In Livonia in 1692, a man named Thiess was arrested on suspicion of being a werewolf. He confessed, but claimed he used this ability to travel to hell and fight the Devil and his witches; likely a remnant of the prominent beliefs in wolves as sacred animals of the Gods and psychopomps.
Thiess called himself a hound of God, and in Baltic paganism, wolves were known as Dievas Sunīši (dogs of God). He wasn’t charged with being a werewolf-but he was charged with trying to turn people away from Christianity. He may have been a pagan shaman or priest of sorts.
Painting Jēkabs Bīne, 1932. 𐃏

“The sluggard believes he shall live forever, If the fight he faces not; But age shall not grant him the gift of peace, Though spears may spare his life.”
~Hávamál 16, Bellows
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Painting: Carolingians attack a Viking raiding party, by Angus McBride.
“Ósnjallr maðr hyggsk munu ey lifa, ef hann við víg varask; en elli gefr hánum engi frið, þótt hánum geirar gefi.”

Celtic Warriors Consult a Priestess by Augustus Dieffenbacher, 1858-1940. 𐃏

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