According to legend, the “wild man” is an anthropomorphic creature occupying an intermediate position between humans and animals, an inhabitant of the “wild periphery” of the civilized world. In different traditions, the presentations of this figure can vary greatly, and the religious-magical practices associated with him also differ: on the one hand, theatrical ceremonies in Western Europe (folk games, urban carnivals, spectacles, and masquerades); on the other hand, the veneration of relics and remains of the “wild man” and their use for healing (magical, medical) purposes in Central and East Asia. It is possible that behind all this lie similar ideas about the supernatural qualities of this character. Apotropaic and productive magic likely also underlies the ritualized games dedicated to the “wild man,” whether they still preserve their original connection with folk rites of the spring rebirth of nature, or are purely entertaining or ceremonial in nature. Their main scenarios include: (1) hunting the “wild man,” bringing him into the village, and killing him; (2) the “wild man” invading a human settlement, ending with his expulsion or death; (3) a battle between two groups of “wild people.” Such performances were extremely widespread not only in rural but also in urban European culture of the 14th – 16th centuries (including the aristocracy), and in the folklore of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain they persisted until relatively recently. The almost complete absence of such “games” outside Western Europe suggests that the figure of the “wild man” was not genetically directly related to them, and that his incorporation into the plot and ritual contexts of these traditions likely occurred as a result of the association of the “wild man” with certain figures from local folk mythology. For this to happen, however, he must already have possessed, in his “original” version, certain traits linking him to spirits of the wild and enabling him to assume such roles.

The article deals with two fragments from the Norse tract of XIIIth century: Speculum Regale (The King’s mitrror – Konungs skuggsjá). The tract in the didactic form describes special features of countries such as Norway, Iceland, Greenland and Ireland. The chapters devoted to Ireland, describes many marvels and wanders, but the compiler himself doesn’t always believes these descriptions. In particular, the tract gives two descriptions of so called ‘wild men’. In the first of them, he uses the Irish borrowing gelt and tells that such a beings are ordinary men transformed into gelta by the terror, gripped them on the battlefield. In the second fragment a hairy man (or beast) is described. Unlike gelta, it does not have human speech, and its origin is unclear. The work draws parallels with the Irish tradition itself. The author comes to two conclusions. First, the theme of the feathers that supposedly grow on the body of a geilt, is due to the linguistic error. The term clúm has the meanings ’down, wool, hair’ but not ‘feather’. In the Irish legend of Suibne Geilt it is coherently use in the meaning ‘wool, hair’. Its understanding as “feather” gives to some Irish scholars the possibility to make comparison of the figure of Suibne with that of a Shaman, that represents not only a mistake bat a speculation. On the other hand the article deals with the legends of the wild men within Irish tradition itself. The problem of the presence/absence of an attitude towards authenticity of such tales is also discussed.

Among the numerous examples of “wild people” in medieval literature, one of the most striking is the image of the mountain women (serrana) in the Spanish Book of Good Love (Libro de buen amor, 14^th century). Among the book’s many romantic adventures, a special place is given to the Archpriest’s journey to the mountains, where he meets the serranas, who graze cattle and guard the mountain passes. The description of each encounter has a dual perspective: first, the Archpriest describes the encounter as a real event, and then the narrator composes “songs of the mountain women” about these events. If the canticas are obviously a parody of the courtly genre of pastorals, then the portraits of the mountain women in the hero’s stories can hardly be considered merely a parody of the portrait of the Lady of courtly poetry (the prevailing point of view). The author of the article agrees with those researchers who trace the genesis of the “mountain maidens” back to the prototype of the “wild woman” and suggests that the appearance of monstrous and wild mountain maidens serves a dual function in The Book of Good Love: on the one hand, their characteristics can indeed be seen as the antithesis of the courtly ideal, which is significant in the parodic context of the book, and on the other hand, their contrast with the images of shepherdesses from the songs allows the medieval author to emphasize the distance between “reality” and poetic conventions.

The article analyzes the image of the “wild man” in the historical and folkloric context of Chinese cultural tradition based on a collection of texts from various sources. It presents key characterizations of the figure, possible typologies, and features of its description. Three types of “wild men” can be distinguished: “human-like animal,” “feral human,” and “The Hairy Maiden.” The dominant outward characteristics of the Chinese “wild man” are hairiness (symbolizing the boundary between human and animal, culture and nature), nakedness, and “size switching.” The “wild man” is usually alienated from society, lives in the mountains and forests, and sometimes interacts with people – this can take the form of attacks (both by the “wild man” and by people), hunting (of the “wild man”), kidnapping (of people), or chance encounters. In a number of stories, “wild men” are attributed with various superpowers: superhuman strength and speed, the ability to fly, longevity, etc., which can bring them closer to otherworldly beings or even Taoist saints. In Chinese tradition, wildness is understood as a form of otherness, combining natural, otherworldly, and even sacred elements, and the image of the “wild man” serves as the boundary between the human and non-human worlds, between civilization and nature.

The article examines folkloric motifs and imagery found in Soqotri narratives about “wild men.” The study draws on both published Soqotri folkloric texts and materials collected during fieldwork conducted in 2021 and 2025, which enabled the author to record a “wild man” legend (published previously elsewhere) and discuss known texts of the Soqotri temtilo genre with our informants to provide lexical and philological commentary. Comparative analysis suggests that Soqotri “wild men” narratives share a number of motifs with European traditions, particularly in the depiction of characteristic traits associated with the “wild” or “feral” man. At the same time, the legend follows a narrative scheme typical of “feral man” stories attested across the world. In addition, certain parallels can be observed with the figure of Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Soqotri material thus exhibits both universal and culturally specific features, contributing to a more precise understanding of these narratives within a broader comparative folkloric framework.

The author considers wildness as a mythological category peculiar to some folklore characters, nature spirits in particular. A group of mythological characters can be identified under the conditional name “wild people” in many regions of the world. They are characterized by a close connection with nature, humaneness and isolation from the human world. The article examines the images of Udmurt spirits of the forest space as agents combining signs of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic properties, as well as manifestations of demonic nature. Based on published folklore and ethnographic sources, media and archival data, as well as his own field materials from 2024–2025 (interviews, bylichkas, beliefs), the author examines in detail the characters of Nyulesmurt, Palesmurt, Nyuleskuse and others in the mythological prose of the Udmurts (mainly southern). These images in folklore texts have universal demonic features (werewolf, half-hearted, chromatic characteristics). In most accounts, the spirits of the forest have an anthropomorphic incarnation, they wear clothes, have a home and can speak. Forest nature in mythology is represented by the cultivated possession of spirits. The author shows tendencies towards blurring mythological images, reducing the use of demononyms in narratives and depersonalizing the mythological space of the forest.

This article is based on materials collected in the Kurgan (2000, 2005), Arkhangelsk (2000), and Kostroma (2013) regions. These materials report on “wild people” or “bigfoot”. The collected information correlates with folklore descriptions of wild people from various regions of the world. First, they are able to ward off danger using supernatural powers. Second, they have affairs with women, who bear their children. The stories echo traditional Russian folklore. The materials cited above overlap with folk tales about forest spirits and legends about marriage to bears. At the same time, although wild people are called forest spirits, their characteristics bear little resemblance to forest spirits. Wild people are a distinct folklore character. Of the materials presented here, the folklore component is most prominent in the stories from the Kurgan region. Undoubtedly, stories about “bigfoot” are decisively influenced by hominological information from the media. On the one hand, the influence of the media and popular culture (in particular, the writings of hominologists) is noticeable; on the other, folklore motifs are present. The influence of these two factors is difficult to separate. The folklore component can be clarified by comparing it with stories about wild people living in different regions of the planet. These stories served as the basis for the development of hominology.