It’s not every day that a video game gets recognition as being anything other than a
toy meant to amuse children. In fact, video games are far more likely to be the
target of widespread moral panic when given their time in the mainstream limelight, whether
it be about excessive ultraviolence, or the realization that children may be witness to
the horror that is video game sex scenes.
Sometimes, however, a game will get recognized as something more--as something culturally significant--something
like The Witcher.
Maybe it doesn’t seem that important in the United States. But in Poland? In Poland,
the Witcher is so popular that it’s become something more than a pop culture phenomenon--it’s
touted as a modern embodiment of Slavic and Polish historical pride. So don your Sukmana,
dust off your Crakows, and warm up some Kiełbasa we’re exploring the Hidden History of The
Witcher.
The Witcher is a game series based on books written by the Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.
In the series, a witcher is a mutated superhuman created to fight monsters
with a combination of swords, traps, and magic. The word Sapowski created to describe this
superhuman was "Wiedzmin" which is remarkably similar to Wiedźmiak,
a polish word that describes a male witch in Slavic Mythology, also called a Vedmak.
A Vedmak healed humans and animals, fought witches, and protected humanity from the forces
of evil. But it carried some negative connotations as well. Vedmak were believed to be connected
to the Devil, and were capable of spreading plagues, killing livestock, and destroying
harvests. They were considered possibly benevolent, but were widely feared and treated with great
suspicion. Sound familiar?
Sapowski and the development team at CDProjekt Red dug deep into European, Slavic, and Polish
folklore to breathe live into the plethora of creatures that fill the Beastiary of The
Witcher's world. Beasts like the Kayran, which resembles old depictions of the Kracken, a
giant tentacled sea creature that's reputed to target ships in the deep sea. But maybe
that one's a bit too obvious.
Well, what about the Noonwraith from The Witcher and The Witcher 3? Most monsters from games
and legends wait until nightfall to prey on defenseless mortals, but not so with the Noonwraith--attacking
in the middle of the day, Noonwraiths appear as sun-scorched women and attack farmers and
other folk when they least expect it. This almost certainly is a reference to the tales
of Pscipolnitsa.... Just put it...I'm just going to put it on the screen there.
She is also know as Lady Midday, a noon demon from slavic folklore that appears in the middle
of the longest, hottest days of summer, brandishing a scythe or shears.
Then there's the Striga from the first game. Created when a woman is cursed into the form
of a wild beast, it may seem somewhat similar to werewolves, but there's quite a bit more
to it than that. In the Polish version of the game, the word used is not "Striga," but
"Strzyga," which is also a demon from old slavic tales. Often female, people born with
two hearts, two sets of teeth were believed to be potential Strzygas. It was believed
that, when a Strzyga died, only the human soul passed on to the after life, while leaving
a fully-fledged Strzyga behind in our world. These demons would fly around the air at night
and attack travellers, sucking out their blood and eating their internal organs. In order
to keep a suspected Strzyga from rising from the grave and attacking passersby, they were
to be decapitated, with the head buried separately from the body. Bleh.
If you're not sitting down, now's the time, for I'm going to tell you a little story:
deep in the woods, far away from civilization, paved roads, taxes, rules and those that enforce
them lives an old woman--maybe the oldest woman in the world. She's a bit hard to find,
because she lives in a hut which walks all by itself on a pair of chicken legs--not
that you'd want to find her. She's just as likely to eat you alive as she is to help
you. Often seen with a mortar and pestle, and rumored to own a flying broom, there's
only one name for this ancient creature: Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga is a recurring character in
Slavic folklore, often as a villain, but just as often as a benefactor. She's inspired characters
in stories for generations, from Spirited Away, to The Witcher, where she is the inspiration
for the terrifying Devourer, monsters that resemble old women that enjoy nothing more
than to eat the flesh of the living.
But enough about monsters. Let's talk about something big. Let's talk about the Wild Hunt.
Aside from the Niflgaardian Empire, The Wild Hunt is one of the most important recurring
elements of The Witcher. In the series, The Wild Hunt is a group of spectoral riders who
appear in the sky, bearing bad omens. Often, they ride through the sky before a war, or
to signal some other major catastrophe. This group of malevolent specters is hugely influenced
by a European Myth called, well, The Wild Hunt. Sometimes portrayed as the ghosts of
the dead, and sometimes as fairies, the host of men on horses, with rabid hounds in tow,
almost perfectly match the description of those in Sapowski's novels and the Witcher
Games. Like the games, the "real" Wild Hunt is said to ride before war or plague, and
those who are said to have seen the wild hunt are doomed to an ill fate--death if they're
lucky, but possibly being kidnapped and adopted into the fold of these ominous hunters.
The Witcher isn’t a perfect portrait of Polish history or Slavic folklore--like all
things great, it’s derivative: that means it takes something that came before it, it’s
derived from predecessors. What makes it so significant is that it dusts off the old fairy
tales and myths and breathes new life into them, using them to tell new stories for all
of us to enjoy. And it gives people who are otherwise unexposed to Slavic history and
culture an opportunity to walk a bit in those worlds.
And hey, it’s not every day a video game is give to the President of the United States
as a diplomatic gift. Even if he doesn’t like it.
You thought you knew The Witcher, but hopefully you’ve learned just a thing or two more.
Do you know of any other historical or literary references we didn't cover here? Share them
in the comment section below and we might include it in a future episode. If you like
Hidden History don’t forget to ‘Like’ and ‘Subscribe’ for more.