Pricolici - the Romanian Wolfman

by Alexandru (Sasha) Bogdan - the Great Wanderer of Valinor

Together with dragons and vampires, lycanthropes are perhaps the most widespread monsters in European folklore. So it should come as no surprise that we Romanians have our own interpretation of the man-turned-wolf myth, which in our folklore is referred to as pricolici.

What is a pricolici?

Concept art of a werewolf by Marek Madej for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Pricolici is our equivalent of the lycanthropus (Latin: ‘wolf-man’; derived in turn from the Greek lukanthrōpos) and it is synonymous with:

• loup garou (French: ‘werewolf-wolf’)
• werwulf and werewolf (wer meaning ‘man’ in Proto-West Germanic) from German and English respectively
• vrykolakas (derived from the Slavic vlk meaning ‘wolf’ and dlaka, meaning ‘fur, hair’), a term that, under several variations, appears in the Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, Lithuanian and even Romanian languages. In fact, most modern Romanian translations usually prefer the use of vârcolac, rather than pricolici.

Beyond that, the etimology of the Romanian term is unclear. But given that it features solely in our language, it is mostly thought to be autochtonous, probably a remnant from our Dacian heritage. Other linguists, however, propose that lici is derived from Lycus, the Latin spelling of the Greek name Lykos (tr. ‘wolf’).

The pricolici is not counted among the most popular creatures in Romanian folklore by any means, but it was well-known enough to warrant a mention in Descriptio Moldaviae by Dimitrie Cantemir, Voivode of Moldavia and scholar. Cantemir tells us this about the wolfman from Romanian folklore:

 

RO: “Se înţelege asemenea ca şi la Franţezi, lugaru [loup garou] şi zic că cu vrăji se pot preface oamenii în chip de lup şi de altă feară stricătoare şi pot să le ia firea lor întocmai şi cum că dau năvălire asupra oamenilor şi asupra dobitoacelor şi fac vătămare.”

ENG: “It is what the French call loup garou and it is said that through the use of witchcraft, men can shapeshift into wolves and other feral beasts and that they assume the nature of these creatures to such an extent, that they can pounce on man and beast alike to maul them.”

“Werewolf concept art”, by Aaron Sims Creative

Romanian writer George Coșbuc mentioned that in some oral traditions, the pricolici has been confused with strigoi:

RO: “Lucrurile acestea să le desparți, strigoi e una, pricolici alta.”

ENG: “You should distinguish between these two things, the strigoi is one thing, and the pricolici is another.”

Derived from the Latin striga and related to the Italian strega, which means ‘witch’, strigoi is used in our native tongue to refer to evil spirits who return from the great beyond as ghostly apparitions or assume the form of beasts (wolves, dogs etc.). But Coșbuc makes it clear that the pricolici is not one of the undead risen from the grave, but a living man in wolvish-shape. In addition, the strigoi morphs into a common quadrupedeal wolf, whereas the pricolici – while retaining the wolvish head and withers – is antropomorphic, being locked in an upright position. Although most concur that the transformation occurs during the night, especially under a pale moon, Coșbuc mentions that there are several explanations in Romanian folklore with regards to how a pricolici comes into being:

• that the man “has fallen under the Devil’s sway” (original Romanian: “l-a luat în stăpînire Diavolul”) and is thus his plaything
• that it is owed to sorcery: either the man is a sorcerer who willingly assumes the bestial form, or the man is the victim of a curse cast by a sorcerer whom he has wronged
• that lycanthropy is like a sickness in which the ill man turns into the beast, or at least towards bestial behiavour, “just like lunatics wander aimlessly on rooftops” (original Romanian: “tocmai cum lunaticii umblă fără ştirea lor pe acoperişul caselor”), without any recollection of the deeds he has done

Sources

• Descriptio Moldaviae, by Dimitrie Cantemir
• HelionOnline: Din mitologia românească: Pricoliciul descris de George Coșbuc

Artistic credits

• CD Red Projekt
• Marek Madej
• Aaron Sims Creative

The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt screenshot: Werewolf