The Werewolves of Ossory

         

        I am crazy about werewolves! Wolves too for that matter. The wolf is my totem. It is such a complex and misunderstood animal. They’ve gotten a bad rep over the years and have been portrayed as brutal killers who prey on humans. In reality, they’re not. 

    When I wrote Welcome to Harmony, I wanted the werewolves featured in that book to be as misunderstood as wolves. I also wanted them to have some of the characteristics of wolves such as they are family oriented, mate for life, take excellent care of their young, and actually protect the balance within their ecosystem.

I’ve covered werewolves in the past, in some of my first blog posts. This month though, I thought I’d focus on werewolves in Ireland – since I’ve begun introducing Irish myth and folklore into my books.

A long time ago, wolves were a fundamental part of Ireland’s landscape. However, in the sixteenth centuries, mass wolf exterminations began. From what I’ve been able to tell, this was because wolves were found feasting on the dead following some epic battles. In the seventeenth century, the most extensive anti-wolf legislation and exterminations began, thanks to one Oliver Cromwell, the King of England’s appointed persecutor – I mean, “protector” of Ireland. 

Wolf exterminations continued long after Cromwell’s reign, and as of the 21st century, other than some wolves living in the Dublin Zoo and some on a special wilderness preserve, wolves are extinct in Ireland.

In ancient times, the kingdom of Ossory was the home of werewolves in Ireland. There is no more Ossory. What was once Ossory is now part of County Kilkenny and part of County Laois. There was a legend of a warrior named Laignech Fáelad, who was known to go “wolfing” which meant that he would take on “wolf shape.” Other members of his family would join him, and they would raid local livestock herds as well as hunt in the forest. 

Fáelad and his family were mercenaries and in high demand. They never accepted gold for their services though. Instead, it was said, they took their payment in newborn baby flesh. Yikes! This could be due to their connection to Crom Cruach, one of the ancient deities of Ireland, whose followers practiced human sacrifice. 

Fáelad and his family gained their shapeshifting ability by being cursed back in the 5th century. Saint Natalis was trying to convert the Irish to Christianity. Fáelad and his family were having none of it and howled like wolves while Saint Natalis tried to preach. He became furious and cursed them, turning them into actual wolves. Apparently, at some point, Fáelad and his family must have learned to shift back and forth between human and wolf.

Not all of Fáelad’s family were werewolves though. He was said to be the brother of Feradach mac Duach, the king of Ossory, and the ancestor of subsequent kings who ruled Ossory until the invasion of the Normans in the 12th century.

In that time period, one of the most famous stories about the Werewolves of Ossory surfaced. Gerard of Wales, a priest and historian, wrote a book titled Topographia Hibernica (Geography of Ireland). In it, he told the story – he claimed it was true – of an unnamed priest who encountered a talking wolf in the woods. The wolf begged him not to be afraid. He promised he wouldn’t hurt the priest and then went on to tell him his story.

He and a woman were natives of Ossory. They don’t mention whether or not they were descended from Fáelad or not, but they do reference the curse laid on their family by Saint Natalis (In a later version of the story, he was replaced by Saint Patrick). The talking wolf said that every seven years, a man and a woman in their family were forced to abandon their human form and live like wolves. If they survived, they were allowed to return to human form, and a new man and woman were chosen to become wolves for seven years. 

The talking wolf said that the woman, his mate, had become fatally ill. The talking wolf asked the priest to perform the last rites over his dying mate. In order to convince the priest he would not be committing blasphemy, he pulled back the female’s wolf skin to show she was human underneath. The priest delivered the last rites as he promised, and in return the wolf shared prophecies about the future of Ireland and its English invaders. I couldn’t find any details about what those prophecies contained though.

This is all good stuff and fuel for future stories. The great thing about being a writer and working with material like this is I get to change what I want and make it my own. Since stories about the Werewolves of Ossory didn’t become widespread until the 12th Century, I honestly feel that Christian authorities might have demonized them the same way they did witches. Also, Gerard of Wales' story about the priest and werewolves seems to promote the idea of Christianity over pagan belief. 

        But like I mentioned already, if you have read Welcome to Harmony yet, you know I love dealing with misunderstood werewolves.