a wolf, although the latter seems to have been more popular.4 In Icelandic narrative tradition,