TY - JOUR

T1 - Transforming, Transgressing and Terrorizing

T2 - Some Werewolves and their Antagonists in Swedish Ballads

AU - Raudvere, Catharina

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - The article discusses some werewolf motifs in Swedish ballads, which tell of shapeshifters of ambiguous character that change between a human and a non-human body, dwell in spaces on the fringe of the human world, and have potential to intrude into the world of humans. Some of them represent a harsh untamed wilderness, others dangers, threats, or misbehaviour inside the human community. All religious imaginaries have fantastic things to tell: myths from before time, truths about the present, and hopes for the future. But no worldview can move beyond a recognizable everyday world, and the problems presented must be relevant. Did people believe in the content of the supernatural ballads? We should rather ask whether people were able to mirror their lives and nightmares in them.

AB - The article discusses some werewolf motifs in Swedish ballads, which tell of shapeshifters of ambiguous character that change between a human and a non-human body, dwell in spaces on the fringe of the human world, and have potential to intrude into the world of humans. Some of them represent a harsh untamed wilderness, others dangers, threats, or misbehaviour inside the human community. All religious imaginaries have fantastic things to tell: myths from before time, truths about the present, and hopes for the future. But no worldview can move beyond a recognizable everyday world, and the problems presented must be relevant. Did people believe in the content of the supernatural ballads? We should rather ask whether people were able to mirror their lives and nightmares in them.

U2 - 10.7146/rt.v74i.132137

DO - 10.7146/rt.v74i.132137

M3 - Journal article

VL - 74

SP - 726

EP - 742

JO - Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift

JF - Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift

SN - 0108-1993

ER -