Warg

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Wargs also refers to a genealogical site, www.wargs.com.

A warg (or worg) is a mythological creature that resembles a wolf, but is generally larger and more intelligent. It is possible that the myth is derived from memories of the dire wolf which went extinct about 10,000 years ago.^{[verification needed]}

In Old Norse Warg (vargr) is a euphemism for wolf (ulfr), and varg still the modern Swedish word for wolf. Also cognate is Old English warg "large wolf". Moreover a wolf is called warg in Gilaki, an Iranian language which is spoken in Gilan, north of Iran.

The Proto-Germanic *wargaz meant "strangler", and hence "evildoer, criminal, outcast".

Closely related may be Classical Latin ferox from the earlier Proto-Italic root *feroc meaning "ferocious."

[edit] Norse mythology

In Norse mythology, wargs are in particular the demonic wolves Fenrir, Skoll and Hati. In the Hervarar saga, king Heidrek is asked by Gestumblindi (Odin),

What is that lamp

which lights up men,

but flame engulfs it,

and wargs grasp after it always.

Heidrek knows the answer is the Sun, explaining

She lights up every land and shines over all men, and Skoll and Hatti are called wargs. Those are wolves, one going before the sun, the other after the moon.

But wolves also served as mounts for more or less dangerous humanoid creatures. For instance, Gunnr's horse was a kenning for "wolf" on the Rök Runestone, in the Lay of Hyndla, the völva (witch) Hyndla rides a wolf, and to Baldr's funeral, the giantess Hyrrokin arrived on a wolf.

[edit] Tolkien's Wargs

Taken from the Old English warg, the Wargs or Wild Wolves are a race of fictional wolf creatures in J. R. R. Tolkien's books about Middle-earth. They are usually in league with the Orcs whom they permitted to ride on their backs into battle. It is probable that they are descended from Draugluin's werewolves, or of the wolf-hounds of the line of Carcharoth of the First Age.

The concept of wolf-riding Orcs first appears in The Tale of Tinúviel, an early version of the story of Beren and Lúthien written in the 1920s, posthumously published as part of The History of Middle-earth.

In The Hobbit, the Wargs appear twice, once in chasing Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and the dwarves just east of the Misty Mountains, and once at the Battle of the Five Armies. They are said to have their own harsh language.

In The Lord of the Rings, they are most prominently mentioned in the middle of The Fellowship of the Ring, where a band of Wargs, unaccompanied by Orcs, attacks the Fellowship in Eregion. During the War of the Ring in 3018–19, wolves prowled outside the walls of Bree. Saruman kept Wargs in dens beneath Isengard, and during the War of the Ring he also sent Orcs mounted on Wargs into battle.

In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, Wargs appear to be more like "hyena/bear/wolf" hybrids rather than just wolves, in an effort to distinguish them from regular wolves by presenting them as some sort of distant, prehistoric cousin, such as Andrewsarchus (Tolkien wrote that Middle-earth was a fictional prehistoric Earth). In the Rankin-Bass adaptation of The Hobbit, they are portrayed as relatively normal looking wolves, though far larger than a normal wolf and with ominously glowing eyes. Although Tolkien never gave a fully complete description of the Wargs (he simply noted that they were demonic wolves), they do seem to have a regular wolf-appearance in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and they are regularly called "wolves".

[edit] Wargs in other popular media

Subsequent appearances of the creatures in popular culture often owe much to Tolkien. In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, wargs appear as minor enemies. Similar to Tolkien's works, they are depicted as evil, intelligent wolves that speak their own language, and are often allied with goblin tribes. Wargs also appear in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft as a wolf more common to undead areas; they are also used by the orcs as mounts. The large wolf-like enemies in the Castlevania video game series are also called Wargs. Wargs are among the monsters a character can encounter in the computer game NetHack. Warhammer Fantasy also includes orcish wolf-riders.

In the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novel series by George R. R. Martin, wargs are people who can live through a particular animal if they choose in a symbiotic relationship.

When Playing a text based game called Kings of Chaos, you can buy wargs if you choose orcs as your race.