Warlock
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- 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. In the TV show Charmed a warlock is an evil witch or wizard, a "traitor to an oath" who steals other witches' powers.
As used by most Wiccans and witches, the term warlock refers to a witch who has been expelled for breaking oaths, revealing secrets, working black magic or committing some other betrayal.
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Etymology
The normal etymology derives warlock from the Old English wærloga meaning deceiver, or "oathbreaker"Template:Ref. However, one source suggests that the word may come from the Old Norse varð-lokkur, "caller of spirits". Varðlokkur is also translated by some as 'ward-locks' or 'protections', and is an invocation chant used in spæ (scrying) (see article on Spae).
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 JK Rowling's Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore is Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. As Dumbledore is one of the chief protagonists of the series, the term seems to have no negative connotation here.
Warlocks in 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 those requiring enslavement can turn on 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 the Shadowbane MMORPG, warlocks are psychokinetic telepaths that attack and defend themselves using only the will of their minds, utilizing self-awareness and intense focus where other classes would rely on magic, armor, or physical strength and dexterity. In Shadowbane, Warlocks can be mage or fighter-based, and are known somewhat for their rare damage type, (mental), and for their ability to take on a wide variety foes without the help of others.
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 on 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.
In Dungeons & Dragons, Warlocks are an alternative arcane spell-casting Core Class introduced in the Complete Arcane sourcebook. Warlocks do not learn or gain spells like other mages, instead they have access to a small pool of Invocations, special Spell-Like Abilities that suffer some of the drawbacks of conventional spells, such as the ability to be interrupted and the requirement of somatic components. They also have other special abilities, such as their primary weapon; the Eldritch Blast. What makes them a match of other mages is that their Invocations can be used an unlimited amount of times per day, so they do not run the risk of running out of spells. Warlocks gain their power through ties, forged intentionally or unintentionally, with alien, chaotic forces, primarily fiends.
In Rifts, Warlocks are spellcasters who join into a pact with Elementals, and bind themselves to their power. Warlocks have a kind of brotherhood with both Elementals and other Warlocks, and will treat each other cordially and with respect, even if they're about to battle each other.
There is an online game server Warlocks which is based on the game Spellbinder by Richard Bartle.
In The Legend of Zelda, Ganondorf is a warlock who can change into Ganon.
Warlocks in film and television
- 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.
- In the television series Dark Shadows two warlocks make their presence known. In 1968, the evil warlock Nicholas Blair appeared. Later, in 1970, the decapitated head of warlock Judah Zachery unleashed terror upon the Collins family. Both warlocks received their powers from a diabolic source.
Music
In music, the guitar company B.C. Rich, has an electric guitar body design called the Warlock. Warlocks are commonly seen with the widow headstock, but occasionally have a standard electric guitar headstock. Mick Thompson of the band Slipknot used to play a signature solid black warlock B.C. Rich electric guitar, but he switched over to Ibanez.
The Warlocks was also the original name of the San Francisco-based 1960's rock band that came to be known as the Grateful Dead. The band's original core members included Jerry Garcia (lead guitar), Bob Weir (rhythm and lead guitar), Phil Lesh (bassist), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (organ and harmonica), and Bill Kreutzmann (drums).
Notes
1. Template:Note Old English wǽr-loʒa weak masculine (="traitor, enemy, devil, etc.") = Old Saxon wâr-logo weak masculine (=? "deceiver") (once, Hêliand 3817, in plural wârlogon applied to the Pharisees). The first element is probably Old English wǽr strong feminine (="covenant") = Old High German wâra (="truth"), Old Norse várar strong feminine plural ("solemn promise, vow") (cf. Vǽringi = "confederate, Varangian"); cf. Old Slavic. věra ("faith). This is a derivative from the adjective represented by Old English wǽr ("true") (once, Genesis 681; ? a. Old Saxon.) = Old Saxon, Old High German wâr ("true"): - Old Teutonic *wǣro-: - Pre-Teutonic *wāro- = Latin vērus. The second element (an agent-n. related to Old English léoʒan ("to lie belie, deny") occurs also in the similar comps. áþ-loʒa, tréow-loʒa (Old Saxon treulogo), wed-loʒa (Middle English wedlowe), ("an oath-breaker"), etc.
-- Oxford English Dictionary, (online) 2nd Edition (1989)
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).