Warlock
From Freepedia
- For other meanings of the term, see warlock (disambiguation).
Warlocks (another name for wizards) are, among historic Christian traditions, said to be the male equivalent of witches (usually in the pejorative sense of Europe's Middle Ages), and were said to ride pitchforks instead of broomsticks. In some pop culture TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Bewitched warlocks are male witches. The TV show Charmed follows Wiccan beliefs, wherein a warlock just means "traitor to an oath" who lives to steal witches' powers; a warlock may be a witch or a wizard, but always evil and chaotic.
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Etymology
Members of the Wiccan religion consider the word an insult. It is said that the word itself comes from a Scottish word meaning "oathbreaker" or "liar". However, one source suggests that the word may come from the Old Norse Vard-lokkur, "caller of spirits".
The origin of the word warlock may be found in the Old English 'wærloga' which means "one that breaks faith" or "the devil". (dictionary etymology).
A highly speculative etymology interprets 'wærloga' as 'the man of the logs' alluding to the small pieces of wood the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian priests and wise men used to divine by means of the runes. This etymology seems to have been created to support neopagan beliefs about the past, inasmuch as warlock then appears to be a slang word of Christian coinage pejoratively used for those who remained Pagan and practising the art of the runes. However, its dependence upon sarcastic Christians referring to small pieces of wood as 'logs' makes it extremely unlikely, especially since the etymological roots of 'log' are believed to refer to felled trees or equally massive objects.
Warlocks in books and comics
In the Sword of Shannara books by Terry Brooks, the Warlock Lord was Brona, a druid who delved too deeply and quickly into forbidden knowledge and was corrupted by it.
Christopher Stasheff wrote a series of science fiction/fantasy novels about a technological warlock, beginning with The Warlock in Spite of Himself.
Warlocks are an alien race in the comic book series Nemesis the Warlock, which was adapted into a Commodore 64 video game. There, a warlock possesses the ability to alter his body to become different objects, and he finds sustenance by absorbing the energy from organic materials, leaving a lifeless husk in its wake.
In the Marvel Comics superhero comic book Young Avengers, the magic-using character Wiccan (formerly codenamed Asgardian) identifies himself as a Warlock. Although his codename is Wiccan, he does not appear to be a follower of the Wiccan faith.
Warlocks in computer and video games
In the Shadowgate series, the Warlock Lord, Talimar, betrayed the Circle of Twelve and summoned the Behemoth, but was unable to control it.
In the Warcraft series, warlocks are evil sorcerers, drawing their powers from demonic sources in exchange for their souls. In World of Warcraft, a warlock is a cloth-wearing spellcasting character class. It can summon and enslave demons to fight alongside itself, although these pets often end up attacking the warlock and his allies. The warlock plays a valuable support class role, handing out healthstones to other players and storing the souls of its allies, allowing them to reincarnate after death. The warlock is a master of powerful curses and can also do some direct damage to its enemies by, for example, burning their souls.
There was a game called Warlock for the Sega Genesis that involved a powerful warlock attempting to gain a series of rune stones that the player (a Druid) is pressed to seek out first. The game is known for its extreme difficulty and unique yet solid control scheme.
In Dark Age of Camelot, the warlock is a spellcasting character class in the realm of Midgard. Norse, Frostalf, and Kobold are the races capable of becoming a warlock. Warlocks in DAoC are unique casters in their ability to cast and land two spells at once, although they trade longer casting times for this ability. Their other defining trait is the ablitity to "chamber" spells: they can cast and hold spells to trigger for instant effect.
In Battle Realms, the warlock represents the "flower" of the Lotus Clan. The Lotus Clan's religion centers around three brothers that tend the Yin side of the Tree of Life, the Tree of Corruption. The Lotus Clan studies the Forbidden Path, which is about death and corruption. Since being a warlock means mastering this path, they are immune to the effects of aging and are near-immortal.
In Tactics Ogre, a Warlock was a scholarly type of magician who researched ancient languages. They could boost the power of nearby golems and help troops out with support magic, slow down enemies with status-inducing magic, or use Dragon Magic to attack all enemies at once. They were very fragile and easily killed, however. In Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, Warlocks were changed from a pure spellcaster to a hybrid of an attacker and a spellcaster. Their preferred weapon of choice was a sword and they could use their ability, Barren Soul, to attack an enemy with a sword of the opposite element. (It did not work on enemies of the Virtue or Bane elements, however) If they weren't aiding the front lines, they were in the back slowing down the enemy with status inducing spells or aiding allies with spells.
Warlocks in movies
- Warlock is a 1959 film based on a novel by Oakley Hall.
- The movie Warlock, from director Steve Miner, shows a warlock as being the son of Satan.
References
1: Pavlac, Brian A. "10 Common Errors and Myths about the Witch Hunts, Corrected and Commented," Prof. Pavlac's Women's History Resource Site. (October 31, 2001) [1] (October 8, 2003).
