Wolf of Magdeburg

The Wolf of Magdeburg is the subject of a folktale from Magdeburg, Germany, during the period when Magdeburg was a part of Prussian Saxony. It is a classic example of European werewolf tradition, but the focus of the story is a then-common type of wolf aggression which is eventually explained by lycanthropy. Before wolf populations in Europe were decimated by over-hunting, wolves would linger around human dwellings during the winter due to the availability of food, at best being a nuisance and at worst a danger. In Magdeburg the month of January was known as "wolf-monat", or wolf-month, because of the starving wolves that would descend from the Harz Mountains and wander the streets in search of food. At the time the Harz had a very dubious reputation as a haunt of murderous wolves, and the people of Magdeburg regarded the mountains with a measure of fear and respect.

During one particularly brutal winter, so cold that the canals of the Elbe were iced over, infant children began to disappear from their nurseries in the night. When the disappearances increased in frequency the citizens of Magdeburg turned to their magistrate for aid, a man by the name of Breber. After examining the new-fallen snow outside victims' homes, Breber determined that the children had been carried away by a wolf. Curiously, however, he noted only a single set of tracks, unusual for a city like Magdeburg that attracted scores of wolves in the winter. Even more unsettling was the apparent boldness of the wolf - it was silently entering homes and taking infants from their cribs, killing them even before they had a chance to cry out. As the winter worsened, so did the depredations. In response Breber ordered curfews and posted armed men in the streets, but the attacks continued. As January wore on the people of Magdeburg turned against their magistrate in anger, and even his wife refused to see or speak with him. The situation escalated when the infant son of a prominent barrister was taken, followed shortly thereafter by the daughter of the Lord Mayor.

Breber began patrolling the streets at night alongside his men, armed only with a sword. On one such evening, disoriented by snow and fog, Breber stopped in an alleyway to light his pipe. While he was distracted with the brand he was attacked by a tramp, who knocked him to the ground. Thinking it was the wolf, Breber drew his sword and seized the woman, but quickly recognized her as one of the first victims of the wolf's hunger, a mother who had gone mad at the loss of her son. She had since taken to wandering the streets after sundown and, in characteristic babble, said to Breber: "The night has teeth. The night has claws, and I have found them."

The woman turned away and led Breber through the streets of Magdeburg, beyond the gates, over the grain fields, and into the pine forests at the foot of the Harz to a hunting path he recognized from the previous autumn. His unease increased steadily as the woman moved deeper among the trees. Sighting a wolf with an infant-sized bundle in its jaws, the tramp gave a shout and rushed forward, losing Breber in the process. He resolved to follow her trail in the snow and upon entering a clearing heard the snarls of the wolf and her screams, which appeared to be coming from a hunting lodge, well-used in season but empty in the winter. Breber entered the lodge only to find the tramp's mutilated body and a large wolf standing over a crying child, which lunged at him. Breber plunged his sword into the wolf's heart, withdrew the blade, and raised it to behead the animal when he noticed that there was no longer a wolf before him. Instead, his own wife lay dead at his feet.

The tale comes to a close when Breber, having retrieved the infant, returns to Magdeburg, explaining the cause of the disappearances and asking the townsfolk to dispose of his wife's body. It was speculated by the burghers that Breber's wife, hunting with him in the previous autumn, had foolishly taken a drink from a mountain spring. The spring, they said, had its source deep in the earth where the water was enchanted.

ee also

*Wolves of Paris
*Attitudes toward wolves
*List of fatal wolf attacks

References

Richman, Robin, ed. "Night Creatures". Alexandria: Time-Life Books, 1985.