Artigo Acesso aberto Revisado por pares

“ I Would Have Eaten You Too ”: Werewolf Legends in the Flemish, Dutch and German Area

2007; Routledge; Volume: 118; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00155870601097099

ISSN

1469-8315

Autores

Willem de Blécourt,

Tópico(s)

Linguistic and Cultural Studies

Resumo

A geographical approach to werewolf legends results in the identification of a major werewolf area, stretching from mid-Germany into the Netherlands and Belgium—despite profound differences in the intensity of collecting the legends. Within this area there were people who were experiencing nightly encounters, especially with back-riding werewolves, and they advised each other about how best to overcome the beasts. Migratory legends, such as the Werewolf Lover/Husband and the Hungry Farmhand, show a different distribution: they exceed the boundaries of the core area but adhere to the national border between Germany and the Netherlands. As is the case with the nightmare, the meaning of the werewolf metaphor turns out to be sexual: “werewolf” denotes a sexually deviant man.

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