Wargs_Lore

[Larrah]

In The Simarillion, Wargs are woven through stories in Tol-in-Gaurhoth (translation is “Isle of werewolves”).  Here, King Finrod was held in Sauron’s dungeon guarded by Wargs.  And in The Hobbit, Wargs attack Gandalf, Bilgo, and Thorin & Company - just after they had been rescued by the Great Eagles.   I love the way Tolkien introduces the Wargs, because just as you are relieved that they are rescued and begin to be satisfied, Wargs appear for the first time in the story.   Very powerful and vivid.   
Tolkien named these creatures “Wargs” after the German word “Wargwulf” which has been translated to the word we know as “Werewolf”.  Tolkien wrote them as fierce with a matched human intelligence and a superior ability to plan and communicate with other to viciously attack.  Gandalf said in The Simarillion after he first crosses them in the novel, “Watch them, these are no ordinary wolves hunting for food in the wilderness, they are here for us….”
I have recently picked back up reading The Simarillion, and the difference reading this after playing Lord of the Rings as intensely as I have (and many of you do too) is strong.  As I re-read these stories, I hope that my fellows in Eventide Revelry will also begin to rekindle the Lore along with me in our journey thru Middle-earth and post in the Lore section of our forums.  There were no posts here other than Lord Raedins ??    I am interested to see what you read and think as well.   Share?
  I challenge my kin to a Lore-lust seeking quest....  any takers?
  ~ Lolaphilonia Gladdenheart

[Alagosir]

Wargs measured between five to six feet at the shoulder, and could be up to fifteen feet in length from the snout to the tail; estimates put their weight at a minimum of 400 pounds, around three times that of a man. Rohan tapestries show the Wargs to have a bearlike face with a long muzzle full of huge fangs and a long, prehensile neck; its eyes were small and set back to each side of its snout, and its ears were at the back of the skull. This arrangement gave greatest sensory range while keeping its vulnerable areas protected, and the long neck gave it reach, flexibility and power when biting into flesh. There was a large bulge above its forelegs, which contained massive muscles that propelled it at speed and allowed the Warg to tear its prey apart. Apart from its ruff, the Warg had short dense fur, which would have kept injury from tooth and claw to a minimum. Not all damage could have come from the men and beasts it was attacking: Wargs were vicious and ferocious and could quickly turn on other members of their pack as well as their handlers. Coloration and patterning of the fur seems to vary throughout the breed, with stripes, mottling and other patterns appearing in shades of tan, ginger, liver, white and brown, with harder patterning appearing toward the back. Powerful haunches and a thumb on the front paws allowed the Warg to climb.

    There appear to be several subspecies, such as the white warges that invaded the Shire during the Fell Winter in the year T.A. 2911, to small cave-wargs of the Misty Mountains, which had nearly colorless fur and red, almost useless eyes. There also appears to have been a small colony of wild wargs living in a hollow rock formation northeastern Rohan, and a huge and very old warg that terrorized East Emnentt was killed shortly before the Battle of Helm's Deep in the War of the Ring.

In some cultures, werewolves are known as warg-wolves where warg is derived from the Old Norse word vargr, meaning "rogue," "outlaw" or, by a long stretch, "wolf".