Icelandic literature and later folklore often depicts various forms of shapeshifting. The werewolf motif, where a man transforms or is transformed into a wolf, appears in twelve to sixteen indigenous sources, i.e.,
Gylfaginning,
Hrafnagaldur Óðins(or
Óðin’s Raven-chant),
Völsunga saga,
Helgakviða Hundingsbana,
Gibbons saga,
Sigrgarðs saga frækna,
Sigrgarðs saga ok Valbrands,
Skjöldunga saga,
Ála flekks saga,
Úlfhams saga,
Tíódels saga,
Jóns saga leikara, and two more recent folktale variants (
Sagan af Þorsteini glottand
Hvað þýðir sár?). Additionally, there is an obscure example in
Clári saga, likely of a more symbolic nature, and in
Snjáskvæði, where a person is cursed to become a wolf after ten years unless certain conditions are met, preventing the…
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Citation: Guðmundsdóttir, Aðalheiður. "Werewolves in Icelandic Literature and Folklore". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 November 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19704, accessed 24 November 2024.]
