origin of term: hour of the wolf

[Ide Cyan]

Can anyone enlighten me as to the origin of the term "the hour of the
wolf"?

Thanks.

--
"I knew a girl at school called Pandora.
Never got to see her box, though."
- Spike, Notting Hill.

[Eric Walker]

On Sat, 01 Dec 2001 02:04:31 -0500, Ide Cyan wrote:

>Can anyone enlighten me as to the origin of the term "the hour
>of the wolf"?

This will not be much help, I fear. The term seems so old as to
be nearly universal. One writer mentions it and says "as the
French call it," but that seems a minority view.

A couple of other references suggest Russia: one refers to it,
then says "thanks to growing up under a strong Russian
influence"; another credits a person (writer?) named Susan
Ivanova as using it.

My suspicions, though, are that it is Scandinavian. A woman
named Katarina Throstrand, writing in English from a university
in Canada, refers to it as a phrase from her native land; a
self-styled pagan group refers to a ritual called "Freya's
Commencement" as beginning at the Hour of the Wolf; a group in
Norway styles itself Vargtimen; and there is the Bergman film.

(Also, since the name "Russia" is supposed to be derived from
"rus," red, owing to the Norse depredations but also
infiltrations, a Norse-Russian connection seems plausible.)

I do hope, though, that some expert has better information.

--
Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House

[Ide Cyan]

Eric Walker wrote:
> On Sat, 01 Dec 2001 02:04:31 -0500, Ide Cyan wrote:
> >Can anyone enlighten me as to the origin of the term "the hour
> >of the wolf"?
>
> This will not be much help, I fear. The term seems so old as to
> be nearly universal. One writer mentions it and says "as the
> French call it," but that seems a minority view.

Hm. Perhaps I would have better luck with it if I looked up l'heure du
loup.

> A couple of other references suggest Russia: one refers to it,
> then says "thanks to growing up under a strong Russian
> influence"; another credits a person (writer?) named Susan
> Ivanova as using it.

The Susan Ivanova reference is the one I'd already seen for myself, but
you'll be disappointed to learn that she isn't a real person. Ivanova
was a character on the television series Babylon 5. She used the
expression in one episode.

<snip>

> I do hope, though, that some expert has better information.

Thanks for your reply; I hope so too.