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Cambridge Archaeological and Ethnological Series

THE HEROIC AGE

MAP OF CENTRAL EUROPE

illustrating the Heroic Age of the Teutonic Peoples

Where the same name occurs both in capitals and italics the former denote a position occupied in the early part of the Heroic Age, while the latter mark a change or extension of territories.

THE HEROIC AGE

BY

H. MUNRO CHADWICK

Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge

Cambridge:
at the University Press
1912
Reprinted
1967

Published by the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press
Bentley House, 200 Euston Road, London, N.W. 1
American Branch: 32 East 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

Cambridge University Press Library Editions are reissues of out-of-print standard works from the Cambridge catalogue. The texts are unrevised and, apart from minor corrections, reproduce the latest published edition.

First published 1912
Reprinted 1967

First printed in Great Britain at the University Printing House, Cambridge
Reprinted in the United States of America
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 13-13081

PREFACE

The type of poetry commonly known as heroic is one which makes its appearance in various nations and in various periods of history. No one can fail to observe that certain similar features are to be found in poems of this type which are widely separated from one another both in date and place of origin. In view of this fact it has seemed worth while to attempt a comparative study of two groups of such poems with the object of determining the nature of the resemblances between them and the causes to which they are due. Occasional illustrations have been taken from other groups of poems belonging to the same type.

The first part of the book deals with the early heroic poetry and traditions of the Teutonic peoples, more especially with those stories which were the common property of various Teutonic peoples. It is pointed out that these stories all relate to a period with definite limits—a period for which a considerable amount of information is available from external sources. The subjects discussed include the distribution of the stories and the relationship between the various versions of them, the antiquity of the earliest poems and the conditions under which they were produced. Lastly, an attempt has been made to estimate the significance of the various elements, historical, mythical and fictitious, of which the stories are composed.

The second part deals with Greek heroic poetry and traditions. These relate to a period for which little or no external evidence is available; and consequently they present many problems, the bearings of which can hardly be estimated without reference to the existence of similar phenomena elsewhere. In general I have followed the same plan as in the first part, and made use throughout of the results obtained there. If some excuse is necessary for dealing with so well worn a theme I may plead that, so far as my knowledge goes, it has not hitherto been approached from this point of view.

In the third part attention has been called to the existence of a number of somewhat striking characteristics common to the two groups of poems and an attempt made to account for them. The conclusion to which I have been brought is that the resemblances in the poems are due primarily to resemblances in the ages to which they relate and to which they ultimately owe their origin. The comparative study of heroic poetry therefore involves the comparative study of 'Heroic Ages'; and the problems which it presents are essentially problems of anthropology.

In this conclusion I am glad to find myself in agreement with Dr Haddon, who suggested to me that a comparative study of this kind would be a suitable subject for the Cambridge Archaeological and Ethnological Series. I take this opportunity of thanking him for bringing the matter before the Syndics of the University Press and for the interest which he has kindly taken in the progress of the work.

Owing to the pressure of teaching and other duties a considerable time has unfortunately elapsed since the earlier portions of the book were printed. I would therefore respectfully call the reader's attention to the list of Addenda at the end, where references will be found to several important works which have appeared in the meantime.

In a work, such as this, which deals with records preserved in a number of different languages, difficulties necessarily arise with regard to the spelling of proper names. In the representation of Teutonic names the system adopted in my previous books has in general been retained. Any such system is of course open to objections, of the cogency of which I am quite aware; and consequently I have not felt inclined to carry out my scheme with rigid consistency. The same remarks apply to the representation of Greek names—which will doubtless displease many critics. South Slavonic names and words are given according to the usual Croatian orthography.

I cannot attempt here to enumerate the various scholars to whose writings I am indebted. It will be seen that they are many and that much of what I have had to do is in the nature of criticism. One name however, that of Professor Ridgeway, I cannot leave unmentioned, since it is largely to his inspiring influence—by no means through his writings alone—that my interest in these subjects is due.

It remains for me to record my obligations to a number of friends who have generously responded to my requests for information or criticism on various points. In particular I must mention Miss A. C. Paues, Mr A. B. Cook, Dr W. H. R. Rivers, Mr S. A. Cook, Professor J. W. H. Atkins, Professor A. Mawer, Mr E. H. Minns and Mr F. W. Green. Above all I am indebted to Mr E. C. Quiggin and Mr F. G. M. Beck, who have most kindly read through a considerable part of the book in proof and several chapters even in manuscript. It is scarcely necessary to add that in the sections dealing with Celtic history and poetry Mr Quiggin's criticism has been of the greatest value to me. My thanks are due, further, to my pupils, Mr C. A. Scutt, of Clare College, and Mr Bruce Dickins, of Magdalene College, for similar kind services in the proofs of the later chapters. From the staff of the University Library—in particular I must mention Mr A. Rogers and Mr O. Johnson—I have received the same unfailing and courteous attention as in the past. Lastly, I have to thank the Syndics of the University Press for undertaking the publication of the book and the staff for the efficient and obliging way in which the printing and corrections have been carried out.

H. M. C.
December, 1911.

CONTENTS

NOTES.

MAPS.

TO

JAMES RENDEL HARRIS

IN GRATITUDE AND FRIENDSHIP

CHAPTER I.
THE EARLY NARRATIVE POETRY OF THE TEUTONIC PEOPLES.

The remains of English poetry which have come down to us from times anterior to the Norman conquest are mainly of a religious character and deal with the lives of saints or with subjects derived from the Bible or ecclesiastical tradition. The secular poems are comparatively few in number and, with one exception, of inconsiderable length. Most of them are narrative poems, and admit of a very obvious classification according to the choice of subjects with which they are concerned. One group deals with the exploits of English kings and noblemen of the tenth century, the other with the exploits and adventures of persons who did not belong to this country. We will take the second group of poems first, as it is admitted by all authorities to be the earlier of the two.

The longest poem of this class is Beowulf, an epic of 3183 verses, the subject of which briefly is as follows: Hrothgar, king of the Danes, has built a splendid hall, but is unable to enjoy the use of it on account of the ravages of a monster named Grendel, who attacks the hall by night and devours all whom he finds there. Beowulf, a nephew of Hygelac, king of the Geatas, hearing of Hrothgar's distress comes to his help and destroys first the monster himself and then his mother who had come to exact vengeance. He is thanked and rewarded for his exploits by Hrothgar, and returns to his own home. After this a long period is supposed to elapse. Hygelac has perished in an expedition against the Frisians, and his son Heardred has been slain by the Swedes. Beowulf has succeeded to the throne and reigned many years. In his old age he resolves to attack a dragon which is ravaging the land, and in spite of the cowardice of his followers, of whom all except one forsake him, he eventually succeeds in destroying it, though not before he has himself received a mortal wound. The poem ends with an account of his funeral.

The action is interrupted a good many times by references to incidents in the history of the royal families of the Danes and the Geatas, particularly to Hygelac's fatal expedition and to the dealings of his family with the Swedish kings Ongentheow, Onela and Eadgils. We find also a number of allusions to heroes of the past such as Sigemund, Eormenric, Finn and Offa, who are known to us from other sources.

To the same class of poetry belong some fragments dealing with the stories of Finn and Waldhere. The fragment relating to Finn is very obscure and indeed would be quite unintelligible were it not for a passage in Beowulf (vv. 1068-1159) where the same story is introduced as the subject of a recitation by Hrothgar's minstrel. A certain Hnaef, represented as a vassal of Healfdene, Hrothgar's father, was slain in a fortress belonging to Finn, king of the Frisians. His followers made so brave a defence that Finn was compelled to come to terms with them. Subsequently, when an opportunity presented itself they took vengeance upon Finn and slew him. The fragment gives an account of the fighting which took place, probably in the encounter immediately after Hnaef's death.

The story of Waldhere is well known from German sources which we shall have to mention presently. One of the fragments is taken up by an altercation between Waldhere and the Burgundian king Guthhere, before they begin to fight, while the other contains an exhortation to Waldhere by the lady to acquit himself bravely.

Widsith, though not an epic poem itself, refers to a large number of the characters which figure in Beowulf, Finn and Waldhere. It is stated that the poet was in the service of a certain Eadgils, prince of the Myrgingas, and that in company with Ealhhild, apparently a princess of the same family, he visited the court of the Gothic king Eormenric. The greater part of the poem is taken up with lists of peoples which he had visited and of famous princes whom he knew personally or by report.

The elegy of Deor consists of a number of brief notices of misfortunes which had befallen various persons, Weland and Beaduhild, Geat, Theodric and the subjects of Eormenric. Each notice ends with a refrain expressing the belief or hope that the poet will be able to survive his misfortunes as they did. At the end he says that he had been the bard of the Heodeningas, but that his office had been taken away from him and given to a skilful minstrel named Heorrenda.

In a later chapter we shall have to discuss the question when these poems were composed. At present it will be enough to remark that though the MSS. in which they are preserved date only from the tenth or eleventh centuries almost all scholars agree that the poems themselves cannot be later than the eighth century, while probably the majority would refer their composition, in part at least to the seventh. In their present form they cannot be earlier than this, for with the exception of the Finn-fragment all of them contain Christian allusions.

The later group of secular narrative poems may best be described as historical. The earliest of them celebrates the battle of Brunanburh won by Aethelstan in 937 over the Scottish king Constantine II and his Scandinavian allies. Others describe Edmund's conquest of the Five Boroughs, the coronation of Edgar, the glories of his reign, the troubles which followed, and lastly the death of Edward the Confessor. The longest of all is a detailed account of the disastrous battle of Maldon, in which Byrhtnoth, earl of Essex, lost his life. All these pieces except the last are found inserted in texts of the Saxon Chronicle and all without exception appear to have been composed soon after the events which they commemorate.

In addition to the above there are a number of other short poems which are not essentially of a religious character. The most important of these are the Wanderer, the Wife's Complaint, the Husband's Message and the Ruin—to which we may perhaps add the first half of the Seafarer. They are probably all of fairly early date, but they differ from the poems we have been discussing in the fact that they contain no proper names. Those of them which can be called narrative deal apparently with typical characters or situations. A certain amount of magical and gnomic poetry has also survived, while metrical riddles are numerous, but these need not concern us here.

It is scarcely open to doubt that a large amount of Anglo-Saxon narrative poetry has perished. Several historical poems and ballads of the tenth and eleventh centuries, now lost, can be traced in texts of the Saxon Chronicle and in Latin works[1]. Attempts have been made also to show that narrative poems were used by the compilers of the early part of the Chronicle and by several Latin histories referring to the same period, but the evidence adduced is very doubtful. Perhaps the most likely case is the story of Hengest and Horsa, especially in the form in which it appears in the Historia Brittonum. On the other hand it is probable that parts of the Vitae Duorum Offarum, a St Albans work dating from the beginning of the thirteenth century, are derived ultimately from poems which described Offa's single combat and marriage—incidents to which we find brief references in Widsith and Beowulf respectively. A similar origin may perhaps be claimed for Walter Map's story (De Nugis Curialium, II 17) of Gado (Wada). A few corrupt verses of a poem on this subject, obviously of late date, have been preserved in a Latin homily[2].

The earlier and later groups of narrative poems have in general[3] the same metrical form and on the whole a very similar terminology. The love of battle-scenes is also common to both. In other respects however they differ greatly. Here we need only notice the entire difference in subject-matter; the poems of the second group contain no allusion to the subjects of the first. Much greater changes however, both in form and matter, are noticeable when English poetry reappears in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The majority of these poems are of French origin. But even when the scene is laid in England, the subjects are usually drawn from written sources—which is certainly not the case with the historical poems of the tenth century. To the subjects of the earlier group of Anglo-Saxon poems there is scarcely a reference.

The period of German literature which corresponds chronologically to the Anglo-Saxon period in England is far inferior to the latter in remains of secular narrative poetry. We possess only one fragment of a poem somewhat similar to the Finn-fragment, preserved in a MS. dating from about 800, and one poem of somewhat later date, celebrating a victory of Ludwig III, king of the West Franks. To these we may add three or four very short metrical charms, similar to the Anglo-Saxon magical pieces mentioned above.

The subject of the first of these poems is as follows: Hildebrand (Hiltibrant) is an old warrior who has left his country with Dietrich (Theotrih) and served with the Huns. On his return from exile, thirty years later, he is challenged by a young warrior named Hadubrand. In the altercation with which the piece opens Hildebrand discovers that his opponent is his own son, acquaints him with the fact and tries to dissuade him from the combat with offers of rich presents. But the young man refuses to believe him, and taunts him with cowardice and guile in trying to put him off his guard. Hildebrand is therefore obliged to fight, and the fragment comes to an end in the midst of the encounter.

The Ludwigslied is a poem of fifty-nine verses celebrating the praises of Ludwig III, with special reference to his victory over the Northmen at Saucourt in 881, and seems to have been composed before the king's death in the following year. It is not in the old Teutonic alliterative metre which we find in Anglo-Saxon poetry and in the Hildebrandslied, but in the later rhyming verse. The religious element is prominent throughout.

There is no doubt that a considerable amount of secular narrative poetry once existed in German. Einhard in his Life of Charlemagne (cap. 29) states that the emperor collected native and very ancient poems in which were related the deeds and battles of kings of former times[4]. But during the following centuries poetry of this kind seems to have gone entirely out of favour among the higher classes. We do indeed find occasional references to such poems in later Latin works. In particular the Annals of Quedlinburg have incorporated from them a number of notices relating to Eormenric, Theodric (Thideric de Berne) and other heroes of antiquity. But here it is expressly stated that it was among the peasants (rustici) that these poems were known. Other Latin chronicles cite lost poems relating to persons and events of the tenth century, which may have been somewhat similar to the contemporary Anglo-Saxon poems, though generally they appear to have been of a less serious character.

Some compensation for the loss of early German poetry is afforded by the preservation of a few Latin poems, of which the most important is Waltharius manu fortis, composed probably about 930 by Ekkehard of St Gall. The subject is the same as that of the Anglo-Saxon Waldhere fragments. Waltharius and Hiltgund, the son and daughter respectively of two princes in Gaul, were betrothed in their childhood, but had to be given up as hostages to Attila, king of the Huns. After many years they escaped and carried off with them much treasure. Hearing of this, King Guntharius, who dwelt at Worms, determined to waylay them and set out with twelve warriors, among them the brave Hagano who had formerly shared Waltharius' exile. Waltharius is overtaken in a defile of the Vosges and slays eleven of the warriors in single combat. In his final encounter with Hagano and Guntharius all three are crippled, but Waltharius is able to make his way home with Hiltgund. There are other poems, one of which combines German with Latin in each verse, celebrating the deeds of the contemporary Saxon emperors and their relatives.

The second period of German literature, beginning in the twelfth century, is incomparably superior to the first in the amount of secular narrative poetry which it has left behind. Here we need only concern ourselves with those poems which draw their subjects from ancient native traditions. These are mostly anonymous and come from the southern districts, especially Austria and Bavaria. Their metrical form is modern and similar to that of other poetry of the same period. The best known of these poems is the Nibelungenlied, which dates from the beginning of the thirteenth century. Only a very brief résumé of its contents can be given here.

Siegfried (Sîvrit), the son of Siegmund, comes from Xanten to Worms and asks for the hand of Kriemhild, the sister of the Burgundian king Gunther. He joins Gunther in his campaigns and by magical arts enables him to win the amazon Brünhild (Prünhilt) for his bride. The two wives quarrel, and Brünhild learns from Kriemhild of the part played by Siegfried towards her. On hearing this she begins to long for his death, and eventually he is murdered at a hunting party by Hagen (Hagene), the chief of Gunther's knights. Hagen also deprives Kriemhild of Siegfried's treasure (der Nibelunge hort) and sinks it in the Rhine. Kriemhild is afterwards married to Etzel, king of the Huns and, burning for vengeance, persuades him to invite Gunther on a visit, together with his brothers Gernot and Giselher and also Hagen. Soon after their arrival she brings about a quarrel, and after a huge slaughter on both sides, Gunther and Hagen, who have lost all their men, are captured by Dietrich von Bern, Etzel's vassal. Kriemhild puts them to death, violating the oath which she had given to spare them, and in anger at this treachery Hildebrand, Dietrich's old retainer, slays her.

Closely connected in subject with the Nibelungenlied is the Klage, which describes the funeral of those slain in the fighting with Gunther and the lamentation over them. Here too we may notice the Seyfridslied, though in the form in which it has come down to us it belongs to a much later period. In reality it is clearly a combination of two different ballads, both of which deal with Siegfried's early years. The first relates how he was brought up by a smith and slew a dragon. The second gives an account of another similar adventure—this time with a fiery dragon which had carried off Kriemhild from her father's home. Siegfried kills the dragon and at the same time takes possession of the treasure of certain dwarfs, the sons of Nybling.

A number of other medieval poems deal with the adventures of Dietrich von Bern and his knights. Alpharts Tod tells the story of the young knight Alphart, Hildebrand's nephew, and his encounter with two of Ermenrich's warriors named Witege and Heime, by the former of whom he was treacherously slain. Dietrichs Flucht relates how Ermenrich (Ermrich) was instigated by an evil counseller named Sibeche to plot destruction for his nephew Dietrich. Though the plot fails, Hildebrand and several of Dietrich's other knights are captured and imprisoned, and in order to obtain their release Dietrich is forced to go into exile. In the Rabenschlacht we are told how Dietrich with the help of Etzel set out to recover his inheritance. While he is engaged in battle with Ermenrich, his brother Diether and two young sons of Etzel are slain by Witege. Dietrich rides after Witege to exact vengeance, but Witege disappears in the sea. Virginal describes how Dietrich was imprisoned by a giant in a castle called Muter and rescued by Hildebrand, Witege, Heime and others. Further adventures with giants and dwarfs are related in the Eckenlied, Sigenot and Laurin. In the Rosengarten Dietrich is made to fight with Siegfried.

The story of Wolfdietrich and Ortnit has come down to us in several different forms, but the outline may be given briefly as follows. Wolfdietrich, the son of king Hugdietrich, is kept out of his inheritance by his brothers or their guardian Saben on the ground of illegitimacy. He betakes himself to a faithful old knight, Berchtung of Meran, who raises an army to help him. But in the battle that ensues Berchtung and his sons are all slain or captured, and Wolfdietrich has to go into exile. He then marries the widow of a king named Ortnit and destroys the dragon which had killed him. Eventually he succeeds in winning his father's kingdom and releasing his faithful followers. Some elements of this story appear to have been incorporated in the romance of King Rother.

The story of the poem Kûdrûn falls naturally into two parts. In the first Hetel (Hetele), king of Denmark, hears of Hilde, a princess of Ireland and desires to marry her. As her father, the fierce Hagen, will not consent, Hetel's warriors Wate, Fruote and Hôrand carry her off. Hagen pursues them to Denmark, but in the fight which follows he is nearly killed by Wate. Finally a reconciliation takes place and Hilde is allowed to marry Hetel. In the second part Hartmuot and Herwig are suitors for Kûdrûn, the daughter of Hetel and Hilde. The latter is at length accepted, but Kûdrûn is carried off by Hartmuot and his father Ludwig (Ludewîc). A pursuit follows and Hetel is killed by Ludwig. Kûdrûn is kept at Hartmuot's home for seven years, harshly treated by his mother Gerlind, because she will not consent to become his wife. At last Herwig and her brother Ortwîn with the warriors Wate, Fruote and Hôrand come and rescue her. Ludwig is killed but Hartmuot is spared at Kûdrûn's intercession.

In conclusion mention must be made of some fragments of a poem dealing with Walther and Hildegund. The subject seems to have been identical with that of Ekkehard's Waltharius. Reminiscences of other ancient stories are occasionally to be found in poems of a romantic character. Among these we may note especially the poem Herzog Friedrich von Schwaben, a portion of which seems to be derived from the story of Weland.

The North German dialects have no poetry of this type, except a few ballads dating from much later times, of which the most important is one on Eormenric's death. But a great mass of legend, derived chiefly from North German sources, is preserved in the Norse work Thiðreks Saga af Bern, which dates from about the middle of the thirteenth century. The characters are for the most part identical with those which figure in the High German epics, Dietrich von Bern, Ermenrich, Witege, Walther, Siegfried etc. Traces of poems of much earlier date have been sought in several Latin chronicles. Besides the references in the Annals of Quedlinburg, to which we have already alluded, mention may be made of the Saxon stories given by Widukind and the Translatio S. Alexandri, especially that of the victory over the Thuringian king Irminfrith.

The vernacular poetry of the Langobardi has entirely perished, but a number of stories given by the Latin historians are thought to be based on early poems. The first and most striking of these is the account of the battle with the Vandals, in which the two armies appeal for victory to Wodan and Fria respectively[5]. A similar origin has been claimed for several other narratives, such as that of Alboin's visit to Turisind, king of the Gepidae, and more especially the story of Authari and Theudelinda[6].

The Gothic historian Jordanes states (cap. 5) that his compatriots were wont to celebrate the deeds of their famous men in poetry, and it is probable that many of the legends which he gives were ultimately derived from such poems. Among them we may include not only the story of Filimer and the migration to the Black Sea (cap. 4)—in which case ancient poems are expressly mentioned—but also perhaps that of the first migration under Berig (ib.) and some part of the account of Ostrogotha (cap. 16 f.), as well as the incidental reference to Vidigoia's death (cap. 34). In the story of Hermanaricus also several incidents, notably the death of Sunilda and the vengeance subsequently exacted by her brothers Sarus and Ammius (cap. 24), suggest a tradition preserved in poetic form.

No Scandinavian country except Iceland[7] has preserved any early poems in its native language. The ancient literature of Iceland however is peculiarly rich in secular narrative poetry. Moreover though the earliest of these poems are probably quite two centuries later than Beowulf, they are entirely free from Christian influence. Indeed it can hardly be doubted that a considerable proportion of them date from heathen times.

It will be convenient to begin with the collection of poems usually known as the Older Edda. These are all anonymous; but most of them are generally believed to belong to the tenth century, while a few may really have been composed in Norway at a still earlier date. Eleven of these poems deal exclusively, or almost exclusively, with gods, giants and other supernatural beings, and hence stand quite apart from the class of poetry with which we are concerned. But since we shall have to refer to them occasionally in the following pages it will be convenient here to give a brief synopsis of their contents.

Völuspá is a mythological poem in the form of a speech delivered to the god Othin by a sibyl whom he is consulting. It deals with the origin of the world, the history of the gods and their coming fate. Hávamál is a collection of proverbial wisdom and moral precepts of the heathen age, with occasional references to myth and ritual. Vafþrúðnismál describes how Othin visited the giant Vafþrúðnir and entered into a contest with him in mythological lore. The subject of Grímnismál is a visit paid by Othin in disguise to a king named Geirröðr, who tortures him. Othin gives a long discourse on mythological matters and finally reveals himself, whereupon the king stumbles over his sword and dies. Skírnismál relates how Skírnir, the servant of the god Frey, was sent to obtain for his master the hand of the giantess Gerðr, of whom he had become passionately enamoured. Hárbarðslióð is taken up with an altercation between the god Thor and a ferryman called Hárbarðr (generally supposed to be Othin), who refuses to take him over a strait. Hýmiskviða gives an account of Thor's adventures when he went to visit the giant Hýmir. Lokasenna is occupied with a number of scandalous charges brought by Loki against various gods and goddesses who have been invited to a feast by Aegir. Thrymskviða relates how the giant Thrymr, having obtained possession of Thor's hammer, demanded the goddess Freyia as his bride, and how Thor came disguised as Freyia and slew the giant. Alvíssmál is a dialogue between Thor and the dwarf Alvíss, who is a suitor for his daughter. Thor detains the dwarf with questions on the various names of natural objects and phenomena until the fatal moment of daybreak. Vegtamskviða describes how Othin went to consult a sibyl on the impending fate of Balder.

In addition to these pieces, all of which probably come from one collection, there are two semi-mythical poems contained in other works. Rígsmál or Rígsþula relates how a certain Rígr (identified in the introduction with the god Heimdallr) became the progenitor of the three classes of men—the characteristics of which are described at length. Hyndlulióð is mainly a genealogical poem, narrating how Freyia went to consult the giantess Hyndla as to the ancestry of her devotee, Óttarr the son of Innsteinn. It contains also some purely mythological matter which is generally supposed to have come from a separate poem. Here also we may mention two pieces known as Grógaldr and Fiölsvinnsmál, which clearly belong together. In the former Svipdagr calls up the spirit of Gróa, his mother; in the latter he comes to the enchanted abode of Menglöð and, after many questions with the gatekeeper, is at length recognised as her destined lover. In much later times we find Swedish and Danish versions of the same story, and there can be little doubt that it is really a folk-tale.

The purely mythological poems of the Edda are followed by Völundarkviða, which gives a fairly full account of the story of Völundr (Weland). It describes how Völundr and his brothers obtained as their wives three swan-maidens, who after eight years deserted them. Then Völundr is captured by a king named Níðuðr, hamstrung and compelled to work as his smith. Völundr executes vengeance on the king's sons and daughter (Böðvildr) and then flies away.

The next poem, Helgakviða Hiörvarðssonar, gives in dialogue form a somewhat complicated story of the adventures of a king named Hiörvarðr and his son Helgi. A different Helgi, the son of Sigmundr, is the subject of the two following poems, Helgakviður Hundingsbana. Both poems relate how the hero overthrew a king named Hundingr and how he was afterwards summoned by Sigrún, the daughter of Högni, to save her from marriage to a prince named Höðbroddr, whom she detested. The first poem ends with Helgi's victory over Högni and Höðbroddr; but the second goes on to describe how Dagr, the son of Högni, subsequently slew Helgi in revenge for his father. Sinfiötli, the son of Sigmundr, figures in both poems, but Sigurðr is not mentioned.

The next poem, Grípisspá, probably a late work, gives a summary of the adventures of Sigurðr, the son of Sigmundr, in the form of a dialogue between the hero and his uncle Grípir, who is endowed with prophecy. This is followed by three pieces which may really be parts of one original poem. The first (commonly called Reginsmál) relates how three of the gods, Othin, Hoenir and Loki, killed a certain Otr, the son of Hreiðmarr. Having to pay compensation to the father, Loki robbed a dwarf, named Andvari, of his gold. Andvari laid a curse on the gold, and Hreiðmarr was soon killed by his own son Fáfnir, who subsequently turned into a serpent.[8] Reginn, Fáfnir's brother, betook himself to Sigurðr and became his attendant. The poem then goes on to describe how a certain Hnikarr (Othin) guided Sigurðr on an expedition he undertook against the sons of Hundingr. In the next piece (Fáfnismál) Sigurðr at Reginn's instigation attacks and kills Fáfnir. Then, finding that Reginn is plotting treachery, he slays him also and carries off Fáfnir's gold. In the third (Sigrdrífumál) Sigurðr finds and wakens a maid named Sigrdrífa, a valkyrie who has been punished by Othin with an enchanted sleep. She imparts to him much magical lore; but the close of the poem is lost owing to a lacuna in the MS.

Of the following nine poems six—Sigurðarkviða I (a fragment), Guðrúnarkviða I, Sigurðarkviða II (hin skamma), Guðrúnarkviða II (hin forna), Atlakviða and Atlamál—deal with practically the same events as the Nibelungenlied. But unfortunately, owing to the lacuna in the MS. several poems at the beginning of the series have been lost. Hence in order to obtain a full account of the story it is necessary to refer to the Völsunga Saga (see below), which used the lost poems as well as the others.

The chief variations from the German version of the story are as follows: (i) Sigmundr has been killed before the birth of Sigurðr (Siegfried) by the sons of Hundingr. (ii) The wife of Sigurðr is called Guðrún, Grímhildr being the name of her mother and Giúki that of her father. (iii) Brynhildr is the sister of Atli (Etzel). In several authorities[9] she is identified with the valkyrie of Sigrdrífumál, and it is stated that she and Sigurðr had exchanged vows of love; but Sigurðr's love was subsequently turned to Guðrún through a magic potion given him by Grímhildr. (iv) Högni (Hagen) is the brother of Gunnarr (Gunther); and in place of Gernôt and Gîselher there is another brother named Guthormr. It is the last-named who actually kills Sigurðr, and he is himself killed by the dying man. Brynhildr then puts herself to death and is burned with Sigurðr. (v) The death of Gunnarr and Högni is attributed to Atli. Guðrún on the other hand warns her brothers of the treachery awaiting them, and subsequently avenges their deaths by killing Atli and the children he had had by her.

Interspersed among these poems are three others connected with the same story, but dealing with incidents unknown to the German version. The Helreið Brynhildar describes how Brynhildr on her way to Hell encounters a giantess, to whom she tells the story of her life. Guðrúnarkviða III relates how Guðrún was accused to Atli of adultery with Thióðrekr, but established her innocence by the ordeal. In Oddrúnargrátr a sister of Atli named Oddrún comes to Borgný, the daughter of a certain Heiðrekr, to relieve her in her travail, and gives an account of the relations between herself, Brynhildr and Gunnarr.

The last two poems—Guðrúnarhvöt and Hamðismál—are concerned with the story of the attack upon Iörmunrekr (Hermanaricus), to Jordanes' account of which we have already alluded (p. [10]). Here the story is connected with the preceding poems[10] by the fact that Svanhildr (Sunilda) is represented as the daughter of Guðrún and Sigurðr, while Hamðir and Sörli (Ammius and Sarus) are said to be the sons of Guðrún and a certain Iónakr, whom she had married after Atli's death. In the first poem Guðrún incites her sons to avenge their sister and then bewails her many misfortunes. The second describes the actual fighting, preceded however by the account of a quarrel in which Erpr, a stepson of Guðrún, is killed by his half-brothers. To his death is attributed the fact that Iörmunrekr, was able to survive the onslaught, though he lost both hands and both feet.

The prose Edda (Skaldskaparmál, cap. 43) contains a poem, Grottasöngr, which gives the story of two giant maidens who had to grind gold and peace for the Danish king Fróði. At the end there is an allusion to Halfdan and Hrólfr Kraki (see below). Besides this we have, both in the prose Edda and elsewhere, a number of fragments of poems, some of which refer to Sigurðr and his family and some to other stories. Among the latter mention may be made especially of a poem Biarkamál, which celebrated the achievements of the Danish king Hrólfr Kraki and the heroism of his retinue in the battle wherein he lost his life. In Hervarar Saga large portions of an early poem relating to the Goths and Huns have been preserved.

In addition to the poems enumerated above, all of which are anonymous, we have also a number of works by known poets. Most of these deal either wholly or in part with contemporary persons and events. The earliest date from the ninth century and are of Norwegian origin. Probably the oldest of all are the fragments of Bragi Boddason, the chief of which is a description of his shield (Ragnarsdrápa). From the reign of Harold the Fair-haired several poems are known, though nearly all of them are in a very fragmentary condition. Among them may be mentioned especially the Ynglingatal of Thióðolfr of Hvín, a genealogical poem which traces the descent of Rögnvaldr, a cousin of Harold, from the ancient kings of the Swedes and the god Frey. Another famous work by the same poet was the Haustlöng, which dealt with mythological subjects. Next perhaps in importance to Thióðolfr was Thórbiörn Hornklofi, from whom we have fragments of two poems (Hrafnsmál and Glymdrápa), celebrating the exploits of Harold. Somewhat later we hear of a poet named Goððormr Sindri, who is known chiefly from the remains of a work (Hákonardrápa) in honour of Haakon I. A famous fragment (Eireksmál) by an unknown poet, dating from shortly after the middle of the tenth century, celebrates the death of King Eiríkr Blóðöx and his reception by Othin in Valhalla. From this is copied the Hákonarmál of Eyvindr Skaldaspillir, celebrating the death of Haakon I at the battle of Fitje (A.D. 961). The same poet also composed a genealogical poem (Háleygiatal) in imitation of Ynglingatal. In it he traced the ancestry of Haakon, earl of Lade, who ruled Norway from about 975 to 995, back through the kings of Hálogaland to Othin and Skaði.

From this time onwards the cultivation of poetry seems to have been almost entirely limited to Icelanders, many of whom resided largely at the courts of various Scandinavian kings. Among them the most noteworthy and almost the earliest was Egill Skallagrímsson, who lived from about 900 to 982. He is known chiefly from the Höfuðlausn, composed for Eiríkr Blóðöx in England, the Arinbiarnardrápa, in honour of his friend Arinbiörn, and the Sonatorrek, an elegy over one of his sons. Of his younger contemporaries perhaps the best known are Kormakr Ögmundarson and Einarr Helgason. The latter is famous chiefly for his poem Vellekla, in which he celebrated the exploits of Earl Haakon. Many other distinguished poets flourished during the following half century—down to the time of Harold III (Harðráði)—but it is not necessary here to discuss their works.

By the time of Harold III the composition of prose narratives or sagas (sögur) had already begun to be cultivated by Icelanders, though it was not until towards the end of the following century that they were first committed to writing. Many sagas are based on old narrative poems; as for instance Ynglinga Saga, which is largely a paraphrase and expansion of Ynglingatal. Völsunga Saga, which gives the stories of Helgi, Sigurðr, Guðrún and Svanhildr, is derived mainly from the poems of the Edda, though it has used other materials. The earlier part, dealing with Sigmundr and his ancestors seems to have drawn upon some lost poems. In Sörla Tháttr[11] we meet with a story—found also in the prose Edda (Skaldsk. 50) and alluded to in Bragi's Ragnarsdrápa—which is clearly connected with that of the first part of the German poem Kûdrûn. Hildr, the daughter of Högni, is carried off in her father's absence by his friend Heðinn. They are overtaken and a battle follows, in which all the combatants are killed. Hildr by magic spells rouses the slain each night to renew the battle. In Hrólfs Saga Kraka we have an account of the Danish kings Helgi and Hróarr, the sons of Halfdan, and of Helgi's son, Hrólfr Kraki, which seems to be derived ultimately from old poems like Biarkamál. Certain incidents in the story, such as Hrólfr's dealings with the Swedish king Aðils, are related also in other sagas. The same characters figured prominently in Skiöldunga Saga, of which we have little except an abridged Latin translation. This saga also related at length the stories of Haraldr Hilditönn, Sigurðr Hringr and Ragnarr Loðbrók, parts of which are known also from other sources, especially Ragnars Saga Loðbrókar and the Tháttr af Loðbrókar sonum.

Among Latin authorities the most important is the great Danish History (Gesta Danorum) of Saxo Grammaticus, which dates from the end of the twelfth century and contains metrical translations or paraphrases of many old poems. Of these perhaps the most noteworthy are the Biarkamál and some of the poems attributed to Starkaðr (Starcatherus), particularly those addressed to Ingialdr (Ingellus). Here also we find a detailed account of the tragic story of Hagbarðr and Signý, which is very frequently alluded to in Old Norse poetry. Hagbarðr belonged to a family which was involved in vendetta with the Danish king Sigarr. But having fallen in love with Signý, the king's daughter, he visited her disguised as a woman—an adventure which ended in his being discovered and condemned to death. Signý and all her maidens destroyed themselves when he was led to the gallows. Many other stories are given entirely in prose, among them those of Heðinn and Högni, Iörmunrekr and Helgi Hundingsbani, though no mention is made of Sigmundr or Sigurðr. The adventures also of Haraldr Hilditönn and Ragnarr Loðbrók are related at considerable length. Lastly, we may mention a story which is not recorded by any Icelandic authority, namely that of the single combat fought by Uffo the son of Wermundus. It deserves notice here on account of its obvious identity with the English story of Offa.

In the course of this chapter we have reviewed briefly the secular narrative poetry produced by the various Teutonic peoples down to the end of the tenth century. In the case of works by historical Norwegian and Icelandic poets, owing to the abundance of material, we have restricted ourselves to mentioning only the leading names. Elsewhere we have endeavoured to give a more or less complete summary. On the other hand, among works dating from later than the tenth century, we have taken into consideration only those which are concerned with stories of ancient times. The stories themselves will be discussed in the following chapters.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Cf. Brandl in Paul's Grundriss d. germ. Philol.², II pp. 1083 ff., 1087 f.

[2] Academy, 1896, I 137; cf. Brandl, op. cit., p. 1085.

[3] This remark applies more especially to the poems on Brunanburh and Maldon in the later group.

[4] Saxo Poeta, who wrote about 890, speaks of uulgaria carmina which celebrated Pippinos Carolos Hludowicos et Theodricos et Carlomannos Hlothariosque (Mon. Germ., Script. I 268). But it is usually held that these words are due to a mistaken inference from Einhard, whose work he was using.

[5] Origo Gentis Langobardorum (Mon. Germ., Script. Rerum Langobard., p. 2 f.); Paulus Diaconus, Hist. Lang. I 8.

[6] Cf. Kögel, Geschichte d. deutschen Litteratur, I p. 115 ff.

[7] The poems were not all composed in Iceland. Many of the earliest doubtless came from Norway, others perhaps from the British Isles, while others again are referred to Greenland.

[8] Called a dragon (dreki) in Völsunga Saga.

[9] Helreið Brynh. (str. 7 ff.) and the prose versions (Skaldsk. 41, Völs. S. 20). It is a much debated question whether the two are identified also in Fáfnismál, str. 40 ff. In Grípisspá they seem clearly to be separated.

[10] The death of Svanhildr is mentioned also in Sigurðarkviða II, where it is attributed (as in the prose authorities) to the evil counsel of a certain Bikki, an adviser of Iörmunrekr.

[11] Fornaldar Sögur Norðrlanda, I p. 391 ff.

CHAPTER II.
THE HEROIC AGE OF THE TEUTONIC PEOPLES.

It will not have escaped notice that a large proportion of the stories described or alluded to in the preceding chapter are found in the literature of more than one nation. The most casual reader could not fail to observe the identity of the story of Sigurðr and Guðrún, as given in the Edda and Völsunga Saga, with that of Siegfried and Kriemhild related in the Nibelungenlied. Equally obvious is the connection between the story of Iörmunrekr and Svanhildr in the same Scandinavian authorities and that of Hermanaricus and Sunilda given by Jordanes. A still closer resemblance is furnished by the Anglo-Saxon poem Waldhere and the German-Latin Waltharius. The connection between the German poem Kûdrûn and the Scandinavian story of Heðinn and Högni is perhaps less striking, but not open to question. The brief references to the story of Weland and Beaduhild in the Anglo-Saxon poem Deor are quite sufficient to prove its substantial identity with that told in Völundarkviða.

In other cases the same characters appear, though the incidents related are different. Eormenric (Ermenrich) is a prominent figure in Anglo-Saxon and German poetry, as well as in Scandinavian and Gothic records. The Wudga and Hama of Widsith (Waldhere and Beowulf) and the Theodric of Waldhere are clearly identical with the Witege, Heime and Dietrich von Bern of the German epics, while Theodric figures also, though not prominently, in the Edda. Of all the Edda poems[12] those which show the least connection with non-Scandinavian poetry are the three Helgakviður. Yet Sinfiötli, as well as Sigmundr, is mentioned in Beowulf (under the form Fitela) and there are traces that his name was once known in Germany.

We may observe that in Beowulf it is only the persons mentioned in casual references and in episodes lying outside the main action of the story, such as Sigemund, Eormenric, Hama and Weland, to whom we find allusions in German poetry. On the other hand most of the chief characters of the poem are well known from Scandinavian records, though not in connection with precisely the same incidents. There is no doubt as to the identity of the Danish kings Healfdene, his sons Hrothgar and Halga, and Hrothwulf the nephew and colleague of Hrothgar, with Halfdan, his sons Hróarr and Helgi and Helgi's son, the famous Hrólfr Kraki—all likewise kings of the Danes. Equally obvious is the identity of the Swedish prince Eadgils the son of Ohthere with Aðils the son of Óttarr in Ynglingatal, while his uncle and opponent Onela is clearly the same person as Aðils' opponent Áli, although the latter is represented as a Norwegian in Old Norse literature. Further, the episode in which Ingeld is incited by an old warrior to avenge his father Froda is evidently to be connected with certain poems given by Saxo, in which the old warrior Starcatherus rouses Ingellus to avenge his father Frotho. Among other persons mentioned in the poem Scyld is doubtless to be identified with the Skiöldr of Scandinavian tradition; probably also Heremod with the Hermóðr of Hyndlulióð and Weoxtan with the Vésteinn of the Kalfsvísa[13]. To the identification of Beowulf himself with the Biarki of Scandinavian tradition, which is doubted by some scholars, we shall have to return later.

The characters of the Finn fragment are much less easy to trace elsewhere. Two of Hnaef's warriors named Ordlaf and Guthlaf are probably to be identified with two Danish princes, Oddlevus and Gunnlevus, mentioned in Skiöldunga Saga; but there is nothing to show that Sigeferth is identical with Sigurðr the son of Sigmundr. In Widsith however we find a large number of persons who are well known from Continental and Scandinavian authorities. Besides Eormenric, Wudga, Hama, Offa, Hrothgar, Hrothwulf and Ingeld, of whom we have already spoken, we hear of Aetla, king of the Huns (Atli, Etzel), Guthhere and Gifeca, kings of the Burgundians (i.e. the Gunnarr and Giúki of the Edda), and Sigehere, king of the Danes (i.e. probably Sigarr, the father of Signý), as well as the Goths Eastgota the father of Unwine (i.e. Jordanes' Ostrogotha the father of Hunwil), Becca (probably Bikki, the evil counsellor of Iörmunrekr) and the Herelingas, Emerca and Fridla, who are doubtless to be identified with the Embrica and Fritla, nephews of Eormenric, mentioned in the Annals of Quedlinburg and elsewhere. It is more than probable also that in v. 21: "Hagena ruled the Holmryge and Heoden (MS. Henden) the Glommas," we have an allusion to the story of Heðinn and Högni (the Hetel and Hagen of Kûdrûn). We may compare a passage of Deor (v. 35 ff.) which tells of a skilful minstrel of the Heodeningas named Heorrenda, presumably the Hôrand of the German poem.

These instances, though far from exhaustive, will be sufficient to show that the same characters recur again and again in the early narrative poetry of the various Teutonic peoples. In the last nineteen poems of the Older Edda (viz. those which deal with human beings) there is but one (Helgakviða Hiörvarðssonar) which introduces no characters known elsewhere. Among the early Anglo-Saxon poems treated on p. [1] ff. we find no such case, and the same is probably true of the German poems discussed on pp. [5], [7] ff. With the later Anglo-Saxon poems (p. [3]) and the German historical poems of the ninth and following centuries the case is quite otherwise. The exploits of Aethelstan and Byrhtnoth are celebrated only in English poems, those of Ludwig III and other German princes only in the poetry of their own country. So also with the skaldic poems of the North. If these introduce any personal names known in the poetry of England or Germany they are names, like Sigmundr and Hermóðr, derived from earlier poems and not belonging to contemporary persons. Similarly neither English nor German poetry celebrates the deeds of Eiríkr Blóðöx or Haakon the Good.

The phenomena noted above seem to indicate that the poetic cycles with which we have been dealing have a common origin or at least that there was a considerable amount of borrowing between poets of different nations. In order however to be able to form an opinion on this point it is necessary first to consider the following questions: (i) how far the characters and incidents of these poems are to be regarded as historical, (ii) to what period or periods of history they belong. We may note in passing that no doubt need be entertained as to the historical basis of the later group of Anglo-Saxon poems, of German poems such as the Ludwigslied or of the Northern skaldic poems—however much the true facts may be obscured by poetic embellishments.

It is clear enough that some of the characters of the common cycles are historical persons. Thus there can be no doubt that Aetla (Atli, Etzel), king of the Huns, is the famous Hunnish king Attila who died in 453. Again the Burgundian king Guthhere (Gunnarr, Gunther), who plays so prominent a part in the stories of Waldhere and Sigurðr-Siegfried, is clearly identical with the historical Burgundian king Gundicarius (Gundaharius), whose defeat in 435 by the Roman general Aetius is recorded by contemporary writers. Of his end Prosper says only that the Huns destroyed him together with his family and nation[14], and some scholars have denied that Attila had any part in this event[15]. But our knowledge of the course of events on or beyond the Roman frontier at this period is too slight to justify any confident statement on such a point. Of the other members of the Burgundian royal family Gifeca (Giúki) and Gislhere (Giselher) are mentioned in the laws of King Gundobad who died in the year 516[16].

The Gothic king Eormenric (Hermanaricus, Iörmunrekr) is another doubtless historical character. The account of him given by Jordanes seems indeed to be derived from tradition, handed down probably in poetic form; but the statement that he took his own life through fear of the Huns is confirmed by the strictly contemporary writer Ammianus Marcellinus (xxxi. 3. 1), from whom we gather that the event took place shortly after 370. He also states that Eormenric was a most warlike king and feared by the surrounding nations on account of his many brave deeds.

In Dietrich von Bern (the Theodric of Waldhere and the Thióðrekr of the Edda) we certainly have reminiscences of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric who ruled Italy from 489 to 526. The statement in the Hildebrandslied that he fled from the hostility of Ottachar and the story of the Rabenschlacht recall his campaigns with Odoacer, which culminated in the surrender of Ravenna in 493. But it cannot possibly be true that he was present at Attila's court, where we find him in the Edda and in German poetry, much less that he had any dealings with Eormenric. The former mistake is generally attributed to confusion between Dietrich and his father Dietmar (Thiudemer), who is known to have been with Attila. The other error however is more difficult to account for and will require to be discussed later.

It is commonly held that in the poems dealing with Wolfdietrich[17] the hero and his father Hugdietrich represent a confusion of the Frankish kings Theodberht (r. 534-548) and his father Theodric I (r. 511-534). In this case however it must be confessed that the resemblances are extremely slight. The application of the name Hugo Theodoricus to Theodric I in the Annals of Quedlinburg cannot at best prove more than that the chronicler identified the two.

The identification of characters which figure in stories relating to the northern kingdoms is naturally more difficult, since references to such persons by contemporary Roman historians are extremely rare. One safe instance however is furnished by the incident, referred to several times in Beowulf, of Hygelac's disastrous expedition against the Franks and Frisians. Gregory of Tours (III 3) and the Gesta Francorum (cap. 19) mention a very serious raid on the lower Rhine by a king of the Danes named Chocilaicus, which ended in his defeat and death through the arrival of an army under Theodberht. The Liber Monstrorum (I, cap. 3[18]), a work of perhaps the seventh century, states that the bones of a certain Getarum rex Huiglaucus, who had been slain by the Franks, were preserved on an island at the mouth of the Rhine. There can be no question that the person referred to in these passages is the Hygelac of Beowulf. The date of the expedition, though not precisely fixed by any authority, may safely be placed within a few years of 520.

Most of the Danish and Swedish princes common to Beowulf and the Northern authorities are now generally regarded as historical characters, though we have no reference to them in contemporary documents. It is to be noted in the first place that though the persons themselves are common to the two traditions, English and Northern, they are not as a rule mentioned in connection with the same incidents. Further, there is no evidence for communication between England and the Baltic during the seventh and eighth centuries. This renders it probable that the two records go back independently to a time at which persons who remembered Hygelac's younger contemporaries might still be alive.

Lastly a few words must be said with regard to the stories of Haraldr Hilditönn, Sigurðr Hringr and Ragnarr Loðbrók. The sons of Loðbrók are well known from contemporary historical documents through their piratical expeditions, more especially the great invasion of England in 866. Moreover, though the references to Loðbrók himself are rare and doubtful, it is clear enough that the king Ella who is said to have put him to death was the Northumbrian usurper Aella, who reigned from 863 to 867. Loðbrók's father Sigurðr Hringr has been identified with a certain Sigifridus whose conflict with another Danish king named Anulo is recorded in a number of Latin chronicles under the year 812, and Anulo himself with that Óli who is represented as Sigurðr's ally at the battle of Brávík. Lastly, it has been suggested that a reference to Haraldr Hilditönn may quite possibly be preserved in the description of Anulo as nepos Herioldi quondam regis[19]; for according to Saxo (p. [250]) Óli was the son of Haraldr's sister and eventually succeeded him on the Danish throne.

The above identifications[20] are sufficient to show that historical characters are introduced into most of the stories with which we have been dealing. Further—and this is a very remarkable fact—apart from the last cycles embracing Haraldr Hilditönn and Ragnarr Loðbrók, which are entirely confined to Northern literature, all the historical personages whom we have been able to identify belong to a period extending over barely two centuries. Eormenric flourished in the latter half of the fourth century, Attila and the Burgundian kings in the first half of the fifth; Theodric towards the end of the same century and in the first quarter of the sixth. Hygelac again was a contemporary of Theodric; while Wolfdietrich, if he is rightly identified with Theodberht, died in 548. In the stories which form the common themes of English, German and Scandinavian poets we find no mention of historical persons who lived after the middle of the sixth century.

Now it will be clear that the cycles of stories dealing with Ragnarr Loðbrók and his ancestors are really, like the skaldic poems, to be compared with German and English works such as the Ludwigslied and the poem on the battle of Brunanburh. The difference in tone is sufficiently accounted for by the social conditions of the Viking Age, which were wholly different from those which prevailed in the Christian kingdoms.

The statement that the common cycles of tradition mention no historical characters later than about 550 ought perhaps to be qualified in one case. Paulus Diaconus (Hist. Lang. I 27) says that the praises of Alboin, king of the Langobardi, who died in 572 (or 573), were sung by the Saxons, Bavarians and other peoples; and it has been suggested that his account of certain incidents in Alboin's career is derived from poetic sources. Further, we find the generosity of the same king celebrated in the Anglo-Saxon poem Widsith, where he is apparently the latest person mentioned. Hence there is some ground for including him among the characters of common Teutonic poetry—which will involve our extending the lower of the chronological limits fixed above by about twenty years. Yet it is not clear that Alboin figured in any poems which can properly be called narrative, except perhaps among his own people.

On the other hand some of the Gothic heroes recorded by Jordanes, if we are to trust his chronology at all, must be referred to times long anterior to the middle of the fourth century. Apart from Gothic tradition the only mention of any of these persons occurs in a brief passage in Widsith (v. 113 f.): "(I have visited) Eastgota, the wise and good father of Unwine." Now Ostrogotha is brought by Jordanes into connection with the Emperor Philip (v. 244-249). He is mentioned also by Cassiodorus (Var. XI 1) as one of the ancestors of Amalasuintha and as a prince renowned for forbearance (patientia). In spite of his suspicious name what is said of him by Jordanes seems to point to a genuine tradition. But if so, even setting aside both the reference to Philip and the genealogy given by Jordanes in cap. 5, he is probably to be referred to a time anterior to the upper limit fixed above. Into the story of Filimer and the migration we need not enter, as there is no reason for supposing it to be anything but a purely Gothic tradition. The story of the Langobardic victory over the Vandals (cf. p. [10]) is probably of a similar character.

There remain of course a number of stories which contain no names of persons mentioned in contemporary records. The story of Finn is in Beowulf connected, rather loosely, with Healfdene, Hrothgar's father. Hence if the incidents which it relates are to be regarded as historical, they must be dated somewhat earlier, though certainly not more than a century earlier, than Hygelac's expedition. The story of Offa and his father Wermund must be referred to a still earlier period if we are to trust the evidence of the Mercian genealogy in which these persons figure. I have tried elsewhere[21] to show that the Athislus, who in Saxo's version of the story appears as Wermund's enemy, is probably to be identified with the Eadgils prince of the Myrgingas mentioned in Widsith. The latter is represented as the contemporary of Eormenric, and the date thus obtained agrees with that given by the genealogy. The story of Weland, if it contains any historical element, should be placed perhaps slightly further back; for in Waldhere, as well as in many German authorities, including Thiðreks Saga, Weland is said to be the father of Widia (Wudga, Witege). The latter is often associated with Eormenric[22], and there can be little doubt that he is to be identified with the Gothic Vidigoia who is mentioned as a hero of the past by Jordanes (cap. 34) in a quotation from Priscus[23]. For the story of Hagbarðr and Signý a date is afforded by a poem attributed by Saxo (p. [214]) to Starkaðr. The poet, who in his old age served Ingellus, i.e. Ingeld, the son-in-law of Hrothgar, says that he had followed Haki, the brother of Hagbarðr, in his early youth. In Ynglinga Saga (cap. 23) Haki is made to fight with the Swedish king Iörundr, four generations above Aðils, but this genealogy cannot be entirely correct.

The only important stories which remain are those of Fróði the Peaceful and Heðinn and Högni. In Saxo's history (p. [158] ff.) the two are brought into connection with one another, and it is certainly to be noted that a Fruote von Tenemarke plays rather a prominent part in Kûdrûn, especially the first portion. But Fróði is associated with different sets of persons in different works, and his resemblance to the god Frey rather suggests that he was regarded as the typical representative of a Golden Age in the past. The story of Heðinn and Högni is very difficult to locate, both in regard to time and scene. Widsith however, which is our earliest authority for it, represents Hagena (Högni) as king of the Holmryge, who appear to have dwelt in eastern Pomerania. Since the whole of the south coast of the Baltic had probably become Slavonic by the end of the fifth century, it is at all events unlikely that the story refers to any period after this.

We shall have to discuss later how far these stories are to be regarded as historical and to what extent the characters and incidents with which they deal are to be attributed to myth or fiction. Here it is sufficient to point out that with the exception of the story of Heðinn and Högni, the connections of which are obscure, all the stories which we have just been discussing are referred by our authorities to generations anterior to the characters of Beowulf. Hence we may safely conclude that the period embraced by the common poetry and traditions of the various Teutonic peoples—what we may call the Heroic Age of these peoples—had come to an end by the middle of the sixth century or at least by the death of Alboin. Its upper limit must in view of the evidence given above be set from two to three centuries back—probably three centuries if we include the story of Ostrogotha.

These limitations are clearly such as to call for some attempt at explanation. Why do the cycles of story which are common to the various Teutonic peoples mention no historical character later than Alboin? Before we can hope to give a satisfactory answer to this question, a number of other phenomena will have to be taken into account. One or two observations however will not be out of place here.

The period extending backwards from two to three centuries before the reign of Alboin coincides with what is generally known as the Age of National Migrations (Völkerwanderungszeit). It was during this period that many of the Teutonic nations broke through the frontiers of the Roman empire and carved out for themselves extensive kingdoms within its territories. Among these were the realms of Guthhere and Theodric, and in part also that of Attila. There is no doubt that in all these cases the conquest of the Roman provinces brought with it a great accession of wealth and profoundly affected the life of the invaders.

The same period witnessed the conversion of most of the continental Teutonic peoples to Christianity, another change which produced far-reaching effects upon them. Yet it is not clear at first sight how this change is connected with the chronological limitation of the stories, for while some of the chief characters, Attila for instance and doubtless Eormenric, were heathens, others such as Theodric were certainly Christians. The change of faith is not a motive which plays any part in the stories themselves.

Whatever weight we may be disposed to attach to these observations, it should be noted that they do not seem to apply to every case. Thus we shall see in the course of the next chapter that Danish characters figure more prominently than those of any other nation, not only in Scandinavian but also in English records, throughout the period ending with Hrólfr Kraki. Yet the Danes took no part, collectively at least, in the movements against the Roman Empire, nor did Christianity penetrate to them before the ninth century. It is worth remarking therefore that stories relating to Denmark stop where they do, and that for centuries after the time of Hrólfr we can scarcely give the name of a single Danish prince.

In the following chapters it will be convenient to speak of the period which we have been discussing simply as the Heroic Age. The term 'heroic poetry,' as a translation of Heldendichtung or Heltedigtning, may of course be applied in a sense to such works as Hákonarmál or the poem on the battle of Maldon, just as well as to Beowulf or the Hildebrandslied. But no ambiguity will arise if we limit the term 'heroic' here to what may be called the 'Teutonic' Heroic Age (das germanische Heldenalter), i.e. to the period embraced by the common poetry and traditions of the various Teutonic peoples.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] Except of course those which deal only with supernatural beings (p. [11] f.).

[13] Quoted in the prose Edda (Skaldskaparmál, cap. 66).

[14] Theodosio XV et Valentiniano IV coss. (A.D. 435): pax facta cum Vandalis.... eodem tempore Gundicarium Burgundionum regem intra Gallias habitantem Aetius bello obtriuit, pacemque ei supplicanti dedit, qua non diu potitus est. siquidem illum Hunni cum populo atque stirpe sua deleuerunt.

[15] The overthrow of Guthhere is ascribed to Attila by Paulus Diaconus in his Gesta episc. Mettensium (Mon. Germ., Scr. II p. 262), Hist. Misc. XIV (Muratori, Scr. I p. 97); but he is a late authority. On the other hand an anonymous Gaulish chronicle, which ends in the year 452, attributes the whole of the Burgundian disasters to Aetius: bellum contra Burgundionum gentem memorabile exarsit quo uniuersa pene gens cum rege per Aetium deleta (Mon. Germ., Chron. Min. I 660). But this seems to be due to the confusion of two events which Prosper clearly distinguishes (cf. Idatius, Chron., Theodosii ann. XII, XIII).

[16] Liber Legum Gundebati, cap. 3 (Mon. Germ., Leg., Vol. III p. 533): si quos apud regiae memoriae auctores nostros, id est Gebicam, Godomarem, Gislaharium, Gundaharium, patrem quoque nostrum et patruum, liberos liberasue fuisse constiterit, in eadem libertate permaneant.

[17] This cycle is supposed to have been known in England at one time, owing to the juxtaposition of the names Seafola (Saben) and Theodric in Widsith, v. 115. Theodric, king of the Franks, is mentioned in the same poem (v. 24).

[18] Cf. Berger de Xivrey, Traditions Tératologiques, p. 12.

[19] Einhardi Ann., 812 (Mon. Germ., Scr. I p. 199). Prof. Olrik (Nordisches Geistesleben, p. 44) apparently rejects this identification, as he places Haraldr Hilditönn not long after the time of Hrólfr Kraki.

[20] The list makes no claim to completeness. Thus several of the characters in Hervarar Saga (probably mentioned also in Widsith, v. 116 ff.) have been identified with historical persons of the fifth century. But the evidence is far from satisfactory.

[21] The Origin of the English Nation, p. 134 f.

[22] But also with Theodric. This is a question to which we shall have to refer later.

[23] Venimus in illum locum ubi dudum Vidigoia, Gothorum fortissimus, Sarmatum dolo occubuit (cf. also cap. 5).

CHAPTER III.
SCENE AND NATIONALITY IN THE HEROIC STORIES.

In the last chapter it was pointed out that the age covered by the heroic poetry and traditions of the Teutonic peoples coincides with a clearly marked period of history, extending over about two or possibly three hundred years, and coming to an end in the latter half of the sixth century. Something must now be said regarding the geographical and ethnographical limitations of the stories—the localities in which the scenes are laid and the nationalities to which the various characters belonged. The scenes are distributed over a considerable part of Europe, extending from Italy to Sweden and from western Russia to the Vosges and the Netherlands. The British Isles however seem to have lain outside the area, though in the late form in which some of the stories have come down to us, we do occasionally find references to them—generally to Scotland or Ireland—which are probably due to confusion with stories of the Viking Age. Indeed it is remarkable that the early Anglo-Saxon poems contain no reference to persons or events connected with this country. Further, except possibly in the case of the story of Hengest and Horsa, we have no evidence worth consideration that poems dealing with such subjects ever existed. Norway also is not made the scene of any of the main stories, though it is mentioned incidentally in English and German as well as Scandinavian poems. The Balkan peninsula figures only in the later German poems, while references to places in Italy are limited practically to the Dietrich (Theodric) and Wolfdietrich cycles.

Turning to the question of nationality we find the following peoples represented: (i) to the Goths belong Eormenric, Theodric, Wudga (Witege) and probably most of the heroes associated with them; (ii) to the Huns Attila; (iii) to the Burgundians Guthhere and his family; (iv) to the Rugii apparently Hagena (Högni), the father of Hild; (v) to the Franks Hugdietrich and Wolfdietrich, if the identifications are correct; (vi) to the Frisians Finn; (vii) to the Angli Wermund and Offa; (viii) to the Danes (a) Fróði the Peaceful, (b) Sigarr and his family, together probably with Hagbarðr and Haki, (c) Hrólfr Kraki and his family, perhaps also Froda (Frotho IV) and Ingeld; (ix) to the Götar Hygelac, Beowulf and their relatives; (x) to the Swedes (Svear) Aðils and his family.

It is somewhat remarkable that we have no stories dealing with Alamannic or Bavarian heroes, since the German poems which have come down to us are almost entirely derived from the territories of these peoples[24]. The Vandals too are unrepresented, and probably also the Visigoths, while the evidence for Frankish heroes is slight and rather unsatisfactory. Frankish nationality is claimed by most scholars for Siegfried, chiefly on the ground that Xanten is represented as his home in the Nibelungenlied[25]. Yet he is never called a Frank, and it is not clear that Xanten was in the possession of the Franks at the time to which the story refers. The same nationality may perhaps be claimed for Waldhere. In several German poems Langres is said to be his home, though he is also called a Spaniard, while Ekkehard makes his father king of Aquitaine[26]. To this question we shall have to return later. In any case both stories refer to a period considerably anterior to the real conquest of Gaul by the Franks, and it is certainly a curious fact that Clovis and his great achievements seem to be entirely unnoticed in poetry.

It appears then that though most of the principal Teutonic nations are represented in our stories the relative prominence assigned to them does not at all correspond to what we should expect. Most remarkable is the fact that in stories relating to the Continent nearly all the chief characters (Eormenric, Theodric, Guthhere, Attila, etc.) belong to nations which had passed out of existence before the end of the sixth century. From Jordanes (cap. 5) we gather that the preservation of the early Gothic traditions was very largely due to the pride taken by that people in its own heroes of the past. Yet it is not easy to see how the survival of the stories which have come down to us can be ascribed to any such feeling.

Let us first examine the Anglo-Saxon poems. In Beowulf the scene is laid first in the land of the Danes and later in that of the Götar. The hero himself belongs to the latter nation, but in the earlier part of the poem the former are decidedly the more prominent. Taking it as a whole the interest is divided between the royal families of these two nations; the only other dynasty which comes in for any considerable share of attention is that of the Swedes. In the story of Finn the interest is centred in a prince and his followers who according to Beowulf were of Danish nationality and involved in hostilities with the Frisians. In Waldhere the hero and heroine, whatever their nationality, belong to Gaul, while their opponents are Burgundians. In Deor the interests are mainly, perhaps exclusively, Gothic. In Widsith the foremost characters are Eadgils, prince of the Myrgingas (a dynasty hostile to the Angli), and the Gothic king Eormenric; after them the English king Offa, the Danish kings Hrothgar and Hrothwulf, Guthhere, king of the Burgundians, Aelfwine (Alboin, king of the Langobardi) and several Gothic heroes. In all these poems there is no reference, as far as we know, to any person of English nationality except Offa and his relatives (Beow. 1944 ff.), nor except in Widsith is the name of the Angli even mentioned.

If we turn now to the Scandinavian records, which are entirely Norse (Norwegian-Icelandic), so far as the vernacular literature is concerned, the phenomena which confront us are on the whole very similar. As we might expect from the comparative lateness of our authorities the nationality of the various characters is not very clearly indicated. It is remembered that Atli (Attila) belonged to the Huns and Iörmunrekr (Eormenric) to the Goths, but Gunnarr (Guthhere) is only once called lord of the Burgundians. As for Sigurðr, his later adventures are uniformly located in the Rhineland, but the history of his family is generally connected with Denmark, which is also the scene of Helgi's exploits. Most noteworthy however is the fact that Norway is only mentioned once in the Older Edda, namely in the prose of Helgakviða Hiörvarðssonar. In the sagas it is somewhat more prominent, e.g. in the account of Biarki's origin in Hrólfs Saga Kraka; but these passages are usually regarded as accretions to the original stories. Of course there are numerous other sagas which deal exclusively with Norwegian history and legend. These stories however are peculiar to Norwegian-Icelandic literature, and the earliest persons who figure in them, if we may regard them as historical, cannot have lived before the seventh century. In stories relating to earlier times the scene is practically always laid in Denmark or southern Sweden or in the lands south of the Baltic.

Even in the German poems national feeling has influenced the choice of subjects comparatively little. The poems in their present form are mainly Austrian or Bavarian. Yet except in the second half of the Nibelungenlied this region does not figure prominently[27], and even there the Bavarian characters that occur are generally believed to be rather late additions to the story. The chief characters of the story in its original form were clearly Burgundians and Huns, to whom the Goths may have been added at a fairly early date. The stories which deal with the Rhineland—those of Siegfried and Walther—may be derived ultimately from early Frankish poems; but this cannot be proved. Most of the others are concerned with Gothic heroes, the true scene of whose adventures is to be sought in Poland, Hungary, Italy and other countries which had ceased to be Teutonic before the time of our authorities. Theodric, it is true, seems to have become a national hero in the south-east, but this feature is prominent only in the latest poems, and even here it is clearly remembered that he belonged to Italy. But the most remarkable case is that of Kûdrûn. The poem itself is probably Austrian, but the names which it contains show that the story is derived from Frisian sources. The scene is laid first in Ireland, then in Denmark and lastly in Normandy. Yet if we take into account the various Scandinavian versions and the references to the story in Anglo-Saxon poetry, there is every probability that it came originally from the Baltic.

This short discussion will suffice to show how singularly free the poems we have been discussing are from anything in the nature of national interest or sentiment. They are certainly national in the sense that the characters are drawn entirely, or almost entirely, from within the Teutonic world—for even Attila can hardly be regarded as an exception. But nationalism in the narrower sense, i.e. in the interests of the poet's own nation or tribe, seems to be altogether wanting. The interest is centred in one or more individual characters and in the various adventures that befall them. Sometimes, as in Beowulf, it does also embrace the history of the family to which these persons belonged, but the nation, apart from the royal family, is practically disregarded.

The contrast afforded by the historical poems of the ninth and tenth centuries[28] is sufficiently obvious. We have seen that these poems, whether English or German, uniformly deal with the poet's own nation. The poem on the battle of Brunanburh is an expression of national triumph. It is not concerned with the personal adventures of the king or his brother, but with the prowess of the English army as a whole. The bravery of the princes is certainly noticed, but they appear to be regarded as the champions and representatives of the nation. The Ludwigslied breathes on the whole a similar spirit, in spite of its strongly religious tone. Even in the skaldic poetry of the North traces of national pride are clearly discernible, as in Hákonarmál (v. 3), where Haakon, at the head of his Norwegian troops, is described as the terror of the Danes.

It may perhaps be urged that, though the poems which have come down to us have no national interest, they may be derived from older poems which originated in the hero's own land. Thus many scholars believe Beowulf to be of Scandinavian origin in one sense or another, though the linguistic arguments which have been brought forward in favour of this view are not generally admitted. But there is a curious lack of uniformity in the national interests of the poem, as we have already seen. If it had been the chief intention of the original poet to glorify the Danish nation, he would not have ignored it as he has done in the latter part of the poem. On the other hand if his intention was to glorify the Götar he would hardly have begun with an account of the early kings of the Danes. The difficulty has been got over by supposing that the poem as we have it is of composite formation, and it may very well be that the second part of the poem is a later addition. But it is to be observed that somewhat similar phenomena occur in other cases. Thus the stories of Siegfried and Attila are connected both in the Nibelungenlied and the Edda, and there can be no doubt that the connection is of considerable antiquity. Yet the only common element in the two stories is supplied by the Burgundians, and the portraiture of their princes, especially that of the king, is hardly of such a character as to suggest its derivation from a poem composed for the glorification of the Burgundian nation.

The evidence then of Beowulf alone is scarcely sufficient to justify us in assuming more than that its author or authors were interested in the royal families of the North, and that they possessed a considerable amount of information regarding them. The account of the early kings of the Danes seems to be in the nature of a tribal or family tradition—to be compared with the early stories given by Jordanes, Paulus Diaconus and Widukind. Traditions of this kind are no doubt generally of a mythical character, and consequently their origin is to be sought in the particular locality or family with which they are concerned. We have no evidence that such traditions formed the main theme of stories which were common to the poetry of the various Teutonic peoples. But it is natural enough that a poet who was well acquainted with some royal family, whether that of his own nation or not, would also know its traditions, and that he would utilise them incidentally or by way of introduction in a poem largely concerned with the fortunes of that family.

The main story of the poem stands on a different footing. Of course if it could be shown that the Danish princes who figure both in Beowulf and the various Scandinavian records were fictitious persons, who never really existed, we should be bound to hold that they were derived from a common story, probably of Scandinavian origin. But few scholars would now be willing to admit such a proposition. Certain incidents, such as the exhortation of Ingeld (Ingellus) by the old warrior (Starcatherus), may be held to point to a common origin in poem or saga; but most of the events narrated appear to have been either preserved by memory or invented independently.

With the stories of Sigurðr (Siegfried) and Waldhere the case is somewhat different. It is the opinion of the great majority of scholars that both these heroes are mythical or fictitious, in spite of the fact that they are associated with undoubtedly historical characters. If this view is correct—a question which we shall have to discuss later—we may conclude at once that the different versions of the two stories, Scandinavian and German in the one case, English and German in the other, have sprung from a common source, whether in poem or saga. But even if we take the opposite view, viz. that Sigurðr and Waldhere were real persons and that their adventures are founded on fact, it does not by any means follow that the different versions of their stories must have originated independently. Neither hero seems to have belonged to a family of outstanding position, nor were their exploits such as to influence the destiny of nations.[29] In the age of Hunnish supremacy scores of petty princes must have undergone somewhat similar adventures and distinguished themselves by similar deeds of heroism. Hence it can hardly be due to accident that the handful whose names we know were celebrated far and wide in the Teutonic world.

The story of Eormenric is again rather a different case. There can be no question that this king was a historical person, but the earliest detailed account which we possess of his doings, viz. that given by Jordanes, dates from nearly two centuries after his death. Now we find what is perhaps the most striking episode in Eormenric's story, namely the account of Swanhild and the vengeance attempted by her brothers, both in Jordanes and the Older Edda (Guðrúnarhvöt and Hamðismál) with comparatively slight variations. The chief feature wanting in Jordanes' account is supplied by the Annals of Quedlinburg.[30] How much truth the story contains we are not in a position to decide. But even if we grant that the main features are historical, the event can hardly have been of the first importance, since the attack seems really to have failed in its object. Ammianus Marcellinus says that Eormenric committed suicide owing to despair at the impending Hunnish invasion, and Jordanes recognises that his death was partly due to this cause. But in the later (Scandinavian and German) accounts it is entirely forgotten. Hence if we bear in mind the close agreement between the Gothic and Scandinavian versions of the story, not only in the names of the characters but also in the description of Swanhild's death, we can hardly help inferring that they are derived from a common narrative source.

In conclusion mention may be made of a story which appears to be definitely at variance with historical truth, namely the account of Attila's death given in the Edda poems Atlakviða and Atlamál. It is there stated that Attila was murdered with his two children by his wife Guðrún in revenge for her brothers (Gunnarr and Högni), whom he had treacherously put to death. Now Jordanes (cap. 49) says that Attila died from the bursting of a blood-vessel on the night of his marriage with a girl named Ildico. As his account is derived from Priscus, a contemporary and trustworthy writer, there can be little doubt that it is correct. Yet it should be observed that the Roman chronicler Marcellinus Comes, who wrote apparently a few years before Jordanes, says that Attila died by the hand of a woman.[31] The account given in the Edda therefore is no invention of an Icelandic or Norwegian poet, but founded on a story which was current among the Romans within a century after Attila's death. Indeed considering the circumstances it is by no means unlikely that the story originated immediately after the event.

These examples will be sufficient to show that the subjects of many of our poems are derived from stories which passed from one Teutonic people to another and some of which were of great antiquity. Further, it is a proof of the popularity of these stories that they were preserved until comparatively late in the Middle Ages, in spite of the fact that they did not appeal to national interests. The question how they were preserved and transmitted is one which we shall have to discuss in the following chapters. We may note at once however that the most obvious means of preservation, namely by means of writing, was almost certainly not used to any great extent. Had that been the case the divergencies between the different versions of the stories would be far less noticeable than they are. Even in the case of Waldhere, which shows probably the least amount of variation, the Anglo-Saxon fragments show a treatment of the subject totally different from that which appears in Ekkehard's poem. Again, there is no evidence that the Roman alphabet was used in the North, except possibly by a few foreigners here and there, before the end of the tenth century, while the Runic alphabet, though it had been known for many centuries, seems not to have been employed for literary purposes until very late times. But, as we have already mentioned, some of the Edda poems date probably from the ninth century, and the story of Heðinn and Högni is used by the poet Bragi who lived apparently in the early part of that century. On the Continent of course the case is somewhat different. We have seen that Charlemagne did have a number of ancient poems written down; but there is nothing to show that his collection had any permanent influence. When the Quedlinburg annalist or his authority quotes the heroic stories, perhaps some two centuries later, he refers not to any written works but to songs formerly current among the country people. It is doubtless by oral tradition therefore, whether in verse or prose, that the stories of the Heroic Age have mainly been preserved.

There can be no question that a large number of similar stories have perished. A glance through the catalogues of Widsith will show many names which otherwise are entirely unknown to us, and also an appreciable number which are not mentioned elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon literature, though they figure in German and Scandinavian records. It would scarcely be wise however to assume that all the stories of the Heroic Age were common Teutonic property. Thus we have no evidence for the story of Waldhere in the North[32], while stories dealing with Danish heroes seem to have been little known in Germany. The latter observation deserves notice all the more in view of the obvious popularity of such stories in England—a fact proved not merely by Beowulf and Finn, but still more by the prominence assigned to Danish characters in Widsith.

It will be convenient now to summarise briefly the results of our discussion. We have seen that the scenes of the heroic stories are distributed over most of the lands formerly occupied by the Teutonic peoples. Norway and England however, as well as the distant kingdoms of the Visigoths and Vandals, seem to lie outside the area. The heroes also are drawn from many nations, though not in the proportion which we should expect. Thus the Frankish nation, which ultimately became dominant, is but poorly represented, while the most prominent places are taken by peoples such as the Ostrogoths and Burgundians, which lost their nationality in the course of the sixth century.

We have further seen that a very large proportion of the characters of the heroic stories figure in the literature of two or more nations, and that frequently the same stories are told of them. In the latter case it is probable, indeed often practically certain, that the different versions of the story are ultimately derived from a common narrative. On the other hand, where the same characters are known but only in connection with different events, such derivation can be proved only if it can be shown that the characters themselves are fictitious. This remark applies especially to a number of characters common to Beowulf and Scandinavian stories relating to Hrólfr Kraki and his times.

It is fully in accord with these facts that the heroic poems are not concerned at all—or at least only to a very slight degree—with local or tribal interests. Their tone indeed may be described as in a sense international, though with the restriction that characters and scenes alike are drawn exclusively from within the Teutonic world.

FOOTNOTES:

[24] These poems do introduce Bavarian characters, such as the Markgraf Rüdiger; but they are not found elsewhere in heroic poetry.

[25] In the prose piece Frá dauði Sinfiötla (in the Older Edda) Sigmundr is said to have held territories in the land of the Franks.

[26] Hence many scholars regard him as a Visigoth.

[27] Tyrol is the scene of several of Dietrich's and Wolfdietrich's adventures; but generally it is the southern (Italian) part of that country.

[28] The poem on the battle of Maldon approximates much more closely than any other of this age to the spirit of the old poetry.

[29] The victories over the Saxons and Danes described in the Nibelungenlied and the Tháttr af Nornagesti have little in common and are scarcely to be regarded as an essential feature in the story of Sigurðr.

[30] Anastasius annos XXVII.... Ermanrici regis Gothorum a fratribus Hemido et Serilo et Adaccaro, quorum patrem interfecerat, amputatis manibus et pedibus turpiter, ut dignus erat, occisio (Mon. Germ., Scr. III p. 31).

[31] Ind. VII. Aetio et Studio coss. (A.D. 454): Attila rex Hunnorum Europae orbator prouinciae noctu mulieris manu cultroque confoditur. quidam uero sanguinis reiectione necatum perhibent.

[32] Excluding of course Thiðreks S. af Bern.

CHAPTER IV.
THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE HEROIC POEMS.

In an earlier chapter (p. [3]) it was mentioned that the English heroic poems are usually ascribed to the seventh or eighth centuries. We must now try to see whether any means are to be found of dating their composition more precisely.

Unfortunately very few references to the poems or their subjects occur in works which can be dated with anything like certainty. The most important is contained in a letter from Alcuin to Hygebald, bishop of Lindisfarne, written in the year 797: "When priests dine together let the words of God be read. It is fitting on such occasions to listen to a reader, not to a harpist, to the discourses of the fathers, not to the poems of the heathen. What has Ingeld to do with Christ? Strait is the house; it will not be able to hold them both. The king of heaven will have no part with so-called kings who are heathen and damned; for the one king reigns eternally in heaven, the other, the heathen, is damned and groans in hell. In your houses the voices of those who read should be heard, not a rabble of those who make merry in the streets[33]." From this passage it is clear that at the end of the eighth century there were current in Northumbria certain poems, probably well known poems, dealing with a heathen king named Ingeld, whom we need not hesitate to identify with Ingeld the son of Froda, who figures in Beowulf. Of course it is not at all likely that the reference is to Beowulf itself, for the part played by Ingeld in that poem is insignificant.

Acquaintance with the subjects of the heroic poems is shown also by a mistake in the Historia Brittonum, 31, which dates probably from about the same period. This passage contains a genealogy, tracing the descent of Hengest and Horsa from Woden and of Woden from Geat. The latter part is known also from many other texts, in which it regularly runs as follows: Woden Frealafing, Frealaf Frithuwulfing, Frithuwulf Finning, Finn Godwulfing, Godwulf Geating. In the Historia Brittonum however in place of Finn Godwulfing we find Finn qui fuit Folcwald—which is clearly due to confusion with Finn the son of Folcwalda (Finn Folcwalding), a Frisian king mentioned in Beowulf and Widsith, as well as in the fragment which bears his name.

Further evidence is afforded by names of persons and places. There can be no doubt that even in the seventh century it was customary to take the names of famous men of the past or present. Danihel, bishop of Winchester (d. 745), and Iohannes, bishop of Hexham (d. 721), are instances which no one will dispute. In the Durham Liber Vitae we meet with the names Aethan and Cundigeorn. It must not be assumed that persons bearing such names were necessarily of Celtic blood. Indeed the spelling suggests rather that they were Englishmen called after Aidan and Kentigern. Deusdedit, archbishop of Canterbury (655-664), doubtless derived his name from Pope Deusdedit (615-618), while the West Saxon king Ceadwalla (685-688) was in all probability called after the British king of the same name, who died in 642. It is extremely likely that Hlothhere, king of Kent (673-685), obtained his name from one of the Frankish kings, Lothair II (584-628) or Lothair III (656-670), for the element hloth- is not used elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon names. Even in the sixth century we hear of English princes who seem to be called after Frankish or Gothic kings of the same period. Thus Tytla, the name of the father of the East Anglian king Redwald, is probably taken from the Gothic king Totila; it is not of an English type. Two sons of the Northumbrian king Ida were called Theodric and Aethelric, perhaps after the Gothic king Theodric and his successor Athalaric. As the element theod- is somewhat rare in England, it is not unlikely that the Northumbrian prince Theodbald, a son of Aethelric, derived his name from the Frankish king Theodbald.

The occurrence of such names as Widsith and Beowulf (Biuulf) in the Liber Vitae shows that names were taken not only from contemporary persons and from books but also from native poems and traditions. Indeed researches which have been made in this direction have demonstrated that names of the latter type were extremely popular. But it has not been sufficiently pointed out that such names occur most frequently in the earliest times and gradually become more rare—a fact which is of considerable importance for our purpose. The total number of personal names found in the five poems Beowulf, Finn, Waldhere, Widsith and Deor is 132[34], and of these altogether 57 recur as names of persons mentioned in English historical documents. Over forty of these names belonged to persons who appear to have lived, or at any rate to have been born, before the end of the seventh century[35], while at least thirteen of them are unknown after the same period. To the latter class belong the important names Widsith and Beowulf.

In local nomenclature it is possible to trace at least 51 of the 132 names mentioned above. In some cases these names may have been taken direct from the story, e.g. when we find in Kent two localities close together called Hokes clif and Hengstes earas (Birch, Cart. Sax., III 1000). A similar case, very frequently cited[36], is that of Beowanhammes hecgan and Grendeles mere in Wiltshire (ib. II 677), though neither of these names is included in our list. But in the majority of cases it is more probable that the place-name is taken in the first instance from that of a previous landowner, and consequently that the connection with the story is only secondary. Hence it is important to notice that out of the 51 place-names no less than 19 contain names which are not borne by persons in historical documents. The explanation of this lies doubtless in the fact that the place-names for the most part became fixed at a very early period, and consequently that they exhibit an earlier stratum of personal nomenclature.

If we add the place-names to the personal names the total number of heroic names found in England in historical documents seems to be 76. Out of this number only seven apparently are limited to persons born after the end of the seventh century, and of these again almost all occur in the course of the eighth century. These statistics show clearly that such names were most popular during the sixth and seventh centuries, especially if we bear in mind that the materials for this period are incomparably less than those for the following three centuries. Hence, if we are justified in drawing any conclusions from nomenclature, the popularity of the heroic stories was distinctly on the wane in Alcuin's time.

The argument from nomenclature holds good of course only for showing the popularity of the stories; it cannot prove the existence of the poems which we now possess. In one case however we may probably make an exception. The name Widsith is obviously fictitious[37] and based on the travels with which the minstrel is credited. The introduction, in which alone the name occurs, is in all probability a later composition than the rest of the poem[38] and designed to explain what follows. It is of importance therefore to note that, if we may judge from the place in which this name occurs in the Liber Vitae, it must have been borne by a person of the seventh century.

We must next turn to the internal evidence. The linguistic criteria are of a somewhat unsatisfactory nature and investigations in this field have led to few definite results. It is clear that the heroic poems do not exhibit any dialect in its purity—a remark which is true of Anglo-Saxon poetry in general. West Saxon forms predominate and there is no doubt that the final recension of the text is due to scribes who employed this dialect. Yet at the same time there are a sufficient number of Midland or Northumbrian characteristics[39] to render it highly probable that the poems were not only composed but also originally written down in one of these dialects. Beyond this however no safe conclusions can be attained owing to the lateness of the MSS.

In regard to syntax the heroic poems are at least as archaic as any other remains of Anglo-Saxon poetry which have come down to us. We may notice especially the use of the definite article, which in reality is still a demonstrative pronoun in the heroic poems. It occurs comparatively seldom in connection with a weak adjective followed by a substantive—a usage which is nearly universal in most of the Christian poems. Thus in Cynewulf's works the proportion of examples with and without the article varies from 7:1 to 9:1, and even in the first part of Guthlac, which is believed to date from soon after the middle of the eighth century, the proportion is 7:1[40]; but in Beowulf it is only 1:5. If the Dream of the Cross, in which the proportion is 2:1, is rightly attributed to the early years of the eighth century[41], it seems reasonable to date the composition of Beowulf quite half a century further back. The nearest approach to the usage of Beowulf is shown by Exodus, in which the proportion is over 2:3. Unfortunately we have no certain means of dating this work, though it is generally believed to be one of the earliest of the Christian poems. Its archaic character would be natural enough if it is really the work of Caedmon, who flourished while Hild was abbess at Whitby (658-680) and who according to Bede[42] did compose a poem or poems on this subject.

The metrical characteristics of the heroic poems differ but little from those of Anglo-Saxon poetry in general. Cases of absence of contraction after the loss of intervocalic -h- (e.g. in the half-verse hean huses) can be paralleled in poems dating from the close of the eighth century or even later, where they are doubtless to be regarded as poetic archaisms. On the other hand importance is generally attached to the absence of any evidence for the retention of -u after a long syllable and to the shortening of syllables containing -r- which was originally followed by antevocalic -h-. Thus it is contended that such combinations as to widan feore in the latter half of a verse cannot go back to the middle of the seventh century[43], since the form in use at that time would be feorha, which would offend against the metre. As a matter of fact half-verses of the condemned type do occur in Anglo-Saxon poetry, Beowulf itself containing at least eight examples. But even if we were to admit all these statements and emend the offending verses the argument would be conclusive only on the assumption that the poems were written down from the very beginning[44]. Poems which are preserved by oral tradition alone are manifestly liable to small verbal changes, especially in a metre so flexible as that of the Teutonic alliterative verse. Thus in place of the expression to widan feore we find occasionally widan feore in the same sense, and even in Beowulf we meet with widan feorh which is not improbably the oldest form of the phrase. Before the loss of final -u it would be a perfectly regular half-verse, but the operation of this change would render it impossible and necessitate the substitution of a synonymous expression. In principle, it should be observed, the assumption of such substitutions seems to be absolutely necessary, unless we are prepared to deny that any old poems or even verses survived the period of apocope. Yet there is a sufficient amount of resemblance between English and German poetry, not merely in the general metrical scheme but also in the construction of individual verses[45], to render such a conclusion extremely improbable. Consequently I am very much inclined to doubt whether any safe conclusions as to the date of the poems can be obtained from metrical considerations, except of course as regards their final form.

Of far greater importance is the fact that with the exception of the Finn-fragment, which consists of only fifty verses, all our poems contain passages or references of a religious (Christian) character. In Beowulf alone there are about seventy such passages of which the significance is not open to question, and seven or eight others which may belong to the same category. Out of the total number thirty-three are limited to single verses or half-verses[46], while another sixteen affect not more than two verses in each case[47]. The longest passage of all (v. 1724 ff.) contains at least 37 verses, the next longest (v. 175 ff.) fourteen. The rest vary from three to nine verses[48]. The theology which appears in these passages is of a singularly vague type. There are four distinct references to incidents in the early part of Genesis, viz. one (v. 90 ff.) to the Creation, two (vv. 107 ff., 1261 ff.) to the story of Cain and Abel and one (v. 1688 ff.) to the Flood. Apart from these there appears to be no reference to any passage in the Bible except perhaps in v. 1745 ff., which are thought by some to be based on Ephes. vi. 16, and in v. 3069, which contains the phrase 'day of judgment.' We find also a few references to rewards and punishments in a future life[49]. The word god is of very frequent occurrence and always used in the Christian sense. The other epithets of the Deity are 'lord' (frea, dryhten), 'father' (faeder), 'creator' (scyppend), 'ruler' (waldend), 'almighty' (alwalda, aelmihtiga), 'ruler of men' (ylda or fira waldend), 'ruler of glory' (wuldres waldend), 'shepherd of glory' (wuldres hyrde), 'king of glory' (wuldurcyning), 'guider of the heavens' (rodera raedend), 'helm of the heavens' (heofena helm), 'ruler of victories' (sigora waldend), 'king of victories' (sigora soðcyning). On the other hand there is no example of the word gast in a religious sense (Holy Ghost), nor of the name Crist, nor of any epithet denoting 'Saviour' (nergend, haelend etc.). Hardly less curious is the total absence of the word engel, for expressions such as 'lord of angels' (engla dryhten[50]) are among the most frequent epithets of the Deity in Anglo-Saxon religious poems. Lastly, there are no references to the saints, to the cross or to the church, nor to any Christian rites or ceremonies.

It appears then that the religious utterances of the poem are of a singularly one-sided character. Indeed it has been observed[51] that, with the exception perhaps of vv. 977-9, "their theology is covered by the Old Testament, and a pious Jew would have no difficulty in assenting to them all." Certainly the facts are such as to call for some explanation, especially since the religious poems are pervaded by a wholly different tone.

One suggestion is that Beowulf was composed under the influence of the missionaries from Iona; but it is extremely doubtful whether the influence of Irish Christianity would tend in this direction at all[52]. Another is that the poet had little direct knowledge of the Christian religion, but that he was acquainted with some religious poems. This explanation certainly seems to fit the case much better than the other. Moreover there is one piece of positive evidence in its favour. In Beow. v. 89 ff. we hear of recitation to the accompaniment of the harp in Hrothgar's hall, and the subject of the recitation is the creation of the world. It appears to me highly probable that we have here an allusion to Caedmon's poem or poems on Genesis, which may very well have been among the earliest of that poet's productions. At all events it was by his hymn on the Creation that he first became known. The inference is strengthened by the rather close resemblance which the hymn bears to the phraseology of Beowulf. If the two poets were contemporary the author of Beowulf would have no other Christian poet on whom to draw, and the limitations of his theological equipment might be satisfactorily accounted for on the hypothesis that he knew only a few of Caedmon's works. As a matter of fact two or three out of the list given by Bede[53] would have been quite sufficient to provide him with all the statements and terms that he uses.

There is another question however with regard to the composition of Beowulf which has aroused more controversy than this, namely whether the Christian passages formed an original part of the poem or not. In the former case of course the poem cannot have been composed before the second quarter of the seventh century. Indeed, if we grant the use of Caedmon's poetry the earliest possible date would be about 660. On the other hand if the Christian passages are due to interpolation the upper limit for the dating of the poem vanishes into air.

As to the possibility of such interpolation in principle we need scarcely entertain any doubt. It is true that the Christian passages or references cannot as a rule be removed without breaking into the rhythm. Consequently, if interpolation has taken place we must assume it to be the work of poets or minstrels, and not of scribes. But have we any reason for doubting that the minstrels of that period were capable of such 'interpolation.' Wherever poetry—at all events anonymous narrative poetry—is preserved exclusively by oral tradition, it is usually the case that the minstrel is allowed a certain amount of freedom in the presentation of his subject.[54] Now probably no one will suggest that it was only after their conversion to Christianity that the English began to compose poems about 'heathen kings.' But, if we grant that such poems were already in existence, does it really involve a greater amount of effort on the part of the minstrels to bring these poems up to date—by removing objectionable matter and introducing expressions in accordance with the new religion—than to compose an entirely new set of poems on the same subjects. I cannot think that such a view will be seriously maintained. Therefore we must consider the case of Beowulf—the only narrative poem which has come down to us entire—without prejudice on the general question; and we must endeavour to see whether it bears the stamp of a new composition or that of an old work which has been brought into conformity with new ideas. The probability or improbability of the latter view will of course depend largely on the amount of inconsistency which the poem is found to contain.

Until within the last few years the majority of scholars believed that Beowulf was a composite work. This theory was most fully developed in the writings of Müllenhoff and ten Brink. According to the former[55] the poem was made up from four separate lays, though in its present form nearly half of it is the work of interpolators. The latter[56] likewise traced the origin of the poem to lays, but explained its inconsistencies as being due not to extensive interpolations but to the combination of two parallel versions. In regard to the relative antiquity of the various parts of the poem there was great divergence of opinion both between these scholars and generally. It is perhaps partly on this account that in recent years there has been a reaction in favour of believing that the poem as we have it is practically the work of one man, though it is allowed that he may have made use of earlier lays. But those who have adopted this view seem to agree that the author, whatever his precise date, belonged to the Christian period, and consequently that the religious passages are not due to interpolation.

Now in the first place it is clear that the story of Beowulf is derived from the Baltic, and the first question which we have to settle is as to the time at which the information on which it is based became known in England. The Angli themselves were originally a Baltic people, as I have tried elsewhere to show, and there is no doubt that down to the time of the invasion of Britain they were thoroughly familiar with all the surrounding regions. But we have no evidence whatever for believing that such was the case within the historical period. By the end of the sixth century, when the first missionaries arrived in this country, they had apparently ceased to be a seafaring people, and we have no record of any voyage made by an Englishman across the North Sea for several centuries. Again, the Danes became familiar to the west of Europe during the sixth century; but from about 580 onwards we hear no more of their presence on the North Sea for fully two centuries. During the whole of this period their name is heard of only in connection with the missionary expeditions of St Willibrord, early in the eighth century. I have suggested elsewhere[57] that their temporary disappearance was due to the maritime supremacy held by the Frisians. At all events we have archaeological evidence for a considerable amount of communication between southern Norway and the Frisian coasts during this period, while for the Baltic such evidence is almost wholly wanting.

Bearing these facts in mind we can hardly doubt that the information used by Beowulf was acquired before the end of the sixth century—in all probability we may say considerably before that date.[58] Next we have to notice that we have practically no trustworthy information regarding the history of the English kingdoms before the middle of the sixth century, and I think it will be the opinion of any attentive student of early English history that even the best informed persons of Bede's time were not much better off in this respect than we ourselves are. How then are we to account for the preservation of detailed information regarding the early kings of the Danes and Swedes? The only answer to this question, so far as I can see, is that the doings of such persons must have become embodied in stories which were preserved by recitation in a more or less fixed form of words. Such recitative pieces may have consisted of poetry alone or of poetry mixed with prose, like some of the pieces contained in the Older Edda. If we may trust the analogy of what appear to be the oldest pieces in this collection, such as Völundarkviða or Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, the speeches would be given in metre, while the connecting narrative might be partly or wholly in prose and quite brief. We have no evidence for believing that the early Teutonic peoples ever used entirely prose narratives, like the Icelandic and Irish sagas, for such purposes.

At all events it seems to me that if Beowulf is no older than the middle of the seventh century we are bound to assume the existence of earlier poems or narratives on the same subject. Such pieces may of course have been quite short, and it is likely enough that our epic has made use of more than one of them. One perhaps may have dealt with the hero's exploits at the Danish court and another with his last adventure, while in the scene between Beowulf and Hygelac it is possible that an older poem has been incorporated, more or less complete, in the text.[59]

But we have yet to take account of what is perhaps the most striking feature of the poem, namely the fact that, though it abounds in expressions of Christian sentiment, yet the customs and ceremonies to which it alludes are uniformly heathen. Among these we may mention the funeral ship in v. 27 ff., the offerings at the shrines in v. 175 f., the observation of the omens in v. 204 and the curious reference to hanging in v. 2444 ff. (cf. v. 2939 ff.), probably also the use of the boar on helmets (vv. 303 f., 1111 f., 1286, 1451 ff., 2152) and the burial of the treasure (v. 2233 ff.), together with the curse imprecated on the person who should disturb it (v. 3069 ff.). But most important of all are the descriptions of the disposal of the dead by cremation in vv. 1108 ff., 2124 ff., 3137 ff. In the long account of Beowulf's obsequies—beginning with the dying king's injunction (v. 2802 ff.) to construct for him a lofty barrow on the edge of the cliff, and ending with the scene of the twelve princes riding round the barrow, proclaiming the dead man's exploits—we have the most detailed description of an early Teutonic funeral which has come down to us, and one of which the accuracy is confirmed in every point by archaeological or contemporary literary evidence[60]. Such an account must have been composed within living memory of a time when ceremonies of this kind were still actually in use.

The significance of these passages seems to me to have been altogether misapprehended by recent writers. If the poem preserves its original form and is the work of a Christian, it is difficult to see why the poet should go out of his way in v. 175 ff. to represent the Danes as offering heathen sacrifices; for not long before he has introduced a song of the Creation at the Danish court, and in the sequel Hrothgar is constantly giving utterance to Christian sentiments. Again why should he lay Beowulf himself to rest with heathen obsequies, described in all possible detail, when in his dying speeches (vv. 2739 ff., 2794 ff.[61]) the hero has been made to express his faith and gratitude to the Almighty? On the other hand if the poem was originally a heathen work these inconsistencies are perfectly natural. If it was to retain its place after the change of faith and to be recited in the presence of bishops or clergy, all references to actual heathen worship or belief would of necessity have to be either accompanied by censure—as is the case in the homiletic verses following v. 175 ff.—or else suppressed altogether, and their place taken by expressions in accordance with Christian doctrine. Hence it seems to me probable that such expressions are frequently in the nature of substitutions for objectionable matter, rather than gratuitous additions; and in the same way I would account for the occasional survival of ideas which appear to be essentially heathen[62], though they are cloaked in Christian phraseology. But references to practices such as cremation which, though heathen, had long ago passed out of use, would not excite the same repugnance and consequently might be allowed to stand.

It may be urged[63] that cremation seems to have lingered on among the Old Saxons of the Continent until late in the eighth century. True: but it is quite incredible that a Christian poet should borrow from this quarter a method of funeral for his Christianised heroes. If the description of Beowulf's obsequies stood alone a bare possibility might be conceded to the suggestion that it had once formed a poem by itself, unconnected with Beowulf, and based upon a traveller's story. But cremation is clearly regarded as the normal rite throughout the poem, apart from the legendary story of Scyld. We have another description of it in the episode dealing with Finn (v. 1108 ff.), and above all there is the purely incidental reference in v. 2124 ff.: "Yet when morning came the knights of the Danes could not burn his (Aeschere's) lifeless form with fire, nor lay the man they loved on the pyre. She had carried the body away," etc. Here the poet realises the significance[64] of the rite quite clearly and consequently notes that the inability of the Danes to carry it out added materially to their sorrow. In such a case the possibility of Christian authorship seems to me to be definitely excluded.

On the hypothesis that these descriptions had come down from the days of English heathenism all is easily explicable. At the time when the poem was Christianised it may very well not have been known that the rite of cremation was still practised among the heathen of the Continent, and in later days the verses of the old poet would be handed on in parrot fashion without their significance being generally understood. Well informed persons however, like Alcuin, who had travelled abroad, perceived clearly enough that, however much coated over with Christian phraseology, the heroic poems were in reality of an essentially heathen character.

Now cremation was widely prevalent in this country during the early days of the Saxon invasion—a fact attested by numerous cemeteries especially in the northern and midland counties, including the valley of the Thames. But it appears to have become a thing of the past when the Roman missionaries arrived here; otherwise it is difficult to account for the absence of any reference to the custom in the records which have come down to us. Indeed we may say with safety that it had passed out of general use, at least in the southern half of England, quite a generation before this time; for there are scarcely any traces of it to be found in those western districts which appear to have been conquered during the latter half of the sixth century. Consequently, if we are justified in believing that the descriptions of cremation ceremonies contained in Beowulf date from a time when the practice was still remembered, we must conclude that they were composed not later than the third or fourth decade of the seventh century[65].

But it is not contended, so far as I am aware, by any scholar that the account of Beowulf's obsequies belongs to the earlier parts of the poem. It is the final scene of the story, it is not contained in any speech, and further it is of a thoroughly epic character and would be quite out of place in a short lay. Hence, if the line of argument which we have been following is legitimate, we shall be forced to admit that though the poem has undergone a fairly thorough revision in early Christian times, it must in the main have been in existence some time before the conversion. I do not mean to suggest that the 'revision' was entirely limited to the religious element. Other changes and additions may have been made about the same time[66]. What I do mean is that the great bulk of the poem must have been in existence—not merely as a collection of lays or stories, but in full epic form—an appreciable time before the middle of the seventh century.

The other heroic poems do not furnish us with any similar criteria for estimating the date of their composition, but there seems to be no valid reason for doubting that they are quite as early. Two of them, Deor and Widsith, are expressed in the first person and lay claim to being of a remote antiquity. Deor says that he had been the bard of the Heodeningas and that he had been displaced by a skilful minstrel named Heorrenda. Since in old Norse literature Hiaðningar (i.e. Heodeningas) means 'Heðinn and his men,'[67] and since Heorrenda can hardly be separated from the minstrel Hôrand in Kûdrûn, it would seem that the poet claims to have been a contemporary of Heðinn and Högni, with whose story we have dealt briefly above (pp. [8] f., [16]).

Widsith is still more explicit. The poet states that he visited the Gothic king Eormenric, who as we know died about 370. It is true that incidentally he mentions that he had met with a number of other princes, some of whom lived in the fifth and sixth centuries; but the visit to Eormenric is his main theme. Eormenric is of course one of the most prominent figures of the Heroic Age, and it may be for this reason—as the type of a powerful king—that he is chosen for the poet's host and patron. But then it is by no means so easy to see why he is associated with such an obscure person as Eadgils, prince of the Myrgingas. The suggestion that the poem is founded upon a tradition that this Eadgils possessed a famous minstrel breaks down upon the name Widsith, which is obviously fictitious as we have seen (p. [44]). It appears to me that considerably less difficulty is involved in the hypothesis that the kernel of the poem[68] is really the work of an unknown bard of the fourth century, and that successive minstrels from time to time have added the names of famous heroes with which they were acquainted[69]—a process to which the original plan of the poem may well have offered inducement.

However this may be neither of the poems shows any characteristics which suggest a later date than Beowulf. Both appear to be constructed in strophic form, a feature rare elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon poetry, while Deor also has a refrain, which is almost without parallel. Lastly, we have seen that Widsith occurs as a personal name, apparently in the seventh century, and that this presupposes the existence not only of the poem itself but also of the introduction, which is clearly later.

The case of Waldhere stands somewhat apart from the others, since it has been suggested that this is really a translation of a lost German poem, on which Ekkehard's Waltharius is also based. That the story came from the Continent may of course be granted; but we have also to consider when and in what form it was brought. The linguistic arguments which have been adduced in favour of the German origin of the poem are not now generally maintained. But it is further to be noticed that the poet seems to have treated his subject very differently from Ekkehard. The speeches, with which the fragments are entirely taken up, have nothing corresponding to them in the Latin poem, while the characterisation of the heroine is as unlike as it well could be. Ekkehard represents her as a timid creature, but in the fragments she displays a spirit which may fairly be called martial. It is unwise to lay stress on agreements between Ekkehard and the fragments as against the version of the story given in Thiðreks Saga af Bern. The less complicated form of the latter—in which Guthhere is omitted and Hagena represented as an officer of Attila, pursuing the fugitives—may be due either to imperfect acquaintance with the story or, perhaps more probably, to the conditions under which it had been preserved. We shall see later that for a considerable period heroic poetry appears to have been entirely neglected by the higher classes in Germany; and it may be accepted as generally true that when stories are preserved only by the peasants complex situations tend to become simplified, while all except the most prominent characters drop out. As for the date at which the story became known in England we may note that besides Aetla and Hagena, which may come from other sources, Waldhere, Hildegyth and Hereric were all names current during the seventh century. There seems therefore to be no adequate reason for believing Waldhere to have had a different history from the other heroic poems.

On the whole, taking all the poems, including Beowulf, together, we may conclude with probability that they assumed substantially their present form[70] in the course of the seventh century. But if our reasoning with regard to the composition of Beowulf is correct we shall have to refer the first treatment of the subject to the sixth century, i.e. almost if not quite to the Heroic Age itself. Deor and Widsith may quite possibly contain still older elements.

We may now turn to the Old Norse poems. Here the data at our disposal are of a very different character, for the metrical evidence is said to preclude the possibility that any of the extant poems date from before the ninth century. It may perhaps be questioned whether all of them are necessarily new compositions since that time—whether certain of them may not be old poems somewhat recast. To this question however we can hardly hope to obtain a satisfactory answer.

The fragmentary Ragnarsdrápa of Bragi Boddason, who seems to have lived in the first half of the ninth century, is probably the earliest extant piece which refers to stories of the Heroic Age. In this poem we find allusions both to the story of Heðinn and Högni and to the attack made upon Iörmunrekr by Hamðir and Sörli. Thiódolfr's Ynglingatal, perhaps half a century later, contains references to the story of Hagbarðr and Signý, as well as brief accounts of the Swedish kings Óttarr and Aðils, who are mentioned in Beowulf (cf. p. [20]). All these stories, except that of Óttarr, are told also by Saxo, but in a somewhat different form, which points to their derivation from Danish rather than Norse sources[71].

On the other hand the stories of the Völsungar, Sigmundr and Sigurðr, are not mentioned by any early Danish authority. The story of Sigurðr is generally supposed to have been introduced into Norway from Germany; and in some sense or other this would seem necessarily to be true, since in the Northern version, as well as in the German, the scene is laid chiefly in the Rhineland. But it is apparently impossible to determine when and in what form the story was transmitted. We have already noticed that there is archaeological evidence for a considerable amount of communication between Norway (not Denmark) and the southern (Frisian) coasts of the North Sea during the seventh and eighth centuries, and this is clearly a factor which deserves to be taken into account. Further, it is worth noting that, with the exception perhaps of Atli[72], the names all appear in regular Northern form[73], as if they had been known from the earliest times, e.g. Gunnarr, Högni, Giúki, Buðli. This consideration, as far as it goes, certainly favours a very early date; but it is hardly conclusive[74].

The story of Sigmundr stands on a somewhat different footing. In the first place Sigemund (Sigmundr) himself is little more than a name in German tradition, while though Welsung and Sintarfizzilo occur as personal names, they are not connected in any way with the story of Siegfried. Again, in the Helgi poems, which contain no reference to Sigurðr, Sigmundr is connected with the Baltic, and this is still more clearly the case with his son Helgi, who is unknown to the German story. Thirdly, in Beowulf, which knows Sigemund and Fitela, though not Sigurðr, the former is brought into juxtaposition, and apparently also into comparison, with a Danish prince named Heremod. The same two persons are brought together also in the Old Norse poem Hyndlulióð, while the Hákonarmál likewise seems to imply some connection between them, as I have tried to show elsewhere[75]. Apart from the passages specified this Hermóðr (Heremod) is apparently not mentioned in Scandinavian literature, but the facts noted seem to indicate that the two characters were connected in poetry before English and Danish tradition became separated, i.e. presumably in the sixth century.

We have seen that many of the persons mentioned in the main narrative of Beowulf were remembered also in Scandinavian tradition. But since these persons are in all probability to be regarded as historical, it is hardly safe to infer the existence of ancient Scandinavian poems, unless the same incidents are related of them, which is generally not the case. There is a rather striking verbal resemblance[76] between the first speech of Wiglaf (Beow. 2633-60) and certain passages in Biarkamál (especially Saxo's version), where Hialti is addressing Biarki; and this fact is the more noteworthy if Biarki is really to be identified with Beowulf. But the words themselves are of a somewhat general character and might have been used on other occasions. Again there is a certain affinity[77] between the account of the dragon-fight in Beowulf and that of a similar incident related of Frotho I by Saxo (p. [38] f.); and here again a connection can be traced indirectly between the two heroes. But the story of Frotho seems really rather to resemble the account given in Beowulf of Sigemund's dragon-fight; so it may be questioned whether the points of affinity between the two did not originally form part of a standard description of incidents of this kind.

A clearer case is that of the poems attributed by Saxo to Starcatherus, in which that warrior exhorts Ingellus to avenge his father. These are clearly to be connected with the speech of the old warrior to Ingeld in Beowulf (vv. 2047-2056), though there is little verbal resemblance. Moreover we have seen (p. [41] f.) that in Alcuin's time poems dealing with Ingeld were known and probably popular in England. The relationship of the passage in Beowulf to these may be compared with that of another passage (vv. 1068-1159) to the fragment dealing with Finn. The poems on Ingeld given by Saxo are traced by Prof. Olrik[78] to a Danish source; and there can be little doubt that his view is correct, as they share the characteristics exhibited by other stories which appear to come from the same quarter (cf. p. [111]). Thus the queen's name is not given and her brothers are described simply as sons of Suertingus. Further, the story is cut right away from the surroundings in which we find it in Beowulf, and it may be that for a time it survived in Denmark only in ballad form. Yet, however much change it had undergone before it came under Saxo's treatment, there can be little doubt, in view of the English evidence, that its origin is ultimately to be sought in heroic poetry, or at all events heroic narrative, dating from the sixth century.

Lastly we must mention the story of Uffo's single combat, though, strictly speaking, this is probably not of Danish origin. It was certainly well known in England and there is good reason for believing that its home is to be found in the district to which it refers, i.e. the neighbourhood of Angel, Slesvig and Rendsburg. I have tried elsewhere[79] to show that this story also rests on historical foundations. But the details of the combat, as given by Saxo and Svend Aagesen, and certain legendary features, such as the dumbness or silence of the hero, which are present in both the Danish and English versions of the story, strongly favour the view that it was embodied in poetic form at a very early period. On the other hand there is nothing to show that such poems survived till Saxo's time. The story is apparently unknown to all Norse authorities.

Many of the German poems which have come down to us are known to be derived, directly or indirectly, from earlier ones, but regarding the antiquity of the latter nothing can be stated with certainty. The Hildebrandslied, which is the only extant piece of early poetry, goes back at all events to the eighth century. Further, the language[80] used by Einhard in describing the poems collected by Charlemagne (cf. p. [5] f.) would scarcely be appropriate unless they were believed to be more than a century old by that time. We may probably therefore refer them at least to the seventh century.

It seems likely that some of the lost poems of the Langobardi were of still greater antiquity. In the poem which celebrated their victory over the Vandals (cf. p. [10]), a story with which we shall have to deal more fully in a later chapter, a very prominent part appears to have been played by the heathen gods. Such a piece can hardly have been composed after the end of the fifth century, at which time the Langobardi were already Christians.

Regarding the antiquity of Gothic heroic poetry there can be no question, for Jordanes, our chief authority on this subject, wrote about the middle of the sixth century, i.e. during the Heroic Age itself. We have already noticed (p. [37]) that his account of Eormenric appears to be coloured by poetic tradition. But of the heroes whom he enumerates (cap. 5) as celebrated in poetry, the only one of whom we know anything, Vidigoia, is described as Gothorum fortissimus in a quotation (cap. 34) from Priscus, who lived about a century earlier[81]. There is good reason therefore for believing that the Goths possessed heroic poems as early as the first half of the fifth century.

We may now sum up briefly the results of our discussion. The heroic poetry of the Goths certainly belonged to the Heroic Age itself, and it is more than likely that certain Langobardic poems were nearly as old. Some heroic poems belonging to other German peoples may probably be referred at least to the seventh century. The chief monument of English heroic poetry must be ascribed to the first half of that century, while some of the other poems claim to be of greater antiquity. The lost heroic poetry of the Danes seems to have been occupied largely with the same subjects as the English poems, and since the stories generally refer to the Baltic we may reasonably infer that heroic poetry flourished in that region during the sixth century. On the whole then it seems probable that the development of heroic poetry began in the Heroic Age itself, not only among the Goths but throughout the greater part of the Teutonic world.

FOOTNOTES:

[33] Verba Dei legantur in sacerdotali conuiuio. ibi decet lectorem audiri, non citharistam; sermones patrum, non carmina gentilium. quid Hinieldus cum Christo? angusta est domus; utrosque tenere non poterit. non uult rex coelestis cum paganis et perditis nominetenus regibus communionem habere, quia rex ille aeternus regnat in coelo, ille paganus perditus plangit in inferno. uoces legentium audiri in domibus tuis, non ridentium turuam in plateis. Mon. Germ., Epist. Carol. II 124; cf. O. Jänicke, ZfdA. XV 314.

[34] The names Grendel, Cain, Abel, Alexandreas and Casere are not included.

[35] For the figures and the method of calculation see Note I.

[36] But open to very serious objections, as has been shown by Prof. W. W. Lawrence in the Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, XXIV 251 ff.

[37] Compound names containing wīd- or -sīþ (-sinþ-) are used in other Teutonic languages; but the latter apparently does not occur in England, while the former is extremely rare.

[38] In contrast with the body of the poem (vv. 10-134) it is non-strophic, after the general fashion of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Originally when the poem was recited it may have been introduced with a short explanation in prose, such as we find e.g. in Rígsmál or Atlakviða. The epilogue (vv. 135-143), which is likewise non-strophic, may belong to the same stratum.

[39] Especially the regular use of unsyncopated forms such as 3 sg. onwindeð, past part. onsended.

[40] The statistics for these poems are as follows: Juliana 27:3, Christ (II) 28:3, Elene 66:9, Guthlac (A) 42:6, Dream of the Cross 10:5, Exodus 10:14, Beowulf 13:65; see Brandl, S.-B. d. Akad. der Wiss. zu Berlin, 1905, p. 718 f.

[41] Cf. Brandl, l.c. (p. 721 ff.).

[42] Hist. Eccl., IV 24: canebat autem de creatione mundi et origine humani generis et tota genesis historia, de egressu Israel ex Aegypto et ingressu in terram repromissionis, de aliis plurimis sacrae scripturae historiis, de incarnatione dominica, passione, resurrectione et ascensione in caelum, de Spiritus Sancti aduentu et apostolorum doctrina. item de terrore futuri iudicii et horrore poenae gehennalis ac dulcedine regni caelestis multa carmina faciebat; sed et perplura de beneficiis et iudiciis diuinis, etc. Prof. Brandl (Grundr., II 1028) holds that the reference is to lyric poems throughout. But is this interpretation really necessary?

[43] On this date see Note II.

[44] For a brief discussion of this question see Note III.

[45] A few examples are given in the following chapter.

[46] vv. 27, 72, 101, 570, 670, 706, 711, 756 (?), 786, 788, 790, 801, 806, 811, 852, 940, 967, 975, 986 (?), 1201, 1255, 1379, 1626, 1658, 1680, 1682, 2088, 2182, 2216 (?), 2276 (?), 2469, 2650, 3083 (?).

[47] vv. 168 f. (?), 227 f., 440 f., 478 f., 588 f., 625 f., 945 f., 955 f., 1314 f., 1397 f., 1778 f., 1841 f., 1997 f., 2819 f., 2874 f., 3108 f.

[48] vv. 13-17, 90-8, 106-14, 316-8, 381-4, 665-7 (?), 685-7, 696-702, 928-31, 977-9, 1056-62, 1261-5, 1271-6, 1553-6, 1609-11, 1661-4, 1688-93, 1716-8, 2291-3, 2329-31, 2341-3 (?), 2741-3, 2794-7, 2855-9, 3054-7, 3069-73.

[49] vv. 588 f., 977-9. 2741-3. 2819 f.

[50] It is perhaps worth noting that in v. 2186 the expression dryhten wereda is used of Hygelac. Elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon poetry this phrase is applied only to the Deity.

[51] Clark Hall, Beowulf, p. xxviii.

[52] If there is Celtic influence at all it is more probably Welsh.

[53] Cf. p. [46], note, where the passage is quoted in full.

[54] The amount of freedom differs of course greatly from case to case (cf. Note IV, p. [101] ff.); but it is only in communities which have elaborated the art of minstrelsy to a very high degree that the form of words can become absolutely stereotyped.

[55] Beowulf (1889), pp. 110-160.

[56] Quellen und Forschungen, LXII (1888); summarised p. 242 ff.

[57] The Origin of the English Nation, p. 93, note.

[58] The references quoted on p. [41] ff. preclude the possibility that these stories were first acquired from the Danes, when the latter again became known in this country about the close of the eighth century.

[59] A different view is taken by Schücking, Beowulfs Rückkehr (Studien zur engl. Philologie, XXI), p. 65 ff.

[60] We may refer especially to the account of Attila's funeral given by Jordanes, cap. 49 (from Priscus).

[61] Apart from certain expressions the general tone of these speeches, especially the last words of all (v. 2813 ff.), is scarcely Christian; but they contain nothing which is obviously opposed to Christian doctrine.

[62] E.g. in the imprecation, v. 3069 ff. The imprecatory formulae of charters can scarcely be regarded as analogous.

[63] Cf. Brandl, op. cit., p. 1003.

[64] The same idea is frequently expressed in the Homeric poems, e.g. Il. VII 79 f., XXII 342 f., XXIII 75 f., XXIV 37 f., Od. XI 71 ff., etc.

[65] This date does not depend in any way on the question where the poem originated. Cremation may possibly have lingered in Northumbria longer than elsewhere; but that kingdom seems to have become entirely Christian between 626 and 642.

[66] E.g. possibly some of the elegiac passages (e.g. vv. 2236-2270, 2450-2464), which show a certain resemblance to such poems as the Ruin and the Wanderer.

[67] The name Hegelinge in Kûdrûn is probably a corruption of Hetelinge (i.e. Heodeningas).

[68] Presumably including vv. 88-108; but I am not prepared to suggest an elaborate analysis of the poem.

[69] These lists are perhaps derived in part from mnemonic catalogues—'inventories' of the stories known to the minstrels who composed them. Metrical catalogues of this kind are said to be in use among Servian minstrels at the present day; cf. Krauss, Slavische Volkforschungen, p. 186 ff., where a specimen is given.

[70] Waldhere, Deor and Widsith all contain 'Christian' passages, like Beowulf. The interpolations in Widsith (e.g. vv. 15 f., 82 ff.) appear to have been made by some one who possessed a certain amount of erudition; but there is no need to attribute them to a different period.

[71] Cf. Olrik, Kilderne til Sakses Oldhistorie, p. 132.

[72] The name appears to have been quite common in the North during the Viking Age; yet the apparent absence of umlaut suggests derivation from a (Frisian?) form corresponding to the Ang.-Sax. Aetla (cf. Aecci, Aeddi beside Acca, Adda).

[73] In contrast (e.g.) with Kûdrûn, which clearly shows its foreign origin (cf. p. [34]).

[74] Such names may have been current before, though their frequent occurrence is no proof of this and may be due to the popularity of the heroic poems. It is perhaps worth noting that alliteration is shown by certain names which are generally believed to have been introduced into the story in Norway or Iceland, e.g. Oddrún, Erpr, Eitill with Atli, Giaflaug, Gullrönd (Guðrún?) with Giuki and Gunnarr. If we may judge from the genealogies in Landnámabók and elsewhere the principle of alliteration seems to have been generally given up in family names before the ninth century.

[75] The Cult of Othin, p. 51 f.

[76] Cf. Bugge, Beiträge, XII 45 ff.

[77] Cf. Sievers, Ges. d. Wiss. zu Leipzig, Ber. 1895, p. 180 ff.

[78] Kilderne til Sakses Oldhistorie, pp. 18 ff., 132.

[79] The Origin of the English Nation, p. 118 ff.

[80] Item barbara et antiquissima carmina, quibus ueterum regum actus et bella canebantur, scripsit memoriaeque mandauit (Vita Caroli Magni, cap. 29).

[81] Cassiodorus (Var. VIII 9) states that the Gothic king Gensimundus, who according to Jordanes (cap. 48) reigned shortly after Eormenric's death, was widely celebrated in poetry (toto orbe cantabilis); but his name is preserved only in Gothic records.

[NOTE I. THE USE OF HEROIC NAMES IN ENGLAND.]

The distribution of heroic names in English historical documents is as follows. The Liber Vitae contains 35 (37), of which nine (eleven) are peculiar to that work[82]. Of those which occur in other documents 29[83] belong to persons born apparently before 700, six to such persons only, 14 or 15[84] to persons born between 700 and 800, two to such persons only, and 22[85] to persons born after 800, four to such persons only. It must be remembered that, apart from the Liber Vitae, the materials for the ninth and tenth centuries are much more abundant than those for earlier times.

In the Liber Vitae itself it is possible within certain limits to distinguish between persons of early and later date. Investigations in the lists of kings, queens and abbots have shown that they are arranged chronologically, and it is only reasonable therefore to expect that the same is true of the much longer lists of clerics and monks. A brief examination of the names will make it clear that such is actually the case. Some modernisms of language, such as -ferth for -frith, or of orthography, such as -ht- for -ct-, are practically confined to the last parts of the lists, which may be by later hands[86]. But even within the parts certainly written by the first scribe archaic forms such as -iu- for -io- are more frequent at the beginning of the lists than later; so also occasional -b- for -f-. Above all we may note the uncompounded names in -i, a type common in early Anglo-Saxon, but practically extinct after the eighth century. Fol. 24, the first in the clerics' list, contains eleven such names, while fol. 30 contains none; fol. 34, the first in the monks' list, has eight, while fol. 38 has only one.

Now we shall probably be well within the mark if we assume that one fifth of the names in each list[87] belong to persons born in the seventh century. On this basis we find that of the 35 (37) heroic names which occur in the Liber Vitae nine (ten) are limited to persons of the seventh century[88], and twelve (thirteen) to persons of the eighth[89]. The total number of names in each century (cf. p. [43]) may be obtained by comparing the evidence of the Liber Vitae with that of the other documents[90].

The fact that so many heroic names occur in the Liber Vitae has led several writers to conclude that the true home of English heroic poetry was in the north. But no such inference is really justified by the evidence. The number of personal names recorded for the south of England during the sixth and seventh centuries is very small; yet it is only here that we meet with persons called Eormenric, Hoc and Hagena—names which belong to quite different cycles of story. Moreover out of the 37 heroic names preserved in the Liber Vitae no less than 28 occur in place-names in various parts of England. The frequence therefore of heroic names in the Liber Vitae is to be attributed in part to the great abundance of the material and in part to its comparatively early date.

Including the evidence of the Liber Vitae there are fifteen heroic names which seem to be borne only by persons of the eighth century or later times. Eight of these however occur also in place names[91]. Of the remaining seven[92] all except one or possibly two[93] make their appearance during the eighth century. On the other hand it has already been mentioned that not less than nineteen heroic names[94] occur only in local nomenclature.

We have still to mention a few heroic names which are not found in the extant remains of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Theodhere (Diether) is known only from the sixth century, Hild, Herding, Iuring, Omoling only from the seventh, Hildegyth and Blaedla from the seventh and eighth, Wulfheard from all periods, Ecga only from the eighth century, Ecgheard from the eighth and ninth, Sigesteb only from the ninth. Hild, Wulfheard and Ecga are found also in place-names. In some of these cases, e.g. in that of Hildegyth, the non-occurrence of the name in the poems is clearly due to mere accident; but it would scarcely be safe to assume that all these characters were celebrated in Anglo-Saxon poetry.

FOOTNOTES:

[82] 37 (eleven), if we admit the emendation of the corrupt forms Vychga and Vurmeri to Wydiga (Widia, Wudga) and Vyrmheri (Wyrmhere). See the Addenda.

[83] Ecglaf, Eadgils, Eomaer, *Eormenric, Frod(a), Hereric, *Hoc, *Hrothmund, Ingeld, Offa, Oslaf, Sigemund, *Aehha, Sigeferth, Aetla, *Hagena, Theodric, Waldhere, Becca, Witta, Wada, Oswine, Sigehere, *Sceafthere, Alewih, Aelfwine, Eadwine, Wulfhere, Frithuric; perhaps also Herebald. The asterisk denotes names limited to persons of the sixth and seventh centuries.