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GIRTON COLLEGE STUDIES 
 
 Edited by Lilian Knowles, Litt.D., Reader in Economic History 
 IN the University op London 
 
 No. 3 
 
 SIDELIGHTS ON TEUTONIC HISTORY 
 
 DURING 
 THE MIGRATION PERIOD 
 
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 
 ILontJon: FETTER LANE, E.G. 
 
 C. F. CLAY, Manager 
 
 (fiintiurgf) : 100, PRINCES STREET 
 
 JSerlin: A. ASHER AND CO. 
 
 ILeipjtg: F. A. BROCKHAUS 
 
 i^fto lorfe: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 ©ombag anH GTalnitta: MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd. 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
IDELIGHTS ON TEUTONIC HISTORY 
 
 DURING 
 
 THE MIGRATION PERIOD 
 
 \ 
 
 BEING 
 
 STUDIES FROM BEOWULF AND OTHER 
 OLD ENGLISH POEMS 
 
 BY 
 M. G. CLARKE, M.A. 
 
 Cambridge : 
 
 at the University Press 
 191 1 
 
-^N"^"^ 
 
 t<» 
 
 \ 
 
 Camfaritjge : 
 
 PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. 
 AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 
 
 j 
 
PREFACE 
 
 THE following chapters are the outcome of two periods 
 of study undertaken during the tenure of research 
 scholarships awarded by Girton College, and form an 
 attempt to discover the amount of historical truth under- 
 lying the allusions to persons and events in the Old 
 English heroic poems. 
 
 The essay deals with an aspect of these poems, which 
 has not, so far as I know, been treated systematically by 
 anyone who has previously written on the subject. Thus, 
 in the absence of any model, I have had to work on 
 independent lines, especially as regards the grouping and 
 arrangement of different traditions, and the method of 
 discussion followed in the several chapters. The actual 
 arrangement has been adopted for convenience of discus- 
 sion, according to the nationality of the persons concerned, 
 except in cases where a particular section forms a complete 
 epic narrative with a personal (as opposed to a national) 
 interest of its own: in these cases the tradition has been 
 discussed under the heading of the poem in which it is 
 contained, or that of the character round whom the 
 narrative centres. 
 
VI PREFACE 
 
 Each chapter is arranged thus : — 
 
 I. An account of the tradition respecting the nation 
 or hero in question, pieced together from the scattered 
 allusions in the poems. 
 
 II. The evidence of other authorities dealing with 
 the same traditions or with the same characters. 
 
 III. A comparative view of the evidence of these 
 authorities in its relation to the substance of the Old 
 English poems. 
 
 IV. A summary of the inferences as to historical 
 truth which may justifiably be deduced from the allusions 
 in the poems. 
 
 The positive results obtained are often extremely 
 meagre, and in no case do they make any claim to finality. 
 Though much work has been done in this direction, much 
 still remains : and any value which this study may 
 possess lies chiefly in exploring new possibilities and in 
 indicating the paths along which further research may in 
 time lead to more definite conclusions. 
 
 Note. In the first three chapters a certain amount of repetition 
 has been inevitable owing to the close relations existing between 
 Swedes, Gautar and Danes, and the frequent necessity of citing the 
 same facts in connection with each. 
 
 Some explanation must be added regarding the use of proper 
 names, which may at times appear somewhat inconsistent : each 
 name has, as far as possible, been given in the form in which it 
 occurs in the particular authority under discussion at the moment, 
 e.g. in dealing with English evidence the English form has been 
 given, as ' Beowulf,' ' Offa,' while in citing Scandinavian evidence, 
 the Scandinavian forms have been employed, as 'Bgdvar,' 'UflFo,' 
 
PREFACE Vll 
 
 and so od. (The exceptions to this are well established English 
 forms such as ' Swanhild,' ' Walther.' I have used these wherever 
 possible, usually giving in brackets the particular forms employed 
 by different authorities.) On more neutral ground, viz. sections iii 
 and IV of each chapter containing the comparison of evidence and 
 probable historical value of the tradition in question, the most 
 generally accepted form of the name — where possible its English 
 equivalent — has been adopted. 
 
 In Scandinavian personal names, it may be added, the final in- 
 flexional consonant has been discarded, except in the case of names 
 ending in a vowel. 
 
 The subject of the study was originally suggested to 
 me by Mr H. M. Chad wick, Fellow of Clare College, 
 Cambridge : I have been under constant obligation to 
 Mr Chadwick for the help he has given me in the course 
 of my work, and many valuable ideas, which I owe to 
 him, are incorporated in the essay. My thanks are equally 
 due to Professor Napier of Oxford University for assist- 
 ance especially in the latter stages of the work, including 
 many useful criticisms and suggestions. Many facts 
 regarding Icelandic literature and sociology have been 
 brought to my notice by Miss B. S. Phillpotts, lately 
 Librarian of Girton College. I have also to acknowledge 
 the assistance which I have received from Miss Bentinck 
 Smith, Headmistress of St Leonard's School, St Andrews, 
 formerly Lecturer and Director of Studies in Mediaeval 
 aud Modern Languages at Girton College: Mr Eirikr 
 Magniisson, late Assistant Librarian, Cambridge University 
 Library; Sir W. M. Ramsay, Professor of Humanity in 
 the University of Aberdeen; Mr H. J. C. Grierson, 
 Professor of English Literature in the University of 
 
Vlll PREFACE 
 
 Aberdeen ; my father, Mr John Clarke, Lecturer in 
 Education in the University of Aberdeen, and others: 
 as also the facilities for study and the courtesy and 
 kindness extended to me by the Librarian and Assistants 
 of the Cambridge University Library. 
 
 M. G. CLARKE 
 
 St Andrews 
 
 28 January 1911 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. 
 
 List of Chief Abbreviations 
 Introductory Chapter 
 The Geatas. 
 
 I. The Geatas in Beowulf and Widsith 
 
 II. Evidence derived from Scandinavian literature 
 
 regarding 
 
 a. The person of Beowulf 
 
 h. The Geatas 
 
 Historical references to the Geatas (Gotar) in foreign 
 
 authorities 
 
 Ill, IV. Comparison of evidence, and summary of 
 historical facts underlying the references to 
 the Geatas (Gotar) in Beowulf and Widsith . 
 
 II. The Danes. 
 
 I. The Danes in Beowulf . 
 The Danes in Widsith 
 
 II. Other references to the Danes 
 
 Historical references 
 
 Hrolfssaga kraka 
 
 Landndmahok 
 
 Tnglingasaga 
 
 Saxo 
 
 Skdldskapermdl 
 
 Arngrim Jonsson's epitome of Skjqldungasaga 
 
 PAGE 
 
 xi 
 
 25 
 
 31 
 
 38 
 
 42 
 
 44 
 
 58 
 60 
 
 61 
 62 
 63 
 
 68 
 69 
 
 72 
 74 
 76 
 
L CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 III. Comparison of evidence with regard to the Danes 
 
 Yrsa and Hrolf Kraki . 
 
 Heoroweard . 
 
 Hrothgar and Hrothulf 
 
 The Hall Heorot . 
 
 Hrethric 
 
 Hrothgar's Warriors 
 
 The Heathobeardan in Beowulf . 
 
 The identity of Froda the Heathobeard 
 
 Sigehere and Alevih 
 
 Heremod 
 
 Scyld Scefing 
 
 Healfdene 
 
 Beowulf (cf Beo. 1. 53 ff.) 
 
 The Ring Sviagris 
 
 IV. Summary of evidence on Danish tradition in the 
 
 light of its historical value 
 
 80 
 
 82 
 
 90 
 
 91 
 
 93 
 
 95 
 
 101 
 
 103 
 
 114 
 
 116 
 
 121 
 
 122 
 
 130 
 
 134 
 
 136 
 
 138 
 145 
 146 
 
 III. The Swedes 
 
 I. The Swedes in Beowulf . 
 
 II. References to the Swedes 
 
 (1) in Latin historians 147 
 
 (2) in Scandinavian authorities . . . .147 
 
 III. Comparison of evidence with regard to the Swedes . 149 
 
 IV. Historical facts underlying the Swedish traditions 
 
 in Beowulf ....... 154 
 
 IV. Offa. 
 
 I. Offa in Beowulf and Widsith 157 
 
 II. Other authorities for Offa 158 
 
 Vita Offae I . .159 
 
 Vita Offae II 161 
 
 III. Comparison of evidence with regard to Offa . 165 
 
 IV. Historical facts underlying references to Offa in 
 
 Beovmlf and Widsith 174 
 
CONTENTS xi 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 V. Finn. 
 
 I and III. Discussion of the epic fragment Finn and 
 
 of the Finn episode in Beoioulf . . .177 
 
 IV. Historical background of the Finn saga . .184 
 VI. Deor 188 
 
 a. HiLDE SAGA 
 
 I. Hilde saga in the Old English poems . . 190 
 
 II. Other authorities for the Hilde saga 
 
 Skdldskapermdl 191 
 
 Saxo . . . . . . . . . 192 
 
 Sgrlapdtt7^ 194 
 
 Mhg. epic Qiidrun 197 
 
 III. Comparison of evidence with regard to the 
 
 Hilde saga 199 
 
 IV. Historical value of the Hilde saga . . .201 
 h. Weland saga. 
 
 I, Weland saga in Old English poems . . . 201 
 
 II. Other authorities for Weland saga 
 
 Vqlundarqvida ....... 202 
 
 Thid^rekssaga ....... 203 
 
 III and IV. Discussion of evidence regarding the 
 Weland saga, and a consideration of its 
 historical value 206 
 
 YII. The Burgdndians and Waldere. 
 
 a. The Burgundians ...*... 209 
 
 I. References to the Burgundians in Old English 
 
 poems 209 
 
 II. Foreign authorities containing evidence with 
 
 . regard to the Burgundians . . . .210 
 
 III. IV. The Burgundians in history . . .211 
 
 The Burgundians in saga . . . .213 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 b. Waldere, 
 
 Classification of versions of the saga . . . 218 
 
 I. Aleraannic version of Walthari saga 
 
 A. S. Waldere 219' 
 
 Waltharms of Ekkehart I . . . .221 
 
 II. Frankish version of Walthari saga 
 
 Mhg. fragments of Walther und Hildegund . 225 
 
 ThidreJcssaga 225 
 
 III. Comparison of authorities dealing with Walthari 
 
 saga 226 
 
 IV. Historical value of Walthari saga . . . 227 
 
 VIII. The Ermanric Saga 
 a. Ermanric. 
 
 I. Ermanric in Old English literature . . . 232 
 
 II. Foreign references to the Ermanric saga . . 233 
 
 Ammianus Marcellinus 234 
 
 Jordanes 234 
 
 Hamdis-mdl ....... 235 
 
 Saxo 236 
 
 Vqlsungasaga 237 
 
 III. Comparison of evidence regarding Ermanric . 238 
 
 h. Ermanric's "Innweorud" 240 
 
 East-Gota, Becca, etc 241 
 
 Theodric 244 
 
 Heathoric and Sifecan, Hlithe and Incgen- 
 
 theow, etc 246 
 
 Wudga and Hama . . . . . . 247 
 
 c. Brosinga mene 250 
 
 IV. Historical background of Ermanric saga . . 253 
 Note to Chapter VIII 255 
 
 Conclusion 257 
 
 Appendix I. Nations and Kings visited by Widsith 260 
 
 Appendix II. List of Genealogies . . . 270 
 
 Bibliography 275 
 
LIST OF CHIEF ABBREVIATIONS 
 
 Aarh. f. nord. Oldkynd. 
 
 Aarh^ger for nordiske Oldkyndighed. 
 
 Ahh. d. Berl. Akad. 
 
 Ahhandlungen der Berliner Akademie. 
 
 Acad. 
 
 Academy. 
 
 A.f.d.A. 
 
 Anzeiger fur deutsches Altertum. 
 
 Alp. 
 
 Alpha7'is Tod. 
 
 Ammian. 
 
 Ammianus Marcellinus. 
 
 Angl. 
 
 Anglia. 
 
 Ann. Quedl. 
 
 Annals of Quedlinhurg. 
 
 Archiv 
 
 Archiv filr das Studium der neueren 
 
 
 Sprachen und Litteratur. 
 
 Ark. f. nord. Fil. 
 
 Arkiv for nordisk Filologi. 
 
 A. S. Chr. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 
 
 B.B.z.A. 
 
 Bonner Beitrdge zur Anglistik. 
 
 Beo. 
 
 Beowidf. 
 
 Bit. 
 
 Biterolf. 
 
 Bjr. 
 
 Bjarkarimur. 
 
 Bfl, 
 
 Dietriches Flucht. 
 
 D.H.D. 
 
 Danmarks Heltedigtning. 
 
 D.H.S. 
 
 Deutsche Heldensage. 
 
 E.E.T.S. 
 
 Early English Text Society. 
 
 E. W.S. 
 
 Early West Saxon. 
 
 Eny. St. 
 
 Englische Studien. 
 
 Fas. 
 
 Fornaldar Sogur. 
 
 Finn. 
 
 Finn Fragment. 
 
 Gen. Vip. 
 
 Genecdogia Viperti {Xllth century). 
 
 Germ. 
 
 Pfeiffer's Germania. 
 
 Get. 
 
 De rebus Getarum (Jordanes). 
 
 Gr. 
 
 Greek. 
 
 Goth. 
 
 De hello Gotkico {Procopius). 
 
 Greg. Tur. 
 
 Gregory of Tours. 
 
 Grottas. 
 
 Grottasqngr. 
 
 H. B. Ank. 
 
 Anhang zum Heldenbuch. 
 
 Hsg. 
 
 Heldensage. 
 
 Hskr. {Hehnskr.) 
 
 Heimskringla. 
 
 Hrolfss. (Hrss.) 
 
 Hrolfssaga Kraka. 
 
 Hyndl. 
 
 Hyndluljod. 
 
 Icel. 
 
 Icelandic. 
 
 Kl. Schr. 
 
 Kleinere Schriften, 
 
XIV 
 
 LIST OF CHIEF ABBREVIATIONS 
 
 L. W.S. 
 
 Late West Saxon. 
 
 Ld. 
 
 Lied. 
 
 Lex Burg. 
 
 Lex Burgundionum. 
 
 L.G. 
 
 Low German. 
 
 ^gfifg- 
 
 Langfedgatal. 
 
 Ltg. 
 
 Litter aturgeschich te. 
 
 Mhq. 
 
 Middle High German. 
 
 m'l.n. 
 
 Modern Language Notes. 
 
 Man. Germ. Hist. 
 
 Monumenta Germaniae Historica {Pertz). 
 
 Mb. 
 
 Nihelungenlied. 
 
 N.R. 
 
 Neue Reihe. 
 
 O.E. 
 
 Old English. 
 
 O.E.T. 
 
 Oldest English Texts. 
 
 Ohg. 
 
 Old High German. 
 
 O.N. 
 
 Old Norse. 
 
 Paul Grdr. 
 
 PauVs Grundriss der gerinanischen Philo- 
 
 
 logie. 
 
 F.B.B. 
 
 Paul und Braune^s Beitrdge zur Geschichte 
 
 
 der Sprache und Litteratur. 
 
 Procop. 
 
 Procopius. 
 
 Q.F. 
 
 Quelleti und Forschungen. 
 
 Rah. 
 
 Rahenschlacht. 
 
 Scand. 
 
 Scandinavian. 
 
 Skcddsk. 
 
 Skdldskapermdl. 
 
 Sn. Ed. 
 
 Snorra Edda. 
 
 S.R.D. 
 
 Scrriptores Rerum Danicarum. 
 
 Sv. Aag. 
 
 Sven Aagesen. 
 
 Thd:s. 
 
 Thidtrekssaga. 
 
 Verhandl. d. Wien. Phil. 
 
 Verhandlungen des Wiener Philosophischen 
 
 Vers. 
 
 Vereins. 
 
 Vqlss. 
 
 Vqlsungasaga. 
 
 Wald. 
 
 Waldere. 
 
 Wids. 
 
 Widsith. 
 
 Wiener S. B. 
 
 Wiener Sitzungsherichte der koniglichen 
 
 
 Akademie der Wissenschaften. 
 
 Yngls. 
 
 Ynglingasaga. 
 
 Z.f.d.A. 
 
 Zeitschrift fiir deutsches Altertum. 
 
 Z'.P.H. 
 
 Zeitschrift fur deutsche Philologie. 
 
INTEODUCTOEY CHAPTEE 
 
 5_ About the middle of the fifth century, bands of Teutonic 
 invaders began to land on the south-east coasts of Britain. 
 The flow of immigration, once started, continued steadily 
 for the next hundred years, and by the end of the sixth 
 century the new-comers had conquered and colonized a 
 great part of the southern half of Britain, pushing the 
 Celtic population westward into the mountainous recesses 
 of Cornwall, Wales and Cumberland. These Teutonic 
 invaders appear, according to the latest authority*, to 
 have been of two distinct nationalities, viz. Anglo-Saxon 
 and Jutish, who migrated across the sea to Britain from 
 Jutland and Schleswig-Holstein. The Jutes, who were 
 numerically in the minority, seem very soon to have lost 
 their national identity and to have become incorporated 
 with the Anglo-Saxon tribes; for their name does not 
 long survive, and in the end of the ninth century we find 
 King Alfred writing — presumably with reference to the 
 whole population — of the nation as Angelcynn and their 
 language as Englisc. At the time of the migration the 
 English were still heathen, but Christianity was introduced 
 in 597, the date of Pope Gregory the Great's first mission 
 
 ' Cf. Mr H. M. Chadwick, The Origin of the English Nation, pp. 88 
 c. 1 
 
 ^<\ 
 
2 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 to Kent, after which the new faith spread steadily through- 
 out the country. 
 
 The settlement of Teutonic tribes in Britain was one 
 of the products of the Great Age of National Migrations, 
 which corresponds roughly to the fourth, fifth and sixth 
 centuries. / These stirring times, when life meant warfare 
 and every man was a warrior, gave birth to " hero saga," 
 — the record of the lives and exploits of great kings or 
 other national heroes — usually in the form of song, i Our 
 Teutonic ancestors, like other nations, delighted in such 
 songs, which were probably performed before them at 
 banquets and on similar occasions. These — still of course 
 in an unwritten state — were carried in the mouths and 
 memories of the people from the continent to their new 
 home, where they very soon attained literary form. Thus, 
 during the first centuries of our forefathers' occupation of 
 England, signs are found of the existence of an heroic, 
 national poetry — essentially heathen in tone — which has 
 its roots in the Migration Period, and therefore goes back 
 to a time previous to the Teutonic Invasion of Britain. 
 There is considerable ground for believing that the poems, 
 as they stand, are the work of professional court minstrels 
 rather than of regular literary men, and in the case of two 
 of them — Widsith and Beor — we have indeed definite 
 statements to this effect. But in no event are the poems 
 to be regarded as popular ; that is, in their present form 
 they do not represent merely the transmission of a common 
 stock of oral tradition amongst the untaught masses of 
 the people; they are the highly-finished productions of 
 men trained to their art, and are probably, in almost every 
 case, to all practical intents the work of single poets. 
 Judging from the — for the most part fragmentary — 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 3 
 
 survival of our early heroic national poetry, it seems 
 likely that only a small part of it has been preserved, but 
 notwithstanding this, our literature is richer in this 
 respect than that of any other Teutonic nation, and is 
 unique in the possession of one complete great epic poem 
 dating from this period, viz. the Beowulf. 
 
 The Old English heroic poems possess then more than 
 a purely literary interest : they are full of allusions to 
 persons, events and traditions of a distant, almost pre- 
 historic age. These allusions are, however, for the most 
 part, of such an obscure and fragmentary nature as to 
 be at times unintelligible, while their interpretation 
 presents in every case a considerable amount of difficulty. 
 
 The names of some of the characters which occur in 
 the poems are known to us in history, and for one or two 
 of the events alluded to or described we have also a sure 
 background of historical fact; but the majority of the 
 persons referred to, with the deeds ascribed to them, are 
 known to us only from the popular traditions and sagas of 
 other nations, while some again are unknown from any 
 other source whatever. 
 
 The Beowulf which is by far the most important 
 specimen of early English national poetry, is an epic poem 
 of 3183 lines. The MS., which is preserved in the British 
 Museum, dates from the tenth century. In view of the 
 many excellent descriptions of the Beowulf which already 
 exist it is not proposed to give here more than the briefest 
 outline of the argument of the poem : those who have 
 the misfortune to be unacquainted with its contents are 
 referred to any good history of English literature, where a 
 full account of it will be found. 
 
 The scene of the poem is laid entirely in Baltic 
 
 1—2 
 
4 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 lands : the hero Beowulf belonged to the people of the 
 Geatas (i.e. Gotar), who occupied the southern part of 
 Sweden*, but the action of the most important part of the 
 poem takes place in Denmark, at the court of the Danish 
 king, Hrothgar. Lines 1-63 trace the descent of the Danish 
 kings from their earliest ancestor, Scyld Scefing, down to 
 Hrothgar, who was then on the throne. Lines 64-2199 
 relate how Beowulf, a noble warrior and the nephew of 
 King Hygelac of the Geatas, freed King Hrothgar's court 
 from the ravages of two monsters of the fens — Grendel 
 and his mother — by killing them both, and how he returned 
 home from the Danish court, covered with glory and laden 
 with rich gifts. This section of the poem contains several 
 important episodes dealing with persons and events not 
 directly concerned in the stor3^ The chief of these are : 
 the so-called Finn episode (11. 1068-1159), containing 
 the story of Hnaef and Finn (cf. Ch. v), the passage 
 referring to Thrytho, the wife of Offa (11. 1931-1962), and 
 an account of the relations between the Danish kings 
 Hrothgar and Hrothulf (Hrothgar's nephew and joint 
 occupant of the throne with him) and the princes of the 
 Heathobeardan Froda and Ingeld (11. 2020-2069), 
 
 Some years after the events recorded in the first part 
 of the Beowulf, Hygelac fell in battle — as we hear later 
 on, he was killed in the land of the Frisians, while 
 Beowulf escaped by swimming (11. 2354-2372). He was 
 succeeded by his son Heardred, who, how^ever, was slain 
 by the Swedish king Onela, for having given sanctuary 
 
 * I.e. with the exception of Skane and, probably, Halland, which 
 belonged to Denmark. Blekinge belonged to Denmark in the eleventh 
 century and later, but at the time of Wulfstan's voyage (Alfred's Orosius) 
 it seems to have belonged to Sweden. 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 5 
 
 and showed kindness to Onela's nephews Eanmund and 
 Eadgils. Beowulf then became king of Geatland. He 
 assisted Eadgils to take vengeance on his uncle Onela, 
 and reigned gloriously over his people for fifty years. At 
 the end of that time he was killed, as the result of a fight 
 with a fiery dragon, whose ravages had reduced the whole 
 land to a state of misery. Beowulf was successful in 
 slaying the monster, and in setting free the hoards of , 
 hidden treasure over which it kept guard, but he was \ 
 mortally wounded in the combat. His body was burnt 
 on a huge funeral pyre, and over his ashes a large barrow \ 
 was erected, in which was placed all the treasure found in \ 
 the dragon's den. The poem ends with a panegyric on j 
 the dead king, spoken by twelve warriors who rode round ^ 
 his barrow (11. 2373-3183). The chief digression from ^ 
 the direct course of the narrative in the last section of the 
 poem deals with the past history of the royal family of 
 the Geatas. 
 
 Of equal importance with the Beowulf, though very 
 much shorter, is Widsith*, a poem of 143 lines, chiefly 
 of a narrative character, though it cannot, like the Beowulf, 
 claim the name of epic. The poem is an account of the 
 fortunes of a professional minstrel (such minstrels, as we 
 have seen, flourished during the Migration Period), told 
 by himself under the figurative name of Widsith (" the 
 Far-Travelled "). In the prologue of the poem, the singer 
 tells that he belonged to the people of the Myrgingas, 
 and that, in company with a princess named Ealhhild, 
 he visited the court of the Gothic king Eormenric. From 
 1. 10 onwards he gives a list of the chief nations and kings 
 known to him, with special reference to any deeds of note 
 
 * MS. Exeter Book. 
 
f) INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 which are associated with their names*. In 1. 50 the poet 
 resumes the thread of his narrative, and gives a further 
 account of his travels, again enumerating the nations whom 
 he has visited. He also tells of his own skill in song, and 
 of the gifts which he received from Guthhere, king of the 
 Burgundians, from Alboin in Italy, from Eormenric, king 
 of the Goths, and from Eadgils, his own patron, the prince 
 of the Myrgingas. Then follows a list of the chief Gothic 
 heroes whom the poet visited, most of whom are known 
 to us from other sources : two of these, Wudga and Hama, 
 are treated at somewhat greater length than the rest, on 
 account of their great prowess. The poem closes with a 
 short epilogue containing reflections on the lives and 
 fortunes of travelling singers. 
 
 ^The great importance of Widsith for the history of 
 
 -the Migration Period lies in the catalogues of kings and 
 -nations incorporated in the poem, which in many cases 
 confirm the evidence of other authorities. The poet has 
 apparently gone on the principle of naming in every case 
 the most famous king of the nation or tribe in question, 
 irrespective of time considerations ; for many of the 
 persons mentioned side by side with one another are, as 
 we shall see, separated from each other in history by 
 large spaces of time. 
 
 The remainder of Old English heroic poetry consists 
 but of three fragments, fjmhi', W alder eX and Deor% of 
 which the first two are also epic. The Finn fragment is 
 apparently part of a lost epic, which — if we can make any 
 
 * Many of these are already familiar figures, while others are quite 
 unknown. 
 
 + MS. lost. X MS. in Royal Library, Copenhagen. 
 
 § MS. Exeter Book. 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 7 
 
 surmises from the Beowulf — was probably of considerable 
 length. It deals with the same story as that referred to 
 in the so-called Finn episode of th ejeowulf (11. 1068- 
 1159). (Cf. Ch. V, pp. 177lP.) ^ 
 
 The other two poems, Waldere and Deor, go off into 
 quite a new field for their subject-matter. The two 
 Waldere fragments — presumably like Finn, part of an 
 epic poem — deal with the Walthari saga, of which several 
 continental (chiefly German) versions exist : this saga was 
 a very favourite theme of song and story on the continent 
 all through the Middle Ages. (Cf Ch. vii, B.) 
 
 Deors Lament is a short elegy and the only Old 
 English poem in strophic form which has survived : like 
 Widsith it purports to be the work of a court minstrel, 
 but, in marked contrast to that poem, is an outburst of 
 grief, describing the troubles attending a singer's career, 
 and the misfortunes which have fallen in his later life on 
 the minstrel himself, who has been ousted from his office 
 as bard of the Heodeningas by a rival singer. The value 
 of the poem for us lies in the references made by the poet 
 to well-known cjiaracters of JbheJEIeroic Age^ whose mis- 
 fortunes he cites in order to illustrate his-^wn unhappy 
 state. The poem consists of six strophes of unequal 
 length, each of which ends with the refrain Thaes ofer- 
 eode, ihisses swd maeg ! (" That came to an end, this 
 may likewise "). 
 
 Old English, like other early- northern poetry, is 
 written in alliterative metre, and it is generally supposed 
 that all old Teutonic poetry, in addition to being allitera- 
 tive, was strophic. The extant Old Norse heroic poems 
 are without exception in this form, and there are distinct 
 traces of a similar structure in Widsith, while in Deor the 
 
8 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 division into strophes is made quite clear by the recurrence 
 — unique in Old English poetry — of a lyrical refrain at 
 the end of each. Strenuous attempts have been made to 
 reconstruct the Beowulf in strophic form, but so far with- 
 out success*. 
 
 We have evidence for only the most general conclusions 
 with regard to the age of the Old English heroic poems. 
 None of the MSS. date from before the tenth century, 
 but the poems themselves belong without doubt to a very 
 much earlier period, for the subject-matter of all of them, 
 as we have seen, relates to the continental period of our 
 nation's history. 
 
 The Beowulf, as will be seen more clearly at a later 
 stage, contains no reference to any event known to have 
 taken place after the middle of the sixth century, and 
 there is, further, no evidence of communication between 
 England and the Baltic lands for about two hundred years 
 onward from that time. It is a reasonable presumption, 
 therefore, that all the information regarding the persons 
 and events celebrated in the Beowulf had reached Eng- 
 land by the middle of the sixth century, and that the 
 materials for the poem and even songs on the subject 
 were already in circulation within the next fifty years, 
 that is, before the close of the century. 
 
 Yet another circumstance has to be taken into account 
 in determining the probable age of the Beowulf All the 
 ceremonies described in the poem are heathen, and the 
 poet is perfectly conversant with heathen rites. An instance 
 in point is the practice of cremation, which is described 
 in detail (11. 3110-3183). Now this practice must have 
 died out early in England, for we nowhere hear of the 
 * Cf. also Cambridge History of English Literature, p. 219. 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 9 
 
 Christian missionaries forbidding it, as they did elsewhere, 
 and as they certainly would have done in England, had 
 the occasion arisen. As missionary activity spread very 
 quickly over England after the introduction of Christi- 
 anity in 597, it is therefore difficult, taking this and other 
 circumstances into account, to place the composition of 
 the Beowulf, as a whole, later than the earlier part of the 
 seventh century (c. 630)*. The Christian invocations and 
 other passages were probably added when objection began 
 to be made to the heathen background of the poem. 
 There are difficulties in the way of assigning the compo- 
 sition of the Beowulf to any one part of England, but the 
 language of the poem seems on the whole to indicate that 
 the first MS. was of Anglian origin. 
 
 The Widsith can make perhaps a claim to even greater 
 antiquity than the Beowulf The poet represents himself 
 as contemporary with Ermanric, the great king of the 
 Ostrogoths, who is known to have died c. 375 (Amm. 
 Marc. XXXI. 3, 1), and characters belonging to the same 
 period predominate in the poem. But there are also 
 references of a later date, and the latest-known historical 
 character alluded to (in the poem) is Alboin (O.E. Aelf- 
 wine), king of Lombardy, who died c. 572 (cf. Paulus 
 Diac. Hist. Langob. i, 27). The most recent hypothesis 
 with regard to the composition of Widsith f is that it is 
 based on the work of an unknown fourth-century minstrel : 
 this existing nucleus was at a later time added to and 
 enlarged, with the idea of following out the earlier poet's 
 
 * For a different view, cf. L. Morsbach, " Zur Datierung des Beowulf 
 Epos " (aus den Nachrichten der k. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu 
 G'dttingen, 1906). 
 
 t Cf. Cambridge History of English Literature^ i, p. 36. 
 
10 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 apparent intention, and making the poem a kind of 
 encyclopaedia of national heroes and their deeds. As such, 
 in fact, it is invaluable to us, for no poem goes further 
 back in its description of persons and events of the Heroic 
 Age than Widsith. 
 
 Little positive evidence can be adduced regarding the 
 date of composition of Finn, W alder e and Deor. There 
 is nothing to prevent us assigning them to the same 
 period as Beowulf Sbud Widsith, for they contain very few 
 allusions to events which took place even as late as the 
 first half of the sixth century, and if the account of the 
 authorship of Deor which we possess is reliable, the poem 
 must be of very great age indeed. In any case it seems 
 improbable that the composition of any of the Old English 
 heroic poems is to be placed later than the first part of 
 the seventh century. The Christian element present in 
 the poems is quite foreign to their main structure and 
 tendency, and may probably be attributed to monastic 
 revision at a later date, which revision did not, however, 
 otherwise affect their form or contents to any appreciable 
 extent. 
 
 It may be thought that too much space has been 
 devoted to a consideration of the age of these poems, but 
 the question is an important one, inasmuch as it is just 
 their age which determines their value as historical 
 evidence. (What we have learned so far on this point 
 only increases our regard for the poems as amongst the 
 most reliable documentary evidence which we possess 
 regarding the events of the Migration Period, and the 
 circumstantial nature of the facts which they relate tends 
 to show, further, that their contents were not regarded in 
 any way as accounts of legendary or mythical exploits, 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 11 
 
 but as records of the most recent history, which had a 
 claim on the attention and interest of the nation as a 
 whole. 
 
 About a hundred years ago the scholastic world awoke 
 to the existence of the Old English heroic poems, which 
 have proved themselves a most fruitful subject of study 
 and discussion ever since. It is difficult to estimate the 
 amount of erudition and industry which has been lavished 
 on these poems — on their every line and almost every 
 word — chiefly by foreign authors. The pioneers in this 
 study were Thorkelin and Grundtvig, Danish scholars, 
 and Kemble, an Englishman, to whom we owe the first 
 really critical edition of the Beowulf and Widsiih in 1833. 
 Kemble's edition was only superseded in 1857 by Grein's, 
 which included all the heroic poems in addition to many 
 others, and which — revised by R. P. Wtilcker, 1881-3 — 
 has remained the standard edition up to the present 
 time notwithstanding the presence of many rivals in the 
 field*. 
 
 It is impossible here to do more than very briefly 
 touch on the work of one or two of the principal writers 
 on this subject. Besides those already mentioned, the 
 names of Grimm, H. Moller, Ten Brink, Sarrazin, Bugge, 
 Olrik, and above all, Mullenhofif, stand out from amongst 
 a host of scholars who have made these poems, and in 
 particular the Beowulf, the subject of special study. The 
 first impulse towards the systematic historical investiga- 
 ^tion of the Beowulf was given at an early stage, for by 
 1820 Grundtvig had discovered the identity of Hygelac, 
 king of the Geatas, who figures in the poem, with Chochi- 
 laicus, whom the historian Gregory of Tours reports to 
 * For chief Beowulf editions, cf. Bibliography at end of book. 
 
12 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 have been killed by the Franks c. 520*. Thus one time- 
 point in the story was fixed, and interest in this aspect of 
 the poems having been once aroused, soon developed in 
 the works of Kemble, Grein, Miillenhoff and many others. 
 Curious, hitherto-unnoticed coincidences of names and of 
 descriptions and events between the Old English poems 
 and continental — chiefly Scandinavian — poems, sagas, 
 and historical works of a later date began to be discovered, 
 and when attention had been called to these, the clues 
 were followed up — and are still being followed — with 
 great zeal and with excellent results throughout the whole 
 of early Teutonic literature. Much information valuable 
 for the interpretation of the Old English poems has also 
 been obtained from the works of early historians (cf inf. 
 p. 23). 
 
 The poems, owing to the extremely meagre data which 
 exist concerning them, offer a wide field for conjecture, of 
 which in some cases full advantage has certainly been 
 taken ; for Grundtvig, Sarrazin, Bugge and others go 
 even the length of attributing a Scandinavian origin to 
 the Beowulf \ As a rule too, great weight has been laid 
 on the mythological aspect of the Beowulf which has 
 sometimes indeed been allowed to overshadow its historical 
 significance f. Of all those who have approached the poem 
 from this side the greatest is probably Miillenhoff. His 
 view, which has been shared by many others, but which 
 in the light of subsequent study it is very difficult to 
 accept, is that Beowulf's exploits against Grendel and his 
 mother are of purely mythical interest, although Beowulf 
 
 "" Grundtvig, Bjowulfs Drape, Copenhagen, 1820. 
 t This remark is specially applicable to the works of Kemble, Leo 
 and Ettmuller. 
 
INTRODUCTOKY CHAPTER 13 
 
 in his relation to Hygelac, Hrothgar, etc. is probably to be 
 regarded as an historical figure. There is still a tendency 
 amongst many scholars to emphasize the mythical element 
 in the poems, and though there can be no doubt that 
 such an element is present in them, it is equally certain 
 that its importance has been much over-rated in the past. 
 Although much has been done along the lines of the 
 historical investigation of the English heroic poems, much 
 still remains to do : but the good results already obtained 
 give promise of a not too far distant time when research 
 shall have firmly established their position as historical 
 documents, as well as the actual value of the characters 
 and events which they describe. 
 
 Note. — In the following chapters there will be frequent 
 occasion to quote, and otherwise refer to, works of Scandi- 
 navian origin. It has therefore been thought desirable 
 to add to this chapter a brief survey of Old Norse litera- 
 ture. This section can make, however, no claim to 
 completeness, as it only professes to deal with those 
 works of Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic literature 
 which contribute in some way towards the elucidation 
 of the Old English heroic poems. 
 
 Outline Sketch of Old Norse Literature*. 
 
 The expression "Old Norse" is commonly used as tb^ 
 generic term to cover both Old Norwegian and Old \ 
 Icelandic literature : for the latter, as it were, grew out 
 of and inherited the greatness of the former. Iceland 
 
 * The materials for this section have been drawn from F. Jonsson, 
 Den oldnorshe Litteraturs Historie, 2 Bd. Copenhagen, 1898-1902, and 
 E. Mogk, in Paul's Gi-undriss, Vol. ii, pp. 71 — 142. 
 
14 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 was politically an offspring of Norway, and was founded 
 in the last quarter of the ninth century (870), by those 
 Norwegian chiefs who were dissatisfied with the newly 
 assumed supremacy of Harold FaiczHair, and who left 
 their country in order to obtain freedom in voluntary 
 exile. The new democratic state founded on the western 
 shores of Iceland enjoyed complete political independence 
 for four centuries : but during that time, although they 
 refused to acknowledge Norwegian supremacy, the Ice- 
 landers never lost their " national Norwegian self-con- 
 sciousness," but preserved throughout a close bond of 
 union with the mother-country. Movements, begun in 
 Norway, developed and came to fruition in Iceland. The 
 history of culture and literature in the two countries 
 during these centuries cannot be separated, for it really 
 forms one contiguous growth, towards which the existence 
 up to the twelfth century of a common language was a 
 powerful contributory factor. 
 
 The literary, like the political history of Norway, does 
 not really begin until the ninth century, and in O.N. 
 literature three periods are clearly distinguishable, the 
 outstanding features of which may be tabulated as 
 follows : 
 
 I. Scaldic Period. 
 
 From the beginning of historical times, i.e. 
 c. 850-1100. 
 
 Edda and scaldic poems. 
 
 II. Saga Period. 
 
 c. 1100-c. 1300. 
 
 Original prose works, viz. sagas and laws. 
 Translations : revisions of sagas. 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 15 
 
 III. Copying and Collecting Period. 
 
 c. 1300-c. 1450. 
 
 (1) Copying and collecting of older works. 
 
 (2) Writing of annals and rhyming poems. 
 
 I. The Edda Poems are anonj^mous poems in simple 
 metre, the subjects of which were first drawn from the 
 ancient northern mythological system, and later on — like 
 O.E. heroic poetry — from hero saga. In view of their 
 language and metre these poems are assigned by the 
 best authority to various dates between c. 850 and c. 1050. 
 The great majority are probably of Norwegian origin, and 
 they appear — once more like the O^E^h^eroic__pQfi^ms — to 
 hav e been th^ -jgork of professional minstrels. Closely 
 allied to, and a secondary development of Eddie poetry, 
 was scaldic song, which was, however, of a much more 
 formal and elaborate nature. The scaldic poems also 
 made use of oral tradition, mythology and hero saga, but 
 unlike those of the Edda, which were of general import, 
 they always celebrated the person or deeds of a king or 
 prince, and thus had a special signi ficance . 
 
 The scalds, in fact, probably cultivated their art fully 
 as much from a practical as from a poetic point of view, 
 as a young warrior immediately made a name and procured 
 himself advancement by the composition of songs in praise 
 of his master. 
 
 We are here directly concerned with only a few of the 
 Eddie poems. Undoubtedly one of the oldest of them is 
 Skirnismdl^, dating probably from c. 900. It is an ardent 
 love poem and relates how the Qod Frey passionately 
 loved a maiden named Gerda, and how he at last won her 
 love in return. 
 
16 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 ^ Vgliindarqvida^ belongs to almost the same period as 
 Skirnismdl. It dates, according to Finnur Jonsson, from 
 the first quarter of the tenth century, and deals with 
 one aspect of the well-known Weland saga. Of later 
 date, from the second half of the tenth century, is Grotta- 
 SQiigr^y the mill-song sung by two giant handmaidens, who 
 grind out, first wealth and peace but then death and 
 destruction, to the tyrant king their master who will 
 grant them no rest from their labours (cf. p. 75). The 
 poem unites myth with hero saga, and the story of the 
 mill seems to symbolize the Golden Age of peace and 
 security, before the entrance of discord. 
 
 Hyndluljod^, which in contents forms a transition from 
 myth to hero saga, belongs to approximately the same date 
 as Grottas. It is the account of a conversation between 
 the Goddess Freyja and the giantess Hyndla, and its im- 
 portance for us lies in the genealogies of various families 
 which Hyndla recites at the request of the Goddess. 
 
 A number of the Eddie poems deal with the exploits 
 of Sigurd, the dragon-slayer — the famous Siegfried of 
 German hero saga. Sigy^d, although of little importance 
 in the present connection, was one of the chief heroic 
 figiires_of_ the Migration Period, and as such necessarily 
 \enters to some extent into any attempt to reconstruct the 
 history of that period. 
 
 We must finally note the fragmentary Bjarkamdl^ 
 which appears to have been originally a poem celebrating 
 the death of Bgdvar-Bjarki, the famous warrior of the 
 Danish king Hrolf Kraki, but of which only a few lines 
 have been preserved. 
 
 The only two specimens of scaldic poetry to which we 
 shall have to refer are Eiriksmdl and Hdkonarmdl, both 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 17 
 
 of which have, in theme and treatment, much in common 
 with the heroic poems of the Edda. The former is an 
 anonymous poem on the death of King Eric Blood-Axe 
 (a.d. 950), composed by order of his widow. Hdkoiiarmdl 
 is a similar poem — in fact an imitation of EMksmdl — in 
 honour of King Hakon the Good (a.d. 961), written by 
 the scald Eyvind Fimsson, the devoted follower of Hakon 
 and himself of royal blood. Both poems follow the device 
 common to scaldic poetry of deriving the genealogy of 
 the prince in question from the Gods, and of connecting 
 him with the life in Valhalla. Eyvind was one of the 
 last great Norwegian scalds, for by the end of the tenth 
 century, scaldic poetry had emigrated to the new settle- 
 ment in Iceland, which was henceforth regarded as its 
 home* Up to this time, i.e. for about a hundred years 
 after the first settlers landed in Iceland, the process of 
 colonization and settling of the land had continued. It 
 was only now, when a period of comparative peace 
 succeeded that of internal dissension, that the age of 
 Iceland's literary greatness began, culminating at the end 
 of th3 twelfth and the first half of the thirteenth century 
 in the works of Snorri and Sturla. 
 
 II. The Saga Period, c. 1100-c. 1300, is the Golden 
 Age of Northern literature. The historical prose saga was 
 a distinctively Icelandic growth, and arose from the Ice- 
 landers' love of recording their genealogies, and from the 
 weight which they laid on a good pedigree. These narra- 
 tives of individuals or of families were told first as a 
 
 * In Bravallakvad, the song of the Battle of Bravalla, which is 
 contained in Saxo's history (see beginning of Book viii) and there 
 attributed to Starkad, Dr Olrik sees the remains of a Norwegian scaldic 
 poem, dating probably from about the middle of the eleventh century. 
 
 c. 2 
 
18 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 means of entertainment {at skemta) round the fire on 
 the long winter evenings, but they are of enormous 
 historical and sociological importance, for almost all we 
 know of northern family and intellectual life, culture, 
 architecture, and heathen religion is derived from them. 
 
 The climax of the period was reached in the work of 
 Snorri Sturlason, perhaps the greatest figure in the whole 
 history of O.N. literature. Snorri lived from 1178-1241. 
 To his great literary ability he added civic distinction, 
 and was well known both as a politician and diplomatist, 
 Snorri was greatest as a prose writer and pre-eminently 
 as an historian, for not only did he test all his sources 
 most carefully, but he possessed the power— invaluable 
 to the writing of good history — of discriminating between 
 true and false, between good authority and bad. His 
 greatest work is Heimskringla^ , which belongs to the 
 period 1220-1230. The title of the work means *'the 
 Globe," and it is a history of the kings of Norway from 
 the earliest times up to the year 1177, based partly on 
 tradition, partly on scaldic verses and partly on previous 
 written works. Heimskringla is composed of a series of 
 single sagas, but these Snorri has skilfully linked up to 
 form one complete whole. The first of them is Ynglinga- 
 saga, being an account of the earliest kings of south 
 Norway and their Swedish ancestors, and forming a kind 
 of introduction to the work. It is based on the Ynglinga- 
 tal of the scaldic poet Thjodolf, who lived about the end 
 of the ninth century. The only other section of Ilskr. to 
 which we shall have to refer is St Olafssagay containing 
 the history of the reign of St Olaf (1016-1029). 
 
 Snorri, in addition to his other claims to fame, was a 
 poet of some note, but he lived at a time when scaldic 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 19 
 
 poetry had become highly artificial, and his own verses 
 owe more to art than to inspiration : they are remarkable 
 for their technical skill, and the author's intimate know- 
 ledge of prosody and the laws of versification is further 
 manifested in the prose Edda. The Edda is a treatise 
 in three parts illustrative of the art of poetry. The first 
 part — Gylfaginning — contains a survey of northern myth- 
 ology, and a description of the courses of the world and of 
 nature. The second and third parts — Skdldskaparmdl 
 and Hdttatal — are concerned with the nature of poetry, 
 and deal, as their names imply*, with language and metre 
 respectively. Skdldskaparmdl ("poetical diction") illus- 
 trates, by examples drawn from myth and hero saga, the 
 peculiar figures of speech, and in particular the "kennings," 
 i.e. artificial circumlocutions, commonly used by the scalds. 
 Hdttatal is a poem illustrating by example every known 
 kind of metre. The Edda, which was completed about 
 1222, still holds its own as an excellent handbook on the 
 language and technique of the verse of that time. It is 
 systematic and well arranged, and Snorri has brought to 
 bear on his materials great knowledge, a love of his 
 subject, and much critical insight. 
 
 In Hskr. and the prose Edda Snorri refers to one of 
 his authorities as the Skjgldungasaga. The greater part 
 of this work is lost ; a sixteenth-century scholar, Arngrim 
 Jonsson, has, however, preserved some fragments of it 
 which he published in 1597 under the title Rerum Dani- 
 carum Fragmenta (repr. Aarh. f. nord. Oldk. 1894). 
 Skjglds. was probably composed about 1200; it is believed 
 to have contained an account of the earliest kings of Den- 
 
 * Skdldskapr — sealdship; mdl — speech, i.e. the speech of poetry. 
 Hdttr — metre; tal — list, i.e. a list of metres. 
 
 2—2 
 
20 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 mark, and may very possibly have been intended as a 
 prologue to a history of the kings of Denmark. It 
 would thus form a parallel to Ynglingasaga, which stands 
 as a prologue to Heimskringla the history of the kings 
 of Norway. This work, could it be recovered, would be 
 of very great value to us, for it seems likely that the 
 relations between Denmark and Sweden during the period 
 covered by the action of the Beowulf, as represented not 
 only by Snorri but by all works subsequent to c. 1200, 
 were derived from this source. 
 
 By the thirteenth century the decay of the saga 
 had already set in in Iceland, largely on account of (a) a 
 prevalent literary tendency to compile and add to already 
 existing materials, and (b) a growing taste for the French 
 mediaeval romances. This led to the introduction of all 
 sorts of extraneous matter into the sagas, often of an 
 extravagant nature, and the historical sense, the sincerity 
 and truthfulness, which had hitherto been their outstand- 
 ing characteristic, became in great part lost. Grettissaga^ 
 and Ormspdttr Stordlfsson^, both composed about the 
 year 1300, are examples of this tendency. The ground- 
 work of both sagas is historical, but many folk-tales and 
 legendary traits are introduced, which gives them a 
 romantic and altogether post-classical tone. 
 
 The chief product of the post-classical saga period 
 in Iceland consists of the so-called Fornaldar Sggur"^, 
 i.e. Old-Time Sagas. These dealt with historical, pseudo- 
 historical or purely fictitious characters, and were usually 
 compiled from a number of single episodes: sat sammen 
 was the phrase employed to describe their composition. 
 The Fornaldar Sggur cannot, like the historical sagas, be 
 considered reliable, for they were designed merely to 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 21 
 
 amuse, and drew largely on myth and fairy lore for their 
 contents. Many of them also took their materials from 
 foreign sources. There is some evidence for the existence 
 of the Fornaldar Sggar as early as the twelfth century, 
 but they were probably first committed to paper in the 
 latter half of the thirteenth, as for long they were not 
 considered worthy of being written down. We shall 
 have to take account of several of these in our present 
 survey. 
 
 The Thi^rekssaga^ deals with the life and deeds of 
 Thidrek, i.e. Dietrich of Bern, the great figure of German 
 hero saga. The chief sources of this saga were probably 
 songs and stories which were carried to Scandinavian 
 lands by North German traders at the end of the twelfth 
 and beginning of the thirteenth century. These materials 
 were collected and worked up into a complete saga pro- 
 bably before the middle of the thirteenth century. The 
 composition of the Thictrekssaga may have been due in 
 part to the love of chivalry and of the saga of chivalry 
 which prevailed in the north during the reign of Hakon 
 the Old (1217-1263); on the other hand, it reacted on 
 current taste by increasing a love of foreign literature, 
 and thus affected indirectly both literary language and 
 style. 
 
 One of the best of the Fornaldar Sggur (Fas.) in style 
 and composition is the Hervarar oc Heidrekssaga'^ , which 
 in the trenchant simplicity of its language and characteri- 
 sation recalls the poems of the older Edda. A good 
 deal of the action of the story takes place amongst the 
 Huns and Goths, and the saga is unique amongst the 
 Fas. in the information which it gives about these 
 peoples. 
 
22 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 Hrolfssaga Kraka'^ is a compilation of several detached 
 episodes dating in its present form probably from the 
 later fourteenth century. The work is lacking in unity, 
 and several of its episodes have little direct connection 
 with the king from whom it takes its name. The saga 
 must without doubt at one time have existed in an earlier 
 and better form. 
 
 SgrlaJ^dttr^ , which is in some MSS. more rightly 
 entitled " Sagas about Hedin and Hggni," is peculiar 
 on account of its mythical framework, which, although 
 corrupt, is doubtless derived from old tradition. It 
 cannot date from before the first half of the fourteenth 
 century. 
 
 III. Bjarkarimur^ (" The Rhymes of Bjarki ") deals 
 with the same set of events as those which form the 
 subject matter of the Hrolfss., and is the only rhyming 
 poem which falls under our consideration. It belongs to 
 c. 1400, and, judging from its language and metre, belongs 
 to the oldest group of rhymes. The form of tradition 
 contained in Bjr. is nearly related to that of Skjglds., 
 and the authority of the poem is, therefore, valuable. 
 
 The Flateyjarhok^'^ , which takes its name from the 
 island of Flatey to the north of Iceland, is a great 
 collection of sagas about Norwegian kings, written, or 
 rather compiled, from older sources by two Icelandic 
 priests between the years 1387 and 1395. It also 
 contains annals up to the year 1394. The Flateyjarbok, 
 in spite of many defects, still remains a most valuable 
 authority for the history of Norwegian politics and culture. 
 
 Landndmabok. Landndmahok is really an inventory 
 of Iceland from the time of its first colonization, but 
 contains many anecdotes and tales in addition to the 
 
INTRODUCTOKY CHAPTER 23 
 
 names and genealogies of the settlers. The book exists 
 in three texts, by different authors, all from the twelfth 
 century, and the original compilation of the work under- 
 lying these must have been made about the beginning of 
 that century. 
 
 There is still another class of authorities from whose 
 works has been obtained much information valuable for 
 the interpretation of the Old English poems, viz. professed 
 historical writers, but these are difficult to characterise 
 collectively, as they belong to a variety of ages and 
 nationalities. The earliest of them are Tacitus and Pliny 
 in the end of the first century, w^hile the latest to whom 
 we shall have occasion to refer are a little group of 
 mediaeval Danish historians who flourished about 1200, 
 and the chief of whom was Saxo Grammaticus. All these 
 early chroniclers, being learned men, wrote in the learned 
 tongues, viz. Greek or Latin. For our subject Saxo far 
 surpasses any of the others in importance. His great 
 work Historia Danica^^ carries back the history of Den- 
 mark to the very earliest times. The first books are 
 probably chiefly based on oral tradition, and form a history 
 of northern myth and saga the importance of which it is 
 difficult to over-estimate. 
 
 N.B. — The German poems and sagas, to which reference 
 may be made in the following pages, are generally known, 
 and it has, therefore, not been considered necessary to add 
 here any description of them. 
 
 1. Edda Saemundar^ ed. Th. Mobius. Leipzig, 1860. 
 
 2. Corpus Poeticum Boreale, ed. Vigfusson and Powell. Oxford, 
 
 1883. Vol. I, p. 188. 
 
 3. ffeimskringla, Noregs Konunga Sggur, ed. F. Jonsson. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1893-1900. 
 
24 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 
 4. Snorra Edda, ed. Thorleifr Jonsson. Copenhagen, 1875. 
 
 5. Altnordische Saga-Bibliotkek, vols, viii and ix, ed. Boer. Halle, 
 
 1900. 
 
 6. Flateyjarhohy vol. i, pp. 521-532, see below. 
 
 7. Fornaldar Sggur Nordrlmida^ ed. Rafn. Copenhagen, 1829. 
 
 Hervarar oc Heidrekssagay vol. i, pp. 409 fF. 
 Hrolfssaga Kraka^ vol. i, pp. 1 fF. 
 
 SQrlaJ)dttry vol. i, pp. 389 ff. - 
 
 Vglssungasaga, vol. i, pp. 113 £f. 
 
 8. Saga Thidreks konungs af Bern, ed. C. R. linger. Christiania, 
 
 1853. 
 
 9. Hrolfssaga Kraka and Bjarkarimur, ed. F. Jonsson. Copen- 
 
 hagen, 1904. 
 
 10. Flateyjarhok, ed. C. R. linger. Christiania, 1868. 
 
 11. Landndmabok, ed. F. Jonsson. Copenhagen, 1900. 
 
 12. Saxonis Grammatici Gesta Danorum, qA. A.. Holder. Strassburg, 
 
 1886. Books i-ix, translated into English by 0. Elton. 
 Niitt. London, 1894. 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 THE GEATAS. 
 
 I. The Geatas in Beowulf and Widsith. 
 
 A prominent part is played in Beoioulf by the Geatas. 
 Beowulf himself, whose exploits form the subject of the 
 poem, belonged to the royal family of the Geatas on his 
 mother's side, and other members of the same family occur 
 frequently throughout the poem. 
 
 The scattered references to the Geatas when collected 
 and arranged yield a fairly connected, although meagre, 
 account of the history of this people during the period 
 with which the poem deals. The account of Beowulf's 
 expedition against Grendel forms a complete epic nar- 
 rative, which is quite independent of the fortunes of the 
 royal family of the Geatas, and will, therefore, be discussed 
 separately. 
 
 The Geatas are merely mentioned in passing by the 
 Widsith poet : the traveller speaks of having visited them 
 in the course of his travels ( Wids. 11. 57 f.). 
 
 The genealogy of the royal family of the Geatas 
 appears from Beowulf to have been as follows : 
 
26 THE GEATAS 
 
 Hrethel Hasreth 
 
 I 1 — 1 1 I 1 
 
 daughter Herebeald Haethcyn Hygelac = Hygd Hereric? Wonred 
 
 = Ecgtheow I ' 1 I ' 
 
 I Heardred daughter = Eofor 
 
 Beowulf 
 
 The first king of the Geatas of whom there is explicit mention 
 is Hrethel. Hrethel's son Hygelac is described as nefa Swertings 
 (1. 1203), but as the meaning of the word nefa varies in A.S. this 
 expression is too vague for us to draw any definite conclusions as to the 
 relationship between Hrethel and Swerting. 
 
 King Hrethel had three sons, Herebeald, Haethcyn, 
 and Hygelac, and one daughter who wa.s married to 
 Ecgtheow and became the mother of Beowulf (11. 373-5). 
 At the age of seven Beowulf was adopted by his grand- 
 father, Hrethel, and brought up with the royal princes 
 his young uncles (11. 2428 ff.). Hrethel's eldest son, 
 Herebeald, was accidentally killed by an arrow shot by his 
 brother, Haethcyn, and this occurrence preyed upon the 
 mind of King Hrethel to such an extent that he died of 
 a broken heart (11. 2435-2471). He was succeeded by 
 Haethcyn, whose reign does not, however, seem to have 
 been of long duration. It appears that shortly after 
 Hrethel's death, strife broke out between the Geatas and 
 the Swedes (Svear), but the course of the campaign is 
 obscure. The sons of Ongentheow, king of Sweden, made 
 a series of raids on the territory of the Geatas in the 
 neighbourhood of Hreosna-beorh (11. 2472-2478), and 
 Haethcyn apparently retaliated by carrying war into the 
 heart of the enemy's country, in the course of which he 
 succeeded in taking prisoner Ongentheow's queen. Ongen- 
 theow then appears to have sallied out against the Geatas 
 before they had time to get away with their spoil. In a 
 great battle near Hrefnesholt he regained his queen and 
 killed Haethcyn. Haethcyn's younger brother, Hygelac, 
 
THE GEATAS 27 
 
 then assumed chief command of the Geatas, and showed 
 conspicuous bravery by marching into the wood and rescu- 
 ing Haethcjn's troops, which had been surrounded there 
 by Ongentheow after the fall of their leader. This exploit 
 turned the tide of events, and, the army of the Geatas 
 having been relieved, a second battle immediately took 
 place, in which the Swedes began to get the worst of it, 
 and fell back, pursued by the Geatas, Ongentheow being 
 singled out for attack by the brothers Wulf and Eofor. 
 Wulf and Ongentheow met first and Ongentheow felled 
 his opponent with a blow; this was, however, quickly 
 avenged by Eofor, who, with one mighty stroke, clove the 
 skull of the Swedish king. After the victorious home- 
 coming of the Geatas, Hygelac rewarded Wulf and Eofor 
 for their services with gifts of treasure and land, while to 
 Eofor he also gave his only daughter in marriage 
 (11. 2479-2489, 2922-3007). 
 
 Hygelac's wife was Hygd, the daughter of Haereth 
 (1. 1929): but as, after Beowulf's return from Heorot, 
 she is spoken of as " the very young Hygd " (1. 1926), it 
 seems impossible that she should have had a daughter of 
 marriageable age at the beginning of her husband's reign. 
 The question, therefore, arises, whether Hygd was not the 
 second wife of Hygelac, and the latter had not a previous 
 wife, of whom we hear nothing in the Beowulf. 
 
 There is no further reference in the poem to any events 
 of Hygelac's reign previous to his fatal expedition against 
 the Franks, Frisians, and Hugas, but Beowulf s visit to the 
 court of Hrothgar, and his exploit in killing the monster 
 Grendel, must, of course, belong to this interval. 
 
 Various scattered and fragmentary references are made 
 in the poem to Hygelac's ill-starred expedition against the 
 
28 THE GEATAS 
 
 Frisians and Franks. Hygelac himself waS slain in Fries- 
 land by the combined forces of Franks and Frisians 
 {sometimes designated by the poet as Hetware and Hugas 
 (11. 2914 ff. Cf. Appendix I, p. 268), while Beowulf escaped 
 by swimming; he is reported to have carried away with 
 him thirty* coats of mail. 
 
 On his return home Beowulf was offered the throne 
 by the widowed Hygd, Hygelac's son Heardred being as 
 yet only a boy. Beowulf would not accept the throne, 
 but he offered to act as Heardred's guide and adviser till 
 the young king should reach mature years. Heardred 
 was, however, killed shortly afterwards by an attack made 
 on the Geatas by Onela, king of Sweden. (For a fuller 
 treatment of this incident, cf. Chap, ill on Swedish tra- 
 ditions.) (11. 2354-2390.) 
 
 Beowulf was then chosen king of the Geatas, and is 
 reported to have reigned gloriously for fifty years, but the 
 history of his reign is a blank, except for a mention of the 
 assistance which he rendered Eadgils, an exiled prince, in 
 what proved a successful endeavour to obtain the Swedish 
 throne. As Onela was killed by the combined forces of 
 Eadgils and Beowulf, the expedition also served from the 
 point of view of the latter as a revenge for the death of 
 Heardred (11. 2208 f , 2390-2396). 
 
 Beowulf was killed in an attempt to free his people 
 from the ravages of a dragon which devastated the land ; 
 he slew the dragon, and obtained the stores of hoarded 
 treasure over which it kept guard, but was mortally 
 wounded in the fight, and died immediately after achiev- 
 ing his triumph over the monster. At the end of the 
 
 "" We may notice in passing that the strength in Beowulf's arm is 
 ■elsewhere said to equal that of thirty men (cf. 1. 380). 
 
THE GEATAS 29 
 
 first bout in the long struggle Beowulf's warriors, panic- 
 stricken at the terrible appearance of the fire-spewing 
 dragon, all deserted him with the exception of the faithful 
 Wiglaf, the son of Weohstao, a Swedish knight (cf. inf. 
 p. 153), who stayed with him to the end and in whose 
 arms he expired. The body of Beowulf was burned on a 
 huge funeral pyre raised by his sorrowing people (11. 2496- 
 3183). 
 
 The account of Beowulf's expedition to the court of 
 Hrothgar, king of the Danes, and of the exploits which he 
 there performed, is briefly as follows : 
 
 Hrothgar, king of the Danes, had built for himself and 
 his court a great hall which he called Heorot ; this hall 
 was rendered uninhabitable by the ravages of Grendel, a 
 gigantic monster, half beast, half man, who had his home 
 in the marshy fen-lands near at hand. At night, after 
 court had been held in Heorot, Grendel would steal up 
 from the fens, and snatch away for his prey as many as 
 thirty of Hrothgar's sleeping thanes. These ravages had 
 continued for twelve years. 
 
 Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, thane of Hygelac, and a 
 warrior of great strength, had heard of Grendel's inroads, 
 and resolved to undertake an expedition to Denmark in 
 hopes of being able to free the land from this scourge. 
 
 With fourteen companions, Beowulf sailed across the 
 sea to Denmark : on their arrival, the warriors were 
 warmly received by King Hrothgar, to whom Beowulf 
 was already well known both by name and reputation. 
 
 Beowulf, having stated his name and errand, gave, 
 after the fashion of these times, a long account of all his 
 previous exploits, the most important of which was his 
 swimming-match with Breca. Hrothgar, in his turn, told 
 
30 THE GEATAS 
 
 of Grendel's inroads, and of the reign of terror under 
 which he and his men had lived at Heorot for so long. 
 At nightfall, Hrothgar and all his household retired to 
 rest, leaving Beowulf and his men to guard the hall, 
 but Beowulf alone remained awake keeping watch for 
 Grendel. 
 
 When all was still, up from the fen-land stalked Grendel 
 on his nightly visitation to the hall Heorot ; breaking 
 into the hall, he seized and devoured one of the sleeping 
 thanes, but before he had time to snatch a second, Beowulf 
 (who was unarmed) closed with him in a desperate hand- 
 to-hand struggle. They struggled and strained for a long 
 space, until at last, with a mighty effort, the monster 
 succeeded in breaking away; but he left his hand and 
 arm in Beowulf's grip, and got back to the fen only 
 to die. 
 
 In the morning there was great rejoicing at Heorot 
 over Beowulf's victory. The day was passed in feasting, 
 and Hrothgar bestowed many rich gifts on Beowulf and 
 his followers in recognition of the service they had rendered 
 him. Next evening the warriors went to rest in light- 
 hearted assurance of safety, which was rudely disturbed 
 by the avenging entrance of Grendel's mother : Beowulf 
 being absent, she snatched away, unhindered, Aeschere, 
 the most beloved of Hrothgar 's thanes. Joy was thus 
 again turned to sorrow. In the morning Hrothgar ap- 
 pealed to Beowulf to avenge the outrage, and gave him 
 a description of the water-fiend and her haunts in the 
 fens. Beowulf expressed himself willing to undertake the 
 adventure, and attended by the blessings of his companions 
 he pursued the monster to her home at the bottom of a 
 lake ; with him he took the sword Hrunting which had 
 
THE GEATAS 31 
 
 been lent by Unferth, the thyle or " spokesman " of 
 Hrothgar's court, but it proved of no avail against the 
 troll. He then tried to overpower his opponent in a 
 wrestling-bout, but in spite of his immense strength she 
 had almost overpowered him, when Beowulf, laying hold 
 of an old sword which he found amongst the war-gear 
 lying in the den, succeeded in killing the monster. 
 
 On rising to the surface of the lake, Beowulf was 
 received with great joy by his companions, who had almost 
 given him up for lost ; together, they returned to Heorot, 
 where rejoicing and feasting were renewed. Beowulf 
 had brought back with him various trophies of his victory, 
 amongst them Grendel's head, which four men had to 
 carry back across the fens to Heorot. 
 
 In recognition of his great services Hrothgar again 
 gave Beowulf many rich gifts. The Geatas then took 
 their leave, and with many regrets set sail from Denmark. 
 On their return Beowulf related his adventures to 
 Hygelac, and presented him with a helmet, sword, and 
 coat of mail, which were among the gifts which he had 
 received from Hrothgar: Hygelac, on his side, rewarded 
 Beowulf richly for the valour which he had displayed, and 
 for the honour which his deed reflected on the whole 
 nation of the Geatas (11. 53-2199). 
 
 II. {a) Evidence derived from Scandinavian 
 Literature regarding the person of Beowulf. 
 
 The person of Beowulf and the story of his struggle 
 with Grendel have usually been taken as possessing a 
 purely mythical interest — as, for example, that of the 
 culture-hero bringing deliverance to a nation harassed by 
 
32 THE GEATAS 
 
 the ravages of the North Sea. This so-called myth, it is 
 argued or assumed, has been furnished with an historical 
 setting and attached to the person of Hygelac, king of 
 the Geatas, an historical character who lived aod reigned 
 at the beginning of the sixth century. It is, however, 
 surely somewhat rash to dismiss the character of Beowulf 
 as purely mythical, and in so doing to ignore an important 
 fact which has been pointed out by various scholars, namely 
 that there is another character within the range of ancient 
 Teutonic tradition whose personal traits and the events 
 of whose career correspond in a ver}^ striking way to 
 those of our hero. 
 
 Our knowledge of the early history of the Scandinavian 
 .peoples rests in large measure upon the materials to which 
 we have access in the great wealth of saga and folk-tale 
 of Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic literature ; we are 
 indebted to a slightly less extent to Saxo Grammaticus 
 and other early Danish historians, w^ho, in addition to 
 sagas of a somewhat earlier date but of similar character 
 to those which we possess, were also able to draw from 
 certain old Danish traditions which have not been other- 
 wise preserved ; but the evidence furnished by these 
 authorities although of great value must be carefully 
 tested, as the liberties w^hich the writers have taken with 
 their materials, in many cases, detract considerably from 
 the value of their work. 
 
 In our poem, the scene of Beowulf's exploits is laid at 
 the court of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, who is repre- 
 sented as the ideal monarch — "wise, brave, gentle, and 
 generous. All Scandinavian sources agree as to the 
 existence of a Danish prince, Ro or Hroar (Hrothgar), 
 the son of Halfdan (Healfdene) and the brother of Helgi 
 
THE GEATAS 33 
 
 (Halga). Bat Ro is a very shadowy character : he has 
 none of those characteristics which mark a man out as a 
 leader among his fellows. The figure of his nephew, 
 Hrolf Kraki (Hrothulf in Beowulf), the hero of Scandi- 
 navian song and story, corresponds much more closely to 
 that of Hrothgar in Beowulf. King Hrolf Kraki was the 
 national hero, the king admired, beloved, and feared by all. 
 
 Amongst the many stories and traditions which centre 
 round Hrolf Kraki, our attention is arrested by one con- 
 cerning a certain B^dvar-Bjarki, a warrior in Hrolfs 
 service, on account of its remarkable resemblance to the 
 story of the life and exploits of Beowulf; this story is 
 most fully contained in the Icelandic Hrolfssaga Kraka. 
 
 According to Hrss. (Chs. 24-86) Bgdvar was the son 
 of Bjgrn, the son by a first marriage of Hring, a king of 
 the Norwegian Uplands. Bjgrn's mother died, and Hring 
 took as his second wife Hvit, the daughter of the king of 
 the Finns. 
 
 On one occasion when King Hring was away, Hvit 
 made professions of love to Bjgrn, but because he would 
 not fall in with her wishes, she, through her magic powers*, 
 turned him into a bear, and laid on him a curse that he 
 should ever be forced to prey upon his father's cattle. 
 When Hring returned home, his son had disappeared, but 
 on all sides he was met with reports of a devastating bear 
 which worked havoc on his flocks. 
 
 Now Bjgrn had before loved a peasant maiden named 
 Bera; Bera recognised the eyes of the bear as those of her 
 
 * "Throughout O.N. literature as well as in Saxo, Olavus Magnus, 
 and others, the Finns are held in high repute as magicians"; cf. Hand- 
 books on the History of Keligions— T/ig Religion of the Teutons, by 
 de la Saussaye, p. 95. 
 
 c. 3 
 
34 THE GEATAS 
 
 lover, Bjgrn, and she followed him to his cave, where every 
 night he was able to lay aside his bear's mask, and become 
 a man until the morning. For some time, Bera and Bjgrn 
 thus spent every night together, until eventually, the bear 
 was killed by the King's men. After his death Bera bore 
 three sons — Elgfr6di, who was half a man and half an 
 elk ; Thorirhundsf(5t, who was a man except for his dog's 
 feet, and Bgdvar. (Bgdvar appears occasionally in Hrolfss. 
 as Bgdvar-Bjarki.) It is with the last alone that we are 
 here concerned. 
 
 When Bgdvar grew up, he avenged his father by 
 killing the queen Hvit. Soon after this King Hriog died, 
 and Bgdyar ruled the kingdom for a short time. He 
 then started on his travels and first sought out his brothers, 
 Elgfrodi and Thorir. With the latter, who had become 
 king of Gautland, he remained some time, but finally left 
 him in order to join the service of Hrolf Kraki*. 
 
 On his way to Hrolf s court at Hleidrgardr (Leire), 
 Bgdvar came to the house of some people who were in 
 great trouble on account of their son Hgtt; this Hgtt 
 was in Hrolf 's service, but as he was somewhat of a weak- 
 ling, the king's men took advantage of this, and tormented 
 him by throwing bones at him. Bgdvar promised to do 
 what he could to help Hgtt, and on his arrival at Hleidr- 
 gardr, he found the unfortunate man in the corner of the 
 hall entirely hidden by a heap of bones. He succeeded in 
 rescuing him from this plight, but when the king's men 
 
 * In ancient times, the determining factor in the choice of an over- 
 lord or warrior entering upon military service appears to have been not 
 patriotism, but the personal qualities of individual leaders, e.g. Weohstan 
 was in the service of Onela, king of Sweden, while his son Wiglaf served 
 under Beowulf, king of Geatland. 
 
THE GEATAS 35 
 
 saw it, they attacked both of them, and again with bones : 
 Hgtt was so frightened that he could do nothing, but 
 Bgdvar retorted, killing some of the assailants by one or 
 two well-aimed shots, and the strife was soon at an end. 
 Hrolf Kraki, learning of the incident, commended B^dvar's 
 bravery, and took him into his service. Bgdvar took 
 Hgtt henceforth under his own protection. 
 
 With the approach of Christmas, gloom and sadness 
 became visible on the faces of Hrolf s warriors. Bodvar, 
 enquiring the cause of the depression, was told by Hgtt 
 that for the last two years, at the same season, a great 
 winged beast {dyr) had appeared in the land, working 
 great havoc and causing much loss of life; weapons 
 availed naught against it. Bgdvar expressed wonder 
 that in the domain of such a king as Hrolf Kraki a thing 
 like this could come to pass, but Hgtt explained to him 
 that the creature was a troll rather than an animal, and 
 that more than ordinary bravery was necessary in order 
 to vanquish it. 
 
 When Christmas Eve came, the king gave orders for 
 silence in the hall and forbade any of his warriors to 
 attack the monster when it appeared. Bgdvar, however, 
 determined to be beforehand, and went outside to await 
 its coming, with Hgtt, who was in such a state of terror 
 that Bgdvar had to carry him. When the troll appeared, 
 Hgtt screamed; Bgdvar dropped him and attacked the 
 beast, killing it by a sword-thrust through the belly. He 
 then made Hgtt eat of its heart and drink of its blood, 
 saying that he would thereby become strong and fearless. 
 Together they propped up the monster as though it were 
 still alive, and stole back to the hall, where their absence 
 had not been noticed. 
 
 3—2 
 
36 THE GEATAS 
 
 In the morning, the king asked if anything had been 
 seen of the animal : he sent out messengers who returned 
 saying that it was outside the hall. Thereupon Hgtt, 
 encouraged by Bgdvar, offered to go out and slay it with 
 the sword of Gullinhjalti, which he asked for this purpose 
 from the king. This request was somewhat reluctantly 
 granted, as Hrolf was well acquainted with Hgtt's repu- 
 tation for cowardice. 
 
 Armed with Gullinhjalti, Hgtt sallied forth and attacked 
 the monster, which at once fell dead from the blow ! The 
 king congratulated Bgdvar on all that he had done for 
 his protege, and decreed that Hgtt should henceforth be 
 called Hjalti, after the sword with which he had performed 
 his exploit. 
 
 After these events, Bgdvar remained in the service of 
 Hrolf Kraki : he took part in many expeditions with the 
 king, married his daughter, and finally fell in battle while 
 fighting at his side (cf. irif. p. 49 f.) (Chs. 47-52.) 
 
 Even the casual observer cannot fail to note the strikinof 
 similarity between the account of the exploits of Beowulf 
 at the court of Hrothgar, and those of Bgdvar at the 
 court of Hrolf Kraki. In either case a warrior arrives at 
 the court of a Danish king, and earns the lasting gratitude 
 of the king by slaying a monster which has been the 
 scourge of the country. 
 
 Saxo Grammaticus, the Danish historian of the 
 twelfth century, relates a story (Bk II, pp. 56-68, ed. 
 Holder) concerning one Biarco a warrior of Rolvo "Krake": 
 this Biarco clearly corresponds to the Bgdvar-Bjarki of 
 Hrolfss. as, in addition to the evidence of the name Biarco, 
 which is obviously a Latinised form of " bjarki," the two 
 accounts are practically identical. 
 
THE GEATAS 37 
 
 According to Saxo (il, 56, ed. Holder), as in Hrolfss., 
 Biarco and Hjalti were companions in arms : the monster 
 which devastated the country each Yule-tide has been 
 replaced by a huge bear, which Biarco slays in the forest, 
 but Saxo does not lay nearly so much stress on the inci- 
 dent as does the writer of the Hrolfss. On the other 
 hand, the story of E-olvo Krake's last battle, and the part 
 played in it by Biarco and Hjalti, is treated in greater 
 detail than in Hrolfss. (ii, pp. 58-68, ed. Holder). Both 
 accounts are based on the O.N. Bjarkamdl, but while 
 Saxo's version is apparently a complete translation of the 
 poem, that of Hrolfss. is very corrupt. 
 
 Although strictly speaking outside the scope of this 
 treatise, we may notice the striking parallel to the story 
 of Beowulf and Grendel with which we are confronted in 
 the Icelandic Grettissaga (chs. 64-67). 
 
 The Grettissaga dates from about the end of the 
 thirteenth century, and deals with the adventures of 
 an outlaw Grettir, who was an historical character, and 
 who died about the year 1031. The story of Grettir's 
 encounter with two water-demons corresponds so remark- 
 ably to the account of Beowulf's fight with Grendel and 
 his mother that it is impossible to look upon the resem- 
 blance between the two as merely accidental. The 
 Grettissaga contains no sign of having been influenced 
 by the Beowulf, and it is in itself almost inconceivable 
 that the O.E, poem should have exercised any such direct 
 influence as would be necessary to account for the simi- 
 larity of the two narratives. It has been suggested by 
 Mr H. M. Chadwick (Cambridge Hist, of Eng. Lit. vol. i, 
 p. 27) that there may have existed some old folk-tale of 
 a fight with water-demons on which the portions of the 
 
38 THE GEATAS 
 
 Beowulf and of Grettissaga in question may both have 
 been based, the adventure being in the one case attributed 
 to an historical prince of the Gotar — Beowulf — and in the 
 other to an historical Icelandic outlaw — Grettir. This 
 explanation certainly seems more satisfactory than any 
 other, and, if it were proved correct, would remove one 
 of the chief difficulties at present brought forward against 
 regarding Beowulf as an historical character, namely, the 
 alleged mythical nature of his contest with Grendel and 
 Grendel's mother. 
 
 For a fuller treatment of this subject, the reader is referred to 
 an article by Hugo Gering entitled "Der Beowulf und die islandische 
 Grettissaga," which is to be found in Anglia iii, pp. 74 fif. Bugge 
 {PBB. XII, pp. 57 ff.) has pointed out that the saga of Orm 
 Stdrolfsson has, like the Orettiss.^ marked affinity with the account 
 of Beowulf's struggle with Grendel and that reminiscences of the 
 same legend of a life and death struggle with a monster are also 
 contained in several Faroese and Swedish ballads. 
 
 The question of the apparent confusion between the Hrothgar 
 (Ro Hroar) of Beowulf, and the Hrolf Kraki (Hrothulf) of Northern 
 tradition, will be discussed in the following chapter on Danish tradi- 
 tions. A further account of the Hall Heorot, the palace of King 
 Hrothgar, and the scene of Beowulf's struggle with Grendel, is also 
 reserved for the next chapter. 
 
 h. Evidence derived from Scandinavian 
 Literature regarding the Geatas. 
 
 We are now in a position to consider the actual 
 identity of the people who are called in Beowulf the 
 Geatas; regarding this question, controversy has been 
 rife. Some scholars (Bugge) would identify the Geatas 
 with the O.N. Jdtar — Jutes, who inhabited Jutland. 
 The other and more generally accepted theory (MUllenhoff) 
 
THE GEATAS 39 
 
 is that the Geatas represent the O.N. Gautar (which is 
 quite a different word from O.N. Jotar), and, therefore, 
 correspond to the modern Gotar who occupy the southern 
 part of Sweden (with the exception of the southern ex- 
 tremity Skaane which was formerly Danish). In Heimshr. 
 St Olafss. ch. 76, there is given a geographical descrip- 
 tion of the divisions of Sweden, which are arranged 
 thus : 
 
 1. Swithjdd, with its provinces. 
 
 2. Vestrgautland. Vermaland. Markir. 
 
 3. Eystrgautland, with Gottland, and Eyland. 
 
 The chief reasons for identifying the Geatas with the 
 modern Gotar are these : 
 
 1. As regards phonology Geatas corresponds exactly 
 to O.N. Gautar, whereas it does not correspond to O.N. 
 J6tar, in which jo represents an earlier eu *. 
 
 2. What is said regarding the relations between the 
 Geatas and the Svear (Swedes) in Beowulf indicates that 
 the lands respectively occupied by the two peoples lay in 
 close proximity to one another. Hostilities were con- 
 stantly going on between Geatas and Svear ; e.g. there 
 was the campaign of Haethcyn and Onela (Beo. 11. 
 2472 ff. 2922 ff.), and again, when Eadgils undertook an 
 expedition agaiust Onela, he was assisted by Beowulf and 
 an army of the Geatas, the combined forces eventually 
 defeating Onela, who fell in the battle, and was succeeded 
 by Eadgils (Beo. 11. 2391 ff.). It is most unlikely that 
 such close relations should have existed between Swedes 
 and Geatas, had they not been near neighbours as the 
 Svear and Gautar were : we know, too, that there was 
 
 * Cf. also p. 183. 
 
40 THE GEATAS 
 
 constant friction between the.Svear aad Gautar through- 
 out the Middle Ages, although by that time both peoples 
 were nominally united under a common ruler. 
 
 3. In the Skdldsk. (ch. 44) Bgdvar who, according to 
 Hrss., came from Gautland, is found in alliance with or 
 assisting Adils (Eadgils), king of Sweden, in the campaign 
 which is, as we shall see, identical with that described 
 in Beowulf SiS undertaken by Eadgils and Beowulf, king of 
 the Geatas. According to Skdldsk. and Yngls. the battle 
 in which Bgdvar assisted Adils took place on Lake Wener, 
 which lies between Gotland and Sweden on the one side, 
 and Norway on the other. The passage is as follows : 
 
 "Another instance of the bravery of Hrolf Kraki is 
 related, that a king ruled over Upsala whose name was 
 Adils ; he married Yrsa the mother of Hrolf Kraki. He 
 was engaged in war with the king who ruled over Norway 
 w^hose name was Ali. They agreed to fight each other on 
 the frozen lake Vaenir (" on the ice of the lake which is 
 called Vaenir"). King Adils sent word to Hrolf Kraki, 
 his kinsman, to come to his assistance, and promised 
 payment to all of his army who took part in the expedi- 
 tion ; and the king himself should possess three treasures 
 which he might choose from Swithjdd. King Hrolf was 
 not able to go, because of his strife with the Saxons, but 
 he sent to Adils his twelve berserks ; there was Bgdvarr 
 Bjarki and Hjalti Hugpriidi, Hvitserkr Hvati, Ygttr 
 Veseti, the brothers Svipdagr and Beigadr. In that 
 battle King Ali fell, and a great portion of his army." 
 
 It may be objected that the value of this evidence 
 is conditional on our acceptance of the characters of 
 Beowulf and Bgdvar as identical. This is true, but it is, 
 at the same time, also true, that both sets of facts act 
 
THE GExYTAS 41 
 
 and re-act upon one another to such an extent, that the 
 evidence which we have just been discussing is in itself an 
 additional and almost a convincing proof of that identity. 
 
 4. The Gautar were as a people much more impor- 
 tant than the J(5tar at the time when the events described 
 in the poem were gradually becoming crystallised in 
 literary form. Procopius mentions the Gautoi as one of 
 the most populous races of Northern Europe {vide inf. 
 p. 42); and they are certainly the only Northern people 
 powerful enough to have fought the Swedes on equal 
 terms as the Geatas undoubtedly did. 
 
 The sum total of this evidence seems to show satis- 
 factorily and conclusively that the Geatas of Beowulf 
 represent the people known in modern times as the Gotar 
 (O.N. Gautar) and not the O.N. Jotar, O.F. Jutae — the 
 inhabitants of Jutland. The mistake appears to have 
 been due in the first instance to a passage in the O.E. 
 translation of Bede (Eccles. Hist. I, 15) where the Jutae 
 of Bede has, on one occasion, been translated as Geatas. 
 
 The following are the chief classical and Scandinavian 
 authorities from which we obtain information about the 
 Geatas in early times : 
 
 Ptolemy. Oeographia Clavdii Ptolemaei. Part i. (Miiller, Paris, 
 
 1901.) 
 Procopius. 
 Jordanes. (J. P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus. Ser. i. 
 
 Vol. LXIX.) 
 Gregory of Tours. {Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la 
 
 France. Vol. i.) Bouquet, 1739. 
 Gesta Regum Francorum. Pertz, Mon. Germ. Hist. Script. Rer. 
 
 Merov. Vol. i. 
 Liher Monstrorura. {Traditions Teratologiques. Berger de Xivrey.) 
 Sagas. 
 
42 the geatas 
 
 Historical References to the Geatas (Gotar) 
 IN Foreign Authorities. 
 
 Ptolemy, writing in the second century, mentions the 
 Goutai as one of the peoples inhabiting the southern part 
 of the island of Scandia*. 
 
 Procopius-f, writing in 550, mentions the Gautoi as the 
 chief people inhabiting the island of Thule. 
 
 Jordanes| mentions the Visigauti as a keen, fierce race, 
 ready for war. 
 
 In Northern Sagas dealing with the events of the 
 fourth and fifth centuries, we find mention of kings of 
 the Gautar, but in historical times Gautland (Gotland) 
 was no longer an independent kingdom. It was governed 
 by an earl and had its own laws, but was subject to the 
 kingdom of Sweden of which it formed a part. At the 
 time of the events recorded in Beowulf y the Geatas were 
 still an independent people, but their kingdom may have 
 — and probably did — come to an end comparatively soon 
 afterwards. Gregory of Tours (ill, 3) and the Gesta 
 Regum Francorum give an account of Hygelac's expedition 
 to the Lower Rhine between the years 512 and 520. In 
 both records, however, the expedition is described as a 
 
 * dw' dvaToXwv 8e r^s 'Kepaovi^crovs ricraapes ai Kokoifievai ^Kavdiai, 
 Tpeh [ikv fjLiKpai wv i] fxiar) iwex^i' fJ-oipas fia X' vr), ywta de /iieyiffTr] Kai 
 dvaToXiKUTaTT) Kara rots ^/cjSoXds OutcroiJXa Trora/xov ■^s to fih bvTi.K(irr<xTov 
 ^TT^X" fJ-olpas JJiy vr} to 5' dvaToXiKWTaTOv /iS" vr) to 5' dpKTtTd)TaTOv fxS X' vrf 
 X' t6 de fiearijui.^pivbv jxe v ^yo' . KoXecTai d^ t'Siws /cat avTr) "ZiKavdia Kai kut- 
 4xov(rLV avTTJs to. fxkv dpKTiKa KveOuves, tcl Be dvTLKo, XatSeivot, to. 5' dvaroXcKa 
 ^avdvai Kai ^ipaTaoi, rcl d^ fxearjfx^pivd FovTai Kai AavKiwves, tcl 5e fxeaa 
 Aevwpoi. 
 
 t Goth. II, 15. ovTU) fxev GouXirat ^lovatv wv ^dvos ev iroXvdvdpioirov 
 61 VavToi ei(jL, Trap' o£)s 5rj 'Epoj^Xajj/ TOTe oi iTrrjX^Tat l8p}j<ravT0. 
 
 X Get. Ill, 22. Post hos Athelnii, Finnaithae feri, Visigautigoth, 
 acre hominum genus et ad bellum promptissimum. 
 
THE GEATAS 43 
 
 Danish one, and Hygelac is spoken of as king of the 
 Danes. The passages are as follows : 
 
 Greg. Tur. iii, 3. 
 
 *His ita gestis, Dani cum rege suo, nomine Chlochi- 
 laicho, evectu navali per mare Gallias appetnnt. Egressique 
 ad terras, pagum unum de regno Theuderici devastant 
 atque captivant : oneratisque navibus tam de captivis 
 quam de reliquiis spoliis, reverti ad patriam cupiunt. 
 Sed rex eorum in litus residebat, donee naves altum mare 
 comprehenderent, ipse deinceps secuturus. Quod cum 
 Theuderico nuntiatum fuisset, quod scilicet regio ejus 
 fuerit ab extraneis devastata, Theudebertum filium suum 
 in illas partes cum valido exercitu ac magno armorum 
 apparatu direxit. Qui, interfecto Rege, hostes navali 
 praelio superatos opprimit, omnemque rapinam terrae 
 restituit. 
 
 Gesta Regum Francorum, ch. xix. 
 
 fin illo tempore Dani, cum rege suo nomine Chochi- 
 lago, cum navale hoste per altum mare Gallices appetunt, 
 
 * After this, the Danes, with their king by name Chlochilaichus, 
 took ship and made an attack upon the Gauls by sea. Having dis- 
 embarked, they devastated a part of the kingdom of Theuderic, and took 
 captives. They then loaded their ships with spoil and prisoners, and 
 prepared to return home. But their king remained on shore, until the 
 ships had reached the open sea, intending then to follow himself. When 
 the news was brought to Theuderic that his land had been laid waste by 
 a foreign army he sent his son Theudebert with a strong force and ample 
 equipment for war into those regions. He first killed the king, after 
 which he defeated the army in a naval battle, afterwards recapturing the 
 whole of the booty. 
 
 t About this time the Danes, under their king Chochilagus, crossed 
 the ocean with a fleet to attack the Gauls. They laid waste a part of 
 the kingdom of Theuderic inhabited by the Attoarii and others, taking 
 many prisoners. Having filled their ships with captives they made for 
 the ocean, while their king remained on shore. However, when news of 
 this was brought to Theuderic, he despatched his son Theudobert with a 
 
44 THE GEATAS 
 
 Theuderico pagum, Attoarios vel alios devastantes atque 
 captivantes, plenas naves de captivis habentes, alto mare 
 intrantes Rex eorum ad litus maris resedit. Quod cum 
 Theuderico nuntiatum fuisset, Theudobertum filium suum 
 cum magno exercitu in illis partibus dirigens. Qui conse- 
 quens eos, pugnavit cum eis caede maxima, atque ipsis 
 prostratis, Regem eorum interfecit, praedam tulit, et in 
 terram suam restituit. 
 
 In addition to these historical references, there is in 
 the Liber Monstrorum a collection of mediaeval texts 
 edited by Berger de Xivrey, a passage which bears on 
 Hygelac of the Geatas. The allusion is as follows : 
 
 *"0f tremendous stature was king Huiglaucus (var. 
 lect. Huncglacus) who ruled over the Getae, and was 
 slain by the Franks. At the age of twelve years, no 
 horse could carry him. His bones rest on an island at 
 the mouth of the Rhine, and are shown as a wonder to 
 visitors from afar." 
 
 Ill AND IV. Comparison of Evidence, and Summary 
 OF Historical Facts underlying the reference 
 to the Geatas (Gotar) in Beowulf and Widsith. 
 
 Amongst the references of Latin historians to the 
 Gotar, the only two which make definite mention of any 
 event connected with this people are the Gesta Francorum 
 and Gregory of Tours. 
 
 great army into those regions. The latter pursued them, fought with 
 and overcame them with great slaughter, put their king to death, and 
 having recovered all the booty departed with it to his own country. 
 
 * Et sunt mirae magnitudinis : ut rex Huiglaucus qui imperavit 
 Getis et a Francis occisus est. Quern equus a duodecimo anno portare 
 non potuit. Cujus ossa in Eheni fluminis insula, ubi in Oceanum pro- 
 rumpit, reservata sunt, et de longinquo venientibus pro miraculo 
 ostenduntur. 
 
THE GEATAS 45 
 
 In both of these sources there is explicit reference to 
 a marauding expedition made by a Danish king, Chochi- 
 laichns, on the territory of the Franks, between the years 
 512 and 520, which terminated in the defeat and slaughter 
 of Chochilaichus by a Frankish army under Theoderic and 
 Theodobert. This account coincides so exactly with that 
 of Hygelac's fatal expedition against the Franks and 
 Frisians as related in Beowulf, that they may be taken 
 without doubt as referring to one and the same event. 
 Scholars have accepted the date given by Gregory of 
 Tours and the Gesta Francorum, as a starting-point on 
 which to base time calculations with regard to the whole 
 subject matter of the poem. 
 
 The results gained from an investigation of the histori- 
 cal value of the part played by the Gotar in Beowulf are 
 but meagre. They can be expressed in very few words : 
 there was in South Sweden at the time of the events 
 recorded in Beowulf s. people called the Gautar, who had 
 been there, as we learn from Ptolemy, at any rate since 
 the second century, and who were a large tribe of consider- 
 able importance. At the beginning of the sixth century 
 they were ruled by a king named Hygelac*, who was killed 
 
 * The only discrepancy which occurs between the historical references 
 to the Gotar, and those contained in Beowulf, is in connection with 
 Hygelac. Gregory of Tours refers to Chochilaichus-Hygelac as king of 
 the Danes. In the document quoted by Berger de Xivrey, Huiglaucus is 
 described as ruling over the Getae (Gotar) ("qui imperavit Getis "), which 
 would agree with Beowulf where Hygelac is king of the Geatas. 
 
 We may venture to assume that Gregory of Tours is inaccurate in his 
 description as regards this point. There is no reason to suppose that 
 the Franks had very minute knowledge of the geography of the Northern 
 kingdoms at this time, and as the Danes who were notorious marauders 
 lay comparatively near to them, it was natural that they should describe 
 other Northern invaders as Danes also. 
 
46 THE GEATAS 
 
 probably about 520 (cf. note p. 185) by the combined 
 forces of Franks and Frisians in a raid which he made on 
 their territory. 
 
 It is strange that historical sources should make no 
 mention whatever of Beowulf the great warrior of the 
 Geatas, whose figure completely overshadows that of 
 Hygelac in the poem, and the question arises : what 
 grounds have we for believing in Beowulf's actual exist- 
 ence as an historical character ? 
 
 All the evidence which we have considered tends to 
 establish as fairly certain the identity of the Bgdvar-Bjarki, 
 whose name occurs in so many Scandinavian sources, as 
 one of the most valiant champions of Hrolf Kraki, with 
 the English Beowulf. These two were contemporaries 
 and both were famous warriors; both came to the court of 
 the Danish king, whom by their prowess they freed from an 
 ever-recurring source of danger, thus earning his deepest 
 gratitude ; both were involved in the contemporary war 
 of succession in Sweden ; both assisted Eadgils-Adils to 
 gain the Swedish throne ; lastly, supernatural traits of a 
 similar kind appear in the character of each. In view of 
 the striking agreement of the facts related of these two 
 men, and in the absence of any important negative 
 evidence, it is difficult to resist the conclusion that they 
 were not two, but indeed one and the same person. 
 
 The belief here expressed in the identity of the O.E. 
 Beowulf and the Scandinavian Bgdvar-Bjarki may per- 
 haps be considered unjustified, in view of the very different 
 attitude adopted with regard to this point by such an 
 authority as Dr Axel Olrik in his recent book Danmarks 
 Heltedigtning (Copenhagen 1903). Dr Olrik denies most 
 emphatically the identity of Beowulf and Bgdvar-Bjarki 
 
THE GEATAS 47 
 
 on the ground of the different nature of the struggles 
 ascribed to the two warriors. Beowulf fights against a 
 monster Grendel — neither human being nor animal — 
 while Bgdvar-Bjarki simply kills a beast of prey — most 
 probably a bear. It is true that in the Icel. Hrolfss. of 
 the fourteenth century the bear of Saxo has become a 
 winged monster {Fas. I, 69), but this is merely one of the 
 many exaggerations and embellishments of the old stories 
 which mark the compositions of the period; late Icelandic 
 tradition shows everywhere a tendency to degenerate 
 into the fantastic. Thus Dr Olrik concludes that the 
 two cases are essentially different, and can have nothing 
 in common with one another. He even goes the length 
 of discrediting the truth of the Scandinavian bear-story, 
 which he regards merely as an invention to account for 
 the transformation of Hjalti from a coward to a warrior ! 
 Surely, however, in consideration of the many other points 
 of similarity in the two stories, the minor difficulty of 
 identifying the Beowulf, who killed a demon monster, 
 with the Bgdvar-Bjarki, who killed a great bear, may be 
 overlooked, if it is not altogether removed, by the time 
 that we have made allowances for the imaginative treat- 
 ment and the liberty of thought and expression, which are 
 of the essence of every great poem such as the Beowulf. 
 From a devastating beast of prey the transition to a 
 monster or even a demon is an easy one, especially if we 
 have to take into account in the Beowulf the influence of 
 some old folk-tale, as the striking parallel version of a 
 fight with water-demons in the Icel. Grettissaga would 
 seem to suggest (cf. supra p. 37). 
 
 The acceptance of the identity of Beowulf and Bgdvar- 
 Bjarki makes it a degree easier to tackle the question of 
 
48 THE GEATAS 
 
 the historical validity of this character — Beowalf-Bgdvar 
 (as for convenience sake we may style him). The fact 
 that English and Scandinavian traditions, which are 
 quite distinct, which have developed independently of one 
 another, and which belong to altogether different periods, 
 both testify to his existence with abundance of circum- 
 stantial detail, although not conclusive, certainly goes a 
 long way towards proving that he was an actual historical 
 character, and not, as has been suggested, a mythical or 
 legendary one. It further makes some facts concerning 
 him so highl}^ probable as to be almost certain. Beowulf- 
 Bgdvar was a warrior of notable strength and valour^ 
 and probably belonged to the people of the Gotar* (O.N. 
 Gautar, O.E. Geatas) : he was at some time during his 
 life, though perhaps only temporarily, a thegn of the 
 Danish kings, and apparently rendered them some signal 
 service, the exact nature of which cannot be determined. 
 Beowulf-Bgdvar took part in the Swedish dynastic struggle 
 and assisted Eadgils-Adils to gain the Swedish throne, 
 notably in a decisive battle which was fought on the 
 frozen Lake Wener. There is also no reason why he 
 should not have taken part in the expedition of Hygelac 
 (Chochilaicus) to the Lower Rhine, as the Beowulf reports 
 him to have done. 
 
 Even apart from the question of his identity with 
 Beowulf, Dr Olrik believes firmly in the historical existence 
 of Bgdvar-Bjarki ; he bases his conclusions mainly on the 
 evidence of Bjarkamdl, in which Bjarki, though serving as 
 
 * Dr Olrik points out {DHD., pp. 215 ff.) that Bgdvar-Bjarki 
 appears for the first time as a Norwegian in the Bravallahvad written 
 in 1066, and later in the Hrolfss. and Bjarkarimur, where a further 
 account of his upbringing has been added. 
 
THE GEATAS 49 
 
 the personification of a type— that of stern, warlike valour 
 in contrast to the mildness and geniality of Hrolf Kraki — 
 is, notwithstanding, a purely individual figure ; Bgdvar- 
 Bjarki takes part further in the campaigns between the 
 Danes and Heathobeardan, which we have reason to 
 regard as historical, and the names with which he is asso- 
 ciated go back to old tradition, and, therefore, presumably 
 to historical characters and events (I). H, D. p. Q6), 
 
 An objection has been raised that the figure of Beo- 
 wulf in the poem is not that of a normal human being, 
 and that the elements of the supernatural which appear 
 in his character are incompatible with its historical truth. 
 But this objection can easily be met on the ground that 
 amongst primitive peoples there was no clear line of 
 division between the natural and the supernatural ; as a 
 matter of fact, the figures of almost all early heroes unite 
 elements of both, as for example, Dietrich of Bern, in 
 whose case mediaeval German tradition has interwoven 
 history and m}?th in the most extraordinary way. 
 
 An examination of the Scandinavian authorities will 
 help to make clear the significance of the supernatural 
 traits in the character of Beowulf-Bgdvar. 
 
 As we have seen, Bgdvar was, according to Hrolfss., 
 the son of Bjorn, who was turned into a bear, and of Bera 
 (O.N. bera — she-bear). When Bgdvar first came to 
 Hrolf s court, he earned his reputation by slaying a great 
 troll, which came every Yule-tide and carried off warriors^ 
 doing great havoc throughout the country (cf. sup. p. 35). 
 
 In Saxo, Biarco (Beowulf-Bgdvar) first became 
 famous through slaying a bear. In the last great battle 
 in which Hrolf Kraki was defeated and slain, Biarco had 
 to be roused three times before he came out to the fight 
 
 c. 4 
 
50 THE GEATAS 
 
 (Saxo, ed. Holder, pp. 59 ff.). Saxo makes no comment 
 on this curious fact, but some light is thrown on it by the 
 parallel account in the Hrss. 
 
 In Hrolfs last fight, as in Saxo, so too in the saga, 
 Bgdvar at first did not come out to fight : but a huge bear 
 fought in front of Hrolf, and killed as many of the enemy 
 as any five of his warriors. When Bgdvar was at last roused 
 and came out, the bear disappeared {Fas. I, pp. 102 ff.). 
 
 From this tradition it appears that the conception of 
 Bgdvar in the minds of the people was so intimately 
 associated with the figure of a bear, that finally the one 
 came to be regarded as the metamorphosis of the other. 
 
 In the O.E. Beowulf this same metamorphosis may 
 be traced, although its existence is nowhere explicitly 
 stated. Beowulf generally fought in the dark, or where 
 no man could see him, and he very seldom fought with 
 weapons. Cf. the whole passage on the killing of Grendel, 
 11. 745-818, especially such expressions as : 
 
 I. 764. Wiste his fingra ge weald on grames gr^pum*. 
 
 II. 788—90. Heold hine to faeste 
 
 se the manna waes maegene strengest 
 on thaem daege thysses llfest. 
 
 I. 813 f. Ac hme se modega maeg Hygelaces 
 
 haefde he honda%. 
 
 II. 963 — 6. "Ichine hraedltce heardan clammum 
 
 on wael bedde wrUhan thdhte. 
 
 thaet he for mund-gripe mlnum scolde 
 
 licgean Itf-bysig, btitan his Itc swice§." 
 
 * He knew that the power of his fingers was in the grip of the enemy. 
 
 t He, who was of men the mightiest in strength, in the day of this 
 life, held him too fast. 
 
 X But the bold kinsman of Hygelac had him by the hands. 
 
 § " Quickly I thought to pin him down on the bed of slaughter with 
 hard grip, that he should lie struggling for life, by reason of my hand- 
 clasp, unless his body escape." 
 
THE GEATAS 51 
 
 and again such passages as these : 
 
 11. 2506 — 8. Ne waes ecg bona 
 
 ac him hilde-grdp heortan wylmas 
 hdn-hUs gebraec*. 
 
 11. 2682 — 4. Him thaet gifethe ne waes 
 
 thaet him Irenna ecge mihton 
 helpan aet hilde ; waes sio hond to strong 
 se the m^ca gehwane mine gefraege 
 swenge ofersohtet. 
 
 These passages, with others which might be quoted, 
 seem to show plainly that Beowulf fought like a wild 
 animal, not killing his enemies by sword and spear, but 
 squeezing them in a fierce embrace — thus more like a 
 bear than any other animalj. 
 
 This exactly corresponds to the figure of Bgdvar in 
 Hrolfss. Thus the entering in of the spirit of Beowulf- 
 Bgdvar into a bear in times of battle seems to be an 
 essential part of the legend concerning him, occurring in 
 ail its versions, and we have here an instance of metamor- 
 phosis, the idea of which was not only possible, but common 
 amongst early Teutonic peoples. Beowulf-Bgdvar was 
 
 * Nor was the sword the slayer, but the battle-grip crushed his 
 *' bone-house" (i.e. body), the surgings of his heart. 
 
 t That was not granted him, that iron blades might help him in 
 battle : too strong was the hand which, as I have heard, surpassed every 
 sword in its stroke. 
 
 X It is true that Beowulf did, on two occasions, fight with a sword, 
 viz., against Grendel's mother, and in his last fight against the dragon. 
 But this second struggle may be, as is thought by many writers, a later 
 addition made by the poet to the original story of Beowulf, When 
 Beowulf attacked Grendel's mother, the main part of the combat con- 
 sisted of a deadly wrestling-match, which is quite consistent with what 
 we know of his methods of fighting at other times : it was only as a last 
 resource that he used a sword, and that not his own, but an old one 
 which he found hanging on the wall of the den. 
 
 4—2 
 
52 THE GEATAS 
 
 the bear, and the bear was a metamorphosis of him. The . 
 force of this is brought out by the name Bgdvar-Bjarki, 
 by which Bgctvar is usually known in Scandinavian 
 tradition ; indeed, in earliest Scandinavian tradition, pre- 
 served in Saxo's Latin version of the Icel. Bjarkamdl, he 
 appears merely as Bjarki, and this, according to Dr Olrik, 
 was probably originally his real name*. Thus the fact that 
 supernatural elements are traceable in the character of 
 Beowulf is no argument against his historical existence. 
 Dr Olrik believes that the bear-like qualities or the "bear- 
 nature" was first attributed to BgSvar-Bjarki in the 
 twelfth century, owing to the influence of a similar story 
 told of Siward the Fat, a Danish earl who settled in 
 Northumbria in the time of Canute (1017-1042). He 
 asserts that in the case of Siward we have the story of a 
 man appearing in the shape of a bear for the first time. 
 (Z). H. D. pp. 215 ff.) But this belief in the possibility of 
 the metamorphosis of men and animals is an ancient one^ 
 and dates as we have seen from very much earlier than 
 the eleventh century : in the particular instance of Bgd- 
 var-Bjarki there is no proof — nor on the surface at any 
 rate does there seem any probability — that the story owes 
 anything to the similar one told of Siward the Fat. 
 
 * Bjarki is merely a hypocoristic formed from &7orw = bear. It was 
 well known as a personal name, and is also found in Danish place- 
 names from early times. The name BQdvar is apparently derived from 
 6o^= battle (perhaps the genitive) and was most probably given to Bjarki 
 on account of his prowess. Dr Olrik supposes B^dvar to have been at 
 first merely an epithet, namely, bodvar Bjarki = 'Bjsirki of the battle, or, 
 freely translated, "Fighting Bjarki," which in later records was mis- 
 understood and reproduced as BQdvar bjarki, where Bgdvar has become 
 the real name, and "bjarki" is now merely an epithet or surname 
 (cf. D. H. D. p. 139 f.). An alternative explanation of Bgdvar is that 
 it = O.E. beaduhere, i.e. battle-army. 
 
THE GEATAS 53 
 
 There is, however, a serious difficulty with regard to 
 the later history of Beowulf-Bgdvar : Beowulf became 
 king of the Geatas, and had a long and glorious reign, 
 whereas Bgdvar-Bjarki remained in the service of Hrolf 
 Kraki until the end of his life, fell with him in battle 
 and was buried in the same barrow. But Beowulf, as 
 king of the Geatas, is a very shadowy character, as 
 we have already seen ; he is much more a type than an 
 individual ; even the killing of the dragon whereby he 
 met his own death is a thoroughly typical exploit of the 
 ideal king — cf. Sigmund in Beowulf (11. 884-900), Sigurd 
 in VqIss. (Ch. xviii), Frotho I in Saxo (ed. Holder, 
 p. 38 f.) — and may well be a later accretion to the original 
 story. This supposition is rendered more probable by the 
 consideration that the reign of fifty years attributed to 
 Beowulf would bring us up to near the end of the sixth 
 century, and we have no evidence for believing that 
 communication was maintained between England and 
 northern countries as late as that time. 
 
 But even if we reject the story of Beowulf's fifty-year 
 reign as given by the poet, it still seems probable that 
 there was some foundation for representing him as ruling 
 over the Gautar at some period following on Heardred's 
 death. 
 
 The most probable theory seems to be that Beowulf- 
 Bgdvar ruled over the Gautar as a vassal or tributary 
 king of Hrolf Kraki, and as such assisted Eadgils-Adils 
 in his struggle to obtain the Swedish throne. We have 
 already accepted as historical the fact that he did take 
 part in this stiTiggle, and according to the Beowulf he did 
 so as an independent sovereign. But we have seen that 
 the evidence of the poem with regard to Beow^ulfs reign 
 
54 THE GEATAS 
 
 is probably untrustworthy; on the other hand, all Scandi- 
 navian sources represent Bgdvar as a vassal of Hrolf 
 Kraki, and according to Skdldsk. (Ch. 44), it was in this 
 capacity, and at the command of Hrolf, that he and others 
 went to the assistance of Adils. 
 
 There are various further indications that the kingdom 
 of Sweden (i.e. Svealand) was at this time subject to 
 Denmark, and that the king of Sweden paid tribute to 
 the king of the Danes. These will be dealt with when 
 we come to speak of the relations between Actils and 
 Hrolf Kraki (cf. also Yngls. Ch. 31), but the matter may 
 be referred to at this point, as it gives evidence of the 
 widespread power of the Danish kings, and also because 
 the fact that Svealand was under the sway of Denmark 
 would increase the probability of the sister kingdom of 
 Gotland being in a similar position. Regarding the end 
 of Beowulf's life, as English and Scandinavian traditions 
 disagree, we have no certain ground to go upon. But the 
 account of Beowulf's death in the Beowulf stands or falls 
 with that of his fifty-years' reign over the Geatas ; if we 
 reject this story, there seems no reason why we should 
 hesitate to accept the account given in Scandinavian 
 authorities, viz., that Beowulf-Bgctvar met his death in 
 battle with Hrolf Kraki in the manner described by Saxo 
 (pp. 57 ff.) and Hrss. (Fas, Vol. i, pp. 96 ff.)* 
 
 The question of the presence of mythical features in 
 the Beowulf is, strictly speaking, beyond the scope of 
 this study, but it is one which is so intimately bound 
 up with the whole interpretation of the story of 
 Beowulf and Grendel that a few words must be said 
 about it. 
 
 * But cf. Ch. HI, p. 153 f. 
 
THE GEATAS 55 
 
 From the evidence which we have considered, we 
 believe Beowulf to have been an historical character, who 
 corresponds to the character of Bg^var-Bjarki in Scandi- 
 navian tradition, and who performed some exploit at the 
 court of a Danish king through which he acquired great 
 fame. The constant association of Bgdvar-Bjarki with a 
 bear, as also the name itself, would seem to indicate that 
 it was from the ravages of some unusually fierce bear that 
 he delivered the Danish court. 
 
 If this be true, the theory that the interest of the 
 Grendel story is purel}^ mythical must necessarily fall to 
 the ground ; for while an historical narrative may easily 
 develop some mythical traits, it cannot, as such, contain a 
 fully-developed myth, except where the lapse of centuries 
 has caused the historical interest, which attaches to 
 persons, time and place, to become merged with, and lost 
 in, the more general interest of the myth. In the case of 
 the Grendel-story there was not time for this to take 
 place, as the poem must have been composed compara- 
 tively soon — probably within two or three generations — 
 after the events recorded in it took place, at any rate long 
 before they could have lost their historical significance in 
 order to become merely the vehicle of a myth. 
 
 The most we can say about this story is, that there 
 are possibly some mythical features in the description of 
 Grendel (cf. suggestion made on p. 37), who differs con- 
 siderably from the bear, which we believe to have been 
 the corresponding figure of the original story. Beowulf 
 no longer fights against an animal, but against some 
 monstrous being, more man than beast, whose outstanding 
 feature is the malignance of his personality. This Grendel 
 lurked in the fens and marshland surrounding Heorot 
 
56 THE GEATAS 
 
 which were evidently uninhabitable by any other creature, 
 for in every reference to him stress is laid on his solitary 
 existence, and the curse which his presence always carried 
 with it; cf. Beo. 11. 102-6, 1. 160, deorc dedth-scda, 
 1. 165, atol dn-gengea, 1. 712, mdn-scatha. A further 
 significant feature of the story is that Grendel's ravages 
 only took place when court was being held at Heorot, and 
 the great hall itself was actually in use. At other times, 
 the monster does not appear to have left his home in the 
 marshes. 
 
 It is possible that in this one instance the poet may 
 have read into his very much elaborated description of 
 the creature slain by Beowulf more than the actual facts 
 ^varranted, in short that he may have taken this opportu- 
 nity of representing in mythical form the encroachments 
 of the sea on the low-lying fenland, or the ravages of the 
 agues and fevers which lurked in the miasmic swamps of 
 Zealand (cf. suggestion on p. 38). 
 
 Further than this it is, however, impossible to go, and 
 even this is merely surmise, as the whole description of 
 Grendel in Beowulf may merely be due to poetical 
 exaggeration. In any case, the idea that Beowulf him- 
 self could have been conceived by the poet as a myth 
 seems extremely improbable. In the first place the 
 Beowulf, as already mentioned, appears to have been 
 composed within about a century after Beowulf's death, 
 when the memory of his personality and of his deeds 
 must still have been fully alive in men's minds; and 
 further, if the figure of Beowulf has mythical significance, 
 it can only be that of representing in a general way the 
 progress of civilisation and of the arts — for no one will, 
 surely, attempt to prove that his victory over Grendel 
 
THE GEATAS 57 
 
 represents anything so concrete as the invention of a new 
 system of sanitation or the building of a dyke, by one 
 single man. It seems quite possible that the pictorial 
 imagination of early peoples was sufficient to conceive 
 of the ravages of sea or disease as those of some fierce 
 monster ; but there are no grounds for believing — nor is 
 it in itself at all probable — that these same peoples were 
 capable of rising to such heights of abstract thought as 
 the general conception of a culture-hero would imply. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE DANES. 
 I. The Danes in Beowulf. 
 
 The Danish royal family is traced in Beowulf from 
 its first founder, Scyld Scefing, whose mythical coming 
 and departure are described (11. 1-52). Scyld was suc- 
 ceeded, as king of Denmark, by his son Beowulf the Dane, 
 who in his turn was followed by his son Healfdene (11. 56- 
 57). Healfdene had three sons, Heorogar, Hrothgar, 
 Halga, and one daughter, who apparently became the 
 wife of Onela of Sweden (1. 62), although the text of the 
 poem is unfortunately corrupt at this point. Heorogar 
 died youngs but he may have reigned for a short time 
 (cf. 1. 2158 f.) ; the story of his early death was told by 
 King Hrothgar to Beowulf on his arrival at the Danish 
 court (11. 467 ff.). 
 
 Hrothgar reigned in Heorot, the beloved and venerated 
 king of the Danes, but owing to Grendel's ravages gloom 
 hung over his court for many years, until, through Beo- 
 wulf's victory, joy was restored in Heorot. Hrothgar's 
 wife was Wealhtheow of the Helmingas (11. 612 f ) ; he 
 had by her two sons, Hrethric and Hrothmund (1. 1189), 
 and a daughter Freawaru (11. 2020 fif.). He had also a 
 nephew Hrothulf (11. 1017, 1163 f.), who was held in high 
 favour at his uncle's court ; Wealhtheow showed great 
 
THE DANES 
 
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60 THE DANES 
 
 confidence in Hrothulf, and said that he would make a 
 good guardian for her sons in the event of Hrothgar's 
 death (11. 1180 fF.). The poem hints surprise (cf. also 
 Widsith, 11. 45-49) that such friendly relations should 
 have existed between Hrothgar and Hrothulf (1. 1164). 
 
 The subsequent history of Freawaru, Hrothgar's 
 daughter, introduces a new set of characters. Froda, 
 the king of the Heathobeardan, had fallen in battle 
 against the Danes. The strife was ended by the promise 
 of Freawaru in marriage to Freda's son Ingeld. Hrothgar 
 was glad to settle the dispute in this w^ay, but the 
 marriage ended unhappily. Freawaru took with her as 
 esquire a young Dane, who boasted to the Heathobeardan 
 of Freda's defeat, and Ingeld, at last roused from apathy 
 by the repeated admonitions of an old warrior, took 
 terrible vengeance on the Danes for his father's death 
 (11. 2022-2069). 
 
 The Danes in Widsith. 
 
 The allusions made to the Danes in Widsith consist 
 merely of isolated references. 
 
 Lines 45-49. " Hrothwulf and Hrothgar, the nephew 
 and uncle, maintained their friendship for a very long 
 time, after they had expelled the ' Wicinga cyn ' and 
 brought Ingeld's spear low, cutting down at Heorot the 
 host of the Heathobeardan*." 
 
 Line 58. The singer also visited the South Danes. 
 
 * Hrothwulf and; Hrothgar heoldon lengest 
 sibbe aetsomne suhtorfaedran 
 siththan hie forwraecon Wicinga cynn 
 and Ingeldes ord forbigdan 
 forheowan aet Heorote Heatho-Beardna thrym. 
 
THE DANES Gi- 
 
 ll. Other References to the Danes. 
 
 The chief authorities which contain evidence about 
 the Danes in general, and about the period of their 
 history in particular with which the Beowulf deals, are 
 the following: 
 
 Historians and Records. 
 Tacitus. 
 
 Saxo Grammaticus' Danish History. 
 Sven Aagesen (genealogies) (Langebek, 8. R. B, 
 
 Vol. I, pp. 42-64). 
 Jordanes (Migne, Patrologia^ Vol. I, p. 69). 
 Procopius. 
 Gregory of Tours (Pertz, Mon. Germ. Hist. Script. 
 
 Rer. Meroving. Vol. i). 
 Venantius Fortunatus (Pertz, Mon. Germ. Auct 
 
 Antiquiss. Vol. iv). 
 Chronicle of King Eric (Langebek, 8. R. D. Vol. I, 
 
 pp. 148-170). 
 Peter Olavus {S. R. D. Vol. ii, pp. 68-148). 
 Landndmahok. 
 William of Malmesbury, ed. W. Stubbs. Gesta 
 
 Regum Anglorum, Bk. ii, p. 121. Rolls Series, 
 
 No. 90. 
 Aethelweard (Sir Henry Savile. Rerum Anglicarum 
 
 Scriptores). 
 
 Scandinavian Sagas, &c. 
 
 Hrolfssagakraka (Fas. i). 
 
 Ynglingasaga (Hskr.). 
 
 Skdldskapermdl (Sn. Edd.). 
 
 Arngrim Jonsson's Epitome of Skjgldungasaga 
 
 {Aarh. f. n. Oldkynd. 1894). 
 5;arA;aH??i'iir,ed.Finnur Jonsson. Copenhagen, 1904. 
 Flateyjarhok. 
 
62 the danes 
 
 Historical References to the Danes. 
 
 We do not find the Danes mentioned by name earlier 
 than in works of the sixth century. 
 
 Tacitus, Germania, Ch. 40, mentions a confederation 
 of tribes who worshipped the Goddess Nerthus on an 
 island in the ocean, the most probable identification of 
 which is Zealand, but the name Dane does not occur*. 
 
 Jordanes, Ch. Ill, refers to the Danes, but the passage 
 is obscure and corrupt. 
 
 The Danes, he says, had dispossessed the Heruli of 
 their (the latter's) country, but we do not know where 
 the country of the Heruli wasf. 
 
 Procopius (a.d. 513 ?), Goth. Ii, 14, says that the tribe 
 of the Heruli on their migration northwards ran past the 
 tribes of the DaniJ. 
 
 Gregory of Tours (Hist. Franc, ill, 3), writing late in 
 the sixth century, gives an account of the raid of Chochi- 
 laichus in which Rex Danorum is used wrongly. But the 
 reference shows that the name of the Danes was known 
 at that time. 
 
 Yenantius Fortunatus (vii, 7, 50 and ix, 1, 73)§, 
 
 * Tacitus, Germania, Ch. 40: "Eeudigni deinde et Aviones et Anglii 
 et Varini et Eudoses et Suardones et Nuithones fluminibus aut silvis 
 muniuntur — nee quicquam notabile in singulis, nisi quod in commune 
 Nerthum, id est, Terram matrem colunt, eamque intervenire rebus 
 hominum, invehi populis arbitrantur. Est in insula Oceani castum 
 nemus dicatumque in eo vehiculum, veste contectum ; attingere uni 
 sacerdoti concessum." 
 
 t "Dani Herulos propriis sedibus expulerunt." 
 
 X fxed^ ovs St) Kal Aavdv ra idvrf wapidpa/JLOv. 
 
 § Venantius Eortunatus, vii, 7, 50 : " Quae tibi sit virtus cum 
 prosperitate superna, Saxonis et Dani gens cito victo probat " 
 
 IX, 1, 73 : "Ne ruat armatus per Gallica rura rebellis, nomine victoris 
 hie est et ampla tegis ; 
 
THE DANES 63 
 
 writing about A.D. 580, speaks of Saxons, Danes and 
 Jutes as the enemies of the Franks. 
 
 A Danish tradition which is preserved in several 
 mediaeval chronicles is that King Dan (the eponymous 
 ancestor of the Danes) reigned over Zealand, Moen, 
 Falster and Laaland ; this kingdom was called Vihtesleth. 
 
 Peter Olavus, who belongs to the late Middle Ages, 
 writes that the Germans attacked the Jutes, who called 
 in King Dan to help them ; they afterwards offered Dan 
 the kingdom so that he thus acquired Jutland as a 
 possession. He also made subject Frisia, Fyn, Scania 
 and other Danish islands (S. R. D. Vol. I, p. 68). 
 
 In the Chronicle of King Eric, we are told that Dan 
 came from Sweden and ruled over four islands ; he was 
 afterwards called in by the Jutes (S. R. D. Vol. I, p. 
 148). 
 
 Hrolfssaga Kraka. 
 
 There were two brothers named Halfdan and Fr6di 
 who were both kings ; Halfdan had two sons, Hroar and 
 Helgi, and a daughter, Signy, who was married to Earl 
 Saevil. Fr6di was jealous of his brother, who was king 
 of Denmark ; he surprised and killed Halfdan, after which 
 he ruled Denmark in his stead. He would also have 
 killed Hroar and Helgi, but they were rescued by their 
 foster-father Regin, and taken by him for protection to 
 the court of Vifill, who had been Halfdan's best friend. 
 Frodi, however, traced the boys and followed them to 
 their hiding-place, and Vifill only succeeded in saving 
 
 quern Geta, Vasco tremunt, Danus Euthio, Saxo, Britannus, 
 cum patre quos acie te domitasse patet." 
 
64 THE DANES 
 
 their lives by disguising them as his two dogs, Hopp and 
 Ho, until the king had gone away again ; but he saw that 
 they were no longer safe with him, so Hroar and Helgi, 
 now aged twelve and ten respectively, left Vifill and went 
 in disguise to the home of their brother-in-law Saevil, 
 where they were kindly received. After three years,, 
 when accompanying Signy and Saevil on a visit to King 
 Fr6cti, they were accidentally recognised by their sister, 
 but in spite of all warning and persuasion to turn back, 
 they insisted upon completing their journey. Their presence 
 was revealed to Frodi by a sibyl, and they were in immi- 
 nent danger of their lives, had not the faithful Regin 
 helped them a second time to escape. Shortly afterwards, 
 with the assistance of Regin and Saevil, the brothers 
 succeeded in killing Fr(5di by burning him in his hall. 
 
 Frddi was succeeded as king of Denmark by his 
 nephew Helgi, while Hroar went to England, and settled 
 with the king of Northumberland, whose daughter Ogn 
 he afterwards married. 
 
 King Helgi was a rover, and on one occasion when on 
 a sea-raid he sought the hand of Olof, the queen of Sax- 
 land, in marriage, but was repulsed with scorn. In revenge 
 for the treatment he had received, Helgi returned after 
 some time to Saxland, and forced Olof to be his mistress. 
 In due time Olof bore a daughter, Yrsa. Some years 
 afterwards, while on another raid, Helgi met Yrsa, and 
 without recognising her, took her home as his wife ; he 
 had by her a son, Hrolf Kraki. Helgi and Yrsa remained 
 unconscious of their relationship to one another, until Olof, 
 who had known how matters stood from the first, came 
 and told him the truth. When Yrsa heard that her 
 husband was her own father she went back to Saxland 
 
THE DANES 65 
 
 with 6lof. There she was wooed by King Adils, whom 
 she married and accompanied to Sweden. 
 
 Helgi, in the meantime, having lost his wife, was left 
 disconsolate. One night a woman arrived at his house, 
 and stayed with him until the morning. This woman was 
 an elf. Three years later she sent Helgi a child named 
 Skuld, who, she said, was his daughter. Skuld was herself 
 half an elf, and grew to be a woman of a very strange 
 disposition. She practised magic, and was, later on, the 
 means of bringing destruction to many. 
 
 After a time Helgi discovered that Yrsa was living at 
 Upsala as the wife of King Adils, and he followed her 
 there. Yrsa received her former husband with great joy ; 
 but Adils surprised Helgi and treacherously killed him. 
 
 Hrolf Kraki succeeded his father as king ; he built a 
 castle, Hleidrgardr (Leire), where he lived surrounded 
 by his thanes — kappar and berserkir — and his fame 
 soon spread, so that other warriors came from foreign 
 courts in order to join his service. (This was apparently 
 a very common practice in ancient times, and one which 
 lasted indeed into the Middle Ages.) 
 
 Hrolf's sister, Skuld, the elf-maiden, married King 
 Higrvard. Hrolf had two daughters, Scur and Drifa, 
 the latter of whom was married to his warrior, Bgdvar. 
 Some insight into the court-life of Hleidrgardr is given 
 in the story of Bgdvar and Hjalti or Hgtt (cf. supra^ 
 pp. 34ff.). 
 
 Hrolfss. dwells at length on an expedition made by 
 Hrolf to the court of King Adils ; to this Hrolf was 
 incited by Bgdvar, who urged him to go and regain his 
 father's inheritance — consisting of the money which Helgi 
 had had with him when he was killed — which had been 
 
 c. 5 
 
66 THE DANES 
 
 appropriated by Actils. Hrolf consented to the plan 
 somewhat reluctantly, and set out for Sweden with a 
 retinue consisting of his twelve chosen warriors (kappar), 
 twelve berserks, and a hundred fighting men. 
 
 In the course of their journey the Danes halted at the 
 house of a man named Hrani, who, after testing their 
 powers of endurance, advised Hrolf to take with him to 
 Sweden only his twelve champions (kappar) and to send 
 all his other men home again, as they would be of no use 
 to him. Hrolf followed this advice ; he despatched his 
 whole retinue back to Hleidrgardr, with the exception 
 of the twelve champions, in whose company he continued 
 his journey. 
 
 Once at Adils' court, Hrolf and his warriors had a 
 series of hairbreadth escapes, and finally only succeeded 
 in getting away with their lives. 
 
 Adils, who was determined to kill his stepson, tried 
 various ruses in order to achieve his purpose. He caused 
 warriors to be concealed under the benches where the Danes 
 were to sit, but they, fearing treachery, had persuaded 
 their master not to reveal himself to Adils ; so this 
 scheme failed, as the Swedish soldiers did not know which 
 of the strangers was King Hrolf. Adils gave orders for 
 a great fire to be kindled in the hall, hoping thus to make 
 an end of his enemies ; but the Danes threw their shields 
 on the fire, leapt over it, and almost succeeded in killing 
 Adils. Queen Yrsa was, however, favourably disposed 
 towards her son ; she tended him and his followers hospit- 
 ably, and assigned to him as faithful servant a man named 
 Yqgg. It was y^gg who first gave Hrolf the name of 
 " Kraki," * on account of his lean stature, and who at the 
 * Icel. kraki, Dan. krage=]psLle, stake. 
 
THE DANES 67 
 
 same time promised solemnly to avenge his master, if, 
 when Hrolf should be killed, he himself should remain 
 alive. y<^gg also warned Hrolf of the danger which threat- 
 ened him from Adils. 
 
 Adils made a final attempt against his enemy's life 
 by setting fire to the house in which the Danes were, and 
 surrounding it with an army. Hrolf and his men succeeded, 
 however, in escaping, and having been furnished by Yrsa 
 with much treasure — including Adils' prized ring Sviagris 
 — and fresh horses, for their own had been maimed by 
 the Swedes, they got away as far as Fyrisvellir, but were 
 pursued and overtaken there by Adils and an army. The 
 Danes flung down the treasure they were carrying, in 
 hope of checking the pursuit. But while his soldiers 
 grovelled on the earth for the gold, Adils himself pressed 
 on, and only when Hrolf threw down the ring Sviagris 
 did avarice triumph over hatred ; as he stooped to pick 
 up the precious gem, Hrolf lamed him with his sword 
 Skgfnung, at the same time revealing his identity to his 
 baffled enemy. Adils gave up the chase and returned 
 to Upsala, while Hrolf was left in possession of Sviagris ; 
 after this the Danes had no difficulty in getting away. 
 
 On the return journey they again fell in with Hrani, 
 who offered to give Hrolf a sword, shield and coat of mail. 
 Hrolf refused these gifts although warned by Hrani that 
 he would suffer for doing so. Only after they had parted, 
 and the Danes had gone some way, did they realise that 
 the man with whom they had been speaking, and who 
 called himself Hrani, was in reality the all-powerful Odin. 
 King Hrolf turned back quickly, hoping to make good his 
 mistake, but found that both Hrani and his house had 
 vanished. Having thus incurred the wrath of the great 
 
 5-2 
 
68 THE DANES 
 
 God of war, the Danes went home filled with presentiments 
 of impending misfortune. 
 
 Their fears were realised, for after an interval of peace, 
 a conspiracy was formed against Hrolf by Skuld and her 
 husband Higrvard. Higrvard was bound to pay Hrolf a 
 yearly tribute, and this vexed the soul of Skuld, who felt 
 it as a deep humiliation, and, therefore, incited her husband 
 to revolt against Hrolf. The payment of the tribute was 
 postponed for three years, at the end of which time Higr- 
 vard arrived at Hleidrgarctr with great piles of what 
 purported to be tribute-money, but which consisted in 
 reality of weapons for his followers. A great battle took 
 place in which Hrolf was defeated and his army annihi- 
 lated. Higrvard himself was also killed on the same day. 
 Skuld took the kingdom and governed very badly for a 
 short time. But Vggg (who had taken a vow to avenge 
 Hrolf 's death) led against her an army which had been 
 gathered by Thorir and Elgfrodi (the brothers of 
 Bgdvar) with the assistance of Yrsa. In the battle 
 which ensued, Skuld's army was defeated, and she herself 
 was killed. 
 
 A barrow was made for Hrolf Kraki, and his sword 
 was buried with him. 
 
 Landnamab6k (Twelfth century). 
 
 An entry in the Landndmahok, Ch. 140, relates that 
 a pirate merchant, named Midfiardar-Skeggi, who was 
 journeying in the Baltic, landed in Zealand and harried 
 the barrow of Hrolf Kraki. He seized Hrolf 's sword and 
 Hjalte's axe, but was prevented from further plunder by 
 
THE DANES 69 
 
 the shade of Bgdvar which fell on him and would have 
 done him great hurt, but for the intervention of Hrolf 
 Kraki *. 
 
 Ynglingasaga. 
 
 Ch. xxv. " Aun or Ani was the name of Jgrund's son, 
 who was king of the Swedes after his father : he was a 
 wise man and offered many sacrifices : he was not a 
 warrior, but stayed at home and ruled his kingdom. 
 During the time that these kings reigned at Upsala, of 
 whom we have now spoken, there reigned over Denmark, 
 first Dan the great Qiinn mikillati) ; he lived to be very 
 old : then his son Frodi the great, or the peaceful {hinn 
 mikillate eda hinn frithsami) : then his sons Halfdan and 
 Fridleif, who were great warriors. Halfdan was the elder 
 and took the lead in everything. He went with his army 
 to Swidjod against King Aun, and they fought some 
 battles, and Halfdan was always victorious. And in the 
 end King Aun fled to West Gautland : he had then been 
 king of Upsala for twenty-five years. He was also in 
 Gautland for twenty-five years, while King Halfdan was 
 at Upsala. King Halfdan died of a sickness at Upsala, 
 and he is buried there." 
 
 Ch. XXVI. At the beginning of the chapter it is 
 related how, after the death of Aun, when Egil his son 
 had ascended the throne, Tunni, the former herdsman of 
 Aun, formed an insurrection and was successful over Egil 
 in several battles. 
 
 * Ldndndmahdk Hauksbdk, c. 140: "hans svn var Midfiardar-Skeggi 
 Garpr mikill, hann heriadi i Austrveg ok la i Danmork vid Sioland, hann 
 var lutadr til at briota haug Eolfs konungs kraka ok tok hann thar or 
 Sk9fnung sverd Rolfs ok exi Hiallta ok mikit fe annat, enn hann nadi ei 
 Laufa thvi at Bodvarr villdi at hanum enn Rolfr konung vardi." 
 
70 THE DANES 
 
 " After that King Egil fled from the land away to 
 Sjaelland in Denmark to Frodi the Bold Qiinn fr^kni) ; 
 he promised tribute from the Swedes to King Frodi in 
 order to obtain his help : thereupon Frodi gave him an 
 army and his chosen warriors (kappa). So Egil journeyed 
 to Sweden. But when Tunni heard that he went out 
 against him with his army. Then there was a great battle, 
 in which Tunni fell, so Egil took his kingdom, and the 
 Danes w^ent home. King Egil sent King Frodi many 
 large and valuable presents every season, but paid no 
 tribute to the Danes ; however his friendship with King 
 Frodi still continued. After Tunni's fall, King Egil ruled 
 over the kingdom for three years." 
 
 Ch. XXVII. " The son of Egil was named Ottar : he 
 took the sceptre and the kingdom after his father : he did 
 not enter into friendly relations with King Frodi. Then 
 King Frodi sent men to King Ottar to demand the 
 tribute which Egil had promised him. Ottar answered 
 saying that the Swedes had never paid tribute to the 
 Danes, nor would he. The ambassadors returned. Frodi 
 was a great warrior. During one summer Frodi went 
 with his army to Swidjod, made raids, harried, killed 
 many, and took some away as prisoners. He took from there 
 a great deal of booty : he also burned houses far and wide, 
 and did a great deal of damage. Another summer Frodi 
 went on a raid to the Baltic : King Ottar heard that King 
 Frodi was not at home. So he got into his galley, sailed 
 away to Denmark and harried there without encountering 
 any resistance. He heard that a host was being gathered in 
 Sjaelland, so he sailed westwards to Eyrarsund, then sailed 
 south to Jutland, ran into Limfjorth, and harried in 
 Vendill, burning and devastating the land. Vgtt and 
 
THE DANES 71 
 
 Fasti were the names of Frodi's earls, whom he had set 
 to protect Denmark during his absence. But when the 
 earls heard that the king of the Svear was raiding in 
 Denmark they collected an army, took ships and sailed 
 south to Limfjorth. There they came upon Ottar quite 
 at unawares, and at once engaged him in battle ; the 
 Swedes responded manfully and soldiers fell on both sides. 
 But as fast as men fell on the Danish side other large 
 contingents from the surrounding districts came to take 
 their place, and thus all the ships in the neighbourhood 
 were engaged in the combat. The end of the battle was, 
 that King Ottar fell and the greater part of his army. 
 The Danes took his body to land, and laid it on a mound 
 and let the beasts and birds devour his flesh. Then they 
 made a wooden trunk and sent it to Swidjod, and said 
 that their King Ottar was not worth any more than that. 
 And after that they called him Ottar the Vendil-crow." 
 
 Ch. XXVIII is included in the discussion of Swedish 
 traditions. 
 
 Ch. XXIX contains an account of the relations of Helgi, 
 Adils and Yrsa of Saxland, three figures with whom we 
 are already familiar. Yngls. differs from all other sources 
 in representing Yrsa as the wife of Adils previous to her 
 marriage with Helgi. 
 
 Ch. XXIX. "At that time King Helgi the son of 
 Halfdan was ruling at Hleidra : he came to Swidjod 
 with such a large army that Adils saw no alternative 
 but flight. King Helgi landed with his army, harrying 
 and taking much booty. He captured Queen Yrsa, and 
 took her with him to Hleidra, where he married her : 
 their son was Hrolf Kraki. But when Hrolf was three 
 years old, Queen Alof came to Denmark : she told Yrsa 
 
72 THE DANES 
 
 that her husband, King Helgi, was her father, and that 
 she was her mother. Then Yrsa went back to Sweden to 
 King Adils, and was queen there as long as she lived. 
 King Helgi fell while on a raid : Hrolf Kraki was eight 
 years old at that time, and was made king at Hleidra. 
 King Adils had a great strife with King Ali of Uppland 
 {hinn Upplenzhi): he was from Norway. They fought a 
 battle on the ice of Lake Wener : King Ali fell there, 
 while Adils was victorious. Much is said concerning 
 this battle in the Skjgldungasaga, and also concerning 
 Hrolf Kraki's coming to Upsala to Adils ; it was then 
 Hrolf Kraki sowed gold in Fyrisvellir." 
 
 Ch. XXX. The Fall of Hrolf Kraki. "The son of 
 Adils who reigned next over Svealand was called Eystein; 
 in his days Hrolf Kraki fell at Hleidra. In these times 
 many kings harried in Sweden, both Danes and Northmen. 
 There were many sea-kings who had many men but no 
 land. He alone was thought to have a right to the name 
 of sea-king, who never slept under sooty rafter, and never 
 drank at the chimney corner." 
 
 Saxo*. 
 
 (Ed. Holder, pp. 57-68.) Saxo's account of Hrolf Kraki 
 (Rolvo Krake) is in its essentials the same as that contained 
 in Hrolf ss., although the two vary in some points of detail. 
 
 Saxo differs from most other authorities in what he 
 says of Hrolf's predecessors. According to him, Frotho I 
 (Frodi) had three sons, Haldanus (Halfdan), Roe and 
 Scatus (Skat). Haldanus killed his two brothers and took 
 
 * It is impossible in this section to separate Danes from Swedes, as 
 the fortunes of the two peoples were so intimately connected during this 
 period. 
 
THE DANES 73 
 
 the kingdom : he had two sons, Roe (Ro, Hroar) and Helgo 
 (Helgi), who reigned jointly in Denmark after their father's 
 death. Roe (Ro, Hroar) was the founder of Roeskilde : 
 he was killed by the Swedish king, Hothbroddus (Hoth- 
 brodd) the son of Regnerus (Ragnar). The sons of Hoth- 
 broddus were Athislus (Adils) and Hotherus (Ottar). 
 
 Helgo (Helgi) avenged the death of Roe by killing 
 Hothbroddus and putting the Swedes into bondage, and 
 from this time onwards he reigned alone in Denmark. 
 The relations of Helgo (Helgi) to Ursa (Yrsa) and her 
 mother Thora ((3lof) are the same in Saxo as in all other 
 records. In later years Helgo became ashamed of the sins 
 of his youth, and of the wild life he had formerly led : he 
 left his kingdom and went to the East, where he died : it 
 was rumoured that in his despair he had committed suicide. 
 
 Helgo was succeeded by his son Rolvo Krake (Hrolf 
 Kraki) who, in the words of the historian, " was comely 
 with every gift of mind and body, and graced his mighty 
 stature with as high a courage *." In the meantime Hoth- 
 broddus had been followed on the Swedish throne by 
 Athislus (Adils) who contrived to marry Ursa (Yrsa) the 
 mother of Rolvo Krake (Hrolf Kraki) in the hope that 
 by this stroke of diplomacy he might win his stepson's 
 friendship, and thus, ultimately, free Sweden from the 
 yoke of Denmark. But Adils was of a miserly disposition, 
 and was thoroughly despised by Yrsa, who longed to get 
 rid of him. With this end in view, she invited her son Hrolf 
 to Sweden, and laid a plot to make her escape with him. 
 
 While Hrolf remained at the court of Adils, appear- 
 ances of friendship were carefully kept up between the 
 two kings : they vied with one another in giving proofs of 
 * Saxo, Books i — ix, trans, by 0. Elton. 
 
74 THE DANES 
 
 endurance and generosity respectively, and Adils, much 
 against his will, was constrained to present Hrolf with a 
 beautiful necklace, one of his most prized possessions. On 
 the third day after Hrolf 's arrival, he and Yrsa succeeded 
 in stealing away with much treasure. They were pursued 
 by Adils, and in order to make good their escape, had to 
 throw down all that they carried with them. Adils 
 grovelled on the earth in order to re-obtain the necklace 
 which he had been forced into giving Hrolf, and the fugi- 
 tives succeeded in getting away*. 
 
 Various other isolated incidents of Rolvo Krake's reign 
 are recorded by Saxo, amongst which may be noted the 
 episode of Wiggo (Icel. Vggg) who, on entering Rolvo's 
 service, bestowed on him the nickname of " Krake," and 
 who, in return for the king's gifts, vowed to avenge his 
 death. From this Saxo passes to the last scene of Rolvo's 
 career, the attack on Loire made by the treacherous vassal 
 Hiartuarius at the instigation of his wife Sculda (Rolvo's 
 sister) and Rolvo's subsequent defeat and death. Saxo 
 has incorporated in his narrative what is apparently a 
 Latin version of the Old Icelandic Bjarkamdl. This poem 
 is a dramatic dialogue between Bjarki (Biarco) and his 
 companion in arms Hjalti (Hjalto), in which the course of 
 the battle is gradually unfolded. 
 
 Skaldskapermal. 
 
 Skdldsk. Ch. XLIII gives the following account of the 
 Danish kings : — 
 
 " The son of Odin was named Skjgld, from whom 
 sprang the Skjgldungar : he lived in and ruled over the 
 
 * Cf. story of Atalanta in Gk mythology. 
 
THE DANES 75 
 
 land which is now called Denmark, but which was then 
 called Gotland. Then Skjgld had a son named Fridleif 
 who ruled over the land after him. The son of Frictleif 
 was named Frodi, he took the kingdom after his father ; 
 at this time Augustus Caesar ruled over the Roman 
 Empire, and brought about a universal peace : then 
 Christ was born. But because Frodi was the most 
 powerful of all the kings in Scandinavian lands, therefore 
 the peace was ascribed to him in all Danish-speaking 
 countries, and the northmen call it the peace of Frocti 
 (Froda-frict)." 
 
 Skdldskapermdl goes on to tell how Frodi bought 
 from the Swedish king two giant handmaidens Fenja and 
 Menja to grind a huge wishing mill which he possessed. 
 He made them grind him out gold and prosperity without 
 ceasing : but, because he gave them no rest, they cursed 
 him by causing the mill to grind out destruction instead 
 of prosperity. As Fenja and Menja turned the mill, they 
 sang the Grottasgng, in which these words occur, " the 
 son of Yrsa will avenge the death of Halfdan on Frodi*." 
 In so far, this agrees with Hrolfss., which also represents 
 Frodi as killing Halfdan. But Frid-Frodi was, accord- 
 ing to Skdldsk., a contemporary of Augustus Caesar, and 
 his name occurs very high in the genealogies, while 
 Halfdan, the father of Hroar, belongs to the fifth century ! 
 The various Frodis have been confused with each other 
 throughout Scandinavian tradition; we shall have to 
 
 * This seems tlie most probable reading of the words : 
 
 " Mun Yrsa sonr 
 vi3 Halfdani 
 hefna Frotha." 
 Some scholars read " vigs " for " vid." 
 
76 THE DANES 
 
 attempt later on the difficult, if not impossible, task 
 of disentangling their respective identities (cf. inf, pp, 
 114 ff.). 
 
 Ch. XLIV, XLV. Skdldsk. relates the story of Hrolf 
 Kraki's visit to Adils with little variation from the other 
 accounts. The visit was in this case a hostile one, and 
 was caused by the failure of Adils to pay certain of Hrolf's 
 warriors rewards which he had promised them in return 
 for their assistance in a campaign against King Ali of 
 Norway. 
 
 The Danes were helped by Yrsa, who gave her son 
 Hrolf treasure (namely the Sviagris, a bracelet or necklace 
 (baugr) which was an heirloom in Adils' family) and 
 assisted him to escape. He was overtaken by Adils at 
 Fyrisvellir. In order to gain time for his flight, Hrolf 
 threw down the necklace, and exulted when he saw Adils 
 bow to the ground to pick it up, for he was glad that 
 the most powerful of the Swedes should bend before 
 him. 
 
 Arngrim Jonsson's Epitome of Skjqldungasaga. 
 
 The genealogy of Danish kings contained in Skjgld- 
 ungasaga will be found with the other genealogies in 
 Appendix ii. The figure of Frid-Frodi (called by Arn- 
 grim, Frode fridgode) appears at the same point, and in 
 the same connection as in Skdldsk., Ch. XLIV (Arngr. 
 Ch. III). Six generations later than this Frode fridgode 
 (Frid-Frodi) we find a certain Rigus, a chieftain of noble 
 birth who won the hand of Dana, the daughter of Danprus 
 of Danpsted. Rigus was the first who bore the title of 
 king. His son Dan or Danus inherited the kingdom and 
 
THE DANES 7*7 
 
 it was called after him (Ch. vi). Dan II* was called hin 
 
 o , 
 
 mikillati] he conquered Aleifus, the king of Selandiaf, 
 and married Olafa, the daughter of Vermundus, by whom 
 he had a son Frodo (Ch. vii). Frodo, surnamed the peace- 
 ful (cf. Frodii hin fri^sami), married Inga, the daughter 
 of Ingo, king of Sweden, and had two sons Fridleivus 
 (Frimeif ) and Halfdanus (Halfdan) (Ch. vii, 2). Fridleivus 
 succeeded his father as king ; he was a valiant and warlike 
 prince, and was surrounded by a band of famous warriors 
 of whom the greatest was Starcardus (Starkad). Frid- 
 leivus carried off Hilda, daughter of Alo (Ale), the king of 
 the Norwegian Uppland. He had by her a son Alo (Ali) 
 and by another wife a son Frodo (Frodi) (Ch. viii). 
 
 Frodo, having been born in lawful wedlock, took 
 precedence of his brother and became king; he was 
 surnamed hin fraege (the famous), while Alo, who was 
 a sea-king, was called hin froekni (the bold). Alo was 
 successful in warfare and had conquered Sweden, when 
 Frodo bribed Starcardus to kill him, out of jealousy of 
 his growing power. Starcardus performed the deed, but 
 was afterwards disgusted at his own action, and left Frodo's 
 service in order to go upon campaigns in Russia and 
 Sweden. Frodo conquered Jorundus (Jgrund) king of 
 Sweden and exacted tribute both from him and from the 
 Swedish earl S verting; he also ravished Jorundus' daughter 
 who bore him a son Halfdanus, while by his own wife he 
 had a son Ingialldus (Ingjald). Ingialldus made good to 
 Sverting the defeat which he had suffered, by marrying 
 
 * Arngrim believes several kings to have intervened between Dan I 
 and Dan II, but is entirely ignorant of their names and histories. 
 
 t It is not clear whether Selandia is to be interpreted as Sjaelland, or 
 as the district called by King Alfred Sillende. 
 
78 THE DANES 
 
 his daughter. But Jorundus and Sverting conspired 
 against Frodo's life, and the latter was murdered by 
 Sverting and his sons (Ch. ix). Ingialldus took no ven- 
 geance on Sverting, but allowed him to expiate his crime 
 by the payment of blood-money ; his brother Halfdanus, 
 however, avenged the death of their father Frodo by 
 killing the sons of Sverting, while Ingialldus, at the 
 instigation of Starcardus, put away his wife, Sverting's 
 daughter, who had borne him a son Agnarus (Agnar). 
 Ingialldus rewarded Halfdanus for killing Sverting's sons 
 by giving him a third of the kingdom, whereupon Half- 
 danus married Sigrida, by whom he had two sons, Roas 
 (Hroar) and Helgo (Helgi), and a daughter Signya (Signy). 
 But Ingialldus became jealous of his brother ; so he killed 
 Halfdanus and married his widow ; they had two sons, 
 Raerecus (Hraerek) and Frodo. In the meantime Half- 
 danus' daughter Signya was married to Earl Sevillus 
 (Saevil) in Selandia ; his sons Roas and Helgo were 
 brought up in secret on a certain island of Scania, and 
 when they grew up, avenged the death of their father by 
 killing their uncle, Ingialldus (Ch. x). 
 
 Helgo and Roas now became kings of Denmark ; Roas 
 was peacefully inclined and remained at home, while 
 Helgo went on viking. The story of Helgo 's adventure 
 with Olava (Olof), wife of Geirtiofius (Geirdjof), earl of 
 the Saxons, is practically the same as that of Hrolfss. It 
 may be observed, however, that here, as in Yngls. (Ch. 
 XXXII f.), Yrsa is represented as having been queen of 
 Sweden before she married her father Helgo. Helgo was 
 killed on viking five years after Yrsa had finally left him 
 (Ch. XI). 
 
 When Helgo was killed, his son Rolfo Krake (Hrolf 
 
THE DANES 79 
 
 Kraki) was eight years old: Rolfo reigned jointly with 
 his uncle Roas, until the latter was killed by Raerecus 
 and Frodo the sons of Ingialldus, after which R-olfo Krake 
 reigned alone. At this point Arngrim introduces the story 
 of Yggg (Woggerus) which it is unnecessary to repeat, as 
 his account does not differ from that of other sources. 
 
 Rolfo Krake's daughters were Driva and Skur; the 
 former he married to his warrior Witserchus (Hvitserk) 
 while the hand of the latter was gained by Bod varus 
 (Bgdvar) who killed Agnarus the son of Ingialldus. 
 Rolfo's half-sister ScuUda (Skuld) the daughter of Yrsa 
 and Adilsus (Adils) had been taken in marriage by 
 Hiorvardus (Higrvard) a king of Eyland (Oland), without 
 Rolfo's consent ; Rolfo therefore made war on Hiorvardus, 
 and having defeated him, forced him to pay tribute for his 
 kingdom. 
 
 The account of the relations between Rolfo (BLrolf ) and 
 Adilsus (Adils) as contained in Arngrim's Skjglds. is 
 much the same as that of Skdldsk. (Gh. 44), with one 
 important exception. The three treasures promised by 
 Adils to Hrolf Kraki before the battle on Lake Wener, 
 and afterwards withheld by him, are mentioned, but are 
 not specified by name, and, as after events show, Arngrim 
 at least had not realised that Sviagris was one of them. 
 For when the Danes fled from Upsala (Arngr. Oppsala) 
 and had thrown down gold in a vain attempt to check 
 the Swedish pursuit, Rolfo Krake drew from his finger 
 " a ring of enormous value, which his ancestors had 
 brought back as booty from the vanquished kings of 
 Sweden," and threw it down before Adilsus, with the 
 result which we already know (cf. p. 76). Rolfo Krake's 
 subsequent history as told by Arngrim, viz. Hiorvardus' 
 
80 THE DANES 
 
 treachery, Rolfo's death (Ch. xii), and Woggerus' (Vggg's) 
 revenge, corresponds to the narrative of Hrolfss., except 
 that the incident of the burning down of Leire during 
 the attack of Hiorvardus is not referred to at all in 
 SkJQldungasaga. 
 
 III. Comparison of Evidence with 
 
 REGARD TO THE DaNES. 
 
 Now that we come to compare and sift all the evidence 
 regarding the Danes, which has been collected, we shall 
 find it a very difficult if not impossible task to separate 
 genuine tradition from mere legend in the tangled web of 
 saga, poem, and historical document presented to us. 
 The allusions made by classical historians to the Danes 
 are so bare, that they afford practically no foothold on 
 which to base conclusions : the Scandinavian evidence, on 
 the other hand, might be compared to the work of many 
 artists, all of whom have attempted to make a memory 
 sketch of some great picture : in the work of each the 
 pictures are differently grouped, their expressions, atti- 
 tudes, costumes are different, even the background is not 
 always the same : each artist has drawn upon his imagina- 
 tion to fill up the gaps left by memory or by ignorance of 
 the facts. By far the most important recent work on 
 early Danish tradition seen through the medium of poem 
 and saga is the Danmark's Heltedigtning of Dr Axel Olrik 
 (Copenhagen, 1903), and in the course of the following 
 pages an attempt has been made to embody his chief 
 results, though it has not always been possible to accept 
 his conclusions. Dr Olrik lays great stress on the evidence 
 of the Bjarkamdl, a poem of which the original (except for 
 
THE DANES 81 
 
 a couple of fragments in Old Norse) has been lost, but 
 which has been preserved in an apparently complete form 
 in a Latin translation by Saxo (ed. Holder, pp. 59-66). 
 It is also partially preserved, although in a very corrupt 
 form, in the last chapter of Hrolfss. According to 
 Dr Olrik {D. H. D. pp. 42-61, 83-114) this poem is 
 undoubtedly the oldest and most important piece of 
 Scandinavian evidence which we possess regarding the 
 events in question (viz. Rolf Kraki's defeat and death 
 at the hands of Higrvard): he claims further that the 
 poem is of Danish origin, and that it was composed about 
 the middle of the tenth century. For these reasons its 
 authority is a valuable criterion of genuineness in the 
 investigation of early Danish tradition. There is no 
 conflict of evidence among the early historical documents 
 (Jordanes, Procopius, etc.) which mention the Danes, but, 
 as already mentioned, these references, owing to their 
 extreme meagreness, do not yield us results of any great 
 value in the reconstruction of the early history of the 
 nation. 
 
 Scandinavian sources which deal with the period of 
 Danish history in question agree in their broad outlines, 
 but vary in points of detail. All accounts agree as to 
 the existence of a Danish king Halfdan, who is certainly 
 identical with the Healfdene of the Beowulf (vide inf, 
 pp. 130 fF.); but while according to the Beowulf, Halfdan 
 had three sons, Heorogar, Hrothgar and Halga, and a 
 daughter, who was probably the wife of Onela, king of 
 Sweden, but whose name is not preserved in the MS. 
 (cf Beo., 1. 62), Scandinavian authorities allow Halfdan 
 only two sons, Ro (Hrothgar) and Helgi (Halga). The 
 Halga of the Beowulf is merely a lay figure, whereas 
 
 c. . 6 
 
82 THE DANES 
 
 Helgi plays a most important part in Danish tradition, 
 although different records do not always agree as to the 
 facts of his career. Thus, according to Saxo (p. 51), 
 King Helgi, overcome by the thought of his former sins, 
 went to the East and died, or committed suicide. Accord- 
 ing to Yngls. (Ch. 33) Helgi met his death in battle, while 
 according to Hrolfss. (Ch. 12) he was treacherously slain 
 by Adils, during a visit to the Swedish court at Upsala. 
 
 Yrsa and Hrolf Kraki. 
 
 The version of the story of Yrsa contained in Yngls. 
 varies from that of Saxo and Hrolfss., inasmuch as in the 
 first mentioned authority the course of events has without 
 doubt been confused {vide inf. p. 142); thus in Yngls. 
 Yrsa is represented as the wife of Adils, king of Sweden, 
 before she married Helgi, and became the mother of 
 Hrolf Kraki. In Yngls. and Hrolfss. the mother of Yrsa 
 is called Olof or Alof of Saxland: in Saxo she appears as 
 Thora of the island of Thorey, and is not a queen, as she 
 is said to be in Yngls. 
 
 Dr Olrik's theory about Yrsa, w^hich is based on 
 philological grounds, presents her whole story in a com- 
 pletely new light. By means of a lengthy enquiry into 
 the origin of the name Yrsa, and of similar names, he 
 shows {a) that the name Yrsa is otherwise unknown in 
 Norse, and must, therefore, be of foreign origin, (6) that it 
 is derived from the Lat. ursus = bear, (c) that although 
 various names derived from this root are found amongst 
 Teutonic peoples, they always occur in districts which 
 either bordered on the Roman Empire, or had been other- 
 wise subject to Roman influence. As a further proof that 
 
THE DANES 83 
 
 the name Yrsa was foreign to the North, he cites Hrolfss., 
 where it is said that Olof called her daughter after her 
 dog (cf. Fas. I, p. 22). Hence he arrives at the conclusion 
 that if Yrsa is an historical character she must have 
 belonged not to the Danes, but to some Southern people 
 on the borders of the Roman Empire, probably the Franks 
 — and that Helgi must have found and married her on 
 one of his freebooting raids. Evidence of communication 
 between the Danes and the Franks at this time is provided 
 by Gregory of Tours' account of Hygelac's raid (Greg. 
 Tur. Ill, 3). This supposition about Yrsa leads Olrik to 
 discard the whole story of her birth as given in Scandinavian 
 sources, and consequently also that of Hrolf Kraki's incest- 
 uous origin. The only point in the story which he allows 
 to stand is that " Helgi, in the course of his voyages as a 
 sea-king, landed on a foreign shore, whence he took away 
 with him a fair maiden as his bride *." The whole account 
 of Helgi's relations with Yrsa's mother, Olof or Thora, he 
 rejects as a modern accretion to the story. 
 
 The question of Hrolf's incestuous birth is discussed 
 at length, and it is shown that there is no epic necessity 
 for its truth, as it may have been first ascribed to him 
 merely by analogy with other heroes. Almost all the 
 greatest figures of hero-saga had this stain; Sinfjgtli, 
 Cuchullin, Gawain, Roland, all sprang from the union 
 of brother and sister. The offspring of such a union was 
 in most cases the greatest of his race — sometimes the 
 chief figure within the range of the national poetry — 
 inasmuch as he had in his veins the combined strength 
 of two members of the same great family. But with him 
 
 * D. H. D. p. 154: "Helge, pa sin faerd som s^rkonge, kom til en 
 fremmed kyst, og bortfe^rte den fagre jomfru som sin brud." 
 
 6—2 
 
84 THE DANES 
 
 the whole stock usually came to a sudden and violent 
 end; from which our natural inference is that the guilt 
 of the parents was visited on the child. It is thus possible, 
 according to Olrik, that as Hrolf was the greatest and 
 also the last of his race, an incestuous origin may have 
 been attributed to him as a sort of necessity arising from 
 the facts of his subsequent career. This necessity may 
 even have been extended to include and consequently to 
 account for the whole story of Helgi's life and of his early 
 unhappy end (c£ inf. p. 141). 
 
 The important part played by Yrsa Dr Olrik attributes 
 to the circumstance that Hrolf's father had died while he 
 was still an infant, in consequence of which, according to 
 ancient usage, Hrolf would be brought up by his mother 
 and would be called by her name {D. H. D. pp. 144-159). 
 
 Closely connected with Yrsa is Hrolf Kraki's visit to 
 Upsala. Saxo, Hrolf ss. and Skjglds. (as repr. by Skdldsk. 
 and Arngrim Jonsson) agree as to the fact of Hrolf's 
 expedition to the court of A3ils, but differ in the reason 
 which they assign for this expedition. 
 
 According to Saxo (ed. Holder, pp. 53-55) Yrsa hated 
 her husband Adils on account of his miserly disposition, 
 and desired to be rid of him. She therefore invited Hrolf 
 to come to Sweden, and together they stole away, taking 
 with them much of Adils' treasure. 
 
 In Hrss. (Fas. i, pp. 76-95) the motive assigned for 
 Hrolf's expedition to Sweden is that he was desirous of 
 regaining the money which his father Helgi had had with 
 him in Sweden when he was treacherously killed by Aclils 
 some years before. 
 
 In SMldsk (Ch. 44) the story differs yet again. Here 
 Hrolf's expedition was in order to force Adils to pay 
 
THE DANES 85 
 
 money which he refused to give up, and which he owed 
 Hrolf and his berserks for the assistance they had given 
 him against King Ali of Norway. 
 
 According to Skdldsk. then, Hrolfs expedition was 
 avowedly a hostile one : according to Saxo and Hrolfss., 
 he went to Sweden on the pretext of paying Adils a visit, 
 but the relations between the two were no more amicable 
 in the one case than in the other, and the details of 
 Hrolfs stay correspond more or less exactly in all three 
 accounts. The incident is not directly alluded to in the 
 Yngls. 
 
 The absence of any sort of agreement amongst existing 
 records regarding the motive of Hrolfs visit to Upsala 
 makes us suspicious of all the explanations which they 
 offer to account for it. It is also difficult to accept 
 Dr Olrik's interpretation of the incident (Z). H. D., pp. 37 f., 
 179-184, 202-208) which is largely affected by his 
 disbelief in the identity of Beowulf and Bgctvar-Bjarki. 
 He rejects, as of late Norwegian origin, the view which 
 regards Hrolfs visit as a sequel to the battle of Lake 
 Wener, and, in fact, repudiates the whole incident of the 
 fight on the frozen lake, as having no connection with 
 Hrolf Kraki whatever. Apart from that he condemns 
 the motive of seeking reward for past services as utterly 
 unworthy and ignoble. Olrik also refuses to accept Saxo's 
 explanation, which he considers improbable, but he sub- 
 stitutes for it one at least equally improbable, viz., that 
 Adils probably invited his step-son to Upsala with the 
 intention of treacherously killing him, "this being a 
 frequent motif of hero-saga." He leaves quite out of 
 consideration the fact that, in such cases, some reason — 
 or at any rate pretext — usually existed for these murder- 
 
86 THE DANES 
 
 ous designs on the part of the host, and that here there is 
 no such reason. Hrolf has done his step-father no injury, 
 nor is he the possessor of great treasure which could have 
 given rise to the jealousy of Adils. Dr Olrik discards 
 further the part played by Yrsa as a modern addition to 
 the story, but it is difficult to see what grounds he has 
 for so doing in the face of authority as early as that of 
 Skdldskapermdl. 
 
 On a close examination, it will be seen that the only 
 features of the episode of the Upsala visit which remain 
 unchanged in the various sources are the following : 
 (1) the raison d'etre of Hrolf 's visit to Upsala was to 
 obtain money from Adils, (2) Hrolf 's mother Yrsa was, 
 at the time of her son's visit, in Upsala as Adils' wife. 
 
 The Beowulf contains no suggestion of Eadgils' (Adils') 
 marriage with a Danish queen; according to it the only 
 relative of Hrothulf (Hrolf Kraki) in Sweden was his 
 aunt, the sister of Halga (Helgi) and Hrothgar (Hroar), 
 who married King Onela (cf. Beo. I, 62). There is how- 
 ever no reason to doubt the fact of Adils' marriage 
 with Yrsa, which is well substantiated in Scandinavian 
 tradition. 
 
 If we look at the chronology of the Beowulf we shall 
 see that at the time of Beowulf's visit to King Hrothgar 
 (Hroar), Halga (Helgi) was in all probability already 
 dead. Hrothgar himself was already a very old man 
 (cf Beo., 1. 357), and according to all Scandinavian tradi- 
 tions the life of Halga (Helgi) who was his elder brother 
 was cut short at a comparatively early point in his career. 
 By this time too, Hrothulf (Hrolf Kraki) was already 
 grown up, in fact in both Beowulf and Widsith he is 
 represented as ruling jointly with his uncle Hrothgar 
 
THE DANES 87 
 
 (cf. Wids. 11. 45-49; Beo. 11. 1074 ff., 1163 f., 1181 ff.)- 
 It is a circumstance worthy of notice that only several 
 years after Beowulf's exploit at the Danish court, does 
 Eadgils (Actils) appear for the first time in the Beowulf 
 story. He and his brother Eanmund, while apparently 
 still young men, fled into Gautland in order to escape the 
 vengeance of their uncle Onela, and it was some years 
 later that Eadgils (Adils) overthrew Onela, and became 
 king of Sweden in his stead (Beo. 11. 2379 ff., 11. 2391 ff ) 
 (cf. also supra, p. 28). 
 
 This survey of the chronology of the Swedish and 
 Danish royal families as contained in the oldest known 
 records makes it impossible for us to accept the account 
 of Hrolfss., according to which Helgi was treacherously 
 slain by Actils while on a visit to Upsala. The evidence 
 of the Beowulf shows that in all probability Helgi (Halga) 
 and Adils (Eadgils) were not even contemporaries, and 
 the latter cannot, under any circumstances, have been 
 more than an infant when Helgi's death took place. 
 Hrolf (Hrothulf) himself must have been many years 
 senior to Actils (Eadgils), if, at the time of Beowulf's 
 visit to the Danish court, he was already of an age to 
 rule, and we may thus infer that his mother Yrsa was 
 quite an old lady by the time that Adils (Eadgils) was 
 of a marriageable age. This being so, it seems more than 
 probable that Actils, in marrying a person so much his 
 senior as we know Yrsa must have been, had some 
 ulterior motive which has not been directly preserved 
 in tradition. 
 
 Among the various reasons assigned for Hrolf's visit 
 to Upsala, that of the Skjgldungasaga (as contained in 
 Skdldsk. cf. supr. p. 76), which should be the most reliable, 
 
88 THE DANES 
 
 we are obliged to reject, as it is most unlikely that Hrolf 
 would have sent forces to take part in a campaign against 
 All (Onela) his uncle by marriage. But at all events 
 Ali was defeated and slain by Adils (with the help of 
 Bgdvar-Bjarki, c£ Skdldsk. Ch. 44) who then succeeded 
 him as king of Sweden. It was a common practice 
 amongst early Northern nations for a conqueror to marry 
 the widow of his predecessor in order to improve his 
 position amongst his new subjects (e.g. the marriage of 
 Cnut after his conquest of England in 1017 to the widow 
 of Athelred the Unready). Thus it would have been a 
 very natural thing for Adils to take to wife the widow 
 of Ali — who, it must be remembered, was the sister of 
 Hrolf's father, and who belonged to an earlier generation 
 — notwithstanding the probable disparity of age between 
 them. 
 
 We find then on the one hand Aclils married to a 
 woman so much his senior that we cannot conceive his 
 motives in marrying her to have been other than political 
 ones : we have on the other hand discovered a motive 
 which might very well account for a marriage of this 
 nature : it remains for us to fit, if possible, marriage and 
 motive to one another. 
 
 The chief point to be noticed in this connection is the 
 relationship between Helgi and the wife of Adils. 
 
 Yrsa*, Adils' wife, was the daughter, and at some 
 time in her life, the wife of Helgi (Halga) ; the widow of 
 
 Beowulf 
 
 Healfdene 
 
 1 
 
 O.N. Tradition 
 
 Halfdan 
 
 1 
 
 Halga ?= Onela 
 
 1 
 Hrothulf 
 
 Yrsa = Helgi = 6lof 
 
 1 1 
 Hrolf Yrsa = Adils 
 
THE DANES 89 
 
 King Ali (Onela) whom, as we have seen, it would have 
 been quite natural for Adils to have married on his 
 accession to the Swedish throne, was the sister of Helgi 
 (Halga). All versions of the story of Yrsa lay stress on 
 her illegal marriage with Helgi, by which she became the 
 mother of Hrolf Kraki, and it seems conceivable that 
 Scandinavian tradition may have substituted a marriage 
 between father and daughter for one which was originally 
 between brother and sister, and for w^hich parallel cases 
 may be found in Northern tradition*. 
 
 Were this the case the name of Yrsa would supply the 
 gap in Beowulf, 1. 62, where a word beginning with a vowel 
 is required for the alliteration: as the sister of Helgi 
 (Halga) and the wife of Onela (Ali) her figure acquires 
 new significance, and her marriage with Adils is at once 
 satisfactorily explained f . 
 
 If Yrsa were really the sister of Helgi and the missing 
 name in Beowulf 1. 62, this would establish the truth of 
 the origin attributed to Hrolf, and would bring him into 
 line with the long roll of heroes of the migration period, 
 so many of whom sprang from an illicit union of brother 
 and sister (cf p. 83). The attempt to show that the story 
 
 * I owe this suggestion to Mr H. M. Chadwick. 
 
 t This leads on to a further suggestion regarding the motive under- 
 lying Hrolf s visit to Upsala. All authorities agree that he went in order 
 to obtain from Adils a certain sum of money ; we are led to infer that 
 this money should have been paid before, but that it had been wrongly 
 withheld by Adils who was of a miserly disposition. 
 
 It is possible that what Hrolf went to fetch from Sweden was the 
 *'mundr" of his mother Yrsa, i.e. the bride-price, due to the relatives of 
 the bride, without the payment of which no marriage was legal : thus the 
 main object of his visit and of his action in extorting the " mundr " from 
 Adils would ultimately be to ensure the proper status and dignity of his 
 mother as queen of Sweden (but vide inf. p. 141 f.) 
 
90 THE DANES 
 
 of Hrolf's incestuous birth arose merely by the analogy of 
 similar cases, would, if successful, seem to prove too much, 
 as these cases themselves might be accounted for with as 
 much likelihood in exactly the same way. 
 
 Heoroweard. 
 
 The Heoroweard of Beoiuulf, who was the son of 
 Heorogar {Beo. 11. 2161-2), seems to correspond in name 
 to the Higrvard of Scandinavian tradition (Saxo, Hiar- 
 tuarius); but Scandinavian writers do not hint at any 
 blood relationship between him and his brother-in-law 
 Hrolf Kraki, while on the other hand, they do not seem 
 to have auy clear conception of the political situation 
 which underlay Higrvarct's attack and defeat of Hrolf 
 Kraki at Leire. 
 
 Hrolf s fall at Leire is the chief theme of Bjarkamdl, 
 and here the only motive assigned for Hiartuarius' attack 
 is the ambition of his wife Skuld : the soldiers of Hiar- 
 tuarius are called in Bjarkamdl Goths or Swedes (Saxo, 
 pp. 65 f.). All later Scandinavian sagas in describing the 
 incident lay stress on the treachery of Higrvard and 
 Skuld as the sworn vassals of Hrolf Kraki, but none of 
 them give any satisfactory explanation of the nationality 
 of Higrvard's army, aud no two accounts agree as to who 
 and what Higrvard himself actually was. 
 
 The identification of Higrvard with the O.E. Heoro- 
 weard would supply the key to the situation. Heoroweard 
 was the son of Heorogar, Hrothgar and Halga's elder 
 brother, and thus had a claim to the Danish throne, prior 
 to that of his cousin Hrothulf (Hrolf Kraki) but one which 
 he — perhaps like Hrethric {vide inf. p. 100) — was unable 
 
THE DANES 91 
 
 to make good, on account of Hrothulf's superior power. 
 In order to save his own life, he may, therefore, have 
 sworn homage to Hrothulf, a pledge which, according to 
 Scandinavian tradition, he afterwards broke. But none 
 of the Northern sources, without exception, have any idea 
 that Higrvard had an excuse for his treachery in the 
 existence of a valid claim to the throne of Denmark, and 
 as matters at present stand we have not enough evidence 
 to prove conclusively his identity with the O.E. Heoroweard. 
 It is, however, more probable than not that the two are 
 the same, and that the events related in the Scandinavian 
 sagas were in reality the outcome of the political situation, 
 which is hinted at in the Beowulf, but which was subse- 
 quently — after the lapse of centuries — completely forgotten 
 (cf D. H. D. pp. 38-42). 
 
 Hrothgar and Hrothulf. 
 
 The most serious discrepancy between the account of 
 the Danes in Beowulf, and that contained in Scandinavian 
 tradition, concerns the person and character of Hrothgar 
 (Scand. Ro, or Hroar). 
 
 We have seen that in no Scandinavian authority does 
 Ro play an important part : his personality is, on the 
 other hand, distinctly colourless. He died early and was 
 succeeded by his brother Helgi, Helgi in his turn being 
 followed by the great Hrolf Kraki. In Hrolfss. the in- 
 significance of Hroar is emphasized yet more, for according 
 to it, he did not reign at all in Denmark, but went to 
 Northumberland where he married and settled, leaving 
 his brother Helgi in undisputed possession of the Danish 
 throne. 
 
92 THE DANES 
 
 But the evidence of Beowulf regarding Hrothgar 
 (Hroar) points all the other way. He is everywhere 
 referred to in terms of the greatest admiration and esteem, 
 and stress is laid, throughout the poem, on the length and 
 glory of his reign (cf. Beo. 11. 1769 ff.). 
 
 At first sight it seems as if some confusion must have 
 taken place between the two kings, as the part played by 
 Hrothgar in O.E. tradition seems to correspond so exactly 
 to that filled by Hrolf Kraki in Scandinavian records. 
 In that case, though the bulk of evidence would favour 
 the supposition that Hrolf Kraki was the more outstanding 
 of their two men, it is all evidence of a late date — in no 
 case earlier than the twelfth century — while on the other 
 hand, the testimony of Beowulf although standing alone, 
 is several hundred years earlier than that of the Scandi- 
 navian records, and therefore cannot be lightly disregarded. 
 
 But there is another possible explanation of the diffi- 
 culty. Both Beowulf and Widsith represent Hrothgar 
 and Hrothulf (Hrolf) as reigning together in Denmark 
 in accordance with a practice which we frequently find 
 amongst early Teutonic peoples, viz. that in any case 
 where there were two or more adult members of a royal 
 family, they reigned as joint kings in the country. Both 
 poems also lay stress on what seems to have been a 
 remarkable fact and very contrary to custom, namely, the 
 friendly relations which existed between these joint rulers 
 Hrothgar and Hrothulf (cf. Wids. 11. 45-49, Beo. 11. 1074 ff., 
 1. 1163 f., 11. 1181 ff., 1. 1018 f). As Hrothulf was the 
 nephew of Hrothgar, and presumably a much younger 
 man, it is very probable that he survived his uncle, and 
 continued to reign alone after Hrothgar 's death. If this 
 was so, one can well see how his fame might in the course 
 
THE DANES 93 
 
 of centuries have come to entirely overshadow that of 
 Hrothgar, and how, when written records came to be 
 made, this glorious epoch of Danish history was associated 
 primarily with the name of Hrolf Kraki. 
 
 On the other hand, the fame of Hrothgar may have 
 reached England during that ruler's lifetime, and before 
 it became eclipsed by that of his nephew. Indeed, it 
 looks as if this must have been the case, as we have no 
 evidence that England had any communication with the 
 Baltic countries between Hrothgar s reign and the end of 
 the eighth century, when the Danish invasion began. 
 This explanation would also account for the very minor 
 part played by Hrothulf in Beowulf. 
 
 The Hall Heorot. 
 
 The scene of Beowulf's exploit against Grendel is 
 the great Heorot, which is said to have been built by 
 Hrothgar, and is described with reverential admiration 
 by the poet as the national hall and sanctuary of the 
 Danes {Beo. 11. 67-85). 
 
 The seat of the Danish kings was, according to the 
 unanimous testimony of Scandinavian literature, Hleidr- 
 gardr (Leire) on the island of Sjaelland (Zealand), the 
 building of which is attributed in a good many authorities 
 to Hrolf Kraki. In other references, however, we read of 
 a castle of Hleidrgarctr having existed in very much 
 earlier times (cf. Yngls. Ch. 31, where it is represented 
 as being from the beginning the ancestral home of the 
 Skjgldungar) and having been built by the founder of 
 the dynasty. 
 
 The Leire of to-day is a tiny village whose present 
 
94 THE DANES 
 
 insignificance contrasts so strongly with the accounts of 
 its former glory that some scholars have found it difficult 
 to believe that it could ever have been the site of a royal 
 residence. But not many miles from Leire stands Roes- 
 kilde, which is an important town : it was formerly capital 
 of Denmark and is the ancestral burial-place of the 
 Danish kings. Roeskilde means "the fountain of Ro," 
 and tradition connects the name of Ro with the building 
 of the town. In view of these facts, it is somewhat diffi- 
 cult to say whether the Heorot of the Beowulf is to be 
 identified with Leire or with Roeskilde. 
 
 Some light is thrown on the question by Dr Olrik, who 
 has no doubt that the present Leire does represent the 
 old Hleidrgardr, and is sure moreover that its former 
 greatness is no fable, but has a solid foundation in fact. 
 For through all tradition, the one thing which stands 
 firmly established about Hleidrgardr is its connection 
 with Hroar and Hrolf : that remains though all else goes. 
 There is nothing, however, to show that it was a royal 
 residence after the sixth century, and it is very possible 
 that it was destroyed in the last great fight, when Hrolf 
 Kraki met his death at the hands of the treacherous 
 Higrvard (cf. Bjarkam., Saxo, pp. 59-66). The fall of a 
 great king is always the starting-point for epic narrative, 
 and probably the position of Leire in song and story is an 
 attempt of the scalds to develop and enhance its former 
 glory, which had come to such an untimely end. 
 
 The view that Leire played a part in national poetry 
 long after it had ceased to exist, and that it lived, so to 
 speak, on its past reputation, would account satisfactorily 
 for its later insignificance compared with the neighbouring 
 Roeskilde. Another fact may have contributed to Leire's 
 
THE DANES 95 
 
 loss of importance in mediaeval times : its great natural 
 strength against any attack by sea was no longer a matter 
 of such importance once the political status of the Danes 
 was assured; the attention of the nation was then naturally 
 turned rather to the increase of their commercial pros- 
 perity, than to the necessity of self-defence, and this led 
 to the growth of Roeskilde (D. H. D. pp. 188-200). 
 
 As the difficulty of regarding the modern village of 
 Leire as the site of the ancient Hleidrgardr has thus 
 been cleared up, it seems more likely that Heorot is 
 to be identified with it than with Roeskilde, and the 
 fact that Hleidrgardr is represented throughout Scan- 
 dinavian records as the national hall and sanctuary of 
 the Danes would be in favour of this. The importance 
 attaching to Roeskilde as the burial-place of the Danish 
 kings probably dates only from Christian times. The 
 tradition that a castle of Hleidrgardr existed in very 
 early times is no argument against its identity with 
 Heorot, for it is quite conceivable that, being built of 
 wood, it might have been burned down (as we hear in 
 Beo. 11. 82-3 that it was), and re-built by Hrolf Kraki. 
 
 Hrethric. 
 
 According to the Beowulf (I. 1189) Hrothgar had two 
 sons, Hrethric and Hrothmund. Hrothmund is other- 
 wise unknown, but Hrethric has been identified by 
 Sarrazin, Olrik and others with the Roric (Hraerek, 
 Roricus) who is a personage of considerable importance 
 in Scandinavian tradition, although authorities are at 
 variance with regard to the actual circumstances of his 
 life. The following account of him is almost entirely 
 
96 THE DANES 
 
 based on the evidence which has been collected by 
 Dr Olrik (cf. D. H. D. pp. 28-34, 167-175), and which 
 in some cases has led him to somewhat startling con- 
 clusions, especially in his interpretations of the Beowulf 
 and Widsith. 
 
 Starting now as always from Bjarkamdly we find that 
 Rolvo (Hrolf) slew R^ricus the son of the covetous Bgkus. 
 The words which describe the incident are put into the 
 mouth of Hjalto (Hjalti), and the passage is as follows* : 
 "But let us who honour our king... go forth in the way 
 the king taught us : our king who laid low Rorik the son 
 of Bok the covetous {qui natum Bj^ki R^ricum stravit 
 avari) and wrapped the coward in death. He was rich 
 in wealth, but in enjoyment poor, stronger in gain than 
 bravery : and thinking gold better than warfare, he set 
 lucre above ail things, and ingloriously accumulated piles 
 of treasure, scorning the service of noble friends." Hjalti 
 goes on to tell how Rorik, when he was attacked by the 
 navy of Hrolf, spread out treasure before his city gates 
 in the hope of staying the fury of the enemy, and thus 
 saving his own life. But Rolf the righteous assailed him, 
 slew him, and captured his vast wealth, and shared among 
 worthy friends what the hand of avarice had piled up in 
 all those years. 
 
 But Saxo knows another Roricus surnamed Slynge- 
 bond, a brave and warlike ruler, and the son of Hotherus 
 who followed Hiartuarius on the Danish throne (cf Saxo, 
 ed. Holder, pp. 82 &.). This person appears as Rokil 
 Slaghenback in Sven Aagesen's chronicle, where he is 
 the direct successor of Hrolf Kraki. According also to 
 the genealogy of the Icelandic Lgfdg., Hrolf Kraki is 
 
 * Saxo Grammaticus, Books i — ix, translated by 0. Elton, p. 75. 
 
THE DANES 97 
 
 succeeded by a Hraerek, who however is here surnamed 
 Hnauggvanhaugi (covetous of rings or treasure) and is 
 described as Ingiallz syn, i.e. the son of Ingjald. Three 
 generations further down in the genealogy of Lgfstg. 
 comes Hraerekr Slaungvanbaugi, the son of Halfdan (cf. 
 Genealogies, p. 273). 
 
 In the later version of the lost Skjgldungasaga, repre- 
 sented by Arngrim Jonsson's fragmentary Latin transcript 
 (Aarb. / nord. Oldkynd. 1894, pp. 104 ff.) (= A) and the 
 recently discovered Bjarkarimur (Finnur Jonsson, Copen- 
 hagen, 1904) (=B), Raerecus (Hraerekr Sl^ngvanbaugi) 
 (B) is represented as the son of Ingjalldus (Ingjald). 
 According to A, he and his brother Frodo (Frodi) kill 
 Roas (Hroar) in revenge for their father's death, and after 
 Rolfo Krake's death Raerecus divides the kingdom with 
 Rolfo's son Walldarus (Arngr., Ch. xii-xiii). According 
 to B, the relationships are the same, and here also Ingjald 
 has been murdered by Hroar and Helgi. Hraerek then 
 comes on board Hroar's ship, throws the ring Sviagris 
 into the sea, and is lamed by the two brothers in revenge. 
 He goes home and dies soon afterwards (Bjr. vii). In the 
 Hrolfss. a similar story is told of Hr(5k (Hr^rek ?) who 
 kills Hroar after throwing his ring into the sea ; but 
 Helgi avenges his brother's death by crippling Hr6k 
 {Fas, I, pp. 24 ff.). Thus Scandinavian sources all know 
 a Roric (Hraerek Roricus) who is contemporary with Hrolf 
 Kraki, and is surnamed Slanganhogi {Slanggenb^ghi), 
 while in the oldest Icelandic genealogies he has apparently 
 become two personalities, for we find Hraerekr hn^gg- 
 vanbaugi and his grandson Hraerekr sl<^ngvanbaugi {Lfd^g.). 
 The same confusion occurs in Saxo : for according to 
 the Bjarkamdl (Saxo's version) Roricus was the son of 
 
 c. 7 
 
98 THE DANES 
 
 the covetous B(j(>kus. B(j)ki avari would be in Old Daoish 
 hins nygga B(j>ks (O.N. hn^ggva Bangs) : this, as has been 
 pointed out by Sarrazin {Engl. St. xxiv, 144 f.) and Olrik 
 (D. H. D. p. 33), can scarcely be anything but a mistake 
 for the epithet which we have already seen applied to 
 B,oric, viz. hn^ggvanbaugi, perhaps in the strong form 
 hn^ggvanbaugs, in which the genitive of a noun haugr 
 (= ring) has been taken as the genitive of a proper name. 
 This emendation also fits the description of E-^ricus, 
 which follows, so exactly that in consideration of the 
 age of the Bjarkamdl there can be little doubt that it 
 was the term originally applied to him. It is easy to 
 understand the scribal error which later on reproduced 
 hn^ggvanbaugi as sl^ngvanbaugi (Saxo Slyngebond). The 
 latter was, too, a more complimentary term and applied 
 equally well to the R^ricus of Bjarkamdl, who threw down 
 his treasure in order to appease the anger of his enemy. 
 The mistake, as we have seen, led in some cases to an 
 erroneous belief in the existence of the two Korics (Saxo, 
 Lf^g.), to the further consequences of which we probably 
 owe all the stories of later Scandinavian tradition 
 (Hrolfss., Bjr., Saxo) which relate the throwing of the 
 ring by Roric (Hraerek, Hrok, R^ricus) into the sea : 
 they are merely late inventions to account for the curious 
 surname of "ringslinger," the origin of which was unknown. 
 
 Apart from the story of the ring, the later accounts of 
 Roric in Scandinavian literature agree as to the main 
 facts of Hroar's murder at his hands, and the subsequent 
 vengeance taken for that murder (usually by Helgi), but 
 vary in almost every other circumstance of the narrative. 
 
 The clue to this tangle of conflicting evidence, says 
 Dr Olrik, is to be found in the oldest records, viz. the 
 
THE DANES 99 
 
 Beowulf ei>nd Widsith, which, taken in conjunction with 
 Bjarkamdl, alone give the true explanation and the right 
 sequence of events. Certain passages in the O.E. poems 
 (Beo. 11. 1014-1019, 1163-1168, Wids. 11. 45-49*) contain 
 for Dr Olrik a clear reference to an impending catastrophe 
 in the Danish royal house. For the present, peace reigns in 
 Denmark: Hrothgar and Hrothulf rule as joint sovereigns 
 in love and goodwill. But evil days are in store: treachery 
 will part those who were bound by oaths of friendship and 
 ties of blood-fellowship. 
 
 For the key to all these dismal prognostications we 
 are referred by Dr Olrik to the Bjarkamdl, which relates 
 how Hrolf Kraki overcame and killed Roric (R^ricus). 
 After Hrothgar's death dissension arises between the 
 
 * Beowulf, 11. 1014-1019. 
 
 Faegere gethaegon 
 
 medoful manig magas thara 
 
 swith-hicgende on sele tham hean 
 
 Hrothgar and Hrothulf. Heorot innan waes 
 
 fre6ndum afylled ; nalles facen-stafas 
 
 theod Scyldingas thenden fremedon. 
 [Hrothgar and Hrothulf the stout-hearted kinsmen took full meetly 
 many a cup of mead in the high hall. Heorot was filled within with 
 friends; by no means did the people of the Scyldings then use treachery.] 
 
 11. 1163-1168. 
 
 tha cwom Wealhthe6 forth 
 
 gan under gyldnum beage, thaer tha godan twegen 
 
 saeton suhter-gefaederan : tha gyt waes hiera sib aetgaedere, 
 
 aeghwylc othrum trywe : swylce thaer unferth thyle 
 
 aet fotum saet frean Scyldinga : gehwylc hiora his ferhthe tredwde 
 
 thaet he haefde m6d micel theah the he his magum naere 
 
 arfaest aet ecga gelacum. 
 
 [Then came forth Wealhtheow to go under a golden circlet, where the 
 
 two good men, uncle and nephew, sat : as yet there was peace between 
 
 them, each to the other true. Unferth the " thyle " sat there likewise at 
 
 the feet of the Lord of the Scyldings : each of them trusted to his heart 
 
 that he (i.e. Unferth) had a mighty courage, though he might not have 
 
 been true to his kinsman at the play of swords.] 
 
 7—2 
 
100 THE DANES 
 
 cousins Hrethric and Hrothulf, and Hrethric is killed 
 by the powerful Hrothulf ; for nothing would check more 
 fatally the growth of this young kingdom than internal 
 strife, and Hrothulf would have no alternative but to 
 suppress promptly the first indications of civil unrest 
 by the assertion of his superior power {D. H. D. pp. 14-18, 
 29-34). Such is Dr Olrik's reconstruction of this passage 
 of Danish history. The invention in late Scandinavian 
 tradition of the story attributing the murder of Hroar 
 to Roric (Hraerek, O.E. Hrethric), who as we see was 
 originally Hroar's (O.E. Hrothgar's) son, he ascribes to 
 a desire in the first instance to exculpate Hrolf (O.E. 
 Hrothulf) from blame, and to make his action in killing 
 Roric appear as a deed of righteous vengeance. The saga 
 then became independent of Hrolf, and the figure of Helgi 
 was added as the most suitable avenger of his brother 
 Hroar {D. H. D. pp. 167-175). 
 
 This explanation of the historical significance of the 
 Hrethric of the Beowulf is extremely ingenious, but it 
 rests solely on the evidence of Bjarkamdl, which is made 
 to serve as the excuse for reading into the O.E. poems 
 much which is not really there. It is a manifest ab- 
 surdity to say with Dr Olrik (D. H. D. p. 330) that the 
 tragic climax of the Beowulf is the struggle for the Danish 
 throne between two rival branches of the great Skjgldung 
 family. The most that the O.E. poems can be said ac- 
 tually to contain is a hint of surprise at the friendly 
 relations existing between Hrothgar and his nephew 
 Hrothulf; in the light of events incontrovertibly known 
 to have taken place later than the actio q of the Beowulf, 
 these references might perhaps be regarded as prophetic 
 utterances. But the difficulty lies in our complete 
 
THE DANES 101 
 
 ignorance of later events ; for the sole authority of the 
 Bjarkamdl with its one reference {qui natum B^ki 
 M^ricum stravit avari) admittedly corrupt, and con- 
 ceivably pointing to some person other than the Hrethric 
 of Beowulf, is not conclusive, and is certainly not a 
 sufficient foundation for the airy erection of hypotheses 
 which Dr Olrik has built upon it. 
 
 Hrothgar's Warriors. 
 
 In addition to the members of the Danish royal family, 
 the Beowulf poet mentions by name four of the warriors 
 in Hrothgar's service : Unferth, Wulfgar, Aeschere and 
 Yrmenlaf ; but, as it is only in the case of Unferth that 
 the references consist of more than a passing allusion, and 
 as, further, none of these characters are known in any 
 other source, it is impossible to make even a conjecture 
 as to their historical significance. 
 
 Aeschere and Yrmenlaf were brothers (1. 1824). The 
 former was a doughty warrior and trusted thegn and 
 counsellor of king Hrothgar (11. 1323 ff.). He was snatched 
 away by Grendel's mother on the night after Beowulf's 
 first victory, when the monster, burning to avenge the 
 death of her son, made a raid on Heorot (11. 1281 ff.). 
 The old king was overcome with grief at the loss of his 
 knight and companion in arms (cf Bugge, P. B. B. Xll, 
 65 ff.). 
 
 Wulfgar was a prince of the Wendlas (11. 348) and the 
 herald of the Danish king ; Beowulf and his knights were 
 received by him at the gate of Heorot on their arrival 
 (11. 325 ff.). The Wendlas were perhaps the people of 
 Vendill, which is the most northerly point of Jutland 
 (cf. supr. p. 70). 
 
102 THE DANES 
 
 Unferth is described as the " orator " (thyle) of King 
 Hrothgar (1. 1165): his place was at the foot of the throne, 
 and both Hrothgar and Hrothulf relied on his fidelity, 
 although he had apparently betrayed and murdered his 
 own brothers (11. 587, 1166 ff.). He was a man of a surly 
 and jealous disposition, for on Beowulf's arrival at Heorot 
 he sought to injure his reputation by taunts (11. 499 ff.): 
 later on, however, he forgot his malice in admiration, and 
 even went the length of lending Beowulf his famous sword 
 Hrunting, when he was arming for his descent into the 
 mere in search of Grendel's mother. 
 
 Dr Olrik regards both the character of Unferth and 
 his rdle in Beowulf as having a purely allegorical signifi- 
 cance. The connection in which Unferth is mentioned 
 in the poem (1. 1165 ; cf. supra, p. 99) is a sign (says 
 Dr Olrik) that he was involved in the subsequent feud 
 between the joint sovereigns of Denmark, which is the 
 " tragic climax " of the poem. In fact Unferth may 
 probably be looked upon as himself the promoter of this 
 feud, and in this light his figure may be compared with 
 that of the wicked counsellor Bikki in the Ermanric saga, 
 and other similar characters. His very name is symbolic 
 of the part which he plays in the story, according to 
 Dr Olrik's interpretation — Unferth = imfrith = strife (cf. 
 D. H. D. pp. 25-27). 
 
 There is no justification whatever for this fanciful 
 explanation of Unferth's appearance in Beowulf either 
 in the poem or elsewhere, and it is impossible to attach 
 value to it, the more so as the practice of giving names 
 of abstract significance to real characters is one scarcely 
 known in Scandinavian hero-legend. 
 
the danes 103 
 
 The Heathobeakdan in Beowulf. 
 
 The tribe of the Heathobeardan mentioned in Beowulf 
 cannot be identified with any certainty. Various attempts 
 have been made to prove that they were the Langobards 
 (Grein in Ebert's Jahrbuch, IV, pp. 260-285) or the Heruli 
 (Mullenhoff), but without success. 
 
 The story of Frotha and Ingeld as told in Beowulf has 
 already been given : a similar story is contained in the 
 sixth book of Saxo's Danish history, but occurs in quite a 
 different setting (Bk vi, pp. 200-215, ed. Holder), and the 
 same set of events appears in a very much disguised form 
 in Icelandic tradition. 
 
 Saxo's account is as follows : — 
 
 Frotho IV, King of the Danes, was treacherously slain 
 by Swerting, King of the Saxons, a tributary sovereign 
 who wished to regain his independence. At the same 
 time, Frotho slew Swerting. Frotho was a wise, just and 
 merciful ruler, and was beloved of all men : he was suc- 
 ceeded by Ingellus, who was as vicious as his father was 
 virtuous. He was a glutton and debauchee, and was lost 
 to all sense of honour. Ingellus made peace with the 
 sons of Swerting, his father's murderer, heaped favours on 
 them, and took their sister to wife. 
 
 News of Ingellus' shameful deeds reached Starcatherus, 
 an old warrior who had formerly fought for Frotho, and 
 who was at that time sojourning in Sweden. He was 
 stung with anger and grief at the behaviour of the son 
 of his old master, and straightway set off for Denmark 
 in the hope of being able to rouse the sluggish spirit of 
 Ingellus to action. On his arrival Ingellus was away 
 hunting, and insults were heaped on Starcatherus by the 
 
104 THE DANES 
 
 queen, who did not know who he was : but when the king 
 returned and recognised the rough-mannered stranger to 
 be Starcatherus, " he rebuked his wife and charged her 
 roundly to put away her haughty tempers, and to soothe 
 and soften with kind words and gentle offices the man she 
 had reviled." But Starcatherus would have none of her : 
 instead of partaking of the sumptuous banquet which 
 followed, he arose in wrath and denounced Ingellus for 
 his gluttony, and for his unfilial spirit in forgetting to 
 avenge his father, and in allowing Frotho's murderers 
 to occupy the seats of honour at his table. 
 
 The severe rebuke of Starcatherus at last kindled a 
 spark in the torpid soul of Ingellus : presently this spark 
 blazed forth into flame, and Ingellus, mindful only of the 
 shameful deed of the sons of Swerting, rushed on them 
 with drawn sword, and with the help of Starcatherus slew 
 them all, thus tardily avenging his father's death (Saxo, 
 pp. 189-215). 
 
 It is clear that this story is essentially the same as 
 that told of the Heathobeardan in Beowulf (11. 2022- 
 2069), but instead of representing Frotho and Ingellus 
 as kings of the Heathobeardan and contemporary with 
 Hrothgar of the Danes, Saxo has represented them as 
 Danish kings thirteen generations later than Hrothgar. 
 
 In Langfectgatal, Frode and Ingjald his son also appear 
 as Danish kings, but here their names occur before those 
 of Helgi and Hroar, Ingjald being only one generation 
 earlier than these two. 
 
 But a reminiscence of the Heathobeardan, described 
 in the Beowulf as Hrothgar 's contemporaries, seems to be 
 preserved in the Hothbroddus, king of Sweden, mentioned 
 hy Saxo (p. 51) as the father of Athislus and Hotherus, 
 
THE DANES 105 
 
 and the slayer of Ro. An account of the relations between 
 Hothbroddus and the kings of Denmark has been given 
 earlier in this chapter (p. 73), and the fact that Hoth- 
 broddus was defeated and killed, and his kingdom made 
 subject by a Danish king, confirms the evidence as to the 
 fate of the Heathobeardan, which we already possess. 
 
 In Hothbroddus, which is apparently the same word 
 as Heathobeard, we have an instance of the personification 
 of a tribe or people as one man. Instances of this process 
 are frequent in ancient times ; cf. Hunding(us) (Saxo, 
 p. 51) and the Hundingas {Wids. L, 23), Hading(us) 
 {Saxo, p. 19) and the Hjadningar (Skdldsk. Ch. 50). 
 
 According to O.N. tradition (with the exception of 
 Yngls.) Halfdan was killed by his brother — who appears 
 variously as Frodi or Ingjald — and avenged by his sons 
 Hroar and Helgi, who themselves narrowly escaped 
 death at the hands of their uncle* (cf supr. pp. 63 f.). 
 A narrative similar in detail to that of Hroar and Helgi's 
 revenge as told in Hrolfss., and probably derived from 
 Norse tradition, occurs in the seventh book of Saxo ; here 
 it is related of the Danish king, Frotho V, who murdered 
 his brother Harald(us) and was killed in revenge by 
 Harald's sons, Halfdan (Haldanus) and Harald(us) (Saxo, 
 pp. 217 f ). 
 
 With regard to the background or framework of the 
 events forming our story. Old English, Icelandic and 
 
 * In Skjglds. (Arngr. Jonss. and Bjr.) Ingjald and Halfdan are brothers 
 the sons of Frodi. Halfdan is murdered by Ingjald and avenged by his 
 own sons Hroar and Helgi. According to Arngrim's version however, 
 Halfdan had previously taken vengeance for the murder of his father 
 Frodi by the Swedish earl Sverting, by killing Sverting's twelve sons as 
 in Saxo : and Ingjald, at Starkad's instigation, had put away his wife, 
 Sverting's daughter, for a similar reason. 
 
106 THE DANES 
 
 Danish traditions are strikingly at variance with one 
 another. In the O.E. poems, the Danish kings (Scyl- 
 dings, O.N. Skjgldungar) and the Heathobeardan are 
 represented as two separate dynasties, and the struggle 
 between them appears as a tussle for supremacy between 
 petty kings, before the power of the Danish kingdom was 
 firmly established. In Icelandic tradition, however, the 
 struggle between Halfdan and his sons, on the one side, 
 and Frodi and Ingjald, on the other, has become a blood- 
 feud between two competing branches of the Skjgldung 
 family : there is no longer any question of rival dynasties. 
 Again Danish tradition (Saxo) represents both Frotho and 
 Ingellus as kings of the Danes, and has transferred the 
 whole story to a much later period : the murderer of 
 Frodi is here, as in Arngr. Jonsson's Skjglds., Swerting, 
 who is no longer a Swedish earl, but king of the 
 Saxons, although in both cases a vassal of the Danish 
 sovereign. 
 
 In the matter of detail, it is to be noted that different 
 sources choose for elaboration different features of the 
 story. For example, in the O.E. poems, Ingeld's revenge 
 is described, while the occasion of that revenge, viz. the 
 murder of his father Frodi, is only mentioned in passing. 
 But in Icelandic sources, it is Frodi's murder on which 
 emphasis is laid : it was itself a deed of vengeance 
 and nothing is said of the revenge for that revenge 
 except in Arngrim's version of the Skjglds., according 
 to which Hroar was killed by the sons of Ingjald ; 
 while the revenge story proper is introduced in a 
 different connection*. Saxo has preserved, as we have 
 seen, accounts both of Frotho's crime and murder 
 
 * See note on p. 105. 
 
THE DANES 107 
 
 (pp. 217 ff.), and of Ingellus' revenge* (pp. 199 ff.); 
 probably also that of the final defeat of the Heatho- 
 beardan by the Danes (p. 53). But that he had no 
 clear idea of the real significance and interdependence 
 of these incidents is shown by the way in which he 
 has treated them in his history : for they are intro- 
 duced at altogether different periods, and are tacked on 
 to the persons of kings separated from one another by 
 generations. 
 
 Little doubt can be entertained that the strife of the 
 Danes and the Heathobeardan was in reality the outcome 
 of a situation such as is described in Beotuulf and Widsith,^ 
 viz. a bloody struggle between two dynasties of petty 
 kings for political supremacy. The probability seems to 
 be that the Heathobeardan were originally one of the 
 several tribes who occupied lands on the western Baltic : 
 they were, perhaps, in common with the Danes, one of 
 the seven tribes mentioned by Tacitus (cf. sup. p. 62) 
 as united by the cult of the Goddess Nerthus. In the 
 constant struggles which mark the gradual consolidation 
 of every great state, the Danes appear to have gained 
 the upper hand, and to have gradually absorbed various 
 other originally independent peoples, of whom the Hea- 
 thobeardan were one. 
 
 The distinctive name and character of these peoples 
 were in time consequently lost, while the names of some 
 of their former rulers survived; and these names have 
 apparently been incorporated with the genealogies of the 
 
 * Here we are told even the name of the eald aescwiga, viz. 
 Starcatherus, and a long description of him is given ; in fact Starcatherus 
 (O.N. Starkad) is one of the chief characters of Saxo's history, and of 
 Northern tradition in general. 
 
108 THE DANES 
 
 Danish royal families by later historians, who knew 
 nothing of them, further than that they were the names 
 of kings who had once ruled in Denmark. These his- 
 torians were thus — as perhaps also in the case of 
 Higrvard — driven to invent a fresh explanation for 
 facts, whose real underlying causes had been meanwhile 
 completely forgotten*. 
 
 The account of the feud between the Danes (Scyl- 
 dungas, O.N. Skjgldungar) and the Heathobeardan resolves 
 itself into a long story of revenge and counter-revenge. 
 The first episode in this story of which we hear anything 
 is the murder of Healfdene (Halfdan) by Froda (Frodi) 
 or Ingeld (Ingjald), which is recorded by O.N. authorities; 
 this would be quite in harmony with the course of after 
 events in the Beowulf ^ but in view of the evidence of 
 Yngls., viz. that Halfdan died and was buried at Upsala, 
 it cannot be accepted without reservations -[■ (cf. also 
 pp. 130 ff., 69, 135). The Danes avenged themselves for 
 Healfdene's death by killing Froda {Beo. 11. 2047 ff., 
 Icel. Sagas, Saxo, Bks vi and vii). Apparently a battle 
 took place {Beo. 11. 2047 ff.) in which Hrothgar (Hroar) 
 and Halga (Helgi) — or possibly Hrothgar and Hrothulf 
 
 * What has happened in the case of Froda and Ingeld appears to 
 have also taken place with regard to Waermund and Offa, who were in 
 reality kings of Angel, but whose names have become incorporated with 
 the genealogies of Danish kings (cf. Ch. iv, on Offa). 
 
 + Dr Olrik regards the O.N. evidence as worthless, and prefers to 
 accept the statement of Saxo, Sv. Aag. and other mediaeval Danish 
 chronicles that Halfdan killed his brother and took the kingdom 
 (Z). H. D. pp. 175 ff.). But this seems to have been in the first instance 
 a corruption, which was then perpetuated by later writers, the more so 
 as Halfdan, in spite of his crime, is reported to have died a peaceful 
 death — a circumstance which causes the chroniclers great astonishment 
 (but cf. inf. pp. 130 ff.). 
 
THE DANES 109 
 
 (Hrolf) — defeated the Heathobeardan (Beo. 1. 2051), and 
 in which Froda (Frodi) fell by the hand of Swerting 
 (Saxo, Bk VI, p. 189 ; Arngr. Jonss., Ch. ix). 
 
 At a later date — probably after the lapse of several 
 years (cf. inf. p. Ill), and perhaps after another battle 
 in which the Danes inflicted a signal defeat on Ingeld 
 at Heorot (cf Wids. 11. 45-49, inf. p. 110), Hrothgar 
 (Hroar) gave his daughter Freawaru in marriage to Ingeld 
 (Ingjald) in the hope of bringing the strife to an end. 
 Freawaru took with her as page or aide-de-camp a young 
 nobleman, the son of the warrior who had slain Froda 
 (viz. Swerting) — an arrangement which, under the cir- 
 cumstances, can scarcely have been intended as an insult, 
 and can, therefore, only be characterised as extremely 
 tactless on the part of King Hrothgar. This young Dane 
 actually wore the armour of the murdered Froda, and 
 boasted openly of the Danish victory amongst the Heatho- 
 beardan, until at last Ingeld, roused by the exhortations 
 of the old warrior (Starkad), murdered him one night, 
 after which he apparently fled from the country (Beo. 
 1. 2061 f ). 
 
 These events, viz. Ingeld's marriage and the murder 
 of the faemnan thegn, seem to have taken place in 
 Denmark, at or near Heorot, where we may suppose 
 Ingeld to have settled with his bride. Beo. 1. 2061 f.* 
 can hardly refer to anyone but Ingeld, and they certainly 
 imply that after killing the young Dane he effected his 
 escape, owing to his knowledge of the country. It would 
 
 * Beo. 1. 2061 f. 
 
 him se other thonan 
 losath lifigende, con him land geare. 
 [The other got away thence with his life because he knew the 
 country.] 
 
110 THE DANES 
 
 be quite in accordaoce with the customs of these times 
 for a warrior to settle down amongst his wife's relations 
 rather than to take her back to his own country (cf. Hroar 
 in Hrss., Sigurd in Vglss., etc.): indeed the chief object 
 of such marriages was, in many cases, to cement and 
 strengthen the newly formed bond of friendship between 
 those who had previously been enemies. 
 
 The course of events after this point is obscure. There 
 is clear indication {Beo. 11. 82 ff.) that Ingeld returned 
 subsequently to Heorot with an army, and succeeded in 
 burning down the hall. This battle may have had fatal 
 consequences for the Danes, and it is quite possible that 
 Hrothgar himself was killed*. Many scholars believe, 
 however, that this engagement is identical with the one 
 mentioned in Wids, 11. 45-49, and that the passage does 
 not point to events which took place before Ingeld's 
 marriage. In that case the result would be just the 
 reverse — a Heathobeardan instead of a Danish defeat. 
 
 The chief difficulty of any attempt to reconstruct the 
 course of the Heathobeardan struggle is the question of 
 chronology, and especially the point in the story to which 
 the Widsith passage (11. 45-49) should be assigned. With 
 regard to the actual date of any of the events mentioned, 
 we have extremely little to go upon. Beowulf's visit to 
 king Hrothgar probably took place about the year 500 A.D., 
 or possibly a little earlier (cf. Ch. l). At that time 
 Hrothgar was an old man and bad reigned for a long 
 time (cf. Beo. 11. 357, 608, 1769, «fec.). The story of 
 Ingeld's marriage and revenge, which Beowulf tells 
 
 * Cf. Saxo, II, p. 52, according to which Eo (Hrothgar) was slain by 
 Hothbroddus, cf. Arngr. Jonss.'s epitome of Skjglds. Ch. xii, according 
 to which Hroar was killed by the sons of Ingjald. 
 
THE DANES 111 
 
 Hygelac on his return to Geatland, must be regarded 
 as a prophecy of future events, for when Beowulf was 
 in Denmark, Freawaru's presence still gladdened the 
 guests in her father's hall {Beo. 11. 2022 ff.). There 
 is a chronological objection to the most usual interpre- 
 tation of the episode referred to in Wids. 11. 45-49, viz. 
 that it took place after the murder of Freawaru's thegn, 
 and is identical with the battle hinted at in Beo. 11. 82 ff., 
 and, therefore, the last incident in the struggle of which 
 the O.E. poems show any knowledge. For after this 
 battle, Hrothgar and Hrothulf are said to have ruled 
 together '*for a very long time*," and we have seen that 
 Hrothgar was already an old man before Freawaru's 
 marriage. The assumption that the Widsith battle took 
 place very shortly before Ingeld's marriage to Freawaru 
 is, of course, open to the same objection though in a 
 lesser degree. On the other hand, it is possible that the 
 lengest of Wids. need not be interpreted as meaning 
 more than a few years, and again, as the quarrel between 
 Danes and Heathobeardan seems to have continued in- 
 termittently for more than a generation, this great Danish 
 victory may have taken place on some occasion other than 
 the two which we have mentioned as possible. In the 
 present state of the evidence there is no means of coming 
 to a satisfactory conclusion on this point. 
 
 If we assume, however, that the Heathobeardan defeat 
 of Wids. 11. 45-49, Ingeld's marriage to Freawaru, and 
 the events subsequent to it, took place after Beowulf's 
 
 * Beo. 11. 1163 ff. 
 
 Thaer tha godan twegen 
 
 saeton suhter-gefaederan : tha gyt waes hiera sib aetgaedere 
 aeghwylc othrum tr^we. 
 
112 THE DANES 
 
 visit to Denmark, we may assign as their approximate 
 date the very beginning of the sixth century*: the next 
 question is the date of Froda's death and the interval 
 which elapsed between that and Ingeld's revenge. 
 
 Taking as a starting-point the marriage of Ingeld 
 and Freawaru, we see that Ingeld and Hrothulf were 
 of the same generation, and consequently also Froda 
 and Hrothgar. Thus Froda was a generation later, and 
 probably a much younger man than Healfdene. This 
 makes us inclined to doubt the Icelandic tradition, ac- 
 cording to which Hroar (Hrothgar) and Helgi (Halga) 
 executed revenge on Frodi (Froda) while they were still 
 boys. Probably this story was an invention made by 
 Icelandic "sagamen" to balance matters, at the same 
 time that Frodi (Froda) was moved up a generation 
 and represented as the brother of Halfdan (Healfdene). 
 Again it is highly probable that a considerable period — 
 probably fifteen or twenty years — lay between Froda's 
 death and Ingeld's revenge ; for the admonitions of the 
 eald aescwiga Starkad only have point if they can be 
 taken as referring to an event, the memory of which, 
 though still an open sore in the mind of the old man^ 
 was scarcely even a scar in that of the young. If Hrothgar 
 and Halga executed vengeance on Froda (in a battle as 
 has been suggested, cf p. 108), the death of the last men- 
 tioned probably took place when Hrothulf and Ingeld were 
 still children, and hostilities between the two tribes would 
 in that case be suspended for some years, until Ingeld 
 
 * The presence of Starkad in the story prevents us from putting it 
 at any later date, for, as we shall see (cf. inf. p. 117), Starkad who was an 
 old warrior at this time is represented as serving in his youth kings wha 
 flourished during the first half of the fifth century. 
 
THE DANES 113 
 
 was grown up. But according to the Grottas. (cf. 
 p. 75), Hrolf (Hrothulf) was the avenger of Healfdene. 
 If Hrothgar (Hroar) with Hrothulf (Hrolf) instead of 
 Halga (Helgi) killed Fro^i, then Ingeld (Ingjald) would 
 already be a grown man, and very little time would elapse 
 between his father's murder and his own marriage and 
 revenge. But this second possibility is, from every point 
 of view, less likely than the first*, and chiefly because it 
 is only if we can suppose a considerable time to have 
 elapsed between Froda's murder and Ingeld s revenge that 
 the r61e of Starkad receives its full poetical significance. 
 
 Note. — At this point ends the evidence of the Old 
 English poems : indeed with Hroar 's death we have 
 already gone beyond them. But to judge from the 
 Scandinavian evidence which we possess, the Heatho- 
 beardan struggle seems to have continued into the next 
 generation, for we hear that Agnar, Ingj aid's (Ingeld's) 
 son, was slain by Bgdvar-Bjarki, the warrior of Hrolf 
 Kraki (cf. Bjarkamdl in Saxo, II, 64; Saxo, p. 66; Hrolf ss. 
 p. 104 ; Bjarkarimur, Vii). In some sources we find for 
 the second time the story of a wedding with a Danish 
 princess, here told of Agnar : strife breaks out, this time 
 at the wedding ceremony, resulting in the death of the 
 bridegroom by the sword of Bgdvar-Bjarki, who is re- 
 warded for his prowess by receiving the hand of the lady. 
 This story of a wedding disturbed by strife is combined 
 by Scandinavian writers with another already existing 
 motif, viz. the custom of bone-throwing at feasts. The 
 explanation of this is probably that here, as in many other 
 instances, the true significance of the events, viz. the 
 
 * Especially as the reading of Grottas. is uncertain. 
 C. « 
 
114 THE DANES 
 
 struggle between Danes and Heathobeardan, had been 
 forgotten, and it was therefore necessary to invent a new 
 motivation for the story. The whole introduction of the 
 wedding in connection with Agnar is probably due to con- 
 fusion with his father Ingeld, for after Ingeld's marriage and 
 its results it was extremely unlikely that Agnar would be 
 on such terms with Hrolf as to make a similar experiment. 
 
 The Identity of Froda the Heathobeard. 
 
 Northern tradition knows many Frodis (Froda), in 
 fact there is no more common name in the genealogies 
 of the Danish royal family. We saw (p. 75) that the 
 Grottas. (which is the earliest Scandinavian work dealing 
 with these characters) has confused the Frodi (Froda) 
 who is said to have killed Halfdan (Healfdene) with 
 Frid-Frodi the peace-king, who is represented as living 
 at the beginning of the Christian era, and whose reign 
 symbolised the Golden Age of Denmark. But the figure 
 of this peace-king has' undergone duplication in Scan- 
 dinavian tradition ; besides the Frid-Frodi of the gold- 
 mill (Grottas.), the genealogies have a much later Frodi 
 surnamed "the Peaceful" (hinfri^sartii). It is to this later 
 Frodi that Saxo attributes the peace (Frotho III of the 
 great Frotho biography, pp. 121-171), while he represents 
 the Frodi of the gold-mill as a viking king (Frotho I ; 
 cf. Saxo, pp. 38-57). The story of Ingellus' (Ingeld's) 
 revenge for his father is told by Saxo of neither of these, 
 but of yet another Frodi (Frotho IV*, pp. 182-189). 
 
 * Frotho IV is surnamed by Saxo largus ; by Sven Aagesen the 
 same man is called frithgothae largus and appears as the peace-king ; 
 so that here also there are reminiscences of the confusion between Frid- 
 Frodi and Frodi (Froda) the murderer of Halfdan (Healfdene). 
 
THE DANES 115 
 
 Now, everything that we hear of the Heathobeard 
 Froda in the O.E. poems points to his having been a 
 viking or sea-king, and in Widsith (1. 47) the Heatho- 
 beardan army is directly called wicinga cyn. Neckel 
 {Z. f, d. A. Vol. XLViii, p. 184) indeed points out that 
 Froda (Frodi) has become the centre of a group of viking 
 sagas quite apart from his significance as the father of 
 Ingeld. This viking king Frodi, surnamed " the Bold " 
 {hin frjkm) and corresponding in character to the Froda 
 of the O.E. poems, has in Saxo replaced Frict-Frodi of 
 the gold-mill (cf Saxo, Bk ii) as the characteristic 
 of Frid-Frodi has in the meantime been transferred 
 to a later king, Frotho III ; thus we find in Scand. 
 tradition only the most thorough-going confusion re- 
 garding the identity of Froda the Heathobeard. The 
 one thing certain is that he can have had originally 
 nothing to do with the peace-king, i.e. Frid-Frodi. 
 Neckel {Z.f. d. A. Vol. XLViii, p. 185) believes that the 
 confusion first arose from the surname hin fridsami 
 having been added to Frid-Frodi in order to distin- 
 guish this king from the viking Frodi hin fn/tkni. The 
 double epithet, viz. Frid-FroWi hin fridJsami, thus 
 led to a duplication of the figure of the peace-king*, 
 in addition to the already existing Frodi hin frj>kni ! 
 Then came the further confusion in character between 
 the viking king and the peace-king, which is not so 
 incomprehensible as it appears at first sight. For Saxo's 
 conception of the peace-king is that of a great legislator : 
 
 * Dr Olrik shows not only that the character of the same peace-king 
 occurs twice in the genealogies, but that out of the long Danish 
 genealogies of later date can be separated two parallel and partly corre- 
 sponding groups, typical of the Heroic and the Viking Age of Denmark 
 respectively (cf. Olrik, B. H. D. pp. 316-320). 
 
 8—2 
 
116 THE DANES 
 
 the viking Frodi (Froda) also gave his warriors laws : 
 and not only has the viking king taken the place of the 
 early Frict-Frocti in Saxo's history, but some of his laws 
 have even been transferred to Saxo's Frotho III (cf. 
 Necke], Z.f. d. A. Vol. XLViii, p. 185). 
 
 It has been suggested that the Heathobeard Froda 
 may be identical with the Frodi of Yngls. Ch. 27, who 
 is described as a king of Denmark, and who fights against 
 and kills King Ottar of Sweden. In support of this sug- 
 gestion, it may be said that these two kings of the same 
 name must have been more or less contemporaries, that 
 they both seem to have been sea-kings, and that we do 
 not know of any other Frodi (Froda) living at this time. 
 There is unfortunately, however, not sufficient evidence 
 on which to base a theory of their identity. 
 
 SiGEHERE AND AlEVIH. 
 
 In addition to the passage dealing with Hrothgar and 
 Hrothulf, the Widsith contains two scanty references to 
 early Danish kings, viz. 1. 28*: "Sigehere reigned for a 
 very long time over the Sea-Danes," and 11. 35 tf.^f*: 
 " Alevih ruled over the Danes : he was the bravest of 
 all these men (i.e. of the kings named), but he did not 
 exceed Offa in valour." 
 
 A recent attempt to supply an historical background 
 for the figures of Sigehere and Alevih has been made by 
 Mr H. M. Chadwick in his book. The Origin of the English 
 
 * 1. 28, Sigehere lengest Sae-Denum weold. 
 
 t 11. 35 £f. 
 
 Offa weold Ongle, Alevih Denum : 
 
 se waes thara manna modgast ealra : 
 
 no hwaethre he ofer Off an eorlscype fremede. 
 
THE DANES 117 
 
 Nation (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1907), Ch. iv, p. 146, 
 note on the Early Kings of the Danes. Sigehere is 
 identified as usual with the Sigarus of Saxo, Bk vil : 
 Mr Chadwick, however, by an interesting chain of evi- 
 dence, shows that Sigehere in all probability ruled over 
 the Danes previous to the middle of the fifth century, 
 and consequently before Halfdan and his sons, whereas 
 in Saxo he is introduced at a very much later period. 
 
 The following are the main lines of Mr Chadwick's 
 proof : — 
 
 Sigarus' chief exploit was the slaying of Hagbard, 
 the lover of his daughter Signy (Saxo, O.N. poetry) : this 
 Hagbarct had a brother Haki, a sea-king who, according 
 to Yngls. Ch. 23, fought against Jgrund, king of Sweden. 
 In the genealogy of Fn^Zs., Jgrund occurs four generations 
 earlier than Actils, the contemporary of Hrolf Kraki, 
 and although some of the intervening kings are certainly 
 mythical, there can be at least little doubt that Jgrund 
 lived before and not after Adils. The story of Starkad 
 points towards a similar conclusion, for this warrior as 
 quite an old man {Beo. 11. 2041 ff.) is associated with 
 Ingeld, while he says that he served King Haki in his 
 earliest youth (Saxo, p. 214) ; and it is evident from the 
 Beowulf and Widsiih that Ingeld was a contemporary of 
 Hrothgar and Hrothulf 
 
 A further clue to the probable date of Sigehere's reign 
 is that Sigar (Sigehere), Haki, and Hagbard are intimately 
 connected with Sigmund the Vglsung and his family in 
 Northern poems and sagas ; the allusions which associate 
 them with one another occur too often, and are too 
 definite, to be considered the result of an accident. 
 Sigmund and his family have usually been regarded as 
 
118 THE DANES 
 
 fictitious, but there is nothing to show that the character 
 of Sigmund was not historical : he is certainly brought 
 into close relations with the historical' Gunnar (Gundi- 
 carius, O.E. Guthere, mhg. Gunthhere) king of the 
 Burgundians, who reigned between 400 and 437 A.D., 
 a date which would correspond almost exactly to that 
 which we have obtained from Sigehere from quite in- 
 dependent evidence. 
 
 The conclusion that Mr Chadwick comes to about 
 Sigehere is best given in his own words : — " Now if 
 Sigarr occupied the same throne as Hrothgar and 
 Hrodwulf, as Saxo's account clearly indicates, it is 
 plain from all that has been said that he must have 
 been a predecessor of these kings. Further, since we 
 have no valid reason for doubting that Healfdene was 
 immediately succeeded by his sons, we may infer with 
 the greatest probability that Sigarr preceded him also. 
 On the other hand, if we are to believe Saxo's statement 
 (p. 237) that Starkathr had come into contact with Sigarr, 
 we shall have to suppose that this king lived until about 
 the middle of the sixth century." 
 
 Mr Chadwick makes a further attempt to identify 
 Alevih — whose name is associated with that of Offa in 
 Widsith (11. 35 ff.) — with Dan, who follows Offa in almost 
 all Scandinavian genealogies* (cf Sv. Aag., Saxo, Langfotg., 
 Flateyj.f). This identification turns largely, however, on 
 the exact translation of the lines in Widsith (11. 35 ff.), 
 where the names of Alevih and Offa occur side by side, 
 and it is very doubtful whether there is enough evidence 
 
 * A knowledge of the contents of Ch. iv on Offa will help to make 
 clear the line of argument in this section. 
 
 i Ed. C. R. Unger, Christiania, 1868, vol. i, p. 27. 
 
THE DANES 119 
 
 to justify its acceptance, as the passage in question is 
 exceedingly obscure. 
 
 Mr Chadwick cites the genealogies mentioned above, 
 in all of which Dan follows the king called variously Olaf 
 or Uffo (= O.E. Offa) but is not said to have been his 
 son. In a second genealogy from Flateyjarbok {Flat B.) 
 Dan's name is omitted, and instead of Olaf the son of 
 Vermund we find Olof the daughter of Vermund, and 
 the mother of Frodi the Peaceful. Some explanation of 
 this entry is afforded by Arngrim Jonsson's epitome of the 
 lost Skjgldunga saga, Chs. 4-7, where it is said that Danus 
 married Olufa, the daughter of Vermundus : the original 
 tradition may have been that Dan was the brother-in-law 
 and successor of Olaf (Uffo, Offa). Arngrim relates further 
 that Dan at the beginning of his reign ruled only over 
 Jutland, but that he later conquered Aleifus, king of 
 Selandia, and ruled over the whole of Denmark, to which 
 he gave its present name. Arngrim does not say who 
 this Aleifus was, but the name is obviously identical with 
 Olaf This being so there may be some ground for the 
 identification of Alevih with Dan, and the very obscure 
 passage in Widsith may contain a reference to the same 
 event as that recorded in Skjglds. Ch. 4, viz. the conquest 
 of Offa by Alevih. A fact which suggests the connection 
 of Alevih with the royal family of Angel, quite indepen- 
 dently of the above considerations, is that the name occurs 
 at a much later date in the Mercian royal family which 
 claimed descent from the Kings of Angel : the nephew of 
 Penda is called Alwih (Alewih) : this would be explained 
 by the supposition of Alewih's marriage with the sister 
 of Olaf. 
 
 A difficulty in accepting Dan as an historical character 
 
120 THE DANES 
 
 is his position as eponymous and hence mythical ancestor 
 of the Danish people in Skjglds. and elsewhere. But it is 
 quite possible that the name Dane may only have come 
 into use about this time, as there is no early evidence for 
 its existence (cf. p. 62), and it is perhaps possible " that it 
 was originally a local name, perhaps that of the place from 
 which Alevih's family were sprung." 
 
 If, however, we accept Mr Chad wick's suggestions as 
 to the reigns of Sigehere and Alevih, we undoubtedly 
 obtain results which add substantially to our knowledge 
 of early Danish history. If Alevih be a contemporary of 
 Offa, whose reign we are in a position to ascribe to the 
 latter part of the fourth century (cf. inf. Ch. iv, on Offa), he 
 may have lived well into the fifth century, for according to 
 Yngls. Ch. 25, Dan lived to be an old man, although perhaps 
 we cannot lay too much stress on this statement*. There 
 can be but a short interval between him and Sigehere, 
 who is said {Wids. 1. 28) to have reigned for a long time. 
 Again the death of Sigehere must bring us nearly up to 
 the reigns of Healfdene and his sons Halga and Hrothgar. 
 We know from the Beowidf that Hrothgar was contem- 
 porary with Hygelac, king of the Gotar, who was killed 
 between 512 and 520 on a marauding expedition against 
 the Franks, and previous to this expedition Hrothgar is 
 spoken of as having reigned for a long time hund missera 
 (cf. Beo. 1. 1769). Hrothgar was apparently succeeded on 
 the Danish throne by his nephew Hrothulf (Hrolf Kraki), 
 who reigned for some time. Hence if it is found possible 
 to accept this reconstruction of early Danish history, we 
 shall have succeeded in bridging over a period of about a 
 hundred and fifty years, from the end of the fourth to 
 ^ Cf. Olrik, Aarh. f. nord. Oldkynd. 1894, p. 144 f. 
 
THE DANES 121 
 
 the middle of the sixth century, the point at which all 
 relations between England and the Scandinavian countries 
 seem to have ceased, and for two hundred years after 
 which Danish history is a blank. 
 
 Heremod. 
 
 Although Heremod cannot be identified with any 
 known Danish king, there are no adequate grounds for 
 denying his existence as an historical character. Here- 
 mod is alluded to in Beowulf on two separate occasions 
 (11. 901-915, 1709-1722), and the facts which emerge 
 concerning him are shortly the following: — Heremod was 
 king of the Scyldings — i.e. presumably the Danes; he 
 had been at one time a great man, but subsequently there 
 was a falling off in his strength and courage (11. 901 f.), 
 and his pride and cruelty were notorious. He killed even 
 his own warriors, and became a source of great wretched- 
 ness to his people. He was betrayed into the hands of 
 his enemies and expelled from his kingdom, to the sorrow 
 of many who had hoped to see in him a deliverer, but 
 had been disappointed. Subsequently his existence was 
 a joyless and solitary one. 
 
 In the first of the two Beowulf passages (11. 901-915), 
 the fact that Heremod is brought into direct connection 
 with Sigmund (11. 875-900 describe Sigmund's fight with 
 the dragon) is significant as suggesting that Heremod is 
 the person mentioned in Hyndluljo^J^ , V, 2. There it is 
 said that Odin gave Heremod a helm and coat of mail, 
 and Sigmund a sword. 
 
 * Cf. supr. p. 16. 
 
122 THE DANES 
 
 In Eiriksmdl^ (11. 15, 28), Sigmund and Sinfjgtli are 
 represented as welcoming Eirik at the gates of Yalhall : 
 in Hdkonarmdl (1. 38), which is more or less a copy of 
 Eiriksmdl, the place of Sigmund and Sinfjgtli is taken by 
 Hermod and Bragi. 
 
 SCYLD SCEFING. 
 
 Note. — This section on Scyld Scefing is entirely 
 based on, and scarcely professes to be more than an 
 abstract of, Mr Chadwick's most interesting chapter on 
 "King Aethelwulfs Mythical Ancestors" in his recent 
 book. The Origin of the English Nation. As the present 
 work professes to deal only with the historical aspect of 
 the traditions underlying the O.E. poems, the subject 
 of Scyld lies, strictly speaking, outside its scope. It is 
 to be hoped that all who are interested in the customs 
 and rites, and in the wonderfully realistic mythology, of 
 our primitive ancestors, will read Mr Chadwick's book for 
 themselves. Of great interest is also Dr Olrik's chapter 
 on Skjgld., which presents an altogether new view of the 
 story {D. H. D. pp. 223-277). 
 
 In Beowulf the genealogy of the Danish royal family 
 is traced back to the eponymous ancestor of the Scyl- 
 dungas, Scyld Scefing. The first fytte of the poem 
 contains a panegyric on the reign of Scyld, and an 
 account of the strange manner of his burial. '' Lo ! we 
 have heard of the glory of the Spear Danes' warrior 
 kings in days of yore — how the princes did valorous 
 deeds ! Often Scyld Scefing took mead-benches away 
 from troops of foes, from many tribes. The noble in- 
 
 * Cf. swpr. p. 17. 
 
THE DANES 123 
 
 spired awe from the time that he was first found helpless*: 
 for that he met with consolation, increased under the 
 heavens and throve in honours, until each one of those 
 who sojourned near, across the whale's road, had to serve 
 him and pay him tribute. A noble king was he I " 
 
 (The next fourteen lines describe the reign of Scyld s 
 son, Beowulf) 
 
 " Then, at the fated hour, Scyld, full of exploits, de- 
 parted to go into the keeping of the Lord : and they, his 
 fast friends, carried him to the water's edge, as he himself 
 had asked when he, protector of the Scyldings, governed 
 by his behests ; — when, dear ruler of his country, he had 
 long held sway. There, at the landing-place, the ring- 
 prowed vessel stood : the prince's ship, sheeny and eager 
 to start. They laid then the beloved chieftain, giver-out 
 of rings, on the ship's bosom — the glorious hero by the 
 mast. There were brought many treasures, ornaments 
 from far-off lands. Never have I known a keel more 
 fairly fitted out with war-weapons and battle-trappings, 
 swords and coats of mail. Upon his breast lay many 
 treasures which were to travel far with him, into the 
 power of the flood. Certainly they furnished him with 
 no less of gifts, of tribal-treasures, than those did who, 
 in his early days, started him over the sea alone, child 
 as he was. Moreover, they set besides a golden banner 
 high above his head, and let the flood bear him — gave 
 him to the sea. Their soul was sad, their spirit sorrowful. 
 Who received that load, men, chiefs of councils, heroes 
 
 * A better reading is with Sievers, egsode eorlas, with comma after 
 ofteah. Translation then runs, "Often Scyld Scefing took mead-benches 
 away from troops of foes, from many tribes ; he spread terror among the 
 warriors from the time that he was first found helpless." 
 
124 THE DANES 
 
 under heaven, cannot for certain tell*" (11. 1-11, 
 26-52). 
 
 The first part of the story — concerning the mysterious 
 coming of Scyld — is only hinted at in Beowulf ^ viz. 11. 43- 
 45, which have just been quoted. It is more fully pre- 
 served in the chronicles of Aethelweard and William of 
 Malmesbury, in both of which, however, the story is told 
 not of Scyld, but of Sceaf. 
 
 Aethelweard's account is as follows : — 
 
 " This Scef came to land in a cutter on an island in 
 the Ocean which is called Scani : he was surrounded by 
 weapons, and was a very young child and was unknown 
 to the inhabitants of that land : nevertheless he was taken 
 up by them, and they watched over him with great care 
 as over one of their own kin, and later on they chose him 
 as their king*)-." 
 
 According to Malmesbury the story runs thus : — 
 
 " He (i.e. Sceaf), as they say, was brought as a young 
 child in a boat without oars to Scandza, a certain island 
 of Germania, which is spoken of by Jordanes the historian 
 of the Goths. He was asleep, and a sheaf of corn was 
 placed at his head : because of this he was given the 
 name of Sceaf (O.E. sceaf = sheaf), and he was received 
 as a marvel by the dwellers in that region and carefully 
 nurtured; when he reached man's estate, he reigned 
 in the town which was then called Slaswic, but now 
 
 * Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, transl. into modern English 
 prose by E. J. Clark Hall, M.A., Ph.D., London, 1901. 
 
 t Aethelweard's Chronicle, Bk iii, Ch. 3 : Ipse Scef cum uno dromone 
 
 advectus est in insula pceani quae dicitur Scani armis circumdatus, 
 
 eratque ualde recens puer et ah incolis illius terrae ignotus ; attamen ab 
 
 eis suscipitur, et ut familiarem diligenti animo eum custodierunt et post 
 
 n regem eligunt. 
 
THE DANES 125 
 
 Haithebi. Now that district is called Old Anglia, and 
 is situated between the Saxons and the Goths ; the Angli 
 came thence to Britain*." 
 
 Neither of these accounts makes any reference to the 
 latter half of the story which is given in the Beowulf 
 passage (11. 28-52). 
 
 The story of Sceaf occurs only in the two chronicles 
 just quoted, but the genealogy is given also in the A.S. 
 Chronicle, although owing to a scribal error the name of 
 Sceaf has dropped out of the Parker MS. (S.)-j-. In the 
 A.S. Chronicle Sceaf is represented as the son of Noah, and 
 his is the first of the non-Biblical names. In William of 
 Malmesbury and Aethelweard his name occurs nine genera- 
 tions above Wodan, and ends Aethelweard's genealogy \. 
 
 * Malmesbury, Gesta Reg. Angl. Bk ii, Ch. ii: Iste (Sceaf) ut 
 quidam ferunt in quandam insulam Germaniae Scandzam de qua Jordanes 
 historiographus Gothorum loquitur, appulsus naui sine remige puerulus, 
 posito ad caput frumenti manipulo, dormiens, ideoque Sceaf nuncupatus, 
 ab hominibus regionis illius pro miraculo exceptus et sedulo nutritus ; 
 adulta aetate regnauit in oppido quod tunc Slaswic nunc uero Haithebi 
 appellatur, est autem regio ilia Anglia Vetus dicta, unde Angli uenerunt 
 in Britanniam, inter Saxones et Gothos constituta. 
 
 t Another possible explanation of this circumstance is suggested by 
 Prof. A. S.Napier, viz. that when the Parker MS. was written, Sceaf h&dL 
 very possibly not yet been invented. 
 
 X Subjoined are the portions in question of these genealogies : — 
 
 A. 8. Chronicle. 
 
 Malmesbury. 
 
 Aethelweard. 
 
 Taetwa Beawing 
 
 Tetius 
 
 Beo. 
 
 Beaw Sceldwaing 
 
 Beowius 
 
 Scyld. 
 
 Sceldwa Heremoding 
 
 Sceldius 
 
 Scef. 
 
 Heremod Itermoning 
 
 Sceaf 
 
 
 Itermon H(r)athraing 
 
 Heremodius 
 
 
 Hathra Hwalaing 
 
 Stermonius 
 
 
 Hwala Bedwiging 
 
 Hadra 
 
 
 Bedwig Sceafing id ed filius Noe 
 
 Gwala 
 
 Bedwegius 
 
 Strephius. 
 
 
126 THE DANES 
 
 According to Beowulf, the first kings of Denmark were 
 Scyld Scefing and his son Beowulf; the appearance of the 
 forms Beo and Beowius in Aethelweard and Malmesbury 
 respectively suggest that Beaw may be not a true West 
 Saxon form, but due to dialectic peculiarity or scribal 
 error, in which case it may correspond to the Danish king 
 Beowulf of the poem. In the Beowulf the Danish king 
 Beowulf is described as a popular and open-handed 
 monarch : the only information which we possess about 
 the Beo or Beaw of the O.E. genealogies is supplied by 
 the Plantagenet Eoll in the Library of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge, in which the descent of Henry VI is traced 
 back to Adam. This genealogy shows several affinities 
 with the forms used by Malmesbury, and in it the son of 
 Sceldius appears as Boerinus which is apparently a cor- 
 ruption of Malmesbury's Beowius. To this Boerinus are 
 ascribed nine sons, from whom according to a note *' are 
 descended nine nations which inhabited the North, and 
 which once upon a time invaded and acquired the kingdom 
 of Britain*." It is probable that the introduction of these 
 nine sons is due to the influence of Scandinavian tradition, 
 for in Flateyj. I, 25, and Skdldsk. Ch. 64, we find a 
 parallel instance in the nine sons attributed to Halfdan 
 the Oldf. It is to be noted further that the Plantagenet 
 Roll contains the only information given by any of 
 the genealogies about Sceldwea or Scyld in a note 
 which says : " This Sceldius was the first inhabitant of 
 
 * Ab istis novem filiis Boerini descenderunt novem gentes septen- 
 trionalem inhabitantes qui quondam regnum Britanniae invaserunt et 
 optinuerunt, viz. Saxones, Angli, luttii, Daci, Norwagenses, Gothi, 
 Wandali, Geati et Frisi. 
 
 t Cf. also Hyndl. v, 14-16. 
 
THE DANES 127 
 
 Germany*." The names of Sceaf and Beowulf do not 
 occur in any Scandinavian genealogy. In most cases 
 Skjgld is represented as the son of Odin, but according 
 to Saxo he is the son of Lotherusf. 
 
 We have already seen that the story which is told of 
 Sceaf in the chronicles of Aethelweard and William of 
 Malraesbury is undoubtedly part of the same tradition as 
 the account given in Beowulf (\l. 26-52) of Scyld Scefing. 
 We have, therefore, to seek an explanation of why the 
 story should be told in the one case of Scyld and in the 
 other of Sceaf. 
 
 It is impossible to suppose that the incident was 
 originally told of Sceaf, and afterwards transferred to his 
 son Scyld. For over and above the non-appearance of 
 Sceaf in Scandinavian genealogies, and the note in the 
 Plantagenet Roll in which it is said that Sceldius was the 
 first inhabitant of Germany, we have the authority of the 
 Beowulf which dates from several centuries earlier than 
 Aethelweard and Malmesbury, and the terms in which the 
 child Scyld is there described imply that his parentage 
 was quite unknown. It is, therefore, impossible to regard 
 the epithet Scefing as a patronymic, it must rather be 
 taken to mean " child of the sheaf," and the expression is 
 satisfactorily explained by William of Malmesbury 's version 
 of the story, according to which the child Sceaf came to 
 the island of Scandza in a boat with a sheaf of corn lying 
 at his head. It is easy to understand how, later on, 
 
 * Iste Sceldius primus inhabitator Germaniae. The same note occurs 
 in a Paris MS. and is quoted by Kemble in the Preface to the Introduc- 
 tion to his translation of the Beowulf. 
 
 + Cf. List of Genealogies in App. ii. Other important Scand. 
 genealogies to which reference should be made are those of Sv. Aag. 
 Skdldsk. and Lfd^g. 
 
128 THE DANES 
 
 Scefing was mistaken for a patronymic in consequence of 
 which the whole story was transferred to Sceaf the sup- 
 posed father of Scyld, as it was manifestly absurd that the 
 mysterious coming and departure of the unknown ruler 
 should be ascribed to any but the founder of a race or 
 dynasty. 
 
 Dr Olrik opposes this explanation of Scefing on the 
 ground that the sheaf only appears in a very late version 
 of the story (Wm of Malmesbury) at an age when heroic 
 traditions were dying out in England. Malmesbury's 
 frumenti manipulus is, according to him, merely a found- 
 ling motif introduced to account for the name of the hero^ 
 and the Scefing of the Beowulf is a patronymic derived 
 from Sceafa, king of the Langobards (cf. Wids. 32), whose 
 presence in connection with Scyld is due to the English 
 love of framing long genealogies ! 
 
 But the introduction of the Langobard king into the 
 story of Scyld is purely fanciful, and it is further most 
 unlikely that the names Sceafa and Sceaf are the same*. 
 Mr Chadw^ick has showed by a most interesting chain of 
 evidence that the sheaf was not only an original element 
 in the story of Scyld, but also that it was apparently a 
 religious symbol among the heathen English by whom it 
 was probably regarded as the manifestation of the corn 
 deity (cf. Chadwick, op. cit. pp. 277-281). 
 
 There is no doubt that the O.E. Scyld, father and 
 eponymous ancestor of the Scyldungas, corresponds to the 
 Scandinavian Skj^ld, father and eponymous ancestor of the 
 Skj^ldungar, although the characteristic facts related of 
 Scyld in the O.E. poem are not recorded in Northern 
 tradition. Skj^ld is said in Yngls, to have been the 
 
 * Cf. Chadwick, op. cit. p. 282, note. 
 
THE DANES 129 
 
 husband of Gefion the plough goddess, and this would 
 explain his association with the sheaf which was the 
 symbol of agriculture. 
 
 The origin of the Scyld legend is very obscure, but all 
 the available evidence goes to show that Scyld-Skjgld was 
 not an historical but a mythical character, probably first 
 invented to account for the existence of his descendants 
 the Scyldungas-Skjgldungar. The word SkjgMungar 
 (Scyldungas) may be taken to mean "people of the 
 Shield." Dr Olrik regards the Skjgldungar as specifically 
 the warrior class of the Danish nation, and Skjgld as the 
 personification of the warlike qualities of that class 
 (D. H. D. pp. 271 ff.). Mr Chad wick tends to believe, on 
 the other hand, that the name Scyldungas-Skjgldungar 
 implies the particular use of a shield by the people in 
 question, perhaps in connection with a religious rite. He 
 thinks that a sheaf and a shield together may have 
 possibly been in the first instance the symbol of some 
 deity, from which developed later the idea of the personi- 
 fication of Skj^ld. 
 
 The presence of the sea in the Scyld story is difiicult 
 to account for: it is possible that it is due to the influence 
 of a similar story told in the A.S. Runic poem about Ing, 
 who is the mythical ancestor of the Ingvaeones, one of the 
 groups of tribes into which Tacitus classifies the Germani 
 (Tac. Germ. Ch. 2), The name Ingwine occurs frequently 
 in Beowulf in such expressions as eodor Ingwina (1. 1044), 
 frean Ingwina (1. 1319), &c., and is apparently always 
 synonymous with Scyldungas. It seems on the whole 
 probable that Scyld (Skjgld) was the successor of Ing as 
 the putative ancestor and eponym of the Danish kings, 
 
 c. 9 
 
130 THE DANES 
 
 and that he has taken over some characteristics which 
 originally belonged to his predecessor. 
 
 There still remain for discussion Healfdene and 
 Beowulf, who were, according to the Beowulf, the father 
 and grandfather of Hrothgar respectively. 
 
 Healfdene. 
 
 Although little is said of Healfdene in the Beowulf 
 there can be no doubt that he was an historical character, 
 as the fact of his existence receives abundant testimony 
 from Northern tradition. According to O.N. saga litera- 
 ture Halfdan (Healfdene) is commonly supposed to have 
 fallen a prey to the jealousy of his brother Frodi. But 
 in Yngls. Ch. 25 we find the statements that Halfdan 
 deposed the Swedish king Ann, reigned in Upsala in his 
 stead, and died and was buried there. As these two 
 accounts are clearly incompatible with each other the 
 only alternative to rejecting one of them is the existence 
 of two Halfdans, both kings of Denmark and both more or 
 less contemporary with each other. In Arngrim Jonsson's 
 extract from Skjgldungasaga we do find two Halfdans 
 (Halfdanus), but the first is merely a name, and it is clear 
 from a comparison with other sources that this part of the 
 genealogy has been duplicated (either by Arngrim or) by 
 the author of the Skjgldungasaga. The second Halfdan 
 (Halfdanus, of Skjgldungasaga corresponds in position to 
 the Healfdene of the O.E. poems : his father is Frodi 
 (Frodo) who conquers the Swedish king Jgrund (Jorundus) 
 and exacts tribute from the country (vid. sup. p. 77) : 
 Frodi also takes as a prisoner of war Jgrund's daughter, 
 who becomes the mother of Halfdan (Arngr. Jonss. Skjglds. 
 
THE DANES 131 
 
 Ch. 9). These circumstances of his father's conquest and 
 his own birth might well be thought by Halfdan, when 
 he was grown up, to constitute a claim to the Swedish 
 throne. 
 
 Saxo offers us in his Danish history a choice of four 
 Halfdan s : of these, the first, who is the father of Roe 
 (Hrothgar) and Helgo (Halga), is only a lay figure and 
 need not be further considered, as his personality is 
 probably to be looked for in one of the late kings of the 
 same name. Now of these three Halfdans, two are ob- 
 viously the same (cf Saxo, Bk vii, pp. 216-224, 241-247): 
 they are brought into contact with the same characters, 
 perform the same exploits (for which one gains the name 
 of "Biargramm"), hoth are said to have been victorious over 
 the Swedes, while the first actually became king of Sweden. 
 It is said of the first that he died childless, while the 
 second fell in battle. 
 
 The remaining Halfdan of Saxo is represented as the 
 son of Eric Malspaki, the brother-in-law of Frotho III, the 
 peace-king, and as a king of Sweden (cf. Saxo, Bk VI, 
 pp. 173, 189), but in this capacity no further information 
 is given about him. 
 
 The double figure of Halfdan Biargramm occurs in 
 Saxo very much later than do Bo and Hrolf Kraki, but 
 Saxo's chronology is thoroughly untrustworthy, as we 
 have already seen more than once. According to Arngr. 
 Jonsson's Skjglds. Ch. 10, Halfdan's wife and the mother 
 of Hroar and Helgi (Hrothgar and Halga) was Sigrid 
 (Sigrida) (cf. p. 78). In Saxo, Bk vil, just as there are 
 two Halfdans so are there two Sigrids (Syritha), also ap- 
 parently the duplication of one character. Both are near 
 relations of king Sigar (Sigehere) and Halfdan is brought 
 
 9—2 
 
132 THE DANES 
 
 into intimate connection with the first, for although he is 
 not said to have married her himself, he interposed to 
 prevent her marriage with a low-born suitor during the 
 actual course of the wedding ceremony*. This association 
 in Saxo of Halfdan Biargram (Haldanus Biargrammus) 
 and Sigrid (Syritha) taken with the statement of Skjglds. 
 Ch. 10, that Halfdan married Sigrid, and the date which 
 w^e have already found for Sigar (Sigehere) and his family 
 (cf p. 118), suggests that the whole incident has been 
 transferred by Saxo to a date much later than that at 
 which it really took place. In that case Halfdan 
 (Halfdanus) of Skjglds. Ch. 10, the father of Ro (Roas) 
 and Helgi (Helgo), is identical with Halfdan Biargram m 
 (Haldanus Biargrammus) of Saxo, Bk vii, and in the latter 
 we find the real personality of the Halfdan of Bk ii 
 (Haldanus, father of Roe and Helgo), who, as we have 
 seen, is little more than a name. Halfdan Biargramm's 
 (Haldanus Biargrammus') relations with Sweden are 
 further just what we should expect from the account 
 of Halfdan's origin contained in Skjglds. (Ch. 9) ; and 
 both authorities agree so well with the narrative of 
 Yngls. Ch. 25f that it can scarcely be doubted that the 
 Halfdan there referred to is the same person, viz. the 
 father of Ro and Helgi |. Thus the conclusion which we 
 have reached is that at the time with which we are 
 
 * It is worth noting that Halfdan Biargramm II who married Guritha 
 (this form may well be a corruption of Syritha), the grand-daughter of 
 Sigar(us) (Saxo, pp. 245 ff.), only gained his bride by entering and killing 
 a rival suitor during the marriage feast. 
 
 t See p. 69. 
 
 :J: Although it is not actually stated, this is the natural inference from 
 Yngls. 29, where Helgi is said to be the son of Halfdan, as the Halfdan. 
 of ib. 25 is the only king of that name previously mentioned. 
 
THE DANES 133 
 
 dealing there was only one king Halfdan reigning in 
 Denmark, who was the father of Hroar (Ro) and Helgi, 
 and who, therefore, corresponds to the Healfdene oi Beowulf , 
 the father of Hrothgar and Halga ; it is very possible that 
 the Halfdan (Haldanus) represented by Saxo as king of 
 Sweden may be merely another aspect of the same 
 character. We are, therefore, confronted by the obscure 
 if not insoluble question of the conflicting evidence re- 
 garding this king, especially the manner of his death ; to 
 this we shall have to return later. 
 
 If the claim of a Danish king to the throne of Sweden, 
 and the temporary realisation of this claim during Halfdan's 
 reign, can be accepted as facts, we at once obtain results 
 of historical value, for an explanation is offered of the 
 mysterious relations of the Danish kings with Upsala 
 during the period which we are considering (cf sup. p. 89). 
 If Helgi and Hrolf Kraki claimed the throne or, as is 
 perhaps more likely — the over-lordship of Sweden, by right 
 of descent from a king who had conquered the Swedes, 
 viz. Frodi (Skjglds. Ch. 9), or Halfdan (Yngls. Ch. 25), we 
 need seek no further for the motive of the various expe- 
 ditions of these Danish kings to Upsala and the covertly 
 hostile attitude of Adils towards them : their incentive 
 would be all the stronger if Halfdan's body lay buried at 
 Upsala, which was a possibility (Yngls. Ch. 25). From this 
 point of view the marriage of Halfdan's (Healfdene's) 
 daughter to Ali (Onela), a king of the conquered country, 
 acquires political significance ; such marriages of a con- 
 quered king with the daughter of the conqueror were 
 common (cf. Ingeld and Freawaru), and in this way Halfdan 
 (Healfdene) would hope both to bring hostilities to an end 
 and to confirm his suzerainty over the vanquished nation. 
 
134 the danes 
 
 Beowulf. 
 
 According to the Beowulf, the father of Healfdene was 
 named Beowulf This person as we saw (p. 126) is perhaps 
 identical with the Beowius of Malmesbury and the Boerinus 
 of the Plantagenet Roll. According to the practically 
 unanimous testimony of Scandinavian tradition the father 
 of Halfdan was Frodi*, and where obvious repetition or 
 confusion with Frocti the father of Ingiald (Ingeld) has 
 not taken place, this Frodi usually represents the second 
 of the peace-kings, hin fridsami. As the two peace- 
 kings were originally without doubt one and the same 
 person f it is possible that Halfdan's father was in reality 
 the king known in Northern tradition as Frict-Frodi, 
 who owed his name to the peace and prosperity which 
 marked his reign. In any case the father of Halfdan 
 certainly must have been an entirely different personality 
 from Frodi (O.E. Froda) the Heathobeard, the father of 
 Ingjald (O.E. Ingeld) and a viking king (hin fr^kni). 
 
 Common to all Old Icelandic literature is a tradition 
 that a certain King Frodi was guilty of an exceptionally 
 dastardly crime — probably fratricide — and it is difficult to 
 believe that a belief so widespread had not any founda- 
 tion in fact. In Grottas. this crime is attributed to 
 Frid-Frodi, which is usually considered to be due to 
 
 * It is, however, to be observed that the nine sons attributed to 
 Halfdan the Old in Skdldsk. Ch. 64, and Flateyj. i, 25, all of whom were 
 founders of famous dynasties, form a curious parallel to the nine sons 
 attributed to Boerinus in the Trinity College Library KoU (cf. sup. p. 126) 
 and suggest that there is some ground for connecting Boerinus with 
 Halfdan. 
 
 t Olrik, D. H. D. pp. 316-320; Z.f. d. A. xlviii, p. 185; cf. also supr. 
 p. 114. 
 
THE DANES 135 
 
 confusion. But it is not inconceivable that Grottas. may 
 be correct, and that Frid-Frocti's reign was marred by 
 the murder of his brother (Ali as in Arngrim's SkJQlds. ?). 
 For the confusion between Frid-Frodi and Frodi 
 (O.E. Froda) the viking king {hin fr^kni) and the father 
 of Ingjald (lugeld) has been already discussed, and as the 
 latter was known to have been at war with Halfdan's 
 (Healfdene's) family, it is easy to see how his influence 
 might lead to the substitution of Halfdan's name for that 
 of Ali as the murdered brother of Frid-Frodi. If these 
 suggestions, which are, it must be admitted, of a somewhat 
 hypothetical nature, could be substantiated, there would 
 be no longer any difficulty in accepting the statement of 
 Yngls. Ch. 25, that Halfdan (Healfdene) died and was 
 buried at Upsala. 
 
 The main difficulty in regarding Frid-Frodi as the 
 father of the Healfdene (Halfdan) of the O.E. poems is 
 that his reign will then come into conflict with the dates 
 which we have found for Sigar (Sigehere). As we saw 
 (p. 118) Sigar must have been alive about the middle of 
 the fifth century, and at the beginning of the sixth century 
 Hrothgar had been reigning for a long time (Beo. 1. 1769). 
 Thus the intervening space is barely enough to cover the 
 reigns of the two kings Frid-Fro^i (?) and Halfdan, the 
 first of which must by implication have been of consider- 
 able length, even although we accept the statement of 
 Yngls. Ch. 25 that Halfdan reigned for several years not 
 in Denmark but in Upsala. 
 
 On the other hand, Halfdan's father, whoever he was, 
 was certainly not Sigar, and it is quite possible that he 
 may have been a king contemporary with Sigar, but 
 reigning in a different part of the country. Tradition 
 
186 THE DANES 
 
 connects Frid-Frodi with Jutland*, while Sigar is 
 associated with Sjaellandf. 
 
 This seems the most satisfactory solution of the diffi- 
 culty and removes the only serious obstacle towards 
 identifying the Danish king Beowulf of the O.E. poem 
 with the peace-king Frodi of Northern tradition. This 
 identification in the nature of things can be at present 
 only hypothetical, but it is to be hoped that before long 
 some fresh evidence may come to light which will convert 
 the hypothesis into a certainty. 
 
 The Ring Sviagris. 
 
 The ring Sviagris is very often mentioned in the ac- 
 counts of the dealings between Halfdan's (Healfdene's) 
 family and the Swedish kings. It is described as a gold 
 "ringj" (Skdldsk. Ch. 44) (the heavy necklace referred 
 to by Saxo, p. 55, is doubtless the same jewel), and all 
 sources lay stress on its great value. 
 
 According to Skdldsk. Ch. 44, Sviagris was one of the 
 treasures for which Hrolf stipulated as the acknowledg- 
 ment of his assistance rendered to Adils against Ali, 
 " King of Uppland " (Onela), and to obtain which, owing 
 to Adils' subsequent refusal to give them up, Hrolf 
 undertook his expedition to Upsala. There is no need 
 to repeat the part played by Sviagris in the Danes' flight 
 to Fyrisvellir except to emphasize the fact that it alone 
 availed to check Adils' pursuit, as his desire to regain it 
 was even keener than his hatred of his enemy Hrolf. It 
 
 * Skdldsk. Ch. 43, Saxo, p. 169, Skjglds. Ch. 3. 
 t Saxo, p. 228. 
 
 X In Old Icelandic hringr was a generic term for any gem which was 
 circular in form, viz. ring, bracelet or necklace. 
 
THE DANES 137 
 
 is to be observed, however, that while Skdldsk. affirms 
 Sviagris to have been an heirloom in Actils' family* 
 Arngrim's Skjglds.f says quite distinctly that it be- 
 longed to Hrolf, and that his forefathers had won it 
 in battle J. 
 
 In Hrolfss. Chs. 7, 8, we find an account of a very 
 precious ring which was the property of King Helgi, but 
 which is not specified by name. It passed from him into 
 the hands of his brother Hroar who coveted its possession, 
 but from whom it was stolen at the instigation of his sister 
 Signy. Bjarkarimur contains the same story of the theft 
 of a ring from Hroar, and here we are told that the ring 
 was no other than the famous Sviagris. Hrolf Kraki 
 afterwards obtained possession of it, and "sent it to his 
 mother." If any value is to be attached to the suggestion 
 that Hrolfs mother was Helgi's sister and the wife of 
 Onela (cf. Beo. 1. 62 and sup. p. 89), it seems possible 
 that Sviagris may have been in the hands of Onela at 
 some time — perhaps up to his defeat by Adils on Lake 
 Wener. 
 
 The fact that Sviagris was such a coveted possession 
 suggests that there was attached to it some very special 
 significance, quite apart from its intrinsic value. The word 
 means " sucking pig of the Swedes." Now the pig appears 
 to have been an animal sacred to the Swedish kings§, 
 
 * Skdldsk. Ch. 44 : " Sviagris, er att bgfctu langfeSgar Adils." 
 
 t Arngr. Jonss. Skjglds. Ch. 12 (repr. Aarb.f. n. Oldk. 1894) : "Quod 
 cemens Danus, Adilsum nummulis aureis non inescari, promit annulum 
 ingentis pretii, quern majores ipsius praedae loco a devictis olim Sveciae 
 regibus reportarant, eumque Adilso obviam projecit." 
 
 X In the Skjqlds. the motivation of the whole incident is somewhat 
 different. Hrolf has the ring with him when he goes to Upsala. 
 
 § Ghadwick, op. cit. p. 248 f. 
 
138 THE DANES 
 
 probably from its association with Frey (or Freyja) the 
 deity from whom they traced their descent. It is tempt- 
 ing to believe that this "ring" Sviagris was some religious 
 symbol — perhaps even the emblem of royalty of the 
 Swedish kings. If this were so it would be easy to 
 understand both Hrolfs claim to it, on account of the 
 conquests of his grandfather Halfdan, and the eagerness 
 of the Swedish tributary kings first to regain it, then to 
 keep it from each other, and from their common enemy 
 the king of Denmark. 
 
 IV. Summary of Evidence on Danish Tradition in 
 
 THE light of its HISTORICAL VaLUE. 
 
 It will now be well to summarize briefly the results 
 which we have obtained from the foregoing investigation 
 of Danish tradition regarding the persons and events 
 mentioned in the O.E. poems. 
 
 As has been already noticed the Danes are not found 
 mentioned by name before the sixth century, although 
 there can be no reasonable doubt that they existed as a 
 nation from very much earlier times. The Danish king- 
 dom appears to have been originally insular, and to have 
 thence spread to the mainland of Jutland, although it is 
 difficult to say when this movement of national expansion 
 first began. If we can accept the very probable con- 
 jecture of Mr Chadwick, that the Dan of Skjglds. who 
 
 o 
 
 conquered Aleifus (= Olaf = Uflfo or Offa, king of Angel, 
 cf. Ch. iv), is identical with the doubtless historical 
 Alevih, who is associated with Ofifa in Widsith, we shall 
 have some evidence for the presence of Danes on the 
 
THE DANES 139 
 
 mainland in the end of the fourth or beginning of the 
 fifth century*. 
 
 The appearance of Alevih in the guise of Dan the 
 eponymous ancestor of the Danish people, might be 
 accounted for by the possibility that the name Dane 
 itself only came into use about this time: and against the 
 common acceptation of all eponymous ancestors as neces- 
 sarily mythical, speaks in this case the circumstance that 
 no attempt is made to represent Dan as the head of the 
 dynasty from which the Danish kings trace their descent : 
 he appears in most genealogies six or seven generations 
 below Odin and Skjgldf. 
 
 We take then as a starting point the reign of 
 Alevih -Dan which is probably to be dated in the first 
 quarter of the fifth century: thus the period of Danish 
 history which falls under our consideration consists 
 approximately of the fifth and the first half of the 
 sixth centur}^ after which all evidence of communication 
 between England and the Baltic countries ceases for 
 about two hundred years. 
 
 To the first half of the fifth century must belong, as 
 we saw, the reign of Sigar (Sigehere) which apparently 
 lasted till c. 450 (cf p. 118). There is also some ground 
 
 * Hnaef, of the Finn episode in Beoivulf, who appears to have been 
 a Jute, is described as the officer of Healfdene {Beo. 1. 1069), and his men 
 are called Danes (1. 1090). This would be indirect evidence of the 
 presence of Danes on the mainland in the middle of the fifth century. 
 This point will be made clearer when we come to discuss the chronology 
 of the Finn episode (cf. Ch. v). 
 
 t Although the second name in Saxo's genealogy is that of Dan, who 
 is apparently regarded as the eponymous ancestor of the Danes, it is to 
 be noted that the Dan who succeeds Uffo, and who, therefore, corresponds 
 to the Dan of the Skjgldungasaga, at present under discussion, occurs 
 seventeen generations from the head of the genealogy. 
 
140 THE DANES 
 
 for believing that the reign of the Frodi, known in 
 Danish tradition as the great peace-king, covered the 
 middle years of the fifth century, perhaps partly over- 
 lapping with that of Sigar. This last assumption presents 
 no serious difficulties, for not only are the names of these 
 two kings associated with entirely different localities 
 (cf. p. 136), but there is every evidence that Denmark 
 was at this time not yet a united kingdom under one 
 monarch. We can discern throughout this period a 
 constant fierce struggle for supremacy between king and 
 king, and tribe and tribe, in which the Danes finally 
 gained the upper hand (absorbing some of their enemies 
 and reducing others to the position of tributary states), 
 but which lasted at any rate until the days of Hrolf 
 Kraki. 
 
 There seems no reason to doubt that Healfdene, 
 Hrothgar, Halga, Hrothulf are all historical, and that 
 they all ruled as kings of the Danes. Healfdene 
 (Halfdan) was, according to the Beowulf, the son of 
 Beowulf, king of the Danes. This person is altogether 
 unknown in Scandinavian tradition, but it is not im- 
 possible that he may be identical with the peace-king 
 Frocti (cf p. 135 f). Hrothgar (Ro, Hroar) and Halga 
 (Helgi) were brothers, the sons of Healfdene (Halfdan), 
 and Hrothulf (Hrolf) was almost certainly the son of 
 Halga (Helgi). The presence of, and the part played by 
 Higrvard (Heoroweard) in Northern tradition, seems to 
 lend colour to the belief that he and his father Heorogar 
 (who was according to the Beoivulf the elder brother of 
 Hrothgar and Halga) are also historical characters. Ro and 
 Hrolf Kraki (= Hrothgar and Hrothulf) were apparently 
 for a time joint kings of Denmark in Leire, and Helgi 
 
THE DANES . 141 
 
 (Halga) while he lived seems to have been a sea-king*. 
 After Ro's death, Hrolf Kraki continued to reign, as sole 
 king of the Danes. All authorities lay stress on the 
 unusually amicable dispositions of Ro and Hrolf, and the 
 friendly relations which existed between them. Whereas 
 most countries which had more than one king were in a 
 state of constant war, owing to the rival claims and 
 jealousies of their different rulers, Ro and Hrolf occupied 
 the same throne for many years, at peace with one 
 another, so that their reign was a time of unprecedented 
 prosperity for Denmark. According to Scandinavian 
 tradition Hrolf Kraki was indeed the King Arthur of 
 the North, whose court was the meeting-place for all the 
 greatest warriors then living. His castle of Loire 
 (Hleidrgardr), which is probably represented by the 
 Heorot of the Beowulf, was the traditional seat of the 
 Danish kings from the earliest times^ 
 
 Close relations, although superficially of a mysterious 
 nature, seem to have existed between Denmark and 
 Sweden during this period, but there are indications of a 
 satisfactory explanation in the view commonly expressed 
 by Northern authorities, that Denmark held suzerainty 
 over Sweden from the time of Halfdan (or perhaps from 
 that of his father Frodi) onwards. Such a state of affairs 
 would account for the constant visits — either of a covertly 
 or of a directly hostile nature — made by Danish kings to 
 
 * Although all Northern kings of this early age were in a sense sea- 
 kings it is necessary to distinguish between those — if for the sake of 
 clearness we may call them so — " land-kings " like Eo and Hrolf Kraki, 
 who only used the sea as their highway, and the sea-kings proper, who 
 had no landed possessions but who, like Helgi, regarded the sea as their 
 only realm, and spent their whole lives in viking cruises. Cf. alsa 
 Snorri in Yngls. Ch. 29, supr. p. 72. 
 
142 THE DANES 
 
 Upsala during this time, and in particular would seem to 
 offer the best solution of the mystery surrounding Hrolf 
 Kraki's famous expedition to the Swedish court. In this 
 connection, it may further be said that there does not 
 seem any reason to discredit the part played by Yrsa in 
 Northern tradition as mother of Hrolf Kraki and after- 
 wards wife of Actils. I am inclined to believe further 
 that Yrsa is identical with the person whose name is 
 omitted in Beo. 1. 62, that she was the sister rather than 
 the daughter of Helgi, and was the wife of Ali (Onela) 
 previous to her marriage with Adils. 
 
 The fact that Bg^Jvar of Gautland '(Gotland) was in 
 the service of Hrolf Kraki, taken with the evidence of the 
 Beowulf that Beowulf reigned over the Geatas, is perhaps 
 an additional proof of the over-lordship of Hrolf Kraki in 
 the southern part of Scandinavia. 
 
 We may accept as historical the chief events of the 
 Heathobeard struggle, which apparently flickered on 
 fitfully for two or three generations, ending in the incor- 
 poration of the Heathobeards with the Danish nation. In 
 the present conflicting state of evidence there can be no 
 certainty as to the circumstances attending the death of 
 King Halfdan, but the crushing defeat inflicted by the 
 Danes on the Heathobeards, involving the death of their 
 king Froda (Frodi), the marriage of Ingeld (Ingjald) to 
 Hrothgar's (Hroar's) daughter Freawaru, Ingeld's sub- 
 sequent revenge for his father's death at the instigation 
 of the old warrior, and the burning down of Heorot at his 
 hands, have all a strong claim to be regarded as historical. 
 Appearances seem to point further to the fall of Hrothgar 
 (Hroar) in battle against the Heathobeards, possibly on 
 the same occasion as that on which Heorot was burnt 
 
THE DANES 143 
 
 down, although there is no direct evidence in confirmation 
 of this. Forming a link between the age of Hroar 
 (Hrothgar) and Hrolf (Hrothulf) and the earlier times of 
 Sigar and his contemporaries, stands the figure of StarkadT 
 — the eald aescwiga of Beo. 1. 2042 — who grew old in 
 his armour, and served under many kings of different 
 nationalities, notably (for us) under the Heathobeard 
 Froda (Frodi) and his son Ingeld (Ingjald)*. 
 
 It is possible that Hroar (Hrothgar) left a son Roric 
 (Hrethric) who attempted to set up a claim to the throne 
 against Hrolf Kraki (Hrothulf), but who was speedily 
 crushed by his powerful cousin ; but this view is to be 
 accepted with reservations, as it is not supported by 
 any substantial evidence. Very probably Hrolf Kraki 
 (Hrothulf) fell at the hands of Higrvard (Heoroweard) in 
 an attempt made by the latter to assert his prior claim to 
 the Danish throne ; whether that event is accurately 
 represented by the accounts of Saxo and others and of 
 the Hrolfss. there is, however, considerable reason to 
 doubt (cf. inf. Ch. ill, p. 154). 
 
 It is now possible — and will be, for the sake of clear- 
 ness, convenient — to collect in tabular form the chief 
 results which we have obtained. We have found cause 
 to believe that the O.E. heroic poems, and, to a certain 
 extent, Scandinavian poems, sagas and chronicles of a 
 later time, preserve much genuine historical information 
 about the leading persons and events of Danish history 
 in early times, and particularly in the fifth and first half 
 of the sixth century. The kings who appear to have 
 flourished during this period — ^and whose actual existence 
 a nearer study of the sources makes more and more 
 
 * For further information about this character cf. Chadwick, op. cit. 
 p. 149 and note. 
 
144 THE DANES 
 
 probable — taken as far as possible in chronological order^ 
 with hypothetical dates, are the following: 
 
 Alevih (Dan). End of fourth and beginning of fifth 
 
 centur\'. 
 Sigar (Sigehere). First half of fifth century till c. 450 
 
 (perhaps reigning only in Sjaelland). 
 Frodi — The peace-king — middle years of the fifth 
 
 century (perhaps reigning only in Jutland) 
 
 = Beowulf, Danish king mentioned in Beo. 11. 53 ff. ? 
 Halfdan (Healfdene). Before c. 475. 
 [Helgi (Halga), sea-king in latter half of fifth century.] 
 Hroar (Hrothgar), c. 475 — c. 570. 
 [Rorik (Hrethric) ?] 
 Hrolf Kraki (Hrothulf), joint king with Hroar and 
 
 succeeding him — c. 550. 
 Higrvard (Heoroweard) ? reigned for a short time. 
 
 Thus all the Danish kings mentioned in the Beowulf 
 and Widsith are accounted for with the exception of 
 Scyld Scefing and Heremod. The former cannot be con- 
 sidered as other than mythical, and therefore does not 
 concern us further. There has also been a common 
 tendency to regard Heremod as mythical, owing to the 
 absence of any known historical background for his 
 figure. But this decision is a somewhat arbitrary one. 
 It is true that Heremod's identity is wrapped in obscurity, 
 but the circumstantial detail with which he is described 
 in the Beowulf implies that he had at one time been a 
 well-known personality, and is certainly in favour of his 
 existence as an historical character, probably as a king in 
 Danish lands. The way in which he is associated with 
 Sigmund suggests that Heremod is perhaps to be assigned 
 to the first half of the fifth century (cf. p. 122). 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE SWEDES. 
 
 The Swedes (Svear) are also called in A.S. Scylfingas 
 {Beo. 1. 2381), in Scand. (O.N. saga lit.) Ynglingar. 
 
 The relationships of the Swedish royal family in 
 Beowulf are as follows : 
 
 Ongentheow 
 
 Onela Ohthere 
 
 I 1 
 
 Eanmund Eadgils 
 
 In 1. 2603 Wiglaf is spoken of as leod Scylfinga ; again 
 in 1. 2813, Beowulf, addressing Wiglaf, speaks of usses 
 cynnes Waegmundinga, where he clearly classes himself 
 along with his hearer : this would seem to show that both 
 Beowulf and Wiglaf claimed descent from a man named 
 Waegmund, and the epithet leod Scylfinga as applied to 
 Wiglaf has been supposed to signify some relationship 
 between the Swedish royal family and the house of the 
 Waegmundings (cf. Mullenhoff, Anz.f. d. A. iii, pp. 176- 
 178). 
 
 c. 10 
 
146 THE SWEDES 
 
 On these lines the following hypothetical genealogy 
 has been constructed: 
 
 Scylf 
 
 r -1 
 
 Waegmund Ongentheow 
 
 r L n I ^ -1 
 
 Ecgtheow Weohstan Onela Ohthere 
 
 ' I, I 
 Beowulf Wiglaf i ' , 
 
 Eanmund Eadgils 
 
 Nor must it be forgotten, as bearing upon the hypotheti- 
 cal character of the above table, that there is considerable 
 uncertainty as to the exact meaning of hod Scylfinga, for 
 which there are other possible interpretations besides 
 " prince of the Scylfings." 
 
 I. The Swedes in Beowulf. 
 
 In the scattered references to the Swedes which are 
 made in the Beowulf, the fortunes of this people are 
 closely bound up with those of their neighbours the 
 Gotar, and for an account of the campaign between Ongen- 
 theow, king of Sweden, and Haethcyn and Hygelac, the 
 princes of the Gotar, the reader is referred to Chap. I, p. 26 f. 
 
 Ongentheow was apparently succeeded on the Swedish 
 throne by his son Onela, who seems to have married the 
 only daughter of King Healfdene of the Danes (Beo. 1. 62). 
 
 Onela's nephews, Eanmund and Eadgils, the sons of 
 his brother Ohthere, rebelled and were banished from the 
 kingdom ; they fled to the court of Heardred, the young 
 king of the Geatas (Hygelac, his father, having meanwhile 
 perished in the hapless expedition against the Franks), 
 where they found protection and kindness (11. 2379 ff.). 
 They were, however, followed by Onela, who attacked and 
 
THE SWEDES 147 
 
 killed Heardred (1. 2388) ; probably in the course of the 
 same campaign Eanmund was slain by Weohstan, who 
 seems to have been in Onela's service. 
 
 Weohstan deprived the dead warrior of his helm, 
 sword and coat of mail, and laid them at the feet of 
 Onela, who returned them to him as a gift. After many 
 years Weohstan bequeathed these trophies to his son 
 Wiglaf, Beowulf's faithful follower (11. 2609-2625). 
 
 Onela returned to Sweden victorious (1. 2389 f.) : after 
 a time Eadgils, supported by Beowulf, now king of the 
 Geatas, made an expedition to Sweden against his uncle 
 {he gewraec syththan cealdum cear-sithum). The enter- 
 prise was successful : Eadgils defeated and killed Onela, 
 and reigned as king of Sweden in his stead (11. 2391-2396). 
 
 II. (1) References to the Swedes in Latin 
 
 Historians. 
 Tacitus. 
 
 Jordanes (Migne, Patrologia, I, 69). 
 Saxo Grammaticus (ed. Holder ; Bks i-ix, English 
 transl. by 0. Elton, London, 1894). 
 
 (2) References to the Swedes in Scandinavian 
 
 Authorities. 
 
 Hrolfssagakraka, Fas. i, pp. 1 fif. 
 
 Skdldskapermdl (Sn. Edd. ed. Wilken, Paderborn, 1877, 
 pp. 101 ff.) 
 
 Bjarkarimur. 
 
 St Olafssaga, Ynglingasaga (Heimskr.). 
 
 Skjglds. (Arngr. Jonss., Aarb. f. nord. Oldkynd. 1894, 
 pp. 83 ff.). 
 
 10—2 
 
148 THE SWEDES 
 
 Tacitus, Germ. Ch. XLiv *. The earliest reference 
 to the Swedes is by Tacitus (Germ. Ch. XLiv) who wrote at 
 the end of the first century ; he mentions the Suiones as 
 having a curious, despotic form of government, and says 
 further that they had fleets and lived in the ocean, i.e. in 
 islands. 
 
 Jordanesf says that the Suethans like the Thuringians 
 used the best horses. 
 
 It is impossible, in dealing with Scandinavian authori- 
 ties, to separate from one another the extracts dealing 
 with the Swedes and the Danes, and an account of the 
 relations between these two nations during the period 
 under our consideration has already been given in Chap. II, 
 to which the reader is referred. Two extracts from the 
 Ynglingasaga, which are of exclusively Swedish interest^ 
 are here given : 
 
 Ch. XXVIII. The Marriage of King Ad:ils. "Adils 
 was the name of Ottar's son, w^ho took the kingdom after 
 him : he was king for a long time, and was very wealthy, 
 and some summers he went on viking expeditions {i 
 viking). King Adils came with his army to Saxland, 
 over which ruled a king named Geirdjof, while his 
 wife was called Alof the mighty : there is no mention of 
 their having had children. The king was not in the 
 
 * Tacitus, Germania, Ch. xliii : " Trans Lugios Gotones regnantur, 
 paulo iam adductius quam ceterae Germanorum gentes, nondum tamen 
 supra libertatem, protinus deinde ab Oceano Eugii et Lemovii : 
 omniumque harum gentium insigne rotunda scuta, breves gladii et erga 
 reges obsequium." 
 
 Ch. XLIV. " Suionum hinc civitates ipso in Oceano, praeter vires 
 armaque classibus valent, forma navium eo differt quod utrimque prora 
 paratam semper adpulsui frontem agit." 
 
 + Jordanes, Get. iii : "lAlia vero gens ibi moratur Suethans, quae 
 velut Thuringi equis utuntur eximiis." 
 
THE SWEDES 149 
 
 country. King Adils and his men plundered there : 
 some drove down herds to slaughter on the strand. 
 Slaves, both men and women, had tended the flocks, and 
 all of these they took with them. Amongst the company 
 was a maiden, wondrously beautiful : her name was Yrsa. 
 King Adils took her home with the rest of his booty. 
 Yrsa was not put with the other bondwomen. It was 
 soon clear that she was wise and learned, and shrewd in all 
 respects. She was much admired and chiefly by the king ; 
 thus it came about that Adils made her his wife. Then 
 Yrsa was queen of Sweden and was eminent among women." 
 Ch. XXIX (last part of chapter). " King Adils was 
 very fond of good horses : he had the best horses of that 
 time. One horse of his was called Slgngvir, and another 
 Hrafn, which he took from the dead King Ali. And of 
 it was born another horse called Hrafn which he sent to 
 Heligoland to King Godgest. King Godgest rode it and 
 could not pull it up, until he fell off its back and was 
 killed : that was at Omd in Heligoland. King Adils was 
 at the sacrifice to the disir and was riding his horse 
 round the temple of the disir : the horse stumbled and 
 fell, and the king was thrown, and his head came against a 
 stone, so that the skull was broken and his brains lay on 
 the stones. That was his death. Adils died at Upsala and 
 is buried there. The Sviar called him the powerful king." 
 
 III. Comparison of Evidence with regard to the 
 
 Swedes. 
 
 Several points relating to Swedish tradition have 
 already been discussed in connection with the subject of 
 the preceding chapter, particularly the story of Yrsa. 
 
150 THE SWEDES 
 
 Generally speaking, the accounts of Skdldsk., Hrolfss. 
 and Saxo vary only in points of detail with regard to the 
 period of Swedish history with which we are dealing (i.e. 
 the period corresponding to the events described in 
 Beowulf), the general outline of the story being the same 
 in all three cases as far as Aclils is concerned. In the 
 Yngls. a somewhat different aspect is imparted to the 
 story. Some points which are of minor importance in 
 the other are omitted altogether. The campaigns of 
 Ottar and Frocti for example, which are described in 
 Yngls. at comparative leogth, are not mentioned in any 
 of the other authorities with which we have been dealing; 
 whereas Hrolf Kraki's visit to Sweden, on which so much 
 stress is usually laid, is here passed over with the barest 
 mention. 
 
 A point on which different authorities are considerably 
 at variance is that of the genealogy of the Swedish kings. 
 No genealogy of Swedish kings is given in Hrolfss. and 
 Skdldsk., but according to Saxo, Adils (Athislus) and 
 Ottar (Hotherus) were brothers, the sons of Hothbroddus, 
 king of Sweden, and Hothbroddus was the son of Regnerus. 
 According to Yngls. on the other hand, Adils was the 
 son of Ottar, who was the son of Egil. 
 
 We come now to compare the sum total of Scandina- 
 vian evidence with that of Beowulf First, as regards 
 the genealogies : according to Beowulf, Ongentheow, king 
 of Sweden, had two sons, Onela and Ohthere : Ohthere 
 had, in his turn, two sons, Eanmund and Eadgils, of whom 
 the younger succeeded to the throne after having defeated 
 and killed his uncle Onela. 
 
 Ongentheow has entirely dropped out of Swedish 
 tradition, where he has been replaced by Egil, a totally 
 
THE SWEDES 151 
 
 different personality; but the great age of the Beowulf 
 justifies us in accepting Ongentheow rather than Egil as 
 the historical father of Ottar (Ohthere)*. 
 
 Further, there is no mention in any Scandinavian 
 authority of a king of Sweden whose figure corresponds 
 to that of Onela, Eadgils' uncle and predecessor in Beowulf, 
 but Yngls. and SkcUdsk. both relate that Adils was at 
 war with a certain King Ali of Uppland, who belonged to 
 Norway ; in this campaign, Adils — according to Skdldsk. 
 — obtained help from Hrolf Kraki, who sent his twelve 
 berserks (amongst them Bgdvar-Bjarki) to his assistance. 
 A decisive battle was fought on the frozen Lake Wener 
 (Vaenir), in which Ali was killed. 
 
 All the evidence we possess tends to show that King 
 Ali of Uppland in Skdldsk. and Yngls. must be identical 
 with King Onela of Sweden in Beowulf In support of 
 this, we have firstly the identity of the two names Onela 
 and Ali, and secondly the similar circumstances which are 
 reported concerning both. 
 
 Both Onela and Ali were at war with Eadgils- Adils ; 
 in both cases Adils called in foreign assistance against 
 his foe. It is true that in one case the help came from 
 the Danes, and in the other from the Geatas, but the link 
 between the two lies in the person of Beowulf-Bgdvar. 
 According to Beowulf it was Beowulf who helped Eadgils 
 to wrest Sweden from his uncle Onela ; in Skdldsk. Bgd- 
 var's name is the first among those of. twelve berserks sent 
 by Hrolf Kraki to Adils' assistance. 
 
 As has been elsewhere shown, there is a good deal 
 of evidence in support of the view that Bgdvar-Bjarki 
 
 * From an examination of the sources, it seems indeed possible that 
 both the Egil of Yngls. and his father Aun are mythical characters. 
 
152 THE SWEDES 
 
 and Beowulf are identical. Without further ado this 
 would solve the difficulty that it was in one case the 
 Geatas, in the other the Danes, who rendered assistance 
 to Adds. 
 
 The fact that Ali (Onela) appears in Scandinavian 
 tradition as a Norwegian king is probably due to confusion 
 arising out of the word Uppland. There was both a 
 Swedish and a Norwegian Uppland : the former was in 
 the heart of the Swedish kingdom, and consisted of the 
 country lying immediately round Upsala, whereas the 
 latter was a general name for the Norwegian highlands. 
 As the Swedish king had his capital in Upsala, it was 
 .1 .ral that he should be called king of Uppland, and 
 ti.<ince it is easy to see how a confusion might arise in 
 later times between the two Upplands, and how the 
 names of one or more Swedish kings might, in consequence, 
 drop out of the genealogies. 
 
 In the case of Onela and Ali, it is probable that this 
 is what took place, and that Ali was really a king of 
 Sweden, as Beowulf reports him to have been. In this 
 case again, the evidence of Beowulf is more trustworthy 
 than that of the sagas on account of its greater age, and 
 also because, in marked contrast to the Scandinavian 
 authorities, it contains a circumstantial account of the 
 events which led up to the campaign between Eadgils 
 and Onela. 
 
 This view receives confirmation from the site of the 
 battle between Adils and Ali, which, according to Scandi- 
 navian authorities, took place on the ice of Lake Wener 
 (Vaenir). The lake separating Gotland from Sweden (i.e. 
 Svealand) would be the most natural place for a Swedish 
 army to meet a force coming from Gotland, as the Beowulf 
 
THE SWEDES 153 
 
 reports Eadgils to have done. In the poem itself the 
 battle between Eadgils and Onela is described thus : 
 
 Lines 2393 £f. 
 
 "Folce gestepte 
 ofer sae side sunu Ohtheres 
 wigum and waepnum : he gewraec syththan 
 cealdum cear-slthum cyning ealdre binedt*." 
 
 Is it too far-fetched to suppose that this " cold sorrow- 
 bringing journey" is more than merely an alliterative 
 expression, and is really a reference to the battle on the 
 frozen lake ? 
 
 There still remains for discussion Wiglaf, who comes 
 into prominence in the last section of the Beowulf. 
 in the course of Beowulf's struggle with the fire-spitt.- g 
 dragon. Wiglaf is the more interesting, inasmuch as, 
 with the exception of Beowulf himself, he is the only 
 figure which stands out from the dimness of that last 
 shadowy contest, with a tangible presence, and some 
 semblance of claim to an actual flesh and blood existence. 
 Wiglaf was apparently a Swedish warrior in the service of 
 Beowulf, and was the only thane who did not desert his 
 master at the hour of need, but stood by him to the end. 
 The poem also gives some information about Wiglafs 
 father, Weohstan. Weohstan was, we are told, in the 
 service of Onela, king of Sweden ; he is probably identical 
 with the Swedish Vesteinn mentioned in Kdlfsvisa, 
 Skdldsk. Ch. 48. The hortatory speeches of Wiglaf are 
 reminiscent of those made by Hjalti in Bjarkamdl, but 
 the only character in northern tradition whose name 
 presents any likeness to that of Wiglaf is Yqgg, the 
 
 * "Beowulf supported Obthere's son with a host over the wide 
 waters, with warriors and weapons : the latter subsequently executed 
 vengeance by a cold hostile journey: he deprived the king of life." 
 
154 THE SWEDES 
 
 faithful servant and avenger of Hrolf Kraki. The form 
 of the name which occurs in Saxo, viz. Wiggo, looks like 
 a hypocoristic, and it is tempting to connect it with 
 Wiglaf, although the double consonant and short vowel 
 present considerable difficulties in the way of identifying 
 the two names. But in addition to this similarity of name 
 the figures of Wiglaf and ^Qgg have certain features in 
 common. Both were Swedes ; both left their first master 
 for a new one, in one case Beowulf, and in the other Hrolf 
 Kraki; both play a similar part in relation to their new 
 master ; and both receive from him rich gifts. It is not 
 necessary to emphasize anew the intimate association of 
 Hrolf Kraki with Bgctvar-Bjarki, and, further, the extreme 
 likelihood that the latter is identical with Beowulf 
 
 Thus, in view of the foregoing suggestions, it is far 
 from clear whether Vggg, Wiggo (Wiglaf?) was originally 
 connected with Hrolf Kraki or with Beowulf- Bjarki. 
 This again raises the whole question of Hrolf Kraki's fall 
 at Leire, and makes it not altogether inconceivable that 
 the narrative as it stands may have been substituted for 
 one which, in the first instance, had Bgdvar-Bjarki 
 (Beowulf) as its hero, and that the Bjarkamdl may be 
 a reproduction, however corrupt and mutilated, of the 
 speeches of Wiglaf and Beowulf in the last fyttes of the 
 O.E. poem. 
 
 IV. Historical Facts underlying the Swedish 
 Traditions in Beowulf. 
 
 It must be remembered that Sweden, at the time 
 with which the Beowulf deals, by no means corresponds 
 to the kingdom of Sweden at the present day, which 
 
THE SWEDES 155 
 
 comprises Sweden (i.e. Svealand), Gotland and Skaane. 
 Sweden and Gotland were originally politically separate 
 countries, while Skaane, until comparatively recently, 
 belonged to Denmark. The Sweden of the sixth century 
 (Swidjod) consisted of what on modern maps appears as 
 the province Svealand. 
 
 In Heimskr. St Olafss. Ch. 76, which dates from the 
 early thirteenth century, there is a geographical description 
 of Sweden (Svvidjod). It is said to consist of: 
 
 a. Suthrmannaland. 
 
 h. Yestrmannaland or Fiathrundaland. 
 
 c. Tiundaland. 
 
 d. Attandaland. 
 
 e. Sialand. 
 
 Most of these divisions can still be traced on modern 
 maps. 
 
 Although there is no adequate reason to doubt the 
 historical value of Ongentheow, Onela and Ohthere as 
 kings of Sweden, the only king for whose life there is 
 really satisfactory evidence is Adils (Eadgils of Beowulf). 
 Again, taking as a starting-point the date of Hygelac's 
 expedition to the Rhine, we must place the reign of Adils 
 some time before the middle of the sixth century. 
 
 Nowhere does the character of Adils appear in a very 
 favourable light, in fact it is noteworthy that all authorities 
 represent him as being of an avaricious and mean dispo- 
 sition. The remarkable unanimity displayed with regard 
 to this point would seem to indicate that it was no mere 
 myth, but had solid foundation in historical fact. Yet in 
 Yngls. it is stated that Adils was remembered among the 
 Swedes as " the powerful king " (Ch. 23). 
 
156 THE SWEDES 
 
 The evidence of Jordanes (Get. Ch. 3), who says that 
 the Suethans, like the Thuringians, used the best horses, 
 is valuable confirmation of the evidence of Yngls. Ch. 23, 
 regarding the attention which Adils paid to horse- 
 breeding. 
 
 It seems almost certain that at the time with which 
 we are dealing, Sweden (as probably also Gotland) was 
 a tributary kingdom to Denmark, and that Adils was a 
 vassal of Hrolf Kraki. It is impossible to affirm this with 
 certainty, as our evidence is not thoroughly trustworthy, 
 but every allusion points in the same direction, and we 
 know in addition that Hrolf Kraki was famous throughout 
 many lands on account of his conquests. 
 
 The account of Adils' campaign against Onela, the 
 reigning king of Sweden, who was probably his uncle, the 
 assistance given to Adils by his allies the Gautar under 
 Beowulf-Bgdvar, and his subsequent success in obtaining 
 the Swedish crown, may be accepted as historical. The 
 story of Yrsa is in all probability also founded on fact*. 
 
 * Cf. Ch. II, pp. 82 ff. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 I. Offa. 
 
 Offa is mentioned both in Beowulf and in WidsitK 
 The following is a rough translation of the passages in the 
 two poems, which contain allusions to him : 
 
 Widsith, 11. 35-44. *'Offa ruled over Angel, Alevih 
 over the Danes. He was the bravest of all these men, 
 yet he did not surpass Offa in deeds of valour. But Offa, 
 while yet a boy — at an earlier age than any other man — 
 won the greatest of kingdoms. No one at the same age 
 has performed a greater deed of valour. Single-handed he 
 fixed his frontier with the Myrgingas at Fifeldor. The 
 Engle and the Swaefe have ever since kept to the line 
 won by Offa*." 
 
 Beowulf, 11. 1931-1962. (The poet has been dwelling 
 on the virtues of Hygd, the wife of Hygelac : suddenly, 
 without any explanation, he breaks off in quite a different 
 direction.) 
 
 "A certain queen, Thrytho, was a woman of proud 
 and fierce spirit. No man dare gaze on her face save her 
 husband, without paying the penalty of imprisonment and 
 death. This is not a queenly custom, but the 'ale- drinkers* 
 
 * Translation by Mr H. M. Chadwick. 
 
158 OFF A 
 
 report that Thrytho performed fewer wicked deeds since 
 the time when she first came over the sea at her father's 
 behest, to become the wife of Offa. 
 
 " She observed her pledge towards the prince, and was 
 renowned for her goodness at his court. Offa was a warrior, 
 keen in battle and held in wide esteem. He was the 
 kinsman of Heming and the descendant of Garmund. 
 His son was Eomaer*." 
 
 11. Other Authorities for Offa. 
 
 Mercian Genealogy in A. S. Chron. under year 755 
 and other Chronicles. 
 
 Vitae duorum Off arum, or Legend of St Albans, 
 ascribed to Matthew Paris. 
 
 Saxo Grammaticus. 
 
 Sven Aagesen (Langeb. 8. R. D. I, pp. 42-64). 
 
 In the genealogy of the Mercian kings the name of 
 Offa occurs twice. Offa II we know to have been king of 
 Mercia from 757-796, and an account of his reign is given 
 in the A. S. Chron., but there are no references in history to 
 his ancestor Offa I, whose name occurs twelve generations 
 earlier in the genealogy f. 
 
 We may at once dismiss the idea that the above-quoted 
 passages contain any allusion to Offa II, since apart from 
 any other consideration the Beowulf had probably reached 
 its present form considerably before the middle of the 
 eighth century, when Offa II's reign commenced. 
 
 The Legend of St Albans, or Vitae Offarum, has been 
 ascribed to Matthew Paris, a monk of St Albans who died 
 
 * Translation by Mr H. M. Chadwick. 
 t Of. Appendix ii, with list of genealogies. 
 
OFF A 159 
 
 about 1259, although it is now generally supposed to have 
 been the work of an earlier writer, which was used by him ; 
 the ostensible object of the work was to account for the 
 founding of the monastery of St Albans. The legend is 
 shortly as follows : — 
 
 Vita Offae I. 
 
 A certain king of the West Angles named Warmundus 
 (probably here West Angles = Mercians), famous for having 
 founded the city of Warwick, had one son Otfa. Offa was 
 a man of great stature and tremendous strength, but he 
 was blind until his seventh year, and dumb until his 
 thirtieth. Some of the Mercian nobles, led by Riganus, 
 conspired against Offa, and on the ground that he was 
 physically unfit to reign, demanded the kingdom. Riganus 
 himself hoped to be chosen as successor to the throne. 
 The old king Warmundus, in great perplexity, called a 
 council to consider what should be done, as he himself 
 was too old to lead an army to battle. But in this crisis, 
 Offa prayed that he might receive the gift of speech, and 
 his request was granted ; the difficulty was then solved, 
 for Offa forthwith volunteered to lead the king's army 
 against the rebels. 
 
 The two armies met on the opposing banks of a deep 
 river. Offa dashed across the river, and engaged the two 
 sons of the rebel leader, Hildebrandus and Sueno, both of 
 whom he killed. The rebel army was completely routed 
 and Offa returned home victorious. His father Warmundus 
 resigned the throne in his favour, and died soon after- 
 wards. He was buried at Gloucester. 
 
 One day, Offa, while jDut hunting, heard the voice of 
 someone in distress. He found it to proceed from a 
 
160 OFFA 
 
 maiden, who told him that she was the daughter of the 
 king of York. Her father had wished to seduce her, and 
 she had fled away into the woods. Offa took the maiden 
 home with him, and she became his wife. Subsequently 
 he had by her twin children. 
 
 Some years after this incident, the king of Northumbria 
 appealed to Offa for help in war against the Scots. Offa 
 went to his assistance and was victorious. 
 
 He then wrote to his nobles giving an account of his 
 successes, and despatched his letter by a. messenger. But 
 on the way south it was intercepted by the king of York, 
 who at last saw an opportunity for achieving revenge for 
 the flight of his daughter. For the original letter he 
 substituted a forged one, which announced a great disaster 
 to Offa's army. According to the letter, this misfortune 
 was directly due to divine wrath against Offa for having 
 married his wife, and directions were given that she and 
 her children should be exposed in the woods, and maimed 
 or killed. These orders were followed. Mother and 
 children were turned out into the forest and the children 
 were killed. They were, however, restored to life by the 
 prayers of an anchorite, who then took them, along with 
 their mother, home to his cell and hid them there. 
 
 When Offa returned, the treachery of the king of 
 York was discovered, but it was only after a long and 
 painful search that he came upon the anchorite, who re- 
 stored to him his wife and children. At the suggestion of 
 the anchorite, Offa vowed to build a monastery as a thank- 
 offering, but he forgot all about his promise until the time 
 of his death, when he exhorted his son to fulfil the neg- 
 lected vow. The fulfilment of the promise was postponed 
 from generation to generation until the days of Offa II. 
 
OFF A 161 
 
 Vita Offae II. 
 
 (What follows is only a partial account of the Vita 
 Offae II, which is very long and contains much that has 
 no bearing on the present subject.) 
 
 Thingferth, a Mercian prince, had a son Winifrith, who 
 was lame, and could neither see nor hear. Thingferth and 
 his wife, remembering the story of Offa, prayed that 
 Winifrith might become sound, and took a fresh vow to 
 build a monastery. Their prayer was answered, and their 
 son healed. After he was cured, Winifrith received the 
 name of Offa. 
 
 In the meantime, a certain noble, Beornred, revolted, 
 and killed many of the leading men in the kingdom. 
 Thingferth and his wife fled before him, but Offa remained 
 behind and defeated Beornred, and was then elected 
 king. 
 
 One day there drifted to the shore a small rudderless 
 boat, bearing a girl who was almost dead from starvation 
 and exposure. She gave her name as Drida and said that 
 she was a relative of Carolus, king of the Franks. The 
 reason that she had been cast adrift she gave as her 
 refusal to accept offers of marriage from certain persons 
 of ignoble blood. The truth was, however, that Drida had 
 been condemned to death for some crime, the nature of 
 which is not stated ; but on account of her royal blood, 
 the punishment was commuted to exposure in a rudderless 
 boat. Offa received Drida well, and she was fed and care- 
 fully tended until health and beauty were restored. Then 
 Offa married her, although much against the will of his 
 parents, who from the first had not believed her story. 
 After her marriage Drida was called Quendrida. Offa 
 
 c. 11 
 
l62 OFFA 
 
 and Quendrida had three daughters. The eldest married 
 Brithriciis (Berhtric) king of Wessex, the second Aethel- 
 redus (Aethelred) king of Northumbria, and the third 
 was promised to Albertus (Aethelbert) king of East 
 Anglia. 
 
 By this time Quendrida had come out in her true 
 colours. She was a cruel, scheming woman who hated 
 her husband, and desired above all things to get rid of 
 him. She was angry that her daughters should all marry 
 Englishmen, and would have liked to marry them to 
 foreign princes, who would then have helped her to 
 destroy Offa. She therefore conspired against the life of 
 Albertus, and caused him to be secretly murdered, one 
 day while he was on his way to visit his bride. Shortly 
 afterwards, Quendrida was herself murdered by robbers at 
 the very spot on which Albertus had fallen, and Offa, full 
 of gratitude at being delivered from the plots of his wife, 
 fulfilled the vow made long before by his ancestor, Offa I, 
 and founded the monastery of St Albans. 
 
 The historical evidence regarding Offa II which is 
 contained in the A. S. Chron. confirms the account of the 
 Vita Offae II, accordiug to which Offa obtained his 
 kingdom by defeating the rebel Beornred. There is, 
 however, no reason to suppose that the very peculiar 
 circumstances under which Offa I fought were repeated 
 in the case of Offa II as Matthew Paris reports them to 
 have been. 
 
 A story which strikiugly resembles that told of Offa I 
 in the Legend of St Albans is related by the Danish 
 historians Saxo (pp. 106-117) and Sven Aagesen. Sven 
 Aagesen wrote in the year 1185, and Saxo was engaged on 
 his work at the same time, but it was not completed 
 
OFF A 163 
 
 until the beginning of the twelfth century. The accounts 
 of the story given by these two writers are so much alike 
 as to be almost identical. 
 
 Wermundus, the son of Vigletus, was king of Denmark : 
 during his reign the province of Sleswic, which formed 
 part of the kingdom, was governed by a man named 
 Frowinus. 
 
 Athislus, king of Sweden, invaded Denmark in the 
 neighbourhood of Sleswic : Frowinus, who led the de- 
 fending army, met Athislus in single combat and was 
 killed. Wermundus then gave the government into the 
 bands of Keto and Wigo*, his sons. 
 
 Keto and Wigo determined to avenge their father's 
 death, and went to Sweden, where they lay in wait for 
 Athislus. Seizing their opportunity, they fell on him 
 together and killed him, but their action was generally 
 considered most discreditable to their honour, although 
 Wermundus was satisfied to have got rid of his enemy by 
 any means, fair or foul. 
 
 Wermundus had one son, Uffo, the child of his old age, 
 who was a man of enormous size and strength, but who 
 for many years was afflicted with dumbness. According 
 to Sven Aag. Uffo did not speak from his seventh to his 
 thirtieth year, and his silence was due to shame on account 
 of the disgraceful action of Keto and Wigo in killing 
 Athislus. UfFa was in a position to feel this disgrace 
 very keenly, as he was married to the daughter of 
 Frowinus. 
 
 * In the genealogy of Wessex we find the descendants of Wodan 
 given as follows : 
 
 Wodan — Beldaeg — Brand — Frithungar — Freaivine — Wig, &c. 
 
 In Saxo : Frowinus — Wigo. 
 
 11—2 
 
164 OFFA 
 
 In his old age Wermundus became blind ; an embassy 
 came to him from the king of Saxony*, proposing that, 
 as Wermundus was blind, decrepit, and unfit to rule, 
 Denmark should be handed over to him. If Wermundus 
 would not agree to this proposal, let his son come out and 
 fight against the son of the sender of the challenge. 
 Wermundus was deeply stung by these taunts, but he 
 answered that although old and blind, he would himself 
 accept the challenge and go out to fight. Just at that 
 moment, however, Uffo stepped forward and spoke for the 
 first time. He offered to fight single-handed against the 
 son of the king of Saxony and any other warrior whom he 
 might choose to support him. The reason he gave for 
 wishing to fight against two men instead of one was that 
 by so doing he hoped to wipe out the disgrace which lay 
 upon the Danes on account of the death of Athislus 
 through Keto and Wigo. 
 
 An island on the river Eider was chosen as the scene 
 of the duel, and great crowds of onlookers flocked thither 
 to witness the combat. Uffo went down alone to meet 
 his opponents. The old Wermundus was also guided 
 down to the river and he stood on the bridge, ready to 
 throw himself down, should his son suffer defeat. But 
 Uffo cut to pieces, first the Prince of Saxony and then the 
 other Saxon champion, and thus retrieved the glory of 
 the Danish nation, which had been lost through the 
 murder of Athislus. The kingdom of Saxony was then 
 handed over to the Danes, and was governed by Uffo 
 after his father's death. 
 
 * This is Saxo's version : according to Sven Aag. the embassy was; 
 sent by the Emperor. 
 
OFFA 165 
 
 III. Comparison of Evidence with regard to Offa. 
 
 The story of Uffo as told by Saxo and Sven Aagesen 
 obviously refers to the saaie events as that of the Vita 
 Offae I, and UfFo the son of Wermund is clearly the same 
 person as Offa the son of Warmundus. In both cases the 
 king's son, vsrbo has been dumb until his thirtieth year, 
 recovers his speech under similar circumstances, and over- 
 comes singlehanded, by a river, two champions of an 
 opposing army. Further, the genealogy of Uffo's ancestors 
 given by Saxo corresponds to that of Offa's ancestors in 
 the Mercian genealogy: 
 
 Saxo, Yigletus. Mercian Gen. Wihtlaeg. 
 
 Wermundus. Wermund. 
 
 Uffo. Offa. 
 
 There are, however, certain discrepancies between the 
 accounts of Saxo and Sv. Aag. on the one hand and the 
 Vita Offae on the other, the chief of which are the 
 following : 
 
 1. According to Saxo and Sv. Aag. Wermundus and 
 Uffo were kings of the Danes, and Uffo's combat took 
 place on the frontiers of Schleswig and Holstein. Accord- 
 ing to Matthew Paris, Warmundus and Offa were kings of 
 the Mercians, and all the events connected with them 
 took place in England. 
 
 2. According to Saxo and Sv. Aag. the attack on 
 Wermundus was the act of aggression of a foreign king, 
 whereas in the Vita Offae the enemies of King Warmundus 
 were rebel nobles. 
 
 3. In Saxo and Sv. Aag. the whole quarrel between 
 Wermundus and the king of Saxony (or the Emperor) 
 was settled by the result of Uffo's duel, while in the Vita 
 
166 OFF A 
 
 Offae a pitched battle took place of which the duel was 
 but one episode. 
 
 It is evident that these three accounts — viz. those of 
 Saxo, Sv. Aag., and the Vita Offae I — tell the same story 
 as that related by Widsith, 11. 35-44, of Offa, king of 
 Angel, where we find again the description of Offa's great 
 prowess, and of his momentous single-handed combat with 
 the invaders (see p. 157). Widsith is, however, in dis- 
 agreement with the other authorities in regard to Offa's 
 age at the time of the incident described. Whereas the 
 Vita Offae I, Saxo, and Sv. Aag. all represent him as a 
 man of about thirty years of age, he is described in 
 Widsith as cniht-wesende, " while yet a boy," and this 
 epithet is emphasized by the words which follow — viz. "at 
 an earlier age than any other man." To explain this, it 
 has been suggested that in the original account of the 
 story the expression used with regard to Offa's age at the 
 time of the duel may possibly have been thritig missera 
 (thirty half-years, i.e. fifteen years), which later writers 
 may have misinterpreted as thirty years. 
 
 If we now turn back to the Vita Offae I we see that 
 Offa I is there represented as a king of Mercia, and that 
 the whole scene of the story is laid in England. 
 
 According to the genealogies, Offa I was the ancestor 
 of Penda, king of Mercia*. 
 
 In the A. S. Chron. (MS. X) under the year 626, there 
 stands an entry in which it is said that Penda, who began 
 to reign in that year, was fifty years of age, and that he 
 reigned for thirty years. According to this reckoning, 
 Penda was born in the year 576, and was eighty years of 
 age when he died in the year 656. But there are good 
 * Cf . list of genealogies in Appendix ii. 
 
OFFA 167 
 
 reasons for regarding it as improbable that this chronology- 
 is correct, or that Penda was born as early as the year 576. 
 For example : 
 
 1. On his death in QoQ, Penda left quite a young 
 family, as his youngest son resigned the throne as late as 
 the year 704. 
 
 2. Penda's sister, who was married to Coenwalh, king 
 of Essex, was divorced by her husband between the years 
 640 and 650, and it is extremely unlikely that she should 
 have been the sister of a man who was at that time 
 between seventy and eighty years of age, the more so as 
 Coenwalh, who died in 673, is said by Bede* to have been 
 cut off by a premature death. 
 
 3. Penda was engaged in wars up to the time of his; 
 death, an activity which would have been, to say the 
 least, surprising in a man of eighty years old. 
 
 Although the combined weight of these considerations 
 makes it barely possible that Penda can have been born 
 as early as 576, we may assume that he was at any rate 
 well on in years at the time of his death in 656, and for 
 purposes of calculation, the year 600 may be taken as the 
 approximate date of his birth. If we reckon back, allow- 
 ing thirty years for each generation, we get the year 
 360 A.D. as the approximate date of the birth of Ofifa I. 
 But this is the pre-British and pre-Christian period of the 
 English nation, and if there was a King Offa I, he must 
 have ruled over the Angles on the Continent, and not in 
 England. Thus the authority of Matthew Paris, in so far 
 as he represents Offa I as king of Mercia and a Christian, 
 cannot be accepted. 
 
 Wermund and Uffo are represented in Saxo as kings 
 
 * Hist. Eccl. Ill, 7. 
 
168 OFFA 
 
 of the Danes, but they are never mentioned in connection 
 with the islands, which were the stronghold and seat of 
 government of the Danish kingdom. On the contrary, all 
 the places mentioned in the story of Uffo, e.g. Sleswic, 
 Eider, &c. are situated in the southern part of the Jutish 
 peninsula, i.e. in, or near, the district which was the 
 former home of the English and which ancient writers 
 called Angel* (Ongel, Oghgul). In Widsith, I. 35, Offa is 
 definitely said to have reigned over Angel. A possible 
 explanation of this anomaly is that Wermund and Uffo 
 came to be regarded as Danes, because they were known 
 to have ruled over a country which later belonged to 
 Denmark. When the Danes acquired possession of 
 S. Jutland they became heirs, so to speak, of existing 
 local traditions of which the story of Uffo would naturally 
 be one, and Wermundus, which is the usual form in Saxo 
 and Sven Aag., and which is English or Frisian and not 
 Danish, would lend colour to this supposition f. 
 
 The hypothesis which has been put forward to account 
 for the presence of an English form Wermundus in Danish 
 tradition — viz. that the Danes first acquired the story of 
 Offa during the period of their invasions of Britain — 
 would fail to account for the continental forms such as 
 Fro win us and Uffo which occur in the Scandinavian 
 authorities, and also for the localisation of events in their 
 version of the story. 
 
 Saxo, Sv. Aag., and other writers were apparently 
 quite familiar with the spot on which Uffo's duel took 
 
 * Cf. H. M. Chadwick, op. cit. pp. 103 f . 
 
 t Mr Chadwick believes that the Danes, when they settled in the 
 basin of Eider, probably in the fifth century, ' ' adopted the language of 
 the natives, though at the same time without losing consciousness of 
 their own nationality" {op. cit. p. 140). 
 
OFFA 169 
 
 place — viz. on an island in the river Eider (Saxo, pp. 115, 
 402). This island is said to be the one on which part of 
 the town of E-endsburg stands : the spot is called by Peter 
 Olavus, Kunungskamp (S. R. D. i, p. 84), which name is 
 perhaps preserved in Kampen, formerly one of the parishes 
 of the same town {8. R. D. l, p. 152, note). According to 
 Wids. 1. 43, Offa fought his single combat at Fifeldor 
 (bi Fifeldore) : no place of that name is known : but it 
 is not altogether inconceivable that the name should be 
 connected in some way with Egidora, which is the older 
 form of Eider. The last part of the word is the same in 
 both cases, and fifel, which in O.E. = monster, might 
 possibly represent egi, if the latter is connected with 
 O.E. e^e = terror. 
 
 Nor was the story of Offa first brought to England by 
 the Danes. For the names of Offa and Wermund occur 
 in genealogies previous to the Danish invasions, and the 
 authority of Beowulf and Widsith is also of an earlier 
 date*. There does not appear to have been any com- 
 munication between England and the Baltic countries 
 from the middle of the sixth century up to the time of 
 the Danish invasions {vid. sup. p. 53), so that with regard 
 to the story of Offa (Uffo) we are driven back upon the 
 only possible conclusion — viz. that English and Scan- 
 dinavian tradition has developed independently at any 
 rate since the sixth century. The English invaders carried 
 with them to their new home the remembrance of the 
 exploits of their national hero, while the story lived on on 
 
 * It is impossible to say with any certainty when these poems were 
 composed, but according to the best authority they seem to date in the 
 first instance from not later than the very beginning of the seventh 
 century. 
 
170 OFFA 
 
 its native soil, and became incorporated in the annals of 
 the Danish nation of which Angel afterwards became part, 
 
 Saxo relates that in the reign of Werniundus, Denmark 
 was constantly harried by the incursions of Athislus, king 
 of Sweden. There are two curious facts to be noted about 
 this Athislus. In the first place, he always attacked the 
 Danes in the neighbourhood of Sleswic, whereas the 
 obvious point for a Swedish attack on Denmark would 
 have been either Skaane in the south of Sweden, or the 
 island of Zealand. In the second place, the fact that 
 Uffo, king of Denmark, killed single-handed two warriors 
 who were Saxons, hardly seems a sufficient equivalent for 
 the murder of Athislus, king of Sweden, by two Danish 
 champions who attacked him simultaneously. 
 
 According to Widsith, 1. 42, it was against the Myrgingas 
 that Offa fought in single combat. This people probably 
 occupied territory between the Elbe and the Vistula and 
 in the neighbourhood of the Angli, but the name Myrgin- 
 gas appears to have been rather a dynastic than a tribal 
 one, else it is difficult to account for the omission by other 
 authorities of all mention of the tribe, which appears to 
 have been one of considerable importance. We learn^ 
 further, from Widsith that the leader of the Myrgingas 
 was a prince named Eadgils. 
 
 Now Swedish tradition preserves the name of only 
 one King Adils, who reigned in the middle of the sixth 
 century and with whose figure we are already familiar. 
 As the events of the story of Offa must have taken place 
 before the sixth century, it is obvious that this King 
 Adils is not the same person as the Athislus referred to 
 by Saxo in connection with the story. It has, however, 
 been suggested that Eadgils mentioned by Widsith as the 
 
OFFA 
 
 171 
 
 leader of the Myrgingas is identical with Athislus who, 
 according to Saxo, harried Denmark in the reign of 
 Wermund. 
 
 The figure and deeds of Athislus would acquire far 
 more significance if it could be proved that he belonged 
 to the country south of the Eider instead of being, as Saxo 
 reports, king of Sweden. 
 
 The explanation given above is rendered more probable 
 by further considerations : 
 
 If Athislus came from the south, his most natural 
 point of attack on the Angles would be Sleswic. The 
 action of Uffo in killing two Saxon warriors, in order to 
 atone for the disgrace which had rested on the Danish 
 nation since the death of Athislus, would also be more 
 easily explained, and would further link the story of Saxo 
 to that of Widsith, in which Offa fights against the 
 Myrgingas, whose leader is said in the same poem to be 
 Eadgils (Athislus). 
 
 Again, Widsith represents Eadgils of the Myrgingas 
 as contemporary with Ermanric, king of the Goths 
 (of Widsith, 11. 88-98), whose death we know to have 
 taken place shortly before the year 375 A.D. (Ammian. 
 XXXI, 3, 1). Eadgils must, therefore, have lived in the 
 middle and latter half of the fourth century. But 360 was 
 the year which we have seen cause to regard as the 
 approximate date of the birth of Offa I, so that he must 
 have been a considerably younger man than Eadgils. 
 Uffo's duel did not, however, according to Saxo, take place 
 until some time after the death of Athislus, and this 
 chronology would therefore be quite in agreement with 
 the theory that the latter is identical with Eadgils, prince 
 of the Myrgingas, the patron of Widsith. 
 
172 OFFA 
 
 It is, however, difficult to come to any definite con- 
 clusion regarding the nationality of Offa's opponents, for 
 Myrgingas, as we have seen, is possibly a family or 
 dynastic rather than a national name. Saxo calls them 
 SaxOnes (p. 116), while in Sven Aagesen's chronicle they 
 appear as Alamanni (S. R. D. I, pp. 45-47). 
 
 At the end of the passage in Widsith, containing an 
 allusion to OfFa (11. 43 f ), it is said that " the Engle and 
 Swaefe have ever since kept to the line won by Ofifa." It 
 is not clear from this whether the Engle and Swaefe were 
 allies or enemies, though the natural interpretation would 
 certainly be that they were the two compounding parties 
 to a bargain which was the means of bringing some 
 previous disagreement to an end. The most that can be 
 definitely inferred from the passage is that the Engle and 
 Swaefe must have been neighbouring tribes. 
 
 Now from the evidence of classical historians (most 
 important in this respect are Strabo and Tacitus) the 
 term Suebi (Suabi) appears to have been a group-name 
 covering a number of tribes, all of which lay in or round 
 the basin of the Elbe. Hence in all probability the Suabi 
 {Swaefe) mentioned in Widsith were the North Suabi, 
 occupying the western part of Holstein and thus bordering 
 on the Angli {Engle) on the south and south-west. 
 
 On behalf of the supposition that the Widsith poet, in 
 mentioning this people of the North Suabi, is referring to 
 Offa's enemies, there are one or two circumstances which 
 must be taken into account. We have seen that, in 
 Sv. Aagesen's narrative, Offa's opponents are called 
 Alamanni: now the Alamanni are sometimes called Suabi*. 
 
 * Cf. Paulus Diaconus, Historia Langobardorum, in, 18 ; ii, 15 ; Greg. 
 Tur. Hist. Franc, ii, 2. 
 
OFFA 173 
 
 Again, if the Athislus of Saxo was, as has been suggested^ 
 identical with the Eadgils described in Widsith as Prince 
 of the Myrgingas, Offa's opponents, it is quite possible that 
 this king was originally designated Sivebe kyning, and 
 that for the subsequently forgotten term Sweta was 
 substituted the more familiar Svea by later Danish 
 writers. 
 
 On the whole there seems good reason to believe that 
 the people against whom Offa fought his single combat,, 
 who appear variously as Myrgingas, Saxones, Alamanni,. 
 are also referred to in Widsith, 1. 44, as the Swae/e, and 
 that they belonged to the northern branch of the great 
 congeries of tribes situated round the basin of the river 
 Elbe, described collectively by classical historians as the 
 Suebi* (Suabi). 
 
 We have still to consider the allusion contained in the- 
 passage from Beoiuulf (11. 1931-1962), usually known as 
 the Offa Episode, which was cited at the beginning of the 
 chapter. The Oifa referred to, as has been seen, cannot 
 be Offa II, the historical king of Mercia, but any doubt 
 which may still exist on this point is dispelled by the 
 reference in Beo. 11. 1960-1962, where he is spoken of as- 
 the descendant of Garmund and the ancestor of Eomaer, 
 thus occupying a position analogous to that of Offa I in 
 the Mercian genealogy. 
 
 The bulk of the Beowulf passage deals with Thrytho,. 
 Offa's wife, whose character is represented in a most 
 unfavourable light, though to her credit it is said that her 
 morals and manners underwent a considerable improve- 
 ment after her marriage. This Thrytho, strangely enough,. 
 
 * The information here given with regard to Offa's enemies is. 
 borrowed entirely from Mr Chadwick, cf. op. cit. pp. 124 ff. 
 
174 OFFA 
 
 corresponds in name and character to the Quendrida of 
 the Lege7id of St Albans, who was the wife not of Offa I, 
 but of Offa II. The historical wife of Offa II was 
 Cynethryth (not Cwenthryth, which would correspond to 
 Quendrida), and the only historical evidence regarding 
 her character is contained in a letter from Alcuin to 
 Egfrith, Offa's son, in which the words occur " Disce a 
 patre auctoritatem a matre pietatem*." This allusion 
 does not justify us in believing Cynethryth the monster 
 she is represented to be in the Vita Offae II. According 
 to the A. S. Chron., Aethelberht (Albertus in Legend 0/ 
 St Albans) was put to death by Offa. There is no 
 authority earlier than that of the twelfth centuryf for 
 implicating Cynethryth in the murder. 
 
 Nothing is known historically of the wife of Offa I. 
 The story of the Vita Offae I does not bear the impress 
 of a genuine narrative, and may very probably have been 
 invented merely to suit the purposes of the legend (i.e. 
 to account for Offa's vow to build the monastery of 
 St Albans) ; it thus appears that great confusion arose in 
 later English tradition both between the two Offas and 
 between their wives, and that in particular the attributes 
 of the wife of Offa I were, quite unjustifiably, transferred 
 to the wife of Offa II. 
 
 IV. Historical Facts underlying References to 
 Offa in Beowulf and Widsith. 
 
 In the case of Offa, the historical background for the 
 events recorded in Beowulf and Widsith seems less hazy 
 than usual, owing to the unanimity which exists between 
 
 * Jaffe, Bill. Rer. Germ, vi, p. 267. 
 t Of. Florence of Worcester, i, 62, 63. 
 
OFFA 175 
 
 the accounts given in the poems and those contained in 
 other records. 
 
 The combined evidence of all authorities gives us the 
 following well-substantiated facts, which there is little 
 difficulty in accepting as historical. 
 
 In the second half of the fourth century there leigned 
 over the country of Angel (the district between the Slee 
 and Rendsburg) a king named Waermund. Waermund 
 was an old man and had one son, Offa, who was apparently 
 as a boy awkward, uncouth and generally unpromising, 
 but who, as he advanced in life, won an unrivalled reputa- 
 tion for strength and courage. 
 
 On one occasion preparations were made for attacking 
 Angel by a hostile power, whose territory presumably lay 
 to the south or south-west of the river Eider; there is 
 some ground for identifying the invaders with the people 
 known to classical historians as the North Suabi. Their 
 object appears to have been to reduce Augel to the con- 
 dition of a tributary state, but no battle took place : for 
 according to agreement, the dispute was settled by a 
 single combat on an island in the river Eider, in which 
 Offa killed two picked champions of the opposing army, 
 thereby fixing once and for all the frontier of his father's 
 kingdom. After this signal victory, Offa became king of 
 Angel, and his fame went abroad as that of the most 
 valiant of kings*. 
 
 There is good ground for accepting as historical the 
 fact that Offa I had a wife as notorious for her vicious 
 habits as her husband was famous for his bravery. It is 
 
 * Some reference to the subsequent history of Offa and his possible 
 relations with the Alevih of Wids. 1. 35 has already been made in the 
 preceding chapter, cf. p. 119. 
 
176 OFFA 
 
 not necessary to repeat the story of the strange arrival of 
 this woman in Offa's country, of her marriage with Offa, 
 and his subsequent discovery of her true character. It 
 may seem rash to accept this story on the sole evidence of 
 Beowulf, but weight is added to this evidence by the 
 narrative of the author of the Vitae Offarum, who knew 
 and told the same story, although, owing to some con- 
 fusion, he believed it to refer to the wife not of Offa I but 
 of Offa 11. 
 
CHAPTEE V 
 
 FINN. 
 
 I & III*. The epic fragment Finn and the Finn 
 episode in Beowulf are all that have come down to ns of 
 a lost Finn saga : the Fragment probably formed part of a 
 whole epic on the subject of the Finn saga, the rest of 
 which has disappeared. 
 
 Both the Finn episode and the Fragment are ex- 
 tremely obscure, and have hitherto baffled the efforts 
 which have been made to reconstruct the saga with even 
 approximate certainty. The Finn episode, in about one 
 hundred lines, sketches in outline the course of events 
 in a quarrel between Finn the king of the Frisians, and 
 Hnaef and Hengest, whom it calls JDanes. The Fragment 
 seems to consist of a more detailpf account of one of the 
 episodes of that quarrel. The ^iieral course of events in 
 the Finn saga as contained in the 5eO'?(;w^ passage (11. 1068- 
 1159) may, with the help of the references in Widsith-^, 
 be provisionally reconstructed as follows : 
 
 Finn, the son of Folcwalda, ruled over the Frisians. 
 His wife was probably Hildeburh, the daughter of Hoc. 
 
 * No Scand. or other authorities contain evidence with regard to this 
 saga. 
 
 + W/ds. 1. 27: "Fin Folcwalding (weold) Fresnacynne." 
 1.29: "Hnaef (weold) Hocingum." 
 
 n. 12 
 
178 FINN 
 
 We learn irom Widsith that Hnaef ruled over the Hocings, 
 
 and from Beowulf thsit he was the vassal of Healfdene. It 
 
 is probable, too, judging from Beo. 1. 1074, that he was 
 
 a near relative, perhaps a brother, of Hildeburh. This 
 
 Hnaef visited the court of Finn, along with a retinue of 
 
 warriors, the chief of whom was called Hengest. Strife 
 
 broke out between Finn and his guests, and there is 
 
 certainly the suggestion of foul play on one side or the 
 
 other, though it is not clear on which {Beo. 11. 1068 ff.). 
 
 In the fight Hnaef was killed, and also apparently one 
 
 or more of Hildburh's sons (cf. 1. 1074). Finn's fighting 
 
 force was so much impaired by the damage inflicted on it 
 
 by Hnaef's men that Finn was obliged to come to terms 
 
 with Hengest, who had taken command after Hnaef's 
 
 death. Hnaef's men received treasure in compensation 
 
 for their losses, and solemn oaths of peace were exchanged 
 
 (11. 1085 ff.). The bodies of the slaughtered warriors, i.e. 
 
 of Hnaef and the son or sons of Hildeburh, w^ere solemnly 
 
 burned on one pyre, in the presence of the sorrowing 
 
 queen (11. 1108-1124). 
 
 Through the winter and on into the next spring, peace 
 was preserved between Finn and Hengest ; perhaps Hen- 
 gest became Finn's sworn vassal through the acceptance 
 of a sword, Hunlafing (cf 11. 1143 ff.). But when icy 
 A/^'inter had relaxed its hold on sea and land, and spring- 
 was fully come, thoughts of vengeance began to stir in 
 Hengest's mind, and he thought more, as we are told. 
 of the possibility of accomplishing his revenge than of 
 setting out on a sea- voyage (i.e. of escaping from Finn's 
 land) (11. 1127-1141). From this point onwards the course 
 of events is not quite clear, but it would appear that 
 Guthlaf and Oslaf, two warriors also mentioned in the 
 
FINN 179 
 
 Fragment (Guthlaf and Ordlaf) as accompanj'ing Hengest, 
 were the instigators of an attack upon Finn, the result of 
 which was that the Frisians were completely defeated, 
 while Finn himself was killed and his queen taken 
 prisoner along with much treasure, and carried home by 
 the Danes (11. 1146-1159). 
 
 Such being the outline of the course of events, the 
 difficult question arises of assigning to the more detailed 
 events described in the Finn Fragment their proper 
 place in the story. The Fragment is evidently part of 
 the description of a treacherous attack made by Finn 
 on the hall where the Danes were passing the night. 
 Hengest exhorted his men to fight bravely (11. 11-13) 
 and posted some of his best warriors to hold the doors. 
 At one door were stationed Guthlaf and Ordlaf, at the 
 other Sigeferth and Eaha (11. 16-18). The only two 
 warriors mentioned as apparently belonging to Finn's 
 band are Garulf and Guthere (1. 20). Of these we hear 
 that Garulf was slain, presumably in a fight with Sige- 
 ferth (1. 33). The defenders of the hall, i.e. Hnaef's 
 men, numbered sixty. For five days they held the doors 
 without losing a single man (11. 39-44). 
 
 It is difficult to see in this story either of the two 
 fights alluded to in the Finn episode in Beowulf, as the 
 circumstances under which it took place do not seem to 
 apply exactly to either. 
 
 In the second battle of the Finn episode, in which 
 Finn was defeated and slain, it is explicitly stated that 
 Guthlaf and Oslaf were the attackers, which scarcely 
 seems to tally with the account of a surprise night 
 attack by Finn, for there can be no doubt that in the 
 Fragment the Frisians were the attacking party. It is 
 
 12—2 
 
180 FINN 
 
 also difficult to identify the first fight of the Finn 
 episode, Beo. 11. 1068-1085, with the battle described 
 in the Fragment. Beo. 1. 1068, ihd hie se faer hegeaty 
 does not seem to indicate that the first attack was 
 made by the Frisians: nor does it appear from 11. 1071-2 
 that any treachery practised was on the part of Finn 
 (i.e. if we take Eotena as referring to Hnaef and his 
 followers, a point to the discussion of which we shall 
 return later on). 
 
 The alternatives which remain to us with regard to 
 the fight described in the Fragment are to suppose either 
 that it formed the latter stage of one or other of the 
 struggles referred to in the Finn episode, or that it 
 described some fight which the Finn episode entirely 
 passes over, though this latter supposition is unlikely. 
 It might very well be a description of part of the first 
 struggle, and refer to the events immediately following on 
 Hnaef s death, when we might suppose that the strangers 
 took up as strong a position as possible in anticipation of 
 a counter-attack. The heatho-geong cyning, Finn, 1. 2^ 
 would then aptly enough denote Hengest, on whom the 
 command had just devolved (in fact Finn, 1. 17, and 
 Hengest sylf, seems to imply that he was meant by 
 heatho-geong-cyning), and the losses which the defenders 
 evidently inflicted on the Frisians would tally well with 
 Beo. 11. 1080 ff., Wig alle fornam Finnes thegnas, &c. 
 Finn, 11. 41-42, also give a good meaning if they can be 
 taken to refer to the speedy vengeance which Hnaef 's 
 followers meted out to the Frisians for the death of their 
 master*. 
 
 * " I never heard of better recompense given for sweet mead than, 
 that with which Hnaef was requited by his followers." 
 
FINN 181 
 
 This hypothesis* seems to fit the facts related in the 
 two poems better than the other theory which has been 
 propounded respecting Finn by Moller and others. These 
 scholars hold that the Finn Fragment refers to part of 
 the last struggle between Hengest and Finn, that it 
 is the grimne gripe after which Guthlaf and Oslaf made 
 their last attack on Finn. But the Finn episode in Beo- 
 wulf certainly implies that the second struggle between 
 Hnaef's followers and the Frisians took place altogether 
 on the initiative of the former, and that Guthlaf and 
 Oslaf came across the sea in order to accomplish their 
 purpose. There is nothing either in the Beowulf or in 
 the Fragment to imply that Hengest was killed, and that 
 Guthlaf and Oslaf then assumed command and defeated 
 Finn. Indeed such an idea is far-fetched and very im- 
 probable "f*. 
 
 A somewhat difficult point in the Finn episode is the 
 use of the word Eoten-, which occurs four times — three 
 times as a genitive, Eotena, and once as a dative, Eotenum. 
 It has been taken both as referring to the Frisians and to 
 Hnaef's men. 
 
 In the first case, 1. 1072, the use of the word is 
 ambiguous ; there is nothing to show to which party it 
 refers. In the second case, viz. 1. 1088, Eotena seems 
 clearly to refer to Hnaef's men: hie, which is the subject 
 of the clause, must denote the same persons as the hig in 
 1. 1085, which is the subject of the principal clause, and 
 which evidently refers to the Frisians. 
 
 * Cf. also Kogel, Gesch. d. deutsch. Litt., Vol. i, p. 166. 
 
 t It should be noted that nowhere in the Finn episode is Hildeburh 
 explicitly stated to have been the wife of Finn, but from the context 
 we are justified in assuming this to have been the case. She is not 
 Tnentioned at all in the Fragment. 
 
182 FINN 
 
 We find the word a third time in 1. 1141, he Eotena 
 beam inne gemunde. He = Hengest about whom the 
 previous lines have spoken ; whether Eotena refers to 
 his own people or to the opposing party, i.e. the Frisians, 
 depends on the sense in which gemunde is taken. Com- 
 mentators who wish to make Eotena correspond to Fresna 
 translate gemunde as " remember," i.e. take vengeance on : 
 but it is much more natural to suppose that the feeling 
 described by gemunde was one of sorrow for lost friends, 
 in which case Eotena beam refers of course to Hengest's 
 own men. 
 
 1. 1145. — mid Eotenum. 
 
 The allusion contained in mid Eotenum is difficult, 
 as the passage is obscure, but the key to the explanation 
 is perhaps contained in Hunldjing^ cf 1. 1143 : this Hun- 
 lafing was apparently a sword, which became the property 
 of Hengest. 
 
 In Arngrim Jonsson's extracts from the lost Skjgld- 
 iingasaga* there is an account of a Danish king Leivus, 
 the father of seven sons, three of whom were named 
 Hunnleivus, Oddleifus, Gunnleifus. Two of these names, 
 viz. Oddleifus and Gunnleifus, are clearly identical with 
 Ordlaf and Guthlaf who are mentioned in the Finn 
 Fragment, 1. 16, as fighting on the side of Hengest, 
 and who appear in Beo. 1. 1148 as avenging the death 
 of Hnaef on Finn. (In this case, we may assume Oslaf 
 to be a scribal error for Ordlaf.) A further confirmation 
 of this is supplied by Beo. 1. 1090, where Hengest's men 
 are called Danes. The coincidence between the third 
 name Hunnleivus and the Hunlafing of Beo. 1, 1143 is 
 too striking to be accidental, and at once places the 
 * Aarl.f. n. Oldkynd. 1894, pp. 104 ff. 
 
FINN 183 
 
 whole passage in close relation to Ordlaf and Guthlaf, 
 whom we know to have been warriors fighting on the 
 side of Heogest. 
 
 The form of Hunlafing (cf. Hrunting, Miming) would 
 suggest that it was the name of a sword, origiually the 
 property of a warrior named Hunlaf (Hunnleivus ?), which 
 (cf. 11. 1143, 1144) apparently passed at this time into 
 the possession of Hengest : the words of 1. 1145, Jyaes 
 waeron mid Eotenum ecge citthe, are in that case spoken 
 of Hunlafing, and their most natural significance would 
 be that the sword was famous amongst the nation or 
 tribe to which its owner belonged, i.e. mid Eotenum. But 
 we have already seen good reason to associate Hunlafing 
 with Ordlaf and Guthlaf, Hengest's men ; this being so, 
 we are justified in inferring that the allusion contained in 
 mid Eotenum is to the followers of Hengest — the " Dene " 
 — rather than to the followers of Finn. 
 
 The iorm Eotena may be identical with the Scandinavian 
 name for the inhabitants of Jutland, the O.E. forms of 
 which would be O.E, Eotan^, Anglian Eote, earliest Anglian 
 *Juti (=Bede's Juti, Jutae); E.W.S. Jete, L.W.S. Ytef. 
 The gen. form Eotena shows, like Seawna and Miercna, 
 the genitive plural termination of nouns of the weak 
 declension (cf. Sievers, op. cit. § 264, note), and the dative 
 Eotenum for Eotum has taken the ?i from the genitive (cf. 
 Sievers, op. cit. § 277, note 1, dat. pi., nefenum for nefum, 
 from nom. sing. nefa). 
 
 Bede calls the invaders of Kent and of the Isle of 
 
 Wight Jutae and Juti, and in the A.S. Bede Terra 
 
 Jutarum is rendered by Ytenaland and Eotaland. A.S. 
 
 eo and O.N. io represent a Teutonic eu. The primary 
 
 + An -i stem, like Engle, cf, Sievers, A. S. Grammar, § 264. 
 
184 FINN 
 
 form of the word must have been * Eutan- and Bede's 
 Juti would point to a stem *Eutia-y which is probably 
 the same as that underlying the form Ytum in Widsith. 
 
 From *Eutan would regularly develop O.N. Jotar 
 and original O.E. * Eotan. Juti and Eotan are analogous 
 forms to Frisii and Fresones which exist alongside of one 
 another. 
 
 Molier has brought an objection against this explana-. 
 tion on the ground that the Danish word Jydir, which is 
 the modern name for the inhabitants of Jutland, points 
 to a form with original initial j. But it is difficult to 
 ■understand how this can be, for initial j is always lost 
 in Scandinavian languages. It seems more probable that 
 the Danish form Jydir is due to a compromise between 
 two forms Jotar and * YtiVy the latter of which would 
 correspond to the A.S. Yte. 
 
 In the Finn episode, Hnaefs men are spoken of 
 indiscriminately as Eotena and as Danes ("Dene," Beo. 
 1. 1-090) and vassals of King Healfdene, a Danish king. 
 This is somewhat curious, but it should be noted that 
 the singer was telling his story at the court of a Danish 
 king, which might well account for his desire to ascribe 
 the prowess of Hnaef and Hengest to vassals of Healfdene. 
 
 In the Fragment the nationality of Hnaef and Hen- 
 gest and of their followers is not designated in any way. 
 
 IV. Historical Background of the Finn saga. 
 
 The sole link, by which we can in any way connect 
 the Finn saga with history, lies in Beo. 1. 1069, where 
 Hnaef is described as a warrior of the Danish king 
 Healfdene. Healfdene was the father of Hrothgar, in 
 
FINN 185 
 
 whose reign the events described in the first part of 
 Beowulf took place, and from Gregory of Tours' Chronicle 
 we are enabled to assign these events to some date early 
 in the sixth century. Hygelac's expedition against the 
 Franks and Frisians took place probably about the year 
 520* 
 
 Hrothgar the Dane was reigning then in the early 
 years of the sixth century. He was an old man, and had 
 been king for many years (11. 1769-70). From this we 
 conclude that Heaifdene, who was the father of Hrothgar, 
 and under whom Hnaef and Hengest flourished, must 
 have been reigning about the middle of the fifth century. 
 
 As we cast about for something whereby we may 
 further link this curious story of the Finn saga to known 
 historical events, the question naturally arises whether 
 Hengest of the Finn saga can possibly be identical with 
 the familiar Hengest who, along with his brother Horsa, 
 was one of the first Teutonic invaders of Britain. Ac- 
 cording to Bedef and the A. S. Chronicle, in the year 
 449 A.D. Hengest and Horsa, who are called Juti or Jutae, 
 came to Britain with a band of warriors at the invitation 
 of the British king Wyrtgeorn or Vurtigernus (Vortigern). 
 Nennius, in the Historia Britonum, § 3, dates the coming 
 of the Saxons in the year 428-9, and differs from Bede 
 and from the A. S. Chronicle in the reason which he 
 assigns for their coming. Three ships, he says, were 
 
 * According to this Chronicle, the expedition of Chochilaicus took 
 place between the years 512 and 520. The invaders were defeated by 
 Theodoric of the Franks and his son Theodobert. Now Chlodovech 
 (Clovis), the father of Theodoric, was born in 466; it is therefore 
 scarcely possible that he should have had a grandson of age to fight 
 much earlier than. 520. 
 
 t Hist. Ecclee. i, 14 f., ii, 5. 
 
186 FINN 
 
 driven into exile from Germany, and came to Britain 
 under Hengest and Horsa. 
 
 In support of the theory of the identity of -the two,, 
 the following considerations might be urged : — 
 
 1. The two Hengests were more or less contemporary 
 with one another. According to Bede's chronology, the 
 Jutae came to Britain under Hengest and Horsa in 
 449 A.D. ; from the evidence of Beowulf we learn that 
 the Hengest of the Finn saga must have been alive about 
 the middle of the fifth century. 
 
 2. Both warriors seem to have belonged to a tribe 
 of the same name, i.e. if we take the Eotena of the Finn 
 episode to refer to the men of Hnaef and Hengest, which 
 is on the whole the more probable interpretation. Bede* 
 calls the invaders of Kent under Hengest and Horsa J^t^^; 
 and it has been shown that these two forms are derived 
 from the same stem, and are probably the same word. 
 
 3. Nennius speaks of Hengest and Horsa as exiles 
 from their own country. If, as is hinted in Beowulfy 
 Hengest made terms with Finn after the death of Hnaef, 
 and indeed became his vassal (cf 11. 1085-1091, 1143- 
 1144), such a discreditable action might well make it 
 impossible for him ever to show his face again in his own 
 country f. 
 
 4. The story of Finn and Hengest must have been 
 very familiar to the mind of the person from whom 
 Nennius derived his genealogy of Hengest and Horsa : 
 for in this genealogy we find that the name of Folcwald 
 has slipped in, as father of Finn the mythical ancestor 
 
 * Hist. Eccles. i, 15. 
 
 t Cf. account of Cynewulf's murder in A. S. Chron. under the 
 year 755. 
 
FINN 187 
 
 of Wodan, replacing that of Godwulf which is found in 
 all other genealogies*. 
 
 5. The name Hengest is an uncommon one. It is 
 not found except in these two cases; and its occurrence 
 side by side with that of Horsa looks very much as if it 
 were some kind of nickname. 
 
 All this evidence certainly tends in the same direction, 
 but against it we must put the fact that the year 520, 
 which is our only approximate date for the life of Beowulf, 
 and after which he is reported to have reigned fifty years, 
 is a very long way removed from 449, when, according to 
 our hypothesis, the father of the man to whom Beowulf 
 rendered a great service must have flourished. On the 
 other hand, at the time when Beowulf killed Grendel, 
 Hrothgar is spoken of as a very old man ; this must have 
 been several years before Hygelac's fatal expedition to the 
 Rhine, as is evident from the fact that after Hygelac's 
 death his son Heardred was old enough to reign, whereas, 
 on the occasion of Beowulf's victorious home-coming after 
 slaying Grendel, Queen Hygd is described in terms which 
 indicate that her marriage was still of very recent date. 
 
 Taking, however, everything into account, the balance 
 of probability seems on the whole in favour of accepting 
 the Hengest of the Finn saga as the same Hengest who 
 later on sought a new home across the seas in Britain. 
 
 The identity is far from complete, but the alternative 
 of such a curious and extensive coincidence of names 
 and events in wholly different versions is one not easily 
 accepted. 
 
 * Compare list of genealogies in Appendix ii. 
 
CHAPTER YI 
 
 DEOR* 
 
 The first two strophes of Deor (11. 1-13) give in very 
 compressed form the story of the Weland saga. The 
 reference contained in the third strophe is unknown. 
 There is not sufficient ground for associating it with 
 certain events of the Ermanric saga as Grein has proposed 
 doing-[-. The most probable translation of the lines 
 (14-16) is : "Many of us have heard that Geat's affection 
 for Maeth-hilde was boundless, so that his anxious love 
 robbed him entirely of sleep J." We may compare this 
 with what is said of the God Frey in SkirnismdL Frey 
 had for long nourished a hopeless passion for a maiden 
 named Gerda (Gerdr). After much persuasion, the maiden 
 gave her consent to his suit, on the condition that he 
 should wait for a certain length of time before gaining 
 her. During this time of waiting, Frey's impatience and 
 longing were so great that he could not rest for a moment, 
 and at night all sleep went from him. 
 
 * For a description of the poem cf. Introductory Chapter. 
 
 t Cf. Grein, Sprachschatz z. d. Bibl. der ags. Poesie, under Maeth. 
 
 X "We thaet maeth hilde mongo gefrugnon: 
 
 Wurdon grundlease Geates frige, 
 Thaet him seo sorglufu slaep alle binom." 
 
DEOR 189 
 
 The name Maeth-hilde is quite unknown : that of Geat 
 is found at the head of the older English genealogies. It 
 is possible that the Geat of Deor may be identical with 
 the Geat who is represented as the divine ancestor of 
 the O.E. kings, and there may be also some significance 
 in the fact that a similar story to that told of him in 
 Deor, is in Skirnismdl told of Frey, the divine ancestor of 
 the Danish kings*. 
 
 The fourth strophe appears to contain an obscure 
 allusion to the Ostrogothic saga-cycle of Ermanric and 
 Dietrich. It may be translated thus : " Dietrich held the 
 castle of the Maerings for thirty years : that was known to 
 manyf." 
 
 According to German hero saga|, Dietrich of Bern was 
 exiled from Italy by his uncle Ermanric, and was driven 
 to take refuge at the court of the Hunnish king Attila» 
 He remained with the Huns for thirty years, before he 
 succeeded in regaining his inheritance. Maeringaburg as 
 a place name is unknown, but the natural inference from 
 these lines is that it was the name of some castle where 
 Dietrich lived during the years of his exile, and that it 
 was therefore probably situated in Hunnish territory. In 
 a fragmentary Lay of Theodoric the Goth^ which is 
 inscribed on an ancient runic stone in East Gotland, 
 Sweden, Theodoric (Dietrich) is called "Prince of the 
 
 * Some scholars think that the name Gapt, which heads the Gothic 
 genealogies in Jordanes, is a corruption of Gaut, and is identical with 
 the Geat of the English genealogies. It seems very doubtful whether 
 this emendation is correct, for in Jordanes' orthography the name 
 corresponding to Geat would be Got. 
 
 t " Theodric ahte thritig wintra 
 
 Maeringa burg: thaet waes monegumcuth." 
 
 X Dietrich's Flucht, Raberischlacht, Nibelungenlied, &c. 
 
 § Corpus Poeticum Boreale, i, 59. 
 
190 DEOR 
 
 Maerings " {skati Maringa) : this is the only other known 
 occurrence of the name. 
 
 Strophe V is a clear reference to Ermanric, its dis- 
 cussion will therefore be reserved for the chapter on the 
 Ostrogothic cycle. 
 
 Strophe VI, in which the poet relates some details of 
 his own career, bears upon the Heodeninga, or Hildesaga, 
 to a discussion of which, with that of the Wei and saga, it 
 is proposed to devote this chapter, 
 
 (a) HiLDE SAGA. 
 I. HiLDE SAGA IN OlD ENGLISH. 
 
 I. Deor, 11. 35 ff. 
 
 "Thaet ic bi me sylfum secgan wille, 
 thaet ic hwile waes Heodeninga scop, 
 dryhtne dyre : me waes Deor nama. 
 ^hte ic fela wintra folgath tilne, 
 holdne hlaford, 6th thaet Heorrenda nu, 
 leothcraeftig monn, londryht gethah, 
 thaet me eorla hleo aer gesealde. 
 
 Thaes ofereode, thisses sw^ maeg"^!" 
 
 Waldere, B, 11. 8, 9. 
 
 "Thaes the hine of nearwum Nithhades maeg, 
 Welandes beam, Widia tit forlett." 
 
 Widsith, 1. 21. 
 t"Hagena weold Holmrygum and Heoden Glommiim." 
 
 ^ " This I myself will say, that I was for a time court poet of the 
 Heodeningas, dear to my lord, Deor was my name. I had a good office 
 and a gracious lord for many years, until now Heorrenda, a man skilled 
 in poetry, has received the domain with which the king formerly pre- 
 sented me." 
 
 f " Because that from danger Nithhad's kinsman, Weland's son 
 "Widia did rescue him." 
 
 X "Hagena ruled oyer the Holmrygas and Heoden over the Glommas." 
 
DEOR 191 
 
 II. Other Authorities for Hilde saga. 
 Skdldskapermdl, Ch. L. 
 Fornaldar Sggur i, Sgrlapattr. (pp. 391 ff.). 
 Saxo Grammaticus. 
 Gudrun. 
 Vglsungasaga. 
 
 Skaldsk. 
 (Ch. L.) "There was a battle called the storm or 
 shower of the Hjadningar, and the weapons of the 
 Hjadningar were firebrands or staves. And thus runs 
 this story : A king who was called Hggni had a daughter 
 named Hild ; a king named Hedin, the son of Hjarranda, 
 carried her off as spoil after a battle : at that time Hggni 
 had gone to the assembly of kings. But when he heard 
 that his kingdom was harried and his daughter taken 
 away, he set out with his army after Hedin, and learned 
 that he had sailed northwards along the coast. When 
 king Hggni came to Norway he learned that Hedin had 
 sailed across the sea to the west ; then Hggni sailed after 
 him, right to the Orkney islands, and when he came to 
 the one which is called Haey there were Hedin and his 
 men. Then Hild went to meet her father and offered 
 him peace on behalf of Hedin; on the other hand she 
 said that Hedin was ready to fight, and Hggni need 
 expect no quarter from him. Hggni answered his 
 daughter curtly, so when she met Hedin, she told him 
 that Hggni did not wish for peace, and bade him prepare 
 for the combat : and so both of them prepared to go up 
 to the island and to lead on their men. Then Hedin 
 called to Hggni his kinsman and offered him peace and 
 much gold as expiation of his crime. Then Hggni 
 
192 DEOR 
 
 answered : * You offer me this too late, if you are anxious 
 
 to make peace, because now I have drawn from the sheath 
 
 Dainsleif, the sword which the dwarfs made, which shall 
 
 be death to a man each time it is bared, and it never fails 
 
 at a blow, and the wound which it inflicts never heals/ 
 
 Then Hedin answered : * You boast there of your sword, 
 
 but not of the victory : I call that a good (sword) which 
 
 never fails its master/ Then they began the combat 
 
 which is called the battle of the Hjadningar; and they 
 
 fought that whole day, and in the evening the kings 
 
 went to their ships. But in the night, Hild went to the 
 
 battle-field, and by her magic arts restored to life all 
 
 those that were dead : and the next day the kings went 
 
 to the field and fought, and likewise all those that fell on 
 
 the first day. Thus the battle continued one day after 
 
 another, so that all the men who fell and all the weapons 
 
 which lay on the field were turned to dust. But when it 
 
 dawned, all the dead men stood up and fought, and all 
 
 the weapons were renewed. Thus it is said in poems 
 
 that it will be with the Hjadningar until the end of the 
 
 world/' 
 
 Saxo Grammaticus. 
 
 (v, 158-160.) Hedin (Hithinus) was a prince of an 
 important Norwegian tribe, who fell in love by hearsay with 
 Hild (Hilda) the daughter of Hggni (Hdginus) a Jutish 
 chieftain. Hedin's love was returned by the maiden, who 
 had heard of his prowess, and when the two met their 
 passion for one another knew no bounds. 
 
 Soon after this, Hedin and Hggni resolved to make 
 a raid together. Now Hggni was a big man of a fierce 
 disposition, while Hedin was short of stature and very 
 comely in looks. Before starting on their expedition, ^ 
 
DEOR 193 
 
 Hggni betrothed his daughter to Hedin, and the two 
 chieftains swore an oath that if either of them should 
 be killed, his death should be avenged by the sword 
 of the other. The raid proved, however, successful, 
 and Hedin and Hggni returned home, having won 
 a great battle off the Orkneys, and captured a number 
 of ships. 
 
 But certain slanderous tongues accused Hedin to 
 Hggni of having seduced his daughter before they were 
 betrothed, which was at that time counted a great crime. 
 Hggni believed the report and collected a fleet in order to 
 attack He3in who was busy collecting tribute on behalf 
 of King Frodi (Frotho) from the Slavs. As the result of 
 the battle which took place between them, Hggni was 
 defeated and retired to Jutland. 
 
 By this action, Hedin and Hggni broke the peace 
 which had been instituted by Frodi. The king enquired 
 into the cause of the quarrel between the two princes, and 
 as no satisfactory settlement could be arrived at, he 
 decreed that the question should be decided by single 
 combat. In the duel which ensued, Hggni, by reason of 
 his superior size and strength, had the advantage ; but he 
 spared Hedin out of kindness, for in these times it was 
 counted a shameful action to deprive a weaker adversary 
 of his life. 
 
 Seven years afterwards, Hedin and Hggni met again 
 in battle and wounded each other so that they both died. 
 It is said that Hilda longed so ardently for her husband 
 that she each night restored to life by her spells those 
 who had fallen in the battle, in order that they might 
 renew their struggle the next day. 
 
 c. 13 
 
194 DEOR 
 
 SORLApATTR. 
 
 The Introduction to the Sgrlapdltr is a page out of 
 Norse mythology : the argument is briefly as follows : — 
 
 Loki robbed Freyja of a necklace which the dwarfs 
 had made for her, and gave it to Odin. When Freyja 
 demanded her necklace from Odin, he refused to give it 
 up except on condition that Freyja should bring about 
 a strife between two kings, each of whom had twenty 
 kings under him. The fight between these two kings 
 was to be ordered in such a way that those who fell 
 should rise up at once and fight again, until some 
 Christian man should be brave enough to enter into the 
 battle and bring it to an end. 
 
 The Sgrlapdttr relates how these conditions were 
 fulfilled, and how the Goddess Freyja thus regained her 
 necklace. 
 
 The narrative of the Sgrlapditr, in so far as it affects 
 Hedin and Hggni, is the following : 
 
 Hggni was son of Halfdan, king of Denmark, and his 
 friend and brother-in-arms was Sgrli, son of Erling, king 
 of Uppland in Norway. Sgrli was killed by certain 
 vikings of the Baltic. On hearing of this, Hggni sailed 
 to the Baltic in order to avenge the death of his friend. 
 He there conducted a most successful campaign, and 
 returned home having conquered and brought into sub- 
 jection, it was said, no less than twenty kings. 
 
 There reigned at that time in Africa (Serkland) a 
 king named Hjarandi ; he had a son Hedin who was of 
 great size and strength, and who had acquired great fame 
 by his brave deeds. He had gone on campaigns against 
 Spain and Greece and twenty kings paid him tribute. 
 
DEOR 195 
 
 Hedin was once going through a forest, when passing he 
 saw, seated in a clearing, a large, comely woman, who told 
 him, in answer to his enquiry, that her name was Gondul*. 
 They fell into conversation together, in the course of which 
 Ggndul told Hedin that the only king in the world who 
 could compare with him in prowess was Hggni of Denmark. 
 
 Hedin determined, therefore, to seek out Hggni ; 
 accordingly, when spring came, he set sail in a vessel with 
 three hundred men, and after sailing for a whole year 
 reached Denmark in the following spring. 
 
 When Hggni heard of the arrival of this great 
 monarch he made a feast in Hedin's honour. Afterwards 
 the two kings rode out, and vied with one another in 
 various feats of strength and skill, but they were in 
 everything so equally matched that none could say 
 which was the greater, notwithstanding that Hedin was 
 considerably the younger of the two. Then they swore 
 oaths of eternal brotherhood, and Hggni set out on an 
 expedition, leaving Hedin at home to guard his kingdom, 
 and his wife Hervgr, and his fair daughter Hild. One 
 day while Hedin was walking in the woods, he saw, as 
 before in Africa, the woman Ggndul seated in a clearing. 
 She gave him a potion to drink which made him forget 
 all that had happened in the past. She then told him 
 that it was a blot on his honour to have no wife, while 
 Hggni had already a wife of noble birth, and that the 
 only way in which he could retrieve this disgrace was by 
 carrying off Hild by force in her father's absence, and by 
 killing her mother by crushing her on the rollers when he 
 launched his ship. 
 
 * Ggndul was in reality a Valkyrie, and was thus possessed of 
 supernatural power. 
 
 13—2 
 
196 DEOR 
 
 Hedin went home, still under the influence of the 
 drug, and followed the advice which Ggndul had given 
 him. He prepared to set sail with Hild, and caused his 
 boat to be launched over the body of Herv^r, her mother, 
 in spite of Hild's entreaties that he should wait until her 
 father's return, when he would receive freely that which 
 he insisted on taking by force, namely, her hand in 
 marriage. 
 
 When everything was ready for their departure, Hedin 
 went back to the wood, where he again found Ggndul. 
 She gave him another potion, and he lay down and slept 
 by her side. When he awoke he remembered as in a 
 flash all that had happened, and realised the mischief he 
 had done. Then he got up quickly and sailed away, 
 taking Hild with him. 
 
 When Hggni came home he was told that Hedin had 
 carried off his daughter and his ship Halfdanamant, and 
 had killed his wife by rolling the ship over her. Hggni 
 was very angry, and immediately pursued Hedin with a 
 fleet, but it always happened that Hggni reached in the 
 evening the port from which Hedin had sailed the 
 previous morning. He at last, however, succeeded in 
 overtaking him at Haey in the Orkneys. 
 
 When Hggni came near, Hedin spoke to him and told 
 him that he had killed his wife and carried away his 
 daughter while under the spell of evil witchcraft. In 
 token of penitence, he therefore offered to restore to 
 Hggni his daughter and the ship, with men and money in 
 compensation, and promised to turn his back on northern 
 lands for ever. Hggni replied that he had intended from 
 the beginning to bestow Hild on Hedin in marriage, and 
 that as far as that question was concerned there was < 
 
DEOR 197 
 
 peace between them : but what he would not forgive was 
 the murder of his wife, and he therefore bade Hedin 
 prepare for battle. 
 
 Then Hedin and Hggni and all their men fought and 
 killed one another : but no sooner were they killed than 
 they rose up and fought again. In this way the battle 
 continued until Olaf Tryggvason* became king of Norway, 
 when it was brought to an end by the intervention of one 
 of his warriors, according to that which Odin had fore- 
 ordained. 
 
 M.H.G. Epic Gudrun. 
 
 The saga underlying the M.H.G. epic Gudrun is 
 undoubtedly the same as that which we find in Sgrlafidttr, 
 and in the accounts of the story of Hedin and Hggni 
 given by Saxo and Snorri. It is not proposed to enter 
 upon a discussion of the relation to one another of the 
 two parts of the Gudrun. The question whether the 
 Gudrun saga grew out of the Hilde saga or whether it was 
 of independent growth lies outside the limits of this essay, 
 but a brief survey of the story of Hilde as contained in 
 the Gudrun is sufficient to show that, taken by itself, it is 
 merely a German version of the Scandinavian story of 
 Hedin and Hggni. 
 
 Hagen, king of Ireland, and his wife Hilde had a fair 
 daughter Hilde. The report of Hilde's beauty reached 
 King Hetel of the Hegelingen, who was therefore fired 
 with a desire to win her as his wife. He knew, however, 
 that Hagen was a cruel and fierce king, who would kill 
 
 * Olaf Tryggvason reigned 995-1000: by this time the Norwegians 
 had become Christians. 
 
198 DEOR 
 
 any man whom he suspected of having designs on his 
 daughter, and that there was therefore no hope of winning 
 Hilde except by strategy. Hotel, therefore, gathered 
 together from neighbouring countries a little band of chosen 
 warriors willing to undertake the adventure, the chief of 
 whom were Wate of Sturmland, Frute of Denmark, and 
 Horand the singer. Hotel equipped a ship for them, and 
 provided them with soldiers for their expedition. 
 
 The envoys, on their arrival in Ireland, w^ere received 
 as guests, and courteously treated by wild Hagen and 
 Hilde his queen. They purported to be traders carrying 
 rich merchandise, who had been exiled by King Hotel 
 from their home in the land of the Hegelingen. The 
 strangers gained great favour at Hagen's court, and 
 Horand, by his sweet singing, succeeded not only in 
 gaining secretly the love of Hilde for his master, but also 
 in winning her consent to a plan for escape. 
 
 The supposed traders then announced to Hagen the 
 date of their departure, and the day before that which 
 was fixed for setting sail they asked as a great mark of 
 favour that Queen Hilde and her daughter might come 
 and view the rich merchandise which they had in the 
 ship. This request w^as granted, and when the two ladies 
 came on board the ship with their following, the stratagem 
 which had been planned was swiftly carried out. Hilde 
 was separated from her mother, and with the utmost 
 despatch anchor was weighed, and all sails were set for 
 the land of the Hegelingen. Hagen gave chase, but over- 
 took the fugitives only after they had arrived in Hotel's 
 country. A great battle took place in which Hagen was 
 in danger of his life. But Hilde interposed, and brought 
 about a reconciliation between her father and Hotel. 
 
DEOR 199 
 
 Hagen then gave his consent to the marriage of Hilde 
 and Hetel, after which he left the land of the Hegelingen, 
 and sailed back to Ireland. 
 
 III. Comparison of Evidence with regard to the 
 
 Hilde saga. 
 
 The story of Hedin and Hggni, as derived from Scandi- 
 navian sources and re-echoed in the mhg. Gudrun, forms 
 a link between Deor 11. 35-41 and Wids. 1. 21, where the 
 names Hagena and Heoden are found side by side. These 
 two names are plainly identical with Hggni and Hedin, 
 and their juxtaposition in Widsith may be taken as signi- 
 fying that the poet knew of the story which connected 
 them. The occurrence in Deor of the names Heodeningas 
 and Heorrenda at once suggests a connection with the 
 same story. 
 
 In the Skdldsk. the battle between Hedin and Hggni 
 is called Hjadinga vig, i.e. the fight of the Hjathnings, and 
 in the German version of the saga (i.e. in Gudrun) Hetel 
 (Hedin) is represented as ruling the Hegelingas, which 
 seems to be merely a corruption of Hetelingas*. 
 
 The cognate forms Heodeningas and Heoden 
 (Hjactningar and Hectin), and the fact that in Widsith 
 Heoden is said to have ruled a tribe called the Glommas"!*, 
 would seem to indicate that Heodeningas (Hjadningar) 
 was a dynastic rather than a tribal name. According 
 to Saxo, Hedin (Hithinus) was prince of a Norwegian 
 
 * It has been suggested by Jiriczek {Northern Hero Legends, p. 135) 
 that the form Hegelingas arose through confusion with the Bavarian 
 place-name Hegelingas, as the Gudrun epic in its present form is almost 
 certainly of Austro-Bavarian origin. 
 
 t Nothing is otherwise known of the existence of such a tribe. 
 
200 DEOR 
 
 tribe, while Hggni (Hoginus) was a chieftain of the Jutes. 
 According to Widsith, Hggni (Hagena) ruled the Holm- 
 rygas, who are usually identified with the Ulmerugi, a 
 tribe mentioned by Jordanes as living at the mouth of 
 the Vistula. The account of Sgrlapditr, which represents 
 HQgni as king of Denmark and overlord of all Danish 
 lands, and Hedin as king of Africa, is so obviously invented 
 to suit the purpose of the legend that it need not be 
 considered. 
 
 The accounts of Saxo, Skdldsk. and Sgrlapattr display 
 remarkable unanimity in their outline of the story of 
 Hedin and Hggni. They vary only in unimportant details, 
 and in that SgrlaJ^attr, in addition to the rest of the 
 story, gives an account of the treatment which Hild's 
 mother underwent at the hands of Hectin. 
 
 The German version of the story varies considerably, 
 but the main facts, viz. the kidnapping of the princess and 
 the pursuit of her father, are the same. The proof that 
 we have here the same and not a similar story, is that 
 the names of the characters correspond to those of the 
 Scandinavian and O.E. versions*, while the respective 
 characteristics of Hagen and Hetel correspond almost 
 exactly to those of their Scandinavian prototypes. It 
 should, however, be noted that while Horand, like the 
 Heorrenda of Beor, is a court singer or scSp, Hjarandi 
 is represented in Skdldsk. and in SQvlapdttr as the father 
 of Heclin. 
 
 * Hilde is identical with Hild, while Hagen, Hetel and Horand clearly 
 correspond to O.N. Hggni, Hedin, Hjarandi, and O.E. Hagena, Heoden, 
 Heorrenda, although the last-mentioned occurs in a corrupted form 
 in O.E. 
 
DEOR 201 
 
 IV. Historical Value of the Hilde saga. 
 
 It is impossible to assign to the story of Hedin and 
 Hggni its definite historical value. Though the facts on 
 which it is based were of common enough occurrence in 
 ancient times, yet the accumulation of circumstantial 
 evidence with regard to this particular episode, and 
 especially the correspondence of authorities, would seem 
 to indicate that the story represented an actual historical 
 incident. It may be said further that the extremely 
 matter-of-fact nature of the reference to Heorrenda 
 contained in Deor, 11. 35 ff., tells strongly against a 
 mythical interpretation of the story. 
 
 The never-ending struggle between the two kings is 
 peculiar to the Scandinavian version of the story, and is 
 undoubtedly a later poetic addition. (For another inter- 
 pretation cf. however Miillenhoff, Z. f. d. A. Vol. xxx, 
 pp. 217 ff., "Frija und der Halsbandmythus.") 
 
 (6) W^LAND SAGA. 
 I. W]ELAND SAGA IN O.E. 
 
 Deor 11. 1-12. Lines 1-5, which form the first strophe 
 of the poem, relate in language so obscure as to be at 
 times almost unintelligible the hardships which Weland 
 underwent at the hands of the King Nidhad, and especially 
 how he was hamstringed by the king's orders. 
 
 Strophe 2, i.e. 11. 8-12, picture the plight of Beadohild 
 after she had been seduced by Weland : her fear because 
 of the knowledge of her own pregnancy was aggravated 
 by sorrow on account of the death of her brothers. 
 
202 DEOR 
 
 II. Other Authorities for W^land saga. 
 
 Vglundarqvicta. 
 Thidirekssaga. 
 
 VgLUNDARQVIDA. 
 
 The three young fairy maidens, Olrun, Hladgud 
 Svanbvit and Hervgralvit, flew to the North, and alighted 
 on the shores of a lake. They were taken to wife by 
 the three heroes Egil, Slagfid and Vglund (W^land) 
 respectively. After seven years the maidens one day flew 
 away during their husbands' absence from home. Egil 
 and Slagfid skated southwards in order to try to find 
 their wives, but Vglund remained at home hammering 
 and forging golden rings in his smithy. 
 
 On one occasion while Vglund was out hunting, King 
 Nidud of the Njars, to whom he was well known, marched 
 with a large following to Vglund's home in the Wolf dales. 
 In the hall Nidud's men found seven hundred rings 
 threaded on bast. These they unstrung and strung again 
 with the exception of one which they took away with them. 
 
 When Vglund returned he sat down to count his rings, 
 and discovered at once that one of them was missing. 
 He believed that his wife had returned during his absence 
 and had taken the ring, and while sitting thinking over 
 this strange occurrence he fell asleep. He awoke to find 
 himself heavily fettered. This had been done by Nidud's 
 soldiers. They dragged Vglund with them to the king's 
 palace, where by Nidud's orders he was hamstringed in 
 order to prevent his escape. 
 
 Then Vglund was taken to the king's smithy at Sea- 
 stead, and compelled to work for him there. The ring 
 which had been previously stolen from him was given to 
 Bgdvild (Beadohild), the king's daughter. 
 
DEOR 203 
 
 While Vglund worked in King Niducf's smithy his one 
 thought was how to revenge himself for the wrongs which 
 he had suffered. He succeeded in enticing to his smithy 
 Nidud's two sons, whom he murdered. Out of their eyes, 
 teeth and skulls he made jewels and goblets for the king 
 and queen, and for Bgctvild. 
 
 After this, Bglvild, having broken her ring, brought 
 it to Vglund to be repaired. Vglund took advantage of 
 Bgdvild's visit to the smithy to seduce her, and to regain 
 her ring, with which he was enabled to escape. 
 
 He flew away, and left Bgdvild weeping for grief at 
 her lover's departure, and from fear at the thought of her 
 father's anger. 
 
 Alighting on the castle wall, Vglund then mocked 
 Niduct openly, and proclaimed aloud how he had murdered 
 his sons and dishonoured his daughter. He then soared 
 away, and Nidud in sorrow sent for Bglvild, who confirmed 
 the truth of all that Vglund had said. 
 
 Thidrekssaga*. 
 
 (Chaps. 57-79.) fVelent was the son of the giant 
 Vathe, who was born of King Wilkinus and a mermaid. 
 He was apprenticed at first to a smith named Mimi, and 
 afterwards to two dwarfs, through whose instruction he 
 became the greatest of all living smiths. 
 
 Velent escaped from the dwarfs, and after tossing on 
 the sea for eighteen days in a hollow tree-trunk which 
 served him as a ship, he arrived in Jutland, which was 
 ruled by a king named Nithung. He was well received 
 
 * Saga Thithriks Konungs af Bern, ed. C. R. Unger, Christiania, 
 1853. German transl. by F. H. v. d. Hagen : Altdeutsche u. Altnordische 
 Heldensagen. Wilkina- u. Nifiunga Saga. Breslau, 1872. 
 
 t Proper names are here given as in the German translation. 
 
204 DEOR 
 
 by Nithung, who gave him an office about his table (to 
 wit, the charge of three knives); he hid, for the time 
 being, his tree-trunk with all that it contained. 
 
 After a time Velent lost one of the king's knives ; in 
 the absence of Amilias, the royal smith, Velent went to 
 his forge, and forged a new knife exactly like the old one. 
 But this knife was sharper and better than any which 
 Amilias had ever made, as Nithung discovered as soon as 
 he used it. Amilias was angry that the work of another 
 should be preferred to his. He boasted that he was as 
 good a smith as Velent, and demanded that an opportunity 
 should be given for them both to make public trial of 
 their skill. To this King Nithung agreed. Amilias then 
 offered to produce in twelve months' time a suit of armour, 
 the strength of which should be tested by the blows of a 
 sword to be forged by Velent in the same length of time. 
 
 For the whole of the twelve months Amilias was busy 
 forging his armour, while Velent took less than half the 
 time to make his sword, Mimung, although he forged and 
 re-forged it three times before the temper of the blade 
 satisfied him. When the day of the test at last arrived 
 Amilias put on the armour which he had made and strode 
 proudly through the market place : but Velent took 
 Mimung, and standing behind Amilias, he placed the 
 sword on the crest of the helmet, and pressed downwards. 
 He then asked Amilias what his sensations were. Amilias 
 answered that he felt as if cold water were trickling down 
 his back. Velent told him to shake himself, and when 
 Amilias did so, he fell apart into two bits, and so died. 
 
 After this, Velent's fame as a smith spread throughout 
 all Northern lands : he was known amongst the Vaeringiar 
 (says the saga) as Volond. 
 
DEOR 205 
 
 On one occasion King Nithung went out to attack 
 another king. On the eve of the battle he remembered 
 that he had left at home his stone of victory, without 
 which it was vain to hope for success, and in despair, for 
 he was very far from home, he promised to give the half 
 of his kingdom and the hand of his daughter to anyone 
 who would fetch him the stone by the next morning. 
 This feat was accomplished by the smith Velent, but 
 when he had obtained the stone and was on his way back 
 to the king, he was stopped by Nithung's chamberlain, 
 who attempted to make him give it up, at first by the offer 
 of bribes, but finally by violence. Velent, however, slew 
 the chamberlain and most of his men, reached the king 
 with his prize before the battle had begun, and recounted 
 to him all that had happened. Nit hung, glad of any 
 excuse whereby he might avoid fulfilling his promise, 
 rebuked Velent severely for having killed his chamberlain, 
 and drove him away without any reward. But owing 
 to the stone of victory he won the battle and returned 
 home after bringing his campaign to a successful close. 
 
 After a time Velent appeared at King Nithung's court 
 in the disguise of a cook, and attempted to murder the 
 king and his daughter by putting poison in their food. 
 This was discovered, and as a punishment for his evil 
 designs, NithuDg ordered Velent to be lamed ; but out 
 of admiration for his skill, he gave the cunning smith 
 silver and gold and a smithy in which to work. 
 
 Velent was, however, still intent on his revenge, and 
 one day he enticed the king's daughter to his smithy, and 
 seduced her. Shortly afterwards he succeeded in persua- 
 ding the king's two young sons to pay him a visit, and 
 them he murdered. Of their skulls he made a drinking- 
 
206 DEOR 
 
 cup for the king, and out of their bones he fashioned all 
 sorts of table utensils for the king's use. No suspicion 
 fell on the smith with regard to the murder, on account 
 of his clever ruse of making the boys walk backwards into 
 his smithy after a fresh fall of snow, so that their foot- 
 prints appeared to lead in the opposite direction. 
 
 After thus accomplishing his revenge, Velent made for 
 himself a skin of feathers in order to escape from Nithung. 
 Before he flew away, he lit on the highest tower of the 
 king's castle, and proclaimed aloud the crimes which he 
 had committed, namely the seduction of the princess, and 
 the murder of her two brothers. He told the princess 
 that he had left behind in his smithy armour and weapons 
 which he had forged for the son whom she should bear 
 him. This son was afterwards the famous Vithga (Ger. 
 Witig, Wids. Wudga). 
 
 Ill & IV. Discussion of evidence regarding the 
 W:eland saga, and of the Historical Value 
 of the saga. 
 
 The Weland saga is of Saxon origin, as has been shown 
 by Jiriczek (D. H. S. i, pp. 11-54), but it quickly spread 
 through all Teutonic countries, and even filtered through 
 into Romance literature, for we find an old French version 
 of the saga in addition to the many others which exist; 
 in fact, no saga has been more popular or more widely 
 cultivated than the Weland saga from early times up 
 till almost the present day. In the literatures of all early 
 Teutonic peoples, the description of any weapon or armour 
 as the work of Weland was the highest praise which could 
 be bestowed on it, and a sure criterion of its worth. As 
 
DEOR 207 
 
 late as the eighteenth century there was an English 
 tradition concerning the famous Wayland-Smith which 
 was localised in Berkshire, where a certain prehistoric 
 grave still goes by the name of Wayland-Smith's cave. 
 
 The three authorities which are of the greatest im- 
 portance in a consideration of the Weland saga are the 
 three which have just been quoted, viz. O.E. Deor, O.N. 
 Vglundarqvi^a, and L.G. Thid^rekssaga ; the first two 
 because their evidence is of great antiquity, and because 
 they are evidently closely connected with the original 
 Saxon version of the saga; the third because, although 
 late in date, it grew up on Low German soil in the very 
 home of the Weland saga, where the traditions concerning 
 the cunning smith lived on through the centuries and are 
 still alive at the present day. 
 
 From a consideration of these three authorities we 
 seem forced to the conclusion that there is, in the case of 
 the Weland saga, less probability of the existence of an 
 historical background for the events described than in 
 the case of almost any other saga. Of course, the possible 
 existence of an historical character, the prototype of the 
 famous smith Weland, cannot be denied, and in favour of 
 his historicity it may be noted that in the Th^s. he is 
 represented as the father of Witig (O.E. Wudga, Widia), 
 a warrior of Ermanric, whose actual existence we have no 
 reason to doubt. But the fact that the story of Weland 
 has been known and localised in so many different 
 countries, and the existence from the most ancient 
 times of similar stories in connection with legendary 
 smiths of other lands, are both circumstances which speak 
 strongly against the probability of the saga having had 
 an historical basis. 
 
208 DEOR 
 
 Jiriczek explains the saga as the mythical expression 
 of the wonders of the metal age superseding the former 
 age of stone. This explanation seems quite an adequate 
 one, as it can easily be imagined that there should at first 
 appear to be something diabolical in the new inventions 
 which the discovery of the action of fire on metal made 
 possible, and that this strange power and its effects should 
 be personified in the figure of the cunning smith and 
 malignant spirit Weland. Such a myth would from its 
 nature be common to all peoples. According to Grimm* 
 and Kogelf the name Weland is altogether symbolical, and 
 is either a participial formation connected with O.N. 
 vel == "skill," "cunning," or a compound welwand {wand = 
 G. gewandt) = "versed in cunning works." It is, however, 
 equally possible that the word Weland is connected with 
 Vulcanus, the corresponding figure of Roman mythology. 
 The story of Gyges in classical mythology or folklore also 
 offers many parallelisms. 
 
 * Gram, i, 462. f Ltg. i, 1. 100 f. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE. 
 
 The important position occupied in ancient Teutonic 
 literature — especially in Scand. and mhg. records — by the 
 tribe of the Burgundians, justifies a somewhat fuller 
 treatment of the references made to them in the O.E. 
 poems than might be otherwise deemed necessary. It 
 has been found convenient to group the discussion of the 
 Burgundians with that of the Waldere saga, as the two 
 stand in partial relation to one another. 
 
 (a) The Burgundians. 
 I. References to the Burgundians in O.E. Poems, 
 
 (a) Waldere, Frag. A, 11. 25 ff., in which Hildeguth 
 encourages her lover Waldere to do battle with Guthhere, 
 who without due cause has come out to attack him. 
 
 (6) Frag. B, a dialogue between Waldere and Guth- 
 here which takes place just before the combat, and in 
 which the latter is addressed as Wine Burgenda, i.e. 
 " Friend of the Burgundians." 
 
 (c) Wids. 1. 19. Burgendum (weold) Gifica. 
 
 c. 14 
 
210 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 1. 65 : 
 
 "And mid Burgendum, thaer ic bedg geth4h : 
 me thaer Gdthhere forgeaf glaedlicne m^ththum 
 songes to laene : naes thaet saene cyning*." 
 
 II. Foreign Authorities containing Evidence 
 WITH regard to the Burgundians. 
 
 Historical. Pliny (the elder). 
 Ptolemy. 
 
 Ammiaaus Marcellinus. 
 Prosper of Aquitaine (Migne, Patrologia, 
 
 Vol. I, 51). 
 Prosper Tiro (Recueil des Historiens des 
 
 Qaules. Bouquet. Paris, 1739). 
 Idatius. (Migne, Patrol. 1. 51.) 
 
 ' (C. Mtiller. Fragmenta 
 
 Olympiodorus 
 Priscus 
 
 Historicorum Grae- 
 corum. Vol. IV.) 
 
 Socrates. 
 
 Lea) Burgundionum (Pertz. Mon. Germ. 
 
 Leg. Vol. iii, 533.) 
 Cassiodorus. 
 
 Legendary. Edda Poems. 
 Prose Edda. 
 Vglsungasaga. 
 Nihelungenlied, and others. 
 
 * " I have been among the Burgundians, where I received a ring 
 (bracelet). There Guthhere gave me the bright treasure in reward for 
 my poem. He was not a slothful king." 
 
THE BQRGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 211 
 
 III & lY. The Burgundians in History. 
 
 The earliest known reference to the Burgundians is 
 made by the elder Pliny {Nat Hist, iv, 99) who wrote 
 about the year 79 A.D. He classes the Burgundians with 
 the Goths as part of the Vandili, and therefore an eastern 
 tribe*. 
 
 Ptolemy, writing in the second century, places the 
 Burgundians between the Vistula and the Suebos 
 (Warnow ?)"|-. 
 
 Ammianus (xxviii, 5), writing about 880 A.D., speaks 
 of the Burgundians as occupying the upper half of the 
 Main basin during the second half of the fourth century. 
 During the reign of Valentinian I (364-375), the 
 Burgundians were allied with the Romans against the 
 Alemanni. 
 
 The Burgundian language had affinities with Bavarian, 
 Alemannic, and Gothic. 
 
 The Burgundians crossed the Rhine, and settled in 
 and around Worms, probably after the year 406, which 
 was the date of the great southerly migration of Vandals 
 and Suebi. 
 
 According to Prosper of AquitaineJ (c. 450) and 
 Cassiodorus§ the Burgundians gained a part of Gaul 
 beside the Rhine in the year 413, at which time they 
 
 * " Germanorum genera quinque: Vandili, quorum pars Burgodiones, 
 Varinnae, Charini, Gutones." 
 
 t .../^xpi Tod 'Lvri^ov Trora/AoO, koI to tCov BovpyovpiQv ret iipe^rjs koI 
 fi^XP'' "^^^ OiiuTToiXa KarexovTcav. 
 
 X Prosper of Aquitaine, under year 413 : *' Burgundiones partem 
 Galliae propinquantem Rheno obtinuerunt." 
 
 § Cassiodorus, under year 413 : " Burgundiones partem Galliae Rheno 
 tenuere conjunctam." 
 
 14—2 
 
212 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 were already Catholic Christians, whereas all the other 
 Christian tribes amongst the Teutons were Aryans. 
 
 Olympiodorus* relates that in 412 Gyntiarios, a 
 prince of Burgundy, and Goar, an Alan, set up Jovinus as 
 Emperor. 
 
 The Burgundian kingdom on the Rhine lasted until 
 436 or 437, when the Burgundians were almost annihilated 
 by the Huns under Attila. Previous to this, however, in 
 435, the Burgundians under their king, Gundicarius, were 
 defeated by, and obtained terms of peace from, the Romans 
 under Aetiusf. 
 
 SocratesJ, in an undated entry, says that the Bur- 
 gundians made a successful attack on the Huns after the 
 death of the Hunnish king Up tar. This may have been 
 the immediate cause of the overwhelming defeat inflicted 
 on the Burgundians by Attila shortly afterwards §. 
 
 * Olympiodorus Thebaeus, under year 412 (Latin transl.) : "Jovinus 
 apud Moguntiacum, Germaniae altering urbem, studio Goaris Alani et 
 Guntiarii Burgundionum praefecti, tyrannus creatus est." 
 
 t Paulus Diaconus {De episc. Metens.) : '* Eo igitur tempore... Attila 
 rex Hunnorum omnibus belluis erudelior, habens multas barbaras 
 nationes suo subjectas dominio, postquam Gundigarium, Burgundio- 
 num regem, sibi occurrentem protriverat." 
 
 X Socrates: "Exinde fidente animo adversus Hunnos progress! 
 (Burgundiones) sunt : nee spes eos fefellit. Etenim rege Hunnorum, 
 cui nomen erat Optar, prae nimia ciborum ingluvie nocte quadam 
 suffocate, Burgundiones in Hunnos duce destitutes subito irruentes,. 
 paucique plurimos aggressi, victoriam reportarunt. Cum enim ipsi 
 tria duntaxat hominum millia essent Hunnorum decern circiter millia 
 interfecerunt." 
 
 § Prosper of Aquitaine, under year 435: "Eodem tempore Gundi- 
 carium Burgundionum regem intra Gallias habitantem Aetius bello 
 obtinuit pacemque ei supplicanti dedit, qua non diu potitus est. 
 Siquidem ilium Hunni cum populo atque stirpe sua deleverunt." 
 
 Idatius, under year 435: "Burgundiones qui rebellaverant aRomanis. 
 duce Actio debellantur." 
 
THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 213 
 
 Some Burgundians seem to have fought on the Roman 
 side under Aetius in the great battle against Attila in 451 
 (cf. Jordanes, Ch. 36). The remnant of the people found 
 their way south to the Rhone valley, where they formed 
 a new kingdom. According to Prosper Tiro* they ob- 
 tained Savoy in the year 443. For nearly a century the 
 Burgundians managed to retain their independence in 
 the face of constant struggles with the Franks and 
 Ostrogoths, but in 584 they were finally defeated by the 
 sons of Chlodovech (Clovis) and their territory became 
 incorporated with the kingdom of the Franks. 
 
 The Burgundians in Saga. 
 
 In addition to the historical evidence which has just 
 been quoted, we have access to abundant information 
 regarding the Burgundians in the mhg. Nihelungenlied 
 and in the O.N. poems and sagas. The subject of all of 
 these alike is the destruction of the Burgundians at the 
 hands of Attila, an event which offered plenty of scope 
 for poetic and imaginative treatment. The story of the 
 Burgundians was united in O.N., and afterwards in mhg., 
 with the saga of the Volsungs, which celebrated the deeds 
 of Sigurd (Germ. Siegfried) the hero and dragon-slayer of 
 the North, a figure in many respects resembling Dietrich 
 of Bern. 
 
 * Prosper Tiro, under year 436: "Bellum contra Burgundionum 
 gentem memorabile exarsit, quo universa gens cum rege per Aetium 
 deleta." 
 
 Idatius, under year 436 : " Burgundionum caesa viginti millia." 
 Prosper Tiro, under year 443 : " Sabaudia Burgundionum reliquiis 
 datar cum indigenis dividenda." 
 
214 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 It is beyond the limits of this essay to discuss the 
 Scandinavian and German versions of the story of the 
 Burgundians in their mutual relation. Quite possibly 
 the groundwork of the story, which is the same in all 
 accounts — namely, the luring of the Burgundians to the 
 country of the Huns and the subsequent treachery of 
 Attila — may be an historical account of the way in which 
 the destruction of this people took place. We may, in 
 any case, in view of the information contained in the 
 works of various classical historians, accept the authority 
 of the Nihelungenlied and of the O.N. records, that 
 Gundaharius (Germ. Gunther, O.E. Guthhere) was leader 
 of the Burgundians at the time of the catastrophe. Thus 
 the historical references to the Burgundians up to the 
 time of their incorporation with the Franks cover about 
 four centuries. The first time that we hear of them they 
 appear to have been situated in and around the basin of 
 the river Oder, after which we find them migrating by 
 slow stages across Europe, in a south-westerly direction* 
 as far as Savoy, where they made their permanent home. 
 
 Our chief source of information regarding the kings of 
 the Burgundians is the Lex Burgundionum compiled by 
 the lawgiver King Gundobad at the end of the fifth 
 century. We can also rely to a certain extent on the 
 evidence of O.N. and mhg. literary records. 
 
 In the Lew Bui^g. the reference made by Gundobad to 
 his ancestors is as follows : — 
 
 '' Si quos apud regiae memoriae auctores nostros, id 
 est Gibicam, Godomarem, Gislaharium, Gundaharium, 
 patrem quoque nostrum, et patruum, liberos liberasve 
 fuisse constiterit in eadem libertate permanent." All 
 that we can gather from this as to the relationship 
 
THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 215 
 
 of these four kings is that Gebica was earlier than 
 the other three. In German saga literature Gunther 
 (Gundaharius) and Giselher (Gislaharius) are brothers, 
 and have a third brother Gemot : their father is 
 Dankwart. 
 
 In Scandinavian saga, Gjuki, king at Worms on the 
 Rhine, has three sons, Gunnar, Hggni (Germ. Hagen) and 
 Guttorm, but Guttorm is only a half-brother of the other 
 two. According to the Waltharius of Ekkehart, Gibicho, 
 " king of the Franks," has a son Gunther. 
 
 Thus all saga literature dealing with the Burgundians 
 agrees in representing three Burgundian princes, who 
 perhaps correspond to Gundaharius, Godomar, and Gisla- 
 harius, of the Lex Burg., as brothers, and sons of a king 
 corresponding to Gebica of the Lex Burg. There is, 
 however, no historical confirmation of this. 
 
 Of these four kings mentioned in Gundobad's code, 
 the figure of Gundaharius is by far the most prominent. 
 Round him clusters the whole wealth of saga and story 
 commemorating the glorious deeds of the Burgundians 
 and their defeat by the Huns under Attila, through which 
 the reign of Gundaharius was brought to an untimely 
 end. 
 
 After founding their new kingdom in the Rhone 
 valley, the Burgundians were ruled by the aforementioned 
 Gundobad, the compiler of the Lex Burg., who flourished 
 at the end of the fifth and beginning of the sixth 
 centuries. Gundobad was succeeded by Sigisbert and 
 afterwards by Gondomar. Under the latter prince the 
 Burgundians were finally defeated by the sons of Chlo- 
 dovech, and Gondomar himself abandoned his kingdom 
 and fled to Italy. 
 
216 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 The allusion to the Vglsungasaga contained in Beowulf, 
 11. 875-900*, may be mentioned at this point. The first 
 part of the passage contains a reference to the exploits of 
 Sigemund, and to Sigemund's nephew Fitela ; Sigemund 
 is called Wdlses eafera (1. 897), which clearly identifies 
 him with Sigmund, the son of Vglsung, and Fitela with 
 Sigmund's son and nephew Sinfjgtli. The Beowulf 
 passage proceeds to give an account of Sigemund's single- 
 handed fight with a dragon : in all Scandinavian versions 
 of the story, however, the hero of the dragon fight is not 
 Sigmund, but his son Sigurd. 
 
 Sigurd is represented, in German and Scandinavian 
 sources alike, as a king possessing territory in the 
 Netherlands, but we find no references to either Sigmund 
 or Sigurd in historical records, and there is a general 
 tendency to regard their figures as mythical. 
 
 * Clark Hall's translation of the passage is as follows: "He related 
 everything that he had heard men say of Sigemund, his deeds of valour, 
 many untold things, the struggle of the Walsing (C.H. son of Waels), 
 his wanderings far and wide, the feuds and treacheries — things that the 
 sons of men knew nothing of save Fitela who was with him, when he, 
 the uncle, would tell something of such a matter to his nephew as they 
 had always been friends in need in every struggle, and had felled with 
 their swords large numbers of the race of monsters. 
 
 "There arose no little fame to Sigemund after his death-day, since he, 
 hardy in battle, had killed the dragon, keeper of the hoard. Under the 
 grey rock he, son of a prince, ventured the perilous deed alone, — Fitela 
 was not with him. 
 
 "Yet it befell him that the sword pierced through the wondrous snake, 
 so that it, the sterling blade, stuck in the rock — the dragon died a 
 violent death. By valour had the warrior secured that he might enjoy 
 the ring-hoard at his own will; the Walsing (C.H. son of Waels) loaded 
 a sea boat, bare the shining treasures into the bosom of the ship. Fire 
 consumed the dragon. 
 
 "In deeds of bravery he was by far the most renowned of adventurers 
 among the tribes of men, and thus he throve erewhile." 
 
THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 217 
 
 But, as has been pointed out by Mr Chadwick*, the 
 traditions regarding Sigmund and his family cannot, on 
 account of their great age, be lightly dismissed as mythical, 
 although some elements in the story which is told of 
 them — e.g. the fight with the dragon — are undoubtedly 
 to be considered as such. In addition to the Beowulf 
 reference, Sigmund and Sinfjgtli occur also in two of the 
 Edda Poems {Helgakvidur Hundingshdna) which are 
 entirely free from German influence, but here as in the 
 Beowulf the name of Sigurd is not mentioned. In the 
 Beowulf as we have seen (cf sup. Ch. ii, p. 121), Sigmund 
 is brought into relation with Heremod, a Danish prince, 
 and in Hyndlj. the two names are again found side by 
 side. The natural inference from all this is : (1) that the 
 association of Sigmund with Heremod must date from a 
 very early time, while English and Scandinavian traditions 
 were still influencing one another, and (2) that the 
 information contained in the Beowulf about Sigmund and 
 SinQgtli was therefore in all probability not due to late 
 German influence, but was part of the body of tradition 
 brought by our forefathers from their continental home. 
 Although there is not conclusive proof of the actual 
 existence of Sigmund and his family, the antiquity of the 
 traditions concerning them gives them at least as valid 
 a claim to historicity as any other characters of the 
 Heroic Age : and since we have scarcely any knowledge 
 of the course of events on the lower Rhine at the 
 beginning of the fifth century, there is certainly not 
 sufficient ground for doubting that such princes as 
 Sigmund and Sigurd may actually have reigned there. 
 
 * Op. cit. p. 148 f. 
 
218 THE BUKGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 (b) Waldere saga. 
 
 I. The only reference to the saga of Waldere in O.E. 
 literature is contained in the epic fragment which bears 
 his name. 
 
 The foreign authorities which contain evidence with 
 regard to this saga may be classified according to the 
 three distinct versions of the saga which exist. They 
 are as follows* : 
 
 1. Alemannic version of the Waldere — or Walthari — 
 saga which appears in 
 
 (a) Ekkehart's Waltharius, ed. by V. Scheffel and 
 A. Holder, Stuttgart, 1874; German transl. 
 by H. Althof, Leipzig, 1896. 
 
 (h) References in the Nihelungenlied and in Bite- 
 rolf. 
 
 (This is the version which appears in the O.E. Wal- 
 dere.) 
 
 2. Frankish version of the saga which appears in 
 
 (a) Thid^rekssaga. 
 
 (6) M.H.G. fragments of " Walther und Hilde- 
 gunde," Z. f. d. A., Vol. ii, pp. 216 ff. 
 
 (Reference in Austrian poem, "von dem tibelen weibe," 
 Z. E. No. XXVIII, 3.) 
 
 * For this classification, I am indebted to Symons' article "Die 
 deutsche Heldensage" in Paul's Grundriss, Vol. iii. 
 
THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 219 
 
 3. Polish version of the saga which appears in 
 
 (a) Latin chronicle of Boguphalus (thirteenth 
 century) Chronicon Poloniae Sommersherg. 
 script, rer. Siles., Vol. ii, 37-39. 
 
 {b) Polish chronicle (sixteenth century). 
 (Here the saga has received additions altogether foreign 
 to it in its German form : this version need not therefore 
 be discussed in the present connection.) 
 
 I. Alemannic Version of Walthari saga. 
 A.S. Waldere. 
 
 The A.S. Waldere consists of two fragments of what 
 was either a ballad on the Walthari saga, or an epic poem 
 in the same style as the Beowulf. Fragment A is a speech 
 made by Hildeguth, who incited her lover Waldere to 
 battle, while Fragment B is a dialogue between Waldere 
 and Guthhere. 
 
 The fragments translated into Modern English are as 
 follows : 
 
 A. " . . .incited him willingly. Assuredly the handi- 
 work of W eland fails no man who can wield Miming the 
 hard one. Often in the battle there fell, bloodstained 
 and wounded, one warrior after another. Champion of 
 Attila ! Let not yet thy courage fail on this day, let not 
 thy prowess decline ! 
 
 " . . .But the day is come when thou shalt assuredly do 
 one of two, either shalt thou lose thy life, or thou shalt 
 obtain lasting glory among men, son of Aelfhere ! By no 
 means, my beloved, can I chide thee with words, that I 
 have ever seen thee at the sword-play, through fear of 
 any man, evade the combat, flee to the rampart and save 
 
220 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 thy life, although many enemies hewed thy shield with 
 their bills. But thou didst ever seek further battle — 
 didst pursue thy cause over the border (?) — therefore I 
 feared thy destiny, that thou shouldst follow up the fight 
 too bravely, the struggle with another man. Uphold thine 
 honour by good deeds, while God's care is over thee ! 
 Neither be thou anxious for thy sword ; to thee was the 
 best of treasures given, for our help. With it thou shalt 
 humble Gunther's pride, because he first began unright- 
 eously to seek this combat. He refused the sword and 
 treasures with many rings : now, deprived of both, he 
 shall go from this battle to seek the ancient possession 
 of which he is lord, or here first die, if he..." 
 
 B. "' ...a better (sword) except this one, which I too 
 have kept hidden in secret in its scabbard (stone-chest). 
 I know that Theodoric wished to send it to Widia, and 
 also great treasure of jewels with the sword, and to 
 adorn with gold many other things with it (?), he received 
 the reward long due, because that he, the kinsman of 
 Nithhad, the son of Weland, Widia had delivered him 
 from danger : he hastened forth over the territory of the 
 giants.' Waldere spoke, the mighty amongst warriors: 
 he had in his hands the consolation of battle, the gem 
 of fighting bills, he spoke in these words : ' What, thou 
 didst even think, friend of the Burgundians, that the 
 hand of Hagen should do battle with me, and disable me 
 for battle on foot. Take if thou dare, the hoary byrny, 
 from the one weary in battle 1 Here on my shoulders 
 lies (stands) the legacy of Aelfhere good and well-arched (?), 
 adorned with gold, an honourable apparel for the noble 
 prince whose own hand defends the treasure of his life 
 against his enemies : it will not desert me when evil 
 
THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 221 
 
 faithless kinsmen again make the attack, meet me with 
 swords as ye did. But he can grant the victory, who is 
 prompt and wise of counsel towards all that is good ; he 
 w^ho believes in his holy help, in the assistance of God, 
 will find it to the full, if he (i.e. God) remembers his 
 previous merits : then must the great men distribute 
 riches, and rule their possession...." 
 
 The background of events underlying these two frag- 
 ments is to be found in the Latin poem Waltharius, of 
 the tenth century, written by the monk Ekkehart I of 
 St Gallen. 
 
 The argument of the poem is shortly as follows : 
 
 Attila, the famous king of the Huns, whose home was 
 in Pannonia, made an expedition against the Franks, and 
 forced their king Gibicho* to render him tribute and hos- 
 tages. Hagen was handed over by Gibicho as hostage, 
 his own son Gunther being still too young. Hagen was 
 of royal birth and of Trojan f origin, Troja being the fabu- 
 lous home of the Franks. 
 
 Attila continued his victorious progress through the 
 land of the Burgundians and through Aquitaine. From 
 Heriricus (O.H.G. Hererih), the king of the Burgundians^ 
 who reigned in Chalon-sur-Saone, he obtained as a hostage 
 his daughter Hildegund, and from Aelfhere, king of 
 Aquitaine, his son Walther (Waltharius). Walther and 
 Hildegund, although only children, were already betrothed 
 to each other. 
 
 * This is, of course, a mistake : for as we have seen (of. p. 215), 
 Gibicho and Gunther [Lex Burg. Gebica, Gundaharius) were kings, 
 not of the Franks, but of the Burgundians. Cf. also for older form 
 of the saga, Wald. fragments where Guthhere is addressed as Wine 
 Burgenda. 
 
 t Cf. Nibelungenlied, Hagen von Tronje ; Thi^rekss. Hagen af Troja. 
 
222 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 The hostages fared well at the court of the Hunnish 
 king, and were treated by Attila as if they were his own 
 children. When Hagen and Walther grew up, they ex- 
 celled in all manner of knightly accomplishments; each 
 of them was entrusted with a high military command, 
 while Hildegund became chief maiden in the household 
 of the queen. 
 
 But meanwhile Gibicho died, and was succeeded by 
 Gunther, who refused to pay tribute to Attila; Hagen 
 made this the opportunity to escape from the Hunnish 
 court and to flee back to his own country. After Hagen's 
 flight, Attila's queen was afraid that Walther might 
 also attempt to escape, and advised her husband to 
 marry him to a Hunnish maiden, in order that his 
 interests and affections might be bound to the home of 
 his adoption. The betrothal of Walther and Hildegund 
 and their love for one another w^as not known at the 
 Hunnish court. 
 
 But Walther was warned by Hildegund of Attila's 
 design, and the two arranged a plan for escape, which 
 they carried out successfully, taking with them a quantity 
 of treasure. When their flight was discovered, Attila 
 offered a large reward to anyone who would capture and 
 bring back the fugitives, but Walther s strength was 
 known and feared, and no one could be tempted to set 
 off in pursuit of him. Walther and Hildegund therefore 
 continued their journey unmolested, until they reached 
 Worms, the capital of Gunther, king of the Franks, where 
 their identity was discovered by means of some strange 
 fish with which Walther paid the ferryman who rowed 
 them over the Rhine. Gunther, guessing who the stranger 
 was, at once determined to follow him in order to rob him 
 
THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 223 
 
 of his treasure, although warned by Hagen (who knew the 
 strength of Walther's arm) that he would repent having 
 done so. But to these warnings Gunther turned a deaf 
 ear, for he regarded this as nothing short of a miraculous 
 opportunity offered him to regain the tribute money which 
 Attila had, for so many years, extorted from the Franks. 
 With twelve chosen warriors, of whom Hagen, much 
 against his will, was one, Gunther accordingly gave chase, 
 and overtook Walther and Hildegund in the Vosges 
 (Yosagus) Mountains (O.H.G. Waskenstein, Wasgenstein), 
 where they halted to rest. Walther, who was encamped 
 in a strong position, was not daunted by the array of 
 warriors which Gunther had brought out against him. 
 He spoke words of cheer and comfort to his gentle com- 
 panion, who was terrified at the sight of so many armed 
 men, and boasted that he could overthrow with ease in 
 single combat any of the twelve except Hagen, whom he 
 feared on account of their long acquaintance with each 
 other's methods of warfare. 
 
 Disregarding Hagen's final warning, Gunther then sent 
 up one by one eight warriors, each of whom Walther killed. 
 The position in which he was entrenched did not permit 
 of his being attacked by more than one at a time. The 
 remaining three warriors (for Hagen had sat apart the 
 whole time, refusing to take any share in the fight), of 
 whom Patafried, Hagen's nephew, was one, then attacked 
 Walther with a trident: but they met with no better 
 success than their predecessors, and were all slain. Thus, 
 of all the Franks, only Gunther and Hagen were left 
 alive. 
 
 After many entreaties, Hagen yielded to Gunther's 
 request that he would fight with him against Walther. 
 
224 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 His duty towards his king was the only consideration 
 which weighed with Hagen and caused him to break 
 the vows of brotherhood which he had sworn to Walther ; 
 nothing else, not even the duty of avenging his slain 
 kinsman, would have made him take arms against the 
 friend of his youth. 
 
 Gunther and Hagen determined to lure their enemy 
 into open country before attacking him, and to effect this 
 they made a ruse of flight and retired towards evening to 
 a point some distance away. 
 
 After a night's rest, Walther and Hildegund continued 
 their journey. No sooner, however, had they left the 
 shelter of the rocks and got into the open, than Walther 
 was fiercely attacked by Gunther and Hagen. Walther 
 reproached Hagen with having broken his oath of friend- 
 ship, but Hagen defended his action as the just revenge 
 for the death of a kinsman — namely Patafried. 
 
 The struggle between the three was long and terrible. 
 At last they could fight no longer, for Gunther had lost 
 a leg, Hagen an eye, and Walther his right hand. The 
 demands of honour having been thus satisfied, a recon- 
 ciliation between the warriors took place, and Walther 
 called on Hildegund, who in great fear had w^atched the 
 battle from afar, to come and bind up their wounds. 
 Then they made merry together over their injuries, and 
 finally parted as friends and brothers. 
 
 The Franks returned to Worms, while Walther and 
 Hildegund journeyed home to Aquitaine without mishap. 
 There they were married, and reigned in prosperity for 
 thirty years. 
 
THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 225 
 
 II. Frankish Version of Walthari saga. 
 
 Mhg. fragment of the Poem Walther 
 und Hildegimd*. 
 
 At the point at which the fragment commences, 
 Walther and Hildegund had escaped from the Huns and 
 were on their way home to Langresf, where Walther's 
 father Alter (O.E. Aelfhere) was king. They had been 
 guided across the Rhine by Volker, whom Gunther had 
 given them as an escort. Walther had sent messengers 
 before him to Langres to announce his coming to his 
 father and mother. When Alker and his queen heard 
 these tidings they rejoiced, and made great preparations 
 to receive their son and his bride. The messengers who 
 brought the news of Walther's arrival also related how 
 he had escaped from the Huns, and had slain those of 
 them who came out in pursuit of him. 
 
 After these things, Alker sent heralds all through his 
 land to announce to his subjects that his son Walther was 
 to be married to Hildegund of Arragon. The heralds rode 
 to Engelland, Navarre, and Kerlingen, and after much con- 
 sideration Walther also sent an invitation to his wedding 
 to King Etzel. The news of the marriage was brought 
 to King Gunther by Volker on his return from Langres. 
 
 ThidrekssagaJ. 
 
 Chaps. 241-244. King Attila reigned in Susat. He 
 
 made an alliance with Erminrek, King of Pul (Apulia), and 
 
 exchanged hostages with him. Attila sent to Erminrek his 
 
 * Publ. in Z. f. d. A. Vol. ii, p. 216. 
 
 t Langres is however represented by the poet as in Spain, and 
 Walther is spoken of as " der Vogt von Spanige." 
 
 Ij: German transl. by F. v. d. Hagen. Gf. sup. p. 203. 
 
 C. 15 
 
226 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 nephew Osith, with twelve knights, while Erminrek sent to 
 Attila his nephew Valtari of Vaskasteine with other twelve 
 knights. Valtari was twelve years old when he came to 
 Attila's court, and he remained there until he was nine- 
 teen. After he had been there a year, Attila received as 
 a. hostage Hildegunn, the daughter of the Greek Earl Ilias. 
 Valtari and Hildegunn fell in love with each other, with- 
 out the knowledge of Attila, and one day, while Attila and 
 all his court were feasting, they conferred in secret and de- 
 termined to escape. The next morning they fled, taking 
 much of Attila's treasure with them. 
 
 When Attila discovered the trick that had been played 
 upon him, he despatched twelve warriors, amongst whom 
 was Hogni, the son of Alldrian, in pursuit of the fugitives. 
 Valtari and Hildegunn were quickly overtaken, but Valtari 
 fought with and killed eleven of the twelve warriors, Hogni 
 being the sole survivor. The two sat down together to a 
 meal of swine's flesh, after which they fought a second 
 time : but Valtari put out Hogni's eye by hurling at him 
 the backbone of the swine which they had eaten, where- 
 upon the latter turned and fled back to Attila. 
 
 Valtari and Hildegunn, however, continued their jour- 
 ney to the court of Erminrek, where they were well received. 
 They afterwards became reconciled to Attila by sending 
 him rich gifts, 
 
 III. Comparison of Different Authorities 
 
 DEALING WITH WaLTHARI SAGA. 
 
 It is not necessary for our purpose to enter upon a 
 detailed comparison of the different versions of the Wal- 
 thari saga given above ; the story is essentially the same 
 
THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 227 
 
 in all its versions with regard to the main facts, namely, 
 Walther s life as a hostage at the court of the Hunnish 
 king Attila, his successful escape with Hildegund, a fellow- 
 hostage, and their adventurous journey to the home of 
 Walther's parents, at the end of which they were married. 
 Peculiar to the Alemannic version of the saga is Walther's 
 encounter with Gunther and his warriors, and to the 
 Frankish version, the pursuit of Walther by the Huns, 
 and his subsequent reconciliation to Attila. As in its 
 representation of Gunther (Guthhere) as king of the 
 Burgundians, so also in its description of Hildegund's 
 (Hildeguth's) character, does the O.E. Waldere without 
 doubt preserve an older tradition than Ekkehart's Wal- 
 tharius. In the latter authority she is portrayed as a 
 timid, shrinking maiden, terrified at the sight of fighting 
 and of blood, and fearful for the safety of her beloved. 
 This picture of Hildegund is clearly tinged by the medieval 
 monastic ideal of feminine character : that of the O.E. 
 Waldere bears a much more genuine and ancient imprint, 
 for here Hildegund (Hildeguth) is the direct descendant 
 of the Valkyries, a bold and warlike maiden, jubilating 
 in her hero's lofty courage, and counting death but a little 
 thing as compared with the gaining of enduring reputation 
 in battle. 
 
 IV. Historical Value of the Walthari saga. 
 
 The story of Walther and Hildegund seems to bear 
 the impress of a genuine historical narrative*, and there 
 is no reason to doubt that the events which it relates 
 
 * Heinzel has showed clearly {Wiener S. B. cxvii, 2) that the works 
 of the historian Priscus supply plentiful parallels from Hunnish history 
 ■during the reign of Attila to all the events described in the story. 
 
 15—2 
 
228 THE BUKGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 really took place. The most interesting question in con- 
 nection with the saga, and one which has not as yet been 
 satisfactorily solved, is that of the identity of Walther 
 himself. Who and what was he ? 
 
 In all accounts of the story of Walther his name is 
 associated with the Waskenstein, or Vosges Mountains, 
 which appears to have been the scene of his single-handed 
 victory over Gunther and his warriors. According to 
 the mhg. Walther and Hildegund, Walther's home was 
 Langres in Haute-Marne, which lies in the N.E. of 
 France, and is separated from Worms and the Rhine 
 valley (through which Walther's journey led him) only 
 by the Vosges Mountains. The Waltharius of Ekkehart, 
 on the other hand, represents Walther as a prince of 
 Aquitaine, and therefore presumably a Visigothic hero. 
 But it is very improbable that anyone coming from 
 Pannonia, the seat of the Huns in southern Austria- 
 Hungary, to Aquitaine would travel via the middle Rhine 
 and the Vosges Mountains ; Langres would be a far more 
 fitting conclusion to such a journey. Moreover, it is 
 possible that the idea of assigning to Walther a home 
 in Aquitaine may have first arisen through verbal con- 
 fusion. In a Wessobrunner codex of the eighth century 
 we find WascSno ta^ = Aquitania, and it is not improb- 
 able that this form underwent confusion with Waskenstein 
 = Vosagus or Vosges Mountains, although the two are 
 quite independent. On the whole, the existing evidence 
 seems to point to the conclusion that Walther was not a 
 Visis^oth. We have therefore to consider the alternative 
 possibilities with regard to his home and nationality. 
 
 The events of the Walthari saga belong to the first half 
 of the fifth century, and in all probability to some date 
 
THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 229 
 
 previous to 437, in which year Gunther, king of the 
 Burgundians, who is an important figure in the story of 
 Walther, was defeated and slain by the Huns. 
 
 It is evident that Walther was not a Burgundian, 
 else he would not have been engaged in hostilities with 
 Gunther and Hagen. It is also improbable that he 
 belonged to the Franks, whose conquest of and settle- 
 ment in Gaul did not take place until the end of the 
 fifth century*. The most probable alternative appears 
 on the whole to be that Walther belonged to one of the 
 tribes of the Yandili or Suevi, who began their great 
 southerly migration from the banks of the Rhine about 
 the year 406 A.D.f — a movement which ended only when 
 they had passed over the Pyrenees. Some of the strag- 
 glers amongst the emigrants may still have been in N.E. 
 
 * In this connection, however, I am indebted to Mr H. M. Chadwick 
 for a suggestion, well worthy of consideration, with regard to Walther's 
 origin. Although the conquest of Gaul by the Franks was not accom- 
 plished until the end of the sixth century, as early as the end of the 
 third century there appear to have been some Frankish settlements on 
 the west side of the Vosges Mts, in the neighbourhood of Langres 
 (cf, Zeuss, Die Deutschen und die Nachbarstdmme, pp. 336, 582-84). 
 Zeuss quotes Eumenius, who, writing to Constantius, says : " ita nunc 
 per victorias tuas, Constanti Caesar invicte, quidquid infrequens Am- 
 biano et Bellovaco et Tricasino solo, Lingonicoque restabat, barbaro 
 cultore revirescit." These bands of Franks — Chamavi and Attuarii — 
 had been transplanted by Constantius from the lands round the mouth 
 of the Ehine. 
 
 Now in Ekkehart's Waltharius, Gunther is called King of the Franks, 
 while Hildegund is referred to as a Burgundian princess. At a later 
 date both Langres and Chalon-sur-Saone were in the province of 
 Burgundy, while Worms and the surrounding districts had passed into 
 the hands of the Franks. It seems just possible that the names Frank 
 and Burgundian in the story may have become transposed, and that 
 whereas Gunther was in reality a Burgundian, Hildegund — and Walther 
 her husband — were in reality Franks. 
 
 t Cf. Zeuss, Die Deutschen und die Nachbarstdmme, pp. 449 £E. 
 
230 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 
 
 Gaul (Langres) as late as 485, which may be taken as the 
 approximate date of Walther's flight from the Huds, and 
 the subsequent settlement in Spain of the main body of 
 the Vandili and Suevi may account for the representation 
 of Walther as a Spaniard in later (especially mhg.*) 
 authorities. 
 
 Several scholars (Mtillenhoff, Scherer, Symons, &c.) 
 have laid great weight on a supposed connection between 
 the Walthari saga and the " mythical " (?) Hilde saga (cf. 
 Ch. VI, pp. 190 ff.). The discussion of this point really 
 lies outside the scope of the present work, but it may be 
 said, that although the later versions of the Walthari saga 
 possibly reflect in some measure, and may have taken over 
 certain features of the Hilde saga, the oldest version, viz. 
 that of Ekkehart's Waltharius and the O.E. Waldere, 
 contains nothing in common with it beyond the identity 
 of one name — Hagen — and the fact that in both sagas 
 the hero fights with the warrior bearing this name. It 
 is true that the heroines of the two sagas bear the names 
 Hilde and Hildegund respectively, but on this no con- 
 clusions can be based, owing to the extreme frequency of 
 the name Hilde — and derivatives of it — in early Teutonic 
 literature. Nor can any weight be attached to the occur- 
 rence of a story of abduction in both sagas. Quite apart 
 from the consideration that abduction was in these times 
 more often than not the only possible way of obtaining a 
 bride, the underlying circumstances are totally different 
 in the two cases. Finally, there is by no means sufficient 
 ground to at once dismiss the Hilde saga as mythical ; for, 
 except in one respect, viz. the never-ending fight between 
 
 * In the Nibelungenlied, Biterolf, &c. Walther is frequently referred 
 to as " Walther von Spanje " or " der Vogt von Spanje." 
 
THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 231 
 
 the two kings, the story, as has been shown (cf. Ch. VI, 
 p. 201) niay very well represent an historical episode. 
 Certainly the only reference of any length which is made 
 to the subject in O.E. literature, viz. Deor, lines 85 ff., is 
 almost crudely matter-of-fact, and one which it is only 
 possible to conceive as a reminiscence of actual personal 
 experience. 
 
CHAPTER YIII 
 
 THE EEMANRIC SAGA. 
 
 The O.E. heroic poems contain various scattered refer- 
 ences to the great Ostrogothic king Ermanric and to the 
 saga which bears his name. It is beyond the scope of this 
 book to treat the Ermanric saga in detail (cf. Jiriczek, 
 D. H. S., Vol. I, pp. 55-118); the points which here fall 
 under discussion are : — 
 
 (a) The historical significance of the figure of Erman- 
 ric : cf. Deor, 11. 20 ff. ; Wids., 11. 7 ff., 1. 18, 
 11. 88ff. 
 (6) The catalogue of Ermanric's heroes : cf. Wids., 
 
 11. 109-130. 
 (c) The story of Hama and the Brosingamene : cf. 
 Beo., 11. 1197-1207. 
 
 (a) Ermanric. 
 
 I. Ermanric in O.E. Literature. 
 
 Beowulf, 11. 1197-1201. 
 
 "Naenigne ic under swegle s^lran h^rde 
 hordm^ththum haeletha, syththan Hama aetwaeg 
 to ])aere byrhtan byrig Brosinga mene, 
 sigle and sincfaet, searo-nithas fleah 
 Eormenrices*." 
 
 * "I have never heard of a finer jewel in the possession of men 
 under the sky, since Hama brought to the bright castle the Brosinga- 
 mene, necklace and casket, and escaped from the treacherous hostility 
 of Ermanric." 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 233 
 
 Deor, 20 ff. 
 
 "We geascodan Eormanrices 
 wylfenne gethoht : ahte wide folc 
 Gotena rices ; thaet waes grim cyning. 
 saet secg monig sorgum gebunden, 
 thaet thaes cjnerices ofercumen waere*." 
 
 Widsith, 11. 7ff., 11. 88 ff. 
 
 "...He... 
 
 Hr^thcyninges ham gesohte 
 
 eastan of Ongle Eormanrices, 
 
 wrathes waerlogan." 
 
 1.18: 
 
 "Eormanrlc (weold) Gotum." 
 
 11. 88 ff., more detailed reference to Ermanric saga : 
 
 "And ic waes mid Eormanrlce ealle thrage, 
 thaer me Gotena cyning gode dohte, 
 se me beag forgeaf burgwarena fruma," &c. 
 
 11. 109 — 130, list of Ermanric's champions. 
 Waldere B. 1. 4, for Wudga (Widia). 
 
 11. Chief Foreign References to the Ermanric saga. 
 
 Historical. 
 
 Ammianus Marcellinus. 
 Semi-Historical. 
 
 Jordanes. 
 Legendary. 
 
 Scandinavian. Saxo. 
 
 (Older) Poetic Edda ; Hamdis-mdl. 
 
 Prose Edda ; Skalds k. 
 VqIss. 
 
 * " We heard of Ermanric's wolf-like disposition : his sovereignty in 
 the kingdom of the Goths was wide extended. He was a grim king. 
 Many men sat there overwhelmed by anxiety, expecting trouble, and 
 they wished with all their heart that his rule was at an end." 
 
234 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 
 
 Scandinavian. Th^ss. 
 
 German. Mhg. poems, e.g. BJl., Bit., Alp., Nib. 
 
 DeiLtsches Heldenhuch [5 Bde. Berlin, 1866-73], 
 Anhang zum Heldenhuch, pp. 111-126. 
 Deutsches Heldenhuch [ed. v. d. Hagen. Leipzig, 
 
 1855]. 
 Quedlinhurg Annals [Pertz, Mon. Germ. Scrip. ^ 
 
 III, 32]. 
 
 Ammianus Marcellinus. 
 
 The evidence of Ammianus regarding Ermanric is of 
 a strictly contemporary nature and is the earliest reference 
 to this king that we possess. 
 
 Ammianus (Ch. xxxi, 3, 1*) relates that the Huns, 
 having completely subjugated the Alani, whom they com- 
 pelled to enter into alliance with them, fell upon the 
 dominions of Ermanric, a king whose mighty deeds had 
 caused him to become known and feared throughout 
 many lands. This sudden attack of the Huns took 
 Ermanric by surprise, and, after a fruitless attempt at 
 resistance, he committed suicide in order to escape the 
 fate which threatened him from his enemies. 
 
 JORDANES. 
 
 Jordanes {Get. Ch. xiv, 82*), quoting an earlier histo- 
 rian Ablabius, says that a part of the people living on the 
 coast of the Pontus were called Ostrogothae, but whether 
 this was from the name of their prince, Ostrogotha, or on 
 account of their easterly situation, was unknown : the rest 
 of the same people were called Vesegothae (Visigoths) on 
 account of their westerly situation. 
 
 * This passage is quoted in full at the end of the chapter. Cf. p. 255. 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 235 
 
 According to Jordanes ((re^. Ch. xxiii*) Herman aricus 
 succeeded a king named Geberich, and conquered a large 
 number of nations, many of whom lived in the south of 
 Russia. He then conquered the Heruli, after which he 
 turned his arms against the Venthi (Slavs) and the Aisti, 
 whom he also conquered. In his reign the Gothic king- 
 dom was invaded by the Huns. 
 
 Jordanes differs from Ammianus in his account of 
 Ermanric's death. The story which he tells (cf Ch. xxiv) 
 is shortly this, Ermanric had caused to be trampled 
 under wild horses a woman named Suanihilda of the tribe 
 of the Rosomonen. The reason for this crime was that 
 Suanihilda's husband had decamped from Ermanric's 
 court "in a fraudulent manner." Sarus and Ammius, 
 the brothers of Suanihilda, avenged their sister's death 
 by a murderous attack on Ermanric. As the result of 
 the wounds which they inflicted, the king was seized by 
 a fatal disease. The malady was aggravated by his 
 despair at the approach of the invading Hunnish armies, 
 and he died soon afterwards. 
 
 Scandinavian authorities — notably Ham^is-mdl, Saxo, 
 Skdldsk. and Vglss. — tell a story which obviously stands in 
 close relation to the account given by Jordanes. 
 
 Hamdis-mal. 
 
 Hamdis-mdl (contained in the older Edda) is the 
 oldest Scandinavian authority which contains the story 
 of Swanhild and Ermanric ; but the poem in its present 
 form is incomplete, the first part (which dealt with the 
 
 * See note on p. 234. 
 
236 THE ERMANKIC SAGA 
 
 murder of Swanhild) having been lost. The events related 
 in the poem as it stands are as follows : — 
 
 The stern-hearted Gudrun stirred up her sons Hamdi 
 and Sgrli to avenge the death of their sister Swanhild, 
 who had been trodden to death by horses at the order of 
 Jgrmunrek (Ermanric). They agreed to go on this quest 
 rather reluctantly, for they foresaw that they should not 
 return from it alive. Gudrun brought out from her 
 storehouse weapons, and armour which made the wearers 
 invulnerable, and these she gave her sons for their ex- 
 pedition. As the two rode out they met their half-brother 
 Erp, who offered to ride with them to Jgrmunrek's court ; 
 but Hamdi and Sgrli despised this offer and slew Erp 
 there. Then they rode on, and came in course of time 
 to Jgrmunrek's castle, where the king sat within feasting, 
 surrounded by his court. They dashed in, and attacking 
 Jgrmunrek, cut off his hands and feet; whereupon the 
 whole company of the Goths set upon Hamdi and Sgrli, 
 but could do them no hurt with spear or sword because 
 of their magic coats of mail which their mother Gudrun 
 had given them. Finally however Jgrmunrek, who was 
 still alive, gave orders to his men to stone Hamdi and 
 Sgrli, and thus they were both killed. Their death is 
 represented as partially the consequence of their murder 
 of Erp, whose assistance would have enabled them to kill 
 Jgrmunrek outright at the first attack. 
 
 Saxo, Bk VIII, pp. 278-281. 
 
 Jarmericus (Ermanric) was king of Denmark : he was 
 advised by a treacherous counsellor Bicco to put to death 
 his wife Suanihilda (Sw^anhild) and his son Broderus (by 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 237 
 
 another marriage) on account of their alleged guilty 
 relations. Broderus was condemned to be hung, but the 
 punishment was a farce and he escaped almost unhurt. 
 Suanihilda was trampled underfoot by horses and killed. 
 Her brothers the Hellespontines came with an army to 
 avenge her death, and succeeded in killing Jarmericus. 
 They were assisted by Guthruna, a sorceress. Broderus 
 succeeded his father as king. 
 
 Yqlsungasaga. 
 
 (Ch. XL). Jgrmunrek was the name of a mighty king 
 of that time, and he had a son named Bandver. Now 
 Jgrmunrek was desirous of wooing Swanhild, the daughter 
 of Gudriin by Sigurd, and he sent his counsellor Bikki 
 and his son Bandver to ask the hand of the maiden from 
 King Jonak her guardian and the husband of Gudriin. 
 They were successful in their quest and returned bringing 
 Swanhild with them; l3ut on the way back to Jgrmunrek's 
 court, Bikki urged Bandver to make love to Swanhild, 
 saying that in age and beauty she was a far fitter mate 
 for him than for his father. 
 
 Bandver fell into the trap which had been laid for 
 him, whereupon, on their arrival home, Bikki accused 
 him of guilt to Jgrmunrek. Jgrmunrek, as punishment 
 for their misdeeds, sentenced Bandver to be hung and 
 Swanhild to be trampled to death by wild horses, but 
 afterwards, when it was too late, he repented bitterly of 
 having put to death his only son. 
 
 Swanhild's death was avenged by her stepbrothers, 
 Hamdi, Sgrli, and Erp, the sons of Gudrtin and Jonak. 
 These three, urged on by their mother, set out for 
 
238 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 
 
 Jgrmunrek's court : on the way strife arose between 
 them, and Hamdi and Sgrli killed Erp. Then the two 
 survivors went on till they came to the abode of King 
 Jgrmunrek, whom they at once attacked. Hamdi cut 
 off his hands and Sgrli his feet. But because Erp, who 
 should have cut off his head, was not there, they failed 
 in their purpose, and were themselves slain by Jgrmun- 
 rek's men. 
 
 The story as contained in Skdldsk. Ch. XLII corre- 
 sponds exactly to that of the VqIss. with the exception 
 that in this case the murder of Swanhild was a sudden 
 and spontaneous idea on the part of Jgrmunrek and 
 apparently took place some time after the death of 
 Randver. One day, as he came back from hunting, 
 Jgrmunrek found Swanhild sitting in a wood, and gave 
 orders that she should be trampled under his horses* feet. 
 
 In the Quedlinhurg Annals, under the reign of 
 Anastasius (491-578 A.D.), there is the following entry : 
 *' Ermanrici regis Gothorum a fratribus Hemido et 
 Serilo et Adaccero quorum patrem interfecerat amputatis 
 manibus et pedibus turpiter uti dignus erat occisio." 
 
 III. Comparison of Evidence regarding 
 Ermanric. 
 
 All sources agree in representing Ermanric as a man 
 of fierce and cruel disposition, but, as we have seen, the 
 account given by Ammianus of his death varies con- 
 siderably from that of Jordanes and later authorities. 
 The story as told in the Norse sagas, in Saxo, and in 
 the Quedlinhurg Annals was probably in the first instance 
 derived from the same source as the account given by 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 239 
 
 Jordanes, this being in all likelihood some ancient Gothic 
 tradition. But the authority of Jordanes, who has 
 notoriously mingled a great deal of legend with historical 
 fact, is far less reliable than that of Ammianus, a con- 
 temporary historian, the truth of whose account there 
 seems no reasonable cause to doubt. For the suicide of 
 Ermanric we find a parallel in a custom of the Heruli*, 
 who when they became too old to wield their weapons 
 voluntarily gave themselves up to be killed by their 
 friends. 
 
 The account of Ammianus is however by no means 
 incompatible with the story told by Jordanes in which 
 Ermanric is not killed but only wounded in the attack of 
 Sarus and Ammius. 
 
 There are some points in the Swanhild story which 
 vary in the different versions. According to Jordanes, 
 Swanhild (Suanilta) was a woman of the Kosomonen 
 (an unknown tribe): she was murdered by Ermanric, in 
 revenge for the treacherous flight of her husband, who 
 had formerly been in the king's service. 
 
 In Saxo, Skdldsk. and VqIss., on the other hand, 
 Swanhild (Suanihilda) is the wife of Jgrmunrek (Ermanric) 
 and her death is the result of her real or alleged guilt 
 with Randver (Saxo, Broderus) Jgrmunreks son. In 
 the Norse sagas, and in the Quedlinhurg Annals, a third 
 brother has been added to the Sarus and Ammius of 
 Jordanes. In the sagas the names of the three are 
 Hamdi, Sgrli and Erp {Ann. QuedL, Hemidus, Serilus, 
 Adaccerus), Saxo however is the only authority according 
 to which the brothers were successful in actually killing 
 King Ermanric. 
 
 * Cf. Procop. Goth, ii, 14. 
 
240 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 
 
 In Old Norse the Ermanric saga has been linked to 
 the saga of the Nibelungen, Swanhild and her brothers 
 being represented as the children of Gudrun, who was 
 in turn the wife of Sigurd, Atli, and Jonak. In Saxo 
 Guthrun appears as a sorceress but is not in any way 
 related to Swanhild and her brothers. 
 
 There is nothing in the evidence which we have 
 considered which conflicts in any way with what is said 
 of Ermanric (Eormenric) in the O.E. poems Widsith and 
 Deor : both poems agree with all other accounts in repre- 
 senting him as ferocious, cruel, and utterly untrustworthy 
 in his dealings. He is " the savage truce breaker '" 
 (Wids. 1. 9), "the grim king holding many in bondage'* 
 (Deor, 1. 23 f.). 
 
 (6) Ermanric's " Innvv^eorud." 
 
 From the person of Ermanric we pass on to the list 
 of his warriors — " innweorud " — enumerated by Widsith 
 in 11. 109-130. Some of these names are known to us 
 from other sources — some cannot be traced at all. Hethca 
 and Beadeca are unknown ; the names which occur next 
 are those of the Herelingas ; Emercan sohte ic and 
 Fridlan. From other authorities (mhg. poems*, Lat. 
 chronicles of eleventh and twelfth centuries, Norse 
 saga) we know that the Herelingas were the brothers 
 Emerca and Fridla (mhg. Imbreke and Fritila) to whom 
 tradition {Dfl.^ Gen, Vip., &c.) sometimes adds a third, 
 Herlip. The Herelingas or Harlunge — to use the more 
 common mhg. form of the name — are everywhere 
 represented as the nephews of Ermanric. They some- 
 
 * Cf. Dietriches Flucht, Biterolf, Wolfdietrich, &c. 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 241 
 
 times appear as the sons of Diether. Their legendary 
 home in the mhg. poems* is Breisach in the Breisgau, 
 and they have a devoted foster-father in the faithful 
 Eckehart, who has become one of the most popular figures 
 of German legend. The Harlunge were murdered by 
 their uncle Ermanric, on account of their great treasure, 
 which he afterwards seized. In late authorities (e.g. 
 Th^s., cf. Ch. 257) the motive of Ermanric in killing his 
 nephews has been altered : he executes vengeance on the 
 Harlunge on account of their dishonourable intentio'hs 
 with regard to the ladies of his court and in particular 
 the queen. 
 
 According to Saxo, who is doubtless referring to this 
 same legend, the sons of Jarmericus' sister made an 
 attempt on their uncle's throne but at Bicco's prompting 
 he captured and hanged them. 
 
 East-Gota, Becca, etc. 
 
 We have the evidence of Jordanes (Get. xiv, 82) that 
 in the time of the Emperor Philip a prince of that name 
 (Jordanes, Ostrogotha) ruled over the Goths, who in- 
 habited a tract of land on the shores of the Pontus. As 
 Widsith in many cases mentions, side by side, names of 
 rulers who are separated from one another in actual time, 
 by years and even by centuries, it is quite possible that 
 Ostrogotha may have reigned as prince of the Goths 
 previous to Ermanric, and that he was not in reality 
 one of his innweorud. 
 
 The name of Ostrogotha appears in Jordanes' genealogy 
 of the kings of the Goths f: he is represented as the 
 
 * Cf. Grimm, Deutsche Heldensage. 
 t Cf. list of genealogies in Appendix ri. 
 
 c. 16 
 
242 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 
 
 father of Hunuin, in agreement with Wids. 1. 114, where 
 East-Gota is cdWed frddne and godnefaeder Unwenes. 
 
 Of Secca nothing is known. 
 
 Becca we may assume to be identical with Scand. 
 Bikki (Saxo, Bicco), the evil counsellor who stands like 
 a dark shadow behind Ermanric's throne, urging him on 
 to the ruin of all his best friends. 
 
 The character corresponding to Becca- Bikki appears 
 in mhg. as Sibeche or Sibich, and in the Thds. as Sifka, 
 arfd this name is mentioned by the Widsith poet (Sifecan) 
 in the next line (1. 116) to that in which Becca occurs. 
 The fact that in Widsith, which is our earliest authority 
 regarding this matter, the two names are kept distinct 
 and evidently denote different persons, may perhaps be 
 evidence that there were originally two evil counsellors 
 who stood behind Ermanric's throne, and that these, 
 owing to their similarity of character, were later con- 
 tracted into one, who appears either as Bikki-Becca or 
 as Sibich-Sifka. But cf below under Sifecan (p. 246). 
 
 Our chief authorities for the character of Becca are 
 the Thd^s. (Chs. 276-283), Saxo (Bk viii, 279-287), and 
 H. B. Anhang, and to a less extent, the prose Edda and 
 VqIss. 
 
 According to the Thds. and H. B. Anhang, Ermanric, 
 having insulted Sibiche's {ThdJs. Sifka's) wife during his 
 absence from home, made Sibiche thereby his sworn 
 enemy. Saxo, on the other hand, relates that Bicco 
 (Sibiche) was the son of a king hostile to Jarmericus 
 (Ermanric), and that his brothers had been killed by 
 Jarmericus in battle: Bicco afterwards joined the service 
 of Jarmericus in order to compass his revenge for his 
 slain kinsfolk. From the time Sibiche-Bicco entered 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 243 
 
 Ermanric's service all accounts agree in representing him 
 as the very evil genius of his master, though in the 
 O.N. sources (Edda and VqIss.) there is no suggestion 
 of his having been actuated by motives of revenge for 
 past wrongs. According to these records, Bikki's chief 
 triumph consisted in accomplishing the ruin of the king's 
 wife Swanhild and his son Randver (Saxo, Broderus). 
 Through his counsels he first helped to bring about a 
 guilty connection between them, and afterwards betrayed 
 them both to Ermanric. According to Saxo the accusation 
 was altogether false, and the punishment of Broderus was 
 only one in show; but according to Snorri (Skdldsk.) 
 Kandver was really guilty of misconduct with Swanhild, 
 and was hanged at the instigation of Bikki, while all 
 accounts agree in the story of the death of Swanhild. 
 
 According to Saxo and H. B. Anh. it was Bikki or 
 Sibiche who instigated Ermanric to hang his nephews 
 the Harlunge in order to obtain their treasure. 
 
 In the ThdJs. it is also through the machinations of 
 Sifka (Becca) that the destruction of Ermanric's three 
 sons, Friedrich, Reginbald, Samson, is effected. In this 
 authority, the story of Swanhild's death is entirely 
 omitted, although it is curious to note that the death 
 of Samson, Ermanric's youngest son, took place in a 
 similar way ; he was trampled under foot by his father's 
 horse as a punishment for a supposed insult to the 
 daughter of Sifka. It looks as if some confusion had 
 taken place here, and this is quite possible, as the ThdJs. 
 is late in date, and gives the legends in many cases in 
 a distorted form. 
 
 According to the Thdjs., Chs. 322 ff., it was through 
 the evil counsel of Sifka that Ermanric was plunged 
 
 16—2 
 
244 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 
 
 into war with his nephew Dietrich (O.E. Theodric), and 
 when Dietrich returned from his exile, he defeated and 
 slew Sifka in a great battle outside Rome. 
 
 Seafola may correspond to the Saben of German 
 legend. In Bit. 1. 10,995 we are told that Sabene was 
 the son of Sibich. In the mhg. poem of Wolfdietrick 
 unt Saben, Saben appears as the false counsellor in a rdle 
 exactly analogous to that of Sibich in the Ermanric saga, 
 and although his ancestry is not given, it seems probable 
 that he was the Sibichensuon of Biterolf 1. 10,995, who 
 inherited his father's characteristics. 
 
 Theodric. 
 
 This has usually been interpreted as a reference to 
 the historical Theodoric the Great, the Ostrogothic king 
 of Italy (493-526), who is known in legend and folklore 
 as Dietrich of Bern, where he ranks as the first of all 
 knights. 
 
 The sagas of Dietrich of Bern and of Ermanric are 
 inextricably entangled with each other, although the 
 two men are in actual time more than a century apart. 
 Dietrich appears in the saga as the nephew of Ermanric. 
 He was exiled from Italy by his uncle and took refuge 
 at the court of the Huns*. After repeated contests with 
 Ermanric, in which he was, according to H.G. tradition, 
 always victorious, and yet was always obliged to return 
 to the Huns, Dietrich finally regained his inheritance 
 after an exile of thirty years. 
 
 In addition to this pseudo-historical account of 
 Theodoric there are countless stories and fairy tales 
 
 * Cf. Beor, U. 18 f. 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 245 
 
 which deal with his victorious encounters with giants, 
 dwarfs and dragons, and which have gradually accumu- 
 lated round his figure, causing him to become the greatest 
 hero of German legend. 
 
 It is difficult to account for the persistent confusion 
 of historical facts with which we are confronted in the 
 Dietrich and Ermanric sagas. There is no apparent 
 reason why the personality of Theodoric, which, far from 
 being vague and shadowy, dominated the age in which 
 he lived, should be made subservient to that of Ermanric, 
 who was certainly not a greater man and about whom far 
 less is known. 
 
 A suggestion has been made which is worthy of con- 
 sideration that there may have been two Theodorics*, 
 the earlier of whom flourished in the fourth century 
 as a vassal of King Ermanric, while the latter was the 
 historical Theodoric the Great, who ruled over the Ostro- 
 gothic kingdom in Italy from 493-526. 
 
 The existence of such a character as this earlier 
 Theodoric would do much to explain away the chrono- 
 logical displacement of Theodoric in the sagas : for it is 
 quite conceivable that the deeds of the earlier Theodoric 
 should have become transferred to his more famous 
 successor and that a confusion thus arose, which ended 
 in the total assimilation of the less to the greater, 
 and the substitution of the great Theodoric for his 
 forgotten predecessor. 
 
 * I am indebted for this suggestion to Mr H. M. Chadwick. 
 
246 the ermanric saga 
 
 Heathoric and Sifecan, Hlithe and 
 Incgentheow, etc. 
 
 Sifeca(n) is capable of a twofold interpretation. We 
 have seen (p. 242) that the name is the same as the 
 Sifka of Th^s. and the Sibich(e) of the mhg. poems, 
 and that it is used in these authorities to denote an 
 evil counsellor of King Ermanric, who appears in Scand. 
 literature as Bikki or Bicco, and in Wids. as Becca. 
 According to this explanation, Sifeca may then denote 
 one of Ermanric's ministers, whose character strongly 
 resembled that of Becca. 
 
 Another explanation has however been put forward 
 by Binz*. He interprets the whole line as a reference to 
 four characters of the Hervararsaga. According to Binz, 
 Heathoric is to be identified with King Heidrek of the 
 above-mentioned saga, Sifeca with Sifka, his mistress, 
 and Hlicte, Incgentheow with Hlod and Angantyr, his 
 two sons. 
 
 Although there is a good deal to be said for this 
 explanation, it can hardly be accepted as conclusive? 
 since the names (with the exception of Sifeca, which 
 we have seen to be susceptible of a totally different 
 interpretation), are by no means so much alike in the 
 two cases as to justify the assumption of a reference by 
 the Widsith poet to the Hervararsaga. 
 
 Binz has further attempted to identify Wyrmhere with 
 Or mar of the Hervararsaga, bat this seems improbable. • 
 
 Rumstein appears to be identical with the Jarl 
 Rimstein of the Th^s., who was a disobedient vassal 
 of Ermanric. Ermanric besieged the castle of Jarl 
 
 * P. B. B. 20, 207. 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 247 
 
 Rimstein with a large army, and defeated bim in battle; 
 the Jarl himself fell in the fight, by the hand of Witig 
 (cf. TMs. Chs. 126 & 127). 
 
 To the identity of Gislhere we have no clue, for it 
 seems quite impossible that he should have any con- 
 nection with the Gislaharius of the Lex Burgundionum. 
 
 Freotheric seems to refer to Ermanric's son who was 
 put to death by his father, probably through the mis- 
 representations of Ermanric's evil counsellor, Sibich- 
 Becca. In most authorities, Freotheric (Frederic) is 
 represented as Ermanric's only son*, but in the Thcts. 
 the one son has been expanded into three — Friedrich, 
 Reginbald, Samson. 
 
 An extract may here be quoted from the Quedlinburg 
 Annals as it bears upon the fate both of Ermanric's son 
 Frederic and on that of his nephews the Harlunge — 
 Imbreike and Fritila: — 
 
 Annales Quedlinhurgenses. Martianus, 450-457. " Eo 
 tempore Ermanricus super omnes Gothos regnavit astutior 
 in dolo, largior in dono : qui post mortem Friderici 
 unici filii sui, sua perpetrata voluntate, patrueles suos 
 Embricam et Fritlam patibulo suspendit, Theodricum 
 similiter patruelem suum instimulante Odoacro patruele 
 suo de Verona pulsum apud Attilam exulare coegit." 
 
 WUDGA AND HaMA. 
 
 We almost always i&nd the names of Wudga and 
 Hama coupled as those of companions-in-arms. That 
 they were well known in almost every place to which 
 
 * Cf. Ann. Quedl. Dfi. 1. 2455. Heinr. v. Miinchen's Ghron. 1. 295. 
 
248 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 
 
 the Ermanric and Dietrich sagas spread, is shown by the 
 frequency of the references and the countless adventures 
 attributed to them. They are famous alike in the Th^s. 
 and in all mhg. poems and chronicles, and they were 
 the most dreaded amongst the warriors of Dietrich and 
 Ermanric. 
 
 But the characters Wudga and Hama or — to use the 
 names in the more usual German form — Witig and Heime, 
 are not altogether easily explained. A curious fact 
 about them is that they are represented as being alter- 
 nately in the service of Dietrich and Ermanric. At first 
 the vassals of Dietrich', they not only appear to desert 
 their master, but even become actively hostile to him in 
 the course of the great struggle between Dietrich and his 
 uncle Ermanric. Witig, especially, comes into prominence 
 in this connection : he was a knight unsurpassed in 
 strength and prowess by all save Dietrich : he was at first 
 the devoted servant of Dietrich, but afterwards turned 
 with equal fierceness against him, and became the leader 
 of Ermanric's armies, and was finally slain by Dietrich. 
 As one might anticipate, much more than a mere suspicion 
 of treachery attaches to the names of Witig and Heime in 
 many sources, and they are often quoted as the type of 
 disloyal and treacherous vassals. It is, however, important 
 to note the different view taken in the Thcts., especially 
 with regard to Witig, who is here represented as the ideal 
 knight, strong, brave, gentle and incapable of a mean or 
 dishonourable action. No breath of treachery sullies his 
 character. It was not by any overt act on his part that 
 he became the vassal of Ermanric, but purely owing to 
 the circumstance of his marriage with Ermanric's ward, 
 the mother of the Harlunge brothers. As Ermanric's 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 249 
 
 vassal, Witig was then bound, although sorely against the 
 grain, to lead the forces of his master against those of his 
 old master Dietrich. 
 
 The Th^s. represented Heime as a good knight, but of 
 a fierce and cruel disposition : he does not play such an 
 important part in the saga as Witig. In his old age 
 Heime re-entered the service of Dietrich {Th^s.y Chs. 
 17 fif., 79 ff., 189 ff., 332 fP., 429 fif.). 
 
 It is a strange circumstance in the history of the 
 careers of Witig and Heime, that in these days, when 
 loyalty and fidelity to the over-lord were held so dear, 
 two warriors, possessed of almost every knightly virtue, 
 should be found constantly transferring their allegiance 
 from one great monarch to another who was his deadly 
 foe. 
 
 There must be some underlying facts which are un- 
 known to us, to account for this. No certain explanation 
 can we give of these puzzling relations, but a natural 
 suggestion is that in the unusual relations of Witig and 
 Heime to Ermanric and Dietrich we have further grounds 
 for the theory hazarded above, that there were two Die- 
 trichs (Theodorics), and that the one who played such an 
 important part in the Ermanric saga did not originally 
 represent Theodoric the Great, but an earlier Theodoric, 
 the vassal of Ermanric. If this were so, the apparent 
 inconsistency and treachery of Witig and Heime would 
 instantly vanish : for as knights of Dietrich they would 
 also owe allegiance to Ermanric, who was Dietrich's over- 
 lord, and in the case of Dietrich's defection from his 
 master, their first duty would still be to support Ermanric. 
 
 In saga literature Witig is usually represented as the 
 son of the smith Weland (G. Wieland) : this union is 
 
250 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 
 
 probably of Low German origin. In Saxo and in the 
 older Edda, Witig and Heime do not appear at all. 
 
 Witig has been identified with a Gothic hero, Vidigoia, 
 who is twice mentioned by Jordanes. In Get., Ch. v, 
 Vidigoia is spoken of as one of the heroes whose deeds 
 are celebrated by the people in song : in Ch. xxxiv as a 
 great Gothic warrior who was treacherously slain by the 
 Sarmatians*. 
 
 It is possible that in the sagas, the Sarmatians may 
 have been replaced by the Huns, whose name was a 
 more familiar one, but in any case we need not hesitate 
 to identify the Wudga (mhg. Witege) represented as 
 fighting for Ermanric against the Huns in Widsith and 
 Rab. with the historical Vidigoia, the celebrated figure of 
 Gothic tradition ■[■. 
 
 (c) Brosinga Mene. 
 
 There still remains for consideration the obscure 
 allusion in Beowidf 11. 1197-1201, w^here we are told 
 that Ham a stole and escaped with Brosingamene, which 
 apparently was the property of Ermanric. Discussion 
 has raged round this passage without arriving at any very 
 definite conclusion. We may shortly examine the evidence 
 of other authorities w^hich throw any light on the story. 
 
 The Thd^s. (Ch. 435 fp.) contains a long account of a 
 theft perpetrated by Heime in a monastery belonging to 
 Ermanric, where he had formerly been in orders. Heime 
 
 ^ " Vidigoia Gothorum fortissimus Sarmatum dolo occubuit." 
 
 t In JD/?., Rab. and H. B. Anhang, Witege is named side by side with 
 
 Witegouwe, "his brother," both being represented as the sons of Wieland. 
 
 This is clearly a case in which two forms of the same name have been 
 
 mistaken for two distinct names. 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 251 
 
 stole a great deal of treasure in gold and silver on behalf 
 of his master Dietrich, to whom he had returned after 
 quitting Ermanric's service. A curious parallel to this 
 story occurs in the end of the prose Vglss. where Heirair, 
 the foster-father of Brunhild, is forced to fly from his 
 country with Aslaug, the daughter of Sigurd and Brunhild. 
 Heimir made a great harp which was hollow, into which 
 he put the child Aslaug with much gold and silver ; he 
 then set out on his journey in the disguise of a wandering 
 minstrel. 
 
 Although the occurrence of this story in the Vglss. 
 may be a mere coincidence, yet the evidence of the Thds. 
 alone is sufficient to prove that there was in the original 
 saga some well substantiated story of a theft comii)itted 
 by Heime on the property of Ermanric. The question as 
 to what the Brosingamene which Beo. reports Hama to 
 have stolen actually was, is however more difficult. In 
 Norse mythology the necklace of the Goddess Freyja was 
 called the Brisingamen. At the instigation of Odin, Loki 
 stole the necklace from Freyja : it was however restored 
 to her by Heimdall. 
 
 It need not be doubted that Brosingamene is either 
 a corruption or another form of Brisingamen ; but we do 
 not know what the meaning and significance of the word 
 is, whether there was only one or more than one Brisinga- 
 men, whether, in short, it is a generic term or the name 
 of some specific object. It cannot therefore be proved 
 that the Brisingamen of Norse mythology is identical 
 with the Brosingamene which Heime (Hama) is reported 
 to have stolen from Ermanric. This is, however, assumed 
 by Miillenhoff in his interpretation*, the chief points of 
 
 * Z,f. d.A. Vol. XXX, pp. 217 ff, "Frija und der Halsband Mythus." 
 
252 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 
 
 which are (1) that by connecting Brisinga with Breisach, 
 the traditional home of the Harhmge, the Brosingamene 
 which was stolen by Heime is identified with the treasure, 
 for the sake of which the Harlunge were murdered by 
 Ermanric*; and (2) that the Harlunge themselves are 
 interpreted as mythical beings, to wit, the twin Dioskuri 
 or Aryan A9vina, the gods of the morning. 
 
 As matters stand, the identification of the treasure of 
 the Harlunge with the Brosingamene is mere conjecture, 
 nor is there, in the story, anything to indicate that the 
 figures of the two brothers are of less historical value than 
 that of Ermanric himself: it is difficult to see what ground 
 there is for the idea that they should be regarded as 
 mythical characters. 
 
 The chief objection to Mlillenhofif's explanation is, 
 however, that it is based on an assumption which we 
 have seen to be unwarranted, viz. that the Brosingamene 
 of Ermanric was the same as the Brisingamen of the 
 Goddess Freyja. 
 
 It is of course possible that the Brosingamene was 
 originally an attribute of the gods, which was afterwards 
 transferred to mortals, a process for which parallel cases 
 might be cited : but even if this were known to be the 
 case, there would be no justification whatsoever for 
 connecting myth and historical tradition any further. 
 
 * According to the Thd:s. the father of the Harlunge was called Aki 
 Orlungatrausti — this character is to be identified with the Getreue Ecke- 
 hart of German legend who is everywhere referred to as the guardian of 
 the Harlunge brothers {Bjl., Rah., Alp., &c.). It is in this connection 
 perhaps worth while noting that according to the story of Vglss. cited 
 above, Heimir in the course of his wanderings fell in with a peasant 
 named Aki, by whom he was murdered for the sake of the treasure which 
 he carried. 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 253 
 
 A document of St Gallen of the year 786* contains 
 an entry according to which a certain Heimo and his 
 daughter Suanilta made gifts of money to several monas- 
 teries. 
 
 The fact that these names Heimo (Heime) and Suan- 
 ilta (Swanhild) are here linked together has given rise to 
 the suggestion by Mlillenhoff, that Heime, who, according 
 to Beo. 11. 1197 ff. stole the Brosingamene — apparently 
 consisting of treasure — from Ermanric, was the husband 
 of Swanhild, referred to by Jordanes in the words pro 
 mariti frandulento discessu. There is not at present 
 enough evidence to confirm this hypothesis ; except for 
 this allusion, we have no ground for connecting Heime 
 and Swanhild. The one feature common to Heime and 
 to the husband of Swanhild is that they both robbed 
 Ermanric (this appears to be the best interpretation 
 oi frandulento discessu), and it is highly probable that 
 Ermanric in the course of his reign w^as robbed by many 
 others besides Heime. 
 
 IV. Historical Background underlying the 
 Ermanric Saga. 
 
 The Ermanric saga regarded from an historical stand- 
 point is valuable in its possibilities rather than in its 
 certainties. We cannot affirm with absolute assurance 
 more than what is already well-known historical fact, 
 namely, that a powerful king named Ermanric ruled over 
 
 * Urhundenbuch der Ahtei St Gallen, ed. Wartmann, 1863, Vol. i, 
 110: "Ego Heimone et filia ejus Svanailta aque tiadamus et trans- 
 fundimus ad monasterium sancti Gallone, qui est constructus in page 
 Harbonensi, ubi ejus sacrus corpus requiescit." 
 
254) THE ERMANRIG SAGA 
 
 the Goths during the middle years of the fourth century, 
 and that his death took place simultaneously with the 
 first attack made on his dominions by the Hunnish 
 forces. 
 
 All references in literature to Ermanric go to confirm 
 the evidence of history that he was a monarch of great 
 power and vast dominions. His jurisdiction appears to 
 have extended as far as the shores of the Baltic* at the 
 part where the Vistula enters it, and he was known and 
 feared amongst Northern peoples as the mighty king 
 Jgrmunrek. Ermanric is a familiar figure in Scandina- 
 vian literature from the earliest times, and the fact that 
 he was known by the Widsith poet is perhaps better 
 proof than any other of his widespread fame at a very 
 early date. 
 
 There is no reason to doubt that the stories of Swan- 
 hild, of Heime's theft, and of the Harlunge brothers are 
 founded on historical fact, though we are not in a position 
 to say definitely that such is the case. The only parts of 
 these stories which may be regarded as spurious are those 
 in which the number of characters occurring in any given 
 connection in an early authority has been added to in the 
 later accounts of the same story. Thus it is very improb- 
 able that Sw^anhild had in reality more than two brothers, 
 that the Harlunge were originally more than two in 
 number, or that Ermanric had more than one son. 
 
 * This is implied rather than actually stated. Jordanes says that 
 Ermanric ruled over the Aisti, who lived according to King Alfred 
 eastwards from the mouth of the Vistula to Ermanric's court. The 
 visit of Ealhild, a princess of the Myrgringas, of which an account is 
 given in Wids. 11. 5 ff., may have been a case of the giving of hostages, 
 in which case Ermanric's jurisdiction extended perhaps as far north as a 
 tribe whose territory bordered on Angel. 
 
THE ERMANRIC SAGA 255 
 
 With regard to the catalogue of Ermanric's innweorud 
 which is given by the Widsith poet, it is difficult to say 
 anything definitely. 
 
 It is, however, more probable than not that all the 
 names are those of historical characters, whom the poet 
 had heard spoken of in connection with Ermanric, although 
 they do not all appear to have been contemporaries of 
 that kino-. 
 
 Note to Chapter viii. 
 
 The following are the most important of the extracts 
 from Jordanes, Ammiauus and the Quedlinhurg Annals 
 bearing on the Ermanric saga. 
 
 Ammianus (Ch. xxxi, 3, 1). " Igitur Hanni pervasis Alanorum 
 regionibus, quos Gruthungis confines Tanaitas consuetude nomina- 
 vit, interfectisque multis et spoliatis, reliquos sibi concordandi fide 
 pacta junxerunt eisque adjunctis confidentius Ermanrichi late 
 patentes et uberes pagos repentino impetu perruperunt bellico- 
 sissimi Regis et per multa variaque fortiter facta vicinis nationibus 
 formidati." 
 
 Jordanes {Get. Ch. xiv, 82). "Nunc autem ad id, unde digressum 
 primus, redeamus doceamusque, quomodo ordo gentis, unde agimus, 
 cursus sui metam explevit. Ablabius enim storicus refert, quia 
 ibi super limbum Ponti, ubi eos diximus in Scythia commanere, 
 ibi pars eorum qui orientalem plagam tenebat, eisque praeerat 
 Ostrogotha, utrum ab ipsius nomine, an a loco, id est orientales 
 dicti sunt Ostrogothae, residui vero Vesegotbae, id est a parte 
 occidua." 
 
 {Oet. Ch. XXIII ff.) " Nam Gothorum rege Geberich rebus 
 excedente humanis post temporis aliquod Hermanaricus nobilissi- 
 mus Amalorum, multas et bellicosissimas arctoas gentes perdomuit 
 suisque parere legibus fecit. Quem merito nonnuUi Alexandre 
 magno comparavere majores...et gentem Herulorum quibus praeerat 
 Alaricus, magna ex parte trucidatam reliquam suae subigeret 
 ditioni." 
 
256 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 
 
 (Ch. xxiv) "Post autem non longi temporis intervalhim, ut referfc 
 Orosius, Huanorum gens omni ferocitate atrocior exarsit in Gothos. 
 Hermanaricus, rex Gothorum licet, multarum gentium extiterat 
 triumph ator, de Hunnorum tamen adventu dum cogitat Kosomo- 
 norum gens infida, quae tunc inter alias illi famulatum exhibebat^ 
 tali eum nanciscitur occasione decipere. Dum enim quandam 
 mulierem Sunilda (Sunielh, Sunihil) nomine ex gente memorata 
 pro mariti fraudulento discessu rex furore commotus equis ferocibus 
 illigatam incitatisque cursibus per diversa divelli praecipisset,. 
 fratres ejus Sarus et Ammius, germanae obitum vindicantes. Her- 
 manarici latus ferro petierunt : quo vulnere saucius aegram vitam 
 corporis imbecillitate contraxit. Quam adversam ejus valitudinem 
 captans Balamber rex Hunnorum in Ostrogothorum partem movit 
 procinctum, a quorum societate iam Vesegothae quadam inter se 
 intentione sejuncti habebantur. Inter haec Hermanaricus tarn 
 vulneris dolorem, quam etiam incursiones Hunnorum non ferens 
 grandaevus et plenus dierum centesimo decimo anno vitae suae 
 defunctus est." 
 
 Quedlinhurg Awnals (Anastasius, 491-518). " Amulung Theo- 
 deric dicitur : proavus suus Amul vocabatur qui Gothorum potis- 
 simus censebatur, et iste fuit Thideric de Berne de quo cantabant 
 rustice olim. Theodericus Attilae regis auxilio in regnum Gothorum 
 reductus suum patruelem Odeacrum in Kavenna civitate expugnatum 
 interveniente Attila ne occideretur' exilio deportatum paucis villis. 
 juxta confluentiam Albiae et Salae fluminum donavit." 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 An attempt has been made in the foregoing chapters 
 to estimate the amount of historical truth contained in 
 the O.E. heroic poems. Emphasis has been laid on the 
 reliability of the evidence of the poems, derived from 
 their great antiquity, i.e. it is of the nature of con- 
 temporary testimony and therefore was less likely to be 
 corrupted than later accounts of the same events. When, 
 in addition, we find this evidence confirmed by independent 
 authorities of later date and different nationality, we are 
 further justified in the belief that the tradition in question 
 is based on historical truth. This we have found almost 
 uniformly to be the case : there is scarcely a single episode 
 of the poems which is not confirmed by the testimony of 
 later Scandinavian or German records. Only in the case 
 of one or two isolated references, and of some personal 
 and tribal names contained in the catalogue of the Widsith 
 poet, does all other evidence fail us. 
 
 Of course, the coincidence of English and Scandinavian 
 evidence with regard to any tradition is not a conclusive 
 proof of its historical value but must be followed up by 
 a thorough investigation of the nature of the tradition in 
 question and the possible influence that mythology and 
 folk-lore may have had in its development. A general 
 
 c. 17 
 
258 CONCLUSION 
 
 survey of the poems conducted on these lines has shown 
 that with the exceptions of the Sceaf myth, some names 
 in the Widsith catalogue, and the further possible exception 
 of the Weland saga, we have found good ground for believing 
 that the traditions contained in the O.E. epic poems are 
 all based on historical fact. In some cases the weight of 
 evidence in favour of the historicity of tradition has been 
 so overwhelming as to exclude the possibility of doubt, 
 as for example Offa's duel by the river Eider, and the 
 successful campaign which Eadgils-Adils, with the assist- 
 ance of Beowulf-Bgdvar, waged against Onela. In other 
 cases it has been found necessary to have recourse to 
 a more indirect method of reasoning. In the absence of 
 actual proof, the accumulation of evidence often tends 
 strongly towards the probability that a tradition is 
 historical. Where, at the same time, the possibility of 
 a mythical background can be eliminated it may be 
 assumed with comparative certainty that the events 
 related are based on actual occurrences. 
 
 With regard to Widsith, which is little more than 
 a catalogue of names and facts, no one denies that this 
 is so. The same cannot be said of the view generally 
 held with regard to the Beowulf. There seems, however, 
 little doubt that much more stress should be laid on the 
 historical importance of this poem also than has usually 
 been the case. The supposed mythical elements which it 
 contains have received undue prominence. Such elements 
 mav, probably do, exist, but they are accretions which 
 with care may be separated from the main thread of the 
 events. Surely the coincidence of evidence in different 
 authorities, both in the case of Beoiuulf and in that of the 
 other narratives considered, is too remarkable for any 
 
CONCLUSION 259 
 
 sober-minded critic to regard it merely as a series of 
 fortuitous coincidences. 
 
 Respect for the O.E. heroic poems considered in the 
 light of historical documents increases, the more fully they 
 are studied without preconceived determination to find in 
 them mere myth or allegorical types. They are store- 
 houses of valuable information conceroing the doings, 
 customs, and beliefs of ancient Teutonic peoples*. Not- 
 withstanding the obscurity arising in certain instances 
 from the fragmentary form in which some of the poems 
 have been preserved, we may go a step further and say 
 that the primary interest of these poems, which were 
 originally designed for the amusement and entertainment 
 of our warlike ancestors, now lies in their relation to the 
 history of the far-away times which gave them birth. 
 
 * A consideration of the last two points would fall under the head of 
 sociology rather than that of history, unless the latter term received its 
 Spencerian interpretation. 
 
 17-2 
 
APPENDIX I 
 
 NATIONS AND KINGS VISITED BY WIDSITH 
 IN HIS WANDERINGS. 
 
 Myrgingas. Cf. Ch. iv on Offa Episode. 
 
 Hrdthcyning, i.e. Ermanric. Cf. Ch. viii on Ermanric 
 saga. A.S. hred'= glory or renown. 
 
 Hwala. The only other known occurrence of the name 
 Hwala is in MSS. B and C of the A.S. Chr. under the year 
 855, where very far back in the genealogies we find the names 
 Itermon Hathraing, Hathra Hwalai7tg, Hwala Bedwiging^ 
 Bedwig Sceajing, id est filius JSfoe. 
 
 It has been suggested that Eaforum Ecgwelan (cf. Beo. L 
 1710) may contain a reference to the same person. 
 
 Alexandreas = Alexander the Great of Greece. 
 
 Aetla weold Hunum. The Huns were an Asiatic race. 
 They appeared in Europe in the middle of the fourth century, 
 moving westwards from the Ural Mountains with irresistible 
 strength and great ferocity. The Huns were of Tartar origin, 
 and came originally from a home in N.E. Asia. About the 
 year 374 a.d. they crossed the rivers Volga and Don, and fell 
 upon the kingdom of the Goths. During the first half of the 
 fifth century the Huns were led by the great Attila, under 
 whom they swept across Europe, penetrating even to Gaul, and 
 inspiring universal terror through the cruelty of their deeds. 
 
APPENDIX I 261 
 
 Between 445 and 450, Attila ravaged the Eastern Empire 
 between the Euxme and the Adriatic, and in 450 he invaded 
 Gaul. His forces were estimated at about half a million. 
 Attila was defeated by the combined forces of Romans and 
 Franks, after which he turned southwards with a view to 
 marching on Rome. But he died in 453, and, deprived of their 
 great leader, the Hunnish armies quickly became disorganized. 
 The Huns dispersed and disappeared as suddenly as they had 
 come, having, in their whirlwind course, changed the whole 
 face of Europe. The probability is that they were to some 
 extent assimilated by the Teutons among whom they settled, 
 and that they became to all intents and purposes Teutonic. 
 
 Eormanric (weold) Gotum. Cf. Ch. viii on Erman- 
 ric saga. 
 
 Becca (weold) Baningum. Cf. Wids. 1. 115, Seccan 
 sohte ic and Beccan. Becca probably belongs to the East 
 Gothic cycle, cf. therefore Ch. viii on Ermanric saga. 
 Il^othing is known of the Baningas. 
 
 Burgendum (weold) Gifica. Cf. Ch. vii on the 
 Burgundians. 
 
 Casere weold Creacum. Casere is of course merely 
 the word "Caesar," i.e. Emperor. The representation of the 
 Emperor as ruling the Greeks and not the Romans points to 
 the conception in the poet's mind of the Empire as centred in 
 Constantinople. From the year 478-800 a.d. there was only 
 one Emperor in the Roman Empire and his seat of government 
 was in Constantinople. 
 
 Gaelic (weold) Finnum. Caelic is otherwise unknown. 
 
 Finnas, like O.N. Finnar, may be a generic name em- 
 bracing both Lapps and Finns. In O.E. references it usually 
 denotes the Lapps, as for example in Orosius, Voyages of Ohthere 
 and Wulfstan. By the Scridefinnas of Procopius (6^o^A. ii, 15), 
 who are mentioned in Wids. 1. 29, the Lapps are also evidently 
 meant. 
 
262 APPENDIX I 
 
 Hagena (weold) Holmrygum. Cf. Ch. vi on Deor. 
 
 Heoden (weold) Glommum. Cf. Ch. vi on Deor. 
 
 Witta weold Swaefum. In Bede's genealogy {HisL 
 Eccles. I, 15), Vitta is the name of the grandfather of Hengest^ 
 who in 449 invaded Kent along with Horsa. According to 
 Sweet's genealogy, dating from circa 872, Vitta is the father 
 of Hengest. 
 
 Wids., 1. 44, mentions the Swaefe as conterminous with the 
 Engli. They were probably a northern band of the Suevi, who 
 in early times were known as the people of the Elbe. We find 
 mention of a people called the North Suevi in continental 
 documents (cf. also Ch. iv). 
 
 Wada (weold) Haelsingum. In the Thcts. Yad"e is a 
 giant, the son of King Wilkinus. He is married to a mermaid 
 and their son is the famous smith Weland. 
 
 In the Gudrun Wate is a fierce sea-king who reigns in 
 Sturmen or Sturmland. His figure recalls to some extent 
 that of the God Neptune. 
 
 The stem Haelsing- is found helping to form compounds 
 in a number of northern names, e.g. Helsingaland, Helsing- 
 fors, (fee. These names might quite well be originally due to 
 the existence of a tribe, Helsingas or Haelsingas, although 
 nothing is known directly of such a tribe. 
 
 Meaca (weold) Myrgingiim. Meaca is otherwise un- 
 known. 
 
 Marchealf (weold) Hundingum. Marchealf is other- 
 wise unknown. 
 
 Nothing is known of a tribe called the Hundings. In the 
 Vqlsungasaga and in Saxo we hear of a King Hunding, who 
 was slain by Helgi Hundingsbani : according to the Edda, 
 Helgi Hundingsbani was the son of Sigmund the Vylsung^ 
 but Saxo has confused him with Helgi the son of Halfdan, 
 king of Denmark, who lived much later and was quite a. 
 different person. 
 
APPENDIX I 263 
 
 As the authority of Widsith is much older than that of 
 Saxo, we seem to have here a case of the contraction of a tribe 
 or nation into a single man. The same thing has apparently 
 taken place in the case of Heathobeardan and Hothbroddus 
 (cf. Ch. II, p. 105). 
 
 Theodric weold Froncum. 
 
 Theuderic was the eldest of the four sons of Chlodovech 
 (Clovis), the great king of the Franks, who first gave shape 
 to the Frankish Empire. When Chlodovech died, his realms 
 were divided according to an ancient Teutonic custom, amongst 
 his four sons, Theuderic, Chlodomer, Childebert, and Chlotar. 
 Theuderic, who reigned from 511-533, received as his portion 
 the former kingdom of the Ripparian Franks, which lay along 
 the river Rhine from Koln (Cologne) as far south as Basel 
 (Bale), as well as some territory lying to the east in the valley 
 of the Main. It was in the early years of Theuderic's reign 
 that Chochilaicus, a " Danish " pirate king, made a raid on the 
 Lower Rhine. He was defeated and slain by Theuderic's son 
 Theudebert. In 531 Theuderic, with the help of his brother 
 Chlotar, conquered Thuringia and made it a tributary state. 
 He died in 533. 
 
 In the Quedlinburg Annals, under the year 532 a.d., we 
 find the following entry, in the reign of Hugo Theodoricus 
 under the Emperor Justinian (527-65) : 
 
 " Eodem anno Hugo Theodericus rex Chlodovec regis filius 
 ex concubina natus cum patri successisset in regnum ad elec- 
 tionem suam Irminfridum regem Thuringorum honorifice in- 
 vitavit. Hugo Theodericus iste dicitur, id est Francus, quia 
 olim omnes Franci Hugones vocabantur a suo quodam duce 
 Hugone." 
 
 This passage is interesting for two reasons. In the first 
 place, we learn from it that the Franks were originally called 
 ''Hugones," which forms an instructive parallel to Beowulf, 
 
264 APPENDIX I 
 
 1. 2913, where in speaking of Hygelac's fatal expedition, the 
 poet says : 
 
 "Waes sio wroht scepen 
 
 heard with Hugas^ syththan HygeMc cwom 
 
 faran flot-herge on Fresna land, 
 
 thaer hyne Hetware hilde gehnaegdoD, 
 
 elne ge-eodon mid ofer-maegene, 
 
 thaet se byrn-w$ga btigan sceolde, 
 
 feoll on f^than*" 
 
 Secondly, it appears from this passage that King Theuderic 
 was commonly known as Hugo Theodericus. Theuderic was 
 an illegitimate son of King Chlodovech, and after his father's 
 death he quarrelled with his three brothers about the partition 
 of the kingdom. These historical events seem to find an echo 
 in the Hug- and Wolfdietrichsaga, and attempts have been 
 made to identify episodes in Theu.deric's career with parts 
 of this saga. The figure of Theuderic corresponds, however, 
 not to that of Hugdietrich, but to that of his son Wolf- 
 dietrich. 
 
 Thyle (weold) Rondingum. Both names are otherwise 
 unknown. 
 
 Breoca (weold) Brondingnra. The only other refer- 
 ence to Breoca is Beo. 11. 505 ff. (where the name occurs as 
 Breca) and especially in 1. 520, where the country which he 
 governed is referred to as the land of the Brondings. Beowulf 
 was reported to have had a nine days' swimming match with 
 Breca on the open sea. 
 
 Billing (weold) Wernum. ' Billing is otherwise un- 
 known. 
 
 * " The strife with the Hugas became sharp, after Hygelac came 
 with his fleet to the land of the Frisians, where the Hetware vanquished 
 him in battle, (and) bravely achieved by their superior numbers that the 
 armed warrior should yield, should fall amongst his warriors." 
 
APPENDIX I 265 
 
 The Wenii are clearly the same as the Yarini mentioned 
 hy Tacitus (Germ. Ch. 40), who unfortunately gives no clear 
 indication as to their position, though we may infer from him 
 that they lived near the sea and south of the Elbe. 
 
 Ptolemy places the tribes Ouirouinoi and Teutonoaroi 
 approximately in Hoist ein-Lauenburg, and the Auerpoi and 
 Teutones approximately in Mecklenburg*. These two pairs 
 of names seem to be doublets. It is possible that the Warni 
 are mentioned in a corrupt form by Pliny (Wat. Hist, iv, 99 1) 
 where they, together with the Goths and Burgundians, are 
 classed as the Vandili, who constituted the north-easterly 
 division of the five divisions into which Pliny divides th'e 
 Oermani f . " On the whole," says Mr Chadwick (op. cit. p. 200), 
 ^' tl>e evidence such as it is distinctly favours the idea that the 
 Varini belonged to the eastern or Baltic half of Germany." 
 Mention is also found of the Warni in later times. According 
 to Procopius (i.e. 550 a.d.) Goth, ii, 14 (cf. Ch. ii, p. 62), 
 the Heruli passed through the territory of the Warni on their 
 way north, before reaching the Danoi, and he says in another 
 passage (v, 1 4) that the Warni were separated from the Franks 
 only by the Rhine. Their territory lay apparently near the 
 coast, for they were attacked by the Angloi from over the sea 
 {Goth. IV, 20). Perhaps a branch of the Warni had settled in 
 Holland, but since Procopius' knowledge of the geography of 
 Northern Europe was but vague, some mistake may have taken 
 place here. We read in Fredegarius (Chron. Ch. 15) that the 
 Warni rebelled against the Franks in 596, but where they lived 
 at this time is not stated. Detached bands of Warni are found 
 in Italy and Spain at different times during the sixth century, 
 and the last time they are mentioned is in the heading of a 
 Code called "Lex Angliorum et Werinorum, hoc estThuring- 
 orum," which dates from early in the ninth century. The 
 
 * Ptolemy, Geographia, ir, 11. 9. 
 t Cf. Ch. VII, p. 211. 
 
266 APPENDIX I 
 
 most probable view is that this code belongs to part of the 
 old Thuringian kingdom, which was situated in Central 
 Germany round the basin of the Elbe, and hence it is likely 
 that some part of the Warni had settled there. It may be 
 noted that from the time of Tacitus downwards, the names 
 of Angli and Warni have frequently been found in close 
 interconnection *. 
 
 Oswine (weold) Eowum. Oswine is otherwise un- 
 known. 
 
 Eowum seems to be the same word as Auiones, a tribe 
 mentioned by Tacitus {Germ,, xl), and included among the 
 seven which worshipped the Goddess Nerthus. The name 
 may mean " Islanders " : we do not find it used elsewhere as 
 a tribal name. The island of Oland, it may also be noticed, 
 is called by King Alfred Eowland. 
 
 Ytum (weold) Gefwulf. Gefwulf is otherwise un- 
 known. 
 
 Ytwm may be the same word as A.S. Eotan, O.N. Jotar, 
 Eng. Jutes, which is the name used by Danish historians for 
 the inhabitants of Jutland. Two forms appear in English 
 corresponding to O.IST. Jotar, viz. (a) Eota or Eotena, (b) 
 Yte or Ytena. 
 
 Y of Yte would correspond to le and give Jete, a W.S, 
 form with Umlaut (cf. also p. 183). 
 
 Fin Folcwalding (weold) Fresna cynne. Cf. Ch. v 
 on Finn saga. 
 
 Sigehere lengest Sae-denum weold. For Sigehere and 
 the Danes cf. Ch. it. 
 
 Hnaef (weold) Hocingum. Cf. Ch. v on Finn saga. 
 
 Helm (weold) Wulfingum. Helm is otherwise un- 
 known. In Beowulf, and in various Scandinavian poems, 
 references to his tribe occur. 
 
 '' Cf. Chadwick, op. cit. pp. 108 &., 198 ff. 
 
APPENDIX I 26T 
 
 In Beowulf they are called Wylfingas, in Scandinavian 
 references Ylvingar; in Scandinavian literature they are 
 sometimes identified with the VQlssiingar. 
 
 Wald (weold) Woingum. Both names are otherwise 
 unknown. 
 
 Wod (weold) Thyringum. Wod is otherwise un- 
 known. 
 
 The Thuringas were an important nation up to the begin- 
 ning of the sixth century, and occupied territories around and 
 northwards of the basin of the Saale, and bordering on the 
 Franks. Their kingdom was destroyed by the Frankish king 
 Theuderic in 531 a.d. 
 
 Saeferth (weold) Sycgum. These names recall the 
 Sigeferhth Secgena leod mentioned in Finn (cf. Ch. v on 
 Finn saga). 
 
 Saeferth's name occurs in a genealogy of East Saxon kings 
 contained in Sweet, 0. E. T. p. 179, while much higher up in 
 the same genealogy we find the name Gesecg. Now one of the 
 ancestors of the West Saxon kings, as contained in the genea- 
 logy of the A.S. Chronicle under the year 855, is named Gewis^ 
 and Bede {Hist. Eccles. iii, 7, &c.) repeatedly speaks of the 
 West Saxons as Gewissae or Gewissi, by which name, as he 
 says, they were formerly called. On the analogy of the forms 
 Gewissae and Gewis it seems permissible to reason that 
 Secgena (Sycgan) may have been formed in a similar way 
 from Gesecg, and may thus have been at one time no other 
 than a dynastic name for the East Saxons. 
 
 Sweom (weold) Ongentheow. Cf. Ch. iii on Swedish 
 traditions. 
 
 Sceafthere (weold) Ymbrum. Sceafthere is otherwise 
 unknown. 
 
 The forms Ymbrum and Sycgum suggest the possibility 
 that y may have taken the place of an earlier e. If this is 
 so, the Embrum may have been the inhabitants either of the 
 
268 APPENDIX I 
 
 Pagus Ambria — now Ammerland — on the borders of Olden- 
 burg and West Hanover, or of the island Amrum (formerly 
 Amberum), and there may be some historical connection be- 
 tween these two places. In Nennius' account of the North- 
 umbrian kings, the Northumbrians are twice spoken of as 
 Saxones Amhronu7a^ which is glossed "i.e. Eald Saxonum"^." 
 
 As the Northumbrian English could not possibly be iden- 
 tified with the Ambrones it is clear that some mistake has 
 taken place here; the existence of the gloss is, however, 
 evidence that the Old Saxons, or some part of them, were 
 called Ambrones. 
 
 Possibly the word Ambrones in Nennius was originally 
 merely a scribal error for XJmbrones — Northumbrians. 
 
 Sceafa (weold) Longbeardum. History knows no 
 Lombardian prince of this name. For Longbeardas see below. 
 
 Hun (weold) Haetwerum. Hun is otherwise unknown. 
 The Haetweri are mentioned in Beo. 1. 2363 and 1. 2916, as 
 Hetwari. In alliance with the Franks and Frisians they 
 defeated Hygelac. This tribe is clearly the same as the 
 Chattuarii who are mentioned in connection with the same 
 events in the Gesta Francorum, Ch. xix (cf. p. 43). 
 
 The name survives in the Pagus Hattuariensis between 
 the Zuyder Zee and the Phine, the first mention of which 
 dates from the beginning of the Christian era (Yelleius). 
 
 Oflfa weold Ongle. Cf. Ch. iv on the Offa Episode. 
 
 Alewih weold Denum. Cf. Ch. ii, especially pp. 118 ff". 
 Widsith, 11. 70-75 : 
 
 " I have also been in Italy with Aelfwine — so far as my 
 knowledge goes he, the son of Eadwine, had of all mankind 
 the readiest hand for the acquisition of praise, the most un- 
 grudging heart for distributing rings, i.e. shining bracelets." 
 
 Aelfwine (Alboin) the son of Eadwine (Audoin) was an 
 historical king of the Lombards. In the first half of the 
 * Nennius, Sec. 63, MS. K. 
 
APPENDIX I 269 
 
 sixth century the Lombards, whose territory lay on the middle 
 Danube, were neighbours and bitter enemies of the Gepidae, 
 who had remained in the Hungarian plains when the rest of 
 the Gothic people moved west to Spain and Italy. In 567^ 
 the Lombards, assisted by the Tartars and Avars, put an end 
 to the struggle by almost exterminating the Gepidae : this 
 took place under the leadership of Alboin the son of Audoin. 
 The next year, 568, Alboin put into effect a long-cherished 
 scheme for the invasion of Italy. In 552, while the old king 
 Audoin was still alive, the Lombards had provided horses 
 with a contingent of 5,000 men for his invasion of Italy. 
 This perhaps first gave rise in Alboin's mind to the idea of 
 himself invading Italy, an idea which received fresh impetus 
 after he had seen the beauties and the fertility of that land. 
 At that time an independent Lombard invasion was out of 
 the question, as the Lombards were still fully occupied with 
 the Gepidae, and their king Audoin was an old man. In 568 
 the way at length seemed open, and Alboin, leaving his king- 
 dom, under certain conditions, to his allies, the Avars, crossed 
 the Alps in the summer, with the whole Lombard nation, and 
 took possession of the plains of North Italy, which, owing to 
 previous wars and pestilence, were then in a state of desertion. 
 Very little opposition was offered to Alboin's advance : only 
 in places such as Padua, Yerona, Pavia, which contained an 
 imperial garrison, was there organised resistance. 
 
 The Lombards spread themselves over the whole valley 
 of the Po. They became divided into West and East Lom- 
 bards. Many scattered portions of other tribes joined Alboin, 
 such as Saxons, Suabians, Bulgarians, and Slavs. At last 
 Pavia, the last stronghold, fell, and was chosen by Alboin as 
 the capital of Lombardy. 
 
 Alboin was murdered in 572 at the instigation of his wife, 
 the daughter of Cunimund, king of the Gepidae, whom Alboin 
 had slain. 
 
APPENDIX II 
 
 LIST OF GENEALOGIES. 
 
 English Genealogies. 
 
 West Saxon Genealogy. 
 
 (This genealogy makes no claim to completeness, being 
 designed to deal only with names which have occurred in. 
 the consideration of the O.E. poems.) 
 
 W.S. Genealogy in A. S. Chronicle under year 855. 
 
 Sceaf. id est filius Noe. 
 
 Bedwig. 
 
 Hwala. 
 
 Hrathra. 
 
 Itermon. 
 
 Heremod. 
 
 Sceldwea. 
 
 Beaw. 
 
 Taetwa. 
 
 Geat. 
 
 Godwulf (Nennius, Folcbald or Folcpald). 
 
 Finn. 
 
 Frithewulf. 
 
 Frealaf. 
 
 Woden. 
 
 Baldaeg. 
 
 Brand. 
 
 Frithogar. 
 
 Freawine. 
 
 Wig. 
 
 etc. etc. 
 
APPENDIX II 271 
 
 The genealogy as given by William of Malmesbury and 
 Aethelweard varies slightly from that in the A. S. Chr. 
 
 William of Malmesbury. 
 Noae. 
 Strephius. 
 Bedwegius. 
 Gwala. 
 Hadra, 
 Stermonius. 
 
 Heremodius. Aethelweard. 
 
 Sceaf. Sceaf. 
 
 Sceldius. Scyld. 
 
 Beowius. Beo. 
 
 Tetius. Tetwa. 
 
 etc. etc. etc. etc. 
 
 The non-W.S. genealogies, i.e. a group consisting of a text 
 printed by Sweet— Cotton MS. Vespasian B. 6 fol. 108 ff. 
 (811 — 814 A.D.) — Historia Britonum, a chronicle under year 
 547, probably of northern source, and several later texts 
 (Corpus, 183), all place Geat at the head of the genealogy. 
 Only in the A. S. Chr. under year 855, in Aethelweard and in 
 the texts derived from these, are the genealogies carried back 
 to Sceaf. The last mentioned authorities date from about the 
 end of the tenth century. 
 
 Mercian Genealogy in A. S. Chr. under year 755. 
 
 Woden. Woden. 
 
 Wihtlaeg. Wihtlaeg. 
 
 Waermund . Waermund . 
 
 Offa. Offa. 
 
 Angeltheow. Angeltheow. 
 
 Eomaer. Eomaer. 
 
 Icel. Icel. 
 
272 
 
 > 
 
 APPENDIX 11 
 
 Cnebba. 
 
 Cnebba. 
 
 Cynewald. 
 
 Cynewald. 
 
 Creoda. 
 
 Creoda. 
 
 Pybba. 
 
 Pybba. 
 
 Eawa. 
 
 Penda. 
 
 Osmod. 
 
 
 Eanwulf. 
 
 
 Thingferth. 
 
 
 Offa. 
 
 
 Danish Genealogies. 
 
 
 Sven Aagesen. 
 
 Saxo. 
 
 SkiQld. 
 
 Humblus I. 
 
 Frothi. 
 
 Dan I. 
 
 Haldan. 
 
 Humblus II. 
 
 Helge. 
 
 Lothar. 
 
 Rolf Kraki. 
 
 Sciold. 
 
 R0kil. 
 
 Gram. 
 
 Frothi hinn fr0kni. 
 
 Hading. 
 
 Wermnndus. 
 
 Frotho I. 
 
 Uffi. 
 
 Haldanus I. Roe I, 
 
 Dan Elatus. 
 
 Helgo. Roe II. 
 
 Frothi senex. 
 
 Hrolvus crace. 
 
 Fridlevus. 
 
 Hotherus. 
 
 Frothi largus. 
 
 Roricus Slyngebond 
 
 
 (ringslinger). 
 
 Ingild. 
 
 Wiglecus. 
 
 Olavus. 
 
 Waermundus. 
 
 
 Uffo. 
 
 
 Dan timid us. 
 
 
 Huglecus. 
 
 
 Frotho vegetus II. 
 
 
 Dan III. 
 
 
 Fridlevus celer I. 
 
APPENDIX II 
 
 273 
 
 Frotho legislator III. 
 
 Fridlevus II. 
 
 Frotho largus IV. 
 
 Tngellus. 
 
 Olavus. 
 
 Frotho V. 
 
 Haldan II. 
 
 Langfedgatal. 
 Oden. 
 
 Skigldr his son. 
 Fridleifr his son. 
 Fridefrode his son. 
 Havarr his son. 
 Frode his son. 
 Yarmundr his son. 
 Olafr his son. 
 Danr. 
 
 Frode his son. 
 Fridleifr. 
 Frode his son. 
 Ingjaldr his son. 
 Halfdan — brother. 
 Helgi oc Hroar, sons. 
 Rolfr Kraki Helgi's son. 
 Hraerekr Ingiald's son. 
 
 Gothic Genealogy. 
 
 Genealogy of Gothic kings given by Jordanes, Get. 
 
 Ch. XIV. 
 
 Gapt. 
 Ulmul. 
 Augis. 
 Amal. 
 
 18 
 
274 APPENDIX II 
 
 Isarna. 
 
 Ostrogotha. 
 
 Hunuin. 
 
 Athal. 
 
 Athiulf. 
 
 (H)ermenaricus. 
 
 Wultuulf brother of Hermenaricus. 
 
 Yalaravans. 
 
 Yinitharius. 
 
 Vandalarius. 
 
 Theudemer. 
 
 Theodericus. 
 
 Icelandic Genealogy. 
 Flateyjarhok, i, p. 27. 
 
 Genealogy A. 
 Frodi. 
 
 Vermundr enn vitri. 
 Olafr enn litillati. 
 Danr enn mikillati. 
 Frodi enn frithsami. 
 
 Genealogy B. 
 Frodi. 
 
 Hans son Yemundr enn vitri. 
 Hans dottir Olof. 
 Hon var modir Froda ens frithsama. 
 
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 W. Grimm. Deutsche Heldensage. Gottingen. 1829. 3rd ed. 
 
 Steig, Giitersloh. 1889. 
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 1867. 
 0. L. Jiriczek. Die deutsche Heldensage. Strassburg. 1898. 
 
 Transl. {Northern Hero Legends) M. Bentinck Smith. London. 
 
 1902. 
 
 F. Jonsson. Old Norske Litteraturs Historic. Copenhagen. 1894- 
 
 1902. 
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 1865. Vol. XII, pp. 253—386. 
 
276 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
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 1891- . 
 Raszmann. Die deutscJie Heldensage und die Heimat. 1857-8. 
 L. Uhland. Zur deutschen Heldensage, in Pfeiffer's Germania. 
 
 Vol. II, pp. 344 ff. 1857. 
 
 Schriften zur Geschichte der Dichtung und Sage. 1866-70. 
 
 K. Weinhold. Die Riesen des germanischen My thus, Wien. S. B. 
 
 XXVI, 253 ff. 
 J. C. Zeuss. Die Deutschen U7id die Nachharstamme. Munich. 1837. 
 
 II. WORKS ON THE OLD ENGLISH HEROIC POEMS 
 
 Text of all the poems in C. W. M. Grein's Bihliothek der 
 angelsdchsischen Poesie. Gottingen. 1857. 2nd ed. R. P. Wiilcker. 
 Cassel. 1881-3. 
 
 The Beowulf. (Editions in chronological order.) 
 
 G. J. Thorkelin. De Danorum Rebus Gestis Secul.., vols, iii, iv. 
 
 Copenhagen. 1815. 
 J. M. Kemble. The Anglo-Saxon Poems of Beowulf the Traveller's 
 
 Song, and the Battle of Finnshurh. London. 1833. 2nd ed. 
 
 1835. 
 
 B. Thorpe. The Anglo-Saxon Poems of Beowulf the Scop or 
 
 Gleeman^s Tale, and the Fight at Finnshurg. Oxford. 1855. 
 S. Grundtvig. Beowulf s Beorh. Copenhagen. 1861. 
 M. Heyne. Text with complete Glossary. Paderborn. 1863. 
 T. Arnold. Beowulf — a heroic poem of the VII 1th century (text and 
 
 translation). London. 1876. 
 J. A. Harrison and R. Sharp. Beowulf, loith text and glossary 07i 
 
 the basis of M. Heyneh text. Boston, U.S.A. 1882. 4th ed. 
 
 1895. 
 A. Holder. Beowulf. Text and Glossary. Freiburg im Breisgau. 
 
 1884. 
 A. J. Wyatt. Beowulf, loith text, index of proper names and glossary. 
 
 1894. 
 M. Trautmann. Beowidf. Bonn. 1904. 
 F. Holthausen. Beowulf. Heidelberg. 1906. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 277 
 
 English translations of the Beoioulf by 
 J. M. Kemble. London. 1837. 
 
 ^* ?, h in eels, quoted above. 
 
 T. Arnold J 
 
 H. W. Lumsden. In Modern Rhymes. London. 1881. 
 
 J. Zupitza. Facsimile of the entire Beoioulf MS. E.E.T.S., 
 
 London. 1882. 
 J. M. Garnett. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnshurg translated into 
 
 verse. Boston, U.S.A. 1882. 
 J. Earle. The Deeds of Beoioulf done into modern prose., with 
 
 Introduction and Notes. Oxford. 1892. 
 J. Leslie Hall. (Poetical translation.) Boston, U.S.A. 1892. 
 W. Morris and A. J. Wyatt. The Tale of Beowulf (in archaic verse). 
 
 Kelmscott Press, 1895. London. 1898. 
 J. R. Clark Hall. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnshurg, in Modern 
 
 English Prose. London. 1901. 
 C. B. Tinker. The Translations of Beovmlf^a Critical Bibliography. 
 
 New York. 1903. 
 C. G. Child. New York. 1904. 
 
 Beowulf Works Explanatory and Illustrative. 
 
 T. Arnold. Notes on Beowulf 1898. 
 
 G. Binz. PBB. vol. xx, pp. 141 ff. Sceaf und seine NachJcommen. 
 
 R. C. Boer. Arkiv f nord. Fil. vol. xv, pp. 19 — 88. 
 
 L. Botkine. Beowidf Analyse hist, et geogr. Paris. 1876. 
 
 K. Bouterwek. Das Beowidf slied. G^erw. vol. i, pp. 385 — 418. 1856. 
 
 Zur Kritik des Bids, in ZfdA. vol. xi, pp. 59 — 113. 
 
 A. Brandl. Der gegenwdrtige Stand der Beowulf forschung. Arch. 
 
 vol. cviii. pp. 152 ff. 
 S. Bugge. PBB. vol. xii, pp. 1—112, 370—5. Arh. f nord. Fil. 
 
 vol. I, pp. 1 ff: ZPH. vol. VIII, pp. 287—9 ; vol. iv, p. 192. 
 H. Dederich. Hist, und Geogr. Studien zum ags. Beowulfsliede. 
 
 Koln. 1877. 
 F. Better. Uher die Heathoheardan im Beowulf. Verhandl. d. Wien. 
 
 Phil. Vers. 1893. pp. 404 ff. 
 L. Ettmiiller. Beowidf — Einleitung. Zurich. 1840. 
 
 Carmen de Beovulfl Oautarum regis rebus gestis. Zurich. 1875. 
 
 18—3 
 
278 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 H. Gering. Der Beowulf und die isldndische Orettissage. Anglia, 
 
 Vol. Ill, pp. 74 flP. 
 C. W. M. Grein. Die historischen Verhdltnisse des Beowuljliedes in 
 
 Eherts Jahrhuch fur romanische imd englische Litteratur, 
 
 vol. IV, pp. 260—285. 
 J. Grimm. Uber das Verhrennen der Leichen. Ahh. d. Berl. Ahad. 
 
 1849. pp. 191 ff. {Kl. Schr. vol. ii, pp. 221 ff.) ; ZfdA. 
 
 vol. Ill, p. 151. 
 N. F. S. Grundtvig. Bjowulfs Drape. Copenhagen. 1820. 
 A. Heusler. Zur Skjoldungen Dichtung. ZfdA. vol. xlviii, p. 57. 
 
 Keview of Olrik's Danmarks Heltedigtning. AfdA. vol. xxx, 
 
 p. 26. 
 
 M. Hejne. Die Halle Heorot. Paderborn. 1864. 
 
 J. M. Kemble. tlher die Stammtafel der Westsachsen. Munich. 1836. 
 
 Fr. Klaeber. Hrothulf. M. L. N. vol. xx, pp. 9 ff. 
 
 F. Kluge. Beowulf und die Hrolfssage. Eng. St. vol. xxii, 
 
 p. 144. FBB. vol. IX, pp. 187 ff. 
 R. Kogel. Der JVame Beowidf ZfdA. vol. xxxvii, pp. 268 ff. 
 A. Kohler. Die Einleitung des Beowulf s und die heiden Episoden 
 
 von Heremod. ZPH. vol. ii, pp. 305 ff. 
 Th. Kriiger. Zum Beowulf liede. Bromberg, 1884. 
 
 Uher den JJrsprung und die Entwickelung des Beowulfliedes. 
 
 Archiv, vol. lxxi, pp. 129 ff. 
 
 Geschichte der Beowulf Kritik. (Of. Wiilcker's Orundriss, 
 
 p. 675.) 
 
 L. Laistner. Nehelsagen. Stuttgart. 1879. 
 H. Leo. Beowidf Halle. 1839. 
 
 F. Moorman. The Interpretation of Nature in English Poetry. 
 
 {Q. F. 95.) Strassburg. 1903. 
 K. Miillenhoff. Beowulf Berlin. 1889. 
 — — Sceaf und seine Nachkommen'\ „., , -, ai n ff" 
 
 Der Mythus Don Beowulf J ' ' 
 
 Die innere Oeschichte des Beowulf s. ZfdA. vol. xiv, p. 242. 
 
 G. Neckel. Studien uher Frothi. ZfdA. vol. xlviii, pp. 163 ff. 
 
 A. Olrik. Kilderne til Sakses Oldhistorie, vol. ii. Copenhagen. 
 
 1894. 
 
 F. York Powell. Recent Beowulf Literature. Academy^ Nos. 648 — 
 
 654. Oct. 4th and Nov. 15th, 1884. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY If 279 
 
 E. Rickert. The Old English Offa Sage. Mod. Philol. vol. ii, 
 
 pp. 29 ff., 321 ff. 
 G. Sarrazin. Beowulf Studien. Berlin. 1888. 
 — — Die Beowidfsage in Danemark. Anglia^ vol. ix, pp. 195 ff. 
 
 Beowa und Bothvar, ib. vol. ix, pp. 200 ff. 
 
 JVeue Beoivulf- Studien. Eng. St. vol. xvi, pp. 79 ff., 
 
 XXXIII, pp. 221 ff., XXXV, p. 10. 
 
 Rolf Krake und sein Vetter. Eng. St. vol. xxiv, p. 144. 
 
 Die Hirschhalle. Angl. vol. xix, pp. 368 ff. 
 
 Der Schauplatz des B.-lieds und die Heimat des Dichters. 
 
 PBB. vol. XI, pp. 159 ff. 
 
 Altnordisches in Beowulf. PBB. vol. xi, pp. 528 ff. 
 
 M. Schviltze. Altheidnisches in der ags. Poesie, speziell im Beowulf s- 
 
 liede. Berlin. 1877. 
 E. Sievers. Berichte der kgl. sachs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, 
 
 vol. XLVii, pp. 175 — 192. 
 
 Zur Rythmik des germ. Alliterationsverses. PBB. vol. x, 
 
 pp. 209—451 ff: 
 
 Zu Beowulf PBB. vol. ix, pp. 135 ff., 370, vol. xvii, p. 2. 
 
 Die Heimat des Beowulf dichters. PBB. vol. xi, pp. 354 ff. 
 
 W. W. Skeat. The Name Beowulf. Acad. 1877, vol. i, p. 163. 
 
 Journal of Phil.., July, 1886. 
 K. Stjerna. Vendel och Vendelkrdka. Arkiv f nord. Fil. N. R. 
 
 XVII, pp. 71 ff. 
 H. Suchier. tjher die Sage von Offa und Thrytho. PBB. vol. iv, 
 
 pp. 500 ff. 
 
 B. ten Brink. Beowulf {Q. F. 62). Strassburg. 1888. 
 
 The Finn Fragment in addition to those mentioned above. 
 
 G. Binz. PBB. vol. xx, pp. 179—186. 
 
 R. 0. Boer. ZfdA. vol. xlvii, pp. 125—160. 
 
 S. Bugge. PBB. vol. xii, pp. 20—37. 
 
 L. Ettmuller. Beowulf. Zurich. 1840. pp. 35—39. 
 
 C. W. M. Grein. Ebert's Jahrhuch, vol. iv, pp. 269—271. 
 
 G. Hickes. Linguarum Septentrionalium Thesaurus. Oxford. 1705. 
 M. H. Jellinek. PBB. vol. xv, pp. 428—431. 
 R. Kogel. Op. cit. pp. 163—167. 
 
280 BIBLIOGEAPHY 
 
 H. Moller. Op. cit. pp. 46—102. 
 
 K. MiillenhofF. ZfdA. vol. xi, pp. 281—3. 
 
 M. Eieger. ZfdA. vol. xviii, pp. 9 — 13. 
 
 H. Schilling. M. L. N. vol. i, pp. 178—183, ii, 291—9, vi, 178 £f., 
 
 VII, 231 ff. 
 Swiggett. M. L. N. vol. xx, pp. 169—171. 
 B. ten Brink. In Paul's Grdr. vol. i, pp. 445 — 450. 
 M. Trautmann. B. B. z. A. vol. viii, pp. 1 — 64. 
 
 Widsith. 
 
 For editions, see under Beowulf (Kemble, Thorpe, also in 
 Conybeare, Ilhistrations of A ngloSaxon Poetry). 
 G. Binz. PBB. vol. xx, pp. 141—223. 
 K. Bojunga. PBB. vol. xvi, pp. 545 — 548. 
 L. Ettmliller. 8c6pe& Widsith, p. 11. Pub. 1839. 
 F. Gummere. M. L. N. vol. iv, pp. 418 — 423. 
 H. Moller. Op. cit. pp. 1—39. 
 K. MiillenhoiF, Nordalhingische Studien, vol. i, pp. 148, 165, 
 
 In Beowulf 1889. 
 ZfdA. vol. XI, pp. 275 — 294, and Nachtrag in Bill, der ags. 
 
 Poesie, vol. I, p. 401. 
 B. ten Brink. In Paul's Grdi-. vol. ii, pp. 538 — 545. 
 
 Deor. 
 English Translations by 
 
 Conybeare. Op. cit. 
 
 Morley. English Writers, vol, i. Part 1, p. 278 f. 
 
 Sweet. In Warton's Hist, of Engl. Poetry, 4th ed. vol. Ii, pp. 8 — 13. 
 
 And in Atlantic Monthly, vol. lxvii, p. 287 (Feb. 1891). 
 Depping et Fr. Michel. Veland le forgeron. 1833. 
 F. Detter. Arkiv f. nord. Fil. vol. iii, pp. 309 ff. 
 J. Golther. Germ. vol. xxxiii, p. 449. 
 R. Heinzel. tJher die Ostgermanische Heldensage (Wien. S. B. 119). 
 
 Vienna. 1889. 
 0. Jiriczek. Die Deutsche Heldensage, pp. 1 — 54. 
 Klee. Zur Hildesage. Leipzig. 1873. 
 Kuhn. Sagen aus Westfalen, vol. i, p. 42 f. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 281 
 
 E. H. Meyer. AfdA. vol. xiii, pp. 23 ff. 
 
 Indogermanische Mythen, vol. ii, pp. 678 ff. 
 
 K. Meyer. Germania, vol. xiv, pp. 283 ff. 
 
 Die Dietrichsage in ihrer geschichtlichen EntwicJcelung. Basel. 
 
 1868. 
 K. Mlillenhoff. ZfdA. vol. xi, pp. 272—5, vii, 530 f., xii, 261. 
 M. Rieger. Oermania, vol. iii, p. 176. 
 J. W. Tupper. M. L. N. vol. x, pp. 125—7. 
 
 Waldere. 
 
 H. Althof. Das Waltharilied ilhersetzt und erlautert. Leipzig. 
 
 1896. 
 S. Bugge. Til de oldengelske digte om Beowulf og Waldere. ZPH. 
 
 vol. VIII, pp. 40, 287. 
 P. J. Cosijn. De Waldere Fragmenten. Arnstedt. 1895. Akad. 
 
 der Wiss. Letterhunde, 3rd Reeks, Deel xii. 
 P. Dieter. Anglia^ vol. x, pp. 227—234, xi, 159—170. 
 J. Grimm. ZfdA. vol. v, p. 2. 
 Lateinische Gedichte des X^'^ und X/^"- Jahrhunderts^ pp. 101 ff. 
 
 Gottingen. 1838. 
 Heinzel. tlber die Waltkari Sage. Wieti. S. B., cxvii, ii. 1888. 
 R. Kogel. Op. cit. vol. i. Part 1, pp. 235 ff., i, 2, 278 ff. 
 M. D. Learned. The Sage of Walther of Aquitaine. Baltimore. 
 
 1892. 
 K. Mullenhoff. ZfdA. vol. x, pp. 163 ff., xii, 264 ff., xxx, 255 ff. 
 Yietor Scheffel und Alfred Holder. Waltharius. Ein lateinisches 
 
 Gedicht des X'^"- Jahrhunderts. Stuttgart. 1874. 
 Scherer. Der Wasgensteiii in der Sage. Kl. Schr. Vol. i, pp. 543 ff. 
 
 1874. 
 B. Sijmons. In Paul's Grdr. vol. iii, pp. 703 — 709. 
 G.Stephens. Two Leaves of King Waldere^ s Lay. London. 1860. 
 M. Trautmann. B. B. z. A. vol. xi, pp. 133—138. 
 
 Other Works useful for Reference. 
 
 Ammianus Marcellinus. Historical Works (translation from Latin 
 by C. D. Yonge in Bohn's Classical Library. London. 1862). 
 
 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Ed. by John Earle and Charles Plummer. 
 Oxford. 1892. 
 
282 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Corpus Poeticum Boreale. G. Vigfusson and F. York Powell. 
 
 Oxford. 1883. 
 Deutsches Heldenhuch. 5 Bde. Berlin. 1866 — 73. 
 
 Fr. von der Hagen. Leipzig. 1855. 
 
 Dkitisha. Denhndler deutscher Sprache u. Litteratur. G. Graff. 
 
 Stuttgart und Tubingen. 1826—9. 
 Edda (The Older). Edda Saemundar. Ed. Th. Mobius. Leipzig. 
 
 1860. 
 
 Saemundar Eddahins Fr6da. Ed. S. Bugge. Christiania. 1867. 
 
 Edda-lieder. Altnordische Gedichte heroischen und my- 
 
 thischen Inhalts. Ed. F. Jonsson. Halle. 1888—90. 
 
 ^^ Die Lieder der Edda. Herausgegeben u. erklart von 
 
 B. Sijmons. Halle. 1906. 
 Edda (The Younger). Edda Bnorra Sturlasonar. Th. Jonsson. 
 
 Copenhagen. 1875. 
 
 Die prosaische Edda im Auszuge, nebst Vqlsungasaga und 
 
 Nornagestspdttr. Ed. G. Wilken. Paderborn. 1883. 
 
 Flateyjarhok. 3 Bde. Ed. 0. R. linger. Christiania. 1868. 
 Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum. Ed. K. Miiller. Paris. 
 
 1841—52. 
 Gudrun. Ein mhd. Gedicht. Ed. B, Sijmons. Halle, 1883. In 
 
 Paul's Altdeutsche Texthihliothek. Ed. E. Martin. Halle. 1883. 
 
 A mediaeval epic. Transl. M. P. Nichols. Boston, U.S.A. 
 
 1899. 
 
 Gudrun and Oilier Stories from the epics of the Middle Ages 
 (containing also the stories of Hilde, Beowulf, Roland, Walther 
 and Hildegund). John Gibb. London. 1881. 
 
 Jordanes (Jornandes), sixth century. De origine actibusque Getarum. 
 
 J. Langebek. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum medii aevi. 8 vols. 
 Hafniae. 1772—1834. 
 
 Matthew Paris. Historia Major. Ed. W. Watts. London. 1640. 
 
 J. P. Migne. Patrologiae cursus completus. Series I, vols. 1 — ^79, 
 Paris, 1844—61. Series II, vols. 80—217, Paris, 1844—61. 
 Series Graeca. Paris. 1857. 
 
 Nihelungenlied. Der Nibelunge Not und die Klage. Ed. K. Lachmann. 
 Berlin. 1851. 
 
 The Fall of the Nihlungs. Transl. M. Armour, in Everyman's. 
 
 Library. London. 1908. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 283 
 
 Oldest English Texts. H. Sweet. E.E.T.S. 83. London. 1885. 
 
 G. H. Pertz. Monumenta Oermaniae Historica. Hanover. 1826. 
 
 Pliny (The Elder). Natural History. 
 
 Procopius. De hello Oothico. 
 
 Ptolemy. Oeographia. Ed. K. Muller. Paris. 1883—1901. 
 
 Recueil des historiens des Oaules. Ed. M. Bouquet. Paris. 1739. 
 
 Rerum Anglicorum Scriptores. Ed. Sir Henry Savile. London. 
 
 1596. Frankfort. 1601. 
 Eolls Series. The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and 
 
 Ireland during the Middle Ages, published hy authority of 
 
 Her Majesty'' s Treasury., andj under the direction of the Master 
 
 of the Rolls. London. 1858- . 
 Saga. Fornaldar Sggur Nordrlanda. Ed. C. C. Rafn. Copenhagen. 
 
 1829. 
 
 Orettissage Asmundarsonar. Ed. R. C. Boer in Altnordische 
 
 SagahihliotheJc. Halle. 1900. 
 
 The Story of Grettir the Strong. Transl. from Icelandic by 
 
 E. M. and W. Morris. London. 1900. 
 
 Saga Thithriks konugs af Bern. Ed. C. R. linger. 
 
 Christian ia. 1853. 
 
 Wilkinasage (i.e. Thidrekssaga) und Nifiungasaga. Transl. 
 
 F. V. d. Hagen. Altdeutsche u. Altnordische Heldensagen. 
 Breslau. 1872. 
 
 Heimskringla. Ed. C. R. Unger. Christiania. 1868. 
 
 Noregs Konunga Sogur. Ed. F. Jonsson. Copenhagen. 
 
 1893—1900. 
 
 Saxo Grammaticus. Saxoni Grammatici Gesta Danorum. Ed. 
 A. Holder. Strassburg. 1886. 
 
 Saxo. Books I — IX. Transl. into English by 0. Elton. 
 
 David Nutt. London. 1894. 
 
 Tacitus. Germania. 
 
 Translations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry. A. S. Cook and C. B. Tinker. 
 Boston, U.S.A. 1902. 
 
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