Two Words for 'Wolf' in Old Norse

[@j.s.c.4355]

This explains why Tolkien changed wolves to wargs, suggesting that they were a specific breed that ran with the orcs.

[@willmosse3684]

And in A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones books), GRR Martin has Warg meaning a human who mind melds into a wolf (similar to the Norse/Viking Ulfhednar I guess), and Wargs are treated as kind of outcasts and monsters by regular people north of The Wall.

[@casthedemon]

It seems like the more we learn the more we find out how much of a genius Tolkian was.

[@Nekotaku_TV]

As a Swede I love that.

[@jameschastain1229]

@@casthedemonconsidering how much Norse mythology Tolkien used in his books and stories.

[@hotspurre]

As I recall, there's a line in _Hrolf Kraki's Saga_ where a character wonders if a situation is a matter of "vargr með ulfum" or "wolf among wolves" (with the latter being the nastier connotation.)

[@rw42000]

The shadowy figure running across the background was very spooky

[@weepingscorpion8739]

Nice to see "Old Faroese" there even though it's not attested and probably difficult to distinguish from O.Ice. and O.Nor. back then. But yes, úlvur does have a long vowel (or historically had a long vowel) in Faroese too. Vargur is also found in Faroese, but it's mostly used for feral or partially feral sheep. The meaning of wolf is found in poetry and older texts. It's also used for people in certain compounds, so we have the words brennivargur and eldvargur, which both mean arsonist or pyromaniac.

[@cmcapps1963]

Another example of always negative connotation I use with my students as an English teacher is "soggy" verus "moist". They both mean slightly wet, but I am unaware of a situation where you want anything to be soggy. A soggy brownie doesn't sound appealing, while a nice moist one does. Same for lips, warm towels, etc.

[@lewisrobinson3380]

Idk i associate soggy as being more wet than moist. Soggy to me means that if I can pick it up most likely water will runoff and drip while moist would be noticeably wet but not necessarily dripping. Soggy sponge vs moist sponge.

[@nirfz]

Interesting! As a non native speaker i always thought moist can decribe both: things that can "store" water and those who can't. While soggy only can describe a thing that can "store" water: a plastic bag, or a piece of rubber or glass can be moist, but not soggy. A piece of cake, or clothing can be both. Also like @lewisrobinson3380 mentioned the amount of water stored i thought makde a difference between the words too. Seems i was wrong then?

[@lewisrobinson3380]

@@nirfz Most of the time you wouldn't describe a storing object like a glass as moist or soggy. I guess I'll provide some examples. Moist examples 1. The grass has collected a lot of morning dew making the ground moist but it wasn't muddy. If you were to walk on the ground your shoe/foot/boot might get wet but no puddle will form and it won't feel like you're getting stuck. 2. The cake was made perfectly and is slightly moist and has a sponge like texture. vs 1. It's been raining all day and the ground is quite soggy and muddy. If you step on it your shoe/foot/boot will sink into the mud at least a little and a puddle might form. 2. The cake is undercooked and appears to be quite soggy and still runs a bit in the middle. Now moist might be used to describe a glass that's cold and has collected condensation on it's exterior but that's not the typical usage of the word, but most people I know would describe the glass as wet or a metaphor like the word "sweating" rather than use the words moist or soggy. They're more like words that describe a scale of wet much like these words describe a scale of anger. Upset, annoyed, frustrated, mad and furious.

[@nirfz]

@@lewisrobinson3380 I think i didn't word it well enough: i didn't mean glass as in a container storing water, i meant a piece of glass. Which can me moist (a few drops of water on it) or wet but not soggy as it doesn't "store" water inside it's material like a sponge or piece of cloth but only has water accumulating on it's surface.

[@TonyAarvik]

Friggin love these, Jackson!

[@apelsin19]

The word for howl, in Swedish is Yla and the feminine form of the name Ulf is Ylva and means female wolf. A she wolf and a she dog are also called tik unless you want to use the negative form hynda meaning "bitch"

[@closetmonster5057]

10:20 this term was also borrowed from Proto-Germanic into Proto-Finnic as *vargas ("thief"), whence Finnish 'varas', Estonian 'varas', Veps 'vargaz'....

[@МаркШилин-в9в]

There's a word "vergiz" meaning "wolf" in Erzya language (Volga Finnic language). "Vergiz" from the root "ver" (a forest). Maybe it's just a coincidence.

[@toakenshld]

Suggestion for English comparison of synonyms with different connotations: "odor" vs "smell" vs "scent", with "smell" being mostly neutral, "scent" usually default positive or interesting, and "odor" usually connoting something much less desirable.

[@ksbrook1430]

Can go further with "stink" and "stench".

[@jessiehermit9503]

Who says? "Odor" can totally be positive, and "smell" can be negative, like saying something smells.

[@qekqbeen]

​@@ksbrook1430stink and stench are interestingly both from the same proto germanic root, stench was already used during the old English period while stink must've been a loan during the middle english or modern English periods.

[@Hraefngar]

King and tyrant might be a good example of a neutral and negative word for the same thing in English.

[@wheatgrowssweet]

Smell/stench, dog/mutt, smart/nerdy

[@mg4361]

According to wiktionary, "vargr" is cognate to Slavic "vrag", meaning "enemy", except in Serbo-Croatian, where it means "satan" or "devil".

[@arun4312]

Rag means violent anger in Indian language , the same as Rage in modern english . The do not say Indo european for nothing

[@Sabberiel]

Also in polish 'wróg' read 'vroog' means the anamy.

[@justames5979]

In Lithuanian this same root developed into "vargas", which means hardship or misery

[@highgrounder5238]

In Czech "vrah" means "killer, murderer". A bit different, but still a lot of contextual overlap

[@mesechabe]

Isn’t Satan often referred to as “the Enemy?” There may be some contextual overlap there.

[@Tele-fk4cu]

How about pirate vs corsair?

[@knightabraxas]

Anyone else very stressed that soneone runs by on the trail behind him at 10:35ish and just never comes out on the other side????

[@GodmyX]

Even as a seasoned latinist who dubbled a "tiny bit" in the IE etymology, I found this incredibly informative and sometimes mind blowing (lingua vs. tingua... wow!). Thanks!

[@alabaster2163]

I kept thinking Lady Hawk. Great video!

[@christaverduren690]

one of my most favorite movies of all time!

[@alabaster2163]

@@christaverduren690 I love all those 80s myth movies!!

[@xepharnazos]

Sasquatch sighted at 0:25. Very spooky!

[@seamussc]

I seen it!!

[@abandoninplace2751]

Did you hear the little sasquatch at the end tho?

[@hyrumjohnson9930]

Lately for my character name for video games I have chosen Drekulfr, a somewhat dragon and wolf name combination (dreki for dragon ulfr for wolf). Although I'm not sure how well it works.

[@faramund9865]

"No one is names Werg because it's so negative". Well perhaps no one in that time but...

[@johnkilmartin5101]

What is the word that is the second part of Fenris as I usually see it translated as fen wolf?

[@Monkey-Boy2006]

I recon the background in this video would look creepier at night. 😉

[@JarkkoHietaniemi]

It is curious that the Latin for fox, "vulpes" is close to the the /wlpos/, though foxes are hardly scary horrid.

[@beepboop204]

10:34 i thought you were gonna have a jumpscare and this was for building tension 😛

[@sirseigan]

Intrestingly enough the word for wolf in several Persian dialects (especially in the north) is "Verg" with the double meaning of wolf and bandit. Some placenames also had this element in their name before the arabisation that came with Islam, but now they have the arabic equvalent, which also have the double meaning of wolf and bandit. There also seem to be some kind of connection between a wolf skin, especially with it's head left, and outlaws. In several places, according to old laws, the accused were clad in such a skin. In Swedish there is still a phrase that staes that someone "get to carry the dogs head", meaning to take the blame or being found guilty of something (it also implies public shame). In several cases within Swedish folklore the exact distiction between dog and wolf is quite blurry; folkloric Odin is often describes as accompanied by two black dogs rather then two wolves. Some have intepreted the ritualistic carrying a wolfskin with a wolfhead as a hood as a mark that the person could be hunted down and killed by anyone just like a wolf (which I think is also uttered in some judgements according to the sagas, but I can be wrong). Another speculation is that is a mark of an enemy to the people. Perhaps both at the same time.

[@kimfleury]

The Proto Indo-European word is most interesting to me because of the way it evolved into the surname Lopez, one of the names in my family tree. I've always wondered about the origins of that surname, and why it appealed to anyone to embrace it.

[@runestone8619]

In Scandinavia boys can be named Ulf, although today its very uncommon. But there is the female version also which is perhaps even less common: Ylva

[@Helagsborinn]

Which does sound related to Ylgr!

[@CroatoanKraka]

Thanks for my next puppies names

[@nicolaiby1846]

Ulf is by no means uncommon in Sweden or Norway. It's not the young people's name or anything but its nothing unusual. Ylva I've seen a few times but its definitely less common than Ulf.

[@runestone8619]

I meant uncommon among young people. I have yet to seen a man under 40 named Ulf.@@nicolaiby1846

[@mackereltabbie]

​@@nicolaiby1846I know a fair number of 40+ y/o Ulfs but noone under 20

[@darkodjogo96]

In Serbian, we have "Вук"/"Vuk", pronounced Wook. It comes from preSlavic v'lkos via Old Slavonic v'lk'. Btw, very famous reformer of modern Serbian was called Vuk (Wolf), very popular name today, too. His parents gave him that name cause all of their children born before him used to die as infants so their rationale was that the witches are killing their kids and the only thing that a witch would fear would be a wolf. 🐺

[@NetTopsey]

When you drop little details like Jotun women who rode wolves and used snakes for reins, it makes me sad that we don't have a fuller corpus of Norse mythology to give more details, but grateful that we have as much as we do.

[@zdenekdanko4729]

Lup, lupič (loot, robber) = lupus, I see the same root for the Latin wolf. I think you should include Slavic languages ​​in your etymological analyses.

[@mrlimas7460]

This is interesting. Especially with the Sanskrit-wolf derivative or integral...not sure which direction I should go.

[@MWodenberg]

In keeping with the season, how about Devil vs Demon? You can have a devil-may-care attitude, a devilish grin; demon: a demonic visage, a demonic leer.

[@unocoltrane2804]

Some unsolicited bird observation from a bird nerd/wannabe expert: it was a jay yelling at the end. I bet a Stellar's jay since you're in Colorado. I think they have similar calls to a blue jay. Both species can interbreed, as well.

[@Blockhaj]

Could u tackle the Möjbro Runestone?

[@Noblewreck]

Ulfr --> Rover (dog's name)?

[@talideon]

Unrelated. The dog's name comes from the verb "rove".

[@fjallaxd7355]

Great video, as always.

[@kennithschjoth2024]

Where is the text that nobody will read??! I want to read it!

[@shadowking9739]

Isn't there also the word "vitnir"?

[@julianvanhecker]

Would you ever entertain the idea of a individual study?

[@julesgosnell9791]

I've always wondered whether the Latin for 'fox' - 'vulpes' derived from the same root or just looked so similar by coincidence... - it actually looks more like 'wolf' than 'lupus' does... and then when you were talking about the word for she-wolf, I was thinking about the English word 'vixen'...

[@svavars.kjartansson1012]

In modern Icelandic the word vargur both means a wolf that has killed a human, usually several people

[@drinks1019]

Know I’m a little late but I think a really good comparison to this would be The Devil in modern perspectives. Obviously the Devil is a really bad thing and even today calling someone a “devil” or telling someone to “Go to Hell” is still a (albeit relatively weak) curse. 50 years ago it would’ve been positively cruel. But at the same time we have a sort of idea of the devil as something cool and intimidating. We have sports teams called “The Devils” and we call our Marines “Hell Hounds” so we associate The Devil and the Idea of hell both as something very very bad and also something very very cool.

[@Zakiriel]

Wolves fixed a lot of problems in Yellowstone Park. Wolves chase the deer around and then the deer don't over populate and eat up to much of the vegitation and habitat for other species. The rivers stabalize their course. Reintroducing wolves did that.

[@jarrettpage706]

Elk were one of the issues the wolves balanced in Yellowstone.

[@irkendragon]

Yeah, they had such a mess on their hands trying to reduce the elk numbers without predators (both wolves and grizzlies). The elk were either culled in their tens of thousands or captured and shipped elsewhere. It was an expensive a costly mistake for people to eventually realize you can't separate species like deer, bison and elk from an ecosystem and act as if they exist in a vacuum, if you want the prey and any semblance of a natural ecosystem it requires the predators.

[@henningrasmussen8225]

I would like you to find danish viking words in modern english ( bc. there must be plenty right???)lol.

[@MacNab23]

I might generalize that hunter-gatherer cultures tend to respect and possibly revere the wolf, while pastoralists fear and despise them. When a man with a spear and a couple of dogs is all that stands between his herd and an aggressive wolf pack, that attitude is not hard to understand.

[@faramund9865]

The truth is that we have images of wolfskins from the migration era, which means that an obviously agricultural society is trying to 'become the wolf'. So while I understand what you're saying, it doesn't completely hold up. As I've said in another comment and Crawford was alluding to it. I think the wolf represents danger. But in order to protect your family, you need to become dangerous, become the wolf. This is the 'positive' part of it. Combined with the negative part you mentioned, this is the duality of danger, of the wolf.

[@vandrar3n]

I think it has to do with the conception of fairness of life. I'm from a place in NW Spain (Leonese Country) where the wolf has survived better than most parts of Europe. People here that lived with the wolf directly have this ambiguous feeling about them. We have this specific breed of dog called mastiff that can fight wolves and even hunt them down. Life between humans and wolves is all about fair competition, so the wolf is seen as a natural thing to live with and even something to revere as it makes the world better and more balanced.

[@AthrihosPithekos]

Adolf = Æthelwulf = Noblewolf. Wolfgang (perhaps wolf path) etc.

[@darlebalfoort8705]

Interesting. I found an ancestor from the old English Danelaw who was named Ingolf or Ingulf- Ing's wolf.

[@julianvanhecker]

Dr Jackson I wish you were my teacher

[@hakunblab]

Inn Faroese we use (úlvur and vargur). where vargur is negative, we also use vargur normaly for untameble wild sheep, and kids that are uncontroleble.

[@erkkinho]

In Finnish varas, varkaat (plural), means "thief"

[@MrLongshotbob]

This is an old video, so I don't know if KZbin will notify you to this comment, but I have a, hopefully, simple question. I edit for the Valheim wiki, there are creatures called "Ulf" in the game. There are normal wolves, ulf, and something called a fenring that's very werewolf-like. My question is what is the plural of ulf? I've seen Ulf (like deer), Ulves (like wolves), Ulve, and Ulfs, the last being likely just adding s to the end to make it plural like many things in English. I know it may not simply translate, but the best alternative would be nice to know. The devs of the game have said ulfs is likely what they'd go with if they ever referred to multiple. If anyone in the comments knows and can back it up, please let me know.

[@faithlesshound5621]

Was old Norse culture concerned about the werewolf (vargulfr)? That's a more terrible kind of wolf than the standard model. Apparently there was a werewolf scare in parallel with the witch scare in German and French-speaking countries in the late middle ages, but according to Wikipedia talk of werewolves goes back as far as Petronius in 1st century Rome. The "civitas" of Viroconium (now Wroxeter) in Roman Britain apparently means the place of the werewolf. It became the new capital of the tribe of the Cornovii after their fort on the hill known as The Wrekin was overrun in 47 AD, so it seems that there was a cult of the werewolf in that Celtic tribe. The original name of the hill has been reconstructed as *Wrikon.

[@anotherelvis]

The tales of werewolves survived in folk tales in the moores of Jutland in the nineteenth century, but I don't know the origin of the myth. They could be a later import

[@sirseigan]

Swedish folklore are likewise full of werewolves.

[@faramund9865]

Great video.

[@rolandropnack4370]

I assume there is a link from "vargr" to the german word "würgen"? Nowadays it is used in the sense of "to choke on something" or "throw smth. up", while the term "jemand würgen" means "to throttle somebody", btw "jemand ERwürgen" = "to choke somebody to death". In older texts "jemand würgen" is often used in the semse of "kill a victim", or as a nomen "Würger" to indicate there is a notorious murderous entity. As Raptors like wolves go for the jugula to kill, it feels to me that the "vargr" aspect of Canis Lupus is quite directly reflected in this modern german word.

[@julianwilson9919]

See also the verb "to worry" in English in its older meaning '"to slay, kill or injure by biting and shaking the throat" (as a dog or wolf does), from Old English wyrgan "to strangle"' (quoting from the Online Etymology Dictionary now called Etymonline).

[@sjoerdpasterkamp9826]

@@julianwilson9919 wrikken, wirgen (dialect), werken (to work, labour) in dutch. and wurgen ; to suffocate someone.

[@julianwilson9919]

@@sjoerdpasterkamp9826 That's very interesting. I didn't think about "wrikken" in Dutch, for instance, despite living in the Netherlands these days and speaking a fair bit of Dutch.

[@sjoerdpasterkamp9826]

@@julianwilson9919English sausage, german wurst, dutch worst meaning milled, moled (molested) meat. compare the english bad, worse (baddier), worst (baddest). In dutch/german slecht, slechter, slechts what is cognate with slacht ; slaughter or battle.

[@julianwilson9919]

@@sjoerdpasterkamp9826 Fascinating

[@christopherreed4723]

The German word is "Wolf", and as far as I know there's no other word for them in the language. German also uses the word as part of a name, "Wolfgang". Like "Ulf" and "Ylva" in Scandinavia, the name is somewhat unusual nowadays (German has, afaik, no equivalent to the female form, Ylva). 20th Century usage, admittedly, but you'll find both versions in Frans Bengtsson's "The Long Ships". Orm's wife is named Ylva, and Orm's adopted son (fallout from King Svein's attempt to have Orm killed) is named Ulf. As is mentioned, there is a qualifier added to his name, as he is always referred to as Glad Ulf, due to his cheerful disposition.

[@darknase]

Isegrim, mhd. Îsengrîn, from îsen 'iron' and grînen 'growl', also "Meister Isegrim" (having received a titel of 'master', like "Master Yoda") as name for the wolf as mythological creature in fairy tales; similarly foxes are called Reineke, or Reineke Fuchs. Fun facts: The Element Tungsten is called Wolfram. There is the word "Wolfshunger" meaning anything between feeling starved after a long day without food, to polyphagia or akoria. The office shredder is called Papierwolf (paper; wolf) or more common Reißwolf (tear, rip; wolf)

[@willmosse3684]

My German (Jewish) grandfather was called Wolfgang. What does the “gang” part mean? Thanks

[@linusfotograf]

@@willmosse3684 Traveling wolf; Way of the wolf

[@asahallberg-vonde2029]

Wolfgang is a common Name in Germany. Wolf is rather a Family Name.

[@sjoerdpasterkamp9826]

@@willmosse3684 usual it means pack, troop as a derived meaning but more direct it could mean trace, print left behind, the mark of the wolf so you know he has 'gone' there before you.

[@JimMonsanto]

This is pure conjecture, as I don’t know the intricacies of Grimm’s & Verner’s laws, but I thought of a possibility for the origin of that Kw → P → F. I wonder if there never was a P there in Germanic, but instead, went from Kw → Hw → ϕw → F, where Grimm’s law applied as normal, but perhaps some combination of influences caused the H to be pulled forwards and merge with the W-sound to make it into an ϕ (bilabial fricative, not labio-dental fricative). The W-sound then weakened in both positions, the second one merging with the following O, leaving behind the F. WLKwOS → WLHwOS → WLϕwOS → ULFOS . . . and so on.

[@markusluoma7991]

In finland we have a word varas=outlaw G makes the difference

[@richbulena8847]

An English example of neutral/negative names of an animal is dog/cur.

[@mattd8725]

I was born in wolf rune's home.

[@DevsQuillsandCartoons]

This actually put into context the name of one of the characters in John Gwynne’s “Shadow of the Gods”, which is based on Norse Culture/Mythology. The specific choice of wolf-associated name that he picked actually reflects two different aspects of what the character is to the world around him and I think that’s really cool. Happy Halloween 🎃

[@cdineaglecollapsecenter4672]

Perhaps it's just the livestock raising cultures that are so negative about wolves. I don't think North American indigenous tribes had nearly as negative a view of them. Speaking of which, I just read an article in a local paper in which an outfitter was calling wolves "the devil" and "demons". Thanks for the very interesting video!

[@allisonguthrie8257]

The Blackfoot stories that I have heard actually claim that it was wolves who taught them how to live and be good people, cooperate like a pack, and hunt animals to survive.

[@irkendragon]

I definitely get the sense that there is a cosmology change in people's view of nature and predators that occurs when a culture shifts from a hunter gatherer society to an animal agriculture focused one.

[@larsnordstrom364]

Brilliant as always. Which stone in Sweden depicts a troll riding a wolf, using snakes as reins? I have to see it.

[@tylerbrubaker6642]

I believe it’s one of the Hunnestad stones

[@fuin8419]

​@@tylerbrubaker6642 Correct, it's the stone DR 284, currently displayed at the Kulturen museum in Lund.

[@JM-nm3bg]

😂❤

[@jessiehermit9503]

The audio is so low.

[@stephend50]

Bears are a lot more terrifying.

[@Nick-dc6ix]

Regarding a pair of words that are in some senses defined negatively: "crone" and "hag" come to mind. It's hard to imagine "hag" getting any positive connotations.

[@Nylekolan]

In Njal’s Saga there is an Irish warrior(also said to be King Brian Boru’s brother) the Norse call Ulfr the Quarrelsome, which is almost certainly not his real name. I’ll bet money that Ulfr is a nickname the norse gave him in recognition of his ferocity and the fact that he is said to have killed a man by cutting his guts out and tying them to a tree

[@motordude67]

Ulf is a common name in Scandinavia today, in viking age it was Ulfr. It means wolf, of course. It was very common to use animal names on person in the viking age and even now, Bjørn(Bear), Ulf(Wolf), Hauk(Hawk), Ravn( Raven) and even Varg(Wolf).

[@MatthewsPersonal]

Ulfr the frankly a bit bothersome lol

[@rolandjohansson7428]

The fish Myoxocephalus scorpius is called 'ulk' in Swedish. And it does look kind of horrid.

[@georgfridriksson8493]

My dog´s name is Vargr !

[@myrlstone8904]

A Sasquatch sighting !! A Halloween video cookie 🤫

[@faramund9865]

I think it was yesterday or the day before I talked with someone about this on Twitter. Surely that must be a coincidence.

[@jesperandersson889]

viking is in slavonic väring (connection?)

[@troelspeterroland6998]

It is two different words. Viking corresponds to vitjaz in slavic and væring (Norse) corresponds to varjag (Slavic). They are both loanwords from Norse to Slavic.

[@jesperandersson889]

but hey this PROVES cultural exchanges - allow me to explain; why else would the two forms persist???@@troelspeterroland6998

[@davidallen-ik9uz]

Watch your back! There's a dude in the woods looking at you.

[@earnestwanderer2471]

It’s a Sasquatch.

[@nickb-whistler4431]

wearg = hatler (a person who makes hats but is too similar to that one dude)

[@kubag8273]

Could vargr be a cognate of the Polish word wróg (vroog)? It means "enemy" in polish

[@goranatanasovski6463]

It is. This word also exists (with modern often similar meanings like enemy, murderer, devil etc.) in other slavic languages 🙂

[@Sabberiel]

In polish language wolf is 'wilk' read veelk. Similar to Lithuanian. Thank you, binging on your channel!

[@beepboop204]

[@kokofan50]

Think a good description of the Norse view of wolves is feral, and adding some kind of taming element would make it good.

[@ulfullring3936]

Yes. Dog.

[@TheWildManEnkidu]

It's interesting how the thing we have feared the most as cultures, and came to associate so much with as a natural enemy, is the thing so many have chosen to adopt as a symbol of power. Thracian men, when becoming a man, would go into the wilds and join roving bands of warriors, living as wolves, and go raiding. The Dacians seem to have based their entire culture around them. Not to mention the amount of names we see in history, and even today, with 'wolf' hidden within.

[@kadmii]

that which is feared has power

[@troelspeterroland6998]

Remains of this cultural trait are also found in other Indo-European languages so it seems to be very old.

[@johnfenn3188]

Jackson. Another human being walked across the background! About 35 seconds in.

[@chrisrubin6445]

Vagrant, Vagabond

[@annabackman3028]

In Swedish there are a number of euphemisms for varg, such as 'gråben' (grayleg), 'gultass' (yellow paw), 'storkäft' (big jaw), 'stortand' (big tooth'), 'den grå' (the gray one). This is what I can remember now, but I'm sure there are a bunch of dialectical names too. I'm not sure if it was a common thing, the eyes of the wolf were believed to be the eyes of the devil.. That's something I haven't read anything about, but something we were told as kids (1960-70s), by the "grand-generation", born around 1900. I found a quote from a debate about the being or not of the wolf, from the late 1700s, and honestly I'm too lazy to look for who said it, in SAOL somewhere; "If the wolf will be extincted, from where will we have wolf skins?" I think that was a good thought, and the kind of question I wish humankind should have asked many times, and hopefully will ask and ponder on, deeply, before she tampers with Mother Earth. Again.

[@OwenParry-f4l]

The author claims that in the indo european culture there is nothing good to be called a wolf - Seems not to be vey well educated sine it is a common personal name in Welsh - Bleddyn, as in Bleddyn Llewellyn Williams who captained Wales in rugby variation Blethin, Blythin are often seen as surnames as in Brenda Blethin (actress) Hannah Blythin (politiian) . There was a 11c king Bleddyn ap Cynfyn 1120-1175. I the name has so much dread and horror why do parents still name their children wolf -man?

[@OldtimerOfSweden]

In Swedish úlfr became ulv and it's still used today as an alternative name for wolf. Though the name Ulf still retains that "f".

[@Immopimmo]

Yes, and it's still used in the swedish word for werewolf; varulv.

[@troelspeterroland6998]

The reason why the personal name has f in the modern Scandinavian languages is that the word has been reintroduced as a learned borrowing from Old Norse (where it was actually pronounced as a v).

[@sirseigan]

​​@@troelspeterroland6998 Yes and no. The reason why it still has and "F" in Swedish is due to the old spelling of Swedish where, just like in old Norse, the "F" in the end of a word were pronounced as "V". The final spell-change came in 1906 after a about a century of stepwise changes that were an effort not just to update the lettters used to mirror the actual pronounciation better (hence "F" in the end became "V"; haf -> hav etc), but also to create a distict Swedish spelling easily distingused from Danish and Norwegian (hence dropping "h" in the begining and dropping the old -a- interfix for compound words, using the letter ä and ö instead of æ and ø etc etc etc). It was a deliberate part of the building of a Swedish distinct national identity through the written language. Anyhow; many people liked to keep the old spelling in names specifically. In part due to tradition and habit, in part due to an effort to give the names an older and more established/refine air about the. However as people forgot that the old spelling did not reflect the actual pronounciation people thought that names such as "Ulf" were pronounced with an "F" instead of an "V" so people started to pronounciate the tge "F"s. The funny thing is that you see this accros the board from names like Ulf, Alf, Olof and Leif to name such as af Ugglas to place names such as Gefle and Raffna (the last is the older spelling of Ramsele comming from old Norse Hrafnasel). So yes you are right that the old Ulfr was pronounced as Ulvr, and yes the use of it as a name regained popularity during the national romantic era of 1800s and early 1900s (when everything "vikkng" became popular). However why the name Ulf today is spelled with F and not a V is not due to it being reintroduced from old Norse directly but because the old Swedish spelling was kept. The word for wolf, Ulf (which had been there in the language all along), was however updated to Ulv while the personal name Ulf was not.

[@troelspeterroland6998]

@@sirseigan You are quite right, and I should have specified that the story is different in Swedish than it is in Danish and Norwegian. I just opted for brevity.

[@crunchy_water_]

A little off topic, but I do wonder how modern English would be like without French influence from the Normans, but perhaps even more influence from Old Norse, something inbetween. It's really strange but interesting to think about how different languages could be if history was just a bit more different.

[@weepingscorpion8739]

There is a project called Anglish. You should check that out.

[@crunchy_water_]

@weepingscorpion8739 Hm, yeah I've seen a bit into Anglish before, but perhaps with even more Norse influence. Still, Anglish is pretty interesting for sure.

[@stolman2197]

H. Beam Piper (60s scifi author) describes English as "French speaking Norman men-at-arms trying to get a date with their German speaking Anglo-Saxon barmaids" That works for me.

[@faithlesshound5621]

If King Canute's successors had kept England, Denmark and Norway together in his North Sea Empire, Harold Hardrada would not have invaded with his Danes and eventually been defeated by King Harold II three weeks before his own defeat by Duke William and his Normans. Middle English would have been more Anglo-Danish and less Anglo-French.

[@shawncarter5619]

How much of the Ulfr connotation is a Christianization of the myths? My understanding is that Scandinavian cultures were Animists, not strictly believing in the gods as such, but putting more emphasis on the "local spirits". Would the wolf fall under that system, or is it a holdover from the myths of Fenris? There are other wolf characters in Scandinavian mythos that do not seem to me to hold a negative connotation to their existence or associations with the God's per se.

[@Lakalyren]

Facinating! I was looking into this the other day when I tried to look closer at some parts of the older gulathing law, which bans you from calling yourself wolf or bear (Ulv og Bjørn) when proclaiming you found a dead body. The law also has quite a few examples of varg being used for criminals - like “firewolf” for arsonists and the famous “varg I veum”

[@Lakalyren]

G156: When a man announces killing in the proper way, he should go from where the killing was done in whatever direction he wants and report it at the nearest house, unless there are kinsmen of the killed in there, either on the mother’s side or on the father’s side or near relatives by marriage. But if such people are there, he should go past that house and to the next, unless the same is the case there; then he should go to the third house and there report the killing, no matter what kind of men are inside. He must not give his name as "Ulfr or Bjǫrn" unless that is his real name. He must show proofs of his identity and tell where he stayed the night before. The translators theory is that these are examples of common names and that the point of the rule is to prohibit people leaving fake names. But there is something about the whole poetic narrative of this paragraph that makes one think we are missing out on a joke (:

[@annabackman3028]

Ulf or Björn? Just a random thing, I used to know a man named Ulf Björn, Björn as surname. He was joking about him being a strong man 😆 He passed away many years ago. 🇸🇪

[@Lakalyren]

@@annabackman3028 Yes "Ulf" or "Björn" in modern Swedish. Make sure not to say your name is Ulf Björn if you ever have to report a dead body in Western Norway!

[@annabackman3028]

@@Lakalyren Well, the passed away 8 years ago, I guess he has nothing to fear!

[@casthedemon]

I grew up absolutely loving wolves. I grew up on a farm too. Theyre one of the most human animals outside of primates. Which is probably the cause of much fear. I always considered wolves as my spirit animal.

[@libertycowboy2495]

Enjoyed it much. I am a rancher, and i love wolves, so call me mr dichotomy lol. But then no wolves live near me and i might feel differently were there packs nearby actively hunting my cattle.

[@thormusique]

Great video, thanks! And I completely agree about wolves in general. I've spent a considerable time around wolves in the wild, as well as in wildlife rehabilitation centres, and although I would say that I remain fascinated by them and even love them, I still fear them and treat them with the respect they deserve. I don't think we can begin to know the mind of a wolf - or wolf pack, especially. I grew up hearing (and reading) Polish fairy-tales, and the two kinds of stories that fascinated and terrified me most where those with witches or wolves. Both were sort of equally terrifying. And speaking of Polish, we tend to use the Polish for 'she-wolf' (wilczyca) quite commonly, which I've always found interesting. But then, wolves are still generally terrifying creatures in the Polish imagination. Cheers!

[@faithlesshound5621]

Wittgenstein thought the same of animals in general. He once remarked in a lecture, "If a lion would talk, we could not understand him." I think it's significant that, despite the thousands of years that humans have lived with animals, there is no folk wisdom of how to talk to them, or understand them. I would extend Ludwig's observation to babies, except that it seems we can teach them simple sign language (Makaton) months BEFORE they can speak: but monkeys (e.g. Nim Chimpsky) can do that too with American Sign Language.

[@kbm2055]

It's interesting that new world wolves don't have nearly the same reputation as the Eurasian variety. As you imply there is good reason for the latter as history is full of records of attacks on people.

[@abandoninplace2751]

i think we usually say she-wolf. So now i wonder how many animal names are of the don't-speak-the-true-name sort, or epithets for similar reasons, like bear and wolf.

[@Volodiviede]

Interesting that we have a cognate for the second word in Russian: "враг/vrag" (which is actually a Church Slavonic loan, native form would be "ворог/vorog") that means "enemy" or "foe". For "wolf" we have "волк/volk" which is not so remarkable tbh

[@Volodiviede]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned in the video

[@antimonyparadox6996]

12

[@y11971alex]

Wasn't there a Bishop in England named "Lupus" = wolf? I thought Dr Crawford made a video about it somewhere.

[@faithlesshound5621]

There were several Anglo-Saxon bishops with "wolf" in their names. Ecgwulf (London) in the 8th century, Deorwulf and Swithwulf (London) and Denewulf (Winchester) in the 9th and Cenwulf (Winchester) in the 11th. Wulfstan (of Worcester and York, 10th century) was also known as "Lupus."

[@teemuviinikainen5455]

In Finland we say Wolf (Susi or Sus) Totally diffrend language pool (Finno-Ugrig)

[@Killer_Kovacs]

13:33 we still use bitch as an insult today

[@FattyMcFox]

In English, i think "thief" and "Bandit" might fit the rwquirement of 2 words for the same thing but one is much worse. Both steal things, but the connotation is one will just take your stuff and the other will take your life too. The one thing i don't get is why Varulv the term for werewolf and not something with the Vargr root.

[@faramund9865]

'Negative' is perhaps too broad. I think 'danger' is the right association. It is a good thing to have the capability to be dangerous, to keep away foes, to become a wolf. But obviously you don't want to be in danger, thus you want to keep away the wolf. I think this about sums up the duality of it.

[@colinp2238]

In my time with the British Army of the Rhine in the 70s, I was friends with a German soldier called Wolfgang. He was a great guy, and although we called him Wolf for short, I wouldn't describe him as bad, quite the opposite.

[@outcastcwd]

Funny that you made (and I saw) this video right now.... I just bought a Bourget Python chopper (motorcycle), and I chose "ÙLFR" for my license plate!🤯

[@outcastcwd]

@larsliamvilhelm I drew the accent with a paint marker... I don't think anyone will care about it enough to make an issue of it

[@F_A_F123]

Why Ù and not Ú?

[@outcastcwd]

@@F_A_F123 Because I'm 56 years old, my eyes don't work as good as they used to and I'm writing this on my phone.

[@rasputinfaux150]

I think I like grábeinn best of the old wolf names.

[@faramund9865]

10:33 Where did the runner go? Eaten by a werg?

[@OldtimerOfSweden]

I read somewhere that the second word, vargr (or vargher in old swedish, meaning slayer or murderer), came about because of name-magic. Saying the name of the beast out loud could summon it, so people started to substitute a different word. The same text also proposed that the name for the bear was not the one originally used, but a substitution for its real name (old swedish biorn is supposed to come from "brun" meaning brown). I don't know if current linguists agree with that.

[@troelspeterroland6998]

It is still regarded as a probable explanation.

[@willmosse3684]

I heard the Bear version of that recently (possibly in Dr Crawford’s fascinating interview with Tom Shippey from a few days ago?).

[@faithlesshound5621]

The Romans had that theory too. If someone they were talking about turned up, they would say, "Hic lupus!" meaning, "Here's the wolf in the story." Not unlike the Jewish practice of referring to "G-d." You wouldn't want him crashing your party with a thunderbolt.

[@JarkkoHietaniemi]

The principle goes across language families: in Finnish "karhu" is the basic word for "bear", but that used to be avoided, not to invite the lord of the forest, and a slew of "polite" replacements were used, "otso", or "mesikämmen" (mead-paw). In fact though, even the "karhu" is an euphemism, having to do with "karhea" or "rough", "the rough one". We seem to have lost the original (sacred?) word for the animal...

[@troelspeterroland6998]

@@JarkkoHietaniemi Interesting!