Literary notes about warlock (AI summary)
In literature, the word “warlock” is a multifaceted term that shifts in meaning according to context and cultural tradition. In some narratives, it designates a wise or enigmatic guide, as seen in the portrayal of Merlin in English fairy tales ([1], [2], [3]), while in other texts, warlocks emerge as more complex figures—sometimes benevolent yet powerful, other times dangerous and dark ([4], [5], [6]). The term is also employed more casually as part of surnames or even place names, demonstrating its evolution from a descriptor of magical mastery to a broader cultural signifier ([7], [8]).
- So Childe Rowland said good-bye to the good queen, his mother, and went to the cave of the Warlock Merlin.
— from English Fairy Tales - So Childe Rowland said the two things over and over again, till he knew them by heart, and he thanked the Warlock Merlin and went on his way.
— from English Fairy Tales - “Well, my son,” said the Warlock Merlin, “there are but two things, simple they may seem, but hard they are to do.
— from English Fairy Tales - The Warlock gnashed his teeth, howled aloud, and sprang at the Soldier—who drew his sword and began laying about him with sweeping blows.
— from Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore - Thus a Russian story tells how a warlock called Koshchei the Deathless carried off a princess and kept her prisoner in his golden castle.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - He shot this arrow at the warlock; and the shaft hit so well that it did its business, and the man of witchcraft fell dead.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson - On the Sunday he rose early, and set out for Castle Warlock.
— from Warlock o' Glenwarlock: A Homely Romance by George MacDonald - “There you are!” said he, “my wan-faced warlock.
— from Gilian The Dreamer: His Fancy, His Love and Adventure by Neil Munro
