Scholars support my conclusions about Warlog
It turns out another source also published similar conclusions I made as far back as 1998 that warlogan was a plural with an intended meaning of men of the laws. The laws in question being the torah. This source is titled German Literature Between Faiths and was published in 2004 by credentialed linguists and scholars. It has similar deductions backs my own conclusion the meaning of warlogan was simply lawmen.
The first part of my recognition of an error was seeing words were log and lag (cognates of one another) occur in several versions/examples.
They are as follows:
These come from lǫg (“law, laws”) — originally “things laid down [fixed]” via Proto‑Germanic lagą (“that which is laid down”).
útlag(r) – outlaw. Literally “out‑law” or “outside the law”; a person outside the protection of the law.
býlǫg / bylag – bylaw“Town law” or a local rule / regulation “laid down” for a settlement.
lǫg – law / laws, The basic noun meaning “law” (plural in Old Norse usage).
vár lǫg – our law. Used in Norse literature to mean “the law of our people/tribe”; law as the basis of society.
lagaboð – law command / statute. Basically a legal command or statute as an Old Norse compound.
lagamaðr – man of law, lawyer. Person associated with law — essentially a legal official.
Other legal compounds include:
lagabók – law‑book
lagahald – keeping of the law
lagaeiðr – lawful oath
lagapróf – legal proof
Examples where the form of war = wer/vir = man include:
Old Saxon: waruld (uuaruld) = world = literally “man‑age” or “human realm”
The first element war‑ = “man” (cognate with Old Norse wer, Old High German wer, Old English wer, Gothic waír, Latin vir)
The second element -uld (akin to eld in elder) = “old/age, existence, realm”
Old Frisian: warld — same compound form
Attested Spellings:
waruld
werold
weroldi
This is the clearest and strongest example of war = man in an actual manuscript spelling and shows a reflection in the extinct Gothic language such as wair = man.
In Germanic naming patterns, war/wer/wair often functions as:
“man”
"free man"
“male warrior”
“male hero”
Even when Latinized in Roman records, the underlying Gothic element is clear from what little remains of the language, yet we see these preservation periodically in Old Frisian.
Book Overview
German Literature Between Faiths: Jew and Christian at Odds and in Harmony (2003), edited by Peter Meister, examines how German literature reflects and negotiates Jewish and Christian themes. The essays explore medieval German texts, analyzing how biblical narratives and figures are adapted for Germanic audiences. The book highlights both conflict and dialogue between Judaism and Christianity, showing how literary works serve as a cultural and theological bridge.
Editor Credentials: Peter Meister holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA and PhD from the University of Virginia, and teaches German at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has written extensively on gender and religion in German literature and specializes in medieval Germanic philology. His scholarship emphasizes the nuanced interplay between literary form, theology, and cultural identity.
Chapter Highlight: “The Jews in the Heliand”
Author: G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., Jesuit priest and professor emeritus of German at Georgetown University, specializes in medieval German literature and the Heliand. His publications include The Saxon Savior (1989), The Heliand: The Saxon Gospel (1992), and The Owl, the Raven, and the Dove (2000).
Content Summary: Murphy’s chapter focuses on the depiction of Jewish figures in the Heliand, particularly Pharisees and other Sanhedrin members. The poem, an Old Saxon retelling of the Gospels (c. 830–840 CE), employs Germanic heroic conventions to present biblical stories.
A key term, “uuarlogan” (modernized as warlogan), appears on page 18 as a plural noun describing Pharisees and similar figures. Etymologically, warlogan combines Old Saxon war (“man”) and log (“law”), literally translating to “lawmen” or “lawyers.” Murphy interprets this as a gloss or interpretive label, translating Jewish religious authorities into a Germanic cultural framework. This linguistic strategy allows the poem to blend traditions, emphasizing both fidelity to scripture and resonance with a Germanic audience.
In his 2004 volume, Peter Meister challenges the traditional pejorative translation of warlogan. While standard Germanic philology defines the word as “oath-breakers” (the precursor to the English warlock), Meister proposes a revisionist etymology. He argues that the Heliand’s author used the term neutrally, as a descriptive title for the Pharisees, translating it literally as “men of the laws.” This re-interpretation shifts the term from moral judgment to functional identification.
Technical Linguistic Evidence
Meister’s argument rests on a careful deconstruction of the compound word warlogan as it appears on page 18 and throughout the text.
A. The Prefix: War (Man)
Meister identifies war as a variant of the Old Saxon/Old High German wer (cognate with the Latin vir).
Cognates: Latin vir; Old English wer (found in words like wergild or werewolf).
Conclusion: Here, war signifies “man” or “male figure,” often within a formal or warrior social structure.
B. The Suffix: Logan (Plural of Laws)
Meister asserts that logan is not derived from the verb leogan (“to lie”), as traditional interpretations suggest.
Cognates: Old Norse lög (cognate of lag), meaning “that which is laid down” or “law.”
Conclusion: Logan refers specifically to laws, rather than falsehood or deceit.
C. Combined Translation
Men of law, law men, lawyers from war = man; log = law with the -an = a plural.
Application to The Pharisees
The significance of this translation lies in its functional and cultural application to the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Heliand.
Functional Identification: Meister argues the Saxon poet was identifying Jewish leaders by their primary scriptural role—as practitioners and defenders of Mosaic Law—rather than insulting them as “liars.”
Cultural Translation: For a 9th-century Saxon audience, a “man of the laws” was a recognizable legal status. This interpretation indicates a measure of “harmony,” integrating Jewish figures into a Germanic social framework instead of dismissing them through vitriolic labels.
In his analysis of the Old Saxon poem and Biblical Allegory that The Heliand is, Meister had apparently come to the same conclusions I did and provides this specific linguistic breakdown to support his thesis that the poet was attempting to find "harmony" or a neutral cultural translation for Jewish figures.
Secondary Confirmation
Multiple sources support this interpretation:
Manuscript Evidence: The term uuarlogan appears in line 3816 of the Heliand manuscripts M and C, in dialogue addressing religious authorities.
Samuel J. Youngs (2021): Notes the Heliand replaces specific Jewish subgroup names with Germanic terms, consistent with the “lawmen” reading.
Valentine A. Pakis (2010): Reprints Murphy’s essay, reinforcing warlogan’s cultural adaptation.
Linguistic Analyses: Discussions of “warlock” trace the word to Old Saxon roots, corroborating Meister’s etymology.
Interpretive Significance
The use of warlogan demonstrates the Heliand’s strategy of Germanicizing biblical roles, providing readers with familiar cultural markers while engaging with interfaith narratives. It exemplifies how medieval German literature negotiated Jewish-Christian relations, portraying authority and law through a Germanic lens rather than strictly biblical nomenclature.
Significance:
Meister’s revisionist reading emphasizes a more nuanced understanding of medieval texts, where Jewish figures are represented with respect and functional clarity.
His work challenges pejorative translations and supports an interpretive model of “Irenic Criticism,” highlighting reconciliation and dialogue between cultural and religious traditions in early German literature.
To find my own sources of research, you can find it all on this page pertaining to CLERGY where the research and reasons are clarified why the titles of warlock and witch have been adopted as proper titles for our church's leadership.
Even the OED inadvertently preserved this with the variations of the spelling of Warlogan as the follow will demonstrate that war / wer = man
+ log, lag, low (also lawe / lou / lau / lach / lagh variants) = law/laws
Early / Core Forms
warloke → war + lok
warlok → war + lok
warloc → war + loc
warlag → war + lag
warlage → war + lage
warlagh(e) → war + lagh
Forms with “-law / -lawe”
warlawe → war + lawe
werlawe → wer + lawe
warlaw → war + law
Forms with “-low / -lou / -louʒ”
warlow → war + low
warlou → war + lou
warlouʒ → war + louʒ
werlou → wer + lou
Forms with “-lau / -lach / -lagh”
warlau → war + lau
werlau(ghe) → wer + lau(ghe)
warlach → war + lach
warlagh(e) → war + lagh
More Irregular or Dialectal Forms
warlowe → war + lowe
werrilow → wer + low
warrilow → war + low
whorlow → war + low
worlais → wor/wer + lais
warlaiss → war + lais
warlaʒes → war + laʒes
werlahen → wer + lahen
The evidence is clear and what many would demand as "extraordinary" evidence, the evidence is already well documented and, dare I say, vindicates my conclusions and that of others.
