Description
Germanic warriors inspired by death and victory often wore the pelt of the wolf, looking as fierce as a pack of rabid beasts when they fell upon their enemies. For the defenders, the experience must have been even more frightening than battle usually was, and probably seemed almost supernatural to most men of the ancient world. The wolf is a recurring image in German and Norse mythology, often associated with Wodanaz or Odin, who was the god of victory, amongst other things. Also, three wolves are prominently featured in the Norse pantheon and figures dressed in wolf-pelts are often depicted in the art of the period, where images of warriors fighting wolves or bears abound. There are also many surviving images of a wolf warrior fighting a bird-headed man, who was supposed to represent Wodanaz himself. In the Germanic world, the cult of Wodanaz was so large that people of the age often had wolf-related names, such as Vulfolaic ('Wolf-dancer'), Wolfhetan ('Wolf-hide'), and Wolfdregil ('Wolf-runner'). Wolfgang or 'Wolf-gait' has remained a popular German name to this day.
