Fact & Fiction: the Faoladh, the Wulver, and Irish Werewolves

The Maniculum Podcast

Sometimes, internet lore takes on a life of its own. Join us this week as we debunk the popular internet myth of the Irish faoladh, and dive into the true history of the Irish werewolf and its medieval origins!

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Citations & References:

• Bane, Theresa. “Wulver.” Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. Link.
• Bettini, Jessica Lynne. “The Rage of the Wolf: Metamorphosis and Identity in Medieval Werewolf Tales.” East Tennessee State University, 2011. Link.
• Boyle, Elizabeth. “On the Wonders of Ireland: Translation and Adaptation.” Authorities and Adaptations: the Reworking and Transmission of Textual Sources in Medieval Ireland, ed. Elizabeth Boyle & Deborah Hayden (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2014), pp. 233-6. Link.
• Briggs, Katherine. An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures. Pantheon Books, 1976. Link.
• Boyd, Matthieu. Melion and the Wolves of Ireland. Springer, 2009. Link.
• Bernhardt-House, Philip. Philip. Werewolves, Magical Hounds, and Dog-Headed Men in Celtic Literature: A Typological Study of Shape-Shifting. Edwin Mellen Press, 2010. Link.
• Coir Amann (The Fitness of Names); CELT- Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition - link
• Coir Amann: A Middle Irish Treatise on Personal Names, Part Two. Ed. Sharon Arbuthnot. Irish Texts Society, Vol. 60.
• Carey, John. “Werewolves in Medieval Ireland.” Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. Carey’s profile link.
• Faoladh art post
• Faoladh pronunciation post
• Maegen Stebbins’s website, tumblr, & Arthur and Gorlagon post
• Stebbins’ debunking the wulver post
• “The Story of the Crop-Eared Dog,” Two Arthurian Romances, compiled by Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart, 1908 - link
• Smith, Brian. “The Real Story behind the Shetland Wulver.” Shetland Museum and Archives. Link.
• Lady Wilde. Ancient legends, mystic charms, and superstitions of Ireland. Link.
• Saxby, Jessie. “Wulver.” Shetland Traditional Lore.
• Summers, Montague. The werewolf in lore and legend. Dover Publications, 1933. Link.
• Melion and Biclarel: Two Old French Werewolf Lays. Edited and translated by Amanda Hopkins. University of Liverpool. Link.
• McCone, Kim R. Werewolves, Cyclopes, Diberga, and Fianna: Juvenile-Delinquency in Early Ireland. Cambridge medieval Celtic studies, 1986, p. 1-22. Source link.
• Jakobsen, Jakob “The Old Shetland Dialect.”The dialect and place names of Shetland: two popular lectures. Link.
• Gerald of Wales. The historical works of Giraldus Cambrensis. Containing the topography of Ireland, and the History of the conquest of Ireland, translated by Thomas Forester. The itinerary through Wales, and the Description of Wales, translated by Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Rev. and ed. With additional notes, by Thomas Wright. Link.
• West, Marie. “Aspects of diberg in the tale Togail Bruidne Da Derga.” Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, vol. 49-50, no. 1, 1997, pp. 950-64.. Link.
• “Wulver.” The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. 2004.
• “Wulver.” An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures. 1976.
• “Wulver.” Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. 2013.
• “Wulver.” The Encyclopedia of Vampires & Werewolves. 2011.