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THE ORIGIN OF
THE ENGLISH NATION

The Cambridge Archaeological and Ethnological
Series is supervised by an Editorial Committee consisting
of William Ridgeway, M.A., F.B.A., Disney Professor
of Archaeology, A. C. //addon; Sc.D., E.R.S., University
Lecturer in Ethnology, M. R. James, Litt.D., F.B.A.,
Provost of Kings College, and C. Waldstein, Litt.D.,
Slade Professor of Fine Art.

THE ORIGIN OF
THE ENGLISH NATION

H. MUNRO CHADWICK,

Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge

Cambridge :

at the University Press

1907

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,

C. F. CLAY, Manager,

iLonion: FETTER LANE, E.C.

^lasgosu: 50, WELLINGTON STREET.

Inpjig: F. A. BROCKHAUS.

£fto gork: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS.

fcombac ant) Calcutta: MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd.

lo'Z

PREFACE.

THIS book attempts to give an account of the early history
of the English nation, so far as the information at our
disposal permits. The author ventures to hope that in spite of
its many shortcomings it may serve to call attention to a field of
investigation which, though rich in promise, has been greatly
neglected, especially in this country. In general he has sought
to make use of all branches of ethnological study — history,
tradition, language, custom, religion and antiquities. Owing
however to the backwardness of archaeological research through-
out the north of Europe, except in Denmark and Sweden, it has
not been found possible to treat the last of these subjects in a
manner at all commensurate with its true importance. When
this branch of study has been developed it will perhaps be
possible to obtain more light on the affinities of the English
nation in times anterior to those to which the earliest heroic
traditions refer. At present, it need hardly be said, we have
little definite evidence available for that early period, and any
investigation that is made must necessarily partake more or less
of a hypothetical character.

The author desires to express his thanks to a number of
friends, including Dr A. C. Haddon and Prof. W. Ridgeway
(members of the Editorial Committee supervising the series),
Dr J. G. Frazer, Mr E. Magnusson, Dr W. H. R. Rivers,
Mr A. B. Cook, Mr G. T. Lapsley, Miss M. Bentinck Smith,
Mr \V. F. Rcddaway and Mr E. 11. Minns, for the assistance

vi PREFACE

which they have kindly rendered him in various ways. He is
especially indebted to Dr Frazer, who has read through the
greater part of the last three chapters and given him the benefit
of his own unrivalled knowledge of primitive rites and customs.
Further, he is under great obligations to Miss A. C. Panes,
Mr E. C. Quiggin, Miss B. S. Phillpotts, Mr A. Mavver and
Mr F. £r>.M. Beck for the generous manner in which they
have assisted him in revising the work for press and for many
valuable suggestions and criticisms. His thanks are due also to
Baron A. von Hiigel and the staff of the University Museum
of Ethnology, to the staff of the University Library (especially
Mr A. Rogers and Mr O. Johnson) and to the Librarians of
Trinity and Corpus Christi Colleges, for the kindness and
courtesy which he has constantly received at their hands.
Lastly, he has to thank the Syndics of the University Press for
undertaking the publication of the book and the staff for the
efficient and obliging way in which the printing and corrections
have been carried out.

H. M. C.

December 1906.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER

I. England in the sixth century . .

II. The West Saxon invasion ....

III. The invasion of Kent

IV. The Saxons, Angles and Jutes in Britain

V. The Saxons, Angles and Jutes on the Continent

VI. The Kings of Angel

Note. The early kings of the Danes .

VII. The age of national migrations

VIII. The Saxons and Angles in Roman times

IX. The classification of the ancient Germani .
X. The cult of Nerthus

XI. King Aethelwulf's mythical ancestors .

XII. Social conditions of the Roman period

Addenda

Index

PAGE

i
20

35
54
90

118
146

*53
192

207

234
269

3°3
345
347

MAPS.

England at the end of the sixth century

WW. Germany, Holland, etc. at the beginning
of the sixth century

The northern part of PtolemVs Germania

X.W. Germany etc. in the first century

to face page 11

I 12

•94

205

CHAPTER I.

ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY.

In the year 597 there arrived in this country a mission sent
by Pope Gregory the Great for the evangelisation of the English
people. Aethelberht the king of Kent, to whom they had made
their way, quickly embraced the Christian faith and gave them
a habitation in his capital, Canterbury.

It is with these events that our knowledge of English history
begins. There can be little doubt that some kind of a register
of important events began to be kept in one or other of the
Kentish monasteries even during the lifetime of the missionaries;
for there are a number of entries in both English and Continental
chronicles which can hardly be explained otherwise. The estab-
lishment of bishoprics in other parts of the country led to the
formation of similar records elsewhere. Consequently we are
able, chiefly by means of Bede's collections, to construct a fairly
connected history of most of the English kingdoms during the
greater part of the seventh century.

When we turn to the sixth century however the case is very
different. No contemporary records of that period have been
preserved and it is more than probable that none such were ever
kept. No doubt the remembrance of important events was long
retained by oral tradition. But neither the missionaries nor their
immediate successors for the most part seem to have cared to
record these traditions. Except in the case of Wessex and
Northumbria our knowledge of the sixth century is almost a
blank. We do not even know how many kingdoms existed at
this time. It will be best therefore to begin our enquiry by

2 ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY [CHAP.

examining the political divisions of the country as they severally
come before our notice.

Kent at the time of Augustine's arrival was at the height of
its power and its king was supreme over all the English kings
south of the H umber. But there seems to be no reason for
supposing that the boundaries of the Kentish kingdom itself
differed materially from those of the present county. The only
doubtful question is whether Surrey was included in it. If, as
appears probable, the name Surrey really means 'southern district,'
it would seem to follow that, originally at all events, the territory
in question belonged not to Kent but to Essex.

Sussex was another kingdom which probably corresponded
more or less to the present county of that name, though it may
have extended further to the west. The story of its colonisation
is given in the Chronicle (ann. 477, 485, 491), but how far we are
to regard this account as worthy of credence it is impossible to
say. Aelle, who according to the Chronicle was the founder
and first king of Sussex, is said by Bede (Hist. Eccl. II. 5) to
have been the first king who possessed supremacy (imperium)
over all the other kings south of the Humber. In later times
Sussex was frequently involved in war with Wessex, and on one
occasion (A.D. 685) it interfered in a dynastic struggle in Kent.
On the whole, however, its influence in the historical period was
slight.

On the other hand the area of the kingdom of Essex was
certainly greater than that of the modern county. Originally
it included part, if not the whole, of Middlesex. Bede (Hist.
Eccl. II. 3) speaks of London as the capital {metropolis) of Essex
at the beginning of the seventh century, and even as late as the
year 704 we find Twickenham in the hands of an East Saxon
king (Birch, Cart. Sax. in). We have already seen that the
name Surrey is an argument for supposing that that county
also originally belonged to the same kingdom. How far it
extended towards the north we have no means of ascertaining.
In later times the diocese of London included part of Hertford-
shire as well as Essex and Middlesex ; but it is by no means
certain that the eastern dioceses, as restored after the great
Danish invasion, retained their original dimensions. Quite

I] ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY 3

possibly the whole of Hertfordshire may once have been in-
cluded in the kingdom of Essex. The western part of the
kingdom seems to have been annexed by the Mercians in the
course of the eighth century.

The dimensions of Wessex at the end of the sixth century
are still more uncertain. We hear of wars between Wessex and
Essex shortly after the death of Aethelberht (Hist. Eccl. II. 5)
and again at the beginning of the eighth century (Birch, C. S. 115).
The two kingdoms must therefore have been conterminous.
According to the Chronicle, Cuthwulf, who was apparently
a West Saxon prince, fought against the Britons in the year
571 at a place called Bedcanford and captured four villages
called Lygeanburg, Aegelesbicrg (Aylesbury), Baenesingtun (Ben-
sington) and Egonesham (Eynsham). It is clear that part of
Oxfordshire belonged to Wessex during the seventh century,
for Dorchester (Oxon.) was for some time the seat of the West
Saxon bishopric. Indeed it was probably not till the time of
Offa (cf. Chron. 777) that the Thames became the northern
frontier of Wessex. But if we are to believe the story of Cuthwulf 's
campaign its territories to the north of the river must once have
been very considerable.

On the other hand it is likely that the territories of Wessex
south of the Thames were considerably enlarged in the course
of the seventh century. Somerset indeed seems to have been
entirely Welsh until the middle of the century. Thus according
to the Chronicle Coenwalh fought against the Welsh in 652 at
Bradford-on-Avon and again in 658 at a place (net Peonnum)
which is probably either identical with Penselwood or at least
in the same neighbourhood. To the conquest of Dorset we
have no certain reference, but if Penselwood was on or near the
frontier it is not likely that a very large part of that county was
then in English hands. On the whole it seems probable that
at the beginning of the century the southern part of Wessex
contained no more than the counties of Hampshire, Wiltshire
and Berkshire. Even then however, if we take into account
the districts north of the Thames, the size of the kingdom must
have been considerable.

There are still two questions which require to be discussed

4 ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY [CHAP.

with reference to the area of early Wessex. In the first place
it is not certain that the whole of Hampshire was included in
this kingdom. According to Bede (H. E. IV. 16) the Isle of
Wight had in the time of Ceadwalla (685-688) a royal family
of its own under a king named Arwald. Ceadwalla made and
carried out a vow to destroy the whole population of the island
and to colonise it with people from his own kingdom. According
to another passage (ib. IV. 13) the Mercian king Wulfhere,
who died in 675, had given the Isle of Wight, together with "the
province of the MeanuariY in the nation of the West Saxons," as
a christening gift to Aethelwalh, king of Sussex. The conquest
of the island by Wulfhere is mentioned in the Chronicle and
dated 661. Now according to the Chronicle Wulfhere was at
war with Wessex at this time. It is possible therefore that the
island was wrested from Wessex by Wulfhere and that Cead-
walla's subsequent conquest was really a recovery of what had
previously belonged to his dynasty — a hypothesis which might
perhaps account for his savage treatment of the population.
Arwald and his family would then be in some way the successors
of Aethelwalh. But this explanation is hardly favoured by Bede's
language. The manner in which he speaks of episcopal juris-
diction over the island in IV. 16 and V. 23 and especially the
words erumna externae subiectionis in the former passage seem
to show that he regarded it as quite distinct from the rest of
Wessex. Again in I. 15 he states that the inhabitants were of
a different stock from the West Saxons. The latter, like the
South Saxons and the East Saxons, had come from the land of
the Old Saxons, whereas the inhabitants of Wight together with
those of Kent were descended from the Jutes. If we compare
these statements we can hardly avoid concluding that in Bede's
opinion the people of Wight and the West Saxons were different
nations.

But, further, it appears that the Jutes in this quarter were not
confined to the island. In I. 15 Bede speaks of " the tribe which
is still called Iutarum natio in the territory of the West Saxons,
occupying a position just opposite the Isle of Wight." In IV. 16

1 East and West Meon and Meonstoke, Hampshire (Stevenson in Poole's Histori-
cal Maps).

I] ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY 5

he gives more definite information as to their position. The
river Hamble (Ho)iielea) ran through their territories and a place
called ad Lapidem, not far from Hreutford, was also in their
land. It is generally supposed that these places are Stoneham
and Redbridge. Again, Florence of Worcester, when describing
the death of William Rufus, says that the king was hunting " in
the New Forest which is called Ytene in the English language "
(quae lingua Anglorum Ytene nnncupatur). This word can
hardly be anything else than a later form of Ytena (land) which
renders Bede's Intorum (prouinciam) in a MS.1 of the English ver-
sion of the Ecclesiastical History (IV. 16). But if we accept these
statements it will appear probable that the whole of the coast
of Hampshire was colonised by the Jutes. It is true that the
evidence brought forward above is difficult to reconcile with the
account of the West Saxon invasion given by the Chronicle.
To this question however we shall have to return later. We
need not suppose that the Jutes of the mainland remained
independent of Wessex until the time of Ceadwalla. But if we
attach any importance to Bede's evidence we must, I think,
regard their settlement as originally distinct from that of the
West Saxons.

The second question which requires consideration is the
origin of the kingdom of the Hwicce. The boundaries of this
kingdom are somewhat uncertain. But since the early bishoprics
seem as a rule to have coincided with the kingdoms to which
they were attached, it is probable that this kingdom was
originally identical with the diocese of the Hwicce, known later
as the diocese of Worcester. It would thus include Worcester-
shire, Gloucestershire and a large part of Warwickshire. When
the kingdom first comes before our notice, under its kings Osric
and Oshere, in the last quarter of the seventh century, it was
already subject to Mercian supremacy. But according to the
Chronicle at least part of it was originally conquered from the
Welsh by the West Saxons. Thus in ami. 577 we hear that
" Cuthwine and Ceawlin fought against the Welsh at a place
called Deorham (probably Dyrham, Gloucestershire) and cap-

1 C.C.C.C. 41. The other MSS. have Eota land. The form given in the late
texts of the Chronicle (aim. 449) is Iulna.

6 ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY [CHAP.

tured three fortresses, Gloucester, Cirencester and Bath." In
ann. 592 there is an entry which has been understood to refer to
internal strife : " In this year there was a great slaughter at
Woddesbeorg1 and Ceawlin was expelled." It is possible of
course that the newly conquered districts may have broken away
at this time. But there is really nothing to show that the event
recorded had anything to do with the Hwicce. It might just as
well refer to a conquest of Wessex by Aethelberht. In 626 we
find the West Saxons apparently disputing the supremacy of
Britain with Edwin of Northumbria (cf. Bede, H.E. II. 9), from
which we may infer that they were still a formidable power. It
seems to me more probable that the separation of the Hwicce
from Wessex took place after this campaign. In the year 628,
according to the Chronicle, the West Saxon king Cynegils
fought against Penda at Cirencester and subsequently came to
terms with him. Quite possibly this entry refers to the same
campaign which is mentioned by Bede, for Penda, whether he
was already king or not, was probably in Edwin's service at this
time. The genealogy of the Hwiccian dynasty is unfortunately
lost. We do not know therefore whether they claimed to be of
the same stock as the West Saxon royal family.

Mercia became the leading power in 642 and continued to
hold that position, with a few short intervals, for nearly two
centuries. According to the Chronicle Penda obtained the
throne in 626, but from Bede's account it is clear that at this
time Mercia must have been subject to the supremacy of Edwin.
The only earlier king of whom we have definite information was
Cearl (H.E. II. 14), Edwin's father-in-law, who must have been
reigning before 617. It is quite possible however that the
unknown Crida, whose death is recorded in the Chronicle,
ann. 593, was Penda's grandfather. In later times Mercia
included the whole of the country between the Thames and the
Humber, with the exception of Essex and East Anglia. But
the original kingdom must have been of much smaller dimen-
sions. According to the Tribal Hidage (Birch, Cart. Sax. 297),
a survey of uncertain age but anterior to the Danish invasions,
"the country which was first called Mercia {Myroialand)"
1 Woodborough, Wiltshire, according to Mr Stevenson (I.e.).

j I] ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY 7

j contained 30,000 hides, the same number as East Anglia. On
j the other hand Bede (H.E. III. 24) gives 7000 hides to the North
I Mercians and 5000 hides to the South Mercians. The dis-
i crepancy between the two authorities may be due either to
j increase of population or to a difference in the unit of computa-
: tion. It is possible to locate within somewhat vague limits the
I situation of this original Mercia. Bede (ib.) says that the South
Mercians were separated from the North Mercians by the Trent,
and again (IV. 3) that the seat of the Mercian bishopric even in
Wulfhere's time was at Lichfield. Tamworth, at all events from
the reign of Offa onwards (cf. Birch, Cart. Sax. 239, 240 etc.),
was the chief residence of the Mercian kings. It can hardly be
doubted therefore that South Mercia corresponded to the
southern parts of Staffordshire, Derbyshire and (probably)
Nottinghamshire, together with the northern parts of Warwick-
shire and Leicestershire. Shropshire can hardly have been
included in it ; for in the Tribal Hidage it seems to occur as a
separate item {Wocensetna, Porcensetene, for Wrocensetna). As
for the North Mercians, it is clear from Bede's words that they
must be located in the northern parts of Staffordshire, Derby-
shire and Nottinghamshire. The name Mcrcii {Merce) seems to
show that this kingdom had once lain on the frontier, though
whether this was still the case at the end of the sixth century it
is impossible to say with certainty. Chester however was still
in the hands of the Welsh at this time, and according to
the Historia Brittonum, §. 65, the Welsh kingdom of Elmet
(in the West Riding) lasted until the reign of Edwin. The
hypothesis is therefore very probable. In that case we shall
have to conclude that Shropshire and Herefordshire as well as
Cheshire were not conquered by the English before the seventh
century.

The kingdom of East Anglia came into prominence under its
king Redwald, probably not very long before Aethelberht's
death. It is frequently mentioned by Bede, but unfortunately
neither he nor any other early writers give precise information
as to how far it extended towards the west and south. The
kingdom lasted till the great Danish invasion (A.D. 870), but
after Bede's time its history is almost a blank. A genealogy of

8 ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY [CHAP.

its royal family down to the first half of the eighth century is
preserved in a number of texts.

Between Mercia and East Anglia Bede gives the names of
three other prouinciae, namely the Lindisfari, the Gyruii and
the Angli Mediterranei or Middil-Angli. The position of the
first of these causes no difficulty. It is the first province south
of the Humber and reaches to the sea (II. 16); Bardney is
situated in it (ill. 11). It clearly corresponds therefore to the
modern Lindsey, though it may of course have extended further
to the west and south. A genealogy of its kings is preserved,
but unfortunately none of the names can be identified. From
the time of Edwin onwards it seems always to have been subject
either to Northumbria or Mercia.

The position of the Gyrwe is not quite so clear. Bede
(IV. 6) says that Peterborough was in their country, while
according to the Hyde Register (ed. Birch, p. 88) Crowland lay
on middan Gyrzvan ferine. In the Tribal Hidage they are
divided into North Gyrwe and South Gyrwe, each district
containing 6oo hides. Bede (IV. 19) says that Tondberht, the
first husband of Aethelthryth, was a prince {princeps) of the
South Gyrwe. The Isle of Ely, where Aethelthryth subse-
quently founded her convent, is said by Bede (ib.) to have
contained 600 hides. According to Thomas of Ely, § 14 (Acta
Sanctorum, 23 June, p. 508), Aethelthryth had obtained it as
her dowry from Tondberht. If so the Isle of Ely and the land
of the South Gyrwe are probably to be identified. But it is to
be observed that Bede himself does not suggest that Aethel-
thryth had acquired the Isle of Ely in this way. On the
contrary he says that Ely was in the prouincia of East Anglia.
Again, in the Tribal Hidage we find East Anglia and the land
of the South Gyrwe entered as distinct items. We must conclude
then, I think, either that the East Anglian frontier fluctuated or
that the statement made by Thomas of Ely is erroneous.
Aethelthryth may have been presented with Ely by her own
family, just as in later times we find the Mercian queen Aethel-
swith possessing lands in Wessex (Cart. Sax. 522).

The Angli Mediterranei are frequently mentioned by Bede
in a way which leaves no doubt that he regarded them as quite

I] ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY 9

distinct from the Mercians. If they ever had a native line of
kings however this line must have disappeared when they first
come before our notice, in the year 653, for at that time Penda
had given their throne to his son Peada. The dimensions of the
kingdom are far from clear. From 737 onwards, and also for
a short time during the seventh century, it had a bishopric of its
own. The seat of this bishopric was established at Leicester at
all events by the end of the eighth century. From Eddius,
cap. 64 (cf. H. E. V. 19), it seems likely that Oundle also was in
the Middle Anglian diocese. We may probably conclude then
that the kingdom included parts at least of Leicestershire and
Northamptonshire. But it may have extended much further to
the south and east. In the Tribal Hidage the Middle Angli are
not mentioned except in a note derived apparently from Bede
(III. 21). But it may be observed that with two exceptions,
Pecsaetna and Elmedsaetna — which are clearly to be located to
the north of Mercia — all the small items given in the survey, i.e.
all the items containing less than 2000 hides, belong to one or
other of two groups. The first group immediately follows
Lindisfaroiia (Lindsey) and begins with the North Gynve and
South Gyrwe. It contains also a name Spalda, which has been
connected with Spalding. The second group is separated from
the former by five items with large hidages. It is in this second
group that the name Faerpinga occurs with the note which states
that it is in Middle Anglia. Several other items in it have been
identified with places in Northamptonshire. Now the question
is whether we are justified in regarding these two groups
together as forming the Middle Angli. We may note that the
total hidage of the two groups amounts to 10,800 hides as against
7000 hides for Lindsey and 30,000 for East Anglia. It is there-
fore by no means incredibly large.

It is true of course that the Gyrwe are themselves sometimes
described as a pronincia. But this does not necessarily prevent
us from believing that they formed part of the Middle Angli, for
we find the same term used elsewhere for subdivisions of king-
doms, e.g. the Meanuarorum prouincia in H.E. IV. 13. We
have seen that the Gyrwe occupied some of the fen-lands (Peter-
borough and Crowland) in the eastern Midlands. In Felix' Life

lO ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY [CHAP.

of St Guthlac however these districts seem to be included in
Middle Anglia. Thus in § 14 it is stated that "there is a fen of
immense size in the territories of the Mediterranei Angli in
Britain. It begins at the banks of the river Granta not far from
the castle which is called Gronte (Grantchester) and extends...
northwards as far as the sea." From this passage we can hardly
avoid concluding that Middle Anglia included a considerable part
of Cambridgeshire, as well as Huntingdonshire, and hence that in
all probability it bordered upon East Anglia. Further, it may
be observed that we hear of no bishoprics in the eastern counties
except those of Middle Anglia, Essex, Lindsey and the two in
East Anglia. Yet, with the exception of the Isle of Wight — a
case specially noted by Bede (cf. p. 4) — no kingdom of which
we have any record disappeared without leaving a trace of
itself in the form of a diocese or group of dioceses. Taking all
the evidence into account therefore I am disposed to believe that
Middle Anglia covered the whole space between Mercia and
East Anglia and that it bordered not only on the latter but also
on Essex and Wessex, while in the North it extended into
Lincolnshire and perhaps also Nottinghamshire. The total
figures therefore assigned to the two groups of small items in
the Tribal Hidage are too small rather than too large for such
a stretch of country, and it is at least doubtful whether some of
the unknown larger items which occur between the two groups
(Oktgaga, Noxgaga and possibly Hendricd) may not also have
belonged to Middle Anglia.

Northumbria in the latter part of the sixth century consisted
of two kingdoms, Bernicia and Deira. When the union took
place is not quite clear. The most probable date however
seems to be 604-5, f°r according to the Historia Brittonum,
§ 63, Aethelfrith reigned only for twelve years in Deira. It is of
course impossible to say how far English power extended to
the west and north at this time. In the reign of Theodric, i.e.
572 — 579 according to the best authorities, the English are said
to have been besieged by the Welsh in Lindisfarne (Hist. Brit.,
§ 63). The first king of whom we know was Ida, who, according
to chronological calculations accepted by Bede, began to reign
in 547. The first known king of Deira was Aelle, the father of

I I] ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY I I

Edwin. The dates assigned to his succession and death in the
Chronicle are 560 and 588. But it is to be observed that we
have no earlier evidence for these dates and that the North-
umbrian chronology followed by the Chronicle clearly differed
from that of the Appendix to the Moore MS. of Bede's History,
which is our oldest and probably best authority. Bede himself
gives no dates for Aelle's reign, but he speaks of him as being
still king at the time of Augustine's arrival (De Temp. Ratione,
cap. 66).

In the preceding pages we have endeavoured to determine
the position of the various English kingdoms in the year 597.
The results of our discussion will best be seen by the ac-
companying map ; but it is hardly necessary to point out that
the boundaries suggested must in many cases be regarded as
extremely uncertain. It is in regard to the nature of the
boundaries that my view differs most from those of previous
writers. I find it difficult to believe that a people who invaded
by sea would choose rivers as the boundaries of their kingdoms.
The Danes at a later period certainly used the rivers as their
high-ways, and it was by fortifying both banks and building
bridges that Alfred and Edward the Elder eventually succeeded
in bringing them into subjection. Is there any reason for
supposing that the Saxons themselves originally acted differently
from the Danes ? We know that the Thames ran through
YYessex and the Trent through the centre of Mercia. In
historical times at all events the Severn formed no boundary.
But, as a matter of fact, there is no single case where we can say
with certainty that two kingdoms were originally separated by
a river — estuaries of course excluded. In the Tribal Hidage
Haethfeldlaud1 is reckoned with Lindsey ; but it is not certain
that the latter lay entirely east of the Trent. The most likely
case is perhaps the Stour ; but we have really no information
regarding the frontier of Essex and East Anglia before the tenth
century. It is true that we find kingdoms divided into two
parts by rivers, e.g. North Mercia and South Mercia and, in

1 Hatfield Division, Nottinghamshire, and Hatfield Chase, Yorkshire, according
to Mr Stevenson [I.e.).

12 ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY [CHAP. 1

later times, Norfolk and Suffolk. But that is obviously quite a
different question. The convenience of utilising such natural
divisions for administrative and fiscal purposes would easily be
appreciated.

A generation earlier the area covered by the English king-
doms was probably much smaller. According to the Chronicle
the conquests of Ceawlin in the southern Midlands had not then
begun. What the position of the Mercians and Middle Angli
was at this time it is quite impossible to say. Procopius
however has a story (Goth. IV. 20), apparently derived from
English sources, which though absurd in itself may perhaps be
interpreted to mean that the invaders had not in his time
succeeded in penetrating beyond the Roman Wall. If, as we
have seen, their position in the neighbourhood of Bamborough
was still somewhat precarious in 572 — 579, this is likely enough.

The accounts of the invasion so far as Kent and Wessex are
concerned will be discussed in the following chapters. In regard
to the establishment of the more northern kingdoms we are
almost entirely without information. Were these kingdoms
independent of one another from the beginning or did they
come into existence through subsequent divisions? Did the
invasions in the north take place at the same time or even in
the same century as those in the south ? From what point or
points did the invasion begin ? To all these questions we are
almost entirely without answer. One view however which has
been put forward ought I think certainly to be rejected, viz.
that the invasion was carried out by small groups of adventurers
acting independently of one another. It seems to me incredible
that such a project as the invasion of Britain could have been
carried out successfully except by large and organised forces.

Whatever may have been the case during the period of
invasion, in later times at all events we usually find a number of
kingdoms grouped together under one supreme head. At the
end of the sixth century Aethelberht, king of Kent, had
supremacy {iwperium) over all the kings south of the Humber
(H.E. II. 5). Ceawlin of Wessex had held the same position
before him. Aethelberht again was succeeded in turn by
Redwald of East Anglia and the Northumbrian kings Edwin,

I] ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY 1 3

Oswald and Oswio. Then from 659 to 825, with short intervals,
the successive kings of Mercia held a similar position, though
their authority seems as a rule not to have extended to
Northumbria1. The nature of this supremacy has been much
disputed. At any rate it was sufficient in Aethelberht's case to
guarantee the safety of persons under his protection when visit-
ing the farthest limit of English territory (ib. III. 2), apparently
in the neighbourhood of Bristol or Bath. But it is at least
a question whether this supremacy was not really a far more
tangible thing than has generally been supposed2. Edwin is
said to have held supremacy over all the English kingdoms
except Kent. Are we to interpret this to mean that Kent,
a comparatively small nation and one which was ruled by
Edwin's own brother-in-law, was the only kingdom which
refused to recognise his superior position ? It is surely far
more likely that in virtue of their relationship Edwin consented
to deal with his brother-in-law on terms of equality, whereas by
the remaining kings he was definitely recognised as 'lord and
protector' (Jilaford and mundbord)*. A recognition of this sort
however, at least in lower ranks of life, always involved certain
obligations and payments from the dependent to his superior;
and we have no reason for doubting that this was the case also
when both the contracting parties were kings. In later times
the Mercian kings, Aethelred and his successors, certainly
claimed rights of some kind over the lands belonging to the
dependent kingdoms. Hence in Hwiccian, East Saxon, South
Saxon and Kentish charters it is frequently stated that the
Mercian king consents to or participates in the grant. Now
when Bede (H.E. III. 7) describes the donation of Dorchester to
Birinus, he distinctly states that it was given by 'both kings,'

1 The supremacy of the Mercian kings is ignored by the Chronicle, aim. 827, but
its existence is placed beyond doubt by charters (cf. Hist. Eccl. v. 23). It seems to
have really begun under Penda, though it was interrupted for a time by that king's
death.

2 Of course the character of the supremacy may very well have varied from case
to case. In general it seems to have been analogous to the position held by early
Continental kings such as Maroboduus and Eormenric, to whom we shall have to
return later.

3 Occasionally the expression used is ' father and lord ' (Chron. 924 a).

14 ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY [CHAP.

i.e. Cynegils of Wessex and Oswald of Northumbria. The fact
that the latter participated in the grant must surely mean that,
like the Mercian kings in later times, he possessed certain rights |
over the lands belonging to the dependent kingdoms- — in short
that he was entitled in some form or other to tribute from them.
As a guarantee for such tribute and for obedience in general it
was probably customary for the supreme king to take hostages
from those under his suzerainty (cf. H.E. III. 24).

It may be noted that six of the seven supreme kings
mentioned by Bede succeeded one another either immediately
or after very short intervals. The whole period covered by their
supremacy does not amount to a century ; for, even according j
to the present text of the Chronicle, Ceawlin was not king of
Wessex until 560, while Oswio's supremacy was lost in 659.
But the first of the supreme kings, Aelle of Sussex, is widely
separated from the rest. According to the Chronicle he came
to Britain in 477 and the last time we hear of him is in the year
491. Of course it would be absurd to expect chronological
accuracy in such a case as this. But if these dates are even
approximately correct a very considerable time must have
elapsed between Aelle's supremacy and that of Ceawlin. Hence
there has been a general tendency to discredit the story of
Aelle's supremacy. But, on the other hand, we may well ask
why Bede, or the authority which he followed, should select
such a person as the first supreme English king, unless he was
following some old tradition. Of all the English kings of Bede's
time those of Sussex were the least likely to aspire to imperial
position. Moreover there is another circumstance which may
quite possibly have some bearing on the story. Gildas at the
close of his History states that he was forty-four years old, that
he was born in the year of the siege of 'Mons Badonicus' and that
during the intervening period there had been no war between
the Britons and the Saxons. Unfortunately he does not give
us the date of the siege. But in the Annales Cambriae, the
authority of which seems in general to be good, it is entered
under the year LXXII, i.e. probably A.D. 5 1 71. All the Welsh

1 If Gildas' History was really written at the same time as his Epistle the Annals
must contain some error ; for according to the same authority Maelgwn (king of

I I] ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY 1 5

I authorities represent it as a great disaster for the Saxons and,
I though the site of the battle has never been definitely decided,
the presence of another entry, under the year CCXXI (belli/ m
Badonis secundo), rather leads us to infer that the place remained
in Welsh hands for a century and a half. Now if the dates
assigned by the Chronicle to Aelle's conquests are at all near
the truth, his supremacy must be placed before the battle of
Mons Badonicus. Is it not possible that this defeat broke up
the organisation of the invaders and that the peace of forty-four
{or more) years which followed was due to their disunion ? This
would bring us to the time of Ceawlin, according to the dates
given in the Chronicle. The story of the West Saxon invasion
is of course a difficulty ; to this subject however we shall have
to return in the next chapter.

It has been mentioned above that we are almost entirely
without information as to the date and course of the more
northern invasions. The story of the arrival of Ida given in the
De primo Saxonum Aduentu and the Welsh legend of the flight
of St Samson from York can hardly be taken seriously into
account until earlier and less precarious evidence is adduced in
their favour. There is a passage however in Felix' Life of St
Guthlac, § 4, which admits perhaps of a somewhat safer inference.
The passage is as follows : " In the days of Aethelred, king of
the Angli, there was a man of noble Mercian family named
Penwall (Penwald), who by the course of events had come to
reside in the territories of the Mediterranei Angli. He was
descended from the ancient stock of Icel and his genealogy
contained the names of famous kings." In the Old English
version we find in place of the last sentence: "He was of the
oldest and most noble family, who were called Iclingas." From
Felix' words it is hardly possible to doubt that Penwald belonged
to the Mercian royal family, and consequently that the Icel from
whom he traced his descent was the person of that name who
appears in the Mercian genealogy, five generations above Penda.
Now in all other cases where we find similar expressions used

Gwynedd), who is spoken of as alive in the Epistle, died in 548. I cannot think that
the date given for the siege by Bede (H.E. 1. 16) is due to anything more than
a misunderstanding of Gildas' words.

1 6 ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY [CHAP.

the ancestor from whom descent is claimed is believed to have
reigned in Britain. Thus in the Preface to the Parker text of
the Chronicle it is stated of several kings that they were
descended from Cerdic. In the same way Bede and later
writers say that the Northumbrian royal family were descended
from Ida. Again Bede states that the Kentish royal family
were called Oiscingas from Oisc, the son of Hengest (H. E. II. 5),
and the East Anglian royal family Wuffingas from a king named
Wuffa (ib. II. 1 5). All these persons were believed either to have
taken part in the invasions or to have lived subsequently. In no
case do we find a dynasty deriving its name from an ancestor
who lived in earlier times. Consequently we seem to be justified
in concluding that, according to tradition at least, Icel also
reigned in Britain.

This being the case it is worth while to endeavour to ascer-
tain the date of Icel's lifetime, though we have no evidence
except the genealogies available for the purpose. Now Icel is
separated from Penda by four names, Cnebba, Cynewald, Crioda
and Pypba, the third of whom is possibly the person whose
death is recorded in the Chronicle, ann. 593. According to the
Chronicle Penda began to reign in 626 and was then fifty years
old. His birth then must be dated about 576, and consequently,
if we allow an average of thirty years for each generation, Icel's
birth will have to be dated about 426. I confess however to a
feeling of scepticism in regard to the date of Penda's birth.
Setting aside the fact that his dealings with Oswio showed
unusual vigour for a man of such advanced years, this date is
difficult to reconcile with the ages of his children. Peada is
represented as a young man about the year 653 (H.E. III. 21),
Wulfhere was a child at his father's death (ib. III. 24) and
Aethelred, who resigned in 704, was probably still younger.
Again Coenwalh, who succeeded to the West Saxon throne in
642 and died a premature death about 673, married and subse-
quently divorced Penda's sister. In view of these facts I do not
think that the statement of the Chronicle can be regarded as
trustworthy, at all events until further evidence — and of earlier
date — is forthcoming in its favour. From the information we
possess, apart from this entry, it would be natural to date Penda's

I] ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY 1 7

birth about the beginning of the seventh century, which ac-
cording to the same calculation would bring that of Icel to about
450. Even then however Icel's reign will probably fall into the
fifth century.

We have already seen that there is no evidence for the
existence of a separate royal family belonging to the Middle
j Angli. It is quite possible that the Mercians were an offshoot
: from the Middle Angli, but this of course cannot be proved.
On the whole however the evidence seems to indicate that,
whatever the locality of their kingdom, the ancestors of the
Mercian dynasty were ruling in Britain, presumably somewhere
in the Midlands, before the end of the fifth century.

In conclusion it will be convenient to notice briefly the
evidence for communication between England and the Continent
before the year 597. The fact that Aethelberht had obtained
in marriage the daughter of the Frankish king Hariberht shows
that somewhat intimate relations had already sprung up between
Kent and the Frankish kingdom. The archaeological evidence
allows us to carry this inference further. A large number of the
brooches and other ornaments which have been found in heathen
graves, especially in the South of England, appear to be of
Frankish types. Among the brooches we may particularly
note the disc-shaped and bird-shaped varieties and also those
with radiated heads, all of which closely resemble the types used
in Frankish districts. A considerable number of small gold
coins (trientes) of Frankish pattern have also been found, but
it is worth noting that most if not all of these are of a standard
which only came into use after the year 576.

There can be little doubt that the chief source of communi-
cation between England and the Continent at this time was the
slave-trade. From the well-known story of Pope Gregory the
Great (H.E. II. 1) it appears that English slaves were obtainable
in Rome before the year 592. Bede (ib. II. 3) speaks of London as
a great resort of merchants who came thither both by land and
sea ; and that these were engaged, at least partly, in the slave-
trade may be gathered from the story of the Frisian merchant in
IV. 22. The practice of selling slaves to be shipped abroad is
c. 2

l8 ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY [CHAP.

forbidden in the laws of Ine, cap. 11, but the prohibition seems
to apply only to the case of slaves who were of the same nation-
ality as their owners. According to Wihtred's laws, cap. 26, it
was one of the punishments which the king inflicted upon
freemen caught in the act of stealing, while from the story
mentioned above it may be inferred that in 678 even private
persons were at liberty to dispose of captured enemies in this
way. The trade must have been an extremely profitable one.
For the value of the slave in England in Ine's time was only
60 shillings, i.e. probably a pound of silver, whereas the prices
mentioned in the Continental laws are 20, 30 and 36 gold solidi,
i.e. probably from three to six pounds of silver.

Procopius (Goth. IV. 20) states that there was a continuous
flow of English emigration into the Frankish dominions during
the reign of Theodberht (534-548), so much so indeed that the
latter represented himself to Justinian as having some sort of
authority over the island. We do not elsewhere find any
evidence to bear out this statement, and it has been supposed
that the migration was really one of Britons from the south-
west of the island to Brittany. But if so Procopius was certainly
misinformed. There are very few references in Anglo-Saxon
poetry to Continental persons and events of the sixth century.
Aelfwine's invasion of Italy is mentioned in Widsith (1. 70 ff),
and the same poem speaks (1. 24) of the Frankish king Theodric.
References to persons belonging to the fifth century, Aetla
(Attila), Guthhere, etc., are somewhat more frequent.

We hear very much more of Denmark and Sweden in the
English traditions than we do of any Continental nations ; but it
is possible that this may be partly due to the fact that Beowulf
is the only long poem which has been preserved. It is curious
however that we hear of no Danish king later than Hrothwulf
(Hrolfr Kraki) and no Swedish king later than Eadgils (ASils)
— two kings who were apparently contemporaries. Is it per-
missible to conclude that communication between England and
the Baltic ceased in their time ? Eadgils appears to have
acquired the throne some time after the death of Hygelac,
king of the Geatas (Gotar), which probably took place about
the year 520, while Hrothwulf was apparently reigning before

I] ENGLAND IN THE SIXTH CENTURY 19

that time. It would not be safe of course to base any chrono-
logical argument on the fifty years' reign ascribed to Beowulf.
If the suggestion put forward here is correct we shall have to
suppose that communication with the northern kingdoms ceased
before the middle of the sixth century. At all events we have
no reason for supposing that England had any dealings with the
North during the seventh and eighth centuries. The only hint
of such communication is a passage in Bede's Commentary to
the Fourth Book of Kings, XX. 9, in which he speaks of the
midnight sun " in the island of Thyle, which is beyond Britain,
or in the farthest borders of the Scythae." He states that this
phenomenon is most abundantly vouched for " both by the
histories of the ancients and by men of our own age who arrive
from those countries." But even if this is an original statement
it is hardly sufficient to prove direct communication between
England and the North. Bede's information may have been
derived ultimately from Frisians or even Picts.

Indeed there is very little evidence to show that the English
were a seafaring people in the seventh and eighth centuries. We
hear frequently of voyages across the Channel ; but apart
from this references to seafaring are extremely rare. After
Edwin's death his family escaped by sea to Kent (H.E. II. 20).
The conquest of the Isle of Man and Anglesey (ib. II. 9) by the
same king implies a fleet of some kind, and so also the invasion
of Ireland by Ecgfrith (ib. IV. 24) ; but these incidents seem to
have been quite exceptional. Procopius (Goth. IV. 20) relates
that an enormous English fleet attacked the land of the Warni
on the Continent ; but here of course the reference is to a much
earlier period, the reign of Theodberht. On the whole the
absence of evidence probably justifies us in believing that the
habit of seafaring had been abandoned to a great extent before
the end of the sixth century.

CHAPTER II.

THE WEST SAXON INVASION.

The story of the West Saxon invasion is given only by the
Chronicle. Bede makes no reference to it ; indeed Ceawlin is
the first king of Wessex whom he mentions. Later writers seem
to have had no other materials than the Chronicle. The story
as it appears in the Chronicle is as follows :

495. Two princes1, Cerdic and Cynric his son, came to
Britain with five ships, (arriving) at a place which is called
Cerdicesora, and the same day they fought against the Welsh.

501. Port and his two sons, Bieda and Maegla, came to
Britain at a place which is called Portesnuitha (Portsmouth) and
slew a young British man, a very noble man.

508. Cerdic and Cynric slew a British king, whose name
was Natanleod, and five thousand men with him. The" district
was afterwards (or " in consequence ") called Natanleag as far as
Cerdicesford.

514. The West Saxons, Stuf and Wihtgar, came to Britain
with three ships, (arriving) at a place which is called Cerdicesora ;
and they fought against the Britons and put them to flight.

519. Cerdic and Cynric began to reign ; and the same year
they fought against the Britons at a place which is now called
Cerdicesford.

527. Cerdic and Cynric fought against the Britons at a
place which is called Cerdicesleag.

530. Cerdic and Cynric obtained possession of the Isle of
Wight and slew a few men at Wilitgaraesburg.

1 Aldormen, perhaps a translation of principes, cf. p. 26.

CHAP. II] THE WEST SAXON INVASION 21

534. Cerdic died and his son Cynric continued to reign for
twenty-six years. They had given the Isle of Wight to their
two iief an1, Stuf and Wihtgar.

544. Wihtgar died and was buried at Wihtgar aburg.

552. Cynric fought against the Britons at a place which is
called Searoburg (Salisbury) and put the Britons to flight.
Cerdic was Cynric's father. Cerdic was the son of Elesa, the son
of Esla, the son of Giwis, the son of Wig, the son of Freawine,
the son of Freothogar, the son of Brand, the son of Baeldaeg, the
son of Woden.

556. Cynric and Ceawlin fought against the Britons at
Bcrauburg-.

560. Ceawlin succeeded to the throne in Wessex.

568. Ceawlin and Cutha fought against Aethelberht and
drove him into Kent ; and they slew two princes, Oslaf and
Cnebba, at Wibbandwt.

571. Cuthwulf fought against the Britons at Bedcanford and
captured four villages, Lygeanburg, Aegelesburg (Aylesbury),
Baenesiugtuu (Bensington) and EgouesJiam (Eynsham) ; and he
died the same year.

577. Cuthwine and Ceawlin fought against the Britons and
slew three kings, Coinmail, Condida and Farinmail, at a place
which is called Deorham (Dyrham) ; and they captured three
cities, Gleawanceaster, Cirenceaster and Bathanceaster{ Gloucester,
Cirencester and Bath).

584. Ceawlin and Cutha fought against the Britons at a
place which is called Fethanleag and Cutha was slain ; and
Ceawlin captured many villages and countless booty and de-
parted in anger to his own (territories).

591. Ceol reigned for five years.

592. There was a great slaughter at Woddesbeorg (cf. p. 6)
and Ceawlin was expelled.

593. Ceawlin and Cwichelm and Crida perished.

1 Since nefa means both "grandson" and "nephew," it may correctly denote
relationship to two persons who were themselves father and son ; cf. Stevenson,
Asser's Life of King Alfred, p. 171.

2 Identified by Prof. Earle with Barbury Camp between Swindon and Marl-
borough ; cf. Plummer, Two Saxon Chronicles, 11. 15.

22 THE WEST SAXON INVASION [CHAP.

It has long been a disputed question how far these annals
deserve credence. One serious objection which has been brought
against them is that all the place-names which occur until the
mention of Salisbury in ann. 552 contain the names of the chief
characters in the story. Thus Cerdic's name appears in Cerdices-
ford, which seems from Aethelweard's account to be Charford on
the Avon, as well as in Cerdicesora and Cerdicesleag, which have
not been satisfactorily identified. Natanleod's name appears
in Natanleag (probably Nateley, Hampshire), Port's name in
Portesmutlia (presumably Portsmouth) and Wihtgar's name in
WiJitgaraesburg. The analogy of similar stories in other lands
would lead us to infer that the personal names had been created
out of the place-names. Of course one such case by itself is
inconclusive. WiJitgaraesburg may just as well have derived its
name from Wihtgar1 as Bebbanburg (Bamborough) from Queen
Bebbe. It is the uniformity of the above list which excites
suspicion.

Another objection has been based on the artificial system of
chronology observable in the annals, an arrangement, so it is said,
by fours and eights. To this however little importance is to be
attached. If we compare Bede's Chronica Maiora (De Temporum
Ratione 66) or the Annals of St Neots we shall find that many
events are not precisely dated. Indeed there are entries in the
Chronicle itself (e.g. ann. 643, 658) which make no attempt to fix
precise dates for the events they record. It is quite possible
I therefore that in many entries the dates have been added at a
later period. We may well ask how one could reasonably expect
precise dates for events which occurred in the sixth century, i.e.
at a time when presumably annalistic writing was unknown in
England. The credibility of an event must therefore be judged
independently of the date to which it is assigned. Let us take
one typical case. Cynric is said to have fought against the

1 The form Wihtgarabyrg in ann. 544 however does seem to me to suggest that
there has been confusion between Wihtgar's name and a place-name Wihtwaraburg
(cf. Cantwaraburg), in spite of the objections brought forward by Mr Stevenson {op.
cit., p. 173). I cannot admit that there is any satisfactory evidence for believing gar
to have been an w-stem ; for the form aetgaru in the Erfurt glossary is clearly a
scribal error.

II] THE WEST SAXON INVASION 23

Britons at Salisbury in 552. This date may be due to some
[ calculation either by the author or by a later scribe. But the
correctness of the date is one question ; whether the battle ever
took place is quite another. In regard to the latter point it
seems to me by no means improbable that we have a genuine
tradition. In historical times Salisbury (Old Sarum) seems to
have been a place of no great importance until the latter part of
the tenth century. We hear of no assemblies being held there,
nor does it appear to have been an administrative centre.
During this period indeed it seems to have been quite over-
shadowed by Wilton. The motive therefore for selecting this
place, if the story is an invention, was wanting. Yet the
occurrence of the name Sorbiodumim in Antonine's Itinerary
shows that fortifications of some kind existed in or before Roman
times, and if any considerable part of the present remains is so
old we might naturally expect that the natives would try to
make a stand there.

A more serious difficulty is presented by the discrepancies
within the Chronicle itself. In the Preface to the Parker text,
which appears as a separate document in at least four other
MSS.\ a somewhat different account is given of the invasion. It
is as follows : " In the year of Christ's Nativity 494 Cerdic and
Cynric his son landed at Cerdicesora with five ships. Cerdic was
the son of Elesa etc. (as in ann. 552). Six years after they
landed they conquered the kingdom of Wessex. These were
the first kings who conquered the land of Wessex from the
Welsh. He held the kingdom sixteen years, and when he died
his son Cynric succeeded to the kingdom and held it [twenty-six
years. When he died his son Ceawlin succeeded and held it-]
seventeen3 years" etc.

It will be seen that this account differs in two important
particulars from that given in the annals. In the first place
Cerdic's reign is made to begin six years after the invasion, i.e.

1 See Napier, Modern Language Notes, XII. p. 106 flf. ; Plummer, Two Saxon
Chronicles, Vol. I. pp. 2 f. , 293, II. p. 1.

2 Omitted in the Parker text.

8 Seofon in two texts, cf. Napier, /. c, Plummer, op. cit., 1. p. 293 ; but there can be
little doubt that the other was the original reading.

24 THE WEST SAXON INVASION [CHAP.

in the year 500 ; his death therefore will have taken place in 516.
On the other hand according to the annals he began to reign in
519 and died in 5341. Secondly, Ceawlin is made to reign only
seventeen years, whereas according to the annals he reigned over
thirty. In this point the Preface is supported by the Annals of
St Neots. It is obvious that these variations leave a consider-
able part (about thirty-two years) of the sixth century to be
accounted for. But there is a further and yet more serious
difficulty. In the genealogy of Aethelwulf, towards the end of
the Preface, Cynric is made the son of Creoda and grandson, not
son, of Cerdic. If we turn to the same genealogy in ann. 855, we

1 In explanation of this difficulty Mr Stevenson {Asserts Life of King Alfred, p. 159)
has suggested that the king who died in 534 was really Creoda and that he had
succeeded Cerdic about 516. But this suggestion practically involves the re-writing of
the whole story, for Cerdic is never mentioned without Cynric. In the following
pages I have thought it best to discuss the credibility of the story as a whole, apart
from details and from the dates assigned to the various events recounted in it. In
regard to arrangement I cannot help thinking that there is some connection with the
story of the conquest of Kent. In both stories we have four battles between the
natives and the invaders. Again, the interval, according to the Preface, between the
landing and the acquisition of the sovereignty corresponds to the interval between 449
and 455 ; for in practice the former year was generally taken as the date of the
invasion. Perhaps also it may be worth noting that the interval between the invasion
and the death of the chief invader is the same (thirty-nine years) in both cases. The
figures given in the Preface, apart from the initial date, seem to indicate a different
chronology from that given in the annals. There can be little doubt that in the original
text these figures were as follows: Cerdic 16, Cynric 26 or 27, Ceawlin 17, Ceol 6,
Ceolwulf 17. With the accession of Cynegils (611) the discrepancy comes to an end.
It will be seen that according to this reckoning Cerdic's acquisition of the sovereignty
must be placed in the year 528 or 529, and his arrival consequently in 522 or 523.
Now we may note that the latter date would be 494-495 according to the Cyclus
Paschalis of Victorius of Aquitaine, and in the course of the next chapter we shall see
that there is evidence for the use of this Cyclus in England for dates anterior to 532.
What I would suggest then is that the original compiler of the annals, having of course
no Paschal tables according to the Dionysian era available for dates earlier than 532,
made use of Victorius' tables for his earliest dates; and that some subsequent scribe,
who was not entering his annals on Paschal tables, overlooked the fact that the earliest
entries were dated according to a different era. It is perhaps worth noting that
according to the Dionysian system 495 and 514 (or 494 and 513 when reckoned a
Nativitate) were the initial years of Paschal tables — a fact which may have contribu-
ted to the error. If this explanation is correct I should be inclined to suspect that
ann. 514, 519 and 527 have arisen through arbitrary differentiation from ann. 495, 501
and 508.

II] THE WEST SAXON INVASION 25

shall see that this was clearly the original reading here1. More-
over it is not a mere scribal error in both cases, for we find the
genealogy in the same form elsewhere, e.g. MS. C.C.C.C. 1832 and
the Textus Roffensis. Yet according to both the Preface and the
annals Cynric was the son of Cerdic and took part with him in
the invasion from the beginning.

In face of these difficulties it will be well for a moment to
examine the composition of the Chronicle in order that we may
be able better to estimate the historical value of these early
entries. All the texts which we possess are descended from an
('archetype which appears to have been written in 891 or 892.
This archetype however seems to have been merely an extended
form of an older Chronicle, composed probably during the reign
of Aethelwulf8. It is apparently from this older Chronicle that
the earlier part of the Annals of St Neots is derived. The
genealogy which we find in ann. 855 and in the Preface may
very well have formed its close. But this older chronicle itself
was a highly composite document. We can trace some of its
constituent elements without much difficulty. There was in the
first place the chronological summary which appears in Bede's
Ecclesiastical History, V. 24, or a document very closely related
to it. Secondly, there was a series of annals extending from
Bede's death, or slightly earlier, to the time of Ecgberht, and
perhaps originally intended as a continuation of that summary4.
Thirdly, there were lists of Mercian and Northumbrian kings
with their genealogies, derived from a text similar in character
though not very closely related to those found in MS. C. C. C. C.
183 and the Textus Roffensis. Lastly, there was perhaps a short
epitome of ecclesiastical history from the beginning of the
Christian era to the year 1 10. These annals may however have
been added in the time of Alfred.

1 In the Parker text the name Creoda is omitted (no doubt intentionally) in both
places.

' An edition of this text has been promised by Mr. A. H. Inman, in a work
entitled "Anglo-Saxon Mythology."

3 This seems to be the usual view, but the question is too large a one to be
discussed at length here. The paucity of entries between 840 and 865 is worth
noticing.

4 See Plummer, op. cit., 11. p. ex f., and the references there given.

26 THE WEST SAXON INVASION [CHAP.

None of the annals derived from these sources have any-
bearing on the history of Wessex. The origin of the entries
referring to this kingdom is quite unknown. They vary very
much in character. Down to the year 754 they are as a rule
annals in the strict sense, professing to give the exact dates
of the events which they record. On the average, taking the
whole period from 495, we find about one entry in every four
years, though towards the end of the time they become much
more frequent. But between 754 and 823 we find probably
only five West Saxon entries in sixty-eight years. Moreover
these differ entirely in character from the preceding entries.
The entries for 755 and 784 are summaries of reigns which must
have been written after the reigns were ended. In 787 we hear
of an event which the writer makes no attempt to date. From
823 onwards we get strict annalistic writing again, as might be
expected. Again, down to the year 754 we find a complete
succession of the bishops of Winchester. But between 754 and
823 we have only one casual reference to a person holding this
office, and this occurs in an annal (799) which is probably not of
West Saxon origin. There seems to be reason therefore for
supposing that the materials for the ninth century Chronicle
included a collection of West Saxon annals extending to the
middle of the eighth century or somewhat later, and that
this collection was brought up to date by the addition of a few
entries giving summaries of the reigns of Cynewulf and Berhtric,
which were of course not much beyond the reach of living
memory in the time of Aethelwulf. For the details of Cynewulf's
death there may have been a separate written source.

The existence of such annals is further confirmed by certain
archaisms in the language of the earlier entries. These consist
partly of forms, especially case-endings, which were no longer
used in texts of the ninth century and partly of words which
appear to have a different and earlier meaning1. It is to be
observed that these archaisms seem to be confined to proper
names, which makes it probable that the annals were written in
Latin. Indeed there is little reason for believing that any of the
early documents from which the Chronicle is derived were
1 Cf. Stevenson, Engl. Hist. Rev., xiv. (1899) p. 38.

II] THE WEST SAXON INVASION 27

'written in English. But there is a more important question than
this. Were these annals entirely composed about the middle of
the eighth century or were earlier documents used? In the former
case we must of course assume that most of the dates assigned
to events before the end of the seventh century are due to mere
(guesswork. I confess I am somewhat reluctant to admit this.
!Many of the seventh century annals have all the appearance of
'being genuine records. Moreover we may note that down to Ine
iwe find the genealogy of almost every king, whereas those of all
Ithe succeeding kings are omitted — a fact which seems to point
Ito a change of authorship. This, however, is a question on
iwhich we can hardly hope to get beyond conjecture.

At all events there seems to be good reason for believing
'that, though the Chronicle itself is a work of the ninth century,
the materials from which it drew for the history of Wessex, and
which in all probability contained this story in some form or
other, dated from the eighth and perhaps even from the seventh
century. We may next briefly notice another objection. Cerdic
is said to be a Welsh and not an English name. This is no
doubt true. But in the time of Cynewulf there was an earl
of this name in Wessex, who signs charters from the year 758
onwards. Therefore, if Cerdic was not a recognised English
name, the existence of this person tends to show that the story
was already known.

We have still of course to face Gildas' statement that no war
took place between the Britons and the Saxons for forty-four
years after the siege of Mons Badonicus. According to the
Annales Cambriae, as we have seen (p. 14), this interval of
peace is to be dated from 517 to 561 or later —a period in which
the Chronicle places several important campaigns. But even if
we reject the authority of the Annales Cambriae and put the
siege back into the fifth century, some part of the forty-four years
]s bound to coincide with part of the period assigned by the |
.Chronicle to the West Saxon invasion. The evidence of the
£hronicle is therefore irreconcilable with that of Gildas. As we
can hardly dispute the statements of a contemporary writer we
must conclude that the chronology of the Chronicle is not even
approximately correct.

28 THE WEST SAXON INVASION [CHAP.

But chronological inaccuracy is of course no proof that the
story is not based on genuine tradition. There remains however
a more serious difficulty1. It is clear that according to the
Chronicle the West Saxon invasion started from the coast of
Hampshire, though the landing place {Cerdicesora) has not been
identified. But in the preceding chapter we saw that at the
beginning of historical times this coast was inhabited not by
Saxons but by Jutes. The same nation according to Bede_
colonised the Isle of Wight. Yet according to the Chronicle the.
island was conquered by Cerdic and Cynric and given by them
to their relations, Stuf and Wihtgar, while in ann. 514 it is
expressly stated that the latter were West Saxons. Indeed
the Jutes are not mentioned by the Chronicle at all except
in a late addition to ann. 449, derived from Bede, H.E. I. 152.

Now these are facts which certainly require explanation.
Bede's work was the recognised authority for the history of
ancient times and the great storehouse from which all later
writers drew their materials. We are bound to conclude therefore
either that Bede's statements were rejected by the author of our
annals or that they were unknown to him — in which case we can
hardlv avoid concluding that the annals are of earlier date
than the Ecclesiastical History. But even in the latter case
we have to account for the incompatibility of the two sets of
statements. Bede's references to the Jutes are of too precise
a character to admit of our supposing that he had misunderstood
his informants. Though the Jutes of the Isle of Wight had
apparently been annihilated, those of the mainland are repre-
sented as being still a distinct people in his time3. Again, it is
incredible that Bede can have had any motive for misrepre-
senting the facts. In the case of the annalist on the other hand

'&>

1 Cf. Sir H. H. Howorth's paper " The Beginnings of Wessex," Engl. Hist. Rev.,
xiii. p. 668 ff.

2 This remark applies to the Kentish Jutes as well as those of Hampshire. We
shall see later however that the Kentish Jutes appear to have given up their national
name very early, apparently before Bede's time. But Bede distinctly states that this
was not the case with the Jutes of Hampshire.

3 Ea gens quae usque hodie in prouincia Occidentalium Saxonum Iutarum natio

nominatur ; H.E. I. 15.

II] THE WEST SAXON INVASION 29

such a motive may not have been wanting. If the annals were
composed before the Ecclesiastical History, i.e. before the year
731, the devastation of the island must have been well within
living memory ; and consequently a desire may have been felt
to find some excuse for the barbarity with which it had been
treated. Such an excuse was clearly well provided by the story
that the islanders had originally received their country as a gift
from the West Saxon royal family and had subsequently abjured
the sovereignty of their benefactors. This is what seems to me
on the whole the most probable explanation. Of course we need
not suppose that Stuf and Wihtgar are fictitious names. They
may perfectly well be derived from genuine tradition. It is the
connection of these persons with the West Saxon royal family
which is open to suspicion. If they were real persons they must
surely have been Jutes. The same remark probably applies to
the Bieda and Maegla of ann. 501. As they are not mentioned
again and as their names seem not to occur in the nomenclature
of the district, there is little reason for regarding them as fictitious.
It is quite possible that they were the traditional founders of the
Jutish colony on the mainland1.

Mr Stevenson in his paper "The Beginnings of Wessex" {Eng.
Hist. Rev. XIV. p. 32 ff.) defends the account given in the Chronicle
on the ground that " Cerdic may have had grandsons or nephews
who were Jutes by race, and who may have brought a detach-
ment of their folk to his assistance." This is no doubt true ; but
it is necessary to distinguish clearly between personal relation-
ship and national amalgamation. When Mr Stevenson says that
the name of the Hampshire Jutes soon faded out of memory, the
point at issue seems to me to resolve itself into a question as to
the relative credibility of Bede and the Chronicle ; for according
to the former these Jutes retained a distinctive national appella-
tion until the eighth century. It is to be observed moreover that
the differences between the two nations were probably by no
means inconsiderable. Bede distinctly connects the Jutes of
Hampshire with the inhabitants of Kent ; and the latter differed
very greatly from the West Saxons, not indeed in language but,
1 For the name Port see Stevenson, /. c, p. 35, note.

O THE WEST SAXON INVASION [CHAP.

as we shall see later, in the structure of their social system.
That there may have been a personal relationship between the
leaders of the two invading nations is of course quite possible.
But here again, it must be remembered, we are building on the
authority of a document which has suppressed all reference
to the nationality of the Jutes. I confess it does not seem quite
natural to me that one of the two nations, presumably the
smaller and less important, should have occupied the coast-lands,
while the other passed on into the interior. The evidence being
such as it is, I think the possibility of the West Saxons having
come from a different quarter ought certainly not to be left out
of account.

In conclusion we must return for a moment to the name
Cerdic. It has already been mentioned that this name is
generally regarded as Welsh. Various suggestions have been
put forward in explanation of this curious phenomenon, e.g. that
the family may have been settled in Gaul before the invasion of
Britain. But it deserves to be pointed out that, so far as the
chronology of sound-changes in Welsh can be traced, such a
name can hardly have been acquired in the fifth or even in the
sixth century. There can be little doubt that it is derived from
the ancient British name Corotiats, and consequently that it
shows the Welsh change of tenuis to media {d for /), which
appears to have taken place about the beginning of the seventh
century1. Hence the suggestion that Cerdic was a Saxon who
had taken a Welsh name in the fifth century can hardly be
admitted. If philological evidence is to be trusted the name
Cerdic was not known to the Saxons before the seventh century.

1 This is too large a question to be discussed here. It may be noted however that
in names of places the tenuis seems to be preserved everywhere except in the extreme
west. So also in names of places and persons mentioned by Bede in connection with
events which occurred at the beginning of the seventh century, e.g. Bancor, Bancorn-
aburg, Dinoot (Dunawd) ; H. E. II. i. Within the next generation the change seems to
have taken place, e.g. Cerdice (ib. IV. 23), Caedualla. It is to be observed that the
Laud MS. of the Chronicle (E) regularly has Certic, a form which is found also in D
and F and must therefore go back to the text which Mr Plummer (11. p. lxiii) calls 5.
The same three MSS. have other peculiarities in Celtic names (cf. ann. 508, 577)-

II] THE WEST SAXON INVASION 3 I

Indeed the various forms in which it occurs in MSS. {Cerdic,
Ceardic, Caerdic) tend to show that it had not been thoroughly
naturalised in English.

We may now summarise briefly the results of our discussion.
It has been shown on the one hand that the evidence for the
story goes back to the first half of the eighth century, if not
earlier, on the other that the chronology is wrong, that the West
Saxons are represented as starting from territory which really
belonged to the Jutes, that all reference to the Jutes has been
suppressed and that their leaders have been turned into West
Saxons, and finally that the founder of the West Saxon dynasty
bears a name for which it is difficult to account. In spite there-
fore of the antiquity of the story the investigation hardly tends to
increase our confidence in it — at least in that part of it which
refers to the true West Saxons. Moreover we have to note that
Cerdic himself is mentioned in six annals ; that two of these
(530, 534) contain statements relating to the Isle of Wight which
are probably to be rejected ; and that the other four (495, 508,
5 19, 527) all refer to places which are supposed to be named after
him. Again, in all these six annals Cynric is associated with
Cerdic, and in the first, as also in the Preface, he is said to be his
son. Yet according to a well attested genealogy he was his
grandson. The annals and the genealogy come presumably from
different sources. If we accept the latter we must conclude that
the author of the annals was mistaken in regard to Cynric's
father ; if we choose to follow the annals we shall have to admit
that they were rejected by the author of the genealogy.

It is to be noted that the greater part of Cynric's reign is
practically a blank. Indeed we have no mention of any action
on the mainland between 527 and 552. With the latter year
there begins a new series of entries which differs from the
preceding one through the entire absence of the etymological
element. The first two entries of the new series (ann. 552, 556)
record battles at Salisbury and Beranburg. The only objection
that can be brought against them is that they probably fall
within Gildas' forty-four years of peace. But we have seen that
there is good textual authority for the statement that Ceawlin

32 THE WEST SAXON INVASION [CHAP.

reigned only seventeen years. If these are to be calculated
from his expulsion in 592, his succession must be placed in 575 a.
The battles which were fought in the later years of Cynric's
reign may therefore be placed after the conclusion of the long
peace. In this way all improbabilities in the latter part of the
story will be removed.

In the earlier annals the story of Stuf and Wihtgar and
perhaps also that of Bieda and Maegla may have a basis in
tradition. Is it permissible to suggest that these have served as
models for the story of Cerdic's landing? The chief difficulty
arises from the name Cerdic. The conclusion to which the
discussion has led us is that this name was derived from the local
nomenclature, in which it appears to have been fairly common.
Besides the examples in the Chronicle given above it has been
pointed out that there was a Ceardicesbeorg at Hurstbourne
(Hampshire), mentioned in a charter ascribed to Edward the
Elder (Birch, Cart. Sax. 594). Again, if our statement of the
phonetic history of the name is correct, we shall have to suppose
that a Welsh population still survived in some parts of Hamp-
shire at the beginning of the seventh century. But is this really
impossible ? It is worth noting that the name of Ceadwalla and
perhaps also those of his brother Mul and his grandfather Cada
seem to indicate a strain of Welsh blood in the West Saxon
royal family. Did the campaigns of Cynric and Ceawlin begin
by their interference in one of those internal feuds among the
Britons of which Gildas complains ? It is hardly inconceivable
that the name Cerdic may thus have been derived from Welsh
tradition. St Patrick speaks in his Epistle of a king named
Coroticus, who seems to have lived about the middle of the
fifth century and who is possibly to be identified with the Cei'etic
guletic of the Welsh genealogies. But we have no evidence
which would lead us to suppose that he was connected with
Hampshire.

It may perhaps be argued that the historical character of
the West Saxon Cerdic is substantiated by the constant occur-

1 According to the chronology of the Preface Ceawlin's reign would be from 571
to 588.

I II] THE WEST SAXON INVASION 33

! rence of his name in the genealogies — even in those which give
I the name Creoda and which seem therefore to be independent of
1 the annals. How far these West Saxon genealogies are to be
! credited is not quite clear. They do not occur in the two
I earliest lists of genealogies which we possess, viz. Cott. Vesp.
j B. 6, fol. 108 ff. and the Historia Brittonum, § 57 ff. Again,
i the genealogies given by the Chronicle itself in entries of the
I seventh century seem to be inconsistent with one another. It
: may be granted however that the names of Cerdic's ancestors
I seem for the most part to be genuine and archaic. In two cases,
I Wig and Freawine, to which we shall have to return later, they
even appear to be historical. Yet immediately after Wig we
I find a name Giwis, which is extremely suspicious in view of the

I fact that the West Saxons were in ancient times called Geuissae.

If this is to be regarded as an interpolation may not the name
Cerdic have crept into the list in a similar way ? A parallel case
I is perhaps to be found in the lists of his descendants. For if
I ann. 685 and 688 be compared with ann. 597, 611 and 674, it
will appear distinctly probable that the name Ceawlin has been
interpolated in the former.

One last possibility perhaps deserves to be taken into account.
As the names Cerdic and Creoda are not unlike, it is hardly
beyond the range of credibility that the early West Saxons may
have identified two distinct personalities, the one being known to
them from the local nomenclature or the traditions of the natives,
while the other was an ancestor of their own royal family. In
that case we should have to suppose that the genealogies are due
to some later bard or scholar who suspected that the identifica-
tion was incorrect. But this of course can be regarded only as a
conjectural hypothesis.

We need not hesitate to believe that a king named Cynric
ruled over the West Saxons about the middle of the sixth
century and that his successor, and perhaps son, Ceawlin raised
the kingdom to a formidable power by conquests on the north
and west. The origin of the kingdom however must for the
present be regarded as obscure. The account given by the
Chronicle is open to several serious objections, and on the whole

c 3

34 THE WEST SAXON INVASION [CHAP. II

it seems to me more probable that the kingdom was an offshoot
from Essex or Sussex1. When the archaeology of the southern
counties has been more thoroughly investigated it is to be hoped
that some further light may be thrown on the course followed by
the invasion.

1 Sir H. H. Howorth (/. c. ) has suggested that the West Saxons came originally
from the Thames Valley, partly on the ground that Dorchester (Oxfordshire) was the
first seat of the West Saxon bishopric. As the earliest bishops seem usually to
have fixed their headquarters in or near the chief town or village of the king
to whom they were attached, the fact that Birinus settled at Dorchester is certainly
a good argument for supposing that in Cynegils' days at all events the chief centre
of the kingdom was in this neighbourhood, possibly at Bensington.

CHAPTER III.

THE INVASION OF KENT.

The story of the invasion of Kent is also given in the
Chronicle, in much the same form as the story of Cerdic and
Cynric. In this case however we have other sources of informa-
tion. Several references to the story are to be found in the
works of Bede, while the Historia Brittonum gives a detailed
account of the invasion. It will be convenient to begin with the
account contained in the Chronicle.

449. Mauricius and Valentines obtained the throne and
reigned seven years. In their days Hengest and Horsa, invited
by Wyrtgeorn, king of the Britons, came to Britain, (landing)
at a place on the coast which is called Ypzvinesfleot (i.e. Ypwine's
bay or estuary) ; at first (they came) to help the Britons, but
later they fought against them.

455. Hengest and Horsa fought against King Wyrtgeorn
at a place which is called Agaelcsthrep1 ; and his brother Horsa
was slain. And after that Hengest obtained the throne with
Aesc, his son.

457. Hengest and Aesc fought against the Britons at
a place which is called Crecganford, and there they slew four
thousand men ; and the Britons then forsook Kent and fled to
London in great terror.

465. Hengest and Aesc fought against the Welsh near
Wippedesfleot, and there they slew twelve Welsh princes ; and
one of their own knights, whose name was Wipped, was slain
there.

1 In MS. W. (cf. Plummer, op. cit., II. p. xcviii fl~.) this name has been emended
•to Aegelesford (i.e. Aylesford).

2,6 THE INVASION OF KENT [CHAP.

473. Hengest and Aesc fought against the Welsh and
captured innumerable spoils, and the Welsh fled from the English
like [as one flies from1] fire.

488. Aesc obtained the throne and was king of the people
of Kent for twenty-four years.

Between the last two entries we find two annals (477, 485)
describing the invasion of Sussex (cf. pp. 2, 14). The Chronicle
contains no further references to Kent until the time of
Aethelberht.

Artificial chronology is still more apparent here than in the
story of the West Saxon invasion. But, as I pointed out before,
I do not see that this necessitates our believing that the story
itself is fictitious. The similarity between the two stories is
obvious. Perhaps the most curious coincidence is that the
interval between the annal recording the invasion and that
recording the death of the chief invader is the same (thirty-nine
years) in both cases. It is to be noted however that the entries
referring to the invasions of Kent and Sussex come to an end
before the West Saxon entries begin. In view of the obvious
resemblances between the two stories this fact suggests that the
West Saxon entries may have been intended as a continuation
of the others. Further, we may observe that in the Kentish
entries the etymological element is confined to one annal (465),
a fact which tells greatly in their favour.

Bede's references to the story are as follows: In his Chronica
Maiora (De Temp. Ratione, cap. 66), § 483, he states that the
Britons, after an unsuccessful appeal to Aetius in his third
consulship (a.D. 446), decided, with their king Vertigernus, to
call in the Angli to assist them against the Scots and Picts. In
§ 489 he says that the nation of the Angli or Saxons arrived in
Britain during the reign of Martianus and Valentinianus in three
warships. They subsequently received reinforcements and, after
expelling the enemy, turned their arms against their allies,
alleging that they had not received adequate payment for their
services. Both of these entries are derived from Gildas, though
the latter speaks of the invaders only as Saxones (not Angli)
and does not give any reference to the reign of Martianus and

1 An explanatory addition in MS. F.

Ill] THE INVASION OF KENT 37

Valentinianus. In the Ecclesiastical History, 1. 14 f., Bede
repeats practically the same statements, but calls the British
king Vurtigernns. He adds however the following important
passage : " Their first leaders are said to have been two brothers,
Hengest and Horsa, of whom Horsa was afterwards killed in
battle by the Britons and has a monument still distinguished
by his name in the eastern parts of Kent. They were the sons
of Wihtgils ( Victgisl), whose father was Witta ( Vitta), whose
father was Wehta ( Vecta), whose father was Woden ( Voden)"
In II. 5 he says that " Aethelberht was the son of Eormenric
(Irmi)iric), whose father was Octa, whose father was Oeric,
surnamed Oisc, from whom the kings of Kent are often called
Oiscingas. His father was Hengest who, together with his son
Oisc, first entered Britain at the invitation of Vurtigernus." In
the chronological summary, V. 24, we find: "Ann. 449. Martianus
obtained the throne with Valentinianus and held it for seven
years. In their time the Angli summoned by the Britons came
to Britain."

It will be observed that Bede's account is by no means
inconsistent with that of the Chronicle, though the latter gives
several additional details in regard to the war. Now we have seen
that the Chronicle dates probably from the time of Aethelwulf,
while Bede's work is more than a century older. Are we then
to conclude that the account given by the Chronicle is derived
from Bede or that both accounts come from a common source ?
In the former case what value is to be attached to the additional
details given by the Chronicle ? In regard to the first of these
questions we may note that in I. 15 Bede uses the expression
" Hengest and Horsa are said to have been {perhibentur) their
first leaders." This might of course apply either to oral or
documentary information ; but it is questionable whether Bede
himself was familiar with popular traditions. If that had been the
case he would surely have said something about the origin of the
northern kingdoms. The fact that he entirely neglects Northum-
brian traditions, while he gives those of Kent, inclines one to believe
that he had acquired the latter at second hand. This suspicion
is confirmed by the form in which the British king's name occurs.
In the Chronica Maiora it is given as Vertigcrnus, a very early

38 THE INVASION OF KENT [CHAP.

Welsh form. This must surely have been derived from a Welsh
source, presumably Gildas, although in one of the surviving
MSS. of that writer the name appears in a corrupt form (Gurth-
rigerno), while in the other it is omitted altogether1. On the
other hand the form which he uses in the Ecclesiastical History,
Viirligernus, is English. It represents however a form of the
language which was certainly obsolete in Bede's time and
probably for at least half-a-century earlier. We seem to be
justified therefore in inferring that Bede's information was
derived from a much earlier document, which was probably of
Kentish origin. But, if so, may not the Chronicle have drawn
from the same source ? We have already seen that there is an
intimate connection between the annals referring to the Kentish
and West Saxon invasions. May not the Kentish entries have
served as the model on which the others were based ?

The third and fullest account is that given by the Historia
Brittonum. This is a highly composite work and varies greatly
in the different recensions in which it is preserved. The date of
its composition is still an unsettled question. From § 16- it ap-
pears that a recension from which most of our texts come was
made about the year 858 s, but it is likely enough that the greater
part of the work was in existence before that time4. Fortunately
the portions which deal with our story, viz. §§ 31-49 and §^6,
are those which show the least amount of textual divergence.
Yet they appear to be not less composite than the rest of the
work. It will be convenient first to give a short analysis of the
contents of these sections.

In § 31 we hear for the first time of the Saxons and their
reception by Guorthigirnus (Wyrtgeorn). But the following
sections, §§ 32-35, deal with an entirely different subject, namely

1 It seems to have been omitted also in the lost MS. edited by Polydore Vergil.

2 The references are to San Marte's edition.

3 If the Mermin of § 16 is the same king whose death is recorded in the Ann.
Cambriae (845), the first figures given in this section can hardly be correct ; cf.
Thurneysen, Zeitschr. f, celt. Philologie, I. 164 ff., who suggests 826 as the date of the
Harleian recension.

4 On this subject see Zimmer, Nennhts Vindicatus (especially pp. 74 ff., 93 ff-,
275 ff.) and Thurneysen, Zeitschr. f. deutsche Philologie, XXVIII. 83 ff. ; but the
conclusions reached must be regarded as very doubtful.

IIll THE INVASION OF KENT 39

I the mission of St German. §§36-38 are again occupied with
J the Saxon invasion, while § 39 returns to St German. §§ 40-42
I seem to form a distinct episode,. Guorthigirnus appears here as

aJieathen. and though there is a reference to the invaders, they are
! not called Saxoues, as elsewhere, but gens Anglorum. §§ 43-46
\ again deal with the Saxon invasion, § 47 returns once more to
[ St German, while § 48 f. are taken up with the family and
; genealogy of Guorthigirnus. Then, after a digression (§§ 50-55)

relating to the mission of St Patrick, we again return to the
! Saxons in § 56 \ Altogether nine of the twenty sections are \
j .concerned with the Saxon invasion. It is to be observed that
: St German is not mentioned in any of these sections, and agam

that the Saxons are not mentioned in any of those which deal

with the mission of St German. The two stories are kept quite

distinct throughout.

It is clear then that this part of the work is derived from at
least two different sources. One of these was certainly a lost
history of St German, which we find mentioned in § 47 2. Since "^
one of our earliest texts3 bears the title Exbcrta (for excerpta ?) y
fiiurbaoen de libro Scl Germani inuenta, it is likely enough that
jthis was the original element and that the passages which deal
with the Saxon invasion have been added subsequently. A sort"
of connecting link is provided by the adventures of Guorthigirnus, j
who enters into both stories. We will now confine our attention
to the story of the Saxon invasion.

In § 31 the episode of the Saxon invasion is introduced in
the following words : " Now it came to pass after the above
mentioned war, that is the war which took place between the
Britons and the Romans, when their leaders were slain, and
after the slaying of the tyrant Maximus, and when the dominion
of the Romans in Britain was ended, they were in fear for forty
years. Guorthigirnus reigned in Britain, and while he reigned
he was oppressed by fear of the Picts and Scots, by Roman
attack and by dread of Ambrosius. Meanwhile there came

1 In the Vatican text this section precedes the story of St Patrick.

2 Hie est finis Guorthigirni ut in libro Beati Germani rep peri ; alii autem aliter
dixernnt.

3 T_he Chartres text ; Revue Celtique, xv. 175 ff.

40 THE INVASION OF KENT [CHAP.

three ships driven away from Germany in exile. In them were
Hors and Hengist1 who were brothers, sons of Guictgils, son of
Guitta, son of Guectha, son of Vuoden, son of Frealaf, son of
Fredulf, son of Finn, son of Folcwald, son of Geta who was, as they
say, son of God...Guorthigirnus received them kindly and gave
them an island, which in their tongue is called Tanet but in the
British language Ruoihin. Regnante Gratiano seciindo Equantio
Saxones a Guortliigirno suscepti sunt, anno cccxlvii (al. cccxxxvii,
ccccxlvii) post passionem Christ i. "

In § 36 we are told that after the Saxons had encamped in
the above mentioned island of Thanet, the king promised to give
them food and clothing ; and they promised to attack his enemies
bravely. But when their numbers had increased the Britons
were no longer able to provide for them and begged them to
depart. The result was that they formed a plan for opening
lostilities. But jn_J 37 we find a story quite inconsistent with
the last passage. Hengist perceiving the helplessness "of the
Britons persuades the king to allow him to send for reinforce-
ments from his own people. They arrive in sixteen ships,
accompanied by the daughter of Hengist. The king, desiring to
marry the girl, consents to give Kent to her father. In § 38 tQ
same story is continued^ Hengist persuades the king to let
him send for his son and nephew, Octha and Ebissa, with further
reinforcements. They arrive with forty ships and after devasta-
ting the Orkneys occupy the lands beyond the Mare Fresicum2.
Hengist continues to send for reinforcements. In § 43 f. we find
that hostilities have broken out between Hengist and the king's"
son, Guorthemir. Four battles are mentioned. The locality of
the first is not specified, but the result was to drive Hengist into
Thanet. The second takes place on the river Derguentid (pre-
sumably the Darent) and the third at a place called Episford in
English and Rit hergabail in British. In this battle Hors and
the king's son, Categirn, are killed. The fourth battle is fought
near the Lapis Tittcli on the shore of the Gallic Sea. It is a
great victory and the invaders are driven to their ships ; but

1 The usual forms are Hcngist{us) and Hencgistits. Among the following names
there is some (merely orthographic) variation between the different MSS.

2 Apparently the Irish Sea or some part of it.

Ill] THE INVASION OF KENT 41

shortly afterwards Guorthemir dies. In § 45 f. the invaders
return under the protection of the king, and it is decided to hold
a-conference, both parties being unarmed. Hengist however
directs his men to secrete knives in their boots, and at a sign
from him they attack and slay the three hundred British nobles.
The king alone is spared and allowed to ransom himself by
granting Essex and Sussex to the invaders. In § 56 we learn
that after Hengist's death his son Octha leaves the north and
jjoes to Kent. From him the kings of Kent are descended.
Then we have a description of Arthur's wars, and it is added

I that though the invaders were constantly defeated, they always
sent for fresh reinforcements and new kings from Germany
until the time of Ida, son of Eobba, who was the first king in
Bernicia.

We must now enquire what is the origin of this story. We
have already seen that the incidents related in § 37 are incon-
sistent with the preceding narrative (§ 36). The latter however""*ly>\
is clearly in accordance with the story told by Gildas. Now, if-4_
we turn to § 31, we see that the motive assigned for the coming

_ of the Saxons is an entirely different one from that given by
Gildas. According tojihe latter the Saxons were invited by the
Britons to defend them from the Scots and Picts. But according
to our story Hors and Hengist were exiles who sought refuge
with the British king. It appears then that even for the Saxon '
invasion the compilers of the Historia Brittonum had two
distinct authorities, one of which was probably Gildas, while the
other gave a very different version of the story.

My impression is that this second and main authority for the
story of the invasion was of English origin. This impression is
derived from the following facts : i. The names of several places
are given in English as well as Welsh form : Tanet — Ritoihiii
(§31), Cantguaraland — Cent (§ 37), Ep is ford — Rit Jiergabail '(§ 44),
.Beornicia — Bemeich (§ 56). ii. The four battles between Guor-
themir and the Saxons in § 44 may be compared with Hengest's
four battles in the Saxon Chronicle (cf. p. 35 f). The site of the
second battle seems to be the same in both accounts, iii. In
§ 37 it is stated that " Hengist took counsel with his elders, who
had come with him from the island OgJigulT Again, according

42 THE INVASION OF KENT [CHAP.

to § 38 " Hengist continually summoned ships to him, so that
they left the islands from which they had come without an
inhabitant." With this may be compared Bede's statement
(H. E. 1. 15) that the Angli came from a country called Angulus,
which is said to have remained uninhabited from that time to
the present day. This would seem to be an English tradition,
iv. In § 46 we find an English sentence nimath enre saexas and
English names of provinces, Estsaxum, Sutsaxum\ v. In
the same section it is related that Hengist invited the British

elders to a conference and that the Saxons concealed knives in

their boots. Practically the same story is told by Widukind

(I. 6 f.) in his account of the early history of the Old Saxons.
Possibly it may have arisen from an aetiological myth ; but in
any case the story would seem to be of Saxon origin, vi. In
§ 31 we find a genealogy of Hors and Hengist which agrees with
that given by Bede (H. E. I. 15), so far as the latter goes. The
remainder of it is, except in one point, identical with a genealogy
which appears in a number of ancient MSS., viz. Cott. Vesp. B.
6 (fol. 108 ff.), C. C. C. C. 183 and the Textus Roffensis2, The
exception is that the name of Finn's father is here given as
Folczvald (al. Fodcpald) instead of Godwulf. But this is a
mistake which could only have been made by some one familiar
with English traditions ; for Finn the son of Folcwalda was a
well-known figure in English heroic poetry.

Some of these facts are of course capable of being explained
otherwise. English names, like Episford, might have been
acquired by ear. The story of the four battles might be due to
common tradition. But if we review the evidence as a whole
I think it is difficult to avoid concluding that the story is derived
from English sources3. Indeed in the case of the genealogy
any other explanation is practically impossible. But we have
a still stronger piece of evidence. Immediately after the

1 The Vatican text has Eastseaxan, Sitderseaxan, Middelseaxan. All three names
occur also in the Irish version.

2 Cf. also the Saxon Chronicle, ann. 547, 855.

3 It is to be observed that Nennius in both Prefaces speaks of Saxon documents
among his sources, and the terms used {historiae Scoitorwn Saxomimque, § i ; annates
Scottorum Saxonumque, § 3) seem to imply more than mere genealogies. If my
hypothesis is correct it tends to confirm the genuineness of these Prefaces.

Ill] THE INVASION OF KENT 43

genealogy (cf. p. 40) the date of Hengist's arrival is given.
The MSS. differ considerably in regard to the figures, but there

1 can be little doubt, as we shall see shortly, that the original
reading was anno cccxlvii post passionem Christi. The year is

1 further specified by the words regnante Gratiano secundo
Equantio. This date has been a source of great perplexity, for
earlier in the same section it is stated that Guorthigirnus was
reigning forty years after the death of Maximus, i.e. about the
year 428, and that is the date which is given for the coming
of the Saxons in § 66 and probably also in § 16. What then is
to be said of the date 347 post passionem ? For an answer to
this question we must turn for a moment to §§ 57 — 65. These
sections consist of genealogies of the English dynasties, a list of

JsTorthumbrian kings down to Ecgfrith (d.685) and notices referring
tcuEnglish and Welsh history in the sixth and seventh centuries.
The latter would seem originally to have been marginal notes
and are probably in part translated from Welsh. They may
perhaps be attributed to St Ellodu, archbishop of Bangor
(d. 809), or one of his disciples. The groundwork of these
sections however was undoubtedly the genealogies and the list
of kings. The genealogies as a whole are closely related to
a series which appears in the three texts mentioned above, viz.
Cott. Vesp. B 6, C.C.C.C. 183 and the Textus Roffensis. The
two latter texts also give lists of Northumbrian and Mercian kings,
of which the Northumbrian list agrees closely with that of the
Historia Brittonum.

Now in the Corpus text immediately after the genealogies
we find the following entry : qnando Gratianus consul j "nit secuudo
et Aequitius quarto, tunc his consulibus Saxones a Wyrtgcomo in
Britannia suscepti sunt, anno cccxlviiii a passion e Christi. It
is clear that this note is connected in some way with the passage
in the Historia Brittonum which we are discussing1. Two facts
deserve to be noted, i. The Corpus text has no traces of Welsh

1 The connection is still more obvious in the case of a passage in the Vatican text
at the end of § 56 : quando Gratianus Aeqiiantias consul fait in Roma, quia tunc a
consulibus Romanornm lotus orbis regebatur, Saxones a Guorthegirno A.D. 447 suscepti
sunt, etc. This passage is of interest in showing that the Vatican recension has
preserved elements of the original text which have been lost elsewhere.

44 THE INVASION OF KENT [CHAP. J

influence. Wyrtgeomo is the correct English form. The
genealogies are preceded and followed by works of Bede. i
ii. The Corpus entry is less corrupt than the passage in the
Historia Brittonum. The true figures are (ann. 348 a p. C.) \
Gratiano quarto, Equitio secundo. The Corpus text has transposed
quarto and secundo. The Historia Brittonum has secundo in the
wrong place, while quarto has disappeared. One cannot help
concluding therefore that the Historia Brittonum has obtained
this statement from a text closely related to C.C.C.C. 1 831.

We have now seen (i) that many features in the account of
the Saxon invasion point to an English origin of the story, and
(ii) that part of §31, as well as the genealogies of §§57 — 65, is
derived from an English source which can be identified. In
conclusion we may note one point in which the story of the
Historia Brittonum is at variance with the account given by
Bede. According to the latter Oisc was the son of Hengist and
) Octa the son of Oisc. But in the Historia Brittonum, in the
narrative (§§38, 56) as well as in the genealogies (§58), Octha
(i.e. Octa) is the son and successor of Hengist, while according
to §58 Ossa (i.e. presumably Oisc2) is the son of Octha. Here
again the Historia Brittonum agrees with the English genealogical
document mentioned above ; for the latter gives the series
Hengest — Ocga — Oese. It seems highly probable therefore that
the narrative of the Saxon invasion contained in the Historia
Brittonum is intimately connected with the genealogies in
§ 57 ff., and consequently that the former as well as the latter
comes from a source related to the English genealogical texts
which we have been discussing.

1 The MS. used by the compiler of the Historia Brittonum must of course have been
much older than the Corpus MS., which dates only from the latter part of Aethelstan's
reign. A passage inserted in the Cambridge recension, § 63, suggests that this English
text came into Welsh hands before the death of St Ellodu, and the orthography of
English names appears to be that of the eighth century. We may further compare a
reading of the Vatican text in § 57 : de ipso {Octha) orti sunt reges Cantpariorum usque
in hodiernum diem, which points to a date at all events before 798. The genealogies
come down to 796, but the text used by the Historia Brittonum may of course have
incorporated earlier matter. The earliest text of the genealogies which we possess
(Cott. Vesp. B 6) seems to date from 811 — 814.

2 Strictly Ossa seems to represent Oese; cf. the Bernician genealogy (§ 57) where
the same form corresponds to Oesa in the English texts.

Hi] THE INVASION OF KENT 45

V If this conclusion is correct it follows that, except for the
vague allusions of Gildas, all our evidence for the story of the
invasion of Kent is ultimately of English origin. We must now
ask what amount of credence is to be attached to the story. . For
this purpose our best course will be to consider in order the
various objections which have been brought against it. These

; objections are four in number. The first is that the dates
assigned to the invasion by Bede and the Chronicle on the one
hand, and by the Historia Brittonum on the other, do not

_agree. The second is in regard to the names Hengest and
Horsa. The third is that essentially different motives for the I
invasion are given by Bede and the Historia Brittonum. Lastly U
there is a discrepancy, as we have already noticed, in regard to
the name of Hengest's son and successor.

The chronological difficulty may for the present be left ; for,
as we saw in the last chapter, the credibility of such a narrative
as this does not necessarily depend on the correctness of the
dates contained in it. We may pass on then to the second
objection. Both names, Hengest and Horsa, are unfamiliar. The
former does however occur in the old poetry, the person so called
being likewise a hero of the fifth century. In this case therefore
the objection will not hold good. The name of the other brother
is not quite certain. Bede and the Chronicle call him Horsa,
whereas in the Historia Brittonum his name appears as Hors.
Both names are alike unknown elsewhere. Indeed I know of
no English personal name which contains the element Hors-. On
the other hand it is to be observed (i) that the genealogies
present many names which do not occur in historical times but
which are found among other Teutonic nations, and (ii) that
names compounded with Hross- (i.e. Hors-) e.g. Hross/ce//,
Hrossbiorn, occur in ancient Scandinavian literature. The form
Horsa, which has the better textual authority of the two, may
very well be shortened from some such name as these1. There

1 The form Hors, which rests only on the authority of the Historia Brittonum, may
be compared with such names as Beorn, Wulf, which are not uncommon. If this
form is to be preferred, I should be inclined to think that Hengest and I Iors were not
the names originally given to the two brothers but nicknames acquired subsequently.
In any case we may compare the names of the two brothers Eofor and Wulf
mentioned in Beow. 2965 ff.

4.6 THE INVASION OF KENT [CHAP.

seems to be no adequate ground therefore for regarding it with
suspicion1.

The next difficulty is in regard to the motive for_the
invas;on. Gildas, followed by Bede, states that the Saxons-were
called in by the Britons to protect them from the Scots^ and
Picts. On the other hand according to the Historia Brittonum
Hengist and Hors first arrived as exiles and were kindly received
by the British king. In §36 we get a narrative which agrees
with that of Gildas, but this, as we have seen, is incompatible
with what follows. The compiler has evidently sought to
reconcile two quite different versions of the story. Yet it is by
no means clear that the two accounts in themselves were
incompatible. If we were to place the events narrated in § 36"
after the arrival of the reinforcements mentioned in §37 f., the
inconsistency between the two passages would disappear. The
course of events might then be described somewhat as follows.
Hengest and Horsa arrive in the first place as exiles seeking
refuge with the British king. Having^ entered his service and
undertaken to fight against tH^-J Rmt<; and Pigts they_ask To~be
allowed to send for reinforcements from their own people. .After
stneir victorious campaign, however, the Britons become alarmed
at the increaseTrTTheir numbers and try togetj2d_of_JhernT In
this Jorm MJie~in^n^--ftQ-iQfl-gT^ ffi c u 1 ty .

The discrepancy in regard to the name of Hengest's son and
successor is more serious. In the Chronicle Aesc (i.e. Oisc2) is
mentioned in five of the six entries which refer to the invasion
of Kent, and both the Chronicle and Bede state distinctly that
he was Hengest's son. On the other hand Octha is the son of
Hengist both in the narrative and in the genealogies of the

1 The name of Hengest's daughter is not given in the Hist. Brittonum. According
to Geoffrey of Monmouth she was called Rowena, which seems to be a correct Anglo-
Saxon name (Hrothzuyn) — though apparently it does not occur elsewhere — and
preserves the alliteration of Hengest. But I do not know whether Geoffrey is supposed
to have had any other sources of information than the existing texts of the Historia
Brittonum.

2 This name does not occur elsewhere, but it seems to be guaranteed by the form
Oiscingas. The substitution of the name Aesc, which is of different origin, shows that
it was unfamiliar to the compiler of the Chronicle. In the English genealogies Oese
may be due to a scribal error (for Oesc).

Ill] THE INVASION OF KENT 47

Historia Brittonum, while according to the latter Ossa (the Oese
of the English genealogies) was the son of Octha. If Ossa —
Oese is to be identified with Oisc, the two accounts are clearly
irreconcilable. But is the discrepancy greater than one might
reasonably expect in a story which has been preserved only by
tradition for at least two centuries? If we take into account the
greater antiquity of Bede's narrative and the fact that the
settlement " beyond the Mare Fresicum " is not mentioned
elsewhere, it seems probable that the Historia Brittonum is here
in the wrong. But I do not see that this necessitates our
rejecting its evidence in other respects, for the relationship of
Hengist and Octha is hardly, like that of Cerdic and Cynric,
an essential feature of the story.

On the whole, therefore, except for the incidents connected
with Octha, I am disposed to regard the accounts of the invasion
given by Bede, the Saxon Chronicle and the Historia Brittonum
as genuine traditions. If I am right in believing the account in
the Historia Brittonum to be ultimately of English origin, its
value as independent evidence is of course to some extent
reduced. But the story itself is not intrinsically improbable, nor
.does it really conflict with the few indications regarding the
invasion given by the British historian Gildas.

In conclusion account must be taken of the only Continental
authority which mentions any proper name in connection with
the invasion, namely the work of the anonymous geographer of
Ravenna, v. § 31. Here we find it stated that Britain is inhabited
by " the nation of the Saxons which came long ago from Old
Saxony with their chief, Ansehis by name." If the editors are
-right in emending this name to Ansehis1, its identity with Bede's
Oisc can hardly be doubted. We shall have to suppose then
that the name has been obtained from some much earlier
document, for the sound-change from ans- to os- must have
taken place considerably before the end of the sixth century.
The reference therefore, so far as it goes, has a certain value in
bearing out the antiquity of the tradition, although the name

1 In any case Ansehis can hardly be correct. It would require equally little
emendation to connect the form with Oese.

48 THE INVASION OF KENT [CHAP.

of the chief invader seems to have been displaced by that of his
son.

We may now return to consider the chronological difficulty.
According to Bede the invasion took place when Martianus and
Valentinianus were emperors — the true dates for their joint
reign being 450-455. This is also the date given by the
Chronicle, though Mauritius has been written in mistake for
Martianus. But in the Corpus genealogy and in §31 of the
Historia Brittonum the same event is said to have taken place
at a date which according to our reckoning is the year 375.
This date, as we have seen, must have come from the genealogy.
The Historia Brittonum itself gives in three distinct places quite
a different date, namely the year 428. Of the three dates from
which we have to choose, that given by the genealogy is clearly
the one which has the least claim on our belief. In the year
375, and indeed for many years afterwards, Britain was still
under the dominion of the Romans. Whatever then may be
the origin of this date, there can be little doubt that it is due to
a misunderstanding of some kind1.

It is a much more difficult matter to decide between the
claims of the year 428 and the date used by Bede. There is one
piece of evidence which tells distinctly against the latter. In a
Gaulish chronicle which comes to an end in the year 452s it is

1 It is found also in the Codex Urbinas of Isidor's Chronicle, ann. 5576 (ed.
Roncallius, II col. 451, note), though in a somewhat different form: Saxones in
Britannia a Bertigerno rege Britonorum accersiti stmt anno a passione Domini cccxlviii.
Of the date and source of this interpolation I have not been able to ascertain anything.
But it seems to give an earlier form of the statement than those which occur in the
Corpus text and the Historia Brittonum. The absence of the names of the consuls
might of course be accidental ; yet there is every probability that these were added —
presumably from the Paschal tables of Victorius Aquitanus — after the chronological
error had been made. The form of the sentence distinctly recalls the entry in the
Saxon Chronicle, ann. 449 : Hengest and Horsa from Wyrtgeorne gelea\ade Bretta
kyninge etc., the Latin original of which may very well have been a Vertigemo rege
Brittonum accersiti (cf. Bede, H.E. v. 24). Two possible explanations of the mistake
have occurred to me : (i) that it has arisen out of a scribal error in the figures {cccxlviii
for ccccxlviiii) ; (ii) that there has been a confusion between the joint reign of
Martianus and Valentinian III and that of Gratianus and Valentinian II, for the latter
did begin in the year 375. Neither of these suggestions however is quite
satisfactory.

2 Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auct. Ant., ix. p. 660 : Brittaniae usque ad hoc

Hi] THE INVASION OF KENT 49

stated that the provinces of Britain were conquered by the
Saxons in the nineteenth year of Theodosius, i.e. A.D. 441-2. If
this is a contemporary statement we must of course reject what
is-said both by Bede and Gildas. Unfortunately however the
evidence is not quite conclusive, for the chronicle in question may
be incomplete. We must therefore enquire what were the
grounds on which Bede's calculation was based1. It is often
assumed that Bede had no other authority than Gildas' state-
ment that the invitation to the Saxons followed the unsuccessful
appeal to Aetius in 446. But this statement was hardly
sufficient ground for placing the invasion in the reign of
Martianus and Valentinianus (450—455). The invasion might
very well have taken place between 446 and 450; and as a
matter of fact Bede himself does elsewhere2 reckon from 446.
The statement that the invasion took place during the reign of
Martianus and Valentinianus would seem therefore to have been
drawn from a different source. Now I have suggested above
that the Saxon Chronicle is not entirely dependent on Bede for
jts account of the invasion of Kent, but that it may also have j
used the earlier document from which Bede's account is derived.
According to the Chronicle Hengest began to reign in 455 and
Aesc reigned for twenty-four years after 488. Is it not probable
that the ultimate origin of these statements is to be traced to a
lost list of Kentish kings which gave in each case the number of
years during which they reigned — like the Mercian and North-
umbrian lists in the Corpus text ? It is true of course that the
Chronicle mentions no kings of Kent between Aesc and
Aethelberht. But it is to be remembered that the interests of
the Chronicle were primarily West Saxon. The accounts of the
invasions of Kent and Sussex serve only as an introduction

tempus uariis dadibus euentibusque latae in dicionem Saxonum rediguntur. We may
compare a statement entered under the sixteenth year of Theodosius in another Gaulish
chronicle which ends in 511 (ib. p. 161): Britanniae a Romanis amissae in dicionem
Saxonum cedunt.

1 The explanation put forward by Thurneysen (Zeiisckr. f. celt. Philo/ogie, 1. 167 ;
Englische Studien, XXII. 175), that Bede's date was obtained by adding forty years
(cf. Hist. Britt., §31) to the date 409, can hardly be admitted; for Bede does not
place the invasion in the year 449.

2 H. E. 1. 23, 11. 14 and especially v. 23.

c. 4

50 THE INVASION OF KENT [CHAP.

to the West Saxon story. Now, if this suggestion is correct,
the date of Hengest's accession (455) may very well have been
obtained by counting the years of the various kings. Then we
see at once why the reign of Martianus and Valentinianus was
chosen ; for the year of Hengest's accession is also that of
Valentinianus's death. The date in question therefore, though
it agrees well enough with Gildas' statement, may have been
obtained quite independently. We may therefore regard it as
in some measure a confirmation of that statement.

We must next enquire as to the origin of the date 428. The
reference in § 16 throws no light on this question. From §§ 31,
66 however we see that it hangs together with the date fixed for
the reign of Guorthigirnus. Now it has already been mentioned
that Guorthigirnus enters into both the stories of which §§ 31 — 49
are composed, the narrative of St German's mission as well as
the story of the Saxon invasion. The date 428 .can hardly have
been derived from the latter, for we have seen that this gives
quite a different date. Presumably then it comes from the Liber
S. Germani, from which, as we have already noted, the original
part of the work seems to have been derived. Now according to
Prospers Chronicle the mission of St German to Britain took
place in 429. It is possible then that the date 428 originally
referred to the mission of St German and that, before the passage
about Hors and Hengist was interpolated, the words Guorthigir-
nus regnauit in Brittania (§ 31) were immediately followed by
the opening words of § 32. In that case of course we shall
have to suppose that the reference in § 66 to the consulship of
Felix and Taurus (A.D. 428) is erroneous. On the other hand,
though the extracts from the Liber S. Germani make no
reference to the Saxons (cf. p. 39), such a reference does
actually occur in the Life of St German by Constantius, cap. 28.
Yet the fact that these Saxons are represented as being in
alliance with the Picts is somewhat against the idea that they
were the same Saxons who settled in Kent. It may of course
be urged that according to Bede the Saxons came to terms with
the Picts when they turned against the Britons ; but this state-
ment is not derived from Gildas. Indeed it is probably an
attempt to reconcile the evidence of Gildas and Constantius ;

Ill] THE INVASION OF KENT 5 I

for it must be remembered that Bede has dated the mission of St
German more than twenty years too late (Chron. Mai., § 491).
We may further note that according to Constantius St German's
victory secured peace for the island, and that on the occasion of
his second visit, the date of which we do not know, no mention
is made of the Saxons. On the whole therefore, thousfh a Saxon
raid may have taken place in 428-9, I do not regard this date as
at all safe for the arrival of Hengest and Horsa.

It will be convenient now to tabulate the dates given by our
different authorities : ' 1

375 : the English genealogical text, followed by the Historiai

Brittonum, § 31. \\L

428 : the Historia Brittonum §§ 16, 31, 66 (probably from the
Liber S. Germani).

441-2 : the Gaulish Chronicle (cf. p. 48 f.)1.

After 446 : Gildas.

Before 455 : the Saxon Chronicle (probably from an earlier
Kentish work).

Account ought also to be taken perhaps of Jordanes, cap. 45,
and of St Patrick's epistle to the warriors of Coroticus.
According to the former a British king named Riothimus
brought reinforcements to the Emperor Anthemius (467-472) in
his campaign against the Visigoths, while St Patrick, writing""
apparently at a time considerably after his arrival in Ireland
(432 or 437 ?), alludes frequently to the devastations of the Scots 1 ,/
and Picts, but makes no reference to the Saxons-. Both these
authorities, so far as they go, tend to throw doubt on the state- I
ment that Britain was conquered as early as 441-2. If the_)
Gaulish Chronicle is really a contemporary document, we must
of course accept its authority against Gildas and in spite of the
silence of other early writers. Otherwise I am disposed to think
that it has both antedated the first invasion and also exaggerated .
its effect. In any case, however. I am not inclined to regard any j[ A
date before 441-2 as probable. ^J

1 438-9 in another Gaulish chronicle (cf. p. 49 footnote).

2 It is possible of course that Coroticus' kingdom was situated in the northern or
western part of the country. The identification of him with Ceretic guletic is only an
inference from the fact that they must have been approximately contemporary.

52 THE INVASION OF KENT [CHAP.

There is one more point in connection with the Kentish
invasion which deserves notice. We have seen that the name
Hengest is very rare. The only other person of this name known
to me is the warrior who figures in Beowulf and in the frag-
mentary poem on the fight in Finn's Castle. The history of this
individual is unfortunately obscure. It is clear however that he
was the chief follower of a certain Hnaef, who appears to have
been a prince in the service of the Danish king Healfdene. On
a certain occasion this Hnaef paid a visit, whether friendly or
otherwise is not clear, to Friesland, where he was slain by the
followers of the Frisian king, Finn the son of Folcwalda.
Hengest and his other warriors after a long struggle came to
terms with Finn ; but some of them eventually returned to
Denmark and having obtained reinforcements attacked and slew
him. Of Hengest's fate nothing is stated.

Now it is curious to note that this Hengest must have been
a contemporary of his famous namesake. In Beowulf the
Danish king Hrothgar is represented as a very old man and as
having reigned for a very long period (Jinnd missera, 1. 1770).
The time to which the poem refers is the first quarter of the sixth
century. Healfdene, Hrothgar's father, may therefore have been
reigning before the middle of the fifth century. Again, both
Hengests come apparently from the same country. The Hengist
of the Historia Brittonum is said to have come from Oghgul,
which, as we shall see subsequently, is probably Angel in South
Jutland. But the Hengest of the poems also comes from some
part of the Danish kingdom1. As for the tribes to which they
belonged that of the Kentish Hengest is called by Bede Iutae
(Iuti), while in English translations we find Ytena, Eota, Iutna

1 The fragment contains no reference to the Danes, but I cannot see that we have
any right to doubt the evidence of Beowulf on this point. Moreover, a reminiscence
of the story seems to have been preserved in the Skioldunga Saga, cap. 4 in Arngrim
Jonsson's epitome (reprinted in the Aarb^ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed, 1894,
p. 104 ft.), where it is stated that a Danish king named Leifus had seven sons, three
of whom were called Hunleifus, Oddleifus and Gunnleifus. The last two of these
names are identical with those of two of Hengest's warriors, Ordlaf and Guthlaf
(Finn 18), while Hengest himself is in possession of a sword called Hunlafing
(Beow. 1 143). This can hardly be an accidental coincidence.

Ill] THE INVASION OF KENT 53

(Gen. pi.)1, Iotum (Dat. pi.). The tribe to which the other Hengest
belonged is called in Beowulf Eotena (Gen. pi.), Eotenum
(Dat. pi.). To these forms we shall have to return later, but at
all events it cannot be denied that there is a striking resemblance
between them. Again, the Hengest of the Historia Brittonum
is said to have been driven into exile. The fate of the other
Hengest we do not know ; but he can hardly have returned home
after making peace with the man who had slain his lord. Exile
is certainly what might be expected in such a case. Lastly, we
may remember that the story of Finn, the son of Folcwalda, was
evidently running in the mind of the scribe, from whom the
genealogy of the Historia Brittonum (§31) is derived. On the
whole therefore, if the invasion of Kent may be dated after 440,
I think it is more probable than not that the two Hengests were
identical.

1 Cf. p. 5 and footnote.

CHAPTER IV.

THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN.

The people who invaded Britain in the fifth century are said
to have belonged to three distinct nations, the Saxons, the Angles
and the Jutes. The primary authority for this classification is
a passage in Bede's Ecclesiastical History, I. 15, which, as it has
always been regarded as the basis of investigation in English
ethnology, deserves to be given here in full. " They had come,"
he says, " from three of the bravest nations of Germany, namely,
from the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes. The Cantuarii (i.e.
the inhabitants of Kent) are of Jutish origin ; and so are the
Victuarii, i.e. the tribe which inhabits the Isle of Wight, and also
that which is still called Iutarum natio in the territory of the
West Saxons, occupying a position just opposite the Isle of Wight.
The East Saxons, the South Saxons and the West Saxons came
from the Saxons, i.e. from the country which is now called the
country of the Old Saxons. LastlyJthe East Angles, the Middle
Angles, the Mercians/and the whol^ population of Northumbria,
i.e. the tribes which live to the north of the river Humber, together/
with the rest of the Anglian peoples — all these are sprung from the
Angli, i.e. from a land which is called Angulus and which is said
to have remained uninhabited from that time till the present
day. It lies between the territories of the Jutes and those of
the Saxons."

This is the only definite and comprehensive statement
regarding the origin of the invaders which has come down to us.
It has been copied by a host of later writers ; but, so far at least
as the classification of the tribes is concerned, nothing of

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 55

importance has been added. The only other statement on the
subject which we need consider here is a passage in Procopius'
Gothic War, IV. 20 : " The island of Brittia contains three very
populous nations, each of which has a king over it. The names
borne by these nations are Angiloi and Phrissones and Brittones,
the last having the same name as the island." In this passage,
which dates of course from a time nearly two centuries earlier
than Bede's work, no mention is made of Saxons or Jutes.
Indeed these names do not occur at all in Procopius' writings.
In place of them we find Phrissones, i.e. presumably the Frisians,
who are also not mentioned again by Procopius. Apart from
this passage we have no evidence that they took part in the
invasion of Britain, though their language is closely related to
English.

Bede's statements as to the origin of the various nations in
Historical Britain are so definite that we should certainly

evidence. expect to get evidence for the same classification

elsewhere. Such evidence however is not easy to find. In the
first place, apart from the passage quoted above and other
documents which are manifestly based on it, we never find the
people of Kent described as Jutes. In historical and official
documents the term usually applied to them is Cantivare
(Cantuarii etc.), while their kings bear the title rex Cantuariorutn
or rex Cantiae. But we also find them described both as Saxones
and Angli. The former is the word regularly used in the
Historia Brittonum for Hengest and his followers, while the
country from which they are said to have come is called Oghgul,
i.e. presumably Ongul {Angel). Even in the account given by
Bede himself (Hist. Eccl. I. 14 f. ) the same people are called
Saxones, though here of course the name may have been taken
over from Gildas. Again, in the Saxon Chronicle, ann. 473, the
name applied to them is Englan. For this also we find parallels
in the Ecclesiastical History. Thus in I. 32 Pope Gregory in
a letter to Aethelberht, king of Kent, addresses him as rex
Angloruui. It may be urged of course that Aethelberht's
supremacy extended over some of the Angli. But this explana-
tion will hardly hold good for another passage (ill. 8), where
Bede says that Erconberht, king of Kent, was the first of the

56 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

kings of the Angli to prohibit idolatry in his kingdom. So in
II. 5 he states that Aethelberht's laws were written in the
language of the Angli (Anglorum sermone). Taking all this
evidence together and above all the fact that the people of Kent
are not again called Jutes, one can hardly help concluding that,
if Bede's account is correct, the name must have passed out of
use very early. It is not necessary to suppose that it was
current even in Bede's time, for we have seen that he appears
to have used earlier documents in his narrative. In southern
Hampshire the name of the Jutes seems to have survived longer
(cf. p. 4f), but we have no evidence that it was anything more
than a geographical term after the eighth century. Indeed were
it not for Bede we should hardly know that the inhabitants of
this district had originally been of a different nationality from
the West Saxons.

If we turn now to the Angli we find in the first place that
Welsh and Irish writers pretty regularly speak of them as
Saxones. One or two examples will be sufficient. In the
Historia Brittonum, §57, the Northumbrians are described as
Saxones Ambronum, the latter of which words is probably
a scribal corruption of Umbronnm (cf. Hymbronensium in a
document dating from 680, quoted by Bede, H.E. IV. 15). In
the Annales Cambriae, ann. 225 (i.e. a.d. 670-671), we find
Osguid rex Saxonum (i.e. Oswio, king of the Northumbrians)
moritur. So in the Annals of Tighernac, ann. 631 (?), the
Northumbrian king Edwin is described as Etuin mac Ailli regis
Saxonum. It is more surprising to find Pope Vitalianus
addressing Oswio, king of the Northumbrians, as Saxonum rex
(H.E. ill. 29). But parallels can be obtained even for this. In
a letter to Pope Gregory II, Hwaetberht, abbot of Wearmouth,
speaks of himself as writing de Saxonia (Bede's Hist. Abb., cap.
19; Anon. Hist. Abb., cap. 30). Again, Eddius in his Life of
Wilfrid, cap. 19, says that during Ecgfrith's reign the Picts
refused to submit to the supremacy of the Saxones, by which of
course the Northumbrians are meant. In cap. 21 he applies the
same name to the English peoples south of the Humber. So in
Felix' Life of St Guthlac, § 20, we find the expression Brittones
Infesti Jwstes Saxonici generis, where there is no reference to the

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 57

southern kingdoms. It is worth noting that the English version
renders this passage by Brytta \eod Angolcynnes feond. Again,
in Mercian charters English words are commonly described by
the term Saxonicc, e.g. a difficultate ilia quam nos Saxonice
faestiiigmenn dicimus (Birch, Cart. Sax. 416); hominum illorum
quos Saxonice nominamus Walhfaereld (ib. 488). It is true
however that most of these charters refer to the province of the
Hwicce, which is said to have belonged originally to Wessex.

The use of words derived from Angel for the Saxons is much
more frequent. From the time of King Alfred onwards, the
regular term for the native language in West Saxon works is

Englisc. In the Chronicle, arm. 897, we are told that sixty-two
Frisian and English {Engliscra) men were slain in a certain sea-
fight, but it is clear from the context that the " English " must
have belonged to Wessex or Sussex. So also with the expressions
Angelcyn{n)" the English nation," and A ngelcynnes lond" England,"
lit. " the land of the English nation." When King Alfred in the
introduction to his translation of the Cura Pastoralis deplores
the decay of learning in Angelcynn his language does not in the
least suggest that he is excluding the southern provinces from
consideration1. In the Chronicle, ann. 787, we hear that three
ships which arrived during the reign of Berhtric were the first
Danish ships which came to Angelcynnes lond. But we know
from other sources that these ships put in on the coast of
Dorset. Again, in ann. 836 it is stated that Ecgberht, king of
Wessex, had before his accession been expelled from Angelcynnes
land for three years by Berhtric and Offa. In the same sense
we find also the expression Angelcynnes ealond, e.g. in the will
of Aelfred, earl of Surrey, a contemporary of King Alfred (Birch,
Cart. Sax. 558). Indeed there are no other terms used in
vernacular texts, translations of course excluded, either for the
language or the country.

These facts are curious and certainly require explanation.
Above all it is to be noticed that though we occasionally meet
with the phrase Engle and Seaxe,xve do not find the two peoples
contrasted in any way, i.e. we have no evidence except in H.E.

1 Cf. Asser, cap. 83, where the all Angelcyn of the Chronicle (ann. 886) is
translated by o/nnes Angli el Saxones.

58 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP, i

I. 15 for the use of Saxones or Seaxan for the inhabitants of:
Wessex, Sussex and Essex to the exclusion of the rest of the
Teutonic inhabitants of Britain. In charters and historical works
dating from the time of Alfred and his successors we sometimes
meet with the expressions rex Anglorum Saxonum and rex \
Angul- Saxonum1. But it is by no means clear that these;
expressions stand for rex Anglorum et Saxonum; for the latter, I
which is a far more obvious phrase, is as a matter of fact
extremely rare. Mr Stevenson holds that these expressions j
came into use in England to denote the political union of the
Angles and Saxons, but he has pointed out that they came ;
originally from the Continent, where the term Engelsaxo occurs [
in a Life of Alcuin dating from before 830. The Latin form j
Angli Saxones is used even earlier, by Paulus Diaconus {Hist. 1
Lang. IV. 23, V. 37, VI. 15). By Continental writers however!
these terms appear to have been used to distinguish the English j
Saxons2 from the Saxons of the Continent. Bede himself does 1
seem to have drawn a distinction between the two peoples. !
Thus in two passages (H. E. III. 7, 22), he uses the phrase j
Saxonum lingua with reference to the inhabitants of Wessex j
and Essex, though he does not mention Saxon as a distinct \
language in his enumeration of the languages spoken in Britain
(ib. I. 1). But in view of the evidence brought forward above j
we must clearly take into account the possibility that Bede's
distinctions are the result of a theory. If we had not Bede's j
writings we should hardly hesitate to say that Angel-, Engle,\
Englisc, etc. were the native terms, and that Saxones, Saxonia, j
etc., which are almost entirely confined to works written in Latin, *
were terms of foreign origin. Indeed there are certain passages '
in Bede's own works which seem to indicate that he was himself;
not absolutely convinced that the Saxons and Angli were really

1 Cf. Stevenson, Asserts Life of King Alfred, p. 148 ff. and notes, where a full list ■
of references is given.

2 Apparently ' Angles ' as well as ' Saxons.' The words of the passage in the Life 1
of Alcuin cited above (Jaffe, Monumenta Alcuiniana, p. 25 : Aigulfus presbyter
Engelsaxo et ipse) imply that Alcuin himself, a Northumbrian, was so called. The
persons to whom the term is applied by Paulus are Ceadwalla, king of Wessex, and
Hermelinda, wife of the Langobardic king Cunipert, whose origin is unknown. Her \
name suggests that she belonged to the Kentish royal family.

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 59

different peoples. Thus in H. E. I. 22 he says that one of the
most grievous sins committed by the Britons was that they never
preached the Gospel to the gens Saxonum sine Anglorum. If he
had been convinced that the two nations were really distinct, he
would surely have said gentcs Saxonum et Anglorum. So in
v. 9 he speaks of the Angli uel Saxones who inhabit Britain.
We may further compare the account which he gives of the
invasion. In 1. 14 Vurtigernus decides to call in the Saxones.
In the following chapter the Anglorum sine Saxonum gens arrive
in three ships ; subsequently the Saxones obtain a victory. In
the epitome in V. 24 we are told that it was the Angli who came
to Britain at the invitation of the Britons. Vet according to
Bede's classification the people referred to in all these passages
were Jutes. Lastly we may note that he constantly speaks of
the Anglorum ecclesia as embracing all the Teutonic kingdoms
in Britain. Yet in the earlier references the organisation
i described by this name extended only to districts inhabited by
Saxons and Jutes.

As the historical evidence is inconclusive it will be convenient
^ . . now to examine the genealogies of the various

Evidence of 00

tradition. dynasties in order to see whether these point to any

differences in the origin of the three peoples. Genealogies have
been preserved of the royal families of Kent, Wessex, Essex,
East Anglia, Mercia, Lindsey, Deira and Bernicia. The
genealogies of the kings of the South Saxons, the Hwicce and
the Hampshire Jutes are unfortunately lost. There is no evidence
that Middlesex ever had a dynasty of its own, and though we
once find a subregulus in Surrey, we know nothing of his origin.
The only Saxon dynasties therefore for which evidence is
available are those of Essex and Wessex. Now with the single
exception of Essex all the genealogies which have been preserved
go back to the god Woden. The East Saxon genealogy on the
other hand is traced, to a person named Seaxneat. The
Appendix to Florence of Worcester's Chronicle makes him a son
of Woden ; but this is probably a later addition, as it does not
occur in the earliest extant text of the genealogy, Brit. Mus.
MS. Add. 2321 1 (published in Sweet's Oldest English Texts,
p. 179). Now the form Seaxneat is clearly identical with Saxnot,

6o THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

the name of one of the three gods mentioned in a short
Continental document generally known as the ' Renunciation
Formula1' and probably of Old Saxon origin. Here then we
seem to have a definite link between the Saxons of Britain and
those of the Continent.

Unfortunately, when we turn to the West Saxon genealogy,
this clue fails entirely. For not only did the West Saxon family
trace their descent from Woden but even from the same son of
Woden, Baeldaeg by name, as the Bernician family — a fact
which is the more remarkable because the genealogies of all the
other dynasties, viz. those of Kent, East Anglia, Mercia, Lindsey
and Deira, go back to different sons of Woden. Indeed it is by
no means clear that the common element in the West Saxon
and Bernician genealogies does not go further than this. The
first three names in the former are Woden, Baeldaeg, Brand. In
the latter there is considerable discrepancy between the various
texts. It will be convenient here to give the first few names in
each of the most important documents in which it occurs, viz.
MS. Cott. Vesp. B 6 fol. io8f. (published in Sweet's Oldest
English Texts, p. 167 ff.), the Historia Brittonum, § 57, the Saxon
Chronicle, ann. 547, and the Appendix to the Chronicle of
Florence of Worcester.

Cott. Vesp.

Florence.

Hist. Brit.

Sax. Chron.

Woden.

Beldeg.

Baeldaeg.

Beornec.

Brand.

Gechbrond.

Benoc.

Aluson.

Aloe.

Inguec.

Angenwit

Ingui.

Woden. Woden.

Beldaeg. Baeldeag.

Beornic. Brand.

Wegbrand. Beorn.

Ingibrand. Beornd.

Alusa. Waegbrand.

Angengeot. Ingebrand.

Alusa.

Angengeat.

Ingengeat.

It may of course be suggested that the name Brand has been
introduced into the Bernician genealogy in the Chronicle from
the West Saxon genealogy, and that the genealogy in Florence's
Appendix has been influenced by that which he gives under the

1 Published in M. Heyne's Kleinere altniederdeutsche Denkmdler (p. 88) and
many other works.

llV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 6l

lyear 547 and which is derived from the Chronicle. But on the
other hand it is to be remembered that there is a literary connection
between Cott. Vesp. B 6, Florence's Appendix and the Historia
Brittonum. Moreover the series Woden — Beldeyg — Brond occurs
in the Historia Brittonum (§61) at the head of the genealogy of
Deira, where it is clearly out of place. It can hardly have come
from the West Saxon genealogy, for the latter is not included
either in the Historia Brittonum or in Cott. Vesp. B 6. I think,
if we take the whole series of names into account, the evidence is
distinctly favourable to the series given in the Chronicle. But
if so, indeed to some extent in any case, we are bound to conclude
that the West Saxon royal family claimed to be of the same
stock as that of Bernicia. Consequently the argument drawn
from the Essex genealogy is to a certain extent invalidated.

It is commonly asserted that Bede's classification of the
Linguistic English people into Saxons, Angles and Jutes is

evidence. confirmed by linguistic evidence. This subject

therefore cannot be passed over in silence, though it is impossible
within the compass of a work like this to treat it adequately. It
is true that dialectic differences are observable in the earliest
texts which we possess, and we need have no hesitation in
believing that many such differences were in existence during
the seventh century. Unfortunately however our knowledge of
the dialects is of a very unequal character. The West Saxon
dialect is hardly known before the middle of the ninth century,
though after this time the materials are abundant. Of Kentish
much less has been preserved, but it goes back to a somewhat
earlier date. Early Northumbrian is little known except from
proper names, but these are sufficiently numerous to enable us
to form an idea of the characteristics of the dialect during the
eighth century. On the other hand we have practically no texts
which can with certainty be called Mercian. In practice the
name Mercian is applied to a number of dialects which differ
from one another about as much as they do from Northumbrian
or Kentish. The only texts which can certainly be ascribed to
Essex or Sussex are a few Latin charters which contain some
proper names.

62 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

It will be convenient to begin with a brief enumeration of
the more important sound-changes by which English became
differentiated from the neighbouring Teutonic languages. They
are as follows :

Table A.

1. a has become labial (written a, o) before nasals ; e.g. land, lond, "land"

(Old High Germ, lant, Old Norse land).

2. a is palatalised {ce) in open syllables before palatal vowels and in all

close syllables ; e.g. daeg, "day" (O.H.G. tac, O.N. dagr).

3. a (from earlier e) has become 0 before nasals ; e.g. mona , " moon "

(O.H.G. ntano, O.N. mam).

4. a (from earlier e) is palatalised {&) in almost all other positions ; e.g.

ra>d, "counsel" (O.H.G. rat, O.N. rod).

5. e has become i before m ; e.g. niman, "take" (O.H.G. neman, O.N.

nema).

6. 0 has become u before nasals ; e.g. cumati, "come" (O.H.G. coman,

O.N. koma).

7. a {ce), e, i, a>, i are diphthongised before h ; e.g. eahta, "eight" (O.H.G.

ahto, O.N. dtta).

8. a {ce\ <?, i are diphthongised before r followed by a consonant ; e.g.

earm, "poor" (O.H.G. arm, O.N. armr).

9. at has become a ; e.g. ad, "oath " (O.H.G. eid, O.N. eidr).

10. au has become ca (earlier Tea) ; e.g. stream, "stream" (O.H.G. stroum,

O.N. straumr).

11. All vowels are palatalised before /' in the following syllable; e.g. ^;j*/,

"bride" (O.H.G. brut, O.N. £r/«?jr).

12. Nasals are lost with compensatory lengthening before voiceless

spirants ; e.g. j 'if, "five" (O.H.G. fimf,finf, OM.fimm).

13. Gutturals are palatalised before palatal vowels, though the distinction

is seldom marked in writing (except in Runic inscriptions) ; e.g.
gearu, iaru, " ready" (O.H.G. garo, O.N. gorr).

14. i is diphthongised before a guttural (guttural-labial) vowel in the

following syllable ; e.g. siofuti, seofon, "seven" (O.H.G. sibun).

When we say that English became differentiated from the
neighbouring languages by these sound-changes, an important
exception is to be made in the case of Frisian ; for the latter
shows all the above changes except 8, 10, and (in part) 7 and 9.
Certain other reservations are also necessary. Thus 1 1 occurs
also in the Scandinavian languages, though apparently under
somewhat different conditions. The same languages seem also
to have a change similar to 8 in the case of e, though the forms

I IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 63

: which show this change are generally explained in a different
way. Again nasals are lost in Scandinavian before s, and in
I Low German (Dutch etc.) before/!

In addition to the changes noted above there are others less
1 distinctively English. Some of these are common to English
j and German but wanting in the Scandinavian languages.

Table B.

1. The voiced dental spirant (d) has become an explosive (d) in all

positions, whereas in Scandinavian this change occurs only initially
and after / ; e.g. bida?i, " wait," O. Dutch bidan (O.N. blda).

2. Final z is lost, whereas in Scandinavian it becomes r ; e.g. /u'orde,

"herdsman," O.H.G. hirti (O.N. hirdir). The High German
dialects however have r in monosyllabic words after short vowels ;
e.g. tvir, "we" (Engl, tae, O.N. ve'r).

3. 2 has become r before d, whereas in Scandinavian assimilation takes

place ; e.g. ord, " point," O.H.G. ort (O.N. oddr).

4. Intervocalic w is lengthened in a number of words where Scandinavian

has developed a long guttural ; e.g. {ge)triowe, "faithful," O.H.G.
gitriuwi (O.N. tryggr).

5. All consonants are lengthened before j ; e.g. bidda/i, "ask," O.H.G.

bitten (O.N. bidid). The characteristics of this change are however
somewhat different in the two languages. In Scandinavian this
change affects only the gutturals (/&, g).

Other changes are common to English and Scandinavian
but wanting (wholly or in part) in German.

Table C.

1. h is lost between sonants ; e.g. seon, "see," O.N. sid (O.H.G. sehan).

This change occurs in Low German at a much later period.

2. e is diphthongised before labial and guttural vowels ; e.g. geofu, "gift,"

O.N. giqf (O.H.G. geba). A similar change occurs in the case of a
before labial vowels, but the effect in Scandinavian is not
diphthongisation but labialisation. The phenomena and probably
also the date of these changes vary a good deal between the different
English dialects, but they are perceptible everywhere. They do not
occur in German.

All the above changes except the last occur also in Frisian.
Consequently there is no doubt that this language is by far the
most nearly related to English. With regard to the other
langfuaefes, if we bear in mind the resemblances noted under

64 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

Table A between English and Scandinavian, it will be seen that
English occupies a position about midway between Scandinavian
and German, approximating more to the former in the develop-
ment of its vowel-system and to the latter in that of its conso-
nants1. In the case of Frisian there is slightly less affinity with
Scandinavian (cf. A 8, C 2). The evidence of the Old Saxon
language would induce us to connect English, as well as Frisian,
more closely with German than with Scandinavian, and as a
matter of fact most scholars class English, Frisian and German
together in a " West-Germanic " group. But in reality the
language of the Old Saxon texts is not a pure dialect. A con-
siderable number of forms occur (e.g. bed, "bed," othar, "other")
which do not correspond to the sound-laws elsewhere observable
in the language, and there can be little doubt that these
variations are due to the introduction of an Anglo-Frisian
element. Any argument therefore derived from the resemblance
of this language to English is misleading. The relationship of
these various languages with Gothic need not be discussed here.
Whatever may be the ultimate affinities of that language, there
is sufficient evidence that it differed greatly from Scandinavian,
English and German alike at a time when the differences between

'i>'

these three languages themselves were insignificant.

We must now turn to the dialectical differences within the
English language itself. For this purpose it will be most
convenient to summarise the most important characteristics of
the three dialects which we can definitely locate, viz. West
Saxon, Kentish and Northumbrian.

Table D. Characteristics of the West Saxon

Dialect.

1. a is diphthongised before /followed by a consonant ; e.g. eald, "old"

(North, aid). But the evidence is not entirely consistent.

2. Vowels are diphthongised after palatal consonants; e.g. ceaster (Lat.

castra, early North, caestir).

3. The diphthongs ea {ceo) and ea (&a) when palatalised have become

z, l (earlier z>, ie)\ e.g. ttiiht, "power" (North, maehf).

4. The diphthongs tu, tu, except before u, have become i, f (earlier ie,

ie); e.g. nlwe, "new" (North, niowe).

1 Apart, of course, from the sound-shifting in the High German dialects.

j IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 65

5. The diphthongs hi, iu (before it) and eo, eo are confused ; e.g. seolfor

beside siolfor {sil-),fioh beside feoh {/eh-).

6. The palatalised labial vowels oe, ce, y, y (from 0, 0, u, it) have been

delabialised {e, e, t, 1); e.g. oven, " queen " (North, cwain).

7. The diphthongs ea, ea, eo {iu) are reduced to monophthongs (/, i)

before h {ea also before and after c,g); e.g. cniht, "boy"' (beside
cneoht).

Table E. Characteristics of the Kentish Dialect.

1. a is diphthongised before / followed by a consonant (cf. D 1). But

the evidence is not entirely consistent.

2. ce, ce, whatever their origin have become e, e; e.g. deg, "day" (W. Sax.

daeg).

3. The diphthongs ea, ea (cea, cea) when palatalised have become e, e

(earlier <z, a!) ; e.g. er/e, "inheritance" (W. Sax. irfe).

4. The diphthongs eo, eo and iu, iu are confused and subsequently

delabialised ; e.g. beorht, biorht, biarht, "bright" (North, berht).

5. The palatalised labial vowels y,y (from u, it) have become e, e; e.g.

eppan, "disclose" (earlier yppan).

6. Labial vowels in unaccented syllables are delabialised ; e.g. brodar,

" brother " (earlier brodor).

Table F. Characteristics of the Northumbrian

Dialect.

1. All diphthongs lose their second element before guttural and palatal

consonants (c,g, h); e.g. were, "work" (W. Sax. weorc).

2. ce (from a, cf. A 4) has become/; e.g. red, "counsel" (W. Sax. rad).

3. The diphthong ea (cea) when palatalised has become e (earlier ce);

e.g. Edwiiie (earlier Aedidni) beside Eadberht.

4. The diphthong ea (tea) when palatalised has become ce ; e.g. maeht,

"power" (W. Sax. miht).

5. Certain vowels {ce and, in part, a, o) are diphthongised after palatal

consonants (c, g) ; e.g. ceaster (earlier caestir).

6. The diphthongs ea, ea and eo, eo are (to some extent at least)

confused; e.g. Eod- beside Ead-1.

The only early evidence for the dialect of Sussex seems to
be one original charter (Birch, Cart. Sax. 1334) dating from 780.
If we may judge from this the dialect occupied a position
between West Saxon and Kentish. No examples occur of the

1 To the above list we may add the loss of -n in inflections (except after -it-).
This -n was still frequently written in the eighth century.

C 5

66 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

Northumbrian monophthongisation in F i, while the diphthong
is preserved in three cases. There are two examples of the
West Saxon and Kentish diphthongisation of a before /
followed by a consonant (D, E i) and one example of the
confusion of eo and io (D 5, E 4). The Kentish and Northumbrian
change of <£ to e seems to be known ( Vnerfrid beside Vuaermund)
and the treatment of the palatalised ^-diphthong in Siolesaei
likewise conforms to its treatment in those dialects. On the
other hand the West Saxon ie- diphthong (D 3 or 4) appears in
Tielaes or a.

There are a number of early texts which do not exhibit the
characteristics of any of the dialects treated above and which
are probably all to be ascribed to the Midlands. They differ
very considerably among themselves ; but all seem to show
forms of language intermediate between Northumbrian and
Kentish. Indeed they exhibit practically no sound-changes
which do not occur in one or other of these dialects. The West
Saxon and Kentish diphthongisation of a before / followed by
a consonant (D, E 1) does not appear, nor do we find any trace
of the specifically West Saxon changes D 3, 4, 6, 7. The
Kentish changes E 5 and 6 are also wanting, while the delabiali-
sation in E 4, though it does occur in the (East Anglian?)
Vespasian Psalter, is confined to unaccented words. It is to be
observed however that these changes do not appear in Kentish
until a period later than that to which most of the Midland
texts probably belong. There is very little evidence also for the
change F 6, while F 5 is limited to the case of guttural vowels.
On the other hand all these texts agree with Northumbrian in
F 1, 2, 3, 4 and all the later ones show the Kentish (and West
Saxon) confusion of eo and zu. The chief dialectical differences
between the texts occur in regard to (i) the prevalence of
diphthongisation through labial and guttural vowels in the
following syllable (C 2) and (ii) the extent to which the change
ce > e is carried out. From the evidence of later texts it seems
probable that the dialects which show the latter change belong
to the more eastern districts. None of the early Midland texts
however exhibit this change so completely as Kentish.

We must now endeavour to ascertain as far as possible the

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 6j

dates at which the various changes noted above took place. By
far the easiest to fix are the Kentish changes E 5, 6 and the
delabialisation in E 4. These do not occur in any texts earlier
than the middle of the ninth century and may consequently be
dated not very long before that time. This fact has an important
bearing on a theory which has obtained much currency. It is
frequently stated that the Kentish dialect is more nearly akin to
Frisian than any of the other English dialects, because both
Kentish and Frisian have c through palatalisation of u, whereas
the other dialects have y (later 1). As early Kentish also hadj^,
• and as e does not make its appearance for about four hundred
years after the invasion, there does not seem to be much
probability of a historical connection between the Frisian and
Kentish changes. Indeed, if they must be connected, it would
seem more probable to attribute the fact to intercourse between
Kent and the Netherlands at a later period. As a matter of
fact the early Kentish texts show no dialectical peculiarities
which do not occur also either in Midland or West Saxon texts.
In the very earliest even e for a is quite rare.

In other cases we do not actually get texts anterior to the
operation of the sound-changes, but in the earliest we see some
of these changes still incomplete. Such is the case with D 5, 6,
7, E 2, 4, F 2, 5, 6. There is no probability that any of these
changes go back beyond the middle of the seventh century,
while some of them (e.g. U 7) may even date from the ninth
century. I have given reasons elsewhere1, partly on account of
the phenomena of contraction through the loss of h and partly
on account of the preservation of ce in such words as maeJit, for
believing (i) that the change ce>e (F 2) took place both in the
Northumbrian and Midland dialects later than the monoph-
thongisation in F I, and (ii) that the latter change was subsequent
to the palatalisation of vowels before i (A 11). In certain
Midland dialects it was also subsequent to the diphthongisation
before labial vowels (C 3). As the changes D 3, 4, E 3, F 3, 4
all arise from A 11, the determination of the date of the latter
change is of great importance. It is to this therefore that we
must next turn our attention.
1 Transactions of the Cambridge Philological Society, Vol. IV. pp. 97, 103, r 1 5 ff".

5—=

THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

The evidence at our disposal does not justify the supposition
that this palatalisation took place in very early times. In the
first place Bede's Ecclesiastical History preserves a number of
forms which do not show this change. Setting aside such names as
Cantia and Lundonia which may be of Gallo-Roman origin
though this is by no means certain, we find in the earliest (Moore)
MS. a few forms, e.g. Saberct {Saeber/it), Guruiorum IV. 19
(Gynva), Vurtigernol. 14 (Wyrtgeorn), which are clearly derived
from earlier texts and which can hardly be explained in any
other way. Again in the Historia Brittonum the name of the
Mercian king Penda (626?— 655) appears several times in the
form Pantha, which seems to be Welsh orthography. On some
ancient coins we find the name Pada in Runic letters. It is
very probable from their weight and design that they were
issued by the same king. The absence of -n- is hardly a serious
objection, as parallels can be found in early Scandinavian Runic
inscriptions. On the other hand many words borrowed from
Latin appear in English with palatalisation. Some of these were
no doubt borrowed as early as the fifth century, a few possibly
even before the invasion of Britain. But there are a number of
specifically Christian words, e.g. mynster {monasteriani), engel
(angelus), erccbiscop {archiepiscopus), which can hardly be so old.
Indeed it seems to me quite incredible that they can have
become current in England before the conversion of Kent at the
end of the sixth century. Names of places in Gaul such as
Persa (Parisiorum) and Embemnn {Ambiajiis) — with which we
may also compare the name Wendelsae— are less capable of being
dated, though it is scarcely probable that they were known
much before the sixth century. In Britain however, where such
cases are of course far more numerous, we find some examples,
e.g. Wreocen- {Vriconium), which are not likely to have been
acquired much before the end of that century.

Moreover there is a certain amount of indirect evidence. The
existence of forms like Edwine beside Eadgar seems to show
that palatalisation was effected by the presence of i in the second
member of a compound and consequently that this change was
operative after the final vowel of the first member had
disappeared. But if we are to trust the evidence of the

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 69

MSS. of Gregory of Tours this final vowel was still retained in
Frankish in the first half of the sixth century, while in
Scandinavian according to the generally accepted view it lasted
much longer. Again, it is usually held, and doubtless rightly,
that the palatalisation of guttural consonants (A 13) preceded
the palatalisation of vowels. Yet this change also occurs in
ecclesiastical loan-words, e.g. ercebiscop, cirice {jcvpiaicov). No
doubt these words were borrowed in the first instance from
Frankish ; but the palatalisation of consonants is foreign to that
language. We may compare certain names of Welsh origin, e.g.
Caedmon, Ceadwalla, which show the Welsh sound-change t>d
(cf. p. 30) and which on historical grounds also are not likely to
date from before the beginning of the seventh century. Taking
the whole evidence into account, therefore, we need have little
hesitation in concluding that the palatalisation of vowels was
operative during the early part of the seventh century.

The only dialectical characteristics which can be traced back
to a period anterior to this palatalisation are the changes given
in D, E 1, D 2. The latter, the diphthongisation after palatal
consonants, is clearly later than the palatalisation of guttural
consonants (A 13), which, as we have seen, was apparently still
operative about the beginning of the seventh century. The
former, the diphthongisation of a before / followed by a consonant,
cannot be dated ; but since the evidence for the change is not
consistent either in West Saxon or Kentish, it is not very likely
to be of great antiquity. On the whole then the evidence seems
to justify us in concluding that .none of the existing phonetic
differences between West Saxon, Kentish and Northumbrian go
back beyond the middle of the sixth century.

Indeed there is every reason for believing that the changes
A 2, 4, 5, 9, which are common to all dialects and clearly older than
those discussed above, themselves operated after the invasion of
Britain. As instances we may give a few names and loan-words
which show these changes ; e.g. Limen (Portus Lemauus), Saefern
(Lat. Sabrina, but really from O. Welsh * Sabre na), caestir (Lat.
castra), straegl (Lat. straguluvi), naep (Lat. ndpus) — all of which
seem to occur only in English. The changes i > e and e > i (under
certain conditions), which are found also in German and Scandina-

70 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

vian, appear to have operated during the same period ; e.g. Breten
{Britannia), Pehtas (Picti), Treanta (Trisanton), Bregentford
(Brigantio-), WiJit ( Vectis), Wintanceaster ( Venta), Cynete for
earlier * Cunit- (Cnnetio), Wyrtgeorn for earlier * Wirtigern-
( Vertigcrnns). It is true of course that we cannot prove when
such words as cest {cistd) and pinn (penna) were borrowed,
but the above list contains several examples in which the idea
of borrowing before the invasion is absurd.

In the above discussion I have taken no account of the
possibility that any East Saxon texts may have survived, though
considering the importance of London, even in early times, it
might naturally be expected that this dialect would not be entirely
unrepresented. As a matter of fact we have one original East
Saxon charter, dating from 692-3 and written unfortunately in
Latin. It contains however a good number of proper names.
Now these names show two examples of the Northumbrian and
Midland change F 1, four examples of the Northumbrian, Midland
and Kentish change ^>f (F 2) as against one example of a?
preserved, and two examples of the Kentish change cb > e
(E 2). There are no examples of any of the West Saxon
sound-changes (Table D), except one case of D 5, a change
however which occurs also in the Kentish and Midland dialects.
The forms as a whole show a remarkable resemblance to those
of the Epinal Glossary, and I have elsewhere given reasons for
believing that the latter is derived from an East Saxon text1.
In both cases the dialect seems to lie midway between Kentish
and Northumbrian, or rather between Kentish and the East
Midland dialects, for specific characteristics of the Northumbrian
dialect do not occur, while the confusion of eo and in, which
appears also in Epinal, is alien to the early texts of that dialect.
Some confirmation of this conclusion may be obtained from the
East Saxon genealogy published in Sweet's Oldest English Texts,
p. 179, and which we may reasonably suppose to be ultimately of
East Saxon origin. In this genealogy we may particularly note
three examples of e from ea (cza) through palatalisation (E, F3),
while in regard to monophthongisation its evidence, like that of
the Epinal glossary, is inconsistent.

1 op. cit. p. 249 ff.

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 7 1

It thus appears that, so far as our evidence goes, the affinities
of the early East Saxon dialect lay with Kentish on the one
side and with the East Midland dialects on the other, and not
with West Saxon at all. This result is what might naturally be
expected if, as we have been led to conclude, the dialectical
variations of the English language came into existence at a time
considerably subsequent to the invasion. The formation of the
dialects is thus probably to be attributed to political divisions,
while their affinities seem to be determined by geographical
proximity, independently of any consideration as to whether the
neighbouring kingdoms were Saxon, Anglian or Jutish. The
evidence of the Midland dialects enables us to bridge over the
gap between Northumbrian and Kentish, and the evidence of
the South Saxon charter quoted above, so far as it goes, helps
to link Kentish with West Saxon. Had we more information
concerning the Mercian and Hwiccian dialects we should
probably be able to trace the connection between Northumbrian
and West Saxon in the same way. The conclusion therefore to
which we are brought is that, while the linguistic evidence as
a whole is of value for determining the relationship of the people
who invaded Britain to the Teutonic nations of the Continent,
the dialects prove absolutely nothing as to the presence of
different nationalities among the invaders.

It may perhaps be said that we have confined our attention
to phonetic changes and left the case of inflections out of
account. As a matter of fact however the inflectional variations
observable in texts earlier than the tenth century are very slight.
Moreover they are almost all due either to the progress of
simplification (syncretism) in the verbal and nominal systems
(e.g. the loss of the I. sing. Pres. Indie, in West Saxon) or to
assimilation between the different classes of conjugational or
declensional stems. On such variations it is clear that no stress
can be laid. Examples of the retention in different dialects of
originally different inflectional forms are extremely rare. The
most important case is that of the Gen. Dat. sing. fern, and Gen.
pi. of the demonstrative pronoun, which show two parallel stems,
\ez- and \aiz-, corresponding to the forms used in German and
Scandinavian respectively. The former series appears in the

J2 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

Northumbrian and East Midland dialects and the latter in West
Saxon and other Midland dialects (Mercian ?), while Kentish
texts vary between the two. I doubt very much however
whether anything can be built on this variation, especially as it
is probable that the J^-stem originally belonged to the Gen.
Dat. sing. fern, and the )>aiz-stem to the Gen. pi.

On the other hand it is quite possible that the dialects may
have differed considerably in vocabulary. Owing however to
the paucity of early evidence, except for West Saxon, it is
impossible to speak with certainty on this question. The
vocabularies of poetic and prose works differ of course greatly,
but that is the case in all Teutonic languages. There is one
striking fact however which deserves to be mentioned in this
place. The terminology of the Kentish laws is very different
indeed from that of the West Saxon laws, even from those of
Ine, the earliest of the latter. It is worth while here to note
a few of these differences. Thus we find dryhteu, ' lord,' against
W. Sax. hlaford, eorl (eorlcitnd), ' nobleman,' against W. Sax.
gesid (gesidcund), leodgeld or leod, ' wergeld,' against W. Sax.
wergild or wer, cann (gecaennan), 'exculpation,' against W. Sax.
lad (ladian), \ing and maedl ' meeting ' (but apparently different
kinds of meetings) against W. Sax. gemot. Again the Kentish
laws contain a number of words which do not occur elsewhere,
e.g. laadrinc, drihtinbeag, hlafaeta, laet, manwyrd, stermelda,
freolsgefa, unlaegne. In several of these cases the meaning is
not exactly known, a fact which is one of the chief sources of
difficulty in the interpretation of the Kentish laws. But it is
a question whether we are justified in assuming that these
differences of terminology are due to original differences of
language. The laws of Aethelberht are considerably older than
any other code which we possess, and it is possible that some of
the words which appear in the later Kentish laws were becoming
antiquated. Thus, e.g., dryhten is an old poetic word which
appears in other Teutonic languages and which has clearly been
displaced by the specifically English word hlaford. In the
latest of the Kentish laws, those of Wihtred, we actually find
gesidcund, apparently in place of eorlcund. It is not unlikely
therefore that the peculiarities of terminology observable in the

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 73

Kentish laws are due, to some extent at least, to their greater
antiquity.

The next class of evidence which we have to take into
Archaeoiogica! account is that of archaeology. This subject is for
evidence. several reasons peculiarly difficult to deal with.

In the first place, the remains of Anglo-Saxon antiquity have
been treated with the greatest negligence in the past. Secondly,
no comprehensive catalogues have yet been made. Further,
many of those who have discussed the subject have been
ignorant of the Anglo-Saxon language and literature and thus
have been led to classify their materials according to the lines
laid down by historians. Consequently, important as the subject
undoubtedly is, the conclusions which have as yet been put
forward must be received with caution.

It is frequently stated that in pre-Christian times the Angles
practised cremation and the Saxons inhumation. Both customs
were known to the Teutonic nations of the Continent, but
from the fourth century onwards cremation began to pass out of
use among those which were settled nearest to the Roman
frontiers. In Scandinavian lands it was apparently still
practised in the sixth century1, but in the Viking age it seems
to have been generally given up except in certain districts,
especially the part of Jutland which lies north of the Liimfjord.
The last (Teutonic) instances come from Russia, where it
appears to have been still in use during the early part of the
tenth century. It is plain then that most Teutonic nations
changed their practice in regard to the disposal of the dead
before they adopted Christianity. In spite of this however, if
the evidence for the Angles and Saxons was consistent, the
distinction would undoubtedly be of considerable importance.
But as a matter of fact this is not the case. In the first place it
is now universally recognised that the Angles practised inhuma-
tion as well as cremation. The question at issue therefore is
whether the Saxons did or did not practise cremation. Un-

1 But inhumation appears to have been known in all parts of Denmark from the
Roman period onwards. In Sjselland it is believed to have been the more usual
custom ; cf. S. Miiller, Nordische Altertumskunde (Germ. Transl.), n. pp. 71 ff., 102 ff.

74 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

doubted cases occur in Kent and the Isle of Wight, but these of
course maybe attributed to the Jutes. The cremation cemeteries
at Croydon and Beddington are also perhaps inconclusive, since
these places are near the Kentish border. Other examples
however have been found at Walton-on-Thames and at
Shepperton in the extreme south-west of Middlesex1, where the
presence of Jutes is improbable. Moreover it is at least possible
that several instances of cremation dating from the Anglo-Saxon
period have been found in Essex, though owing to the fact that
no careful observations were made not one of these cases is free
from doubt. Hampshire (apart from the Isle of Wight) and
Hertfordshire appear to have yielded no examples as yet ; but
it should be noted that the number of cemeteries found in these
counties is extremely small. In Sussex traces of cremation
have been found in two Saxon cemeteries2. It is held that the
remains in question date from pre-Saxon times (the bronze age
or the Roman period) ; but one would like to know whether the
evidence on this point is really conclusive. Lastly, in the upper
part of the Thames valley the practice was certainly prevalent,
especially in Berkshire3. In particular we may note the large
cemetery at Long Wittenham, near Abingdon, which yielded no
less than forty-six urns with burnt remains.

In the present state of our knowledge therefore I do not
think that we are justified in concluding more than that
cremation was less common in the southern districts, whether
Saxon or Jutish, than in those further north. This fact however
does not necessarily involve our supposing that the inhabitants
of the northern and southern districts were originally of different
nationalities. The prevalence of inhumation in the south may
equally well be due to Continental influence, for the Franks had
apparently given up cremation some considerable time before

1 Victoria History of Surrey, I. pp. 2588"., 268.

2 Victoria History of Sussex, 1. pp. 337, 338 and note 5.

3 viz. at Long Wittenham (Archaeologia xxxvui. 331 ff., xxxix. 135 ff.), Frilford
(id. XLII. 417 ff., XLV. 405 f.), Earley, near Reading (Journal of the Brit. Arch. Ass.,
L. 150), and possibly at East Shefford (Proceedings of the Soc. of Ant., XIII. 107 f.).
One case was found at Fairford, Gloucestershire, and several at Brighthampton,
Oxfordshire (Archaeologia xxxiv. 80, xxxvn. 391 ff., xxxvm. 84 ff). For several
of these references I have to thank Mr T. J. George.

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 75

#
their conversion at the end of the fifth century, and we have

already seen (p. 17) that brooches and other articles found in

southern cemeteries give evidence for a considerable amount of

intercourse with that nation.

Another distinction between Anglian and Saxon cemeteries

has been traced in the different types of brooches found in them.

Besides the varieties mentioned on p. 17, which are believed to

have been imported or copied from Continental models, there

are four more or less common types of brooches found in heathen

Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, namely the a_nnular, the square-headed,

the cupelliform (saucer-shaped), and the cruciform. The two

former are found both in the northern and southern counties as

well as on the Continent. The cruciform type, of which there

are several varieties, is generally said to be peculiar to the more

northern parts of England, beginning with Bedfordshire. A

number of specimens however have recently been found in

Sussex1. Outside this country it occurs in Slesvig, Denmark

and Sweden, and more especially in Norway, where it is very

common2. On the other hand, cupelliform brooches are believed

not to occur outside this country at all, and it has been stated

that they are found only in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and

Gloucestershire. Now the theory has been put forward and

gained much currency that the cruciform brooch was distinctive

of the Angles and the cupelliform of the Saxons. But in order

to obtain any semblance of probability for this theory it is surely

necessary to show that the cupelliform brooch was used in Essex

and in the counties south of the Thames valley. Yet little

1 Archaeologia LIV. 377 f.

2 According to Undset, Aard^ger f. nord. Oldkyndighed, 1880, p. 150, the
specimens found in Norway up to the time of writing numbered 160. Danish
museums contained fifteen specimens, of which nine were known to have come from
Jutland and Slesvig and two from Fyen (id., p. 173, note). The Kiel museum
possessed twenty specimens which had been found at Borgstedterfeld, between
Rendsburg and Eckernforde (id., p. 130 f. ; cf. Mestorf, Umenfriedh'dfe in Schleswig-
Holstcin, p. 696°. and PI. IX.), while others had been found at Perleberg, near Stade.
According to the same authority (I.e.) these districts were the original home of the
type, though, since Stade seems to be its extreme limit, the expression 'egnene ved
Elbens munding' is surely somewhat misleading. The cruciform brooches oc-
casionally found in southern Germany (cf. Lindenschmidt, Die Alterthumer unscrer
heidnischen Vorzeit, I. 2, Taf. VIII, figs. 8, 9) appear to be of a different type.

76 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

evidence to this effect has been brought forward up to now1.
Moreover the facts as to its occurrence in the Midlands have
been incorrectly stated. Numerous examples have been found
in Bedfordshire2, Northamptonshire3 and Cambridgeshire4 ;
isolated cases also in Huntingdonshire and Rutland5 — all Anglian
districts. From the evidence at our disposal therefore the only
justifiable inference, so far as I can see, is that this type of
brooch was not distinctively Saxon but a local peculiarity of the
southern Midlands. Indeed the fact that it is found chiefly in
districts which probably did not come into English hands before
the latter part of the sixth century rather suggests that it may
have been ultimately of British origin. But this is a question
which must be left for experts in technology to decide.

The last subjects which remain to be discussed are the
sociological political and social systems of ancient England,
evidence. yj^ evi<-ience for the existence of kings goes back

to the beginning of historical times in all the Teutonic commu-
nities of Britain. Procopius (Goth. IV. 20) speaks of kings
in the time of Theodberht, and the traditions carry the
institution back to the first invaders. Whether royalty was
known before this time or not is a question to which we shall

1 In Berkshire specimens have frequently been found, rarely, however, in Wilt-
shire or Hampshire; cf. Archaeologies. XXXV. 268 (near Salisbury), XXXVII. 1 1 3 f .
(Kemble), Proc. Soc. Ant., xix. 125 ff. (Droxford). A few are said to have been
found also in Sussex {Vict. Hist., I. pp. 339, 343).

2 Victoria History of Bedfordshire, I. p. 180.

3 The Northampton museum possesses twenty-six specimens found within the
county, viz. nineteen (seven pairs) at Duston, one at Northampton, one pair at
Newnham, one pair at Marston St Lawrence and one pair at Holdenby. In all these t
places brooches of 'Anglian' type were also found. For this information also I am
indebted to the kindness of Mr T. J. George.

4 The Cambridge museum possesses fourteen brooches (seven pairs) of this type,
twelve of which were found at Barrington and two at Haslingfield. Other specimens I
have been found at Barrington.

5 Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 1899, pp. 347, 349 ; Associated
Architectural Societies' Reports, XXVII. p. 225. For these references I have to thank
Mr V. B. Crowther-Beynon. The brooch figured by Akerman, Pagan Saxondom,
PI. viii. 2, 3, from Driffield, Yorkshire, seems to be of a very similar type.
Specimens have also been found in Warwickshire (Vict. Hist., 1. 262) and Worcester-
shire (Vict. Hist., 1. 228).

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN J J

have to return in a later chapter. At all events there is no
evidence for any difference between the Saxon, Anglian and
Jutish communities in this respect. The same remark applies
in o-eneral to the various officials in the service of the kines.

It is only when we come to consider the structure of society
that we find at last a remarkable difference between the
kingdoms of Wessex and Kent. The population of the former
kingdom was divided into three hereditary classes which bore the
names twelfhynde, sixhynde and twihynde from the amount of their
wergelds, viz. 1200, 600 and 200 shillings respectively. The two
higher classes were also called gesidatnd, ' noble,' while the
name usually applied to members of the lowest class was ceorl.
The difference between the twelfhynde and sixhynde classes
seems to have lain in the fact that the former, either as
individuals or families, held land to the extent of five hides —
which practically means possession of a village — while the latter
were landless, i.e. without this amount of land. Below the ceorl
came the free Welsh population with wergelds ranging from 60 sh.
to 120 sh., except in the case of horsemen in the king's service
and persons who held five hides of land, the wergelds of whom
were 200 sh. and 600 sh. respectively. In Kent we likewise meet
with three classes of society, but they are not the same. The
terms applied to members of the three classes were eorlcund man
' nobleman,' ceorl or frig man, ' freeman,' and lact respectively.
The last word does not occur elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon
literature, but there can be little doubt that it is identical with
the term litus, lazzus etc. which appears frequently in the
Continental laws. The persons described by this term seem to
have been freedmen or at all events persons without the full
rights of freemen. The wergelds of the three Kentish classes
were : for the eorlcund man 300 sh., for the ceorl 100 sh., and for
the laet 80, 60 or 40 sh.

It is not the differences of terminology between the two
systems which chiefly deserve our attention. As a matter of fact
we have seen that the West Saxon term gesidcund appears in
Wihtred's laws, the latest of the Kentish codes, while ceorl is
common to both systems. The points to which our attention
should especially be directed are the following: (i) The West.

78 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

Saxon nobility were divided into two classes ; we have no
evidence for such a division in Kent, (ii) In Kent we find a
class or classes of persons below the ordinary freemen ; there is
no evidence for such classes in Wessex (apart from the Welsh
population), (hi) There is an extraordinary difference in the
amounts of the wergelds. This fact will be best appreciated by
giving the various sums according to the number of silver coins
they contained and according to their purchasing power in live-
stock. At the beginning of the tenth century the West Saxon
shilling contained five pence and the ox was worth thirty pence.
The wergelds therefore would be as follows :

1 200 sh. = 6ooo pence = 200 oxen.
600 sh. = 3000 pence =100 oxen.

200 sh. = 1000 pence = 33^ oxen.

In Ine's time the shilling seems to have contained only four pence
and the ox was probably valued at six shillings. The number
of pence contained in the wergelds therefore would be 4800,
2400 and 800 respectively, while the figures in oxen would be
the same as in later times. Now the Kentish shilling was
at first probably a gold coin (the Roman solidus). In Aethel-
berht's laws however it is equated with twenty silver coins
{sceattas), which cannot have differed much in standard from the
West Saxon penny. Consequently the number of coins contained
in the wergelds would be : for the noble 6000, for the* freeman
2000, and for the laet 1600, 1200 and 800, even in the seventh
century ; while reckoned in live-stock the same wergelds would in
the time of Wihtred, Ine's contemporary, amount presumably to
about 250 oxen, 83^ oxen etc. But in Kent the amount of the
wergelds in money was fixed as early as the time of Aethelberht,
when the ox was probably valued at a shilling. Hence the number
of oxen would originally be 300 for the noble and 100 for the
freeman. It is true of course that if the West Saxon wergelds
were fixed in money at this early time, the original numbers
of oxen would be 240, 120, and 40. But we have no evidence
that this was the case. At all events it is clear that the wergeld
of the Kentish ceorl or freeman was originally at least two and
a half times, and more probably three times, as great as that of
the West Saxon ceorl.

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 79

But this extraordinary difference is not confined to the case
of wergelds. It is still more conspicuous in the payments known
as mund or mundbyrd. These words literally mean ' protection '
{tittela), but they are applied also to the sums due as compensa-
tion to a man for trespass, bloodshed and other unlawful acts
committed in places or against persons under his protection. In
Wessex the mund of the twelfhynde class seems to have been
valued at 30 — 36 sh., that of the sixhynde class at 15 — 18 sh., and
that of the ceorl at 5 — 6 sh. The variation between 5 — 6 etc. is
probably to be explained by a change in the value of the ox.
If so, the original payments were six oxen, three oxen, and one
ox respectively. In Kent on the other hand the corresponding
payments were for the ceorl 6 sh. and for the noble apparently
12 sh. If what has been said above is correct these sums
originally meant six oxen and twelve oxen. The difference
therefore is still greater than in the case of the wergelds. Again,
if we turn to compensations for bodily injuries we find, e.g.. that
the payment due to a ceorl for the loss of an eye or foot is in
Wessex 66| sh., i.e. 266 (later 333) coins, and in Kent 50 sh., i.e.
1000 coins. Similar differences run through all scales of
payments contained in the laws.

So far we have taken account only of the social systems of
Wessex and Kent. The evidence available for Mercia and
Northumbria is unfortunately of a fragmentary character, while
for the other kingdoms there is no evidence at all. In regard to
wergelds Mercian and West Saxon custom did not differ at all
except (in later times) in the value of the shilling, which in
Mercia always contained four pence. In the seventh century
therefore the wergelds would be identical. Even the same
terms, at all events tzvelfhynde as well as ceorl, were applied to
the social classes of both kingdoms. On payments for mund we
have little information, but the slight indications which we have
point to the same sums as in Wessex. It may be added that the
system of compurgation used in the two kingdoms seems to have
been very similar if not identical, whereas the Kentish system,
though far from clear, was certainly of a very different character.

The Northumbrian evidence is more difficult to deal with,
partly because a different monetary system seems to have been

80 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

in use in that kingdom and partly because we are almost entirely-
dependent on fragments of ancient custom which have been
preserved in the later Danish and Scottish laws. In the
Northleoda Lagu, a code which dates from the time of Scandi-
navian government in this part of the country, the ceorl's
wergeld is said to have been 266 thrymsas. The thryms seems
originally to have contained three silver coins of lower standard
than those of Mercia (a scripulum or \"]\ gr. as against the
siliqua or 21 gr.) ; in later times however it probably meant
three pence. The ceorl's wergeld was therefore the same (800
pence) as in Mercia. A much later Scottish law1, which reckons
in ores of sixteen pence, gives the same wergeld at 48 ores.
The apparent difference between the two amounts is probably
due to confusion of reckoning by weight and reckoning by tale.
According to the same Scottish law the thegn's wergeld was 300
ores, i.e. 4800 pence. In Archbishop Ecgberht's Dialogus the
priest's wergeld, which elsewhere is identical with that of the
thegn, is fixed at 800 sicli. As the siclus contained six scripula
and the early Northumbrian coins were of this standard, this
wergeld likewise would contain 4800 coins. It is extremely
probable therefore that the Northumbrian wergelds were origin-
ally identical in regard to the number of coins they contained
(though not in weight) with those of Mercia. It is true that we
cannot prove the existence of a Northumbrian class with a
wergeld corresponding to that of the sixhynde class ; but this may
be due to the meagreness of our information. In the other cases
the correspondence is all the more striking in view of the fact
that the two kingdoms had entirely different monetary systems.
Beyond this we know very little of ancient Northumbrian custom.
Ecgberht's Dialogus shows however that their system of compur-
gation was similar to that of Mercia and Wessex and that their
nobility was hereditary. It may be added that the Welsh
population seem to have had much the same wergelds as in Wessex.
There is no trace of any class corresponding to the Kentish laet-
class either in Northumbria or Mercia.

So far then as our evidence goes the social systems of Wessex,
Mercia and Northumbria appear to have been very similar —

1 Cf. Seebohm, Tribal Custom in Anglo-Saxon Law, p. 307 ff.

IV]

THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN

indeed we may say practically identical. Hence the peculiar
character of the Kentish system, standing as it does in marked
contrast with the other three, strikes us as all the more remark-
able How then are these facts to be explained ? It may
perhaps be urged that Kent was the richest of the English
kingdoms at the beginning of historical times ; but this explana-
tion is manifestly inadequate. Moreover; when we come to
compare the English social systems with those of Teutonic
nations outside this country, we see that it is not the Kentish
system but that of the other three kingdoms which is really
exceptional. It will be convenient here to give a table of the
wergelds which were in use among the more northern of the
Continental nations :

Franks

Alamanni
Bavarians
Frisians
Old Saxons
Lex Angliorum
et Werinorum

Noble

320 sol.
io6j-; sol.
960 sol.1

600 sol.

Freeman

Litus or freedman

-00 sol P>oo sol 1 llitus ioosol.(LexSal.)

_oo soh L20° S01,J {freedman 36sol.(Lex Rib.)

240,200, 1 60 [160] sol. freedman 80 sol.

160 sol. [160 sol.] freedman 40 sol.

531 [160] sol.
[160 sol.]

200 sol.

litus 265 sol.
litus 120 sol.

freedman 80 sol.

The figures in square brackets are the amounts stated in the
Lex Ribuaria, cap. 36, to be payable in cases where a Frisian,
Saxon, Alaman or Bavarian was killed by a Frank. The Frisian
wergelds given above are those fixed for the East Frisian
district (between the Lauwer Zee and the Weser) by the Lex
Frisonum. From a comparison with the Lex Rib. 36 and other
sources it seems extremely probable that they have been reduced
by two-thirds, perhaps in consequence of the substitution by the
Franks of the silver solidus (of twelve denarii) for the gold solidus
(originally forty denarii) ; for the latter appears to have remained
in use for a longer period among the Frisians. In the case of
the Old Saxons the passage in the Lex Ribuaria is our only
authority for the amount of the freeman's wergeld, for through a
singular oversight this wergeld is not stated in the Lex Saxonum.

1 The amount stated is 1440 sol. of two tremisses.
solidi of three tremisses.

Elsewhere the reckoning is in
6

82 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

One can hardly help feeling some suspicion at the small differ-
ence between it and the wergeld of the litus, especially in view
of the gradations in fines, etc. applicable to the two orders.
Lastly, in regard to the Franks it is generally held that one-
third of the wergeld was paid to the judicial authority {pro f redo)
as in the Lex Chamauorum. The amount distributed among
the relatives would therefore be only 133^ sol.1.

With the possible exception of the Lex Angliorum et Werin-
orum all these wergelds are expressed in gold solid i. The
amount of the freeman's wergeld is therefore in every case
considerably greater even than that of the Kentish freeman.
What we have to determine however is the purchasing power (in
live-stock) of these sums at the time when the wergelds were first
fixed in gold. Now in the Lex Rib. 36 and the Lex Sax. 34
the price of the ox is said to be two (gold) solidi. It is to be
remembered however that the Lex Saxonum dates in all
probability from the ninth century, while, though the Lex
Ribuaria is much older, the greater part of cap. 36 is believed to
be a late interpolation. In the Lex Alamannorum, which dates
probably from 709 — 730, the price of the ox (cap. 80) is said to
be five tremisses (for the best ox) or four tremisses (for the
average ox). If we take the latter as the standard the Frankish
freeman's wergeld would originally amount to 100 oxen, while
that of the other nations would be 120 oxen. In any case
however, even supposing that the price of the ox fixed by the
Lex Alamannorum was exceptionally low for its time — a hypo-
thesis for which there does not seem to be sufficient justification
— it is clear that the freeman's wergeld in all these nations was
originally of the Kentish type. It is further worth noting that
the Lex Angliorum et Werinorum, a document which we shall
have to discuss in the next chapter, agrees with the Kentish
laws in assigning the noble a wergeld three times as great as that

1 This view is somewhat difficult to reconcile with the table in Lex Rib. 36, for it
is known that among the Alamanni and Bavarians at least the payment pro /redo (40
sol.) was not included in the wergeld (160 sol.). The passage in question is generally
believed to be a late interpolation, subsequent to the Frankish conquest of the Frisians
and Saxons. But in any case one would hardly have expected persons belonging to
these nations to be allowed a higher wergeld than the native Franks.

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 83

of the freeman. Among the Old Saxons the difference between
the two wergelds must have been greater than this, whether we
take the statement of the Lex Ribuaria as representing the true
wergeld of the Saxon freeman or not. Among the Frisians and
Bavarians, on the other hand, the wergeld of the noble is only
twice as great as that of the freeman. The Franks and Alamanni1
appear to have had no hereditary nobility, strictly speaking,
though royal (ducal) officials had triple wergelds.

The wergelds-of the Scandinavian laws- were always reckoned
according to the national weight-system. The units were the
ore (O. Norse ej'rir), roughly equivalent to our ounce, and the
mark, the latter containing eight ores. In early times however
the weight of the ore was not constant. Originally it seems to
have been the silver equivalent of the Roman gold solidus (also
called aureus, whence the name eyrir) ; but at quite an early
date the Roman standard must have been displaced by that of
the Frankish solidus, which was slightly lower3. The wergeld
of the freeman was about 15 (silver) marks or 120 ores in
Denmark, Iceland, and at least part of Norway. That of the
freedman was 60 ores in Denmark and about 40 ores in
Iceland, while in Norway there were wergelds of 40, 6o, and
80 ores for different classes of freedmen. In Norway the holdr
or hereditary landowner had a wergeld of about 240 ores, a sum
which is also found as the amount of a wergeld in Iceland.
Royal officials in Norway had higher wergelds of 480 and 960
ores, while in Iceland we find wergelds of 720 ores for distinguished
persons. So far as we can judge from the evidence at our
disposal, viz. the native traditions and the custom of the Danelagh
in England, it seems to have been usual in early times to reckon
wergelds in gold. Now the gold weight of the freeman's wergeld

1 It is sometimes held that the Alamannic wergelds of 240 and 100 sol. belonged
to different classes of nobility. No evidence however seems to be obtainable on this
question.

2 Cf. my Studies on Anglo-Saxon Institutions, p. 392 ff., where this subject is
discussed at greater length.

3 The standards of the ore known to us from the eleventh century and earlier are
(i) about 375 — 378 gr., (ii) about 430— 440 gr., (iii) about 490 — 500 gr. These seem to
represent the weight of the Frankish solidus multiplied by 6, 7, and 8 respectively
according to the varying ratio in the relative value of silver and gold.

6 — 2

84 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

was very nearly the same as that of the West Saxon sixhyndc
class, viz. ioo mancusas (62 — 63 gr. x 120 as against 70 gr. x 100).
The latter was also identical with that of the Kentish ceorl if we
are right in believing that the Kentish shilling was originally
the Roman gold solidus, a coin which was of the same standard
as the mancus. The price of live-stock in the North is un-
fortunately not known to us from early times ; but we need
hardly doubt that the equation of the gold solidus or ounce of
silver with the ox or cow, which we find both in England and
Ireland, prevailed at one time in the North1. I suspect that the
wergeld of 120 ores originally meant 120 cows or 100 oxen ; but
it would hardly be possible to prove this. At all events it is
clear that the freeman's wergeld was of the Kentish or
Continental type and very much greater than that of the West
Saxon or Mercian ceorl. Incidentally we may note the existence
of a class of hereditary landowners and of a class or classes of
freedmen. The treatment of the latter in regard to wergelds
shows, at least in Norway, close affinity to the Kentish laws.

As the evidence obtained from a comparison of the social
systems is of great importance for determining the affinities of
the English people, it will be convenient here to recapitulate
the various points of resemblance noted above. The Kentish
system agrees with all the Continental and Scandinavian systems
which we have examined in possessing a class of persons, liti or
freedmen, who were valued above the slave2 but below the
ordinary freeman. A hereditary nobility appears in both the
English systems and also among the Frisians, Old Saxons and
Bavarians and in the Lex Angliorum et Werinorum. The case
of the Bavarians however ought really to be excluded, as the
nobility of this nation was limited to six families. In Wessex
and Mercia we find a distinction between the landowning and
the landless nobility, to which the distinction between the
freeman and the holdr in Norway may be somewhat parallel.
Lastly, in regard to the amount of the freeman's wergeld, the

1 It is worth noting that the price of a slave was about the same in Iceland as in
England (twelve ores or one pound).

2 The value of the slave is 36 sol. in the Lex Ribuaria, 30 sol. in the Lex Angl. et
Werin., 20 sol. in the Lex Baiuwariorum.

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 85

custom of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria stands quite
isolated, while the Kentish system agrees with those both of the
Continent and the North.

This short survey of the evidence is sufficient to show that
the characteristics which distinguish the Kentish social system
from that of the other kingdoms have not arisen out of any
modifications of the latter. Indeed it is the other system which
presents striking peculiarities in more than one respect. Here
we need notice only the absence of the freedman or litus-class
and the fact that the freeman has what is practically a freedman's
wergeld. For an explanation of these peculiarities we have no
other course than argument from analogy. The Welsh popula-
tion within the English kingdoms had, as we have seen (p. yy),
very small wergelds. There can scarcely be any doubt that this
was a result of conquest ; for the wergelds recognised in the
Welsh laws themselves are much higher1. A somewhat parallel
phenomenon may be observed in the English Danelagh, where
the Danish wergelds, both of the freeman and the holdr, seem to
have been doubled as a result of the Danish conquest of
Northumbria. The objection to this hypothesis is that we have
no evidence either from history or tradition for any conquest
which would be capable of producing such results. Indeed it
may be said with certainty that no such conquest can have
taken place after the invasion of Britain. It may, however, have
taken place before the invasion, and as a matter of fact the
remembrance of some such event seems to have been preserved
in a tradition recorded by Saxo (p. 51), to which we shall have
to return later.

The evidence of the social systems confirms in a striking
manner Bede's statement that the inhabitants of Kent were
of a different nationality from those of the surrounding
kingdoms. We have seen that the historical evidence gives no
confirmation of this statement, while the linguistic evidence is
worthless. In the light of the facts pointed out above, however,
there can be no doubt as to its accuracy. We have dealt of
course in the above discussion only with the question of
1 Cf. Seebohm, Tribal Custom in Anglo-Saxon Law, p. 55.

86 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

monetary compensations. One would naturally expect from the
greater value of the Kentish freeman that his economic position
was better than that of persons of the corresponding class in the
other kingdoms, and also that he enjoyed a greater degree of
independence. There seem to be indications that such actually
was the case, but the amount of evidence at our disposal for the
discussion of these questions is extremely small. With the pecu-
liarities of Kentish custom observable in later times, especially
in regard to tenure of land1, I am not qualified to deal. The
characteristics pointed out above, however, are in themselves
sufficient confirmation of Bede's statement that the Kentish
people were of a distinct nationality. At the same time we are
bound to conclude from the historical evidence that this fact was
forgotten very early. Indeed it seems probable that the source
from which Bede derived his information was the same early
document from which he obtained the story of Hengest and
Horsa.

On the other hand, the evidence of the social systems has
totally failed to substantiate the distinction drawn by Bede
between the Saxons and the Angles. We have seen that though
Bede himself appears to have been more careful in observing
this distinction than the other, it was regarded just as little by
his contemporaries. Moreover, there is the inexplicable fact
that West Saxon writers, including King Alfred himself, called
their language Englisc and regarded their nation as part of the
Angelcyn. The linguistic evidence, as we have seen, again points
to no original differences. Now comes the overwhelming- fact
that a social system, of a type unique among Teutonic nations
and differing essentially even from that of Kent, is common to
the Saxon kingdom of Wessex and the Anglian kingdoms of
Mercia and Northumbria. Until further evidence is forthcoming
therefore, whether from the archaeological side or elsewhere, I
think we are bound to conclude that the distinction drawn by Bede
in this case had no solid foundation, in other words, that it was
the result of a theory. The materials for forming such a theory
were ready to hand in the existence of the names Wessex, Essex
and Sussex on the one side, and East Anglia and Middle Anglia

1 In later times Kent is said to have been free from villainage.

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 87

on the other. Hence it required little ingenuity to make two
peoples of the Angles and Saxons. In regard to Bede's use of
such expressions as Saxonitm lingua we have to remember that
he appears to have travelled very little. It is quite possible
therefore that he was not aware of the fact that the West Saxons
called their language Englisc.

The names Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, etc. of
course require some explanation. It is not necessary to suppose
that they are of very great antiquity. Bede himself says that
the West Saxons were formerly called Geuissae. When the
kingdom of East Anglia was spoken of in early times the word
used may have been Wuffiugas, just as we find Merewioinga
used for Francna in Beowulf and Scaldingi (i.e. Skioldungar) for
Dani in the Historia de S. Cuthberto. I do not mean to suggest,
however, that the term ' Saxon ' was wholly of Latin or Celtic
origin. Let us take the only clue to a difference of nationality
which has presented itself in the course of our discussion. We
have seen that the dynasty of Essex appears to have been of a
different stock from the other dynasties, and one which we may
probably regard as genuinely Saxon. Is it not possible that
the people may have derived their name from the dynasty ?
Against this explanation it may of course be urged that the
West Saxon dynasty was probably not Saxon. But we have
seen that the account given in the Chronicle of the West Saxon
invasion is at the best a very doubtful story, and that probability
rather favours the idea that Wessex was an offshoot from Essex
or Sussex. Unfortunately the genealogy of the South Saxon
dynasty is unknown. If they were a Saxon family the difficulty
in the way of this explanation largely disappears. According
to Bede Aelle's supremacy extended over all the English
kingdoms south of the Humber, but in the districts which later
were called Essex, Sussex and W'essex — if any part of the latter
was already in the hands of the invaders — he may very well
have been the sole ruler. But this explanation does not
necessarily depend on the assumption that the South Saxon
dynasty was really Saxon. Aelle is said to have been the only
king who held supremacy over the other kingdoms until the

88 THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN [CHAP.

time of Ceawlin, i.e. the latter half of the sixth century. There-
fore, whether we accept the statements of the Chronicle as to
the date of Aelle's reign or not, it is clear that there must have
been a considerable interval or intervals during which the
invaders were not united under one head. But there is no need
to suppose that the kingdoms were all independent during these
intervals. From the geographical position of the Saxon king-
doms it is inherently probable that they would as a rule be
more or less united, and as Essex was in early times no doubt
the most populous of these kingdoms, it is likely enough that
its kings were usually supreme over the others.

I suspect then that the use of the term Saxon in reference to
the southern kingdoms is to be attributed to the political
supremacy of a family or families which were of specifically
Saxon origin. We must not assume that these families were
necessarily alien to the people whom they governed, for it is
quite possible that the apparent homogeneity of the nation, even
in the earliest historical times, had arisen from the coalition of
originally distinct elements. The only conclusion which the
evidence seems to me to force upon us is that the people of the
' Saxon ' kingdoms as a whole were not of a distinct nationality
from those of the ' Anglian ' kingdoms. Hence, if we are right
in supposing. that the kingdom of Wessex arose out of a secession
from Sussex or Essex, presumably under the leadership of
persons who had been in the service of the South Saxon or
East Saxon kings, we need no longer regard it as unintelligible
that these persons should claim to be of the same stock as the
royal family of Bernicia.

To sum up briefly, the conclusion to which we have been
brought is that the invaders of Britain belonged not to three but
to two distinct nationalities, which we may call Jutish and Anglo-
Saxon. The former occupied Kent and southern Hampshire,
the latter the rest of the conquered territory. The people of
Kent soon adopted the name Cantware in place of their own
national name, and the fact that they were of a different
nationality from the rest of the invaders had apparently ceased
to be a matter of general knowledge even before the eighth

IV] THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES IN BRITAIN 89

century. The Jutes of southern Hampshire were eventually
swallowed up in Wessex. The Anglo-Saxons may not originally
have been a homogeneous people — that is a question which we
shall have to discuss in the following chapters — but there is no
evidence that any national difference survived at the time when
they invaded Britain. By alien peoples they were all called
Saxons, but the names which they applied to themselves and
their language were Angelcyn and Englisc.

CHAPTER V.

THE SAXONS, ANGLES AND JUTES ON THE CONTINENT.

In the last chapter we saw that according to Bede the
invaders of Britain came from three of the bravest nations
of Germany, the Saxons, Angli and Iutae. When subjected
to examination the distinction drawn by Bede between the two
former names has turned out to be elusive. Yet we have to
remember that the invaders were called Saxons by the natives,
and even by themselves occasionally when writing in Latin,
that three of their kingdoms bore this name, and that at least
one dynasty seems really to have been of Saxon origin. It
is clearly necessary therefore that in considering the early
history of our nation we should take account of the people
called Saxons or Old Saxons on the Continent, from whom
Bede makes the Saxons of Britain to be sprung. Indeed it
will be convenient to begin our discussion with a short account
of this nation, for in their case a considerable amount of
historical evidence is available ; whereas we have hardly any
references to a people called Angli on the Continent, and the
locality of their original home is therefore to some extent open
to doubt.

The Old Saxons are frequently mentioned by Bede and
The oid other writers of the same period. In his time
their territories stretched as far as the Rhine
(H. E. v. 10), presumably between the Yssel and the Lippe,
while further to the south they had recently conquered the
Boruhtwarii (ib. V. n), a tribe which in all probability inhabited
the district called in later times Borahtra, between the Lippe

CHAP. V] THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT 9 1

and the Ruhr1. On the south-east they stretched as far as the
Harz and the river Bode. The lands beyond the Harz, between
the Bode, the Unstrut and the Saale had according to Saxon
tradition2 been conquered by them from the Thuringi in the
time of the Frankish king Theodric ; but the Saxons who
settled there are said to have followed the Langobardi into
Italy, and the lands which they had held were subsequently
occupied by Suabi (Widukind, I. 14). Gregory of Tours {Hist.
Francorutn, III. 7) in his account of the overthrow of the
Thuringi (A.D. 531) gives no hint that the Saxons took part
in the campaign ; but in another passage (V. 153) he states that
at the time when Alboin (king of the Langobardi) invaded
Italy (A.D. 568) the Frankish kings Lothair and Sigibert planted
the Suabi and other tribes in territories which the Saxons who
accompanied Alboin had vacated. The whole basin of the
Elbe as far as the neighbourhood of Liineburg and Bergedorf
was probably inhabited by Slavonic tribes in the eighth century4.
There can be little doubt also that eastern Holstein had been
occupied considerably before this by the Obotriti (Afdrede)
and Wagri, tribes which belonged to the same race. The
people of western Holstein, however, are described, at all events
in the ninth century, as Saxons (Saxones Nordalbingi), though
it is not clear that they had any political union with the Saxons
between the Rhine and the Elbe.

It is a very remarkable fact that in Bede's time, and indeed
for more than two centuries previously, we never hear of the
Saxons as a seafaring people. Indeed the amount of coast-line
in their possession cannot have been extensive, for in Charle-
magne's time the Frisians reached as far as the mouth of the
Weser, if not beyond. Yet in the fourth and fifth centuries
we constantly hear of the Saxons as pirates who infested the
western seas, and about the beginning of the fifth century
the coasts of Gaul and Britain exposed to their ravages were

1 Cf. Zeuss, Die Dentschen und die lVachbarstdmme, p. 353 and note.
- Widukind, Res Gestae Saxonicae, I. 9 ff. ; Annales Quedlinburgenses (Mon.
Germ., Script. III.), p. 32; Translatio S. Alexandii, cap. r.
y Cf. also iv. 42 ; Paulus Diaconus, Hist. Lang., 11. 6.
4 For references cf. Zeuss, op. fit., pp. 654, 660 f.

92 THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT [CHAP.

called Litora Saxonica1. Moreover the Saxons themselves
appear to have had a tradition that they had come from over
the sea. According to a lost work of Einhard, which is quoted
at length by Adam of Bremen (I. 4 ft.) and the Translatio
S. Alexandri, cap. 1, they were sprung from the Angli who
inhabit Britain and had landed at a place called Haduloha
(Hadeln, the district round Cuxhaven) at the time when
Theodric, king of the Franks, was at war with Irminfrith, king
of the Thuringi (i.e. in the year 531). According to Widukind,
I. 1, some held that the Saxons were descended from the
Greeks, and others that they were sprung from the Danes and
Northmen, but it was known for certain that they had come
in ships to the country where they now dwelt, and had landed
at a place called Hadolaun. In the following chapters Widu-
kind relates that some of the Saxons went over to Britain at
the invitation of the natives, and that those who remained in
Germany subsequently took part in the war between Theodric
and the Thuringi ; but his narrative does not suggest that the
latter event took place shortly after the landing of the Saxons.
Now, whatever may be the truth of the story about the arrival
of the Saxons at Hadeln, it is clear that they were settled in

1 Some scholars interpret the expression to mean 'the coasts occupied by Saxons.'
In the case of the British coasts we have no evidence for Saxon settlements; but even
if there were such the presumption is that the settlers were assimilated before the
Romans left this country (cf. Stevenson, Eiig. Hist. Rev. xiv. 46). The view that
the Saxons of later times were descended from these settlers is contrary to the evidence
of all our early authorities, whether English or Welsh, and has now, I think, very few
advocates. In any case the question can have no bearing on the subject discussed in
the last chapter, for the Litus Saxonicum included East Anglia and Kent as well as
the Saxon kingdoms. Another view, which has a larger number of supporters, is
that the Saxon invaders, at all events those of Sussex and Wessex, came from the
Litus Saxonicum of the Continent (cf. Hoops, Waldbiiume und Kulturpjlanzen,
p. 580 ff.). The evidence that the Saxons had settled on the coast of Gaul before the
invasion of Britain is said to be derived from Gregory, Hist. F>\, n. 18 f., where a
settlement on the Loire is mentioned, which is referred by Meitzen [Siedelung itnd
Agranvesen, I. p. 508) to about 420, and by Hoops {op. cit., p. 580) to the beginning
of the fifth century. These dates appear to be based on a reading which I have not
been able to find. But assuming the fact to be correct I should be willing to accept
this view in the case of Sussex, if it could be shown that the South Saxons differed
materially in any way from the West Saxons. So far as the latter are concerned, I
think the evidence given above is conclusive against the supposition that they were of
different origin from the Mercians and Northumbrians.

V] THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT 93

western Germany long before the Thuringian war. Several
contemporary writers record their conflicts with the Franks and
Romans on the lower Rhine during the latter part of the fourth
century, and the earliest references to their raids in the west
go back to the year 286 K On the other hand, their presence
here is never mentioned in writings of the first two centuries.
Indeed, Ptolemy, the only early writer who gives their name,
places them "on the neck of the Cimbric peninsula." The
tradition therefore may have a solid foundation in fact.

In connection with the Old Saxons it will be well to take
account of their western neighbours the Frisians,

The Frisians. °

who, as we have seen (p. 55), are said by Procopius
to have been one of the nations which inhabited Britain in his
time. They must have been a seafaring people in the seventh
and eighth centuries, for we find one of their kings, Radbod
(Rathbedus), ruling from Heligoland to the Rhine, if not
further2. We hear of Frisian merchants in England in con-
nection with the slave-trade, and it is probable that they were
the chief channel of communication between the north and west
of Europe at this time3. Even as late as the end of the ninth
century we find King Alfred employing Frisian sailors in his
fleet. In the Lex Frisonum, a compilation dating apparently
from the ninth century, the nation is divided into three groups,
a western extending from the Sincfal (the present boundary
between West Flanders and Zeeland) to the Fli (Zuyder Zee),
a central from the Fli to the Laubachi (Lauwer Zee), and an
eastern from the Laubachi to the Weser. The western district
was conquered by the Franks under Pippin of Heristal in 689,
and the central district by Charles Martel in 734, while

1 Eutropius, ix. 21 ; Orosius, vn. 25.

- Cf. Alcuin, Vita Wittibrordi, cap. 10 ; Contin. Fredegaiii, § 102 ((.

3 On the importance of the Frisian port Wyk te Duerstede during the eighth and
ninth centuries see Soetbeer, Forschungen zur deutschen Gcschichle, iv. 500 ff. It is
worth noting that there is a good deal of archaeological evidence for communication
between the west of Norway and the southern coasts of the North Sea, apparently
during the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries; cf. Undset, Aarbogcr f. nord. O/d-
kyndighed, [880, p. 171 ff. (see also p. 19, above). Quite possibly there may be some
connection between the overthrow of the Frisian kingdom and the establishment of
Scandinavian supremacy in the North Sea which followed shortly after.

94 THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT [CHAP.

the easternmost remained independent until the time of
Charlemagne.

In later times — from the twelfth century onwards — we also
find Frisians settled on the west coast of Slesvig. It is
generally supposed that this district was colonised by them
between the ninth and eleventh centuries, but we have not
sufficient data for deciding the point. It is hardly likely that
the colonisation was effected during the ninth century, at a time
when the Danes commanded the coasts of the North Sea1,
while if it had taken place later it is curious that Saxo should
have been ignorant of the story2. Further, in the Translatio
S. Alexandri, cap. 4, we find a letter from the emperor Lothair
to Pope Leo IV asking for relics of the saints. The emperor
states that "within the territories of our kingdom there is a
mixed people of Frisians and Saxons, situated on the borders
of the Northmanni and Obotriti." The relics of St Alexander,
which were sent in 855 in answer to the emperor's request,
are said to have been deposited eventually at Wildeshausen,
south-west of Bremen. But the passage quoted above seems
to point to Holstein ; and in later times the population of
western Holstein apparently did contain a Frisian element.
Again, in Saxo, p. 249, we hear of the coasts of Jutland being
ravaged by a Frisian chief named Ubbo during the reign of
Harald Hildetand, i.e. in the latter part of the eighth century.
This man was subsequently overthrown by Harald and entered
his service. His presence at the battle of Bravik is mentioned
in the Skioldunga Saga3, cap. 8 f., as well as by Saxo. This
evidence, if it is to be trusted, would seem to indicate that

1 The suggestion quoted by Bremer (Paul's Grundriss, in.- 849) that these Frisians
were sprung from the socii of Rorih who in 857 obtained a portion of the Danish
kingdom inter mare et Egidoram (Ann. Fuld.), seems to me unlikely; for, setting
aside the doubtful meaning of this expression, the socii in question were probably
exiled Danes. They can hardly have been a different body from the Danigetiarum
non niodica mantes, whom Rorih was leading on piratical expeditions a few years
earlier (ib. 850). We may also refer to the magna Danorum multitudo baptized with
Harald, Rorih's brother, in 826.

2 Cf. p. 465 : lios a Frisomim gente conditos nominis et lingue societas testimonio
est, qnibus noitas querentibtis sedes ea forte tellns obiunit ; quam palnstrem primum ac
humidam longo duranere cultu.

3 Sogubrot af fornkonungum.

V] THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT 95

the northward migration of the Frisians took place not later
than the eighth century. Hence it is quite possible that it
was a result of the Frankish conquests in Friesland1. We may
note that these North Frisians were always more or less subject
to the Danes and not connected in any way with the Empire.
Even as early as the end of the seventh or the beginning of
the eighth century we hear of Danes in the neighbourhood
of Heligoland, though the island itself is represented as a
Frisian possession2.

It is generally supposed that the Frisians were less affected
by the movements of the migration period than any other
Teutonic nation ; but this view is open to question. The
ancient Roman writers of the first two centuries represent them
as occupying the coast between the Rhine and the Ems, i.e. not
more than half the territory which we find them possessing in
later times, while the coast beyond the Ems was inhabited by
the Chauci. If the eastward extension of Frisian territory
is to be attributed to a migration, we shall have to suppose
that this movement took place after the Saxons ceased to be
a maritime people, though even then such an easterly movement
is both exceptional and remarkable. There is no doubt that
the Frisians spread southwards into the maritime territories
of the Roman Empire. Even in the lands about the mouth
of the Scheldt their presence is attested by other authorities3
besides the Lex Frisonum ; and many of the place-names show
characteristics of the Frisian language.

In view of the facts noted above it is not a little remarkable
that we hardly ever4 find the Frisians mentioned among the
nations who attacked the Roman Empire by sea and land in the
fourth and fifth centuries. The nations which we do find in-
vading the districts about the Lower Rhine are the Franks, the
Saxons, the Heruli, and the 'Chaibones' — the last-named only
in the Panegyric of Mamertinus. Indeed the Frisians are
seldom mentioned by Latin writers from the second century

1 The evidence of the North Frisian language is said to point to colonisation from
the districts about the mouth of the Ems; cf. Siebs in Paul's Grundriss \.~, p. 1 166.

2 Alcuin, Vita Willebiwdi, cap. 9 f . 8 Cf. Zeuss, op. cit., p. 39S.
4 The only case known to me is the passage of Eumenius cited below.

96 THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT [CHAP.

until the seventh. Their name occurs probably in the Tabula
Peutingeriana and in the Excerpta of Julius Honorius1, as well
as in the Panegyric of Eumenius upon Constantius, cap. 9, where
they are represented as brought into subjection to the Romans.
At a much later period Procopius, Goth. IV. 20, places them in
Britain. Towards the end of the sixth century we find them
mentioned by Venantius Fortunatus, Carm. I. 1. 75, together
with the Sueui, and after this we hear of them frequently. It is
somewhat curious that with the exception of Venantius none of
these writers speak of the Saxons, and consequently one cannot
altogether resist the suspicion that the two nations may have
been to some extent confused. At all events the fact that the
Saxons are frequently, but the Frisians never, represented as a
seafaring people in the fourth and fifth centuries, while the
reverse is the case in the seventh century, seems to call for some
explanation.

In regard to language the two nations differed greatly. The
dialects of the districts inhabited by the Saxons are known to
us from the ninth century onwards, and are merely forms of
German, closely related to Dutch and not differing greatly even
from High German except in the absence of the consonantal
changes known as ' sound-shifting.' The Frisian dialects on the
other hand are of a very different character. At the present
time indeed they vary greatly among themselves ; but it is clear
from the earliest extant texts, none of which (except a few
glosses) date from before the thirteenth century, that these
variations arose in fairly late times. In regard to the language
as a whole, however, we have already seen (pp. 62 f.) that it is
closely related to English. Indeed it is probable that in the
ninth century the differences between the two languages were
comparatively slight — not very much greater than those observ-
able between the various English dialects themselves.

On the extreme south-eastern border of the Saxon territories
we find traces of another language which closely resembled
Frisian and English. Its remains are very scanty, consisting
entirely of glosses and proper names. The MS. in which the

1 Cf. also Vegetius Renatus, De arte ueterinaria, IV. 6 (if Frisiscos may be read
for Frigiscos).

V] THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT 97

glosses are contained1 comes from Merseburg, and it has been
observed that the forms of proper names which occur in the
autograph MS. of the Chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg and in
the ' Merseburger Totenbuch ' exhibit the same characteristics.
There can be little doubt therefore that the dialect is to be
located in this district. But the inhabitants of this district must
have been descended from the " Suabi and other tribes " who
settled about 560—570 between the Unstrut and the Saale
(cf. p. 91), for the whole country beyond the Saale was occupied
by Slavonic tribes in the seventh and eighth centuries. These
Suabi — or North Suabi as they are sometimes called, in order to
distinguish them from the Alamannic Suabi — seem to have long
retained traces of a distinctive nationality. It is true that they
are called Saxons {Saxones qui Nordosquaui uocantur) in the
Ann. Mettens. 748. According to Widukind, I. 14, however,
thev retained even in his time, i.e. the middle of the tenth
century, different laws from the Saxons2. Their name survived
in that of the canton Sueuon, south of the Bode. Whence these
Suabi came we are unfortunately not told. But there is every
probability that they were identical with the people called
Norsaui, whose subjugation is recorded in a letter of Theodberht
(534- — 548) to Justinian3. As this passage is of great importance
for ethnographical purposes it will be convenient here to give it
in full : id uero quod dignamini esse solliciti in quibus prouinciis
habitemus ant quae gentes nostrae sint Deo adiutore ditioni sub-
iectae, Dei nostri misericordia feliciter subactis Thuringis et eorum
prouinciis acquis it is, extinctis ipsorum tunc tcniporis regibus,
Norsauorum gentis nobis placata maiestas colla subdidit, Deoque
propitio Wisigotis, qui incolebant Franciae septentrionalem plagam
Pannonuzm* cum Saxonibus Euciis, qui se nobis tiolitntate propria
tradiderunt, per Danubium et limitem Pannoniae usque in Oceani

1 Published in Ileyne's Kleinere altniederdeutsche Denkmaler, p. 95 ff. ; cf.
Bremer in Paul's Grundriss der germ. Philologie, III.2 p. 863 f., where, however, the
dialect is regarded as Saxon.

2 Suaui itero T ransbadani . . .aliis /eg/bus quam Saxones utuntur.

3 Bouquet, Rerum Gallicarum Scriptores, IV. 59.

4 This term seems to be applied by Latin writers of the sixth century to the
regions east of the lower Rhine; cf. Greg. Tur. II. 9.

98 THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT [CHAP.

litoribus, custodiente Deo, dominatio nostra porrigitur. It is very-
unfortunate that the phraseology is so obscure. Thus it is
impossible to decide with certainty whether Euciis1 is a descrip-
tion of Saxonibns or whether two distinct nations are meant.
Yet we may, I think, at least infer from this passage that the
North Suabi had been under Frankish supremacy for some
twenty or thirty years before they settled beyond the Bode,
though we are not told where they lived either at this time or
previously.

It is a remarkable fact that though the Saxons according to
their own traditions had come from over the sea, i.e. presumably
from the north, their language itself was, even in the earliest
literary times, of a distinctly German type and closely related to
the Frankish dialects on the south and south-west, whereas both
on the east and west flanks of the Saxons we find languages the
affinities of which are as clearly with English. Recent writers2
however have pointed out that the earliest literary remains of
Old Saxon preserve a number of words, including proper names,
which do not conform to the usual sound-laws of the language,
but agree with English and Frisian. These are especially
prominent in Runic abcdaria and other texts, the origin of
which cannot be located ; they may therefore in some cases be
of North Swabian or Frisian origin. But there still remain an
appreciable number of such forms in the Old Saxon poem
Heliand and also in charters and monastic documents which can
be definitely located. The fact that they are Old Saxon may
therefore be regarded as certain. Moreover, it has been shown
that these forms are not peculiar to one or two districts but
spread over the whole area occupied by the Old Saxons. But
if these differences of dialect are not of local origin it would
seem that they must be due to the presence of different national
elements in the population. This conclusion, it will be seen,
agrees fully with the Saxon traditions. If the language of the

1 Apparently all writers who have dealt with this passage take this to be a proper
name ; but I confess that I am not able to translate the sentence. It seems to me
that a participle in the abl. pi. is required.

2 Cf. Bremer in Paul's Grundriss, in2, pp. 86i ff., where the subject is treated at
length.

V] THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT 99

invaders differed from that of the population whom they con-
quered, the two languages would naturally continue for a time
side by side, though in the end that of the numerically stronger
element might be expected to prevail. We may thus infer that
the language of the conquered people, who presumably still
continued to form the majority of the population1, was of a type
similar to that of the Franks.

This is likely enough ; indeed there is fairly clear evidence
that some of the territories belonging to the Old Saxons,
e.g. Salland and Hamaland, had previously been occupied by
Frankish tribes (the Salii'2 and Chamaui). But have we any
justification for believing that a language of Anglo-Frisian type
was spoken beyond the sea to the north ? The answer to this
question depends of course to a large extent on where we place
the early home of the Angli. To this we shall have to return
presently. But we have seen that the Frisians reached at least
to the mouth of the Weser and Heligoland. In later times we
find them also occupying the west coast of Slesvig, though here
their language is supposed to be due to a migration. There is
a curious fact however to be taken into account in this connection 3.
Off the west coast of Slesvig there are three islands, Sylt, Amrum
and Fohr, the inhabitants of which speak a form of language
closely resembling Frisian, and which is indeed generally classed
as a branch of the North Frisian dialect. Yet the inhabitants
do not, like those of the mainland, call themselves Frisians, and
there is no historical evidence that these islands have ever been
connected in any way with Friesland. Moreover, as we shall see
later, Ptolemy speaks of three islands of the Saxons in the
North Sea, and the indications which he gives of their position
correspond fairly well to the islands which we are discussing.
There is no inherent improbability therefore in the view that the
dialect spoken in these islands is descended from the language

1 Cf. Trans. S. Alex., cap. 1 : qui earn (se. terrain) sorte diuide/i/es, cum multi ex
eis in hello cecidissent et pro raritate eorum tola ab eis oceupari non poluit, partem illius
et earn quam maxime quae respicit one/item colonis tradebaut singidi pro sorte sua sub
Iributo exercendam.

- Cf. Zosimus, in. 6.

3 Cf. Moller, Das altenglische Volksepos, p. 85.

7—2

IOO THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT [CHAP.

of the ancient Saxons — a view which is held by many, perhaps
the majority, of the writers who have discussed this question1.

If we are right in believing the exceptional dialectic charac-
teristics which we find in Old Saxon to be traces of a more
northern language which was dying out, or had actually died
out, we can hardly avoid concluding that the North Swabian
language, which was of a distinctly Anglo-Frisian type, had
come from a considerable distance. In historical times we find
this people surrounded by Saxons, Franks (Thuringians), and
Slavs ; but we know that their settlement in the basin of the
Saale took place after the middle of the sixth century, though
we do not know where they lived before. Quite possibly, like
the Saxons, they had come from the north. A certain confirma-
tion of this idea is perhaps to be found in the story of the origin
of the Sweui (Suabi) given by an anonymous text which dates
apparently from the twelfth century2. According to this story
the Sweui had come from a land called Sweuia beside the
northern sea and had arrived in ships at a port of the Danes
called Sleswic. From thence they journeyed to the Elbe, where
they arrived at the time when Theodric was at war with Irmin-
frith. Beyond this however the Sweui are represented as playing
the same part which elsewhere is assigned to the Saxons
(cf. p. 91 f.). Consequently the story cannot be regarded as
a pure Swabian tradition.

There are one or two indications which tend to show that
the Suabi came from quite a different quarter. In later times we
occasionally hear of Sueui among the Frisians about the mouth
of the Scheldt; thus, according to the Annales Vedastini the
Northmen in 880 erected a fort at Courtrai from which they

1 Siebs on the other hand (Paul's Grtindriss, I2, p. 1166) holds that the islands
were colonised from the district between the Ems and the Weser. He states that the
dialect has affinities with East Frisian (which might of course be explained otherwise)
and suggests that the name of the island Amrum (formerly Am brum) points to
colonization from Ammerland (formerly Ambria, pagus Ammeri). The objection to
this view is that Ammerland was a Saxon (not Frisian) district. That there is a
connection between the two names appears likely enough ; but the evidence seems to
me to point to a movement in the opposite direction.

2 Printed in the Zeitschrift ftir deutsches Altertum, XVII. 57 ff.

V] THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT IOI

harried 'the Menapii and the Sueui.' In the Vita S. Eligii, II. 31
we find mention of Flandreuses atque Andouerpcnses, Frisiones et
Sueui et barbari quique circa maris littora degentes. This is of
course a late work, but it is supposed to have used much earlier
materials. The time to which it refers is about 640-650. For
the juxtaposition of the last two names we may compare a
passage of Venantius Fortunatus (Carm. I. 1. 75 f.) where it is
stated that the Fresones and Sueui had been reduced to obedi-
ence by king Chilperic (about 580). What especially favours
the supposition that the North Suabi may have come from this
district is the fact that one of the cantons between the Unstrut
and the Bode was called Frisonofeld, which seems to indicate
the presence of Frisians among the settlers. The objection is of
course the distance between the Saale and the Scheldt. In later
times however Charlemagne transplanted large numbers of the
Saxons almost if not quite as far.

Either of the two hypotheses suggested above will satis-
factorily account for the presence of an Anglo-Frisian language
in the neighbourhood of the Saale. The fact that the North Suabi
preserved their language so much better than the Saxons might
to some extent be due to their having settled in a more compact
mass. Probably however the true reason is that their settle-
ment took place at a very much later time, when the charac-
teristic features of the Anglo-Frisian languages were more fully
developed.

In conclusion, it may be worth while to call attention to the
great extent of sea-board along which the Anglo-Frisian lan-
guages appear to have been spoken in early times, especially if
we are right in believing the dialect of the " North Frisian "
islands to be indigenous. The two groups of languages, Anglo-
Frisian and German, were apparently not separated from one
another by any natural (geographical) boundaries; the one group
seems to belong to the coasts, the other to the interior. We have
no definite evidence that dialects belonging to the German group
touched the coast anywhere to the north-east of the Sincfal,
except on the Zuyder Zee, while Anglo-Frisian dialects appear

1 Bouquet, Kerum Gall. Script., in. 557.

102 THE SAXONS ON THE CONTINENT [CHAP.

not to have been able to maintain themselves for any length of time
in the interior, except in the neighbourhood of Merseburg.
Hence we are probably justified in concluding that there was
much more communication between the different coast districts
and between the different inland districts than there was between
the coasts and the interior. This observation may possibly give
us a clue to the explanation of two curious facts which we noticed
earlier in the chapter, the eastward expansion of the Frisians and
the disappearance of the Saxons as a seagoing people. Is it not
conceivable that these phenomena are really due to political
changes, and that the East Frisians were in large measure the
descendants of those Saxons who had remained in the coast
districts?

The social organisation of the Old Saxons and Frisians has
been treated incidentally in the last chapter. We have seen
that both nations possessed three social orders, viz. nobles,
freemen and liti, in addition to slaves. In this respect, as also
in the amount of the freeman's wergeld, their affinities lay with
the Kentish system rather than with those of Wessex and Mercia.
The social lines of division among the Old Saxons were in early
times very sharp, amounting indeed practically to a system of
caste, for intermarriage between the different classes was for-
bidden under penalty of death1. Whether this was the case
among the Frisians also we do not know. In regard to govern-
ment there was an important difference between the two nations.
The Saxons, at all events from the time of Bede to their final
subjugation by the Franks, had no kings, but were governed by
a number of ' satrapae,' from whom a leader was selected by lot in
time of war (H.E. V. 10). According to Hucbald2 there was also
a central authority, consisting of an elected body of twelve men
who met annually at a place called Marklo on the Weser. The
Frisians on the other hand were governed in the seventh century
by kings, two of whom (Aldgisl and Rathbed) are mentioned by
Bede. Nor is there any reason for believing that royalty was a
recent institution, for we are told in Widsith, 1. 27, that Finn,

1 Translatio S. Alexandri, cap. i.

2 Vita S. Lebuini (Pertz, Mon. Germ. Script. II. 361 f.)

V] THE ANGLES AND JUTES 103

who lived apparently in the fifth century (cf. p. 52), ruled the
Frisian people.

Of the religion of the Frisians little unfortunately is known.
The Old Saxons, if we are right in regarding the " Renunciation
Formula" as a Saxon document (cf. p. 60), apparently worshipped
the same gods as the Angli and Saxons of Britain. The most
characteristic feature of their religion however was the cult of the
Irminsul, to which we shall have to return later.

In discussing the origin of the Jutes and Angles we have to
The jutes and face a somewhat different set of problems from
the Angles. those treated above. In the first place, there is

little or no evidence that the Angli continued to survive on the
Continent as a distinct nation after the invasion of Britain.
Again, though there certainly was a people called Iuti, their
identity with the Iuti (Iutae) of Britain is denied by many
writers. The origin of both nations is therefore to a considerable
extent a matter of dispute.

It will be convenient to begin with the traditional evidence
as given by Bede. He states that the people of Kent and the
Isle of Wight were sprung from the Iutae, but he does not
specify the position of the land whence these Iutae came. The
Angli, he says, came from a region called Angulus which lies
between the Saxons and the Iutae. The two problems therefore,
so far as Bede's evidence goes, are interdependent and can hardly
be treated separately. Moreover, it is worth remembering in this
connection that, according to the Historia Brittonum, which
seems to have used the same traditions as Bede (cf. p. 41 f.),
Hengist and Hors came from an island called Oghgul, which can
hardly be anything else than Bede's Angulus.

There is no possible doubt as to the interpretation which
later English writers put upon Bede's words. Aethelweard,
who was earl of the western counties (Devon, Somerset and
Dorset) at the end of the tenth century, amplifies Bede's
statement as follows {ad aim. 449) : " The East Angles, the
Middle Angles, the Mercians also, and the whole nation of the
Northumbrians, came from the province Anglia. Now the
ancient Anglia is situated between the Saxons and the Gioti,

104 THE ANGLES AND JUTES [CHAP.

having a chief town which is called Slesuuic in the Saxon
language, but Haithaby by the Danes1." It is clear from the
mention of Slesvig that the Anglia Vetus of which Aethelweard
speaks must be the district now called Angel, viz. the peninsula
between the Sle and the Flensborg Fiord, though since Slesvig
is only on the very edge of this district it is possible that the
name may have been applied to a larger area in the tenth
century. Moreover, there can be little doubt that Aethelweard
identified Bede's Iutae with the inhabitants of Jutland, for the
form which he uses {Gioti) seems to be an attempt to represent
the Scandinavian form Iotar. We may further compare a
passage in Malmesbury's Gesta Regum, II. 116. Speaking of
Sceaf, a mythical ancestor of King Aethelwulf, he says : " When
he grew up he reigned in the town which then was called
Slaswic but now Haithebi. Now that district is called Old
Anglia, and is situated between the Saxons and the Gothi ; from
it the Angli came to Britain."

These quotations are conclusive as to the interpretation put
upon Bede's words by later writers. More important for us,
however, are some passages which King Alfred inserted in his
translation of Orosius. In his account of the geography of
northern Europe (I. I. 12), which is entirely original, we find the
following passage : " To the west of the Old Saxons is the
mouth of the river Elbe and Friesland, and to the north-west of
them is the land which is called Angel (Ongel) and Sillende2
and a portion of the Danes, and to the north of them are the
Afdrede " (i.e. the Obotriti). Throughout this insertion the
quarters of the heaven are given somewhat incorrectly ; but it is
clear enough that he lays Angel in the direction of Slesvig.
Again, in his account of the voyages of Ohthere (I. 1. 19) the
following passage occurs : " He (Ohthere) said that he had

1 On the situation of Haithaby (Hedeby) see S. Mliller, Noi-dische Altertiunskunde
(Germ, transl.), II. p. 232 ff., where good reasons are given for believing that it lay
to the south of the Sle. If the Slesvig of early times occupied the site of the
present town the two places cannot have been identical. But is the evidence to this
effect really conclusive ?

2 This form is clearly identical with Sinlendi, an old name for some district in the
southern part of the Jutish peninsula (Ann. Einhardi 8 [5) ; cf. also Bremer, op. cit.,
P- 837-

V] THE ANGLES AND JUTES 105

sailed in five days from Sciringes Healh (Skiringssal1) to a town
which is called aet Haethum ; it is situated between the Wends
(Slavs) and the Saxons and Angel and belongs to the Danes....
For two days before he arrived there he had on his starboard
Gotland and Sillende and many islands. The Angli dwelt in
those lands before they came to this country." It is clear that
the place here called aet Haethum is identical with Haithaby or
Slesvig, while Gotland, whatever may be the explanation of this
form2, can hardly mean anything else than Jutland. The
importance of these passages consists not only in their con-
firmation of the identity of Angel with the modern Angel, but
also in the fact that they amount to a good deal more than a
mere expansion of Bede's words. Indeed there is nothing
definite to show that the king had Bede's account in his mind at
all. It is noteworthy that according to him the Angli came
from a region much more extensive than Angel itself.

It needs no demonstration to see that the identification of
Angulus with Angel fits in with Bede's account extremely well.
Angel might very well be described as lying between Jutland
and the Saxons, i.e. the Nordalbingi of western Holstein. Again,
Bede speaks of the Iutae as though they were still surviving as a
nation on the Continent. Yet we have no evidence that in
Bede's time this or any similar name was applied to any other
people than the inhabitants of Jutland. On the whole, there-
fore, taking the positive and negative evidence together, we can
hardly avoid concluding that by Angulus Bede meant the
district now called Angel.

Of course the further and more important question, whether
Bede's account is correct or not, remains to be discussed.
Unfortunately the references in early Continental writers to
nations called Angli and Iutae, or any similar names, are
extremely few in number. There is however one passage which

1 On the south coast of Norway, between Tonsberg and Laurvig.

2 It is at least doubtful if the (Norse) form IStland could be represented as Gotland
in Anglo-Saxon orthography at this early date. Some writers hold that the latter
is quite a different name and compare Reictgotaland, a name for Jutland in some sagas.
In Skaldskaparmal, cap. 43, Skioldr is said to have reigned over "what is now called
Denmark, but then it was called Gotland." But this passage does not seem to refer
specially to Jutland.

106 THE ANGLES AND JUTES [CHAP.

may point to a different origin of the Iutae from that which
Bede seems to have had in his mind, and perhaps three
altogether which indicate or suggest that the Angli did not
come from Angel. These passages we must now proceed to
examine in order.

Before doing so however it should be mentioned that ob-
jection has been taken to the identification of the Iutae with the
inhabitants of Jutland on philological grounds. It has been
stated on high authority1 that though the form I Star, by which
the inhabitants of Jutland are known in Old Norse literature,
may go back either to Entones or Jeutones in an earlier stage of
the language, yet the Danish name Jyder must represent a form
which originally had initial J- (Jeutioues, Jiutiones, Jutiones) ;
consequently we cannot identify it with the English forms Iiiti,
Iutae, which clearly have initial Iu- (for earlier Eu-). Unfortu-
nately it seems not to have been explained why in this word,
and in this word alone, initial j- should be preserved in a
Scandinavian dialect. Unless some satisfactory reason for this
phenomenon can be found we are surely justified in retaining
what is clearly the simplest and most natural explanation, viz.
that the J- of Jyder (earlier Jytir, Saxo's Iuti) is due to the
influence of the parallel form Jotar. The earlier form of the
name would be Ytir, which occurs, like other national names, in
Old Norse poetry in the vague sense of ' men.' Iotar and Ytir
will then represent parallel stems, Eutau-, Iutia- (earlier Eutia-),
such as we frequently find among the names of Teutonic nations,
e.g. Fresones — Frisii, Rogans — Rugii. Both stems can be traced
in English, the former in the Eotena (gen. pi.) of Beowulf
(cf. p. 53), the latter in Bede's Iuti2 and the Ytum (dat. pi.) of
Widsith. Bede's alternative form Iutae (i.e. Iutan, Eutiones) will
then be a secondary formation like Englan, Frisiones, due to
confusion between the two stems.

1 Indogennanische Forschungen, vn. 293.

2 For the forms in the Anglo-Saxon version, iv. 16, cf. p. 5 and note. In 1. 15 we
find Geatum, Geata, which seem to show that the translator identified this people with
the Geatas. Several recent writers have accepted the identification, but I cannot
admit its probability. In any case this question has no bearing on the Danish form

Jyder, for there is no evidence for such forms as Geotas or Geotan in Anglo-Saxon.

V] THE ANGLES AND JUTES 107

The names Eutii, Eutioiies occur only twice in early Con-
tinental writings. One case is in Venantius Fortunatus, Carrn.
IX. 1. 73, where the poet, writing about 580, addresses King
Chilperic in the following words :

quem Geta, Vasco tremunt, Danus, Euthio, Saxo, Britannus,
ami pat re quos acie te domitasse patet.

No indication is given here as to the locality in which the
Eut(h)iones lived. But the fact that they are mentioned between
the Danes and the Saxons is rather favourable than otherwise
to the supposition that the inhabitants of Jutland are meant1.
The other instance occurs in Theodberht's letter to Justinian,
quoted above (p. 97), in which Theodberht says that the Saxons
and Eutii- (or possibly the Saxones Eutii) had submitted
voluntarily to him. In this case it is not likely that the
reference is to the inhabitants of Jutland. But, granting that
these Eutii lived to the west of the Elbe or even in the
Netherlands, does that prove that they were a different people?
At a time when migratory movements towards the south and
west appear to have been very frequent, when we find Saxons
settling on both sides of the North Sea and the Channel, and
when Danes and Gotar were at least raiding in Holland, there is
surely nothing improbable in supposing that the Jutes may have
taken part in such movements. No doubt the Jutes who invaded
Britain may have branched off from these southern settlements.
But considering the fact that the southern Jutes are mentioned
only once, and that too about a century after the invasion of
Britain, it seems distinctly more probable that the Jutes of
Britain came from the home-land3.

The earliest reference to the Angli which has come down to
us is in Tacitus, Germ. 40. In this case, however, no clear
indication of their geographical position is given. The next
occurs in Ptolemy, Gcogr. II. II. 15, where they are located to

1 Cf. Schiitte, Var Angler ne Tyskere?, p. 43.

- I am not certain that this name is not due to a scribal error ; cf. p. 98, note.

3 If we are right in identifying Hengest, the king of Kent, with the Hengest who
entered the service of Finn, king of the Frisians (cf. p. 52), he probably came to
Britain from the Netherlands. Hut there is no reason for supposing that any great
length of time had elapsed since he left Denmark.

108 THE ANGLES AND JUTES [CHAP.

the west of the Elbe, apparently with the basin of the Weser as
their centre. Both these passages will be discussed in a subse-
quent chapter, and it will be shown that Ptolemy's statements
are incredible for reasons which are quite independent of any
considerations derived from the history of the Angli. At the
present moment we need not take these early writings into
account ; for even if confirmatory evidence were forthcoming
it would be conceivable that the geographical position of the
Angli might have changed between the second and the fifth
centuries.

In later writings, if we exclude passages obviously based
upon Bede's account, there are only two references to the
existence of a people called Angli on the Continent. One of
these occurs in Adam of Bremen, I. 3. After quotations from
Orosius and Gregory of Tours, describing the piratical incursions
of the Saxons, we find the following words: "The Saxons
therefore at first had their abode on both sides of the Rhine and
were called Angli." The last four words, however {et uocati sunt
Angli), do not occur in the earliest MS. and it is likely enough
that they are due to some subsequent scribe, to whom they may
have been suggested by the opening words of the quotation
from Einhard (c(. p. 92) which immediately follows. In any
case, considering the character of the statement itself and the
date of the work in which it occurs, one would require much
courage to uphold its authority against that of Bede, unless
strong confirmatory evidence was forthcoming.

The second reference occurs in the title of a certain code :
Incipit Lex Angliornm et Werinornm hoc est

TheWarni. r £ '

Thuringorum1. Mention has already been made
of this code (p. 81 f.) and it has been pointed out that in regard
to the classification of society it shows affinity with English
custom, particularly with that of Kent. In other respects
however it has much more resemblance to the Frankish laws2.

1 This title occurs in only one of the two texts of the Lex. In the other it is
described simply as Lex Thuringorum. In Canute's (spurious) Forest Laws, § 33, it
is referred to under the title Lex Werinorum, i.e. Thuringorum.

2 Cf. Brunner, Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte, 1. p. 251, where it is pointed out that the
arrangement of the code is based on that of the Lex Ribuaria.

V] THE ANGLES AND JUTES 109

It is believed to date from the ninth century1, but unfortunately
the locality for which it was drawn up is a matter of dispute.
There can be little doubt that the name Werini is only another
form of Warni {Guarui, Ovapvoc), a tribal name which occurs
not unfrequently. We have seen (p. 19) that in Procopius,
Goth. IV. 20, a tribe bearing this name is brought into connection
with the Angli, though in this case the latter are represented as
coming from Britain in ships to attack them. Procopius here
states that the Warni were separated from the Franks only by
the Rhine. Therefore, since they lived in a marshy region and
were exposed to attacks from the sea, we must suppose that their
kingdom was situated in Holland between the Rhine and the
Zuyder Zee. Elsewhere, however, Procopius speaks of Warni in
quite a different quarter. In II. 15, after relating the overthrow
of the Heruli by the Langobardi, he says that some of the former
crossed the Danube and entered the territories of the Roman
Empire. Others, however, set out across the desert of the Slavs,
and came first to the Warni and then to the Danes, after which
they took ship and sailed to an island called Thoule, which from
his description of it clearly means Sweden and Norway. Again,
from III. 35 it appears probable that the Warni were not very
far removed from the Langobardi, who, whatever their exact
position, were certainly settled east of the Elbe at this time.
These passages therefore indicate that there were Warni to the
east or north of the lower Elbe during the first half of the sixth
century. Consequently, if Procopius' evidence is to be trusted,
the nation must have been split up into two distinct branches.
It is worth observing however that Procopius himself does not
record this fact. Indeed his knowledge of the geography of
northern Europe is so vague2 that we have no reason for believing
him to have been aware of the fact that these two localities, the
Rhine and the neighbourhood of the Danes, were distant from
one another.

In Cassiodorus, Variariwi III. 3, Theodric, king of the

1 Cf. Paul's Grundriss, in2, p. 67 ; Brunner, op. cit., p. 352.

2 OOapvoi /lev virip "larpov Trora/xdv idpvvrcu, Oitjkoviti 5e &XP1 Te ^J 'Qiceavdv rbv
ipKTtpov /ecu TrorafjLov 'Vrjvov ocrnep avrous re dioptfei Kal Qpdyyovs Kai rctXAa Zdvi} a. ravr-Q
'iopvvTat.

110 THE ANGLES AND JUTES [CHAP.

Ostrogoths, appeals to the kings of the Heruli, Warni (Gnarni)
and Thuringi to join him in an alliance against Clovis in order
to compel the latter to desist from his threatened attack upon
the Visigoths. The date of the letter is not exactly known, but
it must be earlier than 507, in which year the attack actually
took place. Now the view has frequently been put forward1 that
the Warni mentioned here were the western branch of that nation,
that the Heruli and Thuringi also lived in the neighbourhood
of the lower Rhine, and that these Thuringi are the people to
whom the code which we are discussing refers. How the Warni
came to be identified with the Thuringi seems not to have been
explained ; but since according to this theory the two were
presumably neighbouring nations, it is conceivable that they
might subsequently have amalgamated. The theory, however,
seems to me to be open in some respects to serious objections.
It is true that we do find Heruli raiding on the lower Rhine at
the beginning of the fourth century2, and later in the same
century Ammianus Marcellinus (xx. I. 3, 4. 2, etc.) speaks of
Heruli who were serving with Bataui in the Roman armies. But
we have no evidence elsewhere for a kingdom of the Heruli in
this region. Again, there are frequent references to a district
called Thoringia to the south of the lower Rhine, apparently in
Brabant ; but we have no other evidence for a nation called
Thuringi here. Indeed this district was under the Franks both
in the fifth century and also presumably when Hygelac
(Chochilaicus) made his incursion, about the year 520. On the
other hand it is certain that there were at this time powerful
kingdoms both of the Heruli and the Thuringi in central
Germany, in or around the basin of the Elbe. The hypothesis
then that there were three nations called Warni, Heruli and
Thuringi on the lower Rhine, as well as three nations called
Warni, Heruli and Thuringi farther to the east, seems to me to
involve an improbable degree of coincidence. Lastly, this
coincidence is rendered all the more remarkable by the fact,
which we know from Procopius, Goth. I. 123, that Irminfrith, king

1 Cf. Bremer, Paul's Grundriss, III2, pp. 834 f., 851 ; Hoops, op. cil., p. 583 f.

2 Mamertinus, Paneg. Maximiano Aug. dictus, cap. 5.

3 Bremer (Grundriss, III2, p. 879) holds that the Thuringi (Qdpiyyoi) mentioned

V] THE ANGLES AND JUTES III

of the Thuringi (i.e. the Thuringi in the basin of the Saale), did
about this time negotiate an alliance with Theodric from fear of
the Franks.

So far as the Thuringi of Cassiodorus are concerned I think
this view may safely be rejected. With regard to the Heruli it
is impossible to speak with the same confidence1, since we have
good reason for believing that this nation was split up into two
or more branches. Moreover the fact that the name Heruli
never occurs in Frankish, Saxon or Fnglish authors is difficult to
reconcile with the prominent position assigned to this nation in
Roman, Gothic and Langobardic writings and gives ground for
supposing that they were known by more than one name. As
for the presence of Warni in the Netherlands Procopius' state-
ment, made twice over, that they were separated from the Franks
only by the Rhine, must of course count for something, in spite
of the inaccuracy of his geography. On the other hand we have
no other evidence for the presence of Warni — or Angli either2 —
in the Netherlands ; nor again is there any reference to the
prevalence of separate national laws (as distinct from the Frank-
ish and Frisian) in this region.

Another view, put forward long ago by Zeuss {op. cit. p. 362 f.),
is that the Warni were identical with the North Suabi, who were
settled between the Unstrut and the Bode by Lothair and
Sigibert (cf. p. 91). This view has two strong points in its
favour : (i) that the North Suabi {Suabi Transbadani) long
retained separate national laws (cf. p. 97), and (ii) that they
were settled in territory which had formerly belonged to the

earlier in this chapter belonged to the lower Rhine. But I do not see how this can
be maintained ; for Procopius' language distinctly implies that he is speaking of the
same people in both passages.

1 If it could be shown that Theodric's letter was written after the events narrated
by Procopius, Goth. II. 14, we should of course be bound to conclude that there was
another Ilerulian kingdom at this time. But we do not know exactly the date of
these events, except that it was before 512 (cf. Chron. Marcell. Com. ad ann.). The
other two letters (Cass., Var. IV. 2, 45) which may have a bearing on this question
likewise give no dates.

1 Except in the passage (interpolation ?) in Adam of Bremen mentioned above
(p. 108), which can hardly be taken seriously. Bremer {op. cit., p. 851 f.) suggests
the emendation of Angleuarii in the Notitia Dignitatum to Angli, Varini ; but it is
surely more probable that this form is a corruption of Angriuarii.

112 THE ANGLES AND JUTES [CHAP.

Thuringi — a fact which might explain the identification of the
Werini with the Thuringi in the Lex. The fact that the Warni
rebelled against the Franks in 595 (Chron. Fredegari, cap. 15) is
of course inconclusive, for they might have become subject to
the Franks in the Netherlands as well as in the basin of the
Saale.

The two points noted above seem to me to tell so strongly in
favour of Zeuss' view that until further evidence is forthcoming
I think we are almost bound to admit some connection between
the Anglii and Werini and the Suabi Transbadani. Moreover
there are one or two additional facts which we ought to take
into account. The district between the Saale and the Elster was
called Werenofeld in the time of Charlemagne1, a name which
suggests that the district in question had been inhabited by
Warni before it became Slavonic. Again, immediately to the
south of the Unstrut there was a canton called Engilin {Engeli,
Engli, etc.), and names compounded with Engel-, Aug/- seem to
be fairly numerous throughout the basin of that river. The
occurrence of these two names in more or less adjacent districts,
both of which must have been included in the old Thuringian
kingdom, certainly seems to throw some light on the expression
Angliorum et Werinorum hoc est Thuringorum. It is true of
course that neither the canton Engilin nor the district called
Werenofeld lies within the area believed to have been occupied by
the North Suabi in the ninth and tenth centuries. But it is
quite possible that at one time the territories of the North Suabi
may have extended beyond the Saale and the Unstrut. As
a matter of fact the district between the Saale and the Elster
appears not to have been conquered by the Slavs much before
the middle of the seventh century2, and we have no reason for
thinking that it had ever been really occupied by the Franks.
Again, we are told that the whole of Thuringia was ravaged by
the Franks in 555 in consequence of the assistance which the
Saxons had derived from it in their rebellion3. This would

1 Mon. Germ., Leg., v. 112.

2 Cf. Zeuss, op. cit., p. 637 f.

:i Greg. Tur., iv. 10 : cf. Venant. Fort. VI. 1. 75 f., where Lothair is said to have
triumphed over two nations, Nablis and Thoringia, the former of which seems to

V] THE ANGLES AND JUTES 113

seem to show that the Franks had not at that time settled there
in any considerable numbers1. It is scarcely impossible therefore
that the Saxons, and after them the North Suabi, may have
taken possession of almost the whole of the Thuringian kingdom
and that the frontier of historical times may not have been fixed
until later. Of course if the name Anglii in the Lex does refer
to the canton Engilin we shall have to suppose that a body of
law or custom known as the Law of the Anglii and the Werini
was in existence before the present code was issued ; but I
do not know that any improbability is involved in such a
hypothesis.

It is perhaps worth pointing out that the two views expressed
above as to the locality occupied by the Warni may not be
wholly irreconcilable. We have seen above (p. 100 f.) that there
is some evidence for supposing that the North Suabi came from
the Netherlands. Consequently, if Zeuss was right in believing
that the North Suabi and the Warni were the same nation,
Procopius' statement that the latter lived (in Theodberht's time)
about the mouth of the Rhine might be confirmed. The people
who settled between the Unstrut and the Bode might then be
descended from the western and not from the eastern division of
the Warni. There is just one point however in Zeuss' theory
which seems to me to be open to doubt. That the people known
in the tenth century as Suabi Transbadani were the same as the
Anglii and Werini of the Lex appears very probable. But
I hesitate to believe that the names Warni and Suabi denoted the
same nation in the sixth century. In the Anglo-Saxon poem
Widsith the two are clearly distinguished. Thus in 1. 22 ff. we

find "Witta ruled the Swaefe Billing (ruled) the Werne " ;

and again in 1. 59 ff. " I have been with the Waerne and with

the Swaefe." Further, the mention of the Warni eo nomine in

correspond, in name at least, to the later Nabelgouwe. Possibly it was after this
rebellion that the planting of the North Suabi began. Gregory attributes it to both
Lothair and Sigibert ; but the former died seven years before Alboin's expedition.

1 Baron K. F. v. Richthofen (Mon. Germ., Leg., v. 114) holds that the districts
inhabited by the Anglii and Werini (Engilin and Werenofeld) were not conquered by
the Franks until a later time; but he does not connect the Anglii and Werini with the
North Suabi.

c. 8

I 14 THE ANGLES AND JUTES [CHAP.

Fredegar's Chronicle (see above) suggests that the Franks did
not at this time identify the two names, for the term North
Suabi occurs more than once in Frankish writings. We have to
remember however that Gregory when describing the settlement
in Thuringia uses the expression Snauos et alias gentes. The
true explanation therefore seems to me to be that the settlers
were a congeries of different nationalities which Lothair and
Sigibert had brought together into the lands vacated by the
Saxons — perhaps in order to secure their frontier against the
Avars. If so the settlers may have come both from the Nether-
lands and from the east side of the Elbe. At all events we never
again hear of the Warni in either direction. Their existence
as an independent nation may therefore have come to an end
about this time.

Of course I do not deny that the Warni and the North Suabi
may have been kindred nations. Both are brought into con-
nection with the Angli in some form or other. In Widsith the
Angli and the Suabi are twice mentioned side by side, 1. 44 :
Engle and Swaefe, and 1. 61 : mid Englum and mid Swaefuffl,
while the Angli and the Warni are brought together in Tacitus,
Germ. 40, and in the title of the Lex, as well as in the story told
by Procopius (IV. 20). It seems to me more probable however
that the North Suabi are really to be identified with the Heruli.
We have seen that the latter name never occurs in Frankish,
Saxon or English works. Similarly the North Suabi are never
mentioned by Roman, Gothic or Langobardic writers1. It seems
possible therefore that the two names denote the same nation,
the former being the one used by its (Swabian and Gothic)
neighbours on the east and south, while the latter was that by
which it was known to the tribes on the west2. The North
Suabi, i.e. the North Suabi proper, of Thuringia may in that case
have been descended from the Heruli settled about the mouth
of the Rhine. On the other hand they may also have come in

1 The passage in Paul. Diac, Hist. Lang. II. 6, is derived from Greg. Tur. , v. 15.

2 It has been suggested with much probability that the name Heruli is the same
word as Ang.-Sax. eorlas, 'nobles,' O. Sax. erlos, 'men.' This word seems not to
have been used in the Gothic and Swabian languages — a fact which may not be
without significance.

V] THE ANGLES AND JUTES 115

part from the Herulian kingdom which was destroyed by the
Langobardi.

As for the Warni it is clear that they did not settle in the
basin of the Saale before the middle of the sixth century, for
both the regions in which they are mentioned by Procopius lie
far from that district. But the evidence at our disposal is hardly
sufficient, I think, to enable us to decide from which of these
two districts they came. So also with regard to the Angli of
the Lex — granting that these are the same people whose name
survived in that of the canton Engilin — their history can scarcely
have been different from that of the neighbouring tribes,
especially in view of Procopius' story. If the Warni really came
from the Netherlands the Angli may have accompanied them ;
and perhaps some support may be found for this view in
Procopius' statement (Goth. IV. 20) that in Theodberht's time
large numbers of Angli from Britain were settling within the
Frankish dominions1. On the other hand, if there was no
kingdom of the Warni at the mouth of the Rhine — if the events
related by Procopius really took place in Holstein, it is scarcely
impossible that a portion of the x^ngli may have joined the
Warni there ; for, as we have seen, the passage in Germ. 40
suggests that the two tribes had been closely connected from
ancient times.

At all events there is no reason for supposing that the Angli
inhabited the basin of the Unstrut before they invaded Britain.
Apart from the inherent improbability of such a hypothesis on
geographical grounds, we must remember that the tribes with
which they had the closest relationship, the Warni and the North
Suabi, did not settle in this district until after the middle of the
sixth century, while before that time the Unstrut seems to have
been the centre of the Thuringian kingdom. Indeed it would
scarcely be necessary to notice this hypothesis at all but for
a singular error which found its way into Zeuss' monumental
work (p. 153), namely that this was the district in which the

1 Though no confirmation of this statement is to be found elsewhere (cf. p. 18), it
is perhaps worth noting that many place-names of a distinctly English type occur in
the neighbourhood of Boulogne ; cf. Waitz, Das alle Recht, p. 56 f., and Meitzen,
op. cit., p. 554, where, however, a different explanation is given.

8—2

Il6 THE ANGLES AND JUTES [CHAP.

Angli were located by Ptolemy. As a matter of fact it is quite
clear, as we shall see later, that Ptolemy placed the Angli
(Sovrjfioi , AjyeiXol) to the north or north-west of the Cherusci
and Chatti. The centre of their territory would therefore lie in
the lower part of the basin of the Weser, a district which is about
as far from the Unstrut as it is from Angel or the marshlands of
the lower Rhine. We may observe further that this theory is
difficult to reconcile even with the vague indications as to the
position of the Angli given by Tacitus. According to him the
only noteworthy characteristic possessed by the group of tribes
to which the Angli belonged was that they worshipped a goddess
named Nerthus, whose sanctuary was situated on ' an island in
the Ocean.' This remark has no point if the cult was shared by
the Semnones and Langobardi, who are mentioned just before.
Yet according to the theory we are discussing, these important
tribes lay between the Angli and their island sanctuary. Indeed
it would almost seem that Zeuss had forgotten the cult of
Nerthus when he wrote his section on the Angli, for in another
passage (p. 26) he says that this goddess was worshipped
among the ancient inhabitants of the western end of the Baltic
Sea1.

The conclusions to which we have been brought may perhaps
at first sight be thought to lend some colour to the statement in
Adam of Bremen, I. 3 — poor as the authority for this statement
undoubtedly is — that the Angli dwelt originally on the Rhine.
It should be observed, however, that, whether the Warni and
North Suabi came from the Netherlands or not, there is no
evidence that that country was the original home of these nations.
For no ancient writers mention the presence of Warni in this

1 Zeuss' theory has been elaborated at some length in a paper ' Ueber die Heimat
und den Namen der Angeln,' by Prof. A. Erdmann (Upsala, 1890). No attempt, how-
ever, is made to explain either of the difficulties noted above, though a very unnatural
interpretation is given (p. 2 if.) of the opening words of Germ. 41. The author seems
to have examined only a small portion of the evidence in favour of the view that the
Angli came from Angel. Thus, for example, no account appears to have been taken
of the story of Scyld — Sceaf or of the affinities of the cult of Nerthus with Scandi-
navian religion, while the Danish version of the story of Offa and 'his wife Her-
muthruda' is dismissed in a couple of sentences (p. 49 f.). In more recent works
Zeuss' theory seems to have been generally abandoned.

V] THE ANGLES AND JUTES 117

region ; indeed both Tacitus and Ptolemy locate them in the
east. So also with the Suabi. No Suebi are recorded to have
lived in the Netherlands by early writers ; but we shall see later
that there is evidence for the existence of a tribe of this name to
the north of the lower Elbe. The conclusion therefore to which
we are brought is that there is no evidence — in works dating
from later than the second century — for believing that the Angli
lived in Western Germany before they came to Britain1; and
further, that the nations in this region who were most closely
connected with the Angli, namely the Warni and the Suabi, had
migrated from districts north of the lower Elbe. Consequently
the evidence tends rather to support Bede's statements than
otherwise. In the following chapter we shall see that these
statements receive the fullest confirmation from English and
Danish tradition.

1 Linguistic evidence has been brought forward to show that the Saxons, and in
part the Angli also, settled in the Netherlands before they invaded Britain (cf.
especially Hoops, op. cit., p. 575 ff.). But these loanwords, so far as they are not of
British origin (cf. perhaps Ang.-Sax. peran, pise with Welsh per, pys), may at least
equally well be due to the constant intercourse which we know to have gone on
between the Angli and the Franks during the sixth and seventh centuries. Indeed
certain words (e.g. biscop) hardly admit of any other explanation; cf. Bede, H.E., I.
25. Of course it is not to be denied that warriors from the Netherlands may have
joined the invaders.

CHAPTER VI.

THE KINGS OF ANGEL.

The Vitae Duorum Offarum is a work which professes to
give a history of the foundation of St Albans Abbey. It has
been ascribed to Matthew Paris, the famous historian and monk
of that house, who died about the year 1259. Most scholars,
however, now think that, though used by him, it was probably
the work of an earlier writer belonging to the same abbey1.

The Life of Offa the First is to the following effect. Once
upon a time there was a king of the ' West Angles ' (which
probably means the Mercians here) whose name was War-
mundus. He built the town of Warwick, which was called after
him. At the time the story opens he was advanced in years
and feeble. He had an only son named Offa, who was now
thirty years of age. The latter had been blind until his seventh
year and, though of great size and strength, he was still dumb
and thus unfit to govern. One of the chief nobles, named
Riganus, encouraged by another whose name was Mitunnus,
endeavoured, first by entreaties and then by threats, to get
himself adopted by the king as his successor. Having failed
in these plans he had recourse to armed rebellion. Warmundus
in view of the threatened danger called together his nobles
to discuss what ought to be done. While all were in doubt
Offa suddenly obtained the power of speech and demanded
that his own and his father's rights should be preserved. He
then offered to lead the king's forces, and the latter greatly
encouraged by this event set out against the rebels. The two

1 Cf. Luard, Matthaei Parisiensis Chronica Maiora, 1. pp. xxxii, lxxx; Suchier,
Paul and Braune's Beitrage, IV. 507.

CHAP. VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL I IQ

armies met on the opposite banks of a deep river called Rigan-
burne. Offa dashed across the river at the head of his troops
and slew the two sons of Riganus, who were named Hildebrandus
and Sueno, with his own hand. The victory of the king's army-
was complete and great numbers of the rebels were killed. War-
mundus met his son as he was returning from the battle and
handed over the sovereignty to him. Shortly afterwards he-
died and was buried at Gloucester.

Offa's reign was for the most part peaceful and prosperous.
One day when hunting in the woods he met a young woman
who stated that she was the daughter of the king of York and
that she had fled from home in order to escape from the incestuous
desires of her father. Offa conducted her to a place of safety
and subsequently, on being entreated by his councillors to
marry, he took her to wife. By her he had two children. After
this the king of the Northumbrians sent an embassy to beg
for his assistance against the Scots. While he was engaged in
this campaign one of his messages was intercepted by the king
of York. The letter was altered and orders were inserted that
the regents were to put Offa's wife and children to death. On
receipt of this message the queen and her children were taken
into the woods and the latter were cruelly slaughtered. The
cries of the mother however attracted the attention of a hermit,
who by his prayers restored the children to life and subsequently
conveyed them all to his cell. The king, discovering on his
return what had happened, caused careful search to be made
for his wife, but for a long time all his efforts were fruitless.
At length he came one day, when hunting, upon the hermit's
cell and was overcome with joy at finding both his wife and
children safe. In obedience to the hermit's directions he made
a vow to found a religious house as a thank-offering for re-
covering them. This vow, however, he subsequently forgot, and
it remained unfulfilled until the day of his death, when he laid
it as a solemn charge upon his son. The latter also failed to
perform it and handed it on in turn to his son ; and so the
vow remained unfulfilled through several generations until the
time of Offa the Second.

The second Life, which is much the longer of the two, need

120 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

not be described in detail here. However much scepticism may-
be felt as to the historical truth of many of the incidents which
it records, there is yet no room for doubt that this later Offa
is the famous king of that name who reigned over Mercia from
757 to 796. It will be sufficient here to notice a few passages
which deal chiefly with the history of his wife.

One day during the reign of Offa there arrived on the shore
of Britain a small boat without any means of navigation. It
contained a young woman who was reduced to the last stage
of exhaustion through hunger and exposure. Having been
brought before the king she gave her name as Drida, and stated
that she was a relative of Karolus, king of the Franks, and
that she had been cast adrift in this way through the malice
of certain persons of ignoble blood, from whom she had refused
to accept an offer of marriage. The truth, however, was that
she had been found guilty of a serious crime (the nature of
which is not stated) and condemned to death ; but, owing to
her relationship to the king, it had been decided to cast her
adrift upon the sea instead of putting her to death by a more
direct method. After being revived by food she was found
to be of extraordinary beauty, and subsequently she was married
by Offa against the will of his parents, who suspected the
depravity of her character. Thenceforth she was known as
Quendrida {id est, Regina Drida).

Offa and Quendrida had three daughters. The eldest of
these was married to Brithricus (Berhtric), king of Wessex,
and the second to Atheldredus (Aethelred), king of North-
umbria, while the third, Aelfleda, had been promised to Albertus
(Aethelberht), king of East Anglia. These marriages were
little to the liking of Quendrida, who had desired to have her
daughters given in marriage to Frankish princes, in order that
by their aid she might be able to destroy her husband. When
the marriage of Aelfleda had been arranged, Albertus was
invited to Offa's palace. The queen endeavoured first to induce
her husband to have him put to death, and when he indignantly
repudiated this suggestion she devised a plan for getting rid
of him herself. Entering into the hall where Offa and Albertus
were sitting together, she invited the latter to come and see his

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 121

bride. When he had entered the bride-chamber she asked him
to take his seat upon a chair which she had placed over a hole
in the floor. Through this Albertus fell and was immediately
put to death by assassins who were hidden below.

Ouendrida devised many schemes for the destruction of her
husband, but all of them came to nothing. Eventually she was
herself murdered by robbers on the spot where Albertus had
been put to death. After this, Offa, realising the magnitude
of the mercies he had received, the prosperity of his kingdom
and his frequent escapes from the plots of his wife, decided
to found a religious house at St Albans as a thank-offering.
Thus the vow which he had inherited from his ancestors was at
last fulfilled.

This story, in so far as it refers to the queen, has no claim
to be regarded as historical. The true name of Offa's wife
was not Ouendrida (i.e. Cwoenthryth) but Cynethryth. Of her
origin nothing is known, but the manner in which Alcuin speaks
of her in a letter to her son Ecgfrith (disce...a patrc auctoritatem,
a matrc pietatem . . .ab utroque Christianae religionis deuotionem...
et totius nitae sobrietatem1) gives no countenance to the idea that
she was a woman of depraved character. According to the
Saxon Chronicle Aethelberht was put to death by Offa, and
we have no authority earlier than Florence of Worcester for
the statement that Cynethryth was concerned in the murder.
Offa's daughter Eadburg, however, is said to have been of a
vicious disposition (Asser, cap. 14), and it is possible that some
of her characteristics may have been transferred by tradition to
her mother. The growth of the legend may have been promoted
further by confusion with Cwoenthryth, the daughter of King
Coenwulf, Ecgfrith's successor, who is said, though on late and
poor authority, to have murdered her brother.

It was recognised long ago that in spite of the legendary
elements in the story there can be no doubt that the later Offa
is the well-known king of Mercia. On the other hand, the
early editors of the Vitae were not able to identify the first
Offa with any known king. They recognised indeed the fact

1 Jaffe, Bibl. Rer. Germ. VI. p. 267.

122 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

that twelve generations above Offa the same name does occur
again in the Mercian genealogy, and, further, that the father
of this earlier Offa was called Wermund ; but at the same time
they pointed out with truth that, if we are to credit the evidence
of the genealogy, these persons must have lived considerably
before the invasion of Britain. During the last two centuries,
however, much new evidence has been brought to elucidate
the story. The most important is that which is derived from
legends given by the Danish historians, especially Saxo and
Svend Aagesen.

The story given by Saxo (p. 105 ff.) is as follows. There
was once a king of the Danes whose name was Vigletus. He
was succeeded by his son Wermundus, whose reign was long
and prosperous. Wermundus' only son, whose name was Uffo,
was born to him when he was well advanced in years. He was
of great stature and strength, but from his early years he kept
his lips sealed in perpetual silence and was regarded as dull and
foolish. His father obtained for him in marriage the daughter
of a certain Frowinus, who was the governor of Slesvig and one
of his most distinguished men.

The country about Slesvig was much disturbed by the
incursions of a warlike king of Sweden whose name was
Athislus. Between his forces and those of Frowinus there
were many battles. At length the two chiefs met in single
combat and Frowinus was slain. His sons, Keto and Wigo,
were appointed by Wermundus to the office held by their father,
an act which soon brought about another raid on the part
of Athislus Keto sent Folco, his chief officer, to Wermund at
Jaellinge with the news, and the king rewarded the messenger
for his martial spirit with a golden cup. Folco in return vowed
that rather than take to flight he would drink as much of his
own blood as the cup would hold. When the two armies met
in battle Athislus was defeated, but succeeded in escaping to
his ships in spite of Folco's bravery, and the latter carried out
his vow by drinking his own blood from his helmet. Keto
expressed his surprise that they had not been able to overtake
their enemy, and the king in explanation gave a long descrip-
tion of the various classes of warriors — an account which appears

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 1 23

to have suffered in transmission l. Subsequently Keto and
Wigo passed over to Sweden in disguise, desiring to exact
vengeance for their father's death. Having succeeded in obtaining
access to Athislus' presence when he was alone Keto challenged
him to single combat. In the duel which ensued Keto was
thrown down ; but Wigo came to his assistance, and finally
Athislus fell before the combined onslaught of the two brothers.
On their return home they were received with honour by
Wermundus, who considered that they had performed a useful
deed in getting rid of so dangerous an enemy. But the general
opinion of men was that they had brought dishonour upon their
nation by violating the rules of single combat. According to
Svend Aagesen it was this national disgrace which deprived
Uffo of speech until his thirtieth year.

When Wermundus had come to extreme old are the kin£
of Saxony sent an embassy to him demanding the surrender
of his kingdom. If he was to refuse and had a son capable
of fighting, then the matter was to be decided by a single
combat between the sons of the two kings. Wermundus, stung
by the insult and believing his son to be incapable of fighting,
said that though he was blind he would himself fight with the
king of Saxony rather than surrender. At this point however
Uffo opened his mouth for the first time after many years of
silence and said that not only was he willing to fight with the
son of the king of Saxony but, further, he was ready to let the
latter have a chosen warrior to help him. By this he hoped to
wipe out the disgrace which had been brought upon the Danish
nation by the act of Keto and Wigo.

The duel was then agreed upon and an island in the river
Eider selected as the place of combat. Great difficulty was
experienced in finding a sword and armour suited to Uffo's
enormous strength. When the time came Wermundus took
his stand upon a bridge, intending to throw himself into the
river as soon as he heard of his son's fall. Uffo, however, slew
first the Saxon prince's champion and then the prince himself,

1 In spite of what is said by Miillenhoff, Beovulf, p. 79, I am disposed to think
that Wermund's title hinn vitri may be derived from this episode.

124 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

and obtained the kingdom of Saxony as the prize of victory.
Of his later history Saxo has nothing to record.

The resemblance between the latter part of this story and
the beginning of the Life of Offa the First is so striking that
it is impossible to doubt that the two accounts refer to the
same events. In one story we have an old king named
Warmundus (Wermund in the genealogy) with an only son
named Offa ; in the other an old king named Wermundus with
an only son named Uffo. In both stories the son is dumb
or at least silent until his thirtieth year ; and in both he obtains
or recovers his speech on the occasion of an attempt to wrest
the kingdom from his family. Lastly, in both stories the king's
son engages single-handed and overthrows two of his enemies
in the neighbourhood of a river.

On the other hand there are certain discrepancies between
the two accounts which must not be lost sight of. In one
story the adversaries of the king are rebels ; in the other we
have an act of aggression by a foreign king. In one story the
event is decided by a pitched battle, in which Offa's single-
handed contest is merely an incident ; in the other there is
no mention of any fighting except the single combat. Lastly —
and this is by far the most important point — Warmundus and
Offa are represented as kings of the ' West Angles/ and all the
events related in connection with them take place in Britain,
while on the other hand Wermundus and Uffo are called kings
of the Danes, and the scene of Uffo's combat is laid on the
frontier of Slesvig and Holstein.

In regard to the last point we have already seen that, if the
evidence of the genealogies is to be trusted, Wermund and Offa
cannot have lived in Britain. Again, it is not to be overlooked
that, though Vigletus is represented by Saxo as king of Leire
(in Sjaelland), yet Wermundus himself and Uffo are never
mentioned in connection either with the islands or with Skaane.
Indeed all the places mentioned by name in their history,
namely Jsellinge (p. 108), Slesvig and the Eider, lie in the
southern half of the Jutish peninsula, i.e. in or near the district
which was believed by ancient English writers to have been the
former home of our nation. We must therefore take into

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 1 25

account the possibility that these persons may have come to be
regarded as kings of the Danes because they ruled over districts
which belonged to Denmark in later times. For it is by no
means inconceivable that when the Danes came into possession
of these districts, especially if possession was acquired in a
peaceful manner, they may have taken over the local traditions
with them. Moreover there is one point in the story given by
the Danish historians which distinctly favours this suggestion.
The name Wermundus appears in a form which is not Danish
but English or Frisian. It is true that in certain genealogies
(e.g. LangfeSgatal)1 the same person is called Vdrmundr, which
is a true Scandinavian form. But the fact that Saxo and Svend
Aagesen (together with other genealogies, e.g. Flateyiarbok, I. 27)
call him Wermundus or Vermundr- surely goes to show that the
form of the story known to them had been derived from a source
which was not Danish.

It has been thought by some writers3 that, since the form

1 Langebek, Script. Rer. Dan. 1. p. 5.

2 According to Olrik, Ark.f. nord. Fi/ologi, vm. 370, the latter is really a case
of the substitution of a well-known name for one that was uncommon. His explana-
tion of Wermundus however is open to the objection that there is no satisfactory
evidence for believing that wer- was an /-stem (cf. Frank, -uera beside -gtmdis,
-childis etc.).

3 Especially by Mullenhoff, Beovulf, p. 72 ff., 80 ff. His reasons, though not very
clearly expressed, appear to have been as follows: (1) that Vermundr and Uffi,
probably also Frovinus, Vigi, Keto and Viglet, are not Danish names; (2) that the
story is unknown in Old Norse literature and in the Annales Lundenses ; (3) that
Saxo's use of prose throughout shows that he had no Danish poems at his disposal.
All these arguments seem to me to be of an inconclusive character. In regard to (1)
I am not prepared to grant that the fact of a name occurring only once points to its
being derived from a foreign source. If such a principle were applied to Anglo-Saxon
history many well-authenticated names would have to be ruled out. As a matter of
fact Mullenhoff 's statement as to the non-occurrence of the name Uffi (Uffo) elsewhere
is incorrect (cf. Saxo, p. 27 ff.). But in any case, even if none of these names are
Danish, they need not have been obtained from England. (2) It is to be remembered
that the southern part of the Jutish peninsula, with which this story deals, is seldom
mentioned in Old Norse literature. Again, we shall see later that the time to which
it refers is in all probability the fourth century, a period practically beyond the
horizon of Norse tradition. The silence of such authorities is therefore only what
might be expected. Yet there is really no doubt that Vermundr was mentioned in
Skioldunga Saga (cf. p. 150). As for the Ann. Lundenses the amount of space which
they give to tradition is quite small. (3) If Saxo's use of verse is to be the test of the

126 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

Wermundus is English rather than Danish the story of these
kings must have been acquired by the Danes in England at
a time subsequent to the first Danish invasions of this country.
But the forms of the other names which occur in the story as
told by Saxo and Svend Aagesen are altogether against this
supposition. Thus against Offa we have Uffo, which is clearly

genuineness of a tradition we shall have to exclude the stories of Scioldus, of
Hotherus and Balderus, of Hithinus and H^ginus, of Regnerus (Lodbrog) and many
others as of non- Scandinavian origin.

It is to be observed that the Danish authorities differ a good deal among
themselves as to the place in the genealogy at which Wermundus and Uffo are
inserted and as to the presence or absence of Vigletus. Some again substitute a name
Olauns (O/a/r) for Uffo. These variations count strongly against the supposition that
the story was derived through literary channels in late times. Miillenhoff distinguished
two strata in the formation of Saxo's story. He held that the introduction of
Vigletus was due to a late and literary borrowing, while the story of Wermundus and
Uffo themselves was acquired orally at a much earlier date. To which of these strata
the names Frowinus, Keto, Wigo, Folco and Athislus belong he seems not to have
explained (though the assumption that the last named must be identical with the
Athislus of the story of Roluo appears to be quite groundless). In any case the form
of the story acquired by the Danes must, as Miillenhoff himself admitted (p. 83), have
been of an entirely different character from that given in the Vita Offae I. This is
shown by the absence of any reference to Britain. Of the personal names given in
the Vita only two (Wermundus and Uffo) occur in the Danish accounts. Again, of
the eight personal names which occur in the latter two (Keto and Folco) are unknown
in England, while three (Vigletus, Frowinus and Wigo) appear only in the
genealogies. There is no evidence for the survival of traditions concerning any of
these persons in England. Indeed from the scarcity of literary references and the
frequence of scribal errors in the spelling of proper names (e.g. Wala, Henden,
Hnnferdr, Geomor, perhaps also Gar?nund, Saeferct) it seems to me very doubtful
whether the old traditions were at all clearly remembered in England, even in the
tenth century. Lastly, if the Danes were not acquainted with the story of Offa
before they came here, how could they know that it referred to their own country?
It is incredible, for instance, that the expression bi Fifeldore could have conveyed any
geographical meaning to an Englishman of the tenth century. How many place-
names capable of identification are to be found in Beowulf? Indeed, if the Danes
were not acquainted with the story previously, the sole ground, so far as I can see, for
their annexing it was the use of the name Angel. But in that case it is not a little
remarkable that this name does not occur in any of the Danish versions of the story.
If Mullenhoff's hypothesis were correct — if the stories of the kings of Angel, after
being entirely forgotten, had been brought back from Britain and naturalised as
popular traditions in their old home, and if the scenes of the events recorded in them
had been identified, correctly too, by the inhabitants of later times — I think it is
hardly too much to say that we should be faced with one of the most extraordinary
phenomena in history. Cf. also the criticism by Olrik, I.e. p. 373 f.

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 127

another form of the same name ; but it is a form which is not
English but continental, especially Old Saxon. Again, Frowinus
is a continental form (Old Saxon, Frisian or Danish), the
English equivalent of which is Freawi?ie. But, above all, this
explanation entirely fails to account for the precise localisation
of several of the events related in the Danish version of the
story. Even the exact spot on which Uffo fought his single
combat was clearly known to Saxo, although he does not give
its name; for in a later passage (XII. p. 402) he states that
Bjorn (Bero), the brother of King Eric Eiegod (1095 — 1103)
fortified " the island where Uffo the son of Wermundus fought
with two chosen champions of the Saxon nation." This fortress
is said to have been built on the island on which the old part of
Rendsburg stands1.

On the other hand we must not suppose that the story was
first learnt by the people of England from the Danish invaders
of this country2. In the first place the earliest texts of the
genealogy in which the names Wermund and Offa occur date
from a period in which Danish influence is extremely improbable.
The oldest extant MS. (Cott. Vesp. B. 6, fol. 108 f; cp. p. 42), which
is itself by no means the archetype, was written apparently
between 810 and 814, i.e. at a time subsequent indeed to the
first incursions of Scandinavian pirates but long anterior to the
first real settlement of Danes in this country. Beyond this
however we have certain references to a person or persons named
Offa in ancient English poems. It will be convenient therefore
at this point to take the evidence of these poems into account.

The first reference occurs in the poem Widsith, 1. 3^ ff. It

1 Cf. Miillenhoff, op. fit., p. 79. In the Chronicle of I'eter Olaus the scene of the
combat is said to have been a place called Kunungskamp. This is probably the same
as Kampen, the old name of a parish in the outskirts of the same town (cf. Langebek,
Script. Rer. Dan. I. p. 152 note). Possibly, after Saxo's time, the scene of the
action may have been shifted to this place in local tradition owing to its name.

2 Of course it is by no means impossible that the story may have been affected
subsequently by Danish influence. If Danes from the neighbourhood of Slesvig,
familiar with the traditions of their own land, became acquainted with the story of
Offa in England, they could hardly fail to recognise the substantial identity of the two
accounts. Syncretism might then follow not unnaturally. It is perhaps worth noting
that one of the rebels slain by Offa bears a specifically Danish name {Sue no). On the
whole, however, the evidence for such a connection is very slight.

128 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

comes at the end of a long list of nations or dynasties together
with the chiefs who governed them, the formula employed being
'A. ruled over B.' Many of these chiefs are mentioned elsewhere
in the poems, as well as in continental and Scandinavian
historical works and traditions. The list ends as follows : " Offa
ruled over Angel, Alewih over the Danes. He was the bravest
of all these men ; yet he did not prevail over (or surpass) Offa in
heroism. But Offa at a time earlier than any other man, even
when he was a boy, won the greatest of kingdoms. No one of
like age has ever performed a more heroic deed. With his own
sword alone he fixed (or enlarged) his frontier against the
Myrgingas at Fifeldor. The boundary gained by Offa has been
retained ever since by the Engle and the Swaefe."

From the statement that Offa won, single-handed, " the
greatest of kingdoms " we can hardly doubt that this person is
identical with the Uffo of the Danish historians, and consequently
also with the earlier Offa of the Vitae. But here we find it
definitely stated that he ruled over Angel, while it is distinctly
implied by the context that he was not king of the Danes. The
argument therefore derived from the topography of Saxo's story
is fully confirmed by this passage. Another point which deserves
to be noticed is that Offa's opponents are here described as
Myrgingas, a name which, as it is not known outside this poem,
ought probably to be regarded as dynastic rather than national.
In 1. 44 we find mention of the Swaefe beside the Engle, but
unfortunately it is not clear from the context whether the two
nations are represented as opponents or allies. To the Saxons
there is no reference at all. Hence we are not in a position to
decide whether Saxo's use of the names Saxones and Saxonia
in this story is in accordance with ancient tradition. In Svend
Aagesen's account the opponent of Wermundus and Uffo is
described as Imperator, i.e. the Holy Roman Emperor, while his
people are called Allemanni. Again, the only place-name given
by the poem in this passage is bi Fifeldore, and it is tempting
to connect this form with the name of the river Eider {Egidora)1.

1 It has been thought that there is a reference to the same river in the portam
quae Wieglesdor (v. 1. Heggedor) uocatur (Thietmari Chron., III. 4) ; cf. Grimm,
Teutonic Mythol.* (Engl. Transl.), p. 239.

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 129

But, however this may be, it is hardly reasonable to expect that
names of places would be faithfully preserved in the traditions
of a people who had migrated over the sea.

It is curious that in one respect the evidence of the poem
conflicts both with the Vita and with the Danish accounts of the
story. According to both the latter authorities Offa (Uffo) was
in his thirtieth year when he began to speak, and the combat
immediately followed. Yet the poem lays stress on the early
age at which Offa fought. Now, though we have no means what-
ever of dating the composition of the poem1, there is no doubt
that it is some centuries older than any of the other authorities.
Consequently if we accept its statement as to Offa's age we shall
have to suppose that the Vita and the Danish accounts have
a common mistake. This is the one point which might be
thought to indicate a connection, whether through writings or
tradition, between the two versions of the story2. But I doubt
whether such an inference on this ground alone would be
justifiable. The mistake, if mistake it be, is one which might
have arisen independently in the two traditions. One possible
explanation is that the expression originally used in the recitation
of the story3 was \ritig missera (i.e. fifteen years)4. This would

1 I do not see how the substance of these poems can date from later than the end
of the sixth century. No doubt they underwent a considerable amount of change in
later times ; but, except in a very small number of cases, it seems to me futile to try
to separate the different elements.

2 If there really is a connection it is only natural to suppose, since Widsith is an
English poem, that the later English version has been influenced by the Danish
(cf. p. 127, note). The opposite view was taken by Suchier {I.e., p. 505), but I do
not understand on what ground. The other coincidence pointed out (somewhat
incorrectly) by this writer is surely accidental, viz. that Offa was blind till his seventh
year according to the Vita, while Uffo ceased to speak at the same age according to
the Chronicle of King Eric (Langebek, 1. 152).

3 It is often overlooked that these traditions were in all probability handed clown
according to a set form of words. The form was no doubt capable of modification or
expansion at the hands of each successive reciter; the method however differed in
principle from that which would be employed by persons of the present day.
Mr Quiggin informs me that this is still the case in Ireland, in spite of the fact
that metrical form is not used.

' It is perhaps worth noting that this is the age at which Skiiildr and Helgi
Hundingsbani are said to have fought their single combats ; cf. Saxo, p. 1 1 ; Helgakv.
Ilund., 1. 10.

C. Q

*3° THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

agree perfectly well with the statements of the poem ; and at
the same time it is a phrase which might very well be misunder-
stood in later times1.

The other reference which contains the name Offa is in
Beowulf, 1. 1 93 1 ff., a passage which unfortunately is one of the
most obscure and difficult in the whole of Anglo-Saxon literature.
The poet has been describing the virtues of Queen Hygd, the
Avife of Hygelac, king of the Gotar. Suddenly, without any
explanation, he proceeds as follows : " Thrytho, the haughty
queen of the nation, was of an arrogant and terribly malicious
•disposition. Not one of her retinue except her husband was
so courageous that he dared to gaze upon her openly, but he
regarded deadly bonds, hand-plaited, as certain for him. No
sooner was he seized than the sword was made ready, so that

the appointed time (or 'the weapon with decoration'?)

might decide the case (or 'show itself?) and proclaim deadly
destruction. That is no fitting habit for a lady to practise,
even though she be peerless, that a 'peace-weaver' should
deprive a friend of life from feigned indignation (?). At all

events this was by Heming's relative. Yet according to the

story told by warriors over their beer she desisted from malicious
acts of violence and from bringing destruction upon her
dependents from the time that she was given, adorned with
gold, in marriage to the young warrior — when she, the lady of
noble lineage, voyaged at her father's behest over the grey sea
to Offa's abode. There, in the seat of authority, she acquired
a reputation for virtue, which she retained ever after, making
good use of her position as long as she lived and preserving
constant affection for that prince of knights. But Offa himself
was the most illustrious, so far as my knowledge goes, of the
whole human race between the seas ; for he was a brave soldier,
honoured far and wide for his liberality and warlike prowess,
and governed his country wisely. From him was sprung Eomer,

1 In Scandinavian tradition the confusion would be especially easy, since the word
tnisseri was used, at all events in Old Norse, both for 'year' and 'half a year' (cf.
Cleasby-Vigfusson, s.v.). In Anglo-Saxon the word missere seems to be confined to
poetry, and even there, so far as I am aware, there is no evidence, apart from
Beowulf, that it denoted a definite period of time.

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 131

the relative of Heming and nephew (grandson?) of Garmund.
He (Eomer) was a man who supported knights and excelled
in deeds of valour."

This Offa, who is here described as " the most illustrious of
the whole human race," can hardly be any other than the person
mentioned in Widsith. For the catalogue of princes in the
latter poem seems to give in each case the name of that prince
who was the most famous in the traditions of his nation, without
regard to the age in which he lived. Thus in the case of the
Goths we find Eormenric and in the case of the Huns Aetla
(Attila). Consequently we may infer with some probability
that Offa was the most famous of the kings of Angel. Again,
in the passage from Beowulf quoted above Offa has a descendant
named Eomer {Geomor, MS.). This name, which is not a common
one in Anglo-Saxon literature, is borne by Offa's grandson in
the Mercian genealogy. It has been suggested also that
Garuiund is a mistake for Waermund, which would give still
further confirmation, if such is required, to the identity of the
two families. Our text of Beowulf is untrustworthy in regard
to the treatment of proper names, and the form Garmund is not
required for alliteration. I cannot find elsewhere any parallel
for the use of nefa as ' great-grandson/ which is the relationship
borne by Eomer to Wermund in the Mercian genealogy, but
I do not know that such use of the word is open to serious
objection1.

On the other hand the wife of this Offa bears an obvious
resemblance to the wife not indeed of the earlier but of the
later Offa of the Vitae2. In both cases the name is the same,
for Drida is a mere scribal corruption of Thrythu (Thrytho).
Both women are guilty of murder and both are sent from home
over the sea on account of their crimes, though the account
given in Beowulf does not suggest that this journey was of the
adventurous character described in the Vitae. Now we have
seen that there are no early authorities for the belief that the
wife of Offa, king of Mercia, was of the vicious disposition
attributed to her in the St Albans document. The obvious

1 Eomer might of course have had an uncle named Garmund.

2 For the story of the wife of Offa I. cf. Suchier, I.e., p. 512 ff.

9—2

132 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

inference therefore is that the wife of the earlier Offa has been
transferred in English tradition to the Mercian Offa. The
account of the murder of King Aethelberht given in the Vitae
may possibly be an echo of the murder described in Beowulf,
though in that case we must suppose that the incident on which
it is based took place before Offa's marriage.

The evidence of the two passages discussed above shows
that traditions concerning Offa had long been current in
England. It is of course impossible to estimate with certainty
the time at which these poems were composed ; but practically
all authorities agree in believing that they date from a period
anterior to the settlement of the Danes in this country. The
latest person mentioned in Widsith is Aelfvvine (Alboin), king
of the Langobardi, who died in 572-3, while the people who
figure in Beowulf belong to a somewhat earlier period. Now
we have seen (p. 18 f.) that there is no satisfactory evidence for
the maintenance of communication between England and
Denmark from the middle of the sixth century until the time
of the Danish invasions. Thus we are led to conclude that
the two traditions, English and Danish, have been preserved
independently since the sixth century at the latest. The fact
that certain legendary features, especially the dumbness or silence
of Offa, are common to both forms of the story would seem
to show that even then it had been in circulation for some
considerable time1.

The Danish tradition, especially as recorded by Saxo, gives
a number of statements for which we find no parallels in the
English documents discussed above. One or two of these are
worth subjecting to inspection. According to Saxo Wermundus
succeeded his father Vigletus. Now the latter is not a Danish
name ; indeed in the form in which it stands it can hardly
represent a Teutonic name at all. But the name borne by
Wermund's father in the Mercian genealogy, viz. Wihtlaeg, is
not very different. If we may suppose that Vigletus is a
corruption of Vitleg, which is by no means impossible, the two

1 Unless indeed these features in the later English form of the story are derived
entirely from Danish tradition — which I think is unlikely.

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 1 33

names will be identical. Here again, as in the case of Wer-
mundus, the Danes must have taken over with the local
traditions a name which did not conform to the sound-laws of
their own language. The statements which Saxo makes about
Vigletus, namely that he was king of Leire and that he over-
threw the Jutish king Amlethus, we have unfortunately no
means of testing.

There is however another element in Saxo's story which
is of greater importance for our purpose. He says that in the
reign of Wermund the governor of Slesvig was named Frowinus
and that this person had a son named Wigo. Now if we turn
to the West Saxon genealogy we find a father and son with
the same two names in English form, viz. Freawine and Wig,
in positions corresponding approximately to those held by
Wermund and Offa in the Mercian genealogy and lying, like
them, in the fourth and fifth generations from Woden. As both
these names are decidedly uncommon the coincidence can
hardly be accidental. Therefore, though no traditions have
been preserved in England with reference to these reputed
ancestors of the West Saxon dynasty, we need not hesitate to
identify them with the two governors of Slesvig whose exploits
are recorded by Saxo. It is rather curious to note that, ac-
cording to Aetheleweard, Sceaf, the mythical ancestor of the
same family, likewise ruled in Slesvig ; but one would hardly
be justified in laying much stress on this statement, as it is
unlikely that such a name would be preserved in English
tradition.

It appears then that by comparing the English and Danish
versions of the story of Offa we are able to confirm fully the
identification of the historical Angel with the Angel of tradition
adopted long ago by our early historians — and, further, to re-
construct with more or less probability the outlines of a series of
events which occurred at a very remote period of our national
history. For some elements in the story — the aggression against
King Wermund, the dumbness or silence of Offa and his subse-
quent victory over two opponents — we have what seems to be
independent testimony in the traditions of both nations. On the
other hand the story of Thrytho and her marriage with Offa

134 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

is known only from English sources1, while the reign of
Vigletus (Wihtlaeg) and the exploits of Frowinus and Wigo
are recorded only by Danish writers. Even in the last case
however we have corroborative evidence from the English side
as to the existence of such persons in an age apparently
corresponding to that of Wermund and Offa.

It still remains for us to make some attempt to fix the
period in which these persons lived. It is generally supposed
that we have no means of giving an answer to this question
except by counting the generations from Penda, the first person
in the Mercian genealogy whom we are able to date with
anything like precision. Now Offa lies in the eighth generation
above Penda ; so if, in accordance with the usual standard of
calculation, we allow thirty years for each generation, his birth
should be dated about 240 years before that of his descendant.
Therefore, if we are right in believing that Penda was born
about the beginning of the seventh century (cf. p. 16), Offa's
birth ought to be dated about the year 360. Again, if we apply
the same process to the West Saxon genealogy and assume that
Cerdic was born about the year 470, the birth^of Wig, his fourth
ancestor, will have to be dated about 350. But, for reasons
which have been sufficiently stated above, I cannot regard this
genealogy as trustworthy evidence.

I am inclined to think however that there is another possible
means of approaching this question. In Saxo's story an im-
portant part is played by a person named Athislus, who is
represented as a king of Sweden. Now, apart from Saxo,
Scandinavian tradition knows of no Swedish king of this name
except the ASils (Eadgils) who had dealings with Hrolfr Kraki
(Hrothwulf) and Biarki (Beowulf), and who lived apparently in
the early part of the sixth century. Moreover, though it would
not be wise perhaps to lay very much stress on this point,
Slesvig is not an obvious place for a king of Sweden to attack.
It is true that in the early years of the tenth century Swedish
princes do seem to have conquered and occupied a portion of

1 Miillenhoff (op. cit., p. 8 iff.) held that Hermuthruda, who in Saxo is the wife of
Amlethus, was originally identical with Thrytho. Into this question however we
need not enter here.

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 135

this district. But the original Sweden (Svealand) was a much
smaller kingdom than the Sweden of the tenth century and
consisted only of that part of it which lies farthest away from
Slesvig. At all events we may remember that Danish tradition
has made the kings of Angel into kings of the Danes. It is
scarcely impossible therefore that a person who is represented
as a king of Sweden may really have ruled over a different
nation.

Now, with the exception of the famous Swedish king
mentioned above, the only prince of this name known to us
from either English or Scandinavian tradition is the Eadgils
' lord of the Myrgingas ' who is mentioned in Widsith. Where
exactly the Myrgingas lived we are not told ; but, since it was
against them and their princes that Offa fought his combat,
we must conclude that they were near neighbours of the kings
of Angel. If the fight took place on the Eider, as the Danish
authorities say, the presumption is that their home was in
Holstein. In that case it is easy to see that Slesvig would be
the natural object of their attacks. Moreover there is another
point in the story on which this explanation throws light. Both
Saxo and Svend Aagesen lay stress on the disgrace which had
been brought upon Wermundus' nation by the slaying of
Athislus and on the removal of this disgrace by Uffo's achieve-
ment. If Athislus, as I have suggested, really belonged to the
same dynasty as Uffo's opponents, it is clear that the story
gains additional force.

The time at which Eadgils, lord of the Myrgingas, lived is
fortunately made clear by several passages in Widsith. The
poet states (I. 94) that he was in Eadgils' service and (1. 5 f{.)
that in company with Ealhhild, who was apparently either the
wife or a near relative of that prince1, he visited the court of
Eormenric, king of the Goths. Eormenric rewarded him for
his poetry with a valuable bracelet, which on his return home

1 The coincidence that Ealhhild's father bears the same name (Eadwine) as
Alboin's father (i.e. Audoin, king of the Langobardi) has led some writers to conclude
that the two must necessarily have been identical — a hypothesis which involves the
reconstruction of a considerable part of the poem. The name Eadwine occurs again
in 1. 1 17 in the same sentence as the name Wi\>-Myrginga.

I36 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

he gave to Eadgils (1. 90 ff.). It is clear then that Eadgils and
Eormenric were contemporaries. But we know from Ammianus
Marcellinus (xxxi. 3. 1) that the latter died about the year 370.
Jordanes (cap. 24) says that he was a hundred and ten years
old, but from another passage in the same author (cap. 22) it
appears that his predecessor, Geberic, was reigning about the
year 335. Consequently we can hardly go wrong in concluding
that Eadgils lived about the middle of the fourth century. If
our hypothesis is correct, Wermund was his contemporary, and
the date of Offa's fight will therefore fall into the latter half
of this century. It will be seen that this date agrees very well
with the calculations obtained from the srenealogfies.

The nationality of Offa's opponents is a question which it
is somewhat more difficult to decide. Their geographical
position is pretty clearly indicated by the Danish tradition.
The combat, as we have seen, is said to have taken place at
Rendsburg. Again, if we are right in believing that Athislus
belonged to the same nation, we may infer that their territories
extended as far as the Baltic, presumably in the neighbourhood
of Kiel, for the raids of this king are said to have been made
by sea. We may conclude then with some probability that the
territories of the nation corresponded roughly to those of the
Holtsati in later times, though the latter appear to have been
cut off from the Baltic by the Slavonic invasion. This however
does not settle the question of nationality. Saxo in his account
of the story uses the name Saxones throughout, but it is to
be observed that with him this is a comprehensive term for all
Teutonic peoples on the southern frontier of the Danes. Svend
Aagesen on the other hand uses the curious name Allemanni.
From the discrepancy between the two authors we are perhaps
justified in inferring that the nationality of Offa's enemies was
not clearly remembered by Danish tradition. In Widsith they
are called Myrgingas, but this, as we have seen, may be a
dynastic name. The only certainly national name, besides
Eug/e, which occurs in this passage is Swaefe ; but unfor-
tunately it is not clear from the context (cf. p. 128) that this
name refers to the king's enemies. It is possible that the
Suabi (Swaefe) might have been in alliance with the Angli.

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 1 37

But what, I think, we may with safety infer from the passage
is that the two were neighbouring tribes. Of course, so far as
this goes, the Suabi may have bordered on the Angli on the
north or west, as well as on the south. In a subsequent chapter
however we shall see that all those tribes which were un-
doubtedly included among the Suebi (Suabi) in ancient times
lay in or around the basin of the Elbe. It is decidedly probable
therefore that the Suabi of Widsith were situated on the
southern or south-western frontier of the Angli1. Hence there
is clearly a very good case, in the light of the Danish evidence,
for holding that Offa's enemies, the Myrgingas, really did belong
to the Suabi.

The significance of this passage in Widsith in regard to the
Suabi seems not to have been quite sufficiently appreciated by
modern writers. If we admit, as I think we are bound to do
in the light of the traditions given above, that the Angli came
from Angel, the evidence of Widsith places the existence of
a people named Suabi in the southern part of the peninsula
practically beyond doubt. Now in the last chapter we saw that
there are some traces of the presence of Suabi in the Nether-
lands. At the same time the silence of ancient writers gives
us good reason for supposing that their settlement in this region
did not take place before the ' migration period.' They can
hardly have made their way thither except by sea, for there
is no satisfactory evidence for the existence of Suebic tribes
in north-west Germany. Further, since the whole coast-line
as far as the mouth of the Elbe was certainly occupied by
non-Suebic tribes, we may conclude with every probability that
it was from the Suabi of Holstein that they were sprung. It
is a little surprising of course that these Suabi should have been
entirely forgotten by Danish tradition2. There are one or two
pieces of evidence however which are, I think, worth taking

1 Possibly a trace of their existence may be preserved in the place-name Schwabsted,
on the Treene, if this name really means Suaborum oppidum. In that case we may
probably regard it as a frontier settlement of the tribe; cf. H. Moller, Das altenglischt
Volkscpos, p. 26, note.

- The terms Svafa land and Svafa konwigr do occur in Old Norse (HelgakvtfSa
Hidrvarzsonar), but without precise indications as to the region to which they refer.

138 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

into consideration, though I would not attach any very great
importance to them. One is the use of the name Allemanni
in Svend Aagesen's account. The same name occurs in Saxo's
account of the reign of Scioldus (p. 12). Now it is quite incon-
ceivable that the Alamanni can ever have come into contact
with the Danes in these early times. But is it not possible that
the name Alamanni (Allemanni) may have been substituted
for Snabil For the Alamanni are sometimes called Suabi ;
indeed the expression Suauorum hoc est Alamannorum occurs
in Paulus Diaconus' Historia Langobardorum (ill. 18 ; cf. II. 15),
a work with which Saxo at least was familiar. The other possi-
bility is in regard to the king Athislus. We have suggested
above that this person really belonged not to Sweden but to
the Myrgingas. Is it not possible that in the native tradition
he was described as Szvcda kyning (or kuning)} If so the
Danes of later times might very well substitute Svea for a name
which they did not understand1. Of course if we admit both
these explanations we shall have to suppose that the story of
Offa was preserved in more than one form ; but that is only
what the evidence has already led us to believe-.

There is another passage in Widsith however which deserves
more attentive consideration. We are told that Ealhhild, a
princess of the Myrgingas, visited the court of Eormenric.
The object of her journey is not explained, but I think we
may conjecture with some probability that, like Hiltgunt in
the story of Walthari, she went there as a hostage, in accordance
with the custom described by Tacitus {Germ. 8). If so, Eadgils
must have been subject to Eormenric. Now it has been sug-
gested above (p. 114) that the North Suabi were identical with
the Heruli, and we know from Jordanes (cap. 23) that the latter
were conquered by Eormenric. It may perhaps be urged that
these Heruli lived in the south of Russia. The presence of
Heruli in this region however is attested only for a few years
(in the latter part of the third century), a fact which suggests

1 In medieval writings the confusion between the Swedes and the Suebi is not
uncommon; cf. Aethelweard, I. ad ami. 449 and the story quoted on p. 100 (where
Sweuia seems to mean Sweden).

2 Cf. Saxo, p. 117: hie (Uffo) a eo/nplnribics Olamts est dictus.

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 1 39

that they were merely a piratical band. Again, we hear of
Heruli in central Europe from the time of Attila onwards,
while at the end of the fifth century they had a powerful
kingdom, apparently in the basin of the Elbe. Jordanes how-
ever in another passage (cap. 3) states that the Heruli had
been expelled from their territories by the Danes1 — from which
we may infer that they lived originally in the north. Their
presence on the upper Elbe may therefore have been a result
of their expulsion from their own territories. It is true of
course that we do not know when the conflict between the
Danes and the Heruli took place. Procopius clearly knew of
no Herulian kingdom between the Warni and the Danes at
the beginning of the sixth century. On the other hand it is
difficult to believe that Jordanes was referring to an event
which had taken place more than a century before his own
time. But if we are right in identifying the Heruli with the
North Suabi, is there any serious objection to supposing that
their expulsion was due to some conflict which took place during
the fifth century?

In conclusion it will not be out of place to try for a moment
to form some idea as to when the Danes first settled in the
district about the Eider. According to what is usually thought
to be a genuine tradition2 the original Danish kingdom con-

1 The passage unfortunately is difficult to understand and in all probability corrupt :
Suelidi (v. 1. suethidi, snediti) cogniti (v. 1. cogent) in hoc genie reliquis corpore
eminentiores quamuis et Dani ex ipsoram stirpe progressi Herulos propriis sedibus
expulcrunt qui inter onines Scandzae naliones nomen sibi ob nimiam proceritatem
affectant praecipuum. It is often assumed (1) that suethidi is synonymous with
Suet nans, i.e. the Swedes (Svear) — although this supposition is very difficult to
reconcile with the context in which the passage occurs — and consequently that the
Danes were an offshoot of the Swedes ; (2) that the territories from which the Heruli
were expelled by the Danes were situated in the islands of the Belt or in the south of
Sweden. The hypothesis that the Danes were an offshoot of the Swedes receives
some support from certain passages in late Latin chronicles (Chron. Erici Regis,
Langebek, Scr. A'er. Dan. 1. p. 150; Ann. Esrom., ib. p. 223) which represent the
eponymous hero Dan as coming from Sweden ; but this story is not found either in
Saxo or in Old Norse literature. Evidence for believing that the Heruli ever inhabited
the islands or Sweden seems to be entirely wanting, for I do not see how the later
migration of the Heruli, described by Procopius {Goth. 11. 14 (.), can be regarded as
justifying this view.

2 For the references see Zeuss, op. cit. p. 509 f. The four islands specified do

140 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

sisted only of the islands of Sjaelland, Falster, Laaland and
Moen, which are said to have been known collectively as
Withesleth. Further, it is commonly believed that, whatever
may have been the case with Skaane, Jutland formed no part
of the Danish kingdom in early times. On the other hand
we have seen (p. 95) that there is evidence for South Jutland
being in possession of the Danes at the beginning of the eighth
century. Procopius' statement {Goth. II. 15) that the Heruli
passed through the ' tribes of the Danes ' (kavwv ra edvrj) before
they arrived at the sea on their way to ■ Thule,' points to their
occupation of some parts of the peninsula at the beginning of
the sixth century. The fact that Gregory of Tours (H. F. III. 3)
describes Hygelac (Chlochilaiciis) as rex Danorum shows at all
events that their name was familiar in the West shortly after
this time. Again, the use of the term Dene with reference to
Hnaef's men in Beow. 1090 suggests at least that the Danes
had some kind of footing on the peninsula, perhaps half a
century before the expedition of the Heruli. On the other
hand it may be argued that there is little or no evidence for
the use of the Danish language in the Eider district in early
times. Indeed, if we admit, as I think we must, that the
Danish version of the story of Offa was derived from local
tradition, it is clear that the language spoken in this district
was not Danish. The best, perhaps the only explanation of
these apparent discrepancies seems to be that the Danes who
settled in the basin of the Eider, whether in the fifth or only
in the seventh century, adopted the language of the natives1,
though at the same time without losing consciousness of their
own nationality. This hypothesis will also go far towards
explaining how the kings of Angel came to be regarded as
king's of the Danes.

seem to have formed one of the three main divisions of the kingdom for administrative
purposes. But the part of the story which relates to Dan is probably a late invention
(cf. the last note).

1 If the settlement took place as early as the fifth century it would scarcely be
necessary to suppose that there was a change of language. We shall see later that
there is no need for supposing the population of the eastern (Baltic) coast to have
changed.

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 141

But what was the native language ? At the present time
the language of the southern part of the province of Slesvig
is German and that of the northern part Danish, the boundary-
lying in the neighbourhood of Tonder and Flensborg, while
Frisian is spoken on the west coast between Tonder and Husum.
It is known however that within the last few centuries Danish
has encroached on Frisian, and German still more on both. In
the Middle Ages Danish was spoken on the east coast as far as
the Eckernforde Fiord, if not beyond, while on the west coast
Frisian extended at least to the Eider. The western part of
Holstein was German and the eastern part Slavonic, probably
as far as the Danish border. For early times however precise
evidence is wanting for all the linguistic boundaries. It is
commonly assumed that German is the native language of
Holstein. Yet if the Saxons of Holstein (Saxoues Transalbiani)
were really Saxons, and if the Saxons originally spoke an
Anglo-Frisian language, it is difficult to see how this can have
been the case. Our discussion, it is true, has led us to the
conclusion that they were really Suabi. But even so it does
not follow that their language was German, for they occupied
a more or less maritime district. Moreover the evidence of the
Merseburg glosses (cf. p. 96 f.) has to be taken into account,
though it may not be altogether conclusive on such a question
as this. Greater importance is probably to be attached to the
fact that from the time of Charlemagne onwards Holstein was
exposed to strong southern influence. The advancing of the
political frontier to the Eider would undoubtedly tend to
promote the extension of the German language. For all that
we know to the contrary it may not have been spoken beyond
the mouth of the Elbe, if so far, before this time.

Now we have seen that the personal names preserved in the
Danish version of the story of Offa give evidence for the
existence of a non-Danish language in the southern part of
the peninsula. This language however certainly resembled
English or Frisian rather than German, as may be seen e.g.
from the form Wermundus. If it was really Frisian we must
of course give up the idea that North Frisian was an immigrant
language. On the other hand we cannot place much confidence

I42 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

in the statement quoted by Bede that the land from which the

Angli came to Britain had remained uninhabited ever since a

statement which seems ultimately to be derived from a popular
tradition, preserved also in the Historia Brittonum, § 38 (cf. p.
41 f.). It is true that the names which we are discussing indicate
a form of language resembling Frisian rather than English.
But we have seen (p. 68 ff.) that the distinctive characteristics
of the English language originated apparently at a fairly late
period, at all events after the invasion of Britain. Hence the
language spoken in the home land may well have developed
on other lines. As against this again we have to remember
that, though the use of the name ' Frisian ' by the inhabitants
of the west coast points no doubt to a Frisian colonisation,
there is yet no record of such a movement either in literature
or tradition. On the whole, taking all the facts into account,
viz. (1) that the Angli, and hence presumably the English
language, originally came from this region, (2) that there is
no evidence for the use of the German language here in early
times, (3) that the personal names in the Danish story of Offa
show Frisian form, (4) that an Anglo-Frisian language is spoken
in the adjacent islands (cf. p. 99), where it is apparently indi-
genous, (5) that the Anglo-Frisian languages in their general
characteristics occupy a position intermediate between the
German and Scandinavian languages — it seems difficult to
resist the conclusion that, however much it may have been
affected by a Frisian colonisation, the North Frisian language
is in the main the native language of the southern part of the
peninsula, at all events on its western side.

The only linguistic evidence available for very early times is
that of a few short inscriptions found in the bog deposits at
Thorsbjserg and Nydam. To these we may perhaps add the
golden horn discovered at Gallehus in 1734, though this place
lies within the present Danish frontier. The inscription on the
horn is as follows : ek hlewagastiz holtiiigaz hortia tawicto, i.e. "I,
Hlewagastiz Holtingaz, made the horn." There are no dis-
tinctive dialectical characteristics. The most important of the
other inscriptions is one found on the chape of a sheath at
Thorsbjaerg : ozvl\u\ewaz \ niwaj (or ng)emariz. The first part

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL I43

is clearly a proper name with the first two letters transposed,
Wolthuthewaz. The second part is generally interpreted as
"famous in Wangaz" or "Wajaz"1 (presumably a place-name).
But in any case the -a- of mariz deserves notice. This sound-
change (a for e) seems to have been a characteristic of all Suebic
and Northern languages (including English) in early times, as
against the western (Frankish)2 and eastern (Gothic) branches
of the Teutonic group, which retained e. On the strength of
this we may perhaps describe the language of the inscriptions
as ' central Teutonic,' for certainly there are no characteristics
which in themselves would justify us in classifying it as Scan-
dinavian, English, Frisian or German. Indeed the form of
language which they show is clearly anterior to the operation
of most of the phonetic changes by which these various dialects
became differentiated from one another.

The dates fixed for the deposits at Thorsbjaerg and Nydam
by different archaeologists vary from the third century to the
first half of the fifth century, while the horn may possibly be
somewhat later. Now in an earlier chapter (pp. 62 ff., 68 ff.) we
came to the conclusion that most of the phonetic changes which
can be traced in the northern and western Teutonic languages
were probably not of any very great antiquity. In particular
the characteristics which distinguish the Anglo-Frisian group3
from both its northern and its southern neighbours seem to date
mainly from the sixth and seventh centuries. As this group
was essentially a maritime one and extended apparently along
the whole of the coast between the present frontiers of Denmark
and Belgium, we may naturally infer that its common character-
istics are due to communication by sea. There is no evidence
however for any serious navigation of the North Sea before

1 For the reading see v. Grienberger, Arkiv f. nord. Filologi, XIV. 116. The
same writer has elsewhere (Zeitschr. f. deutsche Philologie, XXXII. 290) proposed to
read ni -wajemariR, connecting the latter with Goth, wajamcrjan (cf. wailamers).

2 The change e > a did take place in Frankish, but not before the middle of the
sixth century, i.e. at a time when the reverse change had already begun in the Anglo-
Frisian languages (cp. p. 62).

3 Most of the changes peculiar to Scandinavian or German are generally believed
to be later than those of our group.

144 THE KINGS OF ANGEL [CHAP.

the last fifteen years of the third century1, and such specific
characteristics would certainly require a considerable time in
which to develope. Hence we need not hesitate to believe that
the language of the inscriptions was the direct ancestor of the
languages spoken in the same districts in later times. Of course
dialectical differences may already have been in existence ; but
they were probably slight and comparatively few in number.
Consequently, when we come to consider the nations of the
first two centuries the linguistic evidence of later times cannot
be regarded as a trustworthy criterion for determining their
affinities.

Before we leave the story of Offa it will not be out of place
to call attention for a moment to the singular neglect with which
these traditions have been treated by writers on constitutional
history. It is frequently assumed that the Anglo-Saxon peoples
were not subject to kingly government until after the invasion
of Britain. Yet the evidence given above leaves no room for
doubt that there had been kings in Angel for more than a cen-
tury before the invasion. Indeed if we accept Saxo's statements,
that Wermundus was an old man when his son was born and
that he was himself the son of King Vigletus (Wihtlaeg), the
dynasty is brought back probably to the very beginning of the
fourth century. Again, we have seen (p. 15 f.) that there is some
evidence for believing that a king named Icel reigned in the
central part of England during the fifth century. According to
the genealogy this man was the son of Eomer, who is described
in Beowulf (1. 1961 ff.) in language which seems to imply that he
also was a ruler. If our calculations are correct he must have
been born about 420, and it would therefore be in his lifetime
that the invasion of Britain took place. Of Eomer's father,
Angeltheow or Angengeat, we know nothing, but his grandfather
was King Offa whose career has been discussed above. The
history of the dynasty can therefore be traced with few breaks
from the period of contemporary documents back to the early

1 The first reference to the western expeditions of the Saxons goes back to the
year 286 (cf. p. 93). The Heruli are mentioned by Mamertinus a few years later;
cf. Zeuss, op. cit., p. 477 f.

VI] THE KINGS OF ANGEL 145

part of the fourth century. The evidence for the history of the
West Saxon dynasty is of a far less satisfactory character ; but
from what has been said it appears that this family claimed to
be descended from persons who held high office under King
Wermund. The relationship of these persons to the ancestors
of the Bernician dynasty has already been noted1.

We are thus forced to conclude that the prevailing notions
in regard to the origin of kingship in England are without
foundation. Just as the Goths and Franks were led into the
provinces of the Roman Empire by kings of their own national
dynasties, so we must suppose that the conquest and occupation
of Britain was carried out from the beginning under the leader-
ship of princes of the blood royal. It is true that Frowinus and
Wigo are described by Saxo only as praefecti; but we must
not infer from this that they were not of royal descent, for even
in historical times we not unfrequently find such titles applied
to near relatives of kings. Indeed the fact that all the English
dynasties seem to have traced their descent from the gods goes
to show that they claimed to have been of royal rank from the
beginning. Families possessing such rank may quite possibly
have been fairly numerous in ancient times. But this is a subject
to which we shall have to return later.

If we are right in believing that the Jutes of Britain came,
ultimately at least, from Jutland, we again have to deal with
a nation which according to tradition had been governed by
kings from ancient times. It will be sufficient here to mention
the dynasty of Horvvendillus, Fengo and Amlethus, whose
history is related by Saxo (pp. 85-106). The last of them
is said to have been defeated and slain by Vigletus, the father
of Wermundus. According to Saxo all these kings were more
or less dependent on the kings of Leire. The story, however,
presents considerable difficulties, into which it is not necessary
for us here to enter.

1 Freawine was the son of Frithugar, the son of Brand (cf. p. 60).

I46 THE EARLY KINGS OF THE DANES [CHAP.

NOTE. THE EARLY KINGS OF THE DANES.

In this chapter we have taken no account of traditions relating to strictly
Danish kings, as the chronology of the events recorded in these traditions
is too uncertain to afford any safe ground for inferences. It is possible
however that the English traditions themselves may throw some light on
Danish chronology.

In Beowulf we hear a good deal of a certain family of Danish kings, the
most important members of which seem to have been Healfdene (Halfdan),
his son Hrothgar (Hroarr), and Hrothwulf (Hrolfr Kraki) the nephew of
Hrothgar. According to the unanimous testimony of Scandinavian tradition
Hrolfr was reigning at the same time as Adds (Eadgils), who obtained the
Swedish throne some time after 520 (cf. p. 18). Healfdene, the grandfather,
was probably reigning about the middle of the fifth century. During the
time that these kings occupied the throne the history of the Danish kingdom
is comparatively well known. But both before and after the time specified
the greatest obscurity prevails.

In Beowulf Healfdene is said to have been the son of a king named
Beowulf, and the latter again is said to have succeeded his father Scyld.
But this Scyld, to whom we shall have to return later, seems really to be
a mythical person, the eponymous ancestor of the Danish royal family.
Beowulf himself, whether he is to be regarded as mythical or historical, is at
all events entirely unknown to Scandinavian tradition. In all forms of the
latter Halfdan is represented as the son of a king named Frodi. It is
conceivable of course that Frodi and Beowulf are different names for the
same person. Unfortunately however Scandinavian tradition has several
early Danish kings named Frodi, and the various authorities do not agree
as to which of them was Halfdan's father. All that can be said with
certainty is that Skioldunga Saga was wrong in identifying him with Frodi IV,
the father of Ingialldr (Ingeld).

Now in Widsith we find reference to two Danish kings, besides Hrothgar
and Hrothwulf. One of them, Alewih, has already been mentioned (p. 128). '
The other is referred to in 1. 28 : " Sigehere ruled the Sea-Danes for a very
long time." The name Sigehere (Sigarr) is quite rare both in Anglo-Saxon
and Old Norse literature. In Scandinavian tradition we find record of only one
Danish king of this name, and it is worth noting that Saxo represents him
as an old man when he was killed. His most famous act was the hanging
of Hagbardr, the lover of his daughter, Signy, an episode which is frequently
alluded to in old Norse poetry and described at length by Saxo (p. 231 ff.).
Most modern writers have accepted the identification of Sigehere with this
Sigarr. Curiously enough however it seems to have been generally inferred

VI] THE EARLY KINGS OF THE DANES 147

from the place which he occupies in Saxo's genealogy that he lived at a time
considerably after the kings of whom we have been speaking. If true this
would be a surprising fact, for we have otherwise no evidence for any
knowledge in England of Danish affairs subsequent to the time of Hrolfr.
Moreover it is to be remembered that for such a purpose as this Saxo's
genealogy is wholly untrustworthy. He makes Wermund and Offa live
considerably after Hrolfr, while on the other hand this Sigarr is made to
come long before Iarmericus (i.e. the Gothic king Eormenric).

As a matter of fact Scandinavian tradition points clearly to quite
a different date for Sigarr. Hagbardr is said to have had a brother
named Haki (Haco), who according to Yngl. S. 27 fought against the
Swedish king Iorundr, the great-great-grandfather of Adds. Of course the
genealogy of Ynglinga Saga cannot be regarded as historical beyond 6ttarr,
the father of Adds ; but we have no reason for believing that Iorundr really
belonged to a later period. Stronger evidence is afforded by the story of
Starkadr. The Danish kings with whom this warrior is associated by Saxo
are Haco, Sigarus, Frotho IV, his son Ingellus, and Olo1. In Old Norse
literature he is associated with Haki (Yngl. S. 25), while Ingialldr is generally
described in genealogies as Starkactar fostri, i.e. foster-son of Starkadr.
He is also said to have slain Ali, a Danish king reigning in Sweden (ib. 29).
In Beowulf, if we may assume that he is the ' old warrior ' {eald aescwiga) of
1. 2041 ff, we find him associated with Froda and his son Ingeld, who are
represented however as kings not of the Danes but of a people called
Heathobeardan. It is clear moreover from Beowulf that these two kings
were more or less contemporary with Hrothgar and Hrothwulf. Now Saxo
(like Beowulf) represents Starkadr as an old man in the time of Ingialldr
(Ingellus). On the other hand in his last speech at the feast {Rex Ingelle,
iiale, etc.) he says that he had served Haki in his earliest youth (p. 214).
This, it will be seen, agrees fully with Ynglinga Saga, which brings Haki into
connection with Iorundr, while Frodi is associated with Egill, the grandson
of Iorundr.

Haki is not represented by any of our authorities as actually king of the
Danes but as a sea-king or tyrannies. According to Saxo however he
overcame and slew the Danish king Sigarr in revenge for the death of his
brother Hagbardr. This episode must of course have preceded the Swedish
adventure in which Haki is said to have lost his life2. Now if Sigarr

1 This person is clearly the Ali of Yngl. S. 29, but Saxo has confused him with
another Ali (Anulo) who lived at the beginning of the ninth century. His Star-
catherus also seems to be made up of two distinct characters, who must have been
separated from one another by about three centuries.

4 Yngl. S. 25, 27. Saxo mentions this expedition twice (pp. 185 f . , 239),
apparently without realising that he is speaking of the same episode. Indeed the
sequence of events in his account of Starkafir's career is confused throughout. In
both cases he has substituted Ireland {Hibemia, Scotthorum patria) for Sweden. This

IO — 2

I48 THE EARLY KINGS OF THE DANES [CHAP.

occupied the same throne as Hrothgar and Hrothwulf, 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 Starkadr
had come into contact with Sigarr, we shall have to suppose that this king
lived until about the middle of the fifth century.

% Before we leave the history of Sigarr it is necessary unfortunately to
touch upon the story of Sigmundr the son of Volsungr. Sigmundr and all
his family are usually supposed to be either fictitious or mythical. I cannot
admit that any case has been made out for the latter supposition, opposed as
it is to the whole character and setting of the story. The one fact on which
it is based, namely that Sigmundr (or his son Sigurdr) is said to have
killed a dragon, cannot be regarded as conclusive, for similar incidents are
related of other persons, e.g. St. Romain1, whose existence there seems to be
no reason for doubting. On the other hand it cannot of course be denied
that Sigmundr and his family may be fictitious. But it is at all events worth
noticing that some of the traditions relating to them are of great antiquity.
The following points in particular deserve attention : (1) Sigmundr himself
and Sinfiotli figure in two of the Edda poems (Helgakvidur Hundingsbana)
which are admittedly free from German influence. They contain no reference
to Sigurdr, and all the action seems to lie in the southern Baltic. One of
them (Helgakv. II) is generally agreed to date from the Viking Age.
(2) Sigemund (Sigmundr) and Fitela (Sinfiotli) are also mentioned in
Beowulf ; but again there is no reference to Sigurdr. Here the question is
of course whether the episode in which they figure formed part of the old
stock of traditions brought by the Angli from their home in the Jutish
peninsula, or whether it was derived at a later time from German sources.
There are two strong reasons, I think, for holding to the former view, namely
(i) that Sigemund is represented as a maritime prince (1. 895 f.), and (ii) that
he is brought into association with Heremod who is clearly regarded as a
Danish prince. (3) The association between Sigemund and Heremod
(Hermodr) is found not only in Beowulf but also in Hyndluliod 22, where it
is stated that Othin gave a helmet and coat of mail to Hermodr and a sword
to Sigmundr (cf. Vols. S. 3). This fact distinctly suggests that the connec-

is one of the cases which show how unsafe it is to argue from references to the British
Isles that a given person or event must have belonged to the Viking Age.

1 Cf. Frazer, Lectures on the Early History of the Kingship, p. 186 ff.

2 Cf. Sievers, Verhandlungen d. k. siichs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, 1895,
p. 1 79 f. The same connection appears again, implicitly, in Hakonarmal 14, where
HermoiSr and Bragi perform the duty which in Eiriksmal is entrusted to Sigmundr
and Sinfiotli. As the former poem is modelled on the latter, this fact tells decidedly
against the view that the association of Hermo'Sr and Sigmundr is merely accidental.

VI] THE EARLY KINGS OF THE DANES I49

tion between the two names goes back to a time at which English and
Scandinavian tradition were in touch with one another, i.e. in all probability
not later than the first part of the sixth century.

This being so there is at all events a case for believing the story of
Sigmundr to have some foundation in fact. That no trace of either him or
his son Sigurdr is to be found in contemporary literature is only what might
be expected ; for, with the exception of Chlodio and the legendary Faramund,
we do not know the name of a single Frankish or Saxon prince of that time.
The date is of course given by Sigurdr's connection with the Burgundian king
Gunnarr (Gundicarius), who was reigning between 409 and 437. This, it
may be observed, is just the time at which we might expect to find a fighting
prince appearing both in Denmark and in the Netherlands.

Sigmundr is never represented actually as a Danish king, but he is said
to have resided in Denmark and to have married a Danish princess named
Borghildr (Frd. dauda Sinfiotla). By her he had two sons, Helgi (Hundings-
bani) and Hamundr. Now according to Saxo the father of Haki and
Hagbardr was called Hamundr (Hamundus). There is nothing actually to
prove that this is the same person, for the story of Sigmundr and his
family is unknown to Saxo. But according to a genealogy in the Flateyiarbok,
I. p. 25, Sigarr himself was the son of a certain Sigmundr, who was
brother to Siggeirr, the brother in law of our Sigmundr. Sigarr and Siggeirr
are mentioned together in Gudriinarkvida II. 16. Again in Volsunga S. 25
Brynhildr speaks of Haki and Hagbardr as most famous warriors, and
Gudrun replies that Sigarr has taken their sister — an incident we do not
know from other sources — and that they are slow to exact vengeance. The
passage therefore implies that Sigarr, Haki and Hagbardr were contempo-
raries of Sigurdr. These coincidences are too numerous to be accidental.
The least that can be inferred from them is that Sigmundr and his family
were closely associated with Sigarr and his contemporaries in Scandinavian
tradition. It needs no demonstration to see that Sigmundr's date agrees
well enough with that which we have obtained for Sigarr on quite different
grounds.

Heremod, as we have already noticed, is represented in Beowulf as a
Danish prince; but what is said of him is unfortunately far from clear1. He
had been endowed with strength above all men, but his disposition was so
savage that he slew even the members of his own household. For this
reason he was eventually betrayed into the hands of his enemies and expelled ;
yet many regretted his departure. The references to Hermodr in Old Norse
literature are extremely obscure, and we are never informed as to the nature

1 It seems to me somewhat hasty to conclude from Beow. 13 ff., 907 ff. and from
the expression Sceldwea Heremoding in the West Saxon genealogy that Heremod was
regarded as the predecessor of Scyld ; the identification of Heremod with Saxo's
Lotherus (the father of Scioldus) has been proposed (cf. Sievers, op. cit. p. 175 ff.),
but the resemblance between the two stories does not appear to me to be very striking.

i5o

THE EARLY KINGS OF THE DANES

[CHAP.

of his connection with Sigmundr. But since Borghildr, the wife of Sigmundr,
is said to have been a Danish princess it is by no means impossible that
Hermodr may have been related to her.

We must now return to the king Alewih who is mentioned in Widsith.
No Danish king of this name is recorded in Scandinavian tradition.
Consequently, if any reminiscence of him is preserved at all, he must have
been known under another name. The facts which we learn about him from
Widsith are that he was an exceptionally brave warrior, and perhaps that he
had an unsuccessful encounter with Offa. The translation of 1. 37 is
unfortunately somewhat doubtful ; but we may at least infer from it that
Alewih was brought into connection with Offa in some way or other.

Now it happens, as indeed we might naturally expect, that no Danish
king is mentioned in connection with Offa himself in Scandinavian tradition.
But there is an undoubtedly Danish king who is brought into connection
with Offa's family in the genealogies, namely the eponymous Danr, surnamed
the Proud (/linn mikilldti). This may best be seen by giving a comparative
table of the various genealogies, from Svend Aagesen, Saxo and the old
Langfedgatal (Langebek, Scr. Rer. Dan., 1. p. 1 ff.), together with two
genealogies contained in the Flateyiarbok, I, p. 26 f.

Svend Aagesen

Saxo

Langfedgatal

Frothi hin frdkni

(Vigletus)

Frode

Wermundus

Varmundr vitri hans sun

Uffi (Uffo)

Uffo

Olafr litillate hans sun,

Dan

Danr mikillate.

Flat. A.

Flat. B.

Frodi,

Frodi

Vermundr enn vitri,

hans

son

Vemundr enn vitri,

Olafr enn litillati,

hans

dott

ir Olof,

Danr enn mikillati,

hon var modir Froda ens fridsama.

Frodi enn fridsami.

Saxo says that Uffo was by some called Olauus (Olafr). Hence there is
substantial agreement between the first four lists, though it is to be observed
that Langfedgatal, our oldest authority, does not say that Danr was the son
of Olafr. On the other hand Danr is altogether omitted in Flat. B, while
Frodi enn Fridsami is made to be the son of a daughter of Vemundr
(Wermund) named Olof. The key to this apparent discrepancy is to be
found in Arngrim Jonsson's extracts from the lost Skidldunga Saga, cap. 4,
7, where it is stated that Danus II married Olufa, the daughter of Vermundus.
Taken together with Langfedgatal this notice would seem to show that
according to the earliest form of the tradition Danr was the brother-in-law
and successor of Olafr (Uffo).

VI] THE EARLY KINGS OF THE DANES 151

The account given of Dan II (Elatus uel Superbus) by Saxo and Svend
Aagesen appears to be merely an attempt to explain his surnames. The
Skioldunga Saga however evidently contained somewhat more definite
information. According to Arngrim, whose account here seems to be more
of a commentary on his text than a translation, Danus II held only Jutland
at the beginning of his reign, Sjaelland (Selandia1) being in the hands of a
king named Aleifus. Eventually however the latter was conquered by Danus.
Who this Aleifus was Arngrim had not been able to find out ; but the name
is clearly identical with Olafr — Olauus2. Consequently we need scarcely
hesitate to conclude that the incident in question was one of the familiar
cases of strife between brothers-in-law and that the king conquered by Danr
was no other than Offa.

But if so we have clearly some ground for suggesting the identity of Danr
with Alewih and for regarding the story of Skioldunga Saga as the Danish
version of the incident recorded in Widsith. It is to be observed that
Widsith does not say definitely that Offa conquered Alewih, and again
Arngrim does not say that Danus killed Aleifus. The two accounts therefore
are not wholly incompatible. The fact that the story is unknown to Saxo is
not necessarily fatal to its authenticity, for we have seen that Saxo's account
of Offa was derived in all probability from the neighbourhood of Rendsburg,
whereas it may safely be assumed that the story in Skioldunga Saga came
from a different quarter. Moreover there is another point worth noticing.
The name Alewih {Alwih) occurs in the Mercian royal family at a later time,
the person so called being a nephew of Penda. This fact suggests that the
Danish Alewih may have been connected with the royal house of Angel3 and
will be fully explained if he married Offa's sister.

One is naturally disposed to feel somewhat sceptical towards the suggestion
that Danr was really a historical person, for there is no doubt that in
Skioldunga Saga he figured as the eponymous hero from whom Denmark
derived its name4. But as a matter of fact it is by no means impossible that
the name Dani {Dene, Danir) did come into use about this time. At all
events we have no evidence for its existence in early times. In Roman

1 Originally perhaps the reference was not to Sjaelland (O. Norse Sehind) but to
the district which King Alfred calls Sillende (cf. p. 104 and note).

2 Arngrim (cap. 4, 7) has two kings named Aleifus, but his language seems to
imply that they were not distinguished in his text. What is said of the earlier Aleifus
[de Aleifo quidem memoratur quod nullum apparatum ab aulicis suis diuer sum habere
uoluit) seems really to be an explanation of the surname litilldti borne by Olafr ; cf.
Olrik, Aarb^gerf. nord. Oldkyndighed, 1892, p. 114, note 1.

3 Cf. Binz, Beitriige, xx. p. 169. The name does occur elsewhere, but it is of an
unusual type. There is no need to doubt the identity of the names Alewih (Alouuioh)
and Alwih. We have an exact parallel in B(e)aduwine and B(e)adwine.

4 Cf. Arngrim, cap. 7 ; Vngl. S. 20. In Saxo's History the eponymous hero is
Dan I. For Arngrim's Danus I it will be sufficient here to refer to Olrik, Aarbfger
f. nord. Oldkyndighed, 1894, p. i4of.

152 THE EARLY KINGS OF THE DANES [CHAP. VI

writings it first appears about the middle of the sixth century. Its occurrence
however in Beowulf, Widsith and English personal names necessitates our
placing its origin quite a century further back, and the name of the doubtless
historical Healfdene points to the same conclusion. Is it quite inconceivable
that it was originally a local name, perhaps that of the place from which
Alewih's family were sprung? It is worth noting that Skioldunga Saga
seems not to have attempted to bring Rigr, the father of Danr, into any sort
of relationship with the previous rulers of the nation. The original form of
the tradition as to his ancestry is by no means clear1 ; but it may have been"
to the effect that he was sprung from the god Heimdallr.

If these suggestions as to the reigns of Alewih and Sigehere are to be
accepted we shall be enabled to fill up a good deal of blank space in Danish
chronology, for Danr, like Sigehere, is said to have lived to a great age
(Yngl. S. 29). If he was a contemporary of Offa he may very well have
survived until the first or second decade of the fifth century, while Sigehere's
long reign can hardly have begun very much later. As to the relationship
between these early kings I do not think we are in a position to form a
definite opinion. All that can be said is that if Halfdan (Healfdene) was really
descended from Danr there can hardly have been more than one generation
(Frodi?) between them. Possibly then the Halfdanus of Skiold. S. gi. may
be identical with the Halfdanus of ib. 7.

1 Arngrim, I.e. ; Yngl. S., I.e.; Rigsmal, Pref. and str. 48 (with Bugge's note).

CHAPTER VII.

THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS.

Now that we have been able to form some idea as to the
situation of the home of the Angli in the centuries immediately
preceding the invasion of Britain, it will be convenient to con-
sider briefly the evidence for social and political organisation
during the period in question in order that we may obtain
a better understanding of the conditions under which the in-
vasion took place. Of course it is quite impossible in such
a work as the present to attempt anything like a thorough in-
vestigation of this subject. All that we can do here is, to
endeavour to ascertain a few of the more distinctive features
which characterised the society of the period.

For such an investigation our best guidance is clearly to be
found in native poems and traditions which refer to the age of
the invasion. These however may be supplemented from the
far richer stock of early Scandinavian tradition ; for it is clear
from Beowulf and Widsith that the Angli were in intimate
communication with the peoples of the Baltic. Such evidence
is certainly to be preferred to the statements of Tacitus and
other early Roman writers on the ancient Germani. In the first
place the information furnished by the latter was obtained, not
at the time of the invasion of Britain but at a period several
centuries earlier. Further, it is only natural to suppose that
these statements refer primarily to the Teutonic nations, on the
Rhine and Danube, with which the Romans themselves came
in contact. The connections of the Angli however must have
lain with the maritime or more northern half of the Teutonic
world, of which the Romans had little or no direct knowledge.

154 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

It is a widely, perhaps even generally, held opinion that the
form of national organisation which prevailed among the Anglo-
Angio-saxon Saxons when they invaded this country was of
a kind to which the term ' political ' ought not to
he applied — that in thi<; rnnnprfjon Y¥P should spenk rather of
' tribal ' organisation. By this is meant that the most potent
force which held society together was not any authority of
government, whether elective or hereditary, but the primary bond
of blood relationship. There was indeed a supreme authority,
namely the tribe itself, represented by an assembly of all free
tribesmen. This gathering served in time of war as the national
army (fyrd), while in peace it had the final voice in questions of
national importance. Again, between the tribe as a whole and
the village or township there existed an intermediate body, the
hundred, which had both military and administrative functions.
In the former case it united the fighting men of the villages in
a division of the national army. In the latter it was composed
of the same persons or their delegates, and served as a machine
for settling such matters as were not of sufficient importance
to come before the tribal assembly. These bodies however were
too unwieldy for dealing effectively with the rights and wrongs
of individual tribesmen. For protection the individual had to
rely on his kindred, which was not a mere aggregate of persons
varying from generation to generation according to marriage,
but a permanent body constituted by agnatic relationship. The
origin of the villages was bound up with such kindreds, and their
influence locally was all important. Indeed it was by them that
the invasion had been effected and the tribe itself was but an
aggregate of kindreds.

This representation of Anglo-Saxon society rests upon a string
of hypotheses not one of which is capable of proof. In the first
place we have no evidence for a national assembly apart from
the king's court. The largest division of the nation in connection
with which we hear of meetings was the shire, but we have
no reason for supposing that these meetings had any legis-
lative powers, much less the right of deciding such questions
as peace or war. There is no satisfactory evidence for believing
that the hundred existed, as a unit of local self-government,

VII J THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 155

before the tenth century, and none at all for referring it to a time
anterior to the reign of Alfred. Indeed there is nothing what-
ever to show that the principle of local self-government was
known to the Anglo-Saxons in early times. We may assume
no doubt that village communities always met together to settle
matters connected with agriculture etc. But the existence of
organised and responsible bodies, whether in the village or in
larger districts, is a different matter, and one which it is not wise
to take for granted against the silence of our authorities. Again,
the duties and rights of relatives are frequently mentioned in
connection with homicide ; but it is clear that such duties and
rights applied to cognates as well as agnates. For the kindred
as a definitely organised body we have no evidence. In cases
of homicide the list of persons affected would vary with each
individual case. Succession to property in land may have been
restricted to heirs in the male line, though the evidence for this
view is only inferential and by no means conclusive. But that
villages were settled and occupied by kindreds is a most uncertain
inference from place-names in -ing, -inga ham, -inga tun, which
may very well be explained otherwise. Conclusions drawn from
the use of the word macgb are at least equally doubtful. This
word, it is true, denotes both ' kindred ' and ' nation.' In the
latter sense it is used to translate Bede's provincia, e.g. Bcornica
maeg\ (provincia Bemiciornni), East Engla maeg\ (provincia
Orientalinm Anglorum). We may infer no doubt that the word
originally conveyed the idea of blood-relationship. But we have
no justification on other grounds for supposing that the Berni-
cians and East Anglians were distinct tribes before they invaded
Britain. Two other explanations are at least equally possible.
Either the word may have lost its original significance in this
sense — with which we may compare the use of gens in Latin — or
it may have denoted primarily the royal family.

We are not by any means without information regarding the
system of government which prevailed among the Anglo-Saxons
in early times. But it is not of national assemblies or responsible
local bodies that we hear, but of kings and their officials. Every
one of the Teutonic states or tribes in Britain was under kingly
government. Frequently we find a number of kings in the same

156 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

state — sometimes several sub-kings under one supreme ruler,
sometimes, especially in Essex, Sussex, and the Hwicce, two or
more relatives reigning together, apparently on equal terms.
In those states which preserved traditions, whether genuine or
not, of their foundation, the institution of royalty is referred to
the first settlers ; in no case do we hear of a state coming into
existence without a king. The king or kings seem always to
have claimed descent from the original founder of the kingdom1.
Thus we are told by Bede, H. E. v. 24, that the whole of the
royal stock of Northumbria was descended from Ida. In the
Chronicle it is stated of more than one king (arm. 755, 784) that
his direct paternal ancestry {ryJitfaedrencyii) goes back to Cerdic.
The Kentish royal family were collectively known as Oiscingas
and the East Anglian royal family as Wuffingas, from early
kings named Oisc and Wuffa respectively. So far as we know,
no dynastic name was derived from an ancestor who lived before
the invasion2. The Mercian royal family claimed descent from
the kings of Angel, but the person from whom they took their
collective name must have lived in the latter part of the fifth
century. The probable reason for this restriction is that the
ancestors whose names they bore were those from whom they
derived their title to their territories, i.e. of course their territories
in Britain. Members of the royal family had special wergelds,
sixfold those of the higher nobility in Mercia. Again, so far as
our evidence goes, they seem to have intermarried only with
other royal families. But whether the various royal families of
England really constituted a distinct caste we have scarcely
sufficient evidence to determine. At all events they probably
all claimed to be of divine descent.

The full description of the central authority in the Anglo-
Saxon state appears to have been ' the king and the \eod! The
meaning of the latter word seems to have been somewhat mis-

1 The only known exceptions, apart of course from foreign conquest, are Aelle
(of Northumbria), Harold II and probably Ceolwulf II. It is significant that in each
of these cases the kingdom practically came to an end with the usurper.

2 The West Saxons {Gewissi, Gewissae) claimed to be descended from an ancestor
named Gewis ; but this name is so obviously fictitious that it need scarcely be taken
into account. The same remark applies to the name Beornk in the Bernician
genealogy.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 1 57

understood by modern writers. It denotes not only ' people,'
' nation,' but also in particular the court or council of a king, as
in Beowulf, 11. 644, 1 23 1, 125 1, where we find it applied to
Hrothgar's court. When therefore we hear of the king and the
]>eod contracting an alliance with another kingdom (e.g. in the
Chronicle, ann. 823) or of a king being slain by his own }>eod
(ib. 794), there is no reason for doubting that the body meant is
the same which we find in charters confirming or supporting the
king's action by their signatures. On special occasions, e.g. at
religious festivals, coronations etc. we sometimes hear of the
presence of a large concourse of people ; but there is no evidence
whatever to show that such concourses had any voice in the
government, (it is clear from Bede's writings that the court
consisted roughly of two classes, which we may perhaps describe
as 'seniors' and 'juniors' {dngcfo and geogcft). The latter were
young warriors {milites, ministri) in constant attendance on the
king, while the former included persons of official position (earls
etc.) as well as milites emeriti who had already been rewarded
for their services with grants of land. Both classes alike no
doubt consisted in part of members of the royal family, and this
element may perhaps be regarded as the kernel of the \eod. But
there is no reason for supposing that the court was limited to
such persons or even to people drawn from within the king's
dominions. We find it stated of popular kings like Oswine
(H. E. III. 14) that young nobles were attracted to their service
from every quarter.

Again, if we turn to the question of local and provincial
government, we hear, even in the earliest West Saxon laws, of
earls (ealdormen), king's thegns or barons, land-owning nobles,
and especially reeves. The last word {gerefd) denotes both the
steward of a landowner and an official in the service of the king ;
but there seems not to have been any difference in kind between
the duties of the two classes. There is no evidence that either
was controlled by or responsible to any authority except their
masters. Indeed their service was so much of a personal nature
that according to Ine's Laws, cap. 63, if a nobleman changed his
place of abode, the reeve was one of the very few servants whom
he was allowed to take with him. That the baron was likewise

I58 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

bound to the king by personal service follows from the title
itself (cyninges Kegti, minister regis), which means no more than
' king's servant ' ; and even the earl is sometimes described as
a 'king's earl' (cyninges ealdormon)1. Indeed it appears that
with the exception of the king himself every individual in the
nation owed obedience to a lord. The latter was held re-
sponsible for the good behaviour of his dependents and in cases
of homicide was entitled to a payment for his man (manbot),
when the wergeld was paid to the relatives2. From the story of
Cynewulf's death in the Chronicle (ann. 755) it would seem that
the ties between lord and man equalled, if they did not exceed,
those of blood-relationship3. Evidence to the same effect is
given by Alfred's Laws, cap. 42, where an enumeration is given
of the cases in which it is permissible to use violence. Our
authorities give us no justification whatever for supposing that
this principle of allegiance was a growth of later times. It is
as prominent in the Laws of Ine (cap. 3, 21 — 24, 27, 39, 50, 70,
74, j6) as at any subsequent period.

The military organisation of the Anglo-Saxon period deserves

Military or- to be treated somewhat more in detail, especially

since there is scarcely any branch of the subject on

which a greater amount of misconception seems to prevail. It

is commonly assumed that there were at this time two different

1 Cf. Chron. 755, where Earl Osric is described as his aldormon, i.e. Cynewulf's
earl. In the preface to his laws Ine speaks of 'all my earls.' So in H.E. in. 24
the Northumbrian regents in Mercia are called principes regis non proprii.

2 Similarly, when a king was slain, a payment (cynebot) was required for his leode
or thegns, equal in amount to the wergeld proper.

3 Perhaps the true explanation of this phenomenon is that the bond of lord and
man was considered to be equivalent to that of father and son. In Cassiodorus,
Variarum iv. 2, we find Theodric, king of the Ostrogoths, writing to the king of the
Heruli as follows : per arma fieri posse filium grande inter gentes constat esse praeco-

ninm, quia non est digitus adoptari nisi qui fortissimus meretur agnosci et ideo

tnore gentium et conditione uirili filium te praesenti munere procreamus, ut competentet
per arma nascaris, qui bellicosus esse dignosceris etc. We may compare a passage
in the Chronicle, ann. 924, where it is stated that the king of the Scots and several
other rulers on their submission to Edward the Elder accepted him as ' father and lord '
(cf. also Beow. n 76). Possibly the use of the term maegburg in Beow. 2888 may
be explained in a similar way ; cf. the custom known as fostbrotf&ra lag in Old Norse
literature.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 1 59

kinds of troops, on the one hand the fyrd which was composed
mainly of ordinary freemen (ceorls) organised according to shires
and hundreds, and on the other the personal followers of the kings,
who formed a separate military class and could be called upon
on occasions when it was impossible or unnecessary to summon
the fyrd. Further, it is held that, owing to a continual deteriora-
tion in the condition of the peasantry, the fyrd tended to become
less and less efficient with the course of time, while the professional
military class was greatly extended in consequence of the Danish
wars. Every five hides were now expected to supply a fully
armed warrior for the king's service, and these warriors with their
followers now constituted the ordinary army, the fyrd being only
occasionally called out in later times. Now the only detailed
account of a fyrd which we possess is that of the Essex force
commanded by Earl Byrhtnoth, given in the poem on the battle
of Maldon. The backbone of this force clearly consisted of
a number of warriors, over twenty of whom are named, in the
personal service of the earl, and who in some cases at least were
men of very high birth. Indeed there is no indication that the
army contained any other element than these warriors and their
followers. Ninety years earlier the brief account given in the
Chronicle (ann. 905 A) of the Kentish disaster at ' the Holm ' at
least suggests a force of similar composition. Again, in the latter
part of the ninth century we frequently find such statements as
that Earl Osric fought mid Hamtunscire ; but there is no reason
for supposing that these forces were different from the one led
by Byrhtnoth. At all events it is clear from the Chronicle
(ann. 877, 894, 895) that the fyrd was a mounted force in
Alfred's time.

In earlier times we have very little evidence regarding military
affairs1. Penda's army in his last battle consisted of thirty

1 How far the armies of early times were mounted cannot be determined with
certainty. It was with a mounted force that Ecgfrith subdued the Picts (Eddius 19)
and it is difficult to believe that Edwin's and Penda's expeditions were carried out on
foot. Procopius [Goth. IV. 20) speaking of a much earlier period, says that horses
were unknown to the Angli ; but this is doubtless a great exaggeration. So far as the
statement contains any truth at all it may indicate a scarcity of horses as a result
of the invasion. That riding was known to the Angli in their old home is proved by
the deposits at Thorsbjivrg and Nydam.

l6o THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

legiones\ each under a dux regius, one of whom was a king of East
An^lia. In Bede's account of the battle of the Trent (H. E. IV. 22)
a Mercian comes is described as the dominus of certain soldiers,
from which we may probably infer that the relationship between
them was one of personal allegiance, as in later times. Still
more important is another passage in the same chapter, which
seems distinctly to imply that ceorls were not expected to take
an active part in warfare2. This is what the later system of
calling upon one man from every five hides practically amounted
to ; and as a matter of fact this system did not originate in the
Danish wars, for we find evidence for the same principle (one man
for six hides) from the very beginning of the ninth century (Cart. 1
Sax. 201). Hence we are led to infer that the fyrd of the
seventh and eighth centuries was really organised on very similar |
lines to the military forces of the tenth century. It is worth con-
sidering for a moment what number of men such a system would
supply. Taking the figures of the Tribal Hidage it would give
East Anglia an army of 5000 or 6000 men (according as the unit
was one of six or five hides) and Sussex an army of 1200 or 1400
men. Such a scheme would have enabled Penda, who had nearly
the whole of England in his hands, to put some 15000 or 20000
men into the field in addition to his Welsh allies. I cannot
believe that the armies of Bede's time really exceeded these
figures.

It is true of course that ceorls were liable to the duties of the!s

fyrd and in the Danish wars no doubt they did fight, especially I

among the burgware, though the specific mention of them in the

Chronicle, ann. 893 A3, seems to indicate that their fighting value ^

was not considered great. Their chief duties however, at allf

1 The constitution of these forces may perhaps be illustrated by the military.,
regulations attributed to Harold the Fair-haired in his Saga (Heimskr.), cap. 6{
(cf. Flat. 1. 570). Every earl had to furnish the king's army with sixty warriors at hisM
own expense and every hersir (baron) with twenty.

2 timuit se militem fuisse confiteri ; rusticum se potius et pan per em et propter ,

trie turn militibus adferendum in expeditionem se cum sui similibus uenisse testatus est.
The reference is to a king's thegn who had been captured by the Mercians.

3 It is not clear from the passage however that the people mentioned were really.,
soldiers. They may have been workmen engaged in the construction of the fort— I
a suggestion for which I have to thank Mr A. Mawer.

VII] THE AG . "of national migrations 161

„ it-
events 1JJ earlier times, may have consisted in making roads and

stockades and in carrying provisions to the actual fighters. From
the Northleoda Lagu, § 10, it seems probable that in the tenth
century a man who possessed five hides was generally expected
to possess a sword, helmet and coat of mail. Evidence to the
same effect is given by the regulations for heriots ; that of the
lower class of thegn is stated to be his horse, with its saddle, etc.,
and his weapons or, as an equivalent, 120 shillings. As the
horse was reckoned at only twenty-four shillings the weapons
must have been of considerable value1. A passage in Ine's Laws,
cap. 54, shows that the possession of swords and coats of mail
was not at all unusual even in the seventh century. But it must
not be assumed that the warrior sent by every five or six hides
was necessarily a landowner to this extent, i.e. a man of the
tzvelfhynde class (cf. p. Jj). Between the ceorlish and twelfhynde
classes there was another, the sixJiynde class, which may have
been very numerous in the seventh century, especially on royal
lands. It is likely enough that their equipment was as a rule
much inferior to that of the tzvelfJiynde class. But, however
this may be, we need scarcely doubt that the two classes between
them were sufficient to provide the requisite numbers.

The origin of the erroneous explanation of the fyrd is pro-
bably to be found in the fact that many writers have not
idequately realised the existence of classes intermediate between
:he ceorl and the king's thegn. The latter doubtless were a com-
paratively small class2, and it is very probable that not only the

1 There is no evidence, so far as I know, as to the value of arms in England
xcept in Ine 54, where the sword and coat of mail together appear to be reckoned at
o (or 40) sh. In the Lex Rib. 36 the figures are as follows: horse 12 sol. (ap-
arently gold solidi throughout), sword (with sheath?) 7 sol., coat of mail 12 sol.,
elmet 6 sol., shield and spear 2 sol. As the ox in the same passage is reckoned at

sol., the whole equipment of the warrior, apart from greaves, will be equivalent
> about 20 oxen. In Wessex 120 sh., the amount of the heriot we are discussing,
'as also the equivalent of 20 oxen. For the use of greaves in England there seems
) be little or no evidence, though the word (bangeberg) occurs in glossaries.

2 So far as I know, we have no means of forming an estimate. Bede, when
leaking of the thegns {milites) who accompanied the sons of Aethelfrith in their
<ile, uses the expression magna nobilium iuuentus (II. E. III. i, 3). I suspect
>wever that we ought to reckon in scores rather than in hundreds. Ilnaef appears

have had ty thegns with him (Finn 40). For the retinues of the kings of

C. II

162 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAI>.

young men at court but also those senior thegns wrio itoad married
and received grants of land, but were not actually reeves, did
serve as a special bodyguard to the king, distinct from the general
mass of the fyrd. But this is only an additional argument for
believing that in the latter also each man followed his own lord,
whether the latter was a king's reeve or not.

Our present concern however is not with the social and
social condi- military organisation of the seventh century but
m'igratic^n6 with that which prevailed at the time of the invasion

peno ' of Britain. The period during which this invasion

took place is generally known as the age of national migrations,
not of course because all Teutonic peoples were constantly
changing their habitations, but because such migratory movements
wen more frequent than usual at that time. It is well to note
at the cutset that we have no right to assume that the social
organisation of the period was essentially due to migratory
conditions. The fashion of speaking of the nations of this time
as undisciplined and leaderless hordes which wandered about at
random, seeking new habitations, is mainly due to exclusive
attention being paid to Roman sources of information. As
a matter of fact several Teutonic nations did not change their ,
abode at all, though they may have sent out expeditions from
time to time and perhaps enlarged their territories. The number
of nations whose migratory movements can be described as in
any way continuous is in reality quite small.

It is unfortunate that in English works on constitutional history
little account has generally been taken of the evidence afforded by
native tradition as to the social and political organisation of the
northern peoples during the age in which the invasion of Britain
took place. Yet the Anglo-Saxon poems contain a good deal of
information on this subject, and what they say is fully borne out
both by Scandinavian tradition and by notices in the works of
the few Roman writers who were really interested in the study of
Teutonic society. One point which comes out with sufficient
clearness is that kingly government was almost universal. Such

Norway cf. Saga Olafs kyrra, cap. 4 (Heimskr.). The number kept by King Olafr
Kyrri (1067 — 1093), two hundred and forty in all, was considered excessive.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 163

was the case with the Angli, Warni, Heruli, the Jutes, 'Frisians
and Danes, and probably all the communities of the Scandinavian
peninsula. No doubt the kingdoms were often small, and very
frequently there was a plurality of kings. Yet the fact remains
that, with the possible exception of the Old Saxons, all the
Teutonic peoples of the northern coasts were or had been
governed by members of certain definite royal families.

Beside the king we find mention also of the \eod\ but the
evidence at our disposal does not justify the supposition that this
differed in any way from the councils or courts of Anglo-Saxon
kiners. To national assemblies we have no reference at all.
Even in such a great national emergency as the defeat and
death of the king, when we might naturally expect to hear of
such a gathering, it is the queen who is represented as offering
to hand over the government and the treasury to a relative of the
late ruler (Beow. 2369 ff.). Again, when King Hygelac grants
Beowulf what may be regarded as a large earldom (7000 hides),
we hear nothing of any form of election ; but the grant, it should
be observed, is accompanied by the presentation of a sword —
a fact which seems clearly to imply that the recipient is to be
responsible to the king. As regards the composition of the
court we find both young warriors and veterans (gcogoft and
dngo¥>) as in Britain. It has been supposed1 that the retinues of
this period were drawn from a higher class than those of later
times ; but this requires to be proved. So far as I can see, there
is no reason for believing Hrothgar's thegns, such as Wulfgar,
Hunferth and Aeschere, to have been persons of a different
position from Edwin's thegns Lilla and Forthhere. There is no
dOubt that they were often drawn from beyond the king's
territories. This however is a question to which we shall have to
return later.

It has been mentioned above that according to the generally
accepted view the most potent influence in early Teutonic society
was that exercised by the kindred, and it is doubtless true that
for homicide within the kindred no compensation appears to
have been exacted. Indeed in many laws the slayer seems to be

1 Cf. Guilhiermoz, Essai sur T Origine de la Noblesse, p. 87.

II 2

164 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

liable to none but spiritual penalties1. Now it is surely clear
that for such a system as this to be the most potent influence in
society we must postulate the existence of some force which
would render the shedding of kindred blood a practical
impossibility. Yet as a matter of fact the slaying of relatives
seems to have been by no means an uncommon occurrence. In
the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the seventh century we find quite
a number of cases of princes who took up arms against their
relatives, sometimes with fatal results, or had to fly from their
homes in order to save their own lives2. The theory that the
sanctity of the bonds of kindred had been dissolved by the
influence of Christianity is scarcely an adequate explanation of
these facts ; at all events it will not hold good for such a case as
the slaying of Eowa by his brother Penda.

If we turn to the Scandinavian kingdoms we find the same
phenomenon ages before Christianity was known in those parts.
The descendants of Yngvifreyr in particular seem to have borne
as bad a character as the house of Pelops in regard to the shedding
of kindred blood. Brothers are slain by brothers (Yngl. S. 23, 24)
and in one case a father by his sons (ib. 17)3. Even in Beowulf
we find two cases in this family. In one a nephew meets with
his death in a struggle against his uncle ; in the second the same
uncle is slain by another nephew. -It is true that in the former
case the slaying was not done by the uncle's own hand. Yet he
is said to have entertained no thought of vengeance and even to
have granted to the slayer the spoils of his victim. The slayings
recorded in Ynglinga Saga are all said to have been perpetrated
by the relatives with their own hands. They may perhaps be
regarded as mythical ; but the existence of the legends is evidence
that such occurrences were not unknown.

Perhaps it may be urged that the history of the Swedish royal
family is exceptional, since they had had the curse of kindred
bloodshed {aettvig) laid upon them by the sorceress Huldr

1 Cf. Seebohm, Tribal Custom in Anglo-Saxon Law, pp. 164 f., 176, 241 f., 335 f.
But it is to be observed that vengeance on an uncle is not unknown (e.g. Saxo,
pp. 96, 218).

2 Cf. Bede, Hist. Eccl., 11. 15, 20, III. 14, 18, 22, iv. 26.

3 Cases of sacrifice are left out of account. In cap. 29 King Aun is said to have
sacrificed nine of his sons.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 1 65

(Yngl. S. 17). The Danish royal house appears in a more
favourable light in Beowulf. But it is very probable that the
HiorvarSr, through whose treacherous attack Hrolfr lost his life,
was no other than Heoroweard, his cousin, whether he was also
his brother-in-law or not. Moreover it has been suggested1 with
much probability that the Roricus whom Hrolfr himself slew
(Saxo, p. 62) was another of his cousins, Hrethric the son of
Hrothgar. Elsewhere Saxo has a number of cases of this kind
in connection with the Danish royal family (pp. 51, 217 f, 279,
301, 316), while in the time of Ivarr Vi'Sfadmi instances are
recorded by several Norse authorities (Yngl. S. 43, Skioldunga
S. 2 etc.). Again Saxo's account of the Jutish kings Horwendillus,
Fengo and Amlethus gives two cases, and further examples occur
in all versions of the story of Eormenric. Moreover such cases
are not confined to royal families. According to Beow. 587 f.,
1 167 f. Hunferth, a prominent member of the Danish court, had
slain his own brothers. This deed was a reproach to him,
but did not prevent him from being a trusted servant of King
Hrothgar.

In the light of this evidence I think we are justified in
doubting whether the sanctity attaching to blood-relationship —
except perhaps as between parent and child — was quite so great
as modern writers affirm it to have been. Family strife was
doubtless regarded with disapproval. The repugnance to shedding
the blood of a relative with one's own hand was especially strong,
as may be seen from the story of Cynewulf's death and Procopius'
account of the euthanasia practised by the Heruli2. Yet from
the examples given above this repugnance can hardly have been
so great as to justify us in regarding the sanctity of blood-
relationship as the dominant principle in society. It is very
seldom that we hear of supernatural agencies interfering to
avenge the shedding of kindred blood. The only case known to
me is in Saxo, p. 246, and it is perhaps not without significance
that the slaying here avenged is that of a uterine brother.

Examples of kings or other lords who were slain by their

1 Cf. Olrik, Danmarks Heltc-Digtning, p. 28 ff.

2 Goth. II. 14: £uY7ei>77 yap avrqi (the man who is to be killed) tov (povia. dvai

l66 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

personal followers are much less frequent. In Beowulf we do
not find a single case; for the story of Heremod can hardly be
interpreted in this way. In Ynglinga Saga no native kings
perish at the hands of their own men except two who are
sacrificed. In other sagas and even in Saxo1 examples are
difficult to find. It is in this respect indeed that early Teutonic
records show the strongest contrast both to Roman and medieval
history. The follower of a Teutonic king was expected to fight
till death in defence of his lord. When Cynewulf had been slain
by Cyneheard the king's men unanimously refused the terms
offered them by the latter and fought until all were killed except
a British hostage who was badly wounded. The same scene
was repeated when Earl Osric arrived with a superior force. Out
of all Cyneheard's band one man, a godson of the earl and
himself severely wounded, was the sole survivor. There is no
reason to doubt that the same principle prevailed in earlier
times. According to Hrolfs Saga Kraka, cap. 52, the whole of
Hrolfr's retinue perished when that king was slain. In Saxo's
account one man alone saved himself, but he did so in order to
avenge his lord. When Beowulf was killed by the dragon his
followers are upbraided in the most bitter language for having
failed to come to his rescue, and it is declared that their careers
have been irretrievably ruined by their cowardice. In earlier
times it was according to Tacitus {Germ. 14) regarded as
an everlasting disgrace that a comes should take to flight even
when his lord had fallen. Certainly it seems to have been
considered improper that he should come to terms with those
who had slain him — a fact which comes out with especial clearness
in the story of Cynewulf 's death. In Beowulf, for some
unexplained reason, the conduct of Hengest and his companions
in coming to terms with Finn after Hnaef's death receives no
censure. Yet the stipulation made by Hengest, that the Frisians
should not taunt them with their behaviour, speaks for itself, and
as a matter of fact Hnaef's death was subsequently avenged.

If our statement of the case is not exaggerated it is clear
that there cannot have been any more potent force in the society

1 Pp. ir, 184 (Gautreks S. 7), 265 (Yngl. S. 29). The two latter cases refer
to StarkacSr.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 167

of the time than the relationship of lord and man. This being
so it is worth while to examine the mutual obligations of the
two parties somewhat more closely. We have seen that the
follower was expected to fight till death on behalf of his lord
and to refuse to come to terms with his enemy. If the lord was
driven into exile his men were expected to follow him. Thus,
when Aethelfrith's sons fled before Edwin (H. E. III. 1), their
exile was shared by a large number of young nobles. Again,
when Chonodomarius king of the Alamanni was captured by
the Romans in the year 357, his comites to the number of two
hundred voluntarily gave themselves up in order to share his
captivity (Amm. Marc. XVI. 12. 60). We may probably assume
also that in general the thegn was supposed to place his services
at his lord's disposal. A considerable part of his time seems to
have been spent in his lord's company ; he shared his hearth and
joined him in hunting and other amusements (cf. Bede, H. E.
III. 14), while the evenings were spent largely in feasting and
drinking. We hear also of music and recitation (Beow. 89 ff.,
496 f, 1064 ff., 2108 ff. etc.; Wids. 103 ff., 135 ff. ; Deor 35 ff.), and
those members of the court who were poets seem to have received
liberal rewards for their services. The life of the German comites
in Tacitus' day appears to have been of a somewhat similar type,
though doubtless on a much less elaborate scale. Indeed we
find in Beowulf (11. 358 f, 613 ff., 921 f(. etc.) evidence for quite
a considerable amount of court etiquette. But in addition to
the services of daily life it appears that much at least of the
wealth which the knights acquired by exploits and expeditions
of their own was expected to be given up by them to their lords.
Thus Widsith gives up to his lord, Eadgils, prince of the
Myrgingas, the gold ring which had been presented to him
by Eormenric. Beowulf had received most valuable gifts from
King Hrothgar and his queen, from the former a golden standard,
a helmet, sword and coat of mail, from the latter a costly neck-
lace set with precious stones. All these he gave up to King
Hygelac and his wife when he returned home. Another of the
same king's knights slew the Swedish king Ongentheow and
took from him his coat of mail, sword and helmet, all of which
he presented to his lord. It was only as a gift from King Onela

1 68 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

that Weohstan received the spoils of Eanmund whom he himself
had slain.

On the other hand the lord also was expected to give treasure
to his men. It is for generosity even more than martial prowess
that kings are famed, as for example Eormenric, Guthhere
(Gundicarius) and Aelfwine (Alboin) in Widsith1. The standing
epithets of a king in poetry are words which signify 'giver of
treasure,' e.g. sincgifa, beaggifa, goldgifa, sinces brytta, beaga
brytta, goldwine. In addition to bracelets and other ornaments
we find mention of weapons and armour, especially swords,
helmets and coats of mail (Beow. 2868). It seems to have
been customary for a man to receive a sword from his lord when
he entered his service2 and also when he was promoted to some
higher office. For the former case we may compare the story
of Hiartuarus and Viggo in Saxo (p. 67); for the latter a good
instance has already been cited, viz. Beow. 2191 f{., where Beowulf
is granted a viceroyalty or earldom. At death it would seem to
have been the custom for some of these arms to be returned to
the giver as in Beow. 452 ff., where the hero asks King Hrothgar
to send his coat of mail to Hygelac, if the conflict on which he
was about to embark should prove fatal to him. There can be
little doubt that the rules for heriots which we find prevailing in
later times were an outgrowth, or more properly a regulation, of
this practice.

But beyond all this the lord was expected to provide his
follower with an endowment in land- when he reached a certain
age. ^ In Bede's time it must have been customary for the sons
of the nobles to enter the service of the king, or other members
of the royal family, at quite an early age ; for the endowment in

1 For the last of these cases cf. Paulus Diaconus, Hist. Lang. 1. 27.

2 Cf. Haralds Saga hins harfagra (Heimskr.), cap. 41, where Harold's acceptance
of a sword sent by Aethelstan is interpreted as an admission of vassalage. Still
more important is another passage in the same saga (cap. 8), which describes the
submission of Hrollaugr, king of Namdalen. Harold girds him with a sword and
shield and appoints him to be earl over the district which he had formerly ruled as
king. We may compare Cassiodorus, Far. iv. 2 (the continuation of the passage
quoted on p. 158, note), where Theodric, after adopting the king of the Heruli as his
' son,' states that he is presenting him with eqttos, enses, clypeos et reliqua histrumenta
bellorum.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 169

land was granted to them when they were about twenty-four or
twenty-five years old, and enabled them to marry1. A similar
state of things seems to have prevailed in the age to which the
poems refer. Widsith says that he gave the bracelet which he
had received from Eormenric to his lord Eadgils ' in requital of
his kindness because he had given me land, even my father's
estate.' Deor complains that the domain {JondriJit) which the
king had once given him has now been taken away and trans-
ferred to a rival poet. Beowulf's knights are told (1. 2885 ff.)
that in consequence of their cowardice their families will be
deprived of all the honours and rewards of court life and all the
pleasures of landed property. Scandinavian authorities give
evidence to the same effect. Saxo says that Biarco had been
rewarded by Roluo (Hrolfr Kraki) with bis senae gentes (p. 64),
while Ericus receives a centurionatus from Frotho (p. 144).
Sometimes these grants were on a large scale. Eofor, who
had slain the Swedish king Ongentheow, was rewarded by
Hygelac with his daughter's hand and with an incalculable
quantity (hund \usendd) of land and treasure (Beow. 2990 ff.).
Beowulf on his return from his exploits in Denmark receives
from the same king a grant of seven thousand hides — the
normal size of a large province in England during the eighth
century — together with a dwelling and princely authority
(ib. 1. 2196 f.).

In one of the examples quoted above the land granted is
said to have been formerly in the possession of the grantee's
father. A similar case occurs in Beowulf (1 2607 ff.), where
W'iglaf is said to have been presented by the king with the
dwelling place of their family {wicstede Waegnunidiiiga) together
with every public right in the same way as they had been enjoyed
by his father. It is to be observed that these estates are de-
scribed not as though they had passed from father to son in due
course of inheritance, but as grants received as a mark of favour
irom the king. Whether there were at this time any lands which
were heritable in ordinary course is a question that we have no
means of deciding. In later times there is a certain amount of
evidence which suggests that tenure of land for three generations
1 Hist. Abbatum, §§ 1, 8; Ep. ad Ecgb., § 1 1.

\yo THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

may have constituted a claim to permanent possession1. But
even if so we cannot tell how far such a custom goes back.

Certainly it deserves to be noted how in Anglo-Saxon poetry
the man who has lost his lord is represented as a homeless exile.
A good example occurs in The Wanderer, 1. 19 fY". : "Thus
homeless and often miserable, far from my kinsmen, I have had
to bind my heart in fetters ever since the grave closed over my
patrons2 — since I wandered away destitute over the sea amid
wintry gloom seeking in my grief the dwelling of some prince,
if far or near I could meet with one who would have regard to
me in his hall or console me in my friendlessness and treat me
kindly. He who experiences it knows what a cruel companion
anxiety is to one who has no kind guardians. He is confronted
not with gold rings but with homeless wanderings, not with the
good things of the earth but with his own chilled breast. He
calls to mind the men of the court and the treasure he used to
receive, and how in his youth he was continually feasted by his
patron. All his happiness has passed away." Then the poet goes
on to describe how with these sorrowful reflections sleep comes
over him and he dreams that he is again greeting his old master,
embracing him and kissing him and laying his head and hands
on his knee as in former days. Then he wakes again and
realises his forlorn state, as he gazes out on the wintry sea.
We may compare Beow. 3019 ff., where it is declared that when
the king's death becomes known, slaughter and exile will be the
fate of his followers.

Such passages as these seem to show not only that continued
pn^e^inn nfland depended on the goodwill of the lord who had
granted it, but also that on the latter's death all security was at
,an_ejicL- Evidence to the same effect is supplied by the fact that
after the adoption of Christianity new kings were in the habit of
reissuing the grants of their predecessors to churches. But, if
this view is correct, have we any reason for supposing that such
an expression as ivicstede Waegmitndinga means anything more
than the dwelling place which Waegmund and descendants of

1 Cf. Seehohm, op. cit., p. 525.

2 Most editors emend mine to minne (sing.), ' my patron.'

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 171

his had as a matter of fact occupied — without reference to the
terms of their occupation ?

It may perhaps be suggested that the poems deal only with
one phase of society, namely with the life of the courtier ; that
the bulk of the nation was but little influenced by the court, and
that the national life went on independently of the rise and fall
of princes. It is possible of course that there were landowners,
perhaps even wealthy landowners, who did not hold their estates
as grants from kings or their officials, though, as I have said
above, this is a subject on which we are entirely without evidence.
We find such persons described as hollar and boendr in Norway
during the ninth century, many of whom like Thorolfr of Mostr
in Eyrbyggia Saga seem to have been men of considerable
affluence ; but it is by no means certain that their ancestors had
not been royal officials. Indeed it is scarcely impossible that
some of them, especially the boendr of the Throndhjem fiord,
may have been of royal descent themselves. At a time when
the population of this fiord contained eight kings royal rank
must have been fairly common. Similarly we may note that
persons belonging to at least eight different families which
claimed royal or divine ancestry succeeded in establishing
kingdoms in Britain ; and it is hardly probable that these were
the only families of the kind which took part in the invasion.
This observation leads us to infer that royal families were com-
paratively numerous also in the land of the Angli and the
surrounding regions. Evidence to the same effect is given by
the not inconsiderable number of persons recorded in Widsith
as ruling over peoples or tribes which we do not know from
other sources. It is probable that all such families had lands of
their own, like the lond Brondinga mentioned in Beow. 521 ; but
we must not conclude from this that they were necessarily in-
dependent. Hnaef, one of the princes mentioned in Widsith s
catalogue, was according to Beow. 1069 a subject of the Danish
king Healfdene. In such cases it is likely enough that the right
of succeeding to the family estates was determined by the over-
lord. The Waegmundingas may quite possibly have been a
family in the same position.

What I cannot admit however is that in the total absence of

172 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

evidence we have any right to assume the existence of a national
organisation, independent of the king and his officials and
retainers. We hear nothing of a national assembly1 apart
from the king's court and nothing of a national army apart
from the king's knights and their retainers. Doubtless it was
customary for large gatherings to take place for religious
purposes ; but we have no evidence that such gatherings had
any voice in the government or in the appointment of kings or
officials. If the king was overthrown, unless some member of
the family contrived in one way or another to retrieve its fortunes,
the national organisation was liable to perish altogether. Such
was the case with the Rugii in 488 and with the Thuringi in 531.
Occasionally we find a victorious king keeping the territories of
a conquered dynasty as a separate province for some member of
his own family, as in the case of Kent or Deira. But such
arrangements were generally of short duration. As a rule we
may say that in early times the life of a nation hung together
with that of its native dynasty. If the latter was overthrown
the nation as a nation ceased to exist2. Therefore, if we ask
how it was that the Wanderer had no home to which he could
retire and live as a private person, the true answer seems to be
that not only his court office but his property and security too
were gone with his lord's death.

It fully accords with this ahsence of national organisation
that we find but little trace of any feeling-oL-patriotism^as we
understand it. The knights of the period seem to have been
ready enough to enter the service of foreign princes who were
rich and generous. When the Wanderer expresses a desire to
find far or near someone who will have regard to him in his hall
and treat him kindly, we may of course ascribe his eagerness
to the distressing circumstances in which he was placed. But
Beowulf's cowardly knights are told that even distant princes

1 Rembertus (Vita Anscharii, cap. 23 f.) speaks of a national assembly in Sweden;
but, as will be seen later, we must not assume the conditions of the ninth century to
have prevailed from the beginning even there.

2 The case of the Swedes (Svear) is a noteworthy exception, if we may trust the
story given in Yngl. S. 44 f. But this may have been due largely to the religious
importance of Upsala.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 1 73

will learn of their disgrace so that they will not again be able to
obtain service however far they go. Again Beowulf, as we have
seen, had a relative, perhaps a cousin, named Wiglaf, who was
in his service when he was king of the Gotar. But Wiglaf's
father, Weoxtan had been in the service of the Swedish King
Onela and had slain Eanmund who was under the protection of
Heardred, king of the Gdtar. If Weoxtan was really of Gotish
nationality, as seems to be implied by 1. 2607 f. (cf. 1. 2814 f.), he
must have been fighting against his own country, according to
our ideas, in this campaign. We have no reason for supposing
that such conduct was exceptional. Indeed it could come about
in this way that a father and son might be in opposite camps, as
in the German story of Hildibrand and Hadubrand. So late as
the seventh century the retinues of kings do not seem to have
been drawn exclusively from among their own subjects, for, as
we have already seen, Bede says that King Oswine's popularity
was so great that the noblest youths entered his service from
nearly every kingdom in Britain. It would even seem that
persons who had been given up to a foreign king as hostages
were expected to devote themselves in his service. Mention has
already been made of a British hostage who was severely
wounded in the fight that followed Cynevvulf's death. So
Waldhere, who had been given up to Attila in his childhood,
gained great renown as a warrior in the service of that king,
though eventually he stole away. We may also compare the
story of the god NiorGr and his children, which is surely founded
on conditions prevailing in human society.

It is true that Tacitus attributes feelings of patriotism to the
Germans of his day and even puts sentiments of this kind in the
mouth of German speakers. But it must not be assumed in such
a case as this that the same ideas prevailed in the migration
period as in the time of Tacitus. As a matter of fact however
there is some reason for suspecting that Tacitus may have
exaggerated the patriotism of the Germans. Large numbers of
them had entered the Roman service even in his own age, and
as time went on these numbers tended continually to increase.
Moreover these mercenaries were drawn by no means exclusively
from tribes which were under Roman suzerainty. Their influence

174 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

on later Roman history was very great. Persons of Teutonic
nationality, like Arbogastis, Stilico and Ricimer, succeeded in
obtaining high office in the Roman government ; Odoacer
transferred his command into an independent kingdom, while
allied or subject kings, such as Alaric and Alboin, alienated large
portions of Roman territory. The reception of Hengest and
Horsa by King Wyrtgeorn is a very similar case. In later times
we find analogies in the Scandinavian princes who entered the
service of Slavonic kings.

Indeed it can scarcely be doubted that this phenomenon was

of no little importance in the movements of the
tion from fourth, fifth and sixth centuries. There is one

class of legends in particular which hardly admits
of any other interpretation, namely those which trace the origin
of certain nations, the Goths and Gepidae, the Burgundians,
Langobardi and Suebi, to migrations from Scandinavia1. It has
rightly been objected against these legends that Sweden is not
a country which can have produced such enormous populations.
Moreover we find most of the said nations settled in the basins
of the Vistula, Oder or Elbe by the beginning of the Christian
era. Yet the existence of the legends requires explanation. It
seems to me that the difficulty largely disappears if we may
suppose that only a small but dominant element in the population
was of Scandinavian origin. We may note that the people who
followed Ibor and Aio were at first called not Langobardi but
VVinili. This name cannot be traced elsewhere ; but is it not
possible that it may have been that of a Scandinavian tribe or
family? Again, the Goths or a portion of them are sometimes
called Greuthungi {Grutungi, Triitungi) by early writers.
Ammianus Marcellinus (XXXT. 3. 1), indeed seems to apply this
name to the people under the immediate rule of Eormenric. But
one of the Scandinavian tribes mentioned by Jordanes (cap. 3)
is called Greotingi2, which can hardly be a different name. We
need not suppose that the introduction of this Scandinavian
element among Continental nations was always effected by

1 Cf. Jordanes, cap. 1, 4, 17; Vita S. Sigismundi ; Origo Gentis Langobardorum,
§ r; Paulus Diaconus, Hist. Lang., 1. 1. For the Suebi see p. 100.

2 Similar forms occur as place-names in later times.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 175

conquest. In the eighth and ninth centuries Vestfold and other
parts of Norway were in the hands of the Ynglingar, who
claimed descent from the ancient kings of Sweden. Yet hardly
any of the territories owned by this family had been acquired by
conquest. Vestfold itself and several other districts had come
into their hands through marriage.

But we are not entirely dependent on analogy for our
explanation of these legends. Several Scandinavian traditions
refer to similar events. According to Volsunga Saga, cap. i,
the origin of the kingdom of the Vdlsungar was as follows. A
certain prince named Sigi was banished on account of man-
slaughter. Accompanied by a retinue he departed from the
North and settled in Hunaland (Germany), where he married
into an influential family and eventually became a great king.
So in Hervarar Saga ok HeiSreks Konungs, cap. 8 ff., a Norwegian
prince named HeiSrekr escapes from his father's home, after
slaying his brother, and joins a band of pirates with whom he
acquires great renown for his bravery. He eventually comes to
ReiSgotaland1 and finds that the king, Haraldr, has to pay tribute
to two earls who have ravaged his territories. He conquers the
earls and receives the hand of the king's daughter together with
half the kingdom as a reward. Subsequently, in a time of
famine he attacks and offers up the king and his son as a sacrifice
to Othin and thus obtains possession of the whole kingdom. We
are reminded of the story of Telamon and Peleus and many
similar incidents in the Homeric age.

In sagas dealing with early times the leaders of such
expeditions seem usually if not always to have been persons
of royal birth. At a time when royal families were plentiful
and their territories consequently small this is only what might
be expected. Indeed it is not until the latter part of the ninth
century that we find persons of humbler origin, such as Askold
and Rollo (Gonguhrolfr) leading powerful expeditions and

1 In this saga ReiXgotaland seems to mean the land of the Ilrethgotan (on the
Vistula). It is conterminous with Hunaland (cap. 17), and both are said to have
been parts of Germany (cap. 20). Cf. Schiitte, Ark. f. nord. Filol. XXI. p. 37 f.
Elsewhere however the name is applied to Jutland.

176 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

forming settlements on their own account. In earlier times when
such persons had to fly their country they would presumably
try, like the Wanderer, to obtain the protection of some foreign
prince.

Stories of this kind are not confined to Scandinavian litera-
ture. Beowulf's father, Ecgtheow, had slain a prince named
Heatholaf belonging to a powerful family, the Wylfingas, who
threatened reprisals against the Gotar. He therefore had to
leave his country and betook himself to Hrothgar, king of the
Danes, who was able to effect a satisfactory settlement of the
vendetta. A still more interesting example occurs in another
Anglo-Saxon poem generally known as the 'Husband's Message.'
A prince who has had to leave his home in consequence of
a blood-feud sends to his wife a staff inscribed with Runic letters.
The messenger exhorts her, as soon as the spring is sufficiently
advanced for travelling, to take ship and sail southwards over
the sea to join her husband in his new home. He has now
overcome all his troubles and has horses and treasure in
abundance, all the pleasures of the banqueting hall and possessions
such as befit a man of his rank. The only thing needed to
complete his happiness is that his wife should join him in
accordance with the vows which they made together in days
gone by. We need scarcely doubt that the course of action here
taken by the husband was of frequent occurrence during the
migration period.

Of course I do not mean to suggest that the movements of
this period were confined to small bodies of

Invasions of . . .

the Roman adventurers. It is undeniable that national mi-

Empire.

grations on a large scale did take place. Indeed

between the fourth and the sixth centuries the territories of the

continental Teutonic nations, both individually and collectively*

underwent immense changes. Large tracts of country which

had formerly been Roman now became Teutonic, and almost

equally large tracts which had been Teutonic now became

Slavonic. In short there was a general movement towards the

south and west. But I doubt very much whether these

migrations were as a rule so continuous as is commonly stated.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 177

The reasons usually given for such movements are the growing
weakness of the Roman Empire and the pressure of population
in Germany1 which impelled the tribes of that country to be
constantly seeking wider and more fertile territories. But if it
is true, as I have tried to show, that the more northern tribes had
in general no national organisation except as the subjects of/
kings or kingly families and that their fighting forces were no/ /
national militia in the ordinary sense, but bodies of chosen
warriors attracted largely from other districts by the renown and
generosity of the kings, the second of these reasons cannot be 1
entirely correct. Again it is not only in the neighbourhood of the *
Roman frontiers that we hear of great national conflicts. Indeed \
those nations which penetrated first and farthest into the Roman
Empire, the Goths, Vandals, Suebi and Burgundians, were not /
those which had been neighbours of the Romans from the /
beginning. It would seem then that the impulse to these/
movements came largely from behind2.

Turning to individual cases we may note that when the
Franks invaded the Roman provinces on the lower Rhine in the
fourth century we are expressly told that they had been
expelled from their own territories by the Saxons. Similarly,
it was perhaps partly to avoid the Visigoths that the Vandals
crossed over into Africa. The Hunnish invasion brought about
a number of movements of this kind, among the most important
being that of the Visigoths into Moesia and that of the
Burgundians into Gaul. The last mentioned tribe must have
undertaken a considerable migration before this time ; but if we
may trust a tradition recorded by Jordanes, cap. 17, it is very
likely that this earlier movement was occasioned by an onslaught
of the Gepidae. It is true no doubt that the Visigoths, and
perhaps also the Langobardi at a later period, were in a state of
more or less continuous migration for a considerable number of
years. But these cases are probably due to exceptional cir-
cumstances— that of the Visigoths to the fact that they had

1 Cf. Paul. Diac, Hist. Lang., I. 1 f. It is likely enough that migrations were
sometimes occasioned by famine ; cf. Procopius, Vand., I. 3, 22.

2 Cf. Capitolinus, M. Anton. Philos., cap. 14: Victoualis et Alarcomannis cuncta
turbantibus, aliis etiam genlibus, quae pnlsae a superioribus barbaris fugerant, nisi
recipercntnr bcllum inferentibus. The reference is to the time of the Marcomannic war.

C 12

178 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

been expelled from their own territories by the Huns — and we
are in no way justified in regarding this restlessness as
representing the normal condition of Teutonic nations during
the period which we are discussing. Even the Burgundians in
the interval between their two migrations had a fixed frontier
with the Alamanni1.

As for the nations to pressure from which these migrations
"were due, some probably, like the Huns and Avars, were of
a truly migratory character. Others however seem to have been
striving not to change but to extend their territories. The
Prankish movement which forced the Visigoths to give up the
south of Gaul cannot fairly be described as a migration, and
there is no reason why we should assume that the attack of the
Gepidae on the Burgundians was of a different character. If we
turn back to an earlier period, we see that the Romans were too
ready to attribute migratory habits to Teutonic tribes. Genuine
migrations no doubt there were, such as that of the Marcomanni
into Bohemia. From the fact that in Tacitus' time the Chauci
were conterminous with the Chatti we may conclude that the
movement of the Angriuarii into the territories of the Bructeri
was a genuine migration ; but this may have been due to the
growing power of the Chauci. The Usipetes and Tencteri were
endeavouring in Caesar's time to migrate into Gaul owing to
pressure from the Suebi, but it is very doubtful if we are justified
in regarding the latter as migratory, in spite of Strabo's statements
(p. 290 f.). The fact that the Semnones possessed a sanctuary
of immemorial antiquity is surely evidence that, though they
may have enlarged their territories, they had not actually changed
them for a considerable period.

It may perhaps he argued that this extension of territories is
.itself evidence for the natural and spontaneous expansion of
iribes. But the evidence at our disposal scarcely bears this out ;
it points rather to the ambition of kings as the determining
cause. Theodberht in his letter to Justinian (cf. p. 97 f.) prides
himself on the subjugation of the Thuringi, the conquest of their
territories and the extinction of the native dynasty. So in
Beowulf, 1. 4ff., it is stated that Scyld deprived many dynasties

1 Cf. Amm. Marc. xvm. 2. 15.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 1 79

of their palaces and compelled all his neighbours to submit to
him and pay him tribute. It is perhaps not sufficiently recognised
how great was the extent of the power of some kings during the
migration period. The influence of Theodric the Ostrogoth
reached from Italy apparently both to the Aestii in the eastern
Baltic and to the Warni on the North Sea. Attila appears to
have had all the peoples of central Europe in subjection to him.
Still more important for us is the case of Eormenric. We are
told by Jordanes, cap. 23, that he had conquered the Aestii and
a number of tribes which apparently lived in eastern Germany
and southern Russia. In Widsith we find a princess of the
Myrgingas journeying to his court, and we have suggested above
(p. 138), that she went thither as a hostage. Tacitus {Germ. 8)
states that it was customary to demand girls of noble birth as
hostages, and similarly in VYaltharius, 1. 93 ff., we find Hiltgunt
as a hostage at the court of Attila. But the Myrgingas, as we
have seen, were neighbours of the Angli. The kingdom of the
Heruli, which was likewise overthrown by Eormenric, may have
been situated in the same direction (cf. p. 139). Consequently
we can hardly avoid concluding that the influence of this king
extended from the Black Sea to the southern part of the Jutish
peninsula. Yet this is not so surprising when we recall the case
of Maroboduus at a much earlier period. Since the Langobardi
are represented as revolting from him, his authority must at least
have reached from the Roman frontier on the Danube to near
the mouth of the Elbe.

Of course in many cases the supremacy wielded by these
kings amounted to nothing more than suzerainty. Tribute was
exacted and hostages taken from the subject nation. For the
rest however it continued to be governed by kings of its own
royal line. Such appears to have been the condition of the
Langobardi under the Heruli, while in the time of Eormenric
doubtless many nations were in the same position. The relations
of distant nations with Theodric were probably of a still looser
description. They seem to have been rather in the nature of an
alliance strengthened by the giving and receiving of presents on
both sides. But in other cases, where resistance was offered, the
subjection was of a much more severe character. Sometimes

12-

l8o THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

we find the national dynasty destroyed as when the Thuringi
were conquered by the Frankish Theodric or the Rugii by
Odoacer ; and we may infer with probability that the rest of the
population did not escape without considerable injury. Parallels
are even to be found for Ceadwalla's treatment of the Isle of
Wight ; for Tacitus speaks of the slaughter and enslaving of
whole nations, as in the cases of the Amsiuarii and the Bructeri
{Ann. XIII. 56, Germ. 33). It is intelligible therefore that when
the kings of a nation threatened by a powerful enemy had
determined on migration, few even of the poorest of their subjects
would have any desire to stay behind.

With regard to the motives entertained by the kings of
dominant nations our authorities give little support to the idea
that their aggressions were prompted by any solicitude for the
future expansion of the peoples they governed. So far as we
can trace the origin of these struggles, they appear to have arisen
out of military ambition, desire for the acquisition of wealth or
personal grievances. The war between the Langobardi and the
Gepidae seems to have been due to the fact that each king was
harbouring a claimant to the other's throne. According to
Paulus Diaconus {Hist. Lang., I. 20) the cause of the war between
the Heruli and the Langobardi was that the brother of the king
of the former had been murdered by a Langobardic princess.
Procopius tells a different story, to which we shall have to refer
shortly. The struggle between the Franks and the Thuringi is
said to have been brought about by an insult offered by Irminfrith
to the Frankish king Theodric. The invasion of the land of
the Warni by the Angli — the only Continental expedition which
we know of as undertaken by this nation after its settlement in
Britain — was due according to Procopius {Goth. IV. 20),
a contemporary authority, to a breach of promise to the English
king's sister. Again we are reminded of Homer. The expedition
which Agamemnon gathered together from all Greece is said to
have been due not to any irresistible impulse towards expansion
on the part of the Greeks, but to the king's desire to exact
vengeance for the abduction of his brother's wife.

The military followers of the kings were doubtless ready to
embark on war on any pretext, since they had everything to gain

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS l8l

thereby. Beowulf, even before he becomes king, promises that
if Hrothgar is attacked he will bring thousands of warriors to
his assistance (1. 1826 ff.). According to Procopius (ib. II. 14) the
war between the Heruli and the Langobardi was due solely to
the followers of the king of the former, who were unable to tolerate
a condition of peace for more than three years. There can be no
doubt that successful campaigns had considerable effect on the
conquering nation. With the acquisition of wealth, i.e. cattle,
slaves, treasure and especially arms, the king and his knights
were able to keep larger retinues. Thus the proportion of warriors
tended continually to increase, while the cultivation of the land
was left more and more to subject populations. Such may have
been the case with the Goths and Franks and perhaps to a certain
extent also with those tribes, presumably in western Germany,
from whom Tacitus derived his general impressions on the char-
acteristics of German society. But above all this condition of
things must have prevailed among the Angli, unless the evidence
of our early authorities on English society is entirely misleading.

The invasion of Britain appears to have been one of the
„. . exceptional cases of migrations on a large scale

The invasion -s ^ ==« °

of Britain. which were not due to external pressure. At all

events we have no evidence of such pressure, for the westward
movement of the Slavs does not seem to have actually reached
Angel, while English tradition contains little or no trace of hostility
to the Danes1. But the migration of the Angli is really ex-
ceptional in more than one respect. It is apparently the only case
of a very large migration across the open sea ; for the Vandals
only crossed the Straits of Gibraltar. The distance covered by
the Old Saxons, between the coast of Slesvig and the districts
about the Weser, was also considerably less, while the settlements
effected by the Suebi and Saxons in the Netherlands and northern
France seem to have been comparatively insignificant. Again,
it appears to have differed from other migratory movements,
except perhaps those of the Saxons, by having extended over a
considerable space of time. This cannot indeed actually be
proved, but besides being intrinsically probable it is stated in all

1 Except perhaps in Widsith, 1. 37 (cf. p. 1501".); but here the reference is to an
earlier period.

1 82 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

the accounts which we have of the invasion, whether from Welsh
or English sources.

But it must not be assumed that because the invasion
probably extended over a considerable time the process really
consisted of a long series of independent movements. However
heterogeneous the invaders may have been at the beginning
there is no semblance of probability in the supposition that each
kingdom owed its existence to the migration of a separate tribe.
We have seen that the royal family of Wessex claimed descent
from certain persons who were in the service of King Wermund,
the ancestor of the Mercian royal family. These persons again
were nearly related to the ancestors of the Bernician royal family.
Rather we must look for the origin of the various kingdoms in
bodies of warriors attached to certain families — at first probably
to individual princes — most of whom had taken part in the
invasion in the following of others and had only later established
their independence. Considering the great extent of country
occupied by the invaders it is likely enough that the first century
after the invasion was a period of disintegration.

To illustrate this it will be convenient to notice one or two
cases individually. That the Mercian kingdom, which was
originally situated in the upper part of the basin of the Trent,
was due to an independent invasion is clearly contrary to all
probability. Indeed, if we take into account (i) that a British
kingdom of Elmet, presumably in the south-west of Yorkshire,
existed until the seventh century, and (2) that according to the
Saxon Chronicle the districts to the west of the Chilterns were
British until the latter part of the sixth century — a story which
we have no valid reason for doubting — it is extremely improbable
that the Trent valley came into English hands much earlier.
So far as I know, it has never been doubted that the region of
the Hwicce was acquired by a movement from districts farther
to the east, which were already in English hands. The chronicle
states that it was first conquered by the West Saxons, in which
case the Hwiccian kingdom must have arisen through a subse-
quent division or secession. Is there any reason for supposing
that the Mercian kingdom had a different origin1 ? Again, we

1 The presumption is that it was acquired by a movement from Middle Anglia. As

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 1 83

should naturally expect East Anglia to have been one of the
first districts to be occupied by the invaders. But according to
a note in the Historia Brittonum, § 59, its first king was Wehha
(Guechan), the great-grandfather of Redwald, who is not likely
to have lived in the time of the invasion. We do not know the
source of this note, but the authority of §§ 57 — 65 is generally
good. May not East Anglia have broken away from a larger
kingdom, presumably at some time during the first half of the
sixth century? With somewhat greater confidence we may con-
jecture that the Bernician kingdom arose out of a movement
from more southern districts, presumably Deira. All our
authorities agree in attributing its foundation to Ida, whose
traditional date is 547. At such a time the idea of a fresh
invasion from over the sea is highly improbable and indeed is
not suggested by any early writer.

The character of the invasion in its initial stages may
perhaps most reasonably be conjectured from the analogy of the
Danish invasion which took place some four centuries later.
After a series of piratical and plundering expeditions, which
lasted for the greater part of a century, a large Danish army
arrived in the year 866. It was apparently under the command
of the sons of Lothbrok, who according to Scandinavian tradition Xj
had undertaken the expedition in order to avenge their father's . Vv
death. In the course of the next few years we hear of not less
than six kings besides a number of earls (eorlas) and barons
(holdas). There can be no doubt therefore that the invasion wasy \
carried out by a powerful and organised military force. We do
not know exactly what territories were in the hands of Loth-
brok's sons at this time, but it is difficult to believe that the
whole army can have been drawn from within their dominions.
As long as the sons of Lothbrok remained in command they
carried all before them. But when they had all died or returned
home the organisation of the invaders broke up at once into
two or more independent sections, which were subsequently
reduced in detail by the English.

there is no evidence for a separate dynasty in the latter, the two kingdoms may have
arisen out of a division between members of the same family.

184 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

It is likely enough that in its initial stages the invasion of
the Angli followed a very similar course. The successes of
Hengest and the booty which he had acquired may have
tempted princes of the royal house of Angel to undertake an
expedition to Britain at a very early date. At all events I
cannot believe that the invasion was effected without large and
more or less organised forces. Further, it seems scarcely credible
that these forces can have been drawn entirely from within the
territories of the Angli. Indeed it has often been remarked
that the whole of the modern province of Slesvig can hardly
have produced sufficient fighting men to effect the conquest of
Britain. But from what has been pointed out above with regard
to the constitution of the military forces of those times we need
not hesitate to believe that warriors were attracted to the
adventure from all the surrounding regions — just as in later
times William of Normandy was accompanied by knights from
Brittany, Flanders and elsewhere. Quite possibly even the
families which eventually succeeded in establishing kingdoms
may not all have been of English blood. The Angli however
doubtless formed the chief element in the invasion, while the
alien elements were not sufficiently strong individually to main-
tain themselves as distinct from the rest of the population. The
greater success obtained by the invaders as compared with the
Danes in later times was largely due no doubt to the absence of
opposition so resolute as that offered by King Alfred ; but their
own organisation also may not have fallen to pieces so quickly.
The later history of the two invasions was doubtless very
different. The Danes, failing to maintain themselves in a
position of ascendancy, seem not to have had their numbers
recruited very largely from their own country. On the other
hand we may well believe that the Angli, as soon as they had
secured a firm footing in Britain, attracted a considerable pro-
portion of their unwarlike population by promises of land and
cattle. Again there is no reason for supposing that the treatment
of the natives in the later invasion was on the whole anything
like so ruthless as it is said to have been in the former. Gildas
uses language which implies that, in some districts at least,
almost the whole population was exterminated, and I do not

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 1 85

think that what we know of the wars of this time justifies us in
doubting his statements.

We may conclude then, I think, that the exceptional features
noted above in connection with the migration of the Angli are
capable of explanation and that they in no way compel us to
assume a different organisation of society from what we find
represented in the poems. If we could recover the history of
the invasion I have no doubt that instead of leaderless hordes
united only by bonds of consanguinity we should find military
organisations similar to those which we see in the great Danish
invasion. The fact that so large a proportion of the population
took part in it, including apparently much of the unwarlike as
well as the military element, may be satisfactorily explained on
the hypothesis that the invasion extended over a considerable
period ; and we have reason at all events for believing that
communication with the Baltic lands did not cease until well
into the sixth century (cf. p. 18 f.). It is hardly necessary
however to suppose that the whole population migrated, for the
story that Angel was thenceforth a desert may very well be one
of those cases of exaggeration to which popular tradition is
prone. All that can be said with certainty is that the Angli of
the Continent soon disappeared as a distinct nation.

In the course of this chapter we have been considering the
social and political conditions of the migration period chiefly
from the evidence of native traditions and poems. This evidence
has led us to conclude that the most potent influence in society
during the period in question was that of the military classes,
the kings and the officers or knights who were personally attached
to them. The bond between lord and man equalled, if it did not
exceed, in sanctity that of blood-relationship, deeply rooted as
the latter doubtless was in popular feeling. Further, in the
absence of evidence we are led to infer that the peasants had
little or no power in the government of the nation. In military
affairs this is still more marked. If the peasants took part in
actual fighting at all their influence was almost negligible. The
issue practically depended on the kings and their knights and,
as in the Homeric poems, battles were often decided by the

1 86 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

prowess of an individual. All this evidence points to a fairly-
deep cleavage between the upper and lower strata of society.

It remains for us now to notice briefly one or two objections
which may be brought against this representation of the social
conditions of the period. In the first place it may perhaps be
argued that the evidence of the native authorities is not entirely
trustworthy. The MSS. of the Anglo-Saxon poems which we
possess date only from the tenth and eleventh centuries and,
though there is no doubt that these are copies of earlier texts, it
is not likely that they were committed to writing much before
the eighth century. The literary form, whether Latin or verna-
cular, in which the Scandinavian traditions are preserved is
admittedly much later. Consequently, though the antiquity
of the traditions themselves cannot be gainsaid, it may be
thought that the form in which they have come down to us has
been coloured by later ideas. Again, it is highly probable that
the poems were composed and recited in court circles. Hence
there may have been a tendency to ignore or belittle the
influence of the commons. Lastly the corroborative testimony,
which we find in the works of certain Roman writers, especially
Procopius, may really hold good only for nations, such as the
Franks and Goths, which had lived for a considerable time in
the neighbourhood of the Romans, and consequently had come
under the influence of southern civilisation.

I think that there are sufficiently weighty reasons for rejecting
the contention that the representation of social life
fv?dlnec°eloglcal given in the Anglo-Saxon poems has been appre-
ciably affected by later ideas. It is true of course
that in the form in which we have them these poems have
received a Christian colouring. But, to take a single point, the
descriptions of funeral ceremonies given in Beowulf can hardly
be explained otherwise than by a verbal tradition coming down
from heathen times, presumably, though not perhaps necessarily,
in metrical form. Into such questions however it is scarcely
necessary for us here to enter. For dealing with the objections
put forward above as a whole we can hardly have any safer
criterion than the evidence of archaeology. The poems, as we
have seen above, speak of a profusion of wealth and treasure in

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 1 87

the kings' courts, a fact which if true must indicate the existence
of immense social differences. Again they represent the warriors
as armed with swords and iron-bound shields, helmets, often
gilded, and costly coats of mail. If this is true we can well
understand how it was that battles could be decided by the
prowess of a comparatively small number of warriors, and that
the crowds which followed unprotected and with inferior weapons
would have little influence on the result of the contest. On the
other hand if we do not find any costly or artistic treasures, if
the only weapons which come to light are bows and arrows,
clubs and javelins, we shall have to conclude that the evidence
of the poems is untrustworthy and that any attempt to recon-
struct from them the social life of the period is doomed to
failure.

As a matter of fact the archaeological evidence is quite
conclusive. On the western coasts of the Baltic a number of
deposits have been found, to which we have already had occasion
to refer and which are universally believed to date from between
the third and sixth centuries. The richest of them are those
discovered at Vi and Kragehul in Fyen, Thorsbjaerg in Angel,
and Nydam which lies somewhat farther north. The Thorsbjaerg
deposit, which is one of the earliest and specially important for
us from its geographical position, contained helmets, fragments
of coats of mail and remains of spears, swords and shields,
together with numerous other articles, including gold and silver
ornaments. Perhaps the most remarkable thing found was a
silver helmet and visor, partly gilded. The other deposits were
of a similar character. At Nydam there were found 106 swords
and 552 spears. At Vi one coat of mail which was preserved
intact contained about 20,000 rings and according to Prof.
S. Miiller must have taken a single workman nearly a whole
year to make. Many of the swords were skilfully ornamented.
The blades were engraved with artistic patterns, as recorded in
Beowulf, and the wooden hilts were encased in bronze, silver
or ivory. The sheaths also were of elegant workmanship.

The evidence of these deposits then fully bears out the
statements of the poems. So numerous were the articles found
that it is possible to reconstruct from them with certainty the

1 88 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

whole dress and equipment of the warrior of those days. If we
compare the representation thus obtained with the equipment of
ancient Greek warriors as described by Homer and as depicted
on vases and other objects of the geometrical period, the com-
parison will scarcely be found disadvantageous to the former.
In certain respects no doubt the Homeric civilisation was
superior, notably in the art of working stone ; but it is at
least a question whether the Homeric princes had not taken
over their buildings from an earlier population. In other
respects the advantage lies as clearly with the northern warriors.
The Homeric poems contain scarcely any reference to writing.
In the North on the other hand it was widely known (cf.
Beow. 1696); inscribed articles were found in all the large
deposits mentioned above. Again, the art of riding, which is
seldom mentioned by Homer, appears to have been general
among these northern warriors, spurs, bridles and other articles
of riding gear being of frequent occurrence. In regard to artistic
skill the shields of Amlethus and Hildigerus, as described by
Saxo (pp. 100 f, 244), must at least have equalled the shield of
Achilles ; and though some scepticism is doubtless legitimate in
regard to the former, yet at all events the golden horns found at
Gallehus show what northern artificers were capable of at this
period. As an example of technique we may also compare the
bronze car and horse recently discovered at Trundholm1, though
this is usually attributed to a much earlier date. Taking the
whole evidence into account we are not, I think, in any way
justified in regarding the civilisation of the migration period
as either rude or primitive. The condition of the peasantry
no doubt differed considerably from that of the princely families,
but this seems to have been the case also among the ancient
Greeks.

The intellectual development of the times is much more
difficult, if not altogether impossible, to determine. The very
favourable impression produced by the character of King
Hrothgar in Beowulf must not be ascribed entirely to Christian
influence in the poet, for in Scandinavian tradition Hrolfr Kraki

1 Cf. S. Mliller, Urgeschkhte Europas (Germ. Transl.), p. n6f.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 1 89

and even Hroarr (Hrothgar) himself bear a similar character.
Moreover the conduct of King Aethelberht from the very begin-
ning betrays a mind of much the same type. The sentiments
attributed by Bede to heathen kings and nobles, such as Penda
and the nobleman at Edwin's court, show a toleration and
receptivity which we should hardly have expected, but which
fully accord with the fact that, so far as we know, no missionaries
lost their lives in the conversion of England. How far the same
type of character prevailed in earlier times it is of course
impossible to say. A quite opposite type, that of the warrior
like StarkaSr, who is wholly given up to war and adventure,
comes before us prominently in Scandinavian traditions. More-
over we can hardly doubt that Woden, the god who gives
victory and treasure and who rewards his votaries with a future
life spent in fighting and feasting, was the deity par excellence
of the migration period — especially among the Angli, whose
princes claimed to be descended from him. Indeed so closely
does the cult, as represented in Scandinavian traditions, appear
to reflect the conditions of that age that it is at least a question
whether it was not in part responsible for them. On the other
hand the same spirit of adventure seems often to have been
bound up with a desire for the knowledge of distant nations and
kings. At all events it seems clear from Widsith, as from the
Saga af Nornagesti in later times, that anyone who had travelled
widely and observed the characteristics of the various leading
men whom he had met with, might expect to interest his
hearers. Some of the stories told by Procopius and acquired by
him presumably from Teutonic soldiers in the Roman service
even tend to show a somewhat careful study of peculiarities of
national custom, such as we find exemplified by King Alfred
and others in later times.

In its material aspect the civilisation of the migration period
had without doubt been greatly affected by foreign influence.
This influence was partly, but by no means entirely, Roman.
If we take the case of armour we may note that one Roman
helmet was found at Thorsbjaerg, while the visor of a second is
said to have been formed after a Roman model. But the crested
helmets described in Beowulf were clearly of a different type

190 THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS [CHAP.

and resembled those worn by the Cimbri according to Plutarch
{Manns 25). The coats of mail found at Thorsbjaerg and Vi
are said to have been of Roman workmanship1, but I have not
been able to ascertain on what grounds this statement is based.
Such armour does not seem to have been particularly common
among the Romans, whereas Diodorus (v. 30) speaks of 6wpatca<;
aiSrjpov'i a\vai$a)Tov<; as a characteristic feature of the Gauls.
Six shield-bosses of Roman form were found at Thorsbjaerg,
but sixteen others were of quite a different type. The shields
themselves are said to have been entirely un-Roman. Again,
the spears found in the deposits attain the length of eleven feet,
which far exceeds that of the Roman pilum. A number of
Roman swords have been found, but the long sword of the ' late
Celtic' type was far commoner. On the whole then it would
seem that in regard to military equipment these warriors had
very much more in common with the Gauls than with the
Romans.

In religion nothing like the cult of Woden-Othin has, so far
as I am aware, ever been traced in southern Europe. Similar
beliefs and practices however are known to have prevailed
among the Gauls. The court-life again, as described in the
poems, has no resemblance to Roman custom ; but it is by no
means unlike the life of the Gaulish nobility as depicted by
Diodorus, v. 27 ff. Hence the fact that the representation of
the social system given by our earliest authorities corresponds
very closely to Caesar's account of Gaulish society is not
without significance. It is true of course that the Gauls were
not under kingly government. We have evidence however for
the former existence of such government in several tribes,
e.g. the Bituriges, the Aruerni, the Carnutes, the Senones and
the Sequani2; in the last two cases indeed it lasted until shortly
before Caesar's conquest. But in other respects the secular
organisation of the nation, with its equites and cliejites, closely
resembles what we find in the Anglo-Saxon poems ; and unless
the evidence of our authorities is very misleading Caesar's

1 Engelhardt, Denmark in the Early Iron Age, p. 46.

2 Cf. Livy v. 34, Valerius Maximus ix. 6. 3, Caesar, Gall. 1. 3, v. 25, 54, etc. Some
of the Belgae were still governed by kings in Caesar's time.

VII] THE AGE OF NATIONAL MIGRATIONS 191

remarks on the condition of the Gaulish commons will likewise
hold good for the northern Teutonic peoples of the migration
period.

Resemblances between Celtic and Teutonic civilisation are
of course capable of more than one explanation — either as the
common inheritance of kindred peoples or as the product of
direct influence from one nation upon the other. The former
explanation is no doubt partly true ; but it is obviously inap-
plicable to several of the cases noticed above. The origin of the
coat of mail may be open to question, but this is scarcely the
case in regard to the long sword. Consequently I see no
improbability in supposing that religious ideas and social
customs may have been influenced from the same quarter.
It is to be observed that Celtic influence did not come to an
end with the Roman conquest. Several of the long swords
found at Nydam bear inscriptions in Roman letters ; but the
names themselves are not Roman. Presumably therefore either
they or swords from which they are copied had come from
districts which had passed under Roman government. Indeed
it seems to me a question whether archaeologists have not been
too ready in speaking of Roman influence on the northern
peoples during the early part of the migration period — whether
it would not be more correct to describe the foreign influence
throughout as Celtic with a constantly growing Roman element.
We have at all events no historical evidence for direct contact
with the Romans before the appearance of the Saxons in the
west, towards the end of the third century ; and the Saxons
themselves appear to have been content with mere piratical
raids for a long time. The employment of Heruli in the
Roman service during the latter part of the fourth century may
have been of greater importance. But there seems to be little
evidence, whether from language, tradition or institutions, to
show that Roman influence had had any appreciable effect
on our nation before the conquest of Britain.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES.

In an earlier chapter we saw (p. 54) that according to Bede
the invaders of Britain belonged to three different nations,
namely the Saxons, the Angli and the Iutae. Those of the
invaders who were called Saxons were sprung from the Old
Saxons, a nation which in the seventh and eighth centuries
extended from the Rhine to Holstein and which is found in the
neighbourhood of the former as early as the middle of the fourth
century (p. 90 ff.). The Angli came from a country called
Angulus, a name with which the corrupt Oghgul of the Historia
Brittonum seems to be identical. The evidence of later writers,
King Alfred in his translation of Orosius and Aethelweard in
his chronicle, leaves no room for doubt that they believed this
country to be the district now called Angel, though the name
may then have been applied to a larger area. The home of the
Iutae is not directly specified by Bede or by any subsequent
writer ; but the statement that Angulus was situated between
the Saxons and the Iutae seems distinctly to point to Jutland.
Continental writings from the third century onwards afford no
evidence worth consideration which conflicts with these views.

In a later chapter (p. 118 ff.) we examined certain traditions
which refer to two persons named Wermund and Offa, ancestors
of the Mercian royal family, and we saw that according to
Widsith the latter ruled over Angel. In the course of our
discussion also we noticed that these persons are clearly
identical with two kings named Wermundus and Uffo who
are mentioned in Danish traditions. The latter are described

CH. VIII] THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES 193

by the Danish historians as kings of the Danes, but the events
related in connection with them seem all to have taken place in
the southern half of the Jutish peninsula, viz. at Jaellinge, Slesvig
and Rendsburg. The evidence of these traditions therefore
harmonises fully with the views held by ancient English writers
as to the home of the nation before the invasion of Britain.

We have now to consider the evidence of certain writings on
the geography of northern Europe which date from a much
earlier period, namely the first two centuries of the Christian
era. Of these the most important is the Geography of Ptolemy,
which is said to have been composed about the middle of the
second century. It is believed however to have been based on
a lost work by Marinus written about half a century earlier.
In this work both the Saxons and the Angli (Sovrjftoi ' A<yyet,\ol)
are mentioned ; but the geographical position of the two tribes
relatively to one another is exactly the reverse of what Bede's
evidence would lead us to expect. The former are represented
as occupying the 'neck of the Cimbric peninsula' together with
three islands near the mouth of the Elbe, though considerably
to the north. The latter on the other hand are located to the
west of the Elbe in a district which was certainly for the most
part occupied by the Saxons in later times.

It will be convenient here to give in full the passages which
bear on these questions (Geogr. II. 11, § 8 ff.) : "Those parts of
Germany which lie along the Rhine, beginning from the north,
are occupied by the Little Bousakteroi and the Sygambroi.
Below them are the Soueboi Langobardoi, then the Tenktroi
and the Ineriones between the Rhine and the Abnobean moun-
tains.... The coastland above the Bousakteroi is occupied by
the Phrisioi as far as the river Amisia (Ems). After them
are the Little Kauchoi as far as the river Ouisourgios (Weser),
and then the Greater Kauchoi as far as the river Albis (Elbe).
Next come the Saxones upon the neck of the Cimbric peninsula.
The peninsula itself, above the Saxones, is occupied, from west
to east, by the Sigoulones, then the Sabalingioi, then the
Kobandoi. Above these are the Chaloi, and above them again
the Phoundousioi towards the west and the Charoudes towards
the east ; while farthest to the north of all are the Kimbroi.
c. 13

194 THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES [CHAP.

After the Saxones, from the river Chalousos to the river
Souebos, come the Pharodeinoi, then the Seidinoi to the river
Ouiadouas (Oder), and after them the Rhoutikleioi to the river
Ouistoulas (Vistula).

" Of the interior or inland tribes the following are the
greatest : the Soueboi Angeiloi, who lie to the east of the
Langobardoi, stretching northwards to the middle of the Elbe,
the Soueboi Semnones, who extend from the Elbe at the point
specified eastwards to the river Souebos, and the Bougountes
who occupy the regions beyond as far as the river Vistula.

" In the intervening districts there are smaller tribes. Be-
tween the Little Kauchoi and the Soueboi lie the Greater
Bousakteroi, and below them the Chaimai. Between the
Kauchoi and the Soueboi lie the Angriouarioi, then the Lak-
kobardoi, and below them the Loulgoumnioi. Between the
Saxones and the Soueboi lie the Teutonoaroi and the Ouirounoi ;
between the Pharodeinoi and the Soueboi lie the Teutones and
the Auarpoi ; and between the Rhoutikleioi and the Bougountes
lie the Ailouaiones.

"Again, below the Semnones live the Silingai, and below
the Bougountes the Lougioi Omanoi, and below these the
Lougioi Didounioi as far as Mount Askibourgion. Below the
Silingai live the Kaloukones on both sides of the river Elbe
and below them the Chairouskoi and the Kamauoi as far as
Mount Melibokon. To the east of these, about the Elbe, are,
the Bainochaimai.... Again to the east of the Abnobean
mountains live the Kasouarioi below the Soueboi...."

(§ 31) "Above Germany there are situated a number of
islands. Near the mouth of the Elbe there are three called
the Islands of the Saxones. The central point of these falls
in long. 31, lat. 574.0'. And above the Cimbric peninsula
there are three other islands, called Alokiai, the central point
of which falls in long. 37, lat. 59*20'. Again, to the east of the
peninsula there are four islands which are called Skandiai.
Three of them are small, the central one of which lies in
long. 41*30', lat. 58; but the fourth is larger than the others
and farther to the east, opposite the mouth of the river Vistula
and the name Skandia is specially applied to this island."

)Vl6pOV TTOT. lKp.^"f-—~^

'Ptjvov itot. (TT.J

'PiyVOV 7BOT.

>—
(7T. *'•

VIII] THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES 195

If we compare the more western part of Ptolemy's map with
the list of tribes given by Tacitus in that part of his work
{Germ. 32-36) which refers to the same districts, we shall see
that in spite of scribal corruptions the majority of the names
seem to be identical in the two works. The following identifica-
tions may be regarded as practically certain :

Tencteri = Tenktroi Angriuarii = Angriouarioi

Bructeri = Bousakteroi Chamaui = Kamauoi

Frisii = Phrisioi Cherusci = Chairouskoi

Chauci = Kauchoi Chasuarii = Kasuarioi
Dulgibini = Loulgoumnioi

Tacitus makes no distinction between ' Little' and 'Greater'
in the case of his Bructeri and Chauci, nor does he so precisely
indicate the geographical position of his tribes. On the whole
however, if we observe the direction which he follows in his
account, the indications given seem not to vary greatly in any
of the above cases — except perhaps in that of the Chamaui1 —
from the localities assigned by Ptolemy. Tacitus' list adds one
name, that of the Fosi, a tribe in the immediate neighbourhood
of the Cherusci, to those given by Ptolemy. On the other hand
he has no names corresponding to the Ineriones (Nikriones?),
Sygambroi'2 and Chaimai.

The names Angli and Langobardi are mentioned by Tacitus
(ib. 40), though unfortunately he makes no attempt to fix the
geographical position of these tribes. It is to be observed
however (1) that they are classed among the Suebi and (2) that
they are mentioned not in connection with the series of names
given above but after the Semnones.

Apart from these two passages in Tacitus and Ptolemy the
name Angli does not occur in ancient writings. On the other
hand there are several other references to the Langobardi,
though they are nowhere else represented as living in the
neighbourhood of the Rhine. According to Strabo (p. 290),

1 Tacitus (cap. 33) only says that the Chamaui, together with the Angriuarii, had
recently occupied the territories of the Bructeri. But in Ann. XIII. 55 they are
said to have formerly lived in a district far distant from that assigned to them by
Ptolemy.

2 The Sugambri seem to have ceased to exist as an independent tribe before the
time of Tacitus ; cf. Bremer in Paul's Grundriss-, III. p. 884.

13—2

196 THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES [CHAP.

who seems to have been writing about the year 18 A.D., they
dwelt in his time to the east of the Elbe, having fled over that
river from fear of the Romans. They are mentioned again by
Velleius Paterculus (II. 106), who had himself served under
Tiberius in Germany. He states that in the campaign of A.D. 4
the Romans had conquered and received the submission of the
Canninefates, Attuarii (Chattuarii1), Bructeri and Cherusci, and
had penetrated beyond the Weser. In the following year,
under the leadership of Tiberius, they conquered nations whose
names even had hardly been known to the Romans before.
The names which he gives are Cauchi, Langobardi, Semnones
and Hermunduri. Immediately after relating the defeat of the
Langobardi he mentions the arrival of the Romans, both by
land and sea, at the Elbe, which he describes as flowing past
the frontiers of the Semnones and Hermunduri. The Lango-
bardi are mentioned again by Tacitus himself in two passages
of his Annals. In the first (II. 45 ff.) they are said to have
belonged, together with the Semnones, to the kingdom of
Maroboduus, king of the Marcomanni, but to have deserted
him and joined the Cherusci in their war against that king.
In the second passage (XI. 17) they are represented as interfering
in the dynastic struggles of the Cherusci.

From a comparison of these passages it is clear that the
home of the Langobardi must be sought in the lower part of
the basin of the Elbe and in the neighbourhood of the Chauci,
Cherusci and Semnones. Now we have seen that in this district
Ptolemy places a tribe called Lakkobardoi, which can hardly
be anything but a corrupt form of the same name2. Are we
to suppose then that there were two tribes of this name, or
possibly two branches of the same tribe, one on the Elbe and
the other on the east bank of the Rhine? This is hardly
probable. The districts immediately to the east of the Rhine
were well known to the Romans and had frequently been
traversed by them in their campaigns against the Chatti ; yet

1 The Canninefates and Chattuarii seem to have inhabited the parts of Holland
which lie immediately to the north of the Rhine.

2 The name may very well survive in the modern Bardengau, a district to the
south of Hamburg.

VIII] THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES 1 97

we never hear of Langobardi in connection with these events.
It is far more likely therefore that Ptolemy's location of the
Langobardi in this region is due to a mistake.

We must now return to the Angli. From Ptolemy's account
(cf. p. 193 f.) it would seem that he regarded the Suebi as a solid
band of tribes stretching across the greater part of Germany,
from the Rhine to the river Souebos. In this band the Angli
(Angeiloi) are represented as occupying the central position,
between the upper Ems (apparently) and the Elbe. To the
north of them lie the Angriuarii, the Langobardi (Lakkobardoi)
and the Dulgibini (Loulgoumnioi), and to the south of them
the Chasuarii (Kasouarioi), the Chamaui and the Cherusci.
Now since the Angli are said to have been one of the greatest
of the interior tribes it is most remarkable that we never find
any reference to them in the various accounts of the campaigns
waged by Drusus, Tiberius and Germanicus in these districts,
though several of the ' smaller tribes ' (i\daaova edvr)), viz.
the Angriuarii, the Langobardi and the Cherusci, are more
or less frequently mentioned in connection with these events.
But there is a more serious difficulty. We have already seen
that according to Tacitus the Langobardi took part on two
occasions in the quarrels of the Cherusci, a fact which distinctly
suggests that the two tribes were conterminous. Further, it
is stated in Germ. 36 that the Cherusci bordered upon the
Chauci. According to the same work, cap. 33 f., the Chamaui
and Angriuarii had recently moved into the territories of the
Bructeri ; behind, these tribes were shut in by the Dulgibini
and Chasuarii. Lastly we find in Ann. II. 19 that, at an earlier
date, the Angriuarii had raised a broad earthwork as a boundary
between themselves and the Cherusci. From these references
it is abundantly clear that the tribes represented by Ptolemy
as living to the north of the Suebi (i.e. the Soueboi Angeiloi),
viz. the Bructeri, Angriuarii and Chauci, were really con-
terminous with the Chasuarii1 and Cherusci, which he represents

1 If the Chasuarii lived on the Hase, as their name seems to indicate, there
can hardly have been another tribe between them and the Bructeri ; for the latter
inhabited the basin of the Ems and stretched apparently into that of the Lippe (cf.
Strabo, p. 290 f., Tacitus, Ann. [. 60).

198 THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES [CHAP.

as situated to the south of the Suebi. The position which he
assigns to the latter is therefore incredible unless it was due to
a later migration — for which we have no evidence.

It has already been mentioned that Tacitus does mention
the Angli (Anglii), though not in connection with the group of
tribes discussed above. The course which he adopts in his
Germania is as follows. He begins with the upper Rhine and
follows that river to its mouth. Then he traverses north-western
Germany from the Rhine to the Elbe (apparently), ending his
enumeration of the tribes in these districts with the Chauci,
Cherusci and Fosi. Next, after one chapter (37) relating to
the Cimbri, he goes on to speak of the various tribes included
under the name Suebi. First he takes the Semnones, then the
Langobardi, and then a group of seven tribes among which the
Angli are included. Unfortunately he gives no indication in
any of these cases as to the geographical position of the tribes.
Indeed the opening words of cap. 41, "this portion of the Suebi
extends into the more secret regions of Germany " (in secreliora
Germaniae), may be taken as meaning that he had no precise
information regarding their position. Yet this expression in
itself leads us to infer that he regarded the tribes in question
as living east of the Elbe, especially as he has just mentioned
the Semnones and Langobardi, who, as we have seen, appear to
have inhabited the basin of that river.

The names of the seven tribes as given by Tacitus are
Reudigni (v. 1. Veusdigni), Auiones, Anglii, Varini, Suarines
(v. 1. Suardones), Nuit(h)ones and Eudoses. Of these names
the first and the last two have never been satisfactorily ex-
plained and are probably corrupt1. The other four appear to
be genuine, but the only ones which occur elsewhere are Anglii
and Varini. We have already (p. 108 ff.) had several references
to the latter in documents dating from later times and it is
very probable that the Ovipovvoi which we find beside Tevro-
voapoi in Ptolemy's text (cf. p. 194) is a corruption of the same

1 The name Eudoses has been identified with Ptolemy's $>ovvdov<rioi (cf. p. 193).
Among the forces which served in Ariouistus' army Caesar (B. Gall., 1. 51) gives the
names Harudes and Sedusii, for the latter of which the mss. of Orosius (vi. 7) give
Eduses, Edures, Endures; cf. Zeuss, op. cit., p. 151 f., note.

VIII] THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES 199

name. Further it may be noticed that the two pairs of names
TevrovodpoL teal Ovlpovvot and Tevroves /cal Kvapiroi have a
curious resemblance to one another. They are generally thought
to be doublets, and this suspicion is somewhat confirmed by the
fact that a place called Ovlpovvov is marked by Ptolemy at the
easternmost extremity of the territory assigned to the latter
pair of tribes. As for the geographical position of these tribes
the former pair are represented as lying between the Saxones
('on the neck of the peninsula') and the Semnones, who are
placed by Ptolemy to the east of the Elbe, while the latter
pair lie farther to the east. We must suppose then that
Ptolemy believed them to occupy the regions now called Hol-
stein and Mecklenburg. We have already seen (p. 109) that
Procopius' account of the migration of the Heruli places the
Warni in the direction of Holstein, while evidence for their
extension further to the east is perhaps to be found in the
name of the Slavonic Warnabi, who occupied Mecklenburg in
later times, and in the modern river-name Warnow which is
likewise a Slavonic form1. We may further compare a passage
in Pliny's Natural History, IV. 99, to which we shall have to
return later. This passage gives a classification of the Germani
in five main groups called Vandili, Ingyaeones, Hermiones,
Istriaones and Peucini. The Suebi are placed in the third
group together with the Hermunduri, Chatti and Cherusci ; but
a name which seems to be Varini falls into the first or north-
eastern group together with the Burgundiones, Gutones and
another tribe whose name (Charini ?2) we cannot recognise. A
certain element of doubt is introduced by the fact that Ptolemy
(ill. 5, § 20) records the presence of a tribe called ^povyowhicove^
in Sarmatia, and immediately after them another tribe named
Avapivoi near the source of the Vistula. The latter however
are never heard of again and it is at least a question whether

1 A settlement of Warni in the northern part of the province of Slesvig may
perhaps be inferred from the place-name Varnaes {promontoriiim Varinorum in a
document of the thirteenth century) ; cf. Bremer, op. cit., p. 851.

2 The mss. have narin{>i)ec(!i)arini, variously divided.

200 THE SAXONS AND ANCxLES IN ROMAN TIMES [CHAP.

both names have not been erroneously transferred from the map
of Germany1.

On the whole the evidence, such as it is, distinctly favours
the idea that the Varini belonged to the eastern or Baltic half
of Germany. This being so we get a possible explanation of
another of the names mentioned in Tacitus' list, viz. Suarines.
It is surely not incredible that this name may survive in the
modern Schwerin (Med. Lat. Swerinuni). Possibly the obscure
form given after Varini in Pliny's list is a corruption of the
same name.

Tacitus states that the only remarkable characteristic
possessed by these seven tribes was that they shared the
worship of a certain goddess named Nerthus whose sanctuary
lay on ' an island in the Ocean.' We must suppose then that
they occupied lands in the neighbourhood of the coast, or at
least that they had access to the sea by navigable rivers or
otherwise. But it is important for us to decide what the term
Oceamis means here. Elsewhere it is applied both to the North
Sea (e.g. Germ. 34) and to the Baltic (ib. 43 f.). If what has
been said above as to the position of the Varini and Suarines
is correct we shall have to conclude that in this case Oceanus
means the Baltic. Consequently we must suppose that the
Angli also lived in the neighbourhood of that sea. More
precisely than this however the information afforded by Tacitus
will not suffice to locate them.

On the other hand, since the evidence for the position of
the Varini and Suarines is not absolutely conclusive, we are
scarcely justified in leaving out of account the possibility that
the territories of the seven tribes really lay on the coasts of
the North Sea. In this case we may define the area to be
taken into consideration somewhat more closely. In the first
place we may put aside the whole of the region west of the
Elbe. For we have already seen that the tribes which inhabited
this region are fairly well known to us from several different

1 Zeuss {Die Deutschen, p. 694 ff. ) held the Phrougoundiones to be a non-Teutonic
people. But the Bovpovyovvdoi (Ovpovyovvdot) mentioned by Zosimus and Agathias
may have been offshoots of the Burgundians.

VIII] THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES 201

sources, while, apart from Ptolemy's statement regarding the
Angli, there is no evidence for any names which can be
identified with those of the seven tribes. Again, in regard to
the position of the sacred island — since Tacitus notes the cult
of Nerthus as the special characteristic of the seven tribes, he
can hardly have thought that it was shared also by the tribes
which he has mentioned previously, e.g. the Langobardi and
the Chauci. This consideration however surely prevents us
from identifying the sacred island with any of those adjacent
to the mouth of the Elbe. If it was situated in the North Sea
at all we shall have to suppose that it lay considerably farther
to the north, presumably off the coasts of Slesvig or Jutland.
It may of course be urged that if the seven tribes had inhabited
this region Tacitus would have mentioned them in connection
with the Cimbri instead of after the Semnones and Langobardi ;
for there is a good deal of evidence, as we shall see later, that
* the peninsula of the Cimbri ' was what we now call Jutland.
The argument however is not quite conclusive, as it is clear
from Tacitus' account that his knowledge of the geography of
this region was extremely vague. As a matter of fact Strabo
also (p. 294) seems to have been under an erroneous impression
as to the position of the peninsula occupied by the Cimbri.

It has been happily suggested1 that a somewhat more
definite clue to the position of the Angli may be obtained from
Ptolemy's own words, by correcting the position assigned by
him to the Langobardi. From the presence of doublets like
AayyoftdpSoi — Aa/c/co/3dp8oL, Ovipovvoi — Avapiroi it seems
probable that Ptolemy derived his names from different sources.
His mistake in regard to the positions of the Langobardi and
the Angli may possibly be due to a confusion of two different
statements, one of which, perhaps from Strabo, p. 290, described
the Suebi as extending from the Rhine to the Elbe, while the
other represented the Langobardi as the westernmost of the
Suebi and placed the Angli to the east or north-east of them.
Now if we move the Angli to the east or north-east of the
Lakkobardoi, i.e. the true position of the Langobardi, they will

1 Cf. Schiitte, Var Anglerne Tyskere ?, p. 44 ff.

202 THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES [CHAP.

come into the neighbourhood of the 777)0? avaroXas €7ricrTpo<f>7Jy
in space assigned by Ptolemy to the Teutonoaroi and Ouirounoi,
or between them and the Saxones. At all events this would
make the Angli neighbours to the Varini.

We have yet to consider the position assigned by Ptolemy
to the Saxones. The mistakes made by this writer in regard
to the positions occupied by the Langobardi and the Angli
have hardly tended to make us feel much confidence in state-
ments resting solely on his authority. It has been observed
above that no other writer of the first two centuries mentions
the Saxons, while from the end of the third century we find
them in quite a different quarter. Yet it deserves to be pointed
out that in one respect at least Ptolemy's statements in this case
present a more satisfactory appearance. The position of the
' islands of the Saxons ' seems to have been fixed independently
of that of the Saxons on the mainland ; yet the two statements
agree very well. It is true that we have no evidence for any
islands so far distant from the coast. This mistake however
seems to be due to the incorrect orientation of the coast-line
of the peninsula1. If the latter be corrected it will be seen that
these islands, judging from the latitude in which they are placed,
must correspond to the islands (Sylt, etc.) off the west coast
of Slesvig. They may therefore very well have been inhabited
by the same people as the neck of the peninsula. Moreover,,
as we have seen in an earlier chapter (p. 92), the Saxons them-
selves appear to have had a tradition that they had come from
over the sea — a tradition which we are not justified in rejecting
on the ground that the Translatio S. Alexandri assigns an
obviously incorrect date to their arrival. Some recollection
of their presence in the north seems to have been preserved even
by Danish tradition; for Saxo (p. 51) relates that they were
expelled from Jutland by an ancient Danish king named Helgo.

1 There can be little doubt that this false orientation of the coast-line hangs
together with the similar mistake in the map of Britain (II, 3). Owing to the latter
what should be the northernmost point of Scotland (i) 'Op«as aicpa) has been made to
fall in or very close to the true position of the 'AAo/dcu vijcrot, which we shall have to
discuss later. Since Ptolemy must have been aware that the Cimbric peninsula did
not stretch into the neighbourhood of the coast of Britain it is quite likely that he may
have deliberately altered the direction of the former.

VIII] THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES 20J

Lastly we have to remember that there is evidence for the
prevalence of an Anglo-Frisian language in this region from
early times, a language which may very well be descended from
that of the ancient Saxons. On all sides therefore Ptolemy's
statements seem to be borne out by the evidence at our disposal.
It is not correct however to state, as is often done, that
Ptolemy places the Saxons in Holstein. The neck, i.e. the
narrowest part, of the peninsula is certainly the part adjacent
to the islands ; but this lies well to the north of the Eider. It is
true that in later times we do find people called Saxons in
Holstein. My point however is that this is not the locality
most naturally indicated by Ptolemy's words. Again, there
is some reason, as we have seen (p. 136 ff.), for believing that in
Offa's time, i.e. the fourth century, this district was occupied
by a different nation, namely the North Suabi (Swaefe). No
certain reference to them occurs in early writings ; yet the
following piece of evidence deserves to be mentioned. Tacitus
in his Life of Agricola, cap. 28, gives an account of the adventures
which befell a troop of Usipii who had been employed in the
Roman service in Britain, apparently on the west coast, and
had mutinied. They took ship and circumnavigated the island,
apparently round the northern end1, and were finally wrecked
on the coast of Germany. There they fell into the hands first
of the Suebi and then of the Frisii, and some of them were
eventually sold as slaves as far as the west bank of the Rhine.
From this it appears that some part of the coast of Germany
was inhabited by a people called Suebi. As the Chauci bordered
on the Frisii and extended as far as the Elbe we shall have to
suppose that these Suebi lived to the north of that river. It
may of course be urged that Tacitus in the Germania gives the
name Suebi to all tribes beyond the Elbe, a fact which we shall
have to consider in the next chapter. But in the light of the
later evidence it is surely not incredible that in this story Tacitus'
informants may have used the term quite correctly. In this
connection we may further note that Ptolemy describes the
Angli as ^Lovijftoi 'AyyeiXoi. Now unless we take the term

1 Cf. Dio Cassius, lxvi. 20.

204 THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES [CHAP.

Suebi in Tacitus' sense, which is probably not in accordance
with native use, we have no ground for supposing that the
Angli were really included in this group. Indeed the fact that
they applied the name Suebi to a neighbouring tribe in later
times is distinct evidence to the contrary. But is it not possible
that Ptolemy's expression may have been due to the juxta-
position of the names Suebi and Anglii in an earlier document
or map, just as we find Engle and Swaefe in Widsith?

We have seen that according to a suggestion quoted above
(p. 201) the position assigned to the Angli in Ptolemy's source
of information may really have been to the north-east of the
lower Elbe in the neighbourhood of the 7rpd<> avaroXds iTriarpo^r].
This would bring them into proximity with the Saxons, though
somewhat farther to the south. Now if we examine Ptolemy's
map at this point we cannot fail to be struck by one or two
curious features. One of course is that the orientation of the
coast-line of the peninsula is incorrect. Another is that the
coast between the iiri(rrpo(p7] and the river Chalousos is not
assigned to any tribe. Again, though the Saxons are represented
in one passage as occupying the neck of the peninsula, yet in
another we find the words " after the Saxons, from the river
Chalousos" etc. (cf. p. 194), which seem to imply that their
territory extended considerably to the east. Now what is the
iTriarpocfitj and what are the rivers Chalousos and Souebos ?
At first sight one would probably imagine that the eTriarpo^rj
was intended for the Gulf of Liibeck ; but I am far from certain
that this explanation is correct. Ptolemy makes the distances
between the eVtcrTpo^, the Chalousos, the Souebos, the
Ouiadouas (Oder) and the Ouistoulas (Vistula) all about the
same. In the last case of course the distance indicated is too
short ; but this fact ought not to discredit the whole series.
It seems to me that the conditions are far better satisfied if we
identify the eTTMnpofyr) with the Eckernforde Fiord or Kiel Bay,
the Chalousos with the Trave and the Souebos with the Warnow
or possibly the Trebel. It is true of course that the Eckernforde
Fiord is not in the same latitude as the mouth of the Trave.
But with the kind of knowledge which the Romans possessed
of these distant regions observations of latitude are less likely

VIII] THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES 205

to have been correctly recorded than distances, even if we take
no account of the suggestion that Ptolemy deliberately altered
the direction of the coast-line.

If we are right in this identification of the iirt,arpo(^r] the
correction of the position of the Angli quoted above will bring
this tribe very near to Angel, their later home, especially if we
admit the further suggestion that the names AayyoftdpSoi —
Sovrjfioi 'AyyetXoi are derived from a series Langobardi —
Suebi — Anglii. These corrections however must of course be
regarded as hypothetical. For the present we shall have to
content ourselves with the vague indications given by Tacitus
regarding the position of the Angli and with Ptolemy's state-
ments as to the position of the Saxons. We have seen that
if the Angli were really a North Sea people they must be placed
on the peninsula and hardly at its southern extremity. On the
other hand if they were a Baltic people the information given
by Tacitus will not suffice to enable us to fix their exact position.
They may have lived either on the peninsula or anywhere
along the south-west coast of the Baltic, perhaps as far as the
Oder1. Yet we may at all events conclude that Tacitus'
evidence contains nothing which will in any wa^' count against
the supposition that the territories of the Angn were the same
in his time as they were in the fourth century.

One point however must be noted. If the Angli really
inhabited the southern part of the peninsula, as in later times,
their territories would seem to fall within the district assigned
by Ptolemy to the Saxons. Are we to infer then that the Angli
formed a part of the latter, or were Angli and Saxones two
names for the same people ? Either of these hypotheses would
agree very well with the English evidence (cf. p. 86 f), though
both, especially the latter, would be somewhat difficult to
reconcile with the almost entire absence of any reference to the
name Angli among the Continental Saxons of later times. A
third possibility however deserves to be taken into account.
Ptolemy places the Saxons upon the ' neck of the peninsula ' ;

1 If they had lived beyond this river we should have expected to find them
mentioned in a different connection, viz. with the Rugii and other north-eastern tribes
(cf. Germ. 43 ff.).

206 THE SAXONS AND ANGLES IN ROMAN TIMES [CHAP. VIII

but it does not necessarily follow that they occupied the whole
of the province of Slesvig. In later times, as we have seen
(p. 141), the east and west coasts of the province were occupied
by two peoples, the Danes and Frisians, with quite different
affinities. There is surely nothing to prevent us from supposing
that such may have been the case in the first and second
centuries. Now from the fact that the islands off the west
coast belonged to the Saxons we may infer with great proba-
bility that the adjacent parts of the mainland were in the
possession of the same people. But there is nothing to show
that the Saxons extended to the Baltic except the vague
expression jxera tou? 2a£oz/<z<? in § 13. On the other hand the
modern Angel lies on the coast of the Baltic. The Angel ruled
by King Offa may of course have been more extensive. In the
following chapters, however, we shall see that both the affinities
•of the cult of Nerthus and the earliest traditions of the Angli
themselves point to a somewhat intimate connection with other
Baltic lands.

CHAPTER IX.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANCIENT GERMANI.

In the last chapter mention was made incidentally of a
passage in Pliny's Natural History, iv. 99, in which the Germani
are classified in five large groups. It will be convenient here to
give this passage in full1 : " There are five groups of the Germani ;
the Vandili to whom belong the Burgundians, the Varini,

the and the Goths; the second group are the Inguaeones,

to whom belong the Cimbri, the Teutoni and the nations of the
Chauci ; next to the Rhine are the Istaeuones {Istriaeones), to

whom belong ; in the interior the Hermiones to whom

belong the Suebi, the Hermunduri, the Chatti and the Cherusci.
The fifth group consists of the Peucini, the Basternae conter-
minous with the above-mentioned Daci." It is not quite clear
whether in the last sentence Peucini is meant to be a group-name ;
but for our purpose this question is of no importance.

1 Germanorum genera quinque: Vandili quorum pars Burgodiones, Varinne,
Charini, Gittones ; alteram genus Ingyaeones quorum pars Cimbri, Teutoni ac
Chaucorum gentes ; proximi autem Rheno Istriaeones quorum pars ; mediterranei
Hermiones quorum Suebi, Hermunduri, Chatti, Cherusci; quinta pars Peucini,
Bastarnae supra dictis contermini Dacis. The forms of the names used vary a good
deal in the different MSS.; but the above seem to have the best authority. For
Ingyaeones other MSS. have Ingyaones, Incyeones etc. The form used in IV. 96 is
Inguaeonum (Gen.) and in Tacitus, Germ. 2, Ingeuones, Ingaeuones. For Istriaeones
the mss. have Islriaones, Istriones, Straeoues etc. In Tacitus, I.e., the forms used are
Istaeuones, Isteuones. The form Hermiones seems to be universal except in Tacitus,
I.e., where one MS. has Herminones as the original reading. The true native forms
of these names were in the last case no doubt Ermianez or Erminanez and in the first
perhaps Ingw(e)ianez. The other is quite uncertain, though the evidence of the
Frankish genealogy (see below) counts against the forms with -r-.

208 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

The other group-names all occur elsewhere. The name
Inguaeones is mentioned again by Pliny himself (iv. 96). After
a short description of the Scythian coasts (i.e. the eastern part
of the Baltic) from north-east to south-west, he says : " At this
point we get clearer information as we reach the nation of the
Inguaeones, which is the first in Germany." The Hermiones
are mentioned again by Mela, De Chorographia, III. 3, in his
account of the Sinus Codanus : "In it," he says, "are the Cimbri
and the Teutoni ; beyond lie the Hermiones, the most remote
of the Germani." Lastly, Tacitus, Germ. 2, states that according
to ancient native poems the whole race of the Germani was
descended from the god Tuisto and his son Mannus. To the
latter " they assign three sons, from whose names those who
are nearest to the Ocean are called Inguaeones, the central
tribes Hermiones, and the rest Istaeuones. Some however, as
might be expected from the antiquity of such traditions, say
that the god had more sons than these and consequently use
more national designations, viz., Marsi, Gambriuii, Sueui,
Vandilii."

A curious reminiscence of the tradition learned by Tacitus
has been preserved in a document apparently of Frankish origin,
and which has been assigned with considerable probability to
the early part of the sixth century1. It is found in a number
of MSS. and has also been incorporated in the Historia Brittonum,
§ 17. This document is to the following effect. There were
three brothers named Ermenus, Inguo and Istio, from whom
thirteen nations are descended. The Goti, Walagoti, Wandali,
Gepedes and Saxones are descended from Ermenus ; the Bur-
gundiones, Thuringi, Langobardi and Baioarii from Inguo ; and
the Romani, Brittones, Franci and Alamanni from Istio. This
is the form of the genealogy as found in most of the MSS. One
early MS. however, together with the Historia Brittonum, places
the Burgundiones and the Langobardi among the descendants
of Ermenus, and the Wandali and the Saxones among those
of Inguo.

1 Cf. Miillenhoff, Deutsche Altertumskunde, III. p. 325 ff.

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 200.

It has often been observed that Pliny's reference to the

The Istaeuones as " those nearest to the Rhine " agrees

istaeuones. well w^ the statement jn this genealogy that

the Franks were descended from Istio. Unfortunately, owing

perhaps to an old scribal error, no tribal names are included

among the Istaeuones in our MSS. of Pliny1. Tacitus makes

no attempt to fix the position of this group, while no names

similar to Istio or Istaeuones occur in later writers. We are

unable therefore to get beyond the observation noted above.

Concerning the Inguaeones we have more information.

The Tacitus states that they were the Germani wlio

inguaeones. jj^ nearest to the Ocean. This statement is not

easy to reconcile with the list of nations represented as descended
from Inguo in the genealogy ; but it is to be observed that the
genealogy does not mention any of the northern peoples except
the Saxons. Pliny says in one passage that the Inguaeones
were the first nation in Germany to be encountered by a
traveller coming along the coast from the east, and in another
that the Chauci, Cimbri and Teutoni were included among
them. It is to these names therefore that we must now turn
our attention.

We have already seen that the Chauci (Kau%ot) are repre-
sented by Ptolemy as living along the coast between the Ems
and the Elbe and divided into two branches by the Weser.
Possibly this is why Pliny speaks of Chancorum gentes.
Ptolemy's statements agree well enough with what is said
elsewhere by Pliny and also by Tacitus in his Annals. Accord-
ing to the Germania (cap. 35) the Chauci extended inland to
a considerable distance — presumably along the basin of the
Weser — and bordered upon the Chatti. There can be little
doubt however that these two tribes had only become neighbours
during the latter part of the first century through the migration
of the Angriuarii and the defeat of the Cherusci by the Chatti
{Germ. 33, 36). After Ptolemy's time the Chauci are seldom
mentioned. We find them attacking the territories of the

1 Some mss. have Cimbri, but this seems to have been taken from the preceding
sentence.

C 14

2IO THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

Roman empire during the reign of Marcus Aurelius1; but after
this they seem to have disappeared as a nation.

With regard to the Cimbri and Teutoni the facts are as
The cimbri follows. Ptolemy (II. II, § 12) places a tribe called
and Teutoni. Kimbroi in the extreme north of the peninsula which
seems to derive its name from them. Further he mentions, as
we have seen, a tribe named Teutones beside the ' Auarpoi,'
apparently in Mecklenburg, and to the west of these a tribe
named Teutonoaroi beside the ' Ouirounoi,' presumably in
Holstein. As there is reason for believing (cf. p. 199) that
Auarpoi and Ouirounoi are corruptions of the same name
( Varini), we may probably conclude that there is some close
connection between Teutones and Teutonoaroi. Of other
ancient writers Tacitus {Germ. 37) mentions only the Cimbri,
whom he places ' next to the Ocean ' and apparently beyond
the Chauci. Pliny (IV. 96) speaks of an immense gulf called
Codanus, the extremities of which are on one side the Mons
Saeuo and on the other the ' promontory of the Cimbri.' This
gulf, he says, is filled with islands, including one called Scadi-
nauia, the size of which has not been ascertained, though the
known portion of it is inhabited by a nation called Hilleuiones
who occupy five hundred pagi. In another passage (XXXVII. 35)
he quotes a statement of Pytheas that the inhabitants of an
island called Abalus sold amber to the neighbouring Teutoni.
Mela (ill. 31) also mentions the Sinus Codanus, which he
describes as long and narrow, and lying above the Elbe. It is
inhabited, he says, by the Cimbri and Teutoni. Again in
III. 54 he states that in the Sinus Codanus there is an island
called Scadinauia which is still inhabited by the Teutoni.
Strabo (p. 292 ff.) speaks of the Kimbroi as ' inhabiting a
peninsula, but places them apparently to the west of the Elbe.

1 Aelius Spartianus, Didius Iulianiis, cap. 1. Possibly the Chaibones (for which
name some MSS. have Cattiones) mentioned in connection with the Heruli by
Mamertinus (cf. p. 95) may have been the same people. Not much importance
can be attached to the occurrence of the name Caucus in Claudian, De laude Stiliconis,
I. 225, while the proposed reading Kauxovs for Kovadous in Zosimus, III. 6, must
be regarded as at least uncertain.

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 211

In the Res Gestae Diui Augusti, cap. 26, the Cimbri, Charydes
and Semnones are said to have sent envoys to seek the friend-
ship of the emperor.

There is no doubt that the Romans themselves when using
these names were thinking of the Cimbri and Teutoni who
invaded the province of Illyricum in B.C. 113 and who, after
ravaging a large part of western Europe, were eventually
exterminated by the Roman general Marius at the battles of
Aquae Sextiae and Vercellae. The appearance of the names
Cimbri and Teutoni in the geographers is therefore an identi-
fication, whether correct or not, of the nations from which these
hordes had set out. In the case of the Cimbri indeed the
identification is clearly stated both by Strabo and Tacitus.
Modern writers, however, have thrown doubt upon this evidence,
and at the present time it is the prevailing view that the Cimbri
and Teutoni of the geographers were antiquarian fictions, and
that no nations bearing these names were in existence at the
beginning of the Christian era.

Strabo (p. 293) states that the Cimbri presented the emperor
Augustus with the most sacred cauldron which they possessed
and asked him for his friendship and for forgiveness for what
had occurred in the past. The event referred to here is obviously
the same as that which is mentioned in the Res Gestae Diui
Augusti. What Strabo says may be merely the construction
put upon the acts of the envoys by the Romans ; but at all
events there seems to be no reason for doubting that an
embassy was sent, and further that it was sent by a nation
which the Romans believed to be identical with the Cimbri.
With regard to the Teutoni the case is not so clear, because
this nation is not mentioned by Strabo1, except in one passage
(p. 201) apparently derived from Caesar. Later writers however
(e.g. St Jerome, Ep. ad Agerachiam) represent them as having
come from the farthest coasts of Germany. Moreover, Pliny's

1 In two passages (pp. 183, 293) dealing with the Cimbric invasion Strabo speaks
of a people called Tuvyevoi, who are said (p. 293) to have been a part of the
Ilelvetii. It has been suggested that this form is a scribal error for Tovrovoi (Teutoni),
and consequently that the Teutoni really belonged to the Ilelvetii. But both Strabo
himself (p. 201) and Velleius (11. 12) reckon the Teutoni among the Germani.

14 — 2

212 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

quotation from Pytheas seems to show that a tribe of this name
had been known to travellers in the north long before the
Cimbric migration. On the whole therefore I cannot see any
reasonable ground for doubting that there did exist on the
northern coasts nations which the Romans identified, rightly
or wrongly, with the famous Cimbri and Teutoni. These
nations may of course have disappeared after the time of
Augustus, for it was probably during that period that the
information given by Mela and Pliny was acquired. On the
other hand Ptolemy may have had more recent information,
though this again is by no means certain.

But, granting that such nations existed, there is considerable
difficulty in determining their geographical position. Strabo,
Pliny and Ptolemy agree in locating the Cimbri upon a penin-
sula, and both the latter authorities describe this as the
peninsula or promontory of the Cimbri. The Teutones are
located by Ptolemy apparently in Mecklenburg, while Pliny
gives no indications as to their position. Mela on the other
hand places both the Cimbri and the Teutoni in the Sinus
Codanus, which he says lies above the Elbe. Before we go
further it will be well to try to ascertain what is meant by
' Sinus Codanus.' This gulf is mentioned also by Pliny (IV. 96),
who says that it extends from the Mons Saeuo to the promontory
of the Cimbri, and that the island Scadinauia, by which he
clearly means Sweden, lay within it. The manner in which he
speaks of the ' Mons Saeuo1' distinctly implies that it lay at no
great distance from the frontier of Germania, which according
to Pliny himself (IV. 97) apparently, as well as Mela and
Ptolemy, was formed by the Vistula. It would seem then that
the Mons Saeuo is to be identified with some range of hills
near the coast of West Prussia ; but, since these are all low, we
may suspect that Pliny's description is inaccurate and that the
name really belonged to the cliffs of Rugen. In either case the

1 incipit deinde clarior aperiri fama ab gente Inguaeomwi quae est prima in
Germania. mons Saeuo ibi inmensus nee Riphaeis iugis minor inmanem ad

Cimbrorum usque promunturium efficit sinum qui Codanus uoealur quidam

haee habit ari ad Vistilam usque jluuium a Sarmatis, Fenedis, Sciris, Hirris
tradtint etc.

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 213

Sinus Codanus can hardly mean anything else than the part
of the Baltic which lies between the coast of Prussia on the one
side and the Jutish peninsula on the other. It is true that
modern writers have identified the Mons Saeuo with the hills
on the south coast of Norway1 and consequently made the
Sinus Codanus correspond to the whole of the Baltic. But by
doing so they entirely disregard Pliny's language and attribute
to the ancients a geographical discovery which was probably
not known in the west of Europe before the time of King
Alfred2. Indeed it is clear, not merely from Ptolemy's map, but
also from the application of the term insula to Scadinauia and
from the use of Oceanus by Pliny (IV. 94) and Tacitus {Germ. 43 f.),
that the ancients were quite unaware of the fact that the Baltic
was a gulf.

There certainly seems to be some discrepancy between the
statements of Mela and those of Ptolemy. But are we justified
on this ground in assuming that all attempts to locate the
Cimbri and Teutoni are due to antiquarian speculation ? In
the case of the former nation the references to the peninsula
seem to me to be so explicit as to render this view improbable.
I think it is by no means impossible that the discrepancies
noted above may be explained otherwise. We may observe
that the Cimbri and Teutoni are not the only nations about
whose position our authorities disagree. Pliny states that the
island Scadinauia was inhabited by a tribe named Hilleuiones
which occupied five hundred pagi. This name can hardly be
different from Ailonaiones which Ptolemy places on the mainland
to the east of the Teutones and Auarpoi. Now is it not possible
that all these discrepancies may be due to the use of an
awkwardly constructed map? So far as I am aware, there is
no reason for believing that any map of northern Europe
constructed on scientific principles was in existence before the

1 Of course it is not true that any of the hills or cliffs of north-eastern Germany
are as high as the Valdai Hills {Riphaca iitga) ; but the statement that the hills on the
coast of southern Norway were not less than the Valdai Hills though true would
be ridiculous.

2 From Adam of Bremen, iv. n, it may be inferred that the geography of the
further part of the Baltic was unknown to the Germans even in the middle of the
eleventh century.

214 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

time of Marinus. The language used by Latin writers, especially
Mela's description of the Sinus Codanus, seems to point to a
map similar in form to the Tabula Peutingeriana, which is
believed to be descended from the wall-map set up in the
Forum at Rome by Augustus. If the ancients could represent
the Bay of Biscay, which they knew very well, as a long and
narrow inlet, is it likely that they would hesitate to represent
the Sinus Codanus, of which they knew very little, in the same
way ? If they did have a map in which the Sinus Codanus was
represented thus, the discrepancies noted above might have
arisen out of the overcrowding of names in a narrow space.
Thus it might come about subsequently that certain nations
might be located by one writer in the gulf itself and by another
on the adjacent coasts on either side.

But have we any means of deciding which of the various
positions assigned to the Cimbri and Teutoni are likely to
be correct? In the case of the Cimbri the balance of evidence
certainly favours northern Jutland. Moreover the province of
Aalborg, the northernmost part of Jutland south of the Liimfjord,
was formerly called Himmerland (Himbersyssel), which may
very well mean ' land of the Cimbri1.' This identification is
especially favoured by the fact that the province of Ringkj^bing
was formerly called Hardeland or Harthesyssel (in Old Norse
literature HorS), a name which recalls the Charoudes or Charydes
mentioned beside the Cimbri by Ptolemy and in the Res
Gestae Diui Augusti, though the position assigned by Ptolemy
to this tribe does not quite suit the province of Ringkj^bing.
Again between these two provinces on the sea we find another
now called Tisted but formerly Thyland or Thythesyssel (in
Old Norse literature ThioS), which, so far as the name goes,
may represent the Teutoni of ancient times. The district in
question has certainly been exposed to inundations from the
sea and in this respect therefore will suit the conditions as well
as any of the coast-regions of the North Sea.

1 For these identifications see Schiitte, Anz. f. d. Alt. xxvui. 14 f., and on
the other side Kossina, Indogerm. Forschungen, VII. 290 f., note, where they are
regarded with more or less scepticism. If, as there seems no reason to doubt,
Cimbri and Teutoni are Teutonic names, we must suppose that they have preserved
archaic and probably Celtic orthography.

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 21 5

If these identifications are correct we shall have to suppose
that the early geographers, before Ptolemy or Marinus, regarded
the Liimfjord as part of the Sinus Codanus — a hypothesis which
at all events has the merit of accounting for Mela's description
of the latter. It is to be observed that the presence of three
islands, called Alokiai, off the north end of the peninsula in
Ptolemy's map shows that the fjord had at that time more
than one entrance towards the west. What these islands were
may be seen from Adam of Bremen, IV. 16, where we again,
nine hundred years later, hear of three islands in this quarter.
Adam however fortunately gives their names, Wendila, Morse
and Thud, i.e. clearly the modern provinces of HjoVring (formerly
Vendsyssel, Old Norse Vendill) and Tisted and the island of
Mors. The channels had been silted up before Saxo's time,
though one of them at least was open in the tenth century
and apparently during the early part of the eleventh1.

This explanation would lead us to conclude that both the
Cimbri and the Teutoni really lived in what we now call
the north of Jutland. However that may be, I think the
hypothesis that these nations were located in and around the
Sinus Codanus in some early map will satisfactorily account
for all the geographical notices which we find regarding them
in ancient writers. Pliny's statements that the Inguaeones
begin at or near the mons Saeuo, and that the Cimbri, Teutoni
and Chauci belonged to this group may quite possibly come
from the same source. On the other hand the latter of these
statements might be based on nothing more than some such
expression as proximi Oceano Ingaeuones which we find in
Tacitus.

We may now turn to the Hermiones. In this group Pliny,
as we have seen, includes the Suebi, Hermunduri,

The Her-
miones and Chatti and Cherusci. The last three names need

not detain us long. Both the Chatti and Cherusci

were very well known to the Romans, and there is abundant

evidence that both inhabited the basin of the Weser. The

1 Cf. Saxo, pp. 325, 388; Olafs Saga Tryggvasonar (Heimskringla) 41, St Olaf's
Saga (id.) 157 f., Saga Haralds harSraSa (id.) 60.

2l6 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

former lay in its upper reaches, the Werra, Fulda and Eder,
while the Cherusci occupied the middle part of the basin,
together probably with its tributaries, the Aller and Leine.
The Hermunduri bordered upon the Chatti, apparently about
the upper waters of the Werra, and extended southwards to
the frontier of the Roman province of Vindelicia. Into this
region however they are said to have moved, with the consent
of the Romans, just before the beginning of the Christian era.
In A.D. 5, according to Velleius, II. 106, they were still conter-
minous with the Semnones on the Elbe. It would seem then
that at this time they occupied the whole of the basin of the
Saale.

The name Suebi is of very frequent occurrence from the
earliest times. In Chapter V. we had mention of a nation
called North Suabi. During the fifth and following centuries
the name is applied to the Alamanni, to a Teutonic people who
settled in Spain and perhaps also, by some writers, to the
Bavarians. When we come back to earlier times we find
Ptolemy speaking of the Soueboi Langobardoi, the Soueboi
Angeiloi and the Soueboi Semnones. Tacitus uses the term
in a far wider sense. Indeed he seems to apply it to all the
peoples of eastern Germany. He speaks of the eastern part
of the Baltic as mare Suebicum and includes in ' Suebia ' even
the Sitones, a nation whom he represents as living beyond the
Suiones (in Sweden). The westernmost of his Suebi seem to
be the Semnones, Langobardi and Hermunduri. An explana-
tion of Tacitus' use of the term may perhaps be obtained from
Strabo, p. 290, where a list is given of tribes subject to the
Marcomannic king Maroboduus. Most of the names unfor-
tunately are corrupt, but the list probably includes the Goths
(BovTcovas) and the Lugii (Aouiovs), a tribe which is located
in eastern Germany both by Ptolemy and Tacitus. The passage
closes with the words : " (he acquired supremacy also over)
a great tribe belonging to the Suebi (Xorjficu) themselves,
namely the Semnones." Here we find that So'r/ySot is clearly
a group-name, covering more than one tribe, but that Maro-
boduus' supremacy extended also over a number of tribes which
did not belong to this group. Hence it seems probable that

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 217

Tacitus applies the name Suebi to tribes which had been
brought under Suebic supremacy, though even in that sense
the extent of Suebia is probably exaggerated. The tribes which
Strabo himself counts among the Suebi are the Quadi, Marco-
manni, Hermunduri, Semnones and Langobardi. One of these
tribes, the Hermunduri, were, as we have seen, allied with the
Romans in the first century and had occupied northern Bavaria
with their consent ; yet we find them intervening in the dynastic
struggles of the Marcomanni on more than one occasion. The
others all belonged to the kingdom of Maroboduus until his
war with the Cherusci, when the Semnones and Langobardi
renounced their allegiance. It is probable however that these
tribes were all more or less united politically for a long period.
For we hear of Langobardi taking part in the Marcomannic war,
and even as late as the year 213 it is recorded (Dio Cass.
LXXVII. 14) that Caracalla received embassies from the tribes
who dwelt about the mouth of the Elbe at a time when he was
apparently dealing with the Alamanni.

From the evidence at our disposal we need have but little
hesitation in accepting Strabo's statements that the five tribes
mentioned above belonged to the Suebi. The group may also
have included some smaller tribes such as the Naristi (or
Varisti?) and the Marsigni, which are not mentioned by Strabo.
More important for us however is the question how far the
Suebi extended to the north. Tacitus, as we have seen, includes
the Angli, together with all the other tribes who worshipped
Nerthus, among the Suebi, while Ptolemy speaks of the Soueboi
Angeiloi. Yet we have no evidence from later times to confirm
this. We have seen however (p. 136 f.) that there certainly was
a tribe called Suebi living in the immediate neighbourhood of
the Angli, perhaps in western Holstein. The occurrence of the
names Engle and Swaefe side by side in Widsith tends indeed
to show that the Angli were not reckoned among the Suebi,
at all events not within the period covered by English tradition ;
and, as we have suggested above (p. 203 f.), it is scarcely beyond
the limits of possibility that Ptolemy's expression Soueboi
Angeiloi may have arisen out of the fact that the (North) Suebi
and the Angli were neighbouring tribes.

2l8 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

It has been thought that in addition to the tribes mentioned
above the name Suebi was specially applied to one particular
tribe which had no other name and which wandered about
between south-western Germany and Pannonia. But the evi-
dence brought forward in favour of this view is by no means
convincing, and it seems more probable that the people whom
we find called Suebi on various occasions were at one time
Semnones, at another Quadi or Alamanni etc. I do not deny
of course that Suebi may have been a tribal name at a remote
period. In historical times however it appears likely that every
Suebic tribe had a name of its own. The most doubtful case
is that of the North Suebi. I have suggested above that this
name was applied to the tribe by its western and northern
(non-Suebic) neighbours and that the name by which it was
known to its southern neighbours was Heruli. If this ex-
planation is erroneous we shall have to suppose that among
themselves and to other Suebic tribes they were known only
by local and dynastic names.

If we now sum up the results of our discussion with regard
to the Suebi we shall see that, whatever affinities there may have
been between the various tribes in other respects, they clearly
formed a geographical unit. They were the inhabitants of the
basin of the Elbe. From time to time of course we find off-
shoots from them extending beyond this area, and the river-name
Souebos may perhaps be taken as evidence for their presence
in the eastern part of Mecklenburg from early times. On the
whole however the observation seems to be practically correct
for the first centuries of the Christian era. The non-Suebic
tribes which Pliny includes among the Hermiones, namely the
Chatti and the Cherusci, lived as we have seen in the basin
of the Weser. Whether any tribes further to the west were
included we do not know. With regard to those which lay
to the east of the Suebi we may, as we shall see shortly, give
a negative answer if we adopt Pliny's classification. The
Hermiones therefore according to Pliny's statement may
be defined as the inhabitants of the basins of the Weser
and the Elbe, excluding the coast-district between the two
rivers.

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 219

We may next turn to Pliny's fourth group, the Vandili.
This name, like Suebi, appears also in Tacitus,

The Vandili. _ , , ., r •,

Uerm. 2, among the tribes or groups of tribes
which were believed by some to be descended from separate
sons of Mannus. Except in these two passages the name does
not occur until the Marcomannic war, from which time onwards
it is found very frequently as a tribal name. Whether there
was a tribe called Vandili in the first century or not we have
no means of deciding. The view generally accepted is that
the nation known later as Vandili (Wandali) was identical with
that which in the first century was called Lugii (Lygii) and
which seems from all accounts to have occupied the upper part
of the basin of the Oder. The tribes which Pliny includes
among the Vandili are the Burgundians, the Goths and the
Varini, together with another name which cannot be identified
(cf. p. 207). The Burgundians appear from Ptolemy's state-
ments to have inhabited the lower part of the basin of the
Oder. The same authority places the Goths to the east of the
Vistula in Sarmatia ; but from Tacitus, Germ. 43, it seems
probable that they were not confined to the east of that river.
Regarding the Varini there is some doubt, as we have already
seen (p. 199), as to whether they should be identified with
Ptolemy's 'Auarpoi' or ' Auarinoi,' the former of whom are
placed apparently in Mecklenburg and the latter beyond the
Vistula. Lastly we have to take account of a tribe called
Silingai, which Ptolemy places south of the Semnones. This
tribe is not mentioned by Pliny ; but there can be little
doubt that they belonged to his Vandili. For in later times
we find a tribe described as Wandali Silingi or Wandali
cognomine Silingi1 among the Vandals in Spain. Their name
survives (in Slavonic form) in that of the modern province
Silesia, a fact which seems to indicate that their true position
lay farther to the south-east than the district in which they
are located by Ptolemy. On the whole then we shall hardly go
far wrong in concluding that Pliny's Vandili were the inhabi-
tants of the basins of the Oder and the Vistula, so far as the
latter was Teutonic at all.

1 Idatius' Chronicle ad ami. Honorii XVII, XXII, XXIV.

220 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

The two other names which according to Tacitus were
believed by some to denote descendants of separate sons of
Mann us are Marsi and Gambriuii. Both of these appear to be
names of tribes. The only other reference to the Gambriuii
is in Strabo, p. 291, where they are mentioned together with
the Cherusci, Chatti and Chattuarii. The Marsi also are seldom
mentioned, but it appears from Tacitus, Ann. I. 56, II. 25, that
they were allies and near neighbours of the Chatti and probably
also of the Cherusci. Again from ib. I. 5 1 we may infer that the
Bructeri, Tubantes and Usipetes (Usipii) lay more or less
between them and the Roman headquarters in the neighbour-
hood of Xanten. Since the Bructeri apparently occupied the
whole of the basin of the Lippe (cf. ib. I. 60, Velleius, II. 105),
while the Usipetes seem to have lived on the Ruhr at this time1,
we must conclude that the territories of the Marsi were situated
about the sources of the latter river or in the basin of the
Diemel. It is not unlikely that a trace of them may be pre-
served in the place-name Marsberg (formerly Mersburg). After
the first years of Tiberius' reign we have no further references
either to the Marsi or the Gambriuii.

Now if we compare the names Marsi, Gambriuii, Suebi and
Vandili on the one hand with the names Istaeuones, Ingnaeones
and Hermiones on the other, we cannot fail to notice certain
marked differences between the two series. Marsi and Gam-
briuii are names of tribes. Suebi may not have been a tribal
name, but we have satisfactory evidence in most cases for
deciding what tribes were included under this name. With
regard to Vandili the case is not so clear, probably because
the Romans had little to do with the peoples of eastern Germany
during the first century. We do not know whether it was a
tribal name at this time, though it certainly was later ; nor do
we know whether there was any close relationship between these
later Vandals and the Burgundians. There is clear evidence
however for such a relationship between the Vandals and the
Goths. Indeed according to Procopius (Vand. I. 2) they differed

1 The exact position of the Tubantes is uncertain, hut they probably lived in the
neighbourhood of the Chatti (cf. Ptol. II. n, § 23 ; Tacitus, Ann. xiii. 56).

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 221

only in name ; they spoke the same language, which was called
Gothic, and were alike in all other respects.

On the other hand the names Istaenones, Inguaeones and
Hermiones are clearly of a different character. They never
occur except in geographical writings and we have no reason
for believing that they were terms in ordinary use. When we
try to determine what tribes belonged to each group we are
dependent entirely on Pliny's statements. His classification, as
we have seen, appears to be geographical, but we do not know
on what grounds it was based. Some modern writers have
expressed doubt as to whether the Chatti and Cherusci really
belonged to the Hermiones. In later times the Chatti appear
to have been included among the Franks ; but the Franks
belonged in all probability to the Istaeuones. Moreover there is
a certain amount of evidence — somewhat inconclusive, it is true
— that the Chatti had come into the basin of the Weser from the
north-west, not long before the beginning of the Christian era.
In the case of the Inguaeones Pliny's account is still less
satisfactory, for with the exception of the Chauci the only
names which he gives are those of tribes famous in ancient
history but apparently reduced to insignificance in his own day.
I am much inclined to suspect that the Germani of Pliny's time
would themselves have found considerable difficulty in stating
to which of the three groups each of the various tribes then
existing belonged.

It may perhaps be urged that the survival of the names
Istio, Ingno and Erminus in the Frankish genealogy (p. 208)
shows that these divisions remained in living force for centuries
after Pliny's time. But this argument can hardly be maintained.
It is to be observed in the first place that the genealogy, like
Tacitus, gives a classification according to three divisions only
as against the four-fold classification adopted by Pliny. Now
of the thirteen tribal or national names which appear in the
genealogy four (Goti, Wandali, Gepedes and Burguudiones) would
in all probability belong to Pliny's Vandili, four {Thuriugi,
Laugobardi, Baioarii and Alamanni) to his Hermiones, one
(Franci) to his Istaeuones and perhaps one {Saxones) to his
Inguaeones. Of the remaining three names one ( Walagoti)

222 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

is obscure and probably corrupt, while the others are not
Teutonic at all. Now in order to bring about any agreement
between Pliny's scheme and that of the genealogy we shall have
to suppose that the Vandili and Inguaeones of the former have
been amalgamated. But as a matter of fact the majority of the
MSS. include the Goti, Wandali, Gepedes and Saxones among the
descendants of Erminus. The only text which gives the Wandali
and Saxones to lnguo separates them from the Goti and Gepedes.
Again the Alamanni are assigned to Istio by all texts. Lastly
what is to be said of the inclusion of the Romans and Britons ?
The most, I think, which can be gathered from this document
is (i) that the old names (Istio, lnguo, Erminus) were still
remembered, and (ii) that the author, assuming that he was
a Frank, was aware that his own nation claimed descent from
Istio. The rest of the scheme is indeed generally regarded as
conjectural and based on the political divisions of the time when
it was composed. But have we any reason for believing that
the knowledge possessed by the German i of Pliny's age was of
a very different character?

Some modern writers have sought to make up for our lack
of information regarding the Istaeuones, Inguaeones and Hermi-
ones by utilising the evidence of language. Starting from the
statement that the Inguaeones lived next to the Ocean they
have identified this group with the Anglo-Frisian linguistic
group. Then Pliny's Vandili are equated with the Gothic or
East-Teutonic linguistic group, and finally the Istaeuones and
Hermiones with the peoples who speak Low and High German
dialects respectively. It is to be observed that this last equa-
tion involves the identification of the Hermiones with the Suebi ;
and consequently those who adopt it necessarily reject Pliny's
statement that the Chatti and Cherusci belonged to the Hermi-
ones. In one point this scheme certainly rests on a solid
foundation, namely in the fact that the Vandals and Goths
spoke the same or very similar languages, though with regard
to the Burgundians the evidence is not so clear. But the
identification of the Inguaeones with the Anglo-Frisian group
rests on the assumption that languages of this type were once
spoken in the western Baltic, a hypothesis for which no solid

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 223

evidence has been produced. Further, as we shall see shortly,
the only reminiscences of the names Inguo and Inguaeones
preserved by tradition refer to the Scandinavians, who are not
included in any of the groups identified above. The whole
scheme indeed seems to me to be based on a fundamental error.
The sound-changes which differentiated the Scandinavian, Anglo-
Frisian and German groups of languages from one another
appear to have operated in the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries.
On the other hand the ethnic groups called Istaeuones, In-
guaeones and Hermiones seem to have been obscure and
probably antiquated in the first century. With the Vandili the
case may be different, for the eastern languages were clearly
differentiated from the rest at an earlier period. It is possible
also that the Suebic languages differed from those of their
neighbours on the west in certain respects (e.g. in the treatment
of Teut. -c-), as well as from those on the east, as early as the
second century. But we have seen that the Suebic and Vandilic
groups really differ from the other three and are presumably of
later date.

The antiquity of the latter groups may perhaps be best
appreciated when we reflect that the others seem to have been
by no means of recent growth. It is clear from Strabo's
distinction between the Suebic and non-Suebic elements in
Maroboduus' kingdom that the origin of the group must date
from before the time of that king. Half a century earlier we
find Ariouistus leading a similar combination of tribes. Yet it
is not at all likely that he was the first to establish the group ;
for it is not clear that all the tribes which he ruled over were
Suebic. Again, the centre of his power lay apparently in the
south-west of Germany, whereas the Semnones who inhabited
the basin of the Elbe claimed to be the most ancient and noble
of the Suebi. It seems clear then that the origin of the Suebi
as a group must be put back at least beyond the time of Caesar.
It is true that we cannot trace the Vandili in the same way.
The Marsi and Gambriuii were tribes, as we have seen, but the
context in which their names occur {Germ. 2) justifies us, I
think, in assuming either that they had once been very important
tribes or that they had stood at the head of confederacies.

224 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

Yet their names disappear from history after the campaigns
of Germanicus. On the whole then there seems to be good
reason for believing that these groups were not of recent origin
in the first century of our era.

Indeed it is a hypothesis, for which little or no evidence
is available, that they originated in political causes at all. The
Suebi, as we have seen, appear to have been more or less
politically united for a considerable period ; but our authorities
do not suggest that the group arose out of such a union. The
only hint as to its origin which has come down to us is Tacitus'
statement that the Marsi, Gambriuii, Suebi and Vandilii were
believed by some to be descended from different sons of
Mannus — from which we may infer that by the natives them-
selves the bond was regarded as one of blood-relationship.
But as to what in practice constituted the bond between the
various Suebic tribes we are not informed. It is not unlikely
that they had similar laws and customs. The only characteristic
feature recorded by Tacitus is that they dressed their hair
differently from the rest of the Germani. Owing however to
Tacitus' loose use of the term Suebi we do not know whether
this custom was characteristic of the Suebi proper or whether
it was common to all the eastern and northern tribes.

A better answer may probably be obtained from a con-
sideration of Germ. 39. Here we are told that " the Semnones
claim to be the most ancient and noble of the Suebi. Their
claim to antiquity is established by the existence of religious
ceremonies. At a fixed time all the nations of the same stock
meet together by means of delegates in a forest which has been
rendered sacred by the auguries of their forefathers and by
a traditional feeling of dread. Here they begin their barbarous
festival in gruesome fashion by slaying a man publicly.
Moreover this is not the only way in which veneration is shown
to the grove. The whole of their religion is centred on this
spot, their idea being that it was from there that the tribe was
sprung and that there is the home of the god who rules over
all, while everything else is subject and obedient. The claim
put forward by the Semnones receives further confirmation
from their prosperous condition ; for they occupy a hundred

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 225

cantons, and the greatness of their numbers leads them to
regard themselves as the chief people of the Suebi."

From this passage we learn not only that the various Suebic
tribes believed themselves to be united by blood-relationship
(omnes eiusdem sanguinis populi), but also that they met together
for the performance of common religious ceremonies. Now it
is to be observed that in the territory of the Marsi there was
a sanctuary, which Tacitus calls the ' temple of Tamfana,' and
which he says was the special resort of all the neighbouring
tribes (Ann. I. 51) — including perhaps the Bructeri, Tubantes>
Usipetes, Chatti and Cherusci. From this we may infer with
some probability that the Marsi had once occupied a position,,
similar to that of the Semnones, at the head of a religious
confederation of tribes which claimed descent from a common
ancestor. Whether the names Gambriuii and Vandilii represent
similar religious confederacies we do not know ; but in the
latter case the fact that Tacitus mentions the existence of an
important sanctuary in the territories of a tribe1 belonging to
the Lygii or Lugii (cf. p. 219) certainly gives some support to
the suggestion2.

Is it possible that the Istaeuones, Inguaeones and Hermiones
were likewise religious confederations? If these three names
really included the whole of the Germani, we may, I think, at
once give a negative answer to this question — though of course
without denying that they may have their origin in religion.
In any case no ancient authorities give any hint of such an
explanation of the terms. It will be well for us now however
to see what evidence there is for the survival of these names
in later times.

Apart from the Frankish genealogy no trace of the name
Istaeuones appears to have been found. The others however
are fairly well represented in personal names. In the North

1 The name of the tribe is uncertain, Nahanaruali or Naharnali (Germ. 43).

2 It has been suggested that the name borne by the royal family of the Vandals
(Asdingi) points to a connection with this sanctuary (cf. Mtillenhoff, Zeitschrift fiir
deutsches Alteriam, XII. 346 f.) ; but the suggestion must be regarded as very
doubtful. If the name is to be connected with O. Norse haddr, 'coiffure,' I should
prefer to explain it by the custom described in Germ. 38.

226 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

especially names compounded with Ing(u)- seem to have been
very common at all periods, e.g. Ivarr ( Yngvarr), Ingibiorg,
IngigerSr. In England such names, e.g. Ingwald, Inguburg,
occur from the seventh century onwards, though not very
frequently, while in the Bernician genealogy we find Ingiii or
Ingibrand. On the Continent we find Ingomar, Ingofrid etc.,
the first of which goes back, in the form Inguiomems, to the
beginning of the Christian era, where it is borne by one of the
chiefs of the Cherusci. Similarly, names compounded with
Irmin- occur not unfrequently both in England, e.g. Eormenric
(Irminric), furminburg, Eormenred, and on the Continent, e.g.
Hermanaric, Irminfrith, Ermintrndis, from early times. The
name of the Cheruscan chief Arminius at the beginning of the
Christian era is doubtless a derivative of the same stem, if, as
has been suggested, the form has been affected by Celtic
pronunciation.

The latter of these words appears also in the Scandinavian,
English and German languages in a number of

The Irminsul. . . . ... . ,

poetical compounds with the meanings vast,
' infinite ' or ' monstrous,' e.g. eormengrund, ' vast earth,' eormencyn,
' vast race,' iormiingandr, ' monstrous demon,' irminthiod, ' vast
people,' irmingot, ' infinite God.' The most famous of such
words is Irminsul, the name of an immense wooden shaft or
pillar worshipped by the Old Saxons at a place called ' Eresburg,'
now Marsberg on the Diemel1. It was cut down in the year
772 by Charlemagne, who spent three days in destroying the
sanctuary and carried off much gold and silver. These facts
rather lead us to infer that the Irminsul was regarded as a
national object of worship. There is some evidence however
for believing that this was not the only pillar of its kind. The

1 Some modem writers hold that the place where the Irminsul stood lay some-
what farther to the north, in the neighbourhood of Lippspringe. But Thietmar
{Chron. II. 1) states distinctly that its site was subsequently occupied by St Peter's
Church in 'Eresburg.' It is certainly very remarkable that the Saxons should have
had an important and rich sanctuary so close to their frontier, and one can hardly
resist the suspicion that it may have been a sacred place before it came into their
hands. The position would suit that of the templum Tamfanae mentioned by
Tacitus {Ann. I. 51).

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 227

historian Widukind after narrating the victory of the Saxons
over the Thuringi at Scheidungen on the Unstrut in 531
(cf. p. 91 f.) gives the following account of their subsequent
proceedings : " In the morning they planted their eagle at the
eastern gate and, piling up an altar of victory, paid appropriate
reverence to the objects of their worship according to the
superstition of their fathers, representing by name Mars, by
the likeness of pillars Hercules, by position the Sun, who is
called Apollo by the Greeks." That this really is a reference
to the Irminsul is shown by the next sentence : " Hence the
view of those who hold that the Saxons are descended from the
Greeks has a certain amount of probability, for Mars is called
Hirmin or Hermes in Greek, a word1 which we use in ignorance
even at the present day when we wish to express praise or
abuse." No doubt Widukind's story contains unhistorical
elements ; but I think we are justified in inferring from this
passage that he regarded pillars bearing the name Irmin as
a symbol of the Saxon religion which in early times at least
might be set up elsewhere besides in the sanctuary at Marsberg.
The origin and significance of the Irminsul has never been
quite satisfactorily explained. It seems to have some connection
with the Maypoles of England and Germany. For in former
times these were often of considerable height. The church of
St Andrew Undershaft in London is supposed to have derived
its name from a tall Maypole which overtopped the church-tower
in the fifteenth century. Another, which was set up in the
Strand in 1661, is said to have been 134 feet high. But the
Irminsul seems to have been a more highly developed form
of the pillar-cult. The only ancient work which gives any
account of it is the Translatio S. Alexandri, cap. 3, where the
following passage occurs : " (The Saxons) also worshipped a
shaft of wood of no little size which was set up aloft in the open.
In their own language they called it Irminsul, quod Latine dicitur
universalis columna, quasi sustinens omnia." It has been observed
that the last sentence suggests an idea similar to that of the
world-tree in Scandinavian mythology.

1 I understand this sentence to refer to the use of such expressions as Irmingot,
Iormungandr (see above).

15 — 2

228 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

The question whether the Irminsul was connected with the
worship of any god or hero called Irmin is one which is now
generally answered in the negative. Yet Widukind's language,
obscured as it is by confusion with Graeco-Roman mythology,
distinctly implies that he had some such connection in his mind.
It is true that we have no satisfactory evidence for believing
that Mars was called Irmin1 in any Teutonic language any
more than he was called Hermes in Greek. But in addition
to Mars (whose name is preserved in Thvesdaeg etc.) and
Mercurius (Woden), Tacitus mentions a third god whom he calls
Hercules and whose true (Teutonic) name has never been
satisfactorily ascertained. Of him he says little except that
brave men were wont to call upon him before battle {Germ. 3).
In another passage {ib. 34) however it is stated that a Roman
prince, Drusus the Elder, had during his campaigns in Germany
heard of the existence of ' pillars of Hercules ' but was prevented
from investigating the truth of the report because he had
no means of crossing the sea. Now, since Drusus advanced
as far as the Elbe, the rumour, if it contained any truth, referred
presumably to the regions across the North Sea, quite possibly

1 The identification of Irmin with the Teutonic 'Mars' was put forward long ago
by MiAllenhoff {Deutsche Altertumskunde, IV. 519 ff.) and has been favourably
received by a number of subsequent writers ; but the arguments in support of it are
far from convincing. Perhaps the chief one is that the place where the Irminsul
stood was formerly called 'Eresburg' (now Marsberg). This place was sometimes
described as Mom A/artis in documents of the thirteenth and following centuries ;
and it is held that Er was a name of Mars because of the ancient Bavarian name
for Tuesday, £r(i)tac or Erichtag, often erroneously given as Erestag. For a
discussion of this question see Much, Festgabe fiir R. Heinzel, p. 195 ff. But surely
Mons Martis may equally well be a learned substitution for Mersbitrg, which is said
to occur nearly two centuries earlier (cf. Grimm, Tent. MytholA., I. p. 198) and which
may have a different origin (cf. p. 220). Again it is assumed that in Germ. 39 the
phrase eiusdem sanguinis populi refers to the Hermiones, from which is drawn the
questionable inference that the regnator omnium deus worshipped by the Semnones
must have been Irmin. On the other hand in the ancient gloss Cyuuari. Suapa
(Graff, Diutiska, II. 370) the former word is taken to mean ' verehrer des Ziu' —
though this translation surely requires some explanation. Hence it is inferred that
Ziu (Tiu) also was the chief god of the Suebi (Semnones). Lastly, since Irmin
is regarded as 'ein allumfassender himmelsgott,' the identification of the two
deities is materially facilitated by the incorrect phonetic equation of the name Tiu
with Zeus.

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 229

therefore to the home-land of the Saxons. Is there anything
then to prevent us from supposing that the pillars of which he
heard may really have been early examples of the Irminsul ?
If Widukind could speak of 'pillars of Hercules' with reference
to the Irminsul, may not a Romanised German of the first
century have been capable of using the same expression ?

Perhaps it may be thought that this rumour is too insecure
a foundation to build upon. There is however another con-
clusion at which we may arrive with somewhat greater
confidence. We have seen that the names Suebi and Marsi,
if not Vandilii also, appear to be connected with religious
confederacies. In the case of the Istaeuones, Inguaeones and
Hermiones we have no evidence for such confederacies. Yet
if the name Hermiones has anything whatever to do with
religion — which is a priori probable — we are surely not justified
in rejecting the single piece of evidence at our disposal which
serves to connect it with a religious observance. But if we
do admit a connection between the Irminsul and the Hermiones,
we must allow either that the Saxons themselves belonged to
the Hermiones or that they had taken the cult over from a
'Hermionic' tribe. Now the district about Marsberg was
inhabited in the earliest times for which we have records by
the Marsi or the Cherusci, later apparently by the Chatti.
There is no evidence that it was ever occupied by a Suebic
tribe. Consequently if there is any connection between the
Irminsul and the Hermiones we may conclude that the identi-
fication of the latter with the Suebi is erroneous.

The hypothesis that the cult had been taken over by the
Saxons from the earlier inhabitants of the district is favoured
to some extent by the fact that Pliny includes both the Cherusci
and the Chatti among the Hermiones. We may farther note
that according to Tacitus, Ann. II. 12, the former possessed
a grove sacred to Hercules, which on one occasion at least
served as a meeting-place for the neighbouring tribes. We
have no evidence however that they practised a pillar-cult.
In favour of the Saxon hypotheses stands the apparently
national character of the cult ; against it Pliny's definition
of the Hermiones as mediterranei, though personally I regard

230 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

this definition as less trustworthy than the rumour in Germ. 34.
On the whole the most probable conclusion seems to me to be
that, though the place where the Irminsul stood may have been
an old sanctuary, the association of the pillar-cult with Irmin-
Hercules was Saxon from the beginning, and consequently that
the Saxons as well as the Cherusci belonged to the Hermiones.
Apart from the Frankish genealogy and the references to
ingand Hercules given above we find no mention of a god
Yngvi. or hero namecj Irmin. The evidence for a person

named Ing is somewhat more satisfactory. Indeed some
reminiscence of him seems to have survived in England until
late in the Middle Ages1. One of the letters in the Runic
alphabet bears his name, and the same name (enguz) has been
transferred to one of the letters of the Gothic alphabet. In the
Anglo-Saxon Runic poem the following account is given :
" Ing was first seen by men among the East Danes, but sub-
sequently he departed eastwards over the sea, a car speeding
after him. This was the name given to the hero by the
Heardingas." In this passage it is clear that Ing is a personal
name, and also that the person so designated belonged to
Denmark. Elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon literature the name does
not occur. In Beowulf however we find the expressions eodor
Ingwina, 'defence (lit. palisade) of the Ingwine,' and frea
Ingwina, 'lord of the Ingwine,' once each (11. 1045, 1320). The
name Ingwine is regarded by some as a compound word, lit.
' friends of Ing,' and by others as a form related to Inguaeones.
In any case however it is to be observed that both these
expressions are applied to the king of the Danes — a fact which
specially deserves notice in connection with the account of Ing
in the Runic poem.

In Old Norse literature we find no forms exactly corre-
sponding either to Ing or to Ingwine, though Saxo (p. 224)
speaks of a king of the Gotar named Unguinus. The name
Yngvi (Ingi) however, which seems to be merely an extended
form of Ing and identical with the Ingno (Ingo) of the Frankish
genealogy, occurs fairly often in both legendary and historical

1 Cf. Robert of Brunne's Chronicle, fol. 85.

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 23 1

times. We may note specially that it is a name of Frey, the
national god of the Swedes and the reputed ancestor of their
royal family. In Ynglinga Saga, cap. 20, it is stated that not
only the god himself but every one of his descendants individually
was called Yngvi or Inguni, while collectively they were known
as Ynglingar. The god himself was also called Yngvifreyr and
Ingunarfreyr, the latter of which is a somewhat curious form.
If we divide it as Ingitnar-freyr it can hardly have meant origin-
ally anything else than ' lord (husband ?) of Ingun,' the latter
being presumably a feminine proper name. More usually1 it
is regarded as a contraction of Inguna-drfreyr, which would
mean literally 'bounty-lord of the Ingunar (or Ingunir).' This
explanation at any rate agrees with the fact that it was mainly
for bounty or abundance {til drs) that Frey was worshipped,
while at the same time it will serve to bring the whole term into
connection with the expression frea Ingwina in Beowulf. To
this question however we shall have to return later.

It is to be observed that there is a curious discrepancy
between the English and Scandinavian evidence in regard to
the use of these I tig- forms. In the North not only do we find
the ancient kings of Sweden bearing the title ' Ynglingar ' ; the
cult of Frey itself seems to be of Swedish origin. It was indeed
known in Norway, especially in the Throndhjem Fiord, and
carried thence to Iceland when that island was colonised. But
there appears to have been a belief that it had originally been
imported from Sweden. Thus the royal family of Norway,
who likewise called themselves Ynglingar, claimed to be
descended from the ancient dynasty of Sweden. We may
refer also to a speech attributed to King Olaf Tryggvason
(Flateyiarbok, I. 402 ff.), where an account is given of the origin
of the cult. This account agrees very well with the story given
in Yngl. Saga 12, according to which Frey was the founder of
Upsala. The two passages, however, are not entirely indepen-
dent. In Denmark we have no evidence that Frey was
worshipped at all. Saxo mentions Frey (Fro) five times in
the course of his History, but on every one of these occasions

1 Cf. especially Kock, Historisk Tidskrift, XV. 167.

232 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI [CHAP.

it is in connection with Sweden or Swedish heroes. Two
references occur in the story of the battle of Bravik (p. 260).
Certain Swedish warriors in Ringo's army are said to have
belonged to the household of the god Frey; and again others
are said to have traced their descent from the god Frey. In
a third passage (p. 30) it is stated that Hadingus, a mythical
king of the Danes, having killed an unknown sea-monster,
offered a sacrifice to Frey in order to propitiate the deities.
He ordained this sacrifice to be a permanent institution, re-
curring at regular intervals. " It is called Froblod by the Swedes."
Again (p. 74 f.), Frey, the satrap of the gods, took up his abode
near Upsala and instituted a new method of sacrifice to the gods
by offering human victims. Lastly (p. 185), Starcatherus stays
seven years in Sweden with the sons of Frey until the proceed-
ings at Upsala at the time of the sacrifices drive him away in
disgust. In every passage then Saxo seems to regard Frey as
essentially a Swedish god ; for Froblod is probably the name
of the great festival at Upsala. Both Norwegian and Danish
tradition therefore point to Sweden, and especially Upsala,
as the original home of the cult.

On the other hand we have seen that in the English authorities
both Ing and the Ingwine belong to Denmark. In Beowulf
the Swedish royal family is frequently mentioned, but no such
name as Ynglingar is ever applied to them. They are invariably
called Scylfingas, a name of which we find only the barest
mention in Old Norse literature. How these discrepancies are
to be explained is far from clear. It is possible of course that
in spite of the silence of Beowulf traditions connected with the
name Ing or Yngvi were always known to the Swedes. On the
other hand it is perhaps not inconceivable that these traditions
may have made their way into Sweden in later times.

But, whatever may be the true explanation of these dis-
crepancies, the evidence of the native traditions as a whole
clearly tends to confirm Pliny's statement that the tribes
inhabiting the Baltic coasts belonged to the Inguaeones.
Against this we have no traditional evidence to support his
statement that the Chauci belonged to the same group. If
both the Saxons and the Cherusci really belonged to the Her-

IX] THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANI 233

miones we should hardly expect to find an intermediate tribe
with different affinities. A geographical displacement of this
kind might of course have been brought about by migration ;
and as a matter of fact there is reason for believing that a good
deal of movement towards the west had taken place during
the centuries immediately before the Christian era. In such
questions however we can hardly get beyond speculation. The
important point is that by native tradition — assuredly the most
trustworthy class of evidence which we possess in such matters —
the name Inguaeones is connected with the peoples of the Baltic,
and with them alone.

CHAPTER X.

THE CULT OF NERTHUS.

We have already had occasion to refer more than once to a
passage in the Germania (cap. 40) which contains the earliest
reference to our nation. It will be convenient now to give this
passage in full: "Next (after the Langobardi) come the Reu-
digni, the Auiones, the Anglii, the Varini, the Eudoses, the
Suarines and the Nuithones, all of whom are protected by rivers
or forests. There is nothing remarkable about any of these
tribes except that they have a common worship of Nerthus, that
is Mother Earth, and believe that she intervenes in human affairs
and visits the nations in her car. On an island in the ocean
there is a sacred grove, and within it a consecrated car covered
with a garment. One priest alone is permitted to touch it. He
is able to perceive when the goddess is present in her sanctuary,
and accompanies her with the utmost reverence as she is drawn
along by cows. It is a season of rejoicing, and festivity reigns
wherever she deigns to go and be received. They do not
undertake hostilities or take up arms ; every weapon is put
away ; peace and quiet are then only known and welcomed,
until the goddess, weary of human intercourse, is at length
restored by the same priest to her temple. Afterwards the car,
the garments, and, if you are willing to believe it, the deity
herself, are cleansed in a secret lake. This rite is performed by
slaves, who are instantly swallowed up by its waters. Hence
arises a mysterious dread and a pious ignorance concerning the

CHAP. X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 235

nature of a thing which can be seen only by those who are to
lose their lives forthwith1."

Notwithstanding the comparative fulness of the account
several features of the cult are involved in complete obscurity.
We must distinguish of course between things which were not
matter of common knowledge and things which, though they
must have been known, are not stated by Tacitus. To the first
category belongs the form of the numen. We may probably
infer from Tacitus' account that the car was believed to contain
something — some representation or symbol, whether living or
not, of the deity. But in regard to its nature it is obvious that
we cannot get beyond speculation. So also with regard to the
signs by which the priest was enabled to perceive that the
goddess was present in her penetrate. It has been suggested
that these signs may have been connected with the revival of
vegetable life ; but this cannot be regarded as more than a mere
surmise. On the other hand the time at which the festival took
place must have been known, though Tacitus has omitted to tell
us. Indeed we can hardly conclude with certainty from his
words that it was an annual festival.

There can be little doubt that the cult is connected with
certain ceremonies which have been known both in The

ancient and modern times, and which appear to
have been practised with a view to the increase of vegetable and
animal life. A striking analogy is afforded by the cult of
Cybele, whose festival at Rome is indeed believed by some
writers to have coloured the account given here by Tacitus.

1 Retidigni deinde et Auiones et Angli et Varini et Eudoses et Suarines et
Nuithones fluminibus aul siluis muniuntur. nee quicquam notabile in singulis
nisi qitod in commune Nerthum id est Terrain matrem colunt eamque interuenire
rebus hominum, inuehi populis arbitrantur. est in insula Oceani castum netnus
dicatumque in eo uehiculum ueste contectum. attingere uni sacerdoti concession, is
adesse pctietrali deam intelligit ucctamqite bubus feminis multa cum uencralione
prosequitur, laeli tunc dies, festa /oca, quaccunque aducntu hospitioque dignatur.
non bella ineunt, non arma summit ; clausum omne ferrum ; pax et quies tunc
tantum nota, tunc tantum aniala, donee idem sacerdos satiatam conuersationc mor-
talium deam templo reddat. mox ueliiculuin et uestes et si credere uelis numen
ipsum secreto lacu abluitur. serui ministrant quos statim idem lacus haurit.
arcanus hinc terror sanctaque ignorantia quid sit illud quod tantum perituri uideut.

236 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

Still closer than this however is the parallel supplied by a
passage in Gregory of Tours, De gloria Confessomm, cap. jy :
" They say that there was once an image of Berecynthia in this
city (Autun), as the history of the passion of the holy martyr
Symphorianus relates. Bishop Simplicius was present when
they were carrying this about on a waggon to secure the welfare
of their fields and vineyards, according to the wretched custom
of- the heathen, and saw them at no great distance singing and

playing in front of the waggon When he made the sign of

the cross the image straightway fell to the ground and the
beasts which were drawing the waggon on which it was carried
were unable to proceed. The immense crowd was amazed, and
all shouted that the goddess had been injured. Victims were
sacrificed and the draught-animals were beaten, but yet they
were unable to move. Then four hundred of the foolish crowd
gathered together and said : ' If the deity has any power let her
arise of her own accord and order the oxen which are fixed to
the ground to proceed,' " etc. Simplicius lived during the latter
part of the fourth century. It is possible that the cult of the
Eastern goddess Berecynthia (Cybele) had been somewhat
affected by native (Celtic) influence at Autun1. But, however
this may be, the story presents a sufficiently striking resemblance
to Tacitus' account of the festival of Nerthus. If we had more
detailed information we should perhaps find further points of
similarity. At all events we are told by Sulpicius Severus
( Vita S. Martini, cap. 9) that it was the custom of the peasants
in Gaul to carry round their fields images of devils covered with
white curtains.

Again several features of the cult — the covered car drawn by
oxen, the welcome extended to it by the places which it visits,
and the immersion at the end of the ceremony — all these actually
occur in the popular festivals of northern Europe. But the
theory that the cult has a specially close connection with May
Day and Whitsuntide festivals seems to me not to have been
sufficiently made out. In the latter we do find the May tree

1 It is clear, however, as Mr Frazer has pointed out to me, from details given in
the Passio S. Symphoriani, cap. 6 (cf. Ruinart, Ada Martyrum Sincera et Selecta,
1713, p. 82), that the deity worshipped at Autun really was Cybele.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 237

brought in festal procession from the woods. But the re-
semblance in this case is only superficial, for Nerthus' car was
kept in a sacred grove and replaced there when the festival was
ended — a proceeding for which the May ceremonies present no
analogy. The waggon which bears the May tree is seldom
covered, while immersion whether of the tree or the waggon is
quite exceptional. Again, the May tree, when it has been
decked out, remains fixed in one place as long as the festival
lasts. It is not taken round from village to village, and seldom
even from house to house. Above all Tacitus' account leaves
no room for doubt that the worshippers themselves were not
aware that the car contained a tree, or indeed any vegetable
substance.

Perhaps the nearest analogy among these May ceremonies is
the Russian custom practised on the day called Semik, i.e. the
Thursday in Whitsun week (cf. Mannhardt, Baumkultus, p. 157).
On this day the peasants repair to the woods and cut down a
young birch which they dress as a woman. They hold a
banquet in front of it, and the girls recite verses which speak of
offerings made to the tree. It is then brought to the village and
set up in some house where it is treated as an honoured guest
for three days. Similar customs however are known at other
times of the year. Among the Slavs of the lower Elbe
{ib. p. 174) an oak used to be set up on July 2. This oak
was brought from the forest on a waggon drawn by oxen and
covered during its journey with the men's cloaks, so that it
could not be seen. In some parts of Russia (ib. p. 414 f.) a
straw figure called Kostroma is dressed as a woman, decked
with flowers and laid in a trough. It is then carried to the bank
of a stream where after a mock fight it is torn to pieces and
thrown into the water. Those who have tried to rescue it then
beein to lament the death of Kostroma. Even in Teutonic
lands we find the customs of May Day closely paralleled in rural
festivals at other times of the year, especially in connection with
the ingathering of the harvest1.

1 Cf. Mannhardt, op. fit., p. 190 ff., Myth. Forsch. pp. 326 f., 333.

238 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

The Gaulish rites mentioned above remind us of certain
plough ceremonies practised in the winter among Teutonic

Monday. peoples, a trace of which is preserved in the name
' Plough Monday,' applied to the first Monday after Epiphany.
On this day it was formerly customary for the youths of the
village to drag a plough about from house to house, soliciting
contributions. They were dressed in white shirts and decked
out with ribbons, and often known as 'Plough bullocks.' One of
them was often got up to represent an old woman with long
nose and chin and called Old Bessy, while another, the fool, was
dressed in skins and wore a long calf's tail. In Cheshire the
custom is known to have been practised on the eve of Epiphany1.
In the evening the plough was brought into a barn ; a sword-
dance was held round the plough, on which Old Bessy and the
fool were seated, and the proceedings ended with a feast.
Similar customs are known in Germany, where however they
took place during the spring, sometimes about the beginning of
Lent or at Easter. In some cases the plough was drawn by
unmarried girls. At the end of its journey it used often to be
burned or thrown into a stream2. Among the Slavonic inhabi-
tants of Carinthia the plough is dragged round the borders of
the fields, and this is thought to be the most primitive form of
the custom3.

The connection between these practices and the procession
of Berecynthia at Autun lies not so much in the character of the
ceremonies themselves as in the motives by which they seem to
have been inspired. According to the generally received opinion
the object of plough-ceremonies originally was to secure the
fertility of the fields, the immersion and burning of the plough
being regarded as charms for rain and sunshine respectively4.
In certain cases indeed there are features — we may note es-

1 Reinsberg-Diiringsfeld, Das festliche Jahr^, p. 37 f.

2 Mannhardt, Baumkuttus, p. 553 ff.

3 lb. p. 556.

4 lb. pp. 554, 564. Praetorius {Deliciae Prussicae, p. 55; cf. p. 60), after
describing how people were immersed at what seems to have been a corresponding
ceremony in Prussia, adds: "dies bedeutet dass Gott zu rechter Zeit der Saat genug
Wasser geben moge. "

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 239

pecially the songs used at these ceremonies in the island of
Alsen1 — which point to the fertilisation of animal, and even
human, as well as vegetable life. So in an English reference
which dates from the year 1493- we hear of "the ledingh of the
ploughe aboute the fire as for gode beginning of the yere that
they schulde fare the better all the yere followyng." It is worth
observing that similar ceremonies are practised in Russia as a
charm against pestilence3. The time at which the ceremonies
take place in Teutonic lands points to a connection with the
New Year. This is clearly shown by the English example
quoted above. In Denmark the day chosen for these ceremonies
is January 1. Even in Germany the days for which the practice
is known in various districts are generally such as have been
used at one time or another for the beginning of the year. In a
single case, dating from 1530, at Ulm, we hear of processions
with ploughs and boats during Advent4.

We have seen that the procession at Autun bears, in some
respects at least, a striking resemblance to the festival of Nerthus.
It is not an unreasonable conjecture therefore that the two
festivals may have had a similar object in view. Unfortunately
we are not told in either case at what time of the year the festival
took place. From the analogy of the plough-ceremonies how-
ever it seems quite as likely that they were connected with the
New Year as with the coming of summer. Of course I do not
mean to suggest that the plough-ceremonies present any close
resemblance to the festival of Nerthus as described by Tacitus.
Indeed we find no mention of the plough anywhere among the
scanty references to heathen Teutonic ritual which have come
down to us. But it is worth noting that the boat, which is
mentioned beside the plough in the Ulm case given above, does

1 Mannhardt, ib. p. 558; cf. especially the lines:

med lange Rug paa Jolde
og favre Foler i Stolde,
med Fisk udi vor Fiinge
og smukke Piger i Senge,
saa Vuggen den kan gange
med deilige Born og mange etc.

2 Ib. p. 553 f. ; Brand, Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain
(1849), '• P- 5o6.

3 Mannhardt, ib. p. 561 f. 4 lb. p. 555.

240 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

seem to have been used symbolically. In Germ, 9 Tacitus says
that "some of the Suebi also sacrifice to Isis. How and whence
this foreign rite came into use I have not been able to ascertain,
though the fact that the symbol itself is shaped after the model
of a light galley, shows that the cult has been imported." We
are not told whether the pars Sueboriim mentioned here is the
same as the pars Sueboriim in cap. 41. Certainly we must not
assume that the numen of cap. 40 was a boat, for we are expressly
told that its form was unknown. Yet it is at all events worth
noting that the boat was apparently the symbol of a female
deity who was identified by the Greeks with Demeter and who
might quite well be described as ' Mother Earth1.'

If we turn now to the records of Scandinavian mythology it
is a remarkable fact that we do find a deity bearing a name,
NiorSr, which is identical with Nerthus. This deity however is
a male, and what we are told of him does not exactly correspond
to what we should expect to be the characteristics of Nerthus.
According to Gylfaginning 23 he rules over the course of the
wind and calms the sea and fire. He is to be invoked for the
purpose of travelling by sea and fishing. He is so wealthy and
possesses so much money (cattle) that he can give possessions
both in land and moveables to whomsoever he wishes. He is to
be invoked for this purpose. Elsewhere (VafhruSnismal 38 f.,
Ynglinga Saga 4, etc.) it is stated that NiorSr did not originally
belong to the Aesir, the divine tribe ruled by Othin, but to a
tribe named Vanir, and that he was given as a hostage to the
Aesir together with his son Frey and his daughter Freyia.
According to Yngl. S. 1 1 NiorSr succeeded on Othin's death to
the government of the gods, and his reign was marked by such
peace and plenty that the Swedes believed he had control over
these blessings.

Among the references to the religious rites of the heathen

Th Scandinavians there is one which is generally agreed

god Frey. ^Q have an important bearing on Tacitus' account

of the cult of Nerthus ; and it is curious to note that this rite

1 Cf. Servius ad Aen. vm. 696 : Isis antem lingua Aegyptiorum est Terra, quam
uolunt esse ; cf. Dieterich, Mutter Erde, p. 83 ff. (a reference for which I have to
thank Mr A. B. Cook).

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 241

was connected not with NiorSr, but with his son Frey. The
story in question occurs in the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason,
cap. 173 x. A Norwegian named Gunnarr Helmingr who had
been accused of manslaughter fled to Sweden and took refuge
at the sanctuary of the god Frey. This sanctuary possessed an
image of the god which was able to speak, and was under the
charge of a young and beautiful woman who was regarded as
the god's wife. Gunnarr succeeded in ingratiating himself with
the priestess, but was not looked upon with favour by the god
himself. When winter came the god had to set out with his
wife on a car in order to bring about an abundant season for
men (gera monnum drbot). A large crowd accompanied them.
Their journey lay along a mountain road and they were over-
taken by so severe a storm that the car was unable to make any
progress, and all its attendants except Gunnarr deserted it.
Gunnarr struggled on for a while at the priestess' entreaties, but
at last, when he was becoming exhausted, he sat down in the
car. The priestess told him that Frey was angry and asked him
to continue leading the beast2. He did so for a while and then
said he must risk the god's anger. Then Frey came down from
the car and the two struggled together. Gunnarr began to feel
that he was getting the worst of it and made a vow that if he
should succeed in overcoming the god he would go back to
Norway, make his peace with King Olaf and return to the true
faith. Then he succeeded in felling the god ; the evil spirit flew
out of the image, and Gunnarr broke the latter in pieces. The
priestess consented to give out that he was the god, and he put
on the god's clothes. Then they mounted the car, the weather
took up, and they arrived at the place where a feast had been
prepared for the god. The people marvelled greatly at the
god's power in coming unaided through such a storm and noted
how he was now able to walk about with other men and to eat
and drink like them, though he spoke little except to his wife.
They spent the winter moving from one feast to another. The

1 Fornmanna Sogur; Flateyiarbok, I. p. 337 ff.

2 The car was drawn by a single beast, which is once (only in the Fornm. S. text)
1 called hestr, 'horse'; elsewhere the word used in both texts is tykr, 'draught-animal'

(horse or ox). The use of hestr may therefore be due to an oversight.

242 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

god would have no sacrifices, but was ready to receive gold and
other treasure. In course of time it was observed that the god's
wife was with child, which was regarded as a good sign. The
weather was mild and everything seemed to bode well for the
harvest. The god's fame began to be noised abroad and came
even to the ears of King Olaf in Norway. He suspected that
Gunnarr was personating the god, and in the spring sent his
brother to him with an offer of pardon in order to induce him to
return. On receiving this message Gunnarr and the god's wife
made their escape secretly, taking with them as much treasure
as they could.

The time at which Frey's peregrinations began is not clearly
indicated. But it cannot have been during the spring, for
Gunnarr is represented as spending the winter at feasts. Pre-
sumably then the journey began either in the autumn or early
in the winter. Now the ancient Scandinavians are said to have
had three great annual festivals1. One was at midwinter and is
called in Yngl. S. 8 a sacrifice for the increase of vegetation (til
groftrar)-. Another was about the beginning of summer and is
said to have been a sacrifice for victory (til sigrs). The third
was at 'the winter nights,' i.e. the beginning of winter (about the
middle of October). This last is represented as a sacrifice for
plenty and peace (til drs ok friftar) or for the blessings of abund-
ance (til drbotar). If, as is generally supposed, the Scandinavian
year began originally in the autumn, the sacrifice at the winter
nights may very well have been a New Year festival. We may
note that the blessings of plenty and peace are those for which
the god Frey, like his father NiorSr, is said to have been invoked3.
Moreover on the one occasion on which we find a sacrifice to
Frey exactly dated it took place at this time. The passage in
question (Gisla S. Surssonar, p. 27) refers to an Icelander,
Thorgnmr, surnamed FreysgotSi (' priest of Frey '), who lived

1 Cf. Yngl. S. 8, St. Olaf's S. (Heimskringla) 115, 123; with the last of these may
be compared the S6guJ>attr af Hakoni Harekssyni, cap. I. (Fornm. S. xi. p. 422).

2 The distinction drawn between this expression (which occurs only in the passage
specified) and til drs is not easy to understand. In St. Olaf's S. 114 the midwinter
sacrifice is said to be 'for peace and a good winter.'

8 Cf. Yngl. S. 12 1\, Hakonar S. Gofta 16, etc.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 243

about the middle of the tenth century, and states that he had
a house-party in the autumn, at the winter nights, to greet the
winter and to sacrifice to Frey. On the whole then we need
scarcely hesitate to believe that the festivities in which Gunnarr
Helmingr took part probably began in the autumn, though they
may have lasted throughout the winter.

Now it is worth noting that both in England and Sweden
November was called the 'month of sacrifice' {blotmonaft,
blotmauad), which seems to indicate that religious ceremonies
were connected with the slaughtering of superfluous stock before
the winter. On the Continent we find Widukind (I. 12) de-
scribing the first days of October as dies erroris on account of the
celebrations practised in connection with the Irminsul. Indeed
the evidence for religious gatherings at this season goes back to
the earliest times. Tacitus only once gives us the means of
determining the time of a Teutonic festival, namely that of the
Marsi described in Ann. I. 50 f., and it is clear from the context
that this took place during the month of October. We may
further note that according to Mathias a Michov1 the chief
religious meeting of the Prussians was held on the first of
October. Other writers however, Alexander Guagninus and
Lasicius2, say that the great Prussian festival took place towards
the end of the month. They quote moreover certain invocations
which were addressed at this festival to Ziemiennik, an ' earth-
god3,' and which seem to point to the beginning of a new year.
On the whole then I think we may conclude — in the absence of
any indication on the part of Tacitus — that both these Conti-
nental analogies and the evidence for the Scandinavian cult of
Frey tell in favour of the view that the festival of Nerthus began
during the autumn.

We do not know whether any noteworthy ceremonies were
intended to take place at the close of the festivities described in
the story of Gunnarr Helmingr, for Gunnarr seems to have fled
while the festivities were still in progress. The general resem-
blance however which the story bears to Tacitus' account of

1 Grynaeus, Nouns Orbis Regionum, etc. (Bale, 1532), p. 520.

2 Respublica Poloniae, Lituaniae etc. (Leyden, 1642), pp. 2j8f., 283^

3 Cf. Usener, GotL-rnamen, p. 105.

l6 2

244 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

Nerthus leads us to infer that the two festivals belonged to the
same class of cult. The identity of the names Nerthus and
NiorSr even tends to show a historical connection between the
two cults, in which case we must of course suppose that Frey
has taken the place of his father. It is to be observed that the
name Frey-r seems originally to have been an epithet, ' lord/
perhaps an abbreviation for Yngvifreyr or Ingunarfreyr (cf.
p. 231). Again, the characters of the two gods are in general
somewhat similar, though Frey is far more frequently mentioned.
In Skaldskaparmal 7 he is described as drgiiS, 'god of plenty,'
and fcgiafi, which may be translated ' giver of moveable property.'
But the original meaning oi fe was undoubtedly 'livestock '; in
Iceland it was used specially of sheep. The word dr has two
meanings, annus and annona. Most frequently it is used to
denote the produce of the season1, though from this it comes to
be applied also to prosperity in general. Thus when Frey is
said to make his journey for the purpose of bringing about an
abundant season or abundant crops for men (gera mdnnnm
drbot) the idea is practically the same as when ' Berecynthia '
is carried about at Autun pro saluatione agrorum ac ninearum.
Taken together the two terms drguS and fegiafi seem to
represent Frey as the god who gives to men increase both of
vegetable and animal life.

In Ynglinga Saga Frey is represented as ruling over the
Swedes in succession to his father NiorSr. His reign was blessed
with peace and plenty beyond measure. When he died his
body was carried secretly into a great barrow and the fact of his
death was not made known for three years. The tribute-money
was still taken as before and poured into the barrow. After
three years the Swedes became aware that he was dead, but
since plenty and peace still continued they believed that such
would be the case as long as Frey was in Sweden. Therefore
they would not burn him in accordance with Othin's ordinances;
but they called him veraldar gd& and sacrificed to him for peace
and plenty ever afterwards. The expression veraldar gd6 is
probably to be translated ' god of human life,' and may perhaps

1 In Jomsvikinga S. 3 iFornm. S. xi. p. 8) dr is used as a synonym for korn ok
dnnur gaezka, 'corn and other good things.'

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 245

be explained by a passage in Adam of Bremen's History, IV. 26.
Speaking of the great temple at Upsala Adam says that it
contained the images of three gods, Thor, Wodan (Othin) and
Fricco, by which name he almost certainly means Frey. Fricco
he describes as the giver of peace and pleasure to mankind.
He says also that his representation was phallic and that he was
invoked at marriages1. It is worth noting in this connection
that the only surviving poem (Skirnismal) which deals primarily
with Frey represents him as wholly abandoned to passionate
love for the giantess GerSr.

The account given of Frey in Gylfaginning, cap. 24, is as
follows : " Frey is the most excellent of the gods. He governs
the rain and the shining of the sun and thereby also the increase
of the earth. On him it is good to call for plenty and peace.
He governs also the wealth (fesaela, orig. ' wealth in livestock ')
of men." On the strength of this passage it has been supposed
that Frey was originally a sky-god or sun-god. But the
attributes mentioned here are rather those of a being who grants
fertility both to vegetable and animal life. The blessings which
he gives are identical indeed with those which the leading of the
plough seems to have been intended to secure. For the latter,
as we have seen (p. 238 f.), were not limited to the fructification of
the fields. They were connected also with the fertility of animal,
and even human life.

That the cult of Nerthus was likewise connected with the
fructification of vegetable or animal life or both may be inferred
from Tacitus' description of the goddess as Terra Mater, and
also from the resemblance which the cult bears to that of
• Berecynthia ' at Autun as well as to that of Cybele at Rome
and elsewhere. Yet, even if we allow that Frey may be only a
secondary form of NiorSr, there still remains a serious difficulty
in the way of identifying the two cults. Both NibrSr and Frey
are male divinities, while Nerthus is a female. It is to this
difficulty that we must now turn our attention.

1 tertius est Fricco, pacetn uoluptatcmque largiens mortalibus ; cuius etiam

simulacrum fingunt cum ingetiti priapo si nuptiae celebrandae sunt, Fricconi

(h'batur).

246 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

In the first place we may observe that NiorSr has, in addition
The goddess to his son Frey, a daughter named Freyia who is a
Freyia- sort of female counterpart of her brother. According

to Gylf. 24, " Freyia is the most excellent of the goddesses. She
has a dwelling in heaven which is called Folkvangr, and when
she rides to battle she receives half the slain, while the other
half go to Othin. Her palace, Sessrumnir, is large and beautiful,
and when she travels she sits in a carriage drawn by cats. She

is most accessible to invocations from men and delights in

love-songs. It is good to call upon her for erotic purposes."
A number of love adventures are recorded of her. According
to Yngl. S. 4 Freyia was a sacrificial priestess and was the first
to introduce among the Aesir the practice of sefor (sorcery),
which was customary among the Vanir. In a later passage
(cap. 13) she is said to have succeeded Frey in the government
of the Swedes. Her connection with the future life appears
again in Egils S. Skallagn'mssonar, cap. 78, where Thorger'Sr,
Egill's daughter, says that she will not taste food again until she
is with Freyia, i.e. until she is dead.

The only poem concerned primarily with Freyia is HyndlulioS,
the subject of which is as follows. A certain man named Ottarr
the son of Innsteinn, who has built Freyia a shrine and honoured
her with sacrifices, has a dispute with a rival in regard to
succession to an inheritance. Freyia, accompanied by her boar,
comes to visit the giantess Hyndla and asks her to recite the
pedigree of Ottarr, whom she calls her husband. Hyndla
recounts the names of many famous heroes, and at the close
Freyia asks her to give the ' ale of remembrance ' {minnisol) to
her boar, so that he may recall all that has been said when he
comes to meet his rival. The boar therefore is Ottarr in disguise,
a fact which has been suspected by Hyndla throughout. The
poem thus affords a curious parallel to the story of Gunnarr
Helmingr. Just as in the latter Frey's priestess is called his
wife, so here Freyia's priest is called her husband.

Owing to the fact that the sagas contain but few references to
any cult of Freyia it has been assumed by many modern writers
that this deity was a product of the imagination of Norwegian
and Icelandic poets towards the close of the heathen age. But

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 247

the comparative silence of the authorities may equally well be
accounted for on the hypothesis that the cult was becoming
antiquated. It is worth noting that with the exception of
ThorgerSr HolgabriiSr, whose cult seems to have belonged to the
north of Norway, Freyia is the only female being of whose
worship we find any mention at all in Old Norse literature.
Yet the works of Tacitus contain several references to the
worship of goddesses. Hence we are led rather to infer that the
importance of the female divinities had decreased in the course
of time.

Is it possible that Frey was a later form of Nerthus and that
Freyia represents an intermediate stage ? An analogy for such
a change of sex is perhaps to be found on the opposite side of
the Baltic. Praetorius frequently refers to the cult of an ' earth-
goddess' named Zemynele1, who grants fertility to the fields
{Deliciae Pmssicae, p. 66) and receives the souls of the dead
(ib. p. 101 ff.). In another passage (p. 7) we hear of Zamolnksei
(dat.) ' d. i. der Erdgottin,' who seems to be the same being.
But we find also a male Ziameluks, " ein Herr oder Gott der
Erden und derer die in der Erde begraben worden." This god
also seems to have had more than one name, for he can hardly
be a different person from the Ziemiennik to whom we have
already had occasion to refer (p. 243). Again, Praetorius speaks
also of a god called Zemepattys or Zempattys (p. 66) : " die
Nadraven, Zalavonen u. s. w. meinen dass in der Erde was
Gottliches stecket, nennen es Zempattys als mannliche und
Zemynele alsweibliche Gottheit." For the relationship between
the two deities we may compare p. 31 : "die Zemynele die auch
Zemyna, item Zemynylena genennet wird, wird gehalten vor des
Zemepatys Schwester." The parallelism with Frey-Freyia is
therefore somewhat close. But the conception of the earth-deity
as female is surely to be regarded as the more original form.

Again, it is worth noting that the cult of Frey has certain
characteristics which elsewhere are usually associated with
goddesses. Among many nations the worship of the goddess of

1 This name is a diminutive of Lith. Zonyna, 'earth-goddess,' and clearly related
to zeme, ' earth.'

248 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

fertility is connected with a religious regard for the pig. As an
example we may take Tacitus' account of the Aestii, the ancient
inhabitants of the coast of Prussia, a people whom he represents
as more devoted to agriculture1 than any other tribe in Germany.
He says {Germ. 45) that " they worship the Mother of the gods.
The distinguishing mark of their cult is that they wear the
shapes of wild boars. This serves for armour and a protection-
in all things, rendering the worshipper of the goddess safe even
among foes."

Now the same symbol, the boar, was widely used in the
North in heathen times. Indeed it was perhaps the commonest
form of ornament on the helmets of ancient Scandinavian
warriors. An example of a helmet with a boar upon it has
been found at Benty Grange, near Monyash in Derbyshire.
Further, pictorial representations of such helmets are to be seen
on a bronze plate found at Bjornhofda in Oland and on a helmet
discovered at Vendel near Upsala. Mention may also be made
of the figures on the silver bowl found at Gundestrup, which is
supposed to date from very early times2. Several allusions to
the figures of boars on helmets occur in Beowulf (11. 303, 1 1 12 f.,
1287, 1454), and we need have no hesitation in believing that
the helmet called Hildigoltr ('battle-boar'), which belonged to
King ASils (Skaldsk. 44), was of this form. Another helmet
called Hildisvin (' battle-pig ') was taken by the same king from
his opponent, King Ali, who according to Beowulf was his uncle
and predecessor. But the emblem was not confined to helmets.
One of the gifts presented to Beowulf by King Hrothgar, in
reward for his services, was a standard in the form of a golden
boar's head (Beow. 1022, 2153). Again, one of the treasures
which Hrolfr Kraki's knights required of King ASils in return
for the services they had rendered him was a ' gold ring,' a
precious heirloom in his family (Skaldsk. 44). This ring, which

1 The pig is a common form of the corn-spirit both in Germany and the Baltic
Provinces; see Mannhardt, Myth. Forseh., p. i86f. ; Frazer, The Golden Bough*,
II. 284 ff. Cf. also Praetorius, op. cit., p. 55. Particularly it should be noticed that
in Oesel the last sheaf is called ruggi orrikas, 'roggeneber' (Mannhardt, I.e., note).

- This example cannot be regarded as certain, for some of the other figures on the
bowl point to its being of Gaulish origin or at least a copy of a Gaulish work.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 249

Saxo (p. 55) describes as an enormously heavy necklace, was
called Svi'agrfss, ' the sucking-pig of the Swedes.'

It can hardly be supposed that these figures were designed
for a purely ornamental purpose. We are reminded of the
effigies et signa which according to Tacitus {Germ. 7) were kept
by the ancient Germans in their sacred groves and carried by
the priests into battle, and again of the deproviptae siluis lucisque
ferarum imagines which Civilis' German auxiliaries had brought
with them {Hist. IV. 22). From the analogy of the usage of the
Aestii we may infer that the boar was the symbol of the deity
under whose protection the warrior believed himself to be. In
the case of the Swedish kings, among whom the use of the boar-
emblem seems to have been especially common1, we need hardly
hesitate to believe that this was Frey (or Freyia), the deity from
whom they traced their descent. Nor is confirmatory evidence
wanting. Both Frey and Freyia are said to have possessed
golden or gold-breasted boars, which had been made for them
by the dwarfs (Hyndl. 7, Gylf. 49, Skaldsk. 35). The one
belonging to Freyia was called Hildisvini, with which we may
compare the name of King Ali's helmet. Again, in the Saga
HeiSreks konungs ens vitra, cap. 10, it is related that a boar was
sacrificed to Frey at Yule. This boar was called sonargoltr
(' boar of the herd ') and was the largest which could be found.
Vows were made over its breast. In one text of Hervarar S. ok
HeiSreks, cap. 14, where the same incident is described, the boar
was given to Freyia.

It is possible that the boat was another symbol of the god
Frey. At all events we are told (Gylf. 43, Skaldsk. 35) that the
dwarfs had made for him a boat called Ski&'blaSnir which would
hold all the gods and yet might be 'folded up in so small a
compass that he could put it in his wallet. We have already
noticed that the emblem of the Suebic goddess ' Isis,' who is
perhaps to be identified with Nerthus, was a boat and also that
there is some evidence for the use of boats in plough ceremonies.

1 It is worth noting that in Hrolfs S. Kraka 43 Htolfr and his men while staying
at Upsala are attacked by a boar, or rather by an irresistible demon in the form of a
boar, which ASils has sent against them. Throughout this saga A'Sils is represented
as a wizard.

250 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

Both these symbols tend to connect the cult of Frey with
those of female deities. It may be urged however that Frey is
not only a god of fertility — a characteristic which may satis-
factorily account for his possessing symbols which elsewhere
belong to goddesses — but that he is also the ancestor of a kingly
family. This family, as we have already seen, was that of the
Ynglingar, the ancient dynasty of Sweden. But the name
Ynglingar seems not to be of very great antiquity, for in
Beowulf, where five kings or princes of this family are mentioned,
no such term is ever applied to them. They are always called
Scylfingas. Further, it is worth noting that a reminiscence
of the same name is preserved in Ynglingatal, where Ottarr
(Ohthere), the father of ASils, is called Skilfingr. It would seem
then that the name Ynglingar has taken the place of an earlier
name Skilfingar1. Now, whatever may have been the real origin
of this name2, the analogy of the Skioldungar (Scyldungas), the
Danish royal family, who traced their descent from Skioldr
(Scyld), would lead us to expect that the Skilfingar (Scylfingas)
claimed to be descended from an eponymous Skialfr (Scylf).
No such name however occurs3. But we do find two examples
of the feminine name Skialf. In the first place it is one of the
names of the goddess Freyia herself (Skaldsk. 75). Secondly,
it is that of one of the early Swedish queens, the wife of King
Agni. The story connected with her is as follows. A eertain
king named Vi'sburr gave his wife three large farms and a gold
necklace as a dowry, but subsequently divorced her and withheld
his gifts. She had recourse to a sorceress named Huldr, who
brought it about that the king was killed by his sons. At the

1 This form occurs as the name of a family in Hyndlulio'S and in several prose
texts, but there seems to have been some doubt as to its application. According to
Flat. I. 25 they belonged to Horftaland in western Norway, while Skaldskaparmal,
cap. 64, places them in the Baltic. It has been suggested that the HorSaland family
was really a branch of the Ynglingar; cf. J. Jonsson, Ark. f. nord. Filol., xix. 184 ft".

2 Originally it may have been derived from a place-name, possibly a place
formerly called Loaskialf, near Upsala (cf. L'affler, Ark. f. nord. Filol., x. i66ff. ;
Kock, Hist. Tidskrift, xv. 169).

3 In Flat. 1. 25 the Skilfingar of Hor'Saland are said to have been descended from
a man named Skelfir, but this seems to be a late and fictitious name. It is worth
noting that in the corresponding genealogy in Skaldsk. 64 the names Yngvi and

Ynglingar take the place of Skelfir and Skilfingar.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 251

same time it was prophesied that this necklace should cause the
death of the noblest of the king's descendants (Yngl. S. 17).
Five generations later King Agni, the descendant of Visburr,
went harrying in Finland, slew the king Frosti, and carried off
his son Logi and his daughter Skialf as captives. He made
Skialf his wife and at her request gave a funeral banquet in
honour of her father. The banquet was held in a tent under a
high tree, and while it was in progress Skialf exhorted the king
to fasten securely the necklace which he was wearing. But
when he had fallen into a drunken sleep she fastened a rope to
the necklace, and her followers removed the tent-pegs and
hanged the king on one of the branches of the tree. They then
all escaped by ship (id. 22).

It seems doubtful whether this story has been preserved in
its original form. The necklace which plays so prominent a
part in it may be identified with the ' ring ' Svi'agriss which we
find later in the possession of King ASils and which, we are told,
had belonged to his ancestors. But it is to be observed that the
most famous treasure of the goddess Freyia was likewise a gold
necklace, the ' Brisinga men' (Thrymskvifia 13 ff., Sorla Thattr
1 f.). Another reminiscence of Freyia is perhaps to be found in
the sorceress (serSkoJia) Huldr, for sorcery (seiftr) was introduced
by Freyia. The mischief wrought by Huldr upon the house of
the Ynglingar does not stop with the two cases related above.
Visburr's father Vanlandi had also married a Finnish princess,
Drffa the daughter of Sniar. He left her, promising to return in
three years, but he did not come back within ten. Dn'fa then
applied to Huldr who undertook either to bring Vanlandi back
or else to kill him. Foiled by the Swedes in her attempt to
bring him back, she compassed his death by means of a nocturnal
goblin (Yngl. S. 16). We may note that Freyia also was de-
serted by her husband 05r (Gylf. 35). Again the death of
Domaldi, Visburr's son by a second wife, was due to the same
sorceress. In consequence of a curse which she had imposed on
him famine prevailed during his reign, and he was sacrificed by
the Swedes in order that they might get better seasons (Yngl. S.
18). One of his descendants, Olafr Tretelgia, had a similar fate
(id. 47), and this fact suggests that the tragic ends of the early

252 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

Swedish kings may really have been due rather to a custom of
kingly sacrifice than to unfortunate matrimonial alliances.

We have to remember that the name Yngvi was borne not
only by the god himself but also by every member of the royal
house (Yngl. S. 20), from which it may be inferred that these
princes were regarded not merely as descendants but actually as
representatives of the god. This fact must certainly be taken in
connection with the sacrifices of kings noticed above, for we are
told (Yngl. S. 47) that the Swedes attributed to their kings both
plenty and famine. They were credited therefore with the same
power as the god Frey1. The famine which arose in the time of
Olafr Tretelgia was thought to have been caused by that king's
remissness in sacrificing. But this must not be assumed to mean
that he was neglecting the worship of the gods ; for the gods
themselves are represented as engaged in sacrifice (Yngl. S. 2,
4 f., 11, 13). More probably the meaning is that the king could
not or would not fertilise the earth — the purpose for which Frey
peregrinated the country in later times. The same idea appears
in a somewhat different form in the Saga of Halfdan the Black,
cap. 9. Halfdan was a Norwegian king, descended in the fifth
generation from Olafr Tretelgia, and his reign had been blessed
with unparalleled prosperity. At his death a dispute arose
between the four provinces of his kingdom for the possession of
his body ; for it was thought that the blessings of abundance
would follow the district in which he was buried. The dispute
is said to have been terminated eventually by quartering the
body. It scarcely needs pointing out that the belief here
expressed is identical with that which underlies the story of
Frey's burial (cf. p. 244).

Again, the names Freyir) and Freyia seem originally to have
been titles, 'lord' and 'lady' (like Adonis, f) AecnroLva) re-
spectively. The name Frey(r) is perhaps an abbreviation of
Yngvifreyr or Ingunarfreyr. But these may also have been
titles of the Swedish kings, for they are clearly related in some
way to frea Ingwina, the title borne by the king of the Danes in

1 For the possession of similar powers — control over rain and sunshine — by kings
and chiefs in modern times cf. Frazer, Lectures on the Early History of the Kingship,
pp. nof., 1 1 6 ff . , 133 f.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 253

Beowulf (cf. p. 230). So far as the names go, therefore, the
personality of Frey may well have been derived from the early
rulers of the Swedes. The reign of the sacred peace-kings
is not necessarily a myth, for Tacitus (Germ. 44) records some
very similar form of government as actually existing among the
Swedes in his time. Again, we have seen (p. 231) that the
compound Ingunar-freyr may be explained in two ways. The
more obvious division of the word however is Ingunar-freyr>
which would mean ' lord,' or perhaps ' husband, of Ingun,' if the
latter is taken as a feminine name. Now since Yngvi is a name
of Frey may not Ingun have been a name of Freyia? At all
events we have seen that in HyndlulioS a Norwegian prince is
described as Freya's husband1, just as in the story of Gunnarr
Helmingr the priestess is called Frey's wife. What I would
suggest then is that the sex-relations of deity and consort have
been inverted and that the position of the Swedish kings as
representatives of Frey was, like the god himself, a secondary
development — that originally they were regarded as husbands of
Freyia.

In this connection it is worth noting that according to a
speech attributed to King Olaf Tryggvason (Flat. I. 402 ff.) the
images of Frey at Throndhjem and in Sweden (presumably at
Upsala) had not originally been made as representations of the
god. So great had been the blessings enjoyed by the Swedes in
Frey's reign that at his death it was desired that someone
should be buried alive with him. But, since no one would
consent to this, they made two wooden men and put them into
the barrow with Frey, thinking that it would give him amusement
to play with them. Robbers subsequently broke into the barrow
and took out the two wooden figures. But before they could do
more they were disturbed and had to make their escape empty-
handed. The Swedes sent one of the figures to Throndhjem
and kept the other themselves. Both were called Frey and
honoured with worship. It would at all events be more in
accordance with what we know of the cult in other respects
if the deity and the figures were of different sexes.

1 This case does not stand altogether isolated. In Flat. 1. 407 f. Olaf Tryggvason
is represented as using language which distinctly implies that Ilakon, earl of Lade
(d- 995)! was regarded as the husband of ThorgerSr HolgabruSr, his special deity.

254 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

If Frey has taken the place of Freyia we should naturally
expect that it was the queens and not the kings of the Swedes
who were originally regarded as the representatives of the deity.
This would account for the appearance of such names as Va?ia
and Skidlf among the early queens. Again, if we are right in
identifying the sorceress Huldr with Freyia, the intervention of
this person on behalf of the queens would seem to suggest
that they were believed to be under the special protection of the
goddess. It may of course be objected that several of these queens
are said to have been of Finnish origin. But such statements
may surely be a reflection of later times, when exogamy had
become the custom and when sorcery was generally associated
with the Finns. We may note that among the Vanir, the tribe to
which NiorSr and Frey belonged, marriages between brother and
sister are said to have been customary (Yngl. S. 4). Frey and
Freyia were the offspring of such a union (Lokasenna 36, Yngl.
S., /. c), and we have a hint of similar relations between these
two deities themselves (Lokas. 32). The fact that such a custom
was attributed to the gods may perhaps be taken as evidence
that it was once known among men, presumably among those by
whom the Vanir were worshipped, i.e. the Swedes. If so the
change which took place in the relative positions of the king and
queen will become more easily intelligible.

What has been said above is put forward of course only as a
hypothesis, to account for the fact that a male god appears with
attributes which elsewhere belong to goddesses and to bridge
over the gulf between Nerthus and Frey. I am far from denying
either that many points in the development of the cult are
obscure or that male gods of fertility are to be found in other
religions. Especially among the Prussians and Lithuanians we
meet with a number of such gods. One of them, Potrimpo or
Padrymbo, ' der gott vom getreide,' seems to have somewhat
resembled Frey. He is said to have been represented as young
and of joyous aspect and wearing a garland of ears of corn.
A special feature of his cult was a snake, which was kept in
a bowl covered with sheaves of corn1. Another deity of the
same type was Curcho or Gurcho, who is called a god of food

1 a

Grunau, Preussische Chronik, Tract. II. cap. V. § i f.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 255

and drink and who seems to have been specially associated both
with corn and fishing. A third was Gabiauga or Gabjauja,
described as the god of barns ; he had a festival late in the
autumn. We may further add a god called Waisgautis or
Waizganthos, whose festival according to Lasicius1 took place
three days after the great autumnal feast (cf. p. 243), and who
seems to have been specially connected with the flax crop. As
to the relationship of these various deities to one another we have
no definite information. There are certain indications, however,
which suggest that they may all have been local forms of the
same conception. Thus, according to Praetorius (p. 18),
"jetziger Zeit findet man nicht bey den Nadraven noch bey den
angrenzenden Zamaiten meines Wissens dass der Padrympus
namentlich beehret wird. An dessen Stelle scheinet auszer der
Zeminele oder Zemelukis geehret zu werden der Waisgautis
d. i. der Gott der Fruchtbarkeit " etc. ; and again (p. 22) : " die
Nadrauer verehren den Gurcho oder Padrymbo unter dem
Namen Gabiauga."

It is worth noting that both Gabjauja and Curche (the earliest
form of the name Gurcho) seem to have the endings of feminine
substantives. This makes us inclined to suspect that the gods
may originally have been local forms of the earth-goddess
Zemyna or Zemynele whose cult, as we have already seen, was
widespread among the Prussians. Sometimes, however, we find
her associated with one or other of the gods, e.g. in the festival
of Gabjauja (Praetorius, p. 64 f.). Another possibility therefore
deserves to be taken into account, namely that some of these
gods may originally have been regarded rather as husbands of
the goddess2 than as actually identical with her. In modern
folklore3 the reaper of the last sheaf is sometimes described
in terms which seem to indicate that he or she was regarded as
the husband or wife of the corn spirit. We have already seen

1 Respublica Poloniae etc., p. 284.

'-' The name Zemepattys (cf. p. 247) suggests that that god may originally have
been regarded as the husband, as well as the brother, of Zemynele (cf. Lith. pais,
'husband ').

3 Cf. Mannhardt, Mythologische Forschitngen (Quellen und Forschungen, No. 51),
PP- 323ff-> 334 (cf- also p. 339).

256 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

that Potrimpo's likeness is said to have been crowned with ears
of corn. But according to Praetorius (p. 59) it was customary
for the last sheaf to be cut with special ceremonies by the chief
person present and for the ears of this sheaf to be made into a
garland, which the reaper wore on his return home. Is it too
much to infer from this that he may have been regarded as the
husband of the corn goddess ?

Now Nerthus, like Zemynele, is described as an earth-goddess
( Terra Mater). As the giver of the fruits of the earth her place
in Scandinavian religion seems to have been taken by the young
male deity Frey. If our hypothesis is correct, however, it is in
Freyia that we have really to seek the later form of Nerthus,
while the prototype of Frey is to be found rather in the priest
who alone was privileged to touch her car. Tacitus does not say
that the priest was regarded as the husband of the goddess, but
the analogy of HyndlulioS renders such a relationship probable.

There is yet another serious difficulty however which requires
to be faced, this time of a geographical character. The cult of
both Frey and Freyia is confined to Sweden, Norway and
Iceland. Frey in particular is so closely connected with Upsala
that we cannot reasonably look for the origin of his cult in any
other quarter. Yet it is quite incredible that the sacred island
of Nerthus could have been situated in a region so remote from
the territories of the Angli and Warni. Consequently, though
we can hardly fail to recognise a near relationship between the
two cults, we must not suppose that Frey has actually inherited
the sanctuary of Nerthus. We shall have to see now whether
traces of any similar cults are to be found in less distant
regions.

We have evidence for the existence of island sanctuaries both
in the North Sea and in the Baltic. In the former the only
known case is that of Heligoland, which was sacred to a god
named Fosite1. This island was famous in the Middle Ages for
its fertility ; and, moreover, it possessed a sacred spring which
might possibly correspond to the secretus lacus mentioned by

1 Cf. Alcuin, Vita Willebrordi, cap. 10; Adam Brem., iv. 3.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 257

Tacitus. On the other hand it had no trees even in the time of
Adam of Bremen, when its area was considerably greater than it
is at present. But there is a much more serious objection, which
we have already noticed (p. 200 f), to the identification of Nerthus'
island with Heligoland. In view of its proximity to the coasts
of the Chauci and the Frisii it is hardly credible that Heligoland
can have been the centre of a religious confederacy in which
these tribes had no part — especially since in later times it
actually was a Frisian sanctuary.

The various points of affinity noted above between the cult
of Nerthus and the Swedish cult of Frey tell decidedly in favour
of the view that the sacred island was situated in the Baltic.
We must therefore enquire whether Danish tradition preserves
traces of any similar cult. Now it is generally agreed that the
Early Danish character of FroSi, the peace-king of Danish legend,
kings" shows a certain resemblance to that of Frey.

According to Yngl. S. 12 he was a contemporary of Frey, and
the universal peace which prevailed during their time was
attributed by the Swedes to Frey and by the Danes to FroSi.
So great was the general security in FroSi's days that he had
gold rings — described sometimes as bracelets and sometimes as
necklaces (Saxo, pp. 164, 169; cf. also Skaldsk. 43, Skioldunga
S. 3) — placed on the public high-roads. According to Saxo,
p. iyo(., no one dared to touch these until FroSi reached extreme
old age, when a certain sorceress persuaded her son to steal one
of them. FroSi sought in anger to arrest her, but she took the
form of a ' sea-cow,' and as the king was looking for her along the
shore, she attacked and slew him with her tusks. FroSi's death,
like that of Frey, was kept secret for three years, and his body
was carried about in a royal carriage to make people believe that
he was still alive. Finally he was buried in a barrow near
V?erebro in Sjaelland.

It will be seen that the affinities of this story are not entirely

j with that of Frey. The incident of the ring and the sorceress

I recalls the adventures of Vanlandi and Visburr. There is another

point, however, which deserves notice. Scandinavian tradition

records several Danish kings named FroSi, two of whom, FroSi I

|(/Fri5-FroSi') and FroSi III (' enn friSsami '), seem to have been

c 17

258 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

originally identical. The incident of the gold 'ring' is told in
Skioldunga Saga, cap. 3 (Skaldsk. 43), of the first of these kings,
the grandson of Skioldr ; by Saxo, however, it is referred to
Frotho III1. Now Saxa's Frotho I is said to have been the son
of a king named Hadingus, who has affinities with the god
NiorSr. Both NiorSr and Hadingus were chosen as husbands by
their wives, and in both cases the bride made her choice by
examining the man's feet, though the motive of this action
was different in the two stories. Again, both marriages proved
unhappy ; the man disliked his wife's mountain home and
the continual howling of the wolves, while the wife was equally
unable to stand the constant shrieking of the sea-birds at her
husband's dwelling on the shore. Indeed the Latin poems in
which these complaints are expressed by Saxo (p. 33) may be
mere expansions of the Norse verses (preserved in Gylf. 23) which
tell of the woes of NiorSr and SkaSi.

Striking, however, as are the affinities of the two stories we
must not omit to notice that there are also important points of
difference. Hadingus and Frotho I are warrior kings of whom
many great deeds are recorded, for which we find no parallel
in the stories of NiorSr and Frey. Above all, however, it is to be
observed that these kings, Frotho III included, are constantly
represented — by all authorities — as ordinary human beings and
quite distinct from the gods. Indeed with the possible exception
of Skioldr, a case to which we shall have to return presently,
there is little or no evidence for the existence of national Danish
gods2.

On the other hand we have some evidence for a Danish

The goddess goddess. This deity was called Gefion, and the

Gefion. account given of her in Yngl. S. 5 (cf. Gylf. 1) is as

follows. When Othin was on his journey to the North he stayed

for a time at Odense and sent Gefion to Sweden to spy out the

1 In Skioldunga S. 3, however, Frodo III is killed by a stag in a manner which
recalls the incident related by Saxo.

2 In the catalogue of national deities given in Fornm. Sog. v. 239, Flat. III. 246
(see below) we find Go^Sorm Dana go% beside Skidld Skdnunga gcfo. The former
seems not to be mentioned elsewhere. It should be observed however that this
list is not entirely trustworthy.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 259

land. Gefion is described as a ' travelling woman,' which is
perhaps to be interpreted as ' sorceress.' From the Swedish
king, Gylfi, she begged a plough-land. Then taking four oxen,
her sons by a certain giant, she yoked them to her plough and
tore away a large slice of Gylfi's territory into the sea. The new
island thus created was Sjaelland and the gap which she had
made in Sweden was the Malar. Subsequently she married
Othin's son Skibldr. They lived at Leire in Sjaelland. Else-
where we do not hear very much about Gefion. From Flat. II.
334 it has been thought that she was invoked chiefly by un-
married women. According to Gylf. 35 she is herself unmarried
and receives the souls of all women who die unmarried. In
Lokas. 20, however, she is charged by Loki with having granted
her affections to a fair youth from whom she received a necklace.
In the following verse Othin rebukes Loki for this taunt,
saying, "Thou art mad and senseless to provoke Gefion to wrath,
for I believe that she knows all the future just as well as I do."
This passage, it will be observed, implies control as well as
knowledge of the future. Indeed it is doubtful whether the
ancient Scandinavians drew any clear distinction between the
two ideas. What is here said of Gefion is the regular description
of expert sorceresses.

The story in Ynglinga Saga enables us to locate the cult of

Gefion with almost as much precision as that of Frey. The

island of Sjaelland has been created by her. Her dwelling-place

is Leire (in Sjaelland), the chief residence of the ancient Danish

kings. Her husband is Skioldr, the eponymous ancestor of the

Skioldungar, the Danish royal family. The only piece of

j evidence which conflicts at all with this identification is that in

Fornmanna Sogur, V. p. 239 (Flat. III. 246), Skioldr is called

• Skdnunga gd$, ' the god of the people of Skaane.' But the

i discrepancy is of slight importance, for Skaane always belonged

1 to Denmark in early times. Indeed such a strait as the Sound

j would serve rather to join than to separate seafaring popula-

! tions like those of Skaane and Sjaelland. But it is at least a

; question whether the name Skdney was not originally used in a

j wider sense, for in Beowulf (1. 1687) Scede?iig (the same form)

■ appears to mean the whole Danish kingdom. Again, in 1. 19

17 — 2

26o THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

Scedeland, a plural form, is used in the same sense, while Ptolemy
gives the name Skandia to the islands of the Belt as well as to
Sweden (cf. p. 194). Of Skioldr himself we hear nothing more
in Old Norse literature, except that he ruled over Denmark (then
called Gotland) and was succeeded by his son FriSleifr (Skaldsk.
43, Skiold. S. 1 f.). Saxo (p. 1 1 f.) places him among the earliest
Danish kings and makes him the son of Lotherus and grandson
of Dan. The exploits which he records of him are that he
captured a huge bear and slew many champions in single combat;
that he won, also by single combat, the hand of Aluilda, daughter
of the king of the Saxons, and that he reformed the laws and
abolished manumissions. In his capacity as legislator, which
may perhaps indicate quasi-priestly character, he resembles
Frotho III. There is nothing in Saxo's account which could
lead us to suppose that he connected Skioldr specially with
Skaane.

On the other hand, there is an unmistakable resemblance
between the characters of Gefion and Freyia1. The incident of
the necklace recalls the story of Freyia and the dwarfs in Sorla
Thattr. Both Gefion and Freyia seem to be concerned with
sorcery and both receive the souls of the departed. Again, I have
suggested above that the origin of the god Frey is to be found
in sacred kings (priest kings) who were originally, like Ottarr in
HyndlulioS, regarded as husbands of Freyia. In the case of
Gefion we have a relationship of this kind explicitly stated. It
is true that Skioldr is once called a god, while in LangfeSgatal,
Skioldunga Saga, Skaldskapar-mal (cap. 43) and Ynglinga Saga
he is said to have been a son of Othin. But we never meet with
his name in lists of the deities. Consequently, though it is likely
enough that he may have received worship locally or from his
descendants, he can hardly have been a recognised member of
the Northern pantheon. The conclusion therefore to which we
are brought is that Gefion is the Danish counterpart of Freyia,
but that the conception of the deity has in this case retained a
more primitive form.

1 I doubt whether much importance ought to be attached to the similarity between
the names Gefion and Gefn (a name of Freyia). It is worth noticing, however, that in
Skaldsk. 6 Niorftr is called gefianda gu% — whatever that may mean.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 26l

There is one feature, however, in the story of Gefion which
deserves to be examined somewhat more closely. We have seen
that Frey is a god of fertility, both animal and human, and also
that he governs the produce of the earth. In the case of Freyia
these features have not been preserved1. But Gefion comes
before our eyes driving a four-ox plough — an incident which at
once suggests that her cult was connected with agriculture.
Indeed we can hardly fail to suspect that this story originated
in a ritual myth — presumably from some such ceremonies as
those which we find practised in England on Plough Monday.
It may seem a far cry from the goddess Gefion to 'Old Bessy' of
the English ceremonies, but I think that links are not wanting
which will connect the two rather closely. We have seen that
there is evidence for the Plough Monday ceremonies having
been practised on the eve of Epiphany. This may very well be
the older date, for ecclesiastical influence would tend to shift
such festivities from the vigil of a great feast2. Again, we have
seen that in the corresponding ceremonies practised on the
Continent the plough was sometimes burnt. The ' ledingh of
the ploughe aboute the fire ' seems to point to the former
prevalence of the same custom in England. Now in certain
parts of Gloucestershire it used to be the custom on the eve of
Epiphany to light a number of straw fires in order to ' burn the
old witch3.' A trace of a similar custom seems to be preserved
in central Germany, where on the Sunday after Epiphany
people used to gather in the market-places and run about
shouting ' Frau Holle wird verbrannt4.' This Frau Holle is
elsewhere (in Lower Saxony) described as an old woman with
grey hair and long teeth, who brings a waggon full of New
Year's gifts for children. In other districts her name is preserved
in a more antique form, Holda. Sometimes she appears in
quite a different guise. In Hessen and Thiiringen she is

1 The sacrifice to Freyia recorded in Hervarar S. 14 (cf. p. 249) is said to be for
the blessings of abundance (til drbdtar).

- Cf. Bilfinger, Das germanische fulfest, p. 11 1.

3 Reinsberg-Diiringsfeld, Das festliche Jahr-, p. 27. Fosbroke, Encyclopaedia of
Antiquities (1825), p. 572, speaks of the custom as prevailing 'in some counties.'

4 Reinsberg-Diiringsfeld, Das festliche Jahr'1, p. 24; at Eisfeld in Thiiringen the
burning is said to have really taken place every year.

262 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

represented as a beautiful woman with long, golden hair.
Accompanied by a crowd of children, which are believed to be
the souls of those who have died unbaptized, she draws a golden
plough over the fields in order to promote their fertility. The
time at which this takes place is between Christmas and
Epiphany, but especially on the eve of the latter. A number
of stories are told of her appealing to men to mend her plough
or ferry her with her troop of children over a river. As a reward
for these services she gives them some splinters off her plough,
which afterwards turn to gold1. In some districts also she
blesses marriage and gives fertility to the human race2. From
her springs come new-born children3. In southern Germany,
Austria and Switzerland her place is taken by a being named
Perchta, whose name is said to be derived from the popular
name of Epiphany (Perchtentag). Her characteristics are in
general the same as those of Holda. Like her she is accom-
panied by the souls of dead children and grants fertility to the
fields and herds4. It was formerly the custom to set a table for
Perchta and her troop on the nights between Christmas and
Epiphany5. Lastly, both Holda and Perchta appear sometimes
as leaders of the ' wild host,' a fact which again connects them
with the souls of the departed6.

It can hardly be doubted that the stories of Holda (Holle)
and Perchta have an intimate connection with the ceremonies of
Plough Monday7. The character of the being herself, the plough,
and the date at which she makes her appearance are sufficient
evidence for this. It is true that in Germany the plough-
ceremonies take place at a somewhat later period of the year.

1 Reinsberg-Dliringsfeld, p. 23.

2 Mogk in Paul's Grundriss d. ger?n. Philologie'2, III. p. 279.

3 Mannhardt, Germanische Mythen, p. 267.

4 Mogk, op. cit., p. 280 f.

5 Jahn, Deutsche Opfergebrduche, p. 282. Burchard of Worms mentions a similar
custom in connection with tres sorores quas...antiqua stultitia Parcas jiomhiaitit, who
recall the Nornir of Scandinavian mythology (cf. Mogk, op. cit., p. 284). There is no
necessity for supposing that this practice was of Roman origin. Similar customs are
known in many different parts of the world as offerings to the souls of the dead. For
a triple personation of Perchta cf. Reinsberg-Duringsfeld, op. cit., p. 21.

6 Mannhardt, Germ. Myth., pp. 262 f., 296.

7 Cf. Bilfinger, Das germ. Jidf est, p. 111.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 263

But in the light of these stories we need scarcely hesitate to
believe that they were once practised at Epiphany. Further, it
is at least very probable that 'Old Bessy,' as well as 'the old
witch,' is a reminiscence of Holda1. On the other hand this
same being, whether we regard her as witch or goddess, has
unmistakable affinities with the goddesses Gefion and Freyia.
Besides her association with the plough, which she shares with
the former, she resembles both these deities in the fact that she
receives the souls of the departed. Again, she resembles Freyia
(and Frey) in her association with love and marriage2. Lastly,
it deserves to be noticed that the name Holda (Holle) is identical
with that of the sorceress Huldr3, whom we have seen reason
above for connecting with Freyia.

If our hypothesis is correct both Freyia and Gefion were
originally only local forms of a chthonic deity — similar to
Zemynele — whose cult was known to all Teutonic peoples, indeed
probably to all agricultural communities. She granted fertility
to the crops, promoted love and gave increase to animal and
human life, foretold the future and took to herself the souls of
the departed. How she came to be associated with the Christian
festival of Epiphany is not altogether clear. There is no solid
ground for doubting, in spite of all that has been written on the
subject, that many, if not all, Teutonic peoples had a festival
about or shortly after midwinter, and it is only reasonable to
suppose that on the adoption of the Roman calendar popular
festivals were attracted into those of the new religion. We

1 The skin-clad 'fool ' (cp. p. 238) may likewise be traced back to a custom known
in early times, for which see Tille, Yule and Christmas, pp. 96 ff. But the hypothesis
that this custom was derived from Rome seems to me entirely unproved. Saxo
(p. 185) speaks of effeminatos corporum motus scenicosque mimorum plausus ac mollia
nolarum crepitacula in connection with the sacrifices at Upsala, and similar practices
are known in many other countries, in Asia as well as Europe. The prevalence of
the particular variety known as ceruulum facere, etc. may quite possibly be connected
with the worship of Cernunnus.

2 Cf. especially the stories of Venus and the Horselberg, etc. (Grimm, Teut.
Mythology*, Engl. Transl., p. 935 etc.).

3 Cf. Mogk, op. cit., p. 278. The name may originally have been generic rather
than personal. We may compare the huldufolk and huldrer (the people who live
below ground) of Icelandic and Norwegian folk-lore (cf. Herrmann, Nordische
Mythologie, p. io6ff.).

264 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

should naturally expect then that the cult of the chthonic deity
of whom we are speaking was connected with this midwinter
festival. On the other hand we have seen (p. 242 f.) that the
worship of Frey is specially associated with the autumnal
festival, which is itself always described as a sacrifice for plenty.
This difficulty may perhaps be explained by the hypothesis,
which, as we have seen, has much in its favour, that the autumnal
festival was really a New Year celebration. Consequently, when
the beginning of the year was shifted from ' the winter nights '
to midwinter, the festival associated therewith might likewise be
transferred.

But it must not be overlooked that the festival of Frey in
the story of Gunnarr Helmingr, though it began apparently in
the autumn, lasted through the winter. The festival of Nerthus
also, to judge from Tacitus' account, would seem to have lasted
some considerable time. This suggests that the midwinter-
festival may really have been a continuation or, more probably,
the conclusion1 of the celebrations begun in the autumn. Indeed
there are certain indications which point in that direction. In
the first place the object of the midwinter sacrifice seems to be
identical with that of the sacrifice held at 'the winter nights;' at
all events there is no obvious distinction between the meanings
of til gro^rar and til drs (cf. p. 242). Again, we have evidence
for processions with ploughs and boats during Advent (p. 239) —
a fact which appears to give some significance to the name
' sacrificial month ' applied to November (cf. p. 243). Account
must also be taken of the rather curious fact that the last sheaf
plays a part in usages and beliefs connected with midwinter.
Sometimes the grain taken from it is made into a special cake
which is eaten (by men or animals) at Christmas2 ; sometimes

1 It is true that Gunnarr Helmingr's festivities are represented as continuing until
the spring. But this may be due to a local peculiarity, for at Upsala the chief
festival — both the yearly and nine-yearly festivals — took place in Februaiy or March ;
cf. St. Olaf's Saga (Heimskr.), cap. 76, Adam of Bremen, iv. 27 and schol. 137. At
Leire on the other hand the chief festival— at all events the nine-yearly festival— took
place at midwinter: mense Ianuario post hoc tempus quo nos Theophaniam Domini
celebramus (Thietmar, 1. 9).

2 Cf. Frazer, The Golden Bough*, II. p. 286 ff., where several other interesting
facts which bear on this question are noted.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 265

the last sheaf itself is left standing in the field, the idea being
that Othin should have it for his horse when he comes at Yule1.

The fact that the last months of the year and even the early
days of January should be chosen for ceremonies directed
towards the fertilisation of the fields is one which certainly
requires some explanation. Is it possible that the underlying
idea is that of a parallelism between the life of the human race
and that of the corn ? Such a notion is distinctly suggested by
the story of Gunnarr Helmingr, especially if taken in connection
with Adam of Bremen's account of Fricco (cf. p. 245). We
may note also Bede's statement that Christmas Eve was known
to the heathen English as modra niclit, i.e. matrum noctem". In
the next chapter we shall meet with further evidence which
points in the same direction. Reference may likewise be made
to the use of corn at weddings3, to the Danish custom of placing
a new-born child in a sower's basket4 and to several practices
described by Mannhardt5, which seem to imply the identification
of the farmer's wife with the corn-spirit. These observations
however open up a large question which cannot be adequately
treated here.

We have noted above that the cult of the chthonic deity
whose attributes we have been considering is extremely wide-
spread. It must not be argued, however, from this that any
attempt to localise the sanctuary of Nerthus is necessarily futile.
After all there is one very special feature about the cult as
described by Tacitus. It was shared in commune by seven tribes,
and was regarded as the distinctive characteristic which marked
these tribes off from their neighbours. By itself the expression
in commune might perhaps mean no more than that Nerthus was
worshipped by each of the seven tribes individually. But the
mention of the island and the consecrated car which it contained

1 Cf. Herrmann, Nordische Mythologie, p. 504.

2 ob causam, ut suspicamur, ceremoniarum </uas in ea peruigiles agebant (De
Temporum Ratione, cap. 15). The festival which Bede identifies with Christmas
was in all probability the midwinter festival (Geohol, Geol), which fell between the two
months called Giuli. Since the Anglo-Saxon year was a lunar one the true date

I would presumably vary.

3 Cf. Mannhardt, Myth. Forsch., p. 358 ff.

4 ib. p. 366. 6 ib. p. 336 f.

266 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP.

shows clearly that this interpretation cannot be correct. Another
explanation which has been proposed is that Nerthus in the
course of her peregrinations visited the whole of the seven
tribes. This explanation is based mainly on the phrase inuelii
populis ; but I do not see that these words need amount to
anything more than a rhetorical way of saying that the goddess
visits mankind. Moreover if we take the view that the car did
pass through the territories of tribes settled on the mainland, we
shall have to suppose, since there is no reference to the use of a
boat, that the island was really a peninsula or at least separated
from the mainland only by a shallow channel. This interpreta-
tion has actually been proposed1, but I cannot admit that it is
the natural meaning of insula Occani. Again, wherever the
territories of the Angli and Warni may have been situated, it
can hardly be denied that the seven tribes together must have
covered a considerable expanse of country, unless indeed they
were tribes of quite a different order from the rest mentioned by
Tacitus. Yet the notion that such an extensive journey was
undertaken by a lumbering team of cows strikes one as almost
absurd, especially since Tacitus' words donee idem sacerdos
satiatam conuersatione mortalium deam templo reddat clearly
imply a return journey. By far the more natural interpretation
is to suppose that Tacitus was continuing in his mind the train
of thought which he had been following in the previous chapter.
There, describing the festival of the Semnones, he says that all
the tribes of the same blood attended the festival by means of
delegates {legationibus coeunt). In later times we have a close
parallel in the great festival which was held every nine years at
Upsala, and which is described by Adam of Bremen (iv. 27) as
a common festival of all the provinces of Sweden {communis
omnium Sueoniae prouintiarum sollempuitas). "No one," he says,
"is exempt from participation in this festival; kings and nations,
one and all, send their offerings to Upsala." In the light of

1 Mannhardt, Baumkultus, p. 567 ff. In spite of the valuable illustrations which
he supplied, Mannhardt's treatment of the whole subject seems to me unsatisfactory.
It is scarcely an explanation of Tacitus' account, but rather an attempt to explain it
away. The same remark applies to the article on the goddess of the Aestii in the
Zeitschr.f. deutsch. Alt., XXIV. 159 fT.

X] THE CULT OF NERTHUS 267

these passages it would seem that the peregrinations of Nerthus
may very well have been confined to the island in which her
sanctuary was situated, and that the island itself was regarded
as the centre of a religious confederacy. The analogy of the
festival of the Semnones will then further lead us to suspect that
this confederacy was based on blood-relationship.

If this interpretation is correct it is clear that Gefion's island,
Sjselland, will fulfil the requisite conditions admirably. It is
sufficiently large for the peregrinations of Nerthus to have been
fairly extensive. Further, besides being famous for its fertility
(cf. Adam of Bremen, iv. 5, Saxo, p. 5), it was for long ages the
most important seat of political power in the western Baltic, and
this power was wielded by kings who claimed descent from
Gefion's husband. If we are right in deriving the god Frey
from a Swedish counterpart of the cult of Nerthus, we have a
fairly close analogy for the growth of political out of priestly
hegemony, though there is really no ground for denying that
political power may have appertained to the priestly office from
the beginning. Lastly it is to be observed that according to
Thietmar's Chronicle (I. 9) there was held at Leire every ninth
year a great sacrificial gathering, which seems to have corre-
sponded to the one at Upsala, though it was apparently on a
still larger scale1. In view of what has been said above it is
scarcely impossible that this gathering may have been directly
descended from the festival of Nerthus.

One lacuna in our argument, however, still remains to be
filled up. The Danes are not mentioned suo nomine in the list
of tribes enumerated by Tacitus, and it has indeed been supposed,
though on totally inadequate grounds2, that they did not settle
in the islands of the Belt until the third or fourth century or even
later. We must therefore endeavour to see whether among these
tribes themselves any reminiscences are to be found of a connec-

1 est units in his partibus locus, caput istius regni, Lederun nomine, in pago qui

Se/on dicitur, ubi post viiii annos, tnense Ianuario omnes conuenerunt et ibi diis

suismet Ixxxx et viiii homines et totidem equos cum canibus et gallis pro accipitnbus
oblatis immolant, etc.

2 Cf. p. 139, note; to this subject we shall have to return again in the course of
the next chapter (p. 290 ff.).

268 THE CULT OF NERTHUS [CHAP. X

tion with Sjaelland or its cult. But since with the exception of
the Angli the only tribes which we have been able to identify
disappeared from history at an early date, it is among the Angli
alone that we can hope to meet with such reminiscences. In the
following chapter we shall see that the required evidence is
actually supplied by English tradition. Incidentally also we
shall obtain further support for our view that the cult of
Sjaelland was essentially connected with agriculture.

CHAPTER XI.

KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS.

We have already (p. 60 f.) seen that the West Saxon kings
claimed to be of the same stock as the royal house

The West

Saxon ge- of Bernicia. With the exception, however, of Wig

nealogy.

and Freawine, whose history has been discussed
above, no names occur in either genealogy which we can
associate with extant traditions, whether English or Scandi-
navian1. The same remark applies to the genealogies of the
royal houses of East Anglia, Lindsey and Deira. Most of these
lists contain suspicious elements, e.g. Gewis, Beornic, Biscop,
Caser, but there is little reason for doubting that in general they
are of great antiquity. Many of the names, and even of the
single elements of which the names are compounded, are such
as seem not to have been used in England within historical
times, though we meet with them in the history or traditions of
other Teutonic nations.

All the above families, together with those of Kent2 and
Mercia, traced their descent from the god Woden. Of the latter

1 In place of Baeldaeg the name Balder seems to have been substituted by
Aethelweard (ad ann. 855) if, in the absence of mss., we may trust the editions of his
work. If this is an identification it is probably due to accidental similarity in the
names. The explanation put forward by Schroder (Zcitschr. f. d. Alt., XXXV. 242 f.)
can hardly be maintained, for the vowel in Bael- (Bel-) is clearly long. Brond may
quite possibly be the eponymous ancestor of the Brondingas mentioned in Wids. 45,
Beow. 521.

2 The name Witta occurs again in Wids. 22, where it is stated that "Witta
ruled the Swaefe." There is nothing to prove the identity of the two persons, but
the name is rare.

270 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

we do not hear much in Anglo-Saxon literature ; but the little
information which we do get accords fairly fell with the charac-
teristics of the same god (Othin) as they appear in Scandinavian
poems and sagas. Aethelweard {ad ann. 449) says that the
heathen used to sacrifice to him for the sake of victory and
valour. Elsewhere1 he is associated with the practice of magic,
which is also a prominent feature of the Scandinavian Othin.
It is impossible, however, here to enter on a discussion of the
cult and myths connected with the god.

The genealogies do not end with Woden but go back to a
point five generations earlier, the full list of names in the earlier
genealogies2 being Frealaf — Frithuwulf — Finn — Godwulf — Geat.
Of the first four of these persons nothing is known. Asser says
that Geat was worshipped as a god by the heathen, but this
statement is possibly due to a passage in Sedulius' Carmen
Paschale which he has misunderstood and incorporated in his
text3. It has been thought by many modern writers that the
name is identical with Gapt which stands at the head of the
Gothic genealogy in Jordanes, cap. 14 ; but the identification is
attended with a good deal of difficulty4. In Old Norse literature
the corresponding name Gautr is borne by a number of persons,
including the eponymous king of Gotland (Yngl. S. 38). It is
also one of the names of Othin (Grfmnismal 54 etc.). The latter
is likewise sometimes (Hakonarmal, etc.) called Gautatyr^god of
the Gautar'), which has been interpreted to mean that the Gotar
were the first of the Northern nations to worship this god. If
the personal name is really derived from that of the nation one
cannot help wondering how it came to stand at the head of the
English genealogies. Did any of the English royal families ever
believe that they were of Gotish origin ?

The only other occurrence of the name Geat in Anglo-Saxon

1 Grein-Wiilcker, Bibliothek der angelsiiihsischen Poesie, p. 322.

2 Cott. MS. Vesp. B 6, fol. to8 ff. and related texts (cf. pp. 42, 43, 60 f.) ; so also
in the Historia Brittonum except that Folcwald has been substituted for Godwulf
(cf. p. 42). The Chronicle has in ann. 547 Freo\olaf for Frealaf, while in ann. 855
it inserts an additional name Frfyuwald before Frealaf. Asser, who follows the
Chronicle in the latter passage, has made Finn and Godwulf into one name.

3 Cf. Stevenson, Asser's Life of King Alfred, p. 162 f.

4 In Jordanes' orthography the form corresponding to Geat would be Got (i.e. Got).

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 27 1

literature is in Deor. 1. 14 fif., the most probable translation of
which is as follows : " Many of us have heard that Geat's desire
for Maethhild1 was beyond measure, so that his anxious love
robbed him entirely of sleep." Both these persons are equally
unknown, but since the passage has a strong resemblance to
what is said of Frey in Skirnismdl it is at least possible that the
divine ancestor of the kings is meant.

The earlier genealogical texts come to an end with Geat.
The names which follow occur only in the Chronicle and in the
works of later writers, Asser, Aethelweard and others, who are
at least in part dependent on it. These all make Geat the son
of a certain Taetwa, of whom nothing is known. Beyond this
point Aethelweard has only three generations, whereas the
Chronicle and later works have eight. It will be convenient
here to give the more important forms of the genealogy in full.

Chronicle

Malmesbury

Aethelweard

Taetwa Beawing

Beowius

Beo

Beaw Sceldwaing

Sceldius

Scyld

Sceldwea Heremoding

Sceaf

Scef

Heremod Itermoning

Heremodius

Itermon H(r)at>raing

Stermonius

HaJ?ra Hwalaing

Hadra

Hwala Bedwiging

Gwala

Bedwig Sceafing2

Bedwegius
Strephius

Malmesbury's list appears to be due to a combination of the other
two, though in one point, which we shall have to notice shortly,
he is probably to some extent independent of both authorities.
With regard to the relationship of Aethelweard's list to that of
the Chronicle it is clear that Scyld corresponds to Sceldwea. We
might suspect then that Aethelweard has omitted five names,
but against this supposition stands the fact that we find Scyld
Scefing in Beowulf (1. 4) and, as we shall see later, there can be
no doubt that this Scyld is identical with the other. It would

1 This name does not occur elsewhere, and some writers have doubted its
genuineness. It is quite parallel, however, to Maeftheltn, which occurs in the
Durham Liber Vitae. Possibly the word Maeft- may have some connection with
-maeld in Raegnmacld (ib.).

2 The last three lines are omitted in the Parker text (A).

272 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

seem then that Aethelweard has acquired the genealogy from
some unknown source in a more primitive form than that
contained in the Chronicle.

Taken as a whole the list in the Chronicle presents one or
two curious features. In the first place some of the names are
not in West Saxon form. To Beaw we shall have to return
shortly ; but with regard to Sceldwea and Bedwig there can
scarcely be any doubt. Again, some of the patronymics,
Taetwaing, Sceldwaing etc., are not true Anglo-Saxon forms at
all ; for elsewhere we invariably find Pending beside Penda,
Iding beside Ida etc. Of course it would be rash to assume
from this that the genealogy is not genuine. The obvious
explanation is that it is derived from a Latin document where
the formula used was A. gennit B., or possibly A. filius B.
Generally speaking the names seem to be very archaic ; we may
note especially the ending -wa in Taetwa, Sceldw{e)a. So far as
I am aware, not one of these names, except Heremod, occurs in
historical times. On the whole then we may conclude that the
list is based on a Latin document which may quite possibly
have been ancient. We cannot infer with certainty that this
document was not of West Saxon origin, for we find similar
forms in other West Saxon genealogies. There is nothing
incredible in the supposition that West Saxon documents may
have been preserved by Kentish scribes.

If we examine the five names which are wanting in Aethel-
weard's text we can hardly fail to note that one of them,
Itermon, has a suspicious appearance ; indeed it does not look
like an Anglo-Saxon name at all. Asser seems to have read
Itermod, a fact which rather suggests that the name may have
arisen through a combination of dittography and misreading.
The other names however are hardly open to objection. Both
Heremod and Hwala occur elsewhere, the latter only in Widsith,
1. 14, where it is stated that Hwala1 was at one time the most
illustrious of rulers. Quite possibly the same person is meant.
The name Heremod is found in later times, though it is not
common. In the old poetry it occurs only in Beowulf, where it

1 IVala in the MS., but H is required by the abliteration.

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 273

is borne by a former king of the Danes, whose history we have
already discussed (p. 148 ff.).

If the Heremod of the genealogy is identical with the
Heremod of Beowulf — which can hardly be regarded as more
than a mere conjecture1 — we may probably infer that the
interpolated names in the genealogy of the Chronicle are those
of a line of Danish kings. We must next turn our attention to
the three names Beaw, Sceldwea or Scyld and Sceaf which occur
in all our authorities. Now the first Danish kings mentioned in
Beowulf are Scyld Scefing and his son and successor Beowulf.
The name Beaw, if it is a true West Saxon form, cannot be
connected with Beozvulf'2. But the forms Beo and Beowius, used
by Aethelweard and Malmesbury respectively, suggest that -ea-
stands for -eo- either through scribal corruption or dialectal
sound-change. Of the Danish Beowulf the poem says little
except that he was a popular and famous king, while the
genealogies with one exception record nothing whatever of Beaw
or Beo. The exception is a roll in the Library of Trinity
College which traces the descent of King Henry VI from
Adam3. The part of this genealogical table with which we are
concerned is derived to a large extent either from Malmesbury
or from a document used by him, as may be seen by the omission
of the name Frithiiwulf and the appearance of the forms
Sceldius and Gwala. The son of Sceldius is called Boerinus,
which seems to be a corruption of Malmesbury's Beowius*. To
Boerinus however nine sons are assigned, the names of whom
are Cinrincius, Gothus, Iutus, Wandalus, Gethus, Fresus,
Suethedus5, Dacus and Geate. Then follows a note which
states that " from these nine sons of Boerinus are descended nine

1 In the light of what is said about Sceaf-Scyld and Beo (Beowulf) it is a fairly
probable conjecture (cf. p. 291).

2 The earliest known form of the name is Biuuulf (Liber Vitae).

3 There is said to be a sister text in the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris ; cf.
Kemble, Beowiclf, 11. p. vii.

4 The corruption would seem to indicate the presence of the Anglo-Saxon letter
w in an earlier text.

5 The line of descent passes, presumably owing to an oversight, through Suethedus,
who is made the father of Godulphus (Godwulf). Taetwa is omitted in the roll, unless

1 Gethus (Par. Ehecius) is a corruption of Tetius.

C. 18

274 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

nations which inhabited the North and which once upon a time
invaded and acquired the kingdom of Britain, namely the
Saxones, Angli, Iuthi, Daci, Norwagenses, Gothi, Wandali,
Geati and Frisi1." It will be observed that the names of the
nations do not entirely correspond to those of the sons of
Boerinus, and we may therefore probably infer that the note is a
later addition, though the presence of the name Geati is worth
observing. For the nine sons of Boerinus themselves Scandinavian
parallels are to be found. We may note especially the nine sons
of Halfdan the Old mentioned in Skaldsk. 62 and Flat. 1. 25 f.,
who are represented as the founders of famous dynasties. It is
not unlikely therefore that Boerinus' family is due to Scandi-
navian influence.

Of Sceldwea or Scyld the genealogies say nothing. According

scyid and to a note m tne Trinity roll however " this Sceldius

was the first inhabitant of Germany2." Beowulf

supplies somewhat more information about him, but before giving

these passages it will be convenient to deal with the statements

contained in the genealogies regarding Sceaf.

Sceaf is said in the Chronicle to have been born in Noah's
Ark3. Aethelweard and Malmesbury give much fuller accounts
of his origin. According to the former he " came to land in
a cutter {droi?io) on an island in the Ocean which is called
Scani. He was surrounded with weapons and was a very young
child and unknown to the inhabitants of that land. Yet they
took him up and watched over him as one of their own kin with
great attention and subsequently elected him as their king4."
Malmesbury 's version of the story is as follows : " Sceaf, as they
say, was brought as a child in a ship without oars to Scandza

1 ab istis notion filiis Boerini descenderunt nouem gentes septentrionaletn inhabit antes
qui quondam regnum Britannie inuaserunt et optinnerunt, viz. Saxones, Angli, Iuthi,
Daci, Norwagenses , Gothi, Wandali, Geati et Frisi.

2 iste Sceldius primus inhabitator Germanie, etc.

3 The original reading (preserved in B and C) appears to have been : Bedwig
Sceafing id est filius N6e. se waes geboren on \aere earce Noes. The reference is
presumably to Sceaf.

4 Ipse Scefcum uno dromone aduectus est in insula Oceani quae dicitur Scani artnis
circumdatus, eratque ualde recens puer et ab incolis illius terrae ignotus ; attamen ab
eis suscipitur, et ut fa miliar em diligenli animo eum custodierunt et post in regem eligtmt.
de cuius prosapia ordinem trahit Athulf rex.

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 275

a certain island in Germany which is described by Jordanes, the
historian of the Goths. He was asleep, and a sheaf of corn lay
beside his head. He was on this account called Sceaf (i.e. 'Sheaf),
and received as a prodigy by the people of that country and
carefully fostered. When he reached manhood he reigned in the
town which was then called Slaswic but now Haithebi. Now
that district is called Old Anglia and is situated between the
Saxons and the Gothi. From it the Angli came to Britain1."
It will be seen that in spite of the substantial identity of the two
stories there is sufficient difference between them to render
it improbable that one has been derived from the other.
Malmesbury's use of the Latin name Scandza in place of the
Scandinavian form Scant (Old Norse Skdney) employed by
Aethelweard may of course be due to deliberate alteration.
But the fact that the boat is said to have contained weapons in
one account but a sheaf of corn in the other can hardly be
explained on this hypothesis, however much one may be inclined
to distrust Malmesbury's authority. Again, though the last
sentence in Malmesbury's account may be derived from another
passage in Aethelvveard's chronicle (ad ann. 449), this writer
says nothing about Sceaf reigning in Slesvig. Indeed he
distinctly implies that Scani was the seat of his government.
As to the sources of the two accounts nothing is known.
It seems not improbable that the statement in the Chronicle
about Noah's Ark may have come from some one who was
familiar with the tradition.

It is a curious fact that in Beowulf the same story is told, or
rather implied, in the case of Scyld Scefing. According to
1. 6 ff. he was at first " found in distress " ; eventually however he
acquired great power and influence, deprived many dynasties of
their thrones and compelled all his neighbours to submit to him
and pay him tribute. The story of his funeral is related at some

1 Iste (Sceaf) ut ferunt in quandam insulam Germaniae Scandzam, de qua
Iordanes historiographus Gothoriwi loquitur, appulsus naui sine remige puerulus,
posito ad caput frumenti manipulo dormicns, ideoque Sceaf uuncupatus, ab hominibus
regionis illius pro viiraculo exceptus et sedulo nutritus : adulta aetate regnauit in oppido
quod tunc Slaswic nunc uero Haithebi appellatur. est autem regio ilia Anglia Vet us
dicta, untie Angli uenerunt in Britanniam, inter Saxones et Gothos constitula.

l8—2

276 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

length. In accordance with the directions he had given his body
was brought to the sea-shore and placed on a ship. Treasure
was heaped upon him, weapons, swords and coats of mail were
piled around, and a golden standard set up over his head. "They
adorned him with offerings, with magnificent treasures, none the
less than those did who at the beginning sent him forth alone
over the sea when he was a babe." The ship was then sent out
to sea and no one knew what became of it.

Here again we have reference to the story of a foundling who
drifted in a boat to a land where he was apparently unknown,
and afterwards became king. In this case however the foundling
is called not Sceaf but Scyld Scefing. Now according to the
most common use of such forms in -ing this expression would
mean ' Scyld, son of Sceaf,' and we have seen that Sceaf's son is
called Scyld by Aethelweard. It might be thought therefore
that the incident which is told by Aethelweard of Sceaf has
been transferred by Beowulf to his son. We have to remember
however that, although Malmesbury agrees with Aethelweard in
this respect, Beowulf is probably even in its present form a work
of much greater antiquity than either of the other authorities.
Moreover the statement in the Trinity roll that Sceldius (Scyld)
was the first inhabitant of Germany, though we cannot trace its
origin, seems to point to a form of the story agreeing with
Beowulf. Above all the language of the poem implies that the
child's parentage was unknown. But if so we can scarcely
regard the term Scefing as a patronymic in the strict sense ; we
shall have to take it rather as meaning 'child of the sheaf,'
or perhaps 'sheaf-child,' an expression for the origin of which
Malmesbury 's frumenti manipulus will provide a satisfactory
explanation.

Most recent writers agree that Scyld was originally the
subject of the story. Objection however has been taken to the
explanation given above on the ground that the incident of the
sheaf appears only in the latest version of the legend. According
to Dr Axel Olrik (Danmarks Heltedigtning, p. 233 ff.) three
stages may be distinguished in the development of the story.
In the first, represented by Beowulf, a helpless child, named
Scyld Scefing, comes in a boat with arms and treasures to the

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 277

land of the Danes, which had long been without a ruler. His
figure is entirely heroic, foreshadowing the military renown
of his descendants. In the second stage, represented by Aethel-
weard, the story has been transferred to Sceaf. Otherwise
however there has been little change. In the last stage, repre-
sented by Malmesbury, the weapons have been replaced by
a sheaf, the child's arrival is regarded as a miracle and the seat
of his government has been transferred to Slesvig. Thus the
sheaf-motive does not appear before the twelfth century, i.e. at a
time when the old heroic traditions were moribund in England.
Its introduction is due to popular etymology and to a desire
to bring the circumstances of the child's arrival more into
conformity with the peaceful name which he now bears.
Originally however the name Scefing denoted ' son ' or ' de-
scendant of Sceaf,' for the child's origin, though unknown to the
people of the land, was well known to the poet. Sceaf is to be
identified with the Langobardic king Sceafa, mentioned in
Wids. 32. His connection with Scyld, though it already occurs
in Beowulf, is due simply to the Anglo-Saxon passion for
framing long genealogies. Originally Scyld had nothing to do
with Sceaf.

Except in regard to the Langobardic Sceafa this reasoning
seems at first sight convincing. But I am inclined to think that
it contains one assumption which ought not to pass without
question. It is doubtless true that the old heroic traditions were
dead or dying in England by the twelfth century. But are we
justified in believing that the story of Scyld-Sceaf in the form
given by Malmesbury is derived from this class of tradition ? It
has been mentioned above (p. 230) that stories of Ing appear to
have been current among the uneducated as late as the fourteenth
century. Yet this person is never mentioned in Beowulf; indeed
his name only occurs once in extant Anglo-Saxon literature.
There is little reason therefore for thinking that he figured at all
prominently in heroic tradition. The presumption is rather that
he had been forgotten by court poets in quite early times and
that his memory was preserved only in humbler circles. For an
analogy we may turn to the religious beliefs of ancient times.
There can be no doubt that the religion professed by the kings

278 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

and nobles of Augustine's time, and which they abandoned on
their conversion to Christianity, was in the main a worship
of certain gods. Yet we find traces of a more primitive religion,
namely the worship of fetishes, belief in witchcraft etc., in far
later times, when probably even the names of the gods had been
forgotten.

It seems to me somewhat hasty therefore to assume that the
version of the Scyld-Sceaf story given by Malmesbury is
necessarily descended from the version found in Beowulf and in
Aethelweard's Chronicle. Beowulf is clearly a relic of the old
court poetry, while Aethelweard was a member of the royal
family and almost the chief man in the land. But a monk who
was looking for old traditions in the twelfth century would have
to turn to a different quarter. The popular version of the story
would naturally bear a different colour from that which was
current in higher circles. But it need not have been a corrupt
form of the latter. The two (the 'heltesagn' and the 'folkesagn')
may have existed side by side for ages, though doubtless not
without influencing one another to a certain extent.

Now there is some reason for believing that Malmesbury 's
version of the story really was founded on ancient popular
tradition. Evidence to this effect is supplied by a curious
incident which is related in the Chronicle of Abingdon (Rolls
Series, I. p. 89). In the reign of King Edmund a dispute arose
between the monks of Abingdon and the officials of Oxford-
shire as to the proprietorship of certain meadows on the north
bank of the Thames. This dispute is said to have been settled
in the following singular manner. The monks floated a round
shield in the middle of the river. On it they had placed a sheaf
of corn and above this a lighted taper. The shield floated down
the river as far as the disputed ground, then turned up a channel
which surrounded the meadows, and having completed the
circuit of these returned to the river. The incident was regarded
as a miraculous confirmation of the monks' claim.

It has often been pointed out that this story seems to contain
a reminiscence of the legend of Scyld-Sceaf, with a literal
interpretation of both names. How far it is founded on fact we
do not know ; nor have we any means of ascertaining when it

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 279

was first committed to writing1, though it is perhaps worth noting
that the round shield seems to have become antiquated by the
time of the Norman Conquest. But even if the story is wholly
fictitious it still requires to be explained how such an idea could
suggest itself to the mind of the chronicler. I think we can
hardly avoid suspecting that it must have been founded upon
some ritual practice current among the peasantry of the district.
We may perhaps compare the fact that the early settlers of
Iceland are recorded to have thrown their ' high-seat pillars/ on
which the figure of Thor was carved, overboard on approaching
land and to have raised their homesteads wherever these came
ashore2. At all events the two practices seem to be somewhat
analogous. But have we any reason for believing that the
sheaf was ever regarded as a religious symbol ?

Such evidence fortunately is not wanting. In a neighbouring
district (close to Eton) a harvest ceremony was witnessed on
Sept. 14, 1598, by some German travellers who gave a description
of it in the account of their journey. The last load of corn
was crowned with flowers and an image magnificently arrayed,
* by which perhaps they meant to represent Ceres,' attached to
it. A number of men and women sat on the waggon and
shouted all the time as it was led up and down the village,
until finally it came to the barn3. Similar practices are known
later in other parts of England. The following account is taken
from Hutchinson's History of Northumberland, II. 17: "I have
seen in some places an image apparelled in great finery,
crowned with flowers, a sheaf of corn placed under her arm and
a scycle in her hand, carried out of the village in the morning of
the concluding reaping day with music and much clamour of the
reapers into the field, where it stands fixed on a pole all day,
and when the reaping is done, is brought home in like manner.

1 Both the existing texts of the chronicle date from the thirteenth century.

2 Cf. Eyrbyggia S. 4, Landnamabok I. 6, II. 12, iv. 9.

8 Cum hie ad diversorium nostrum reverteremur, forte fortuna inciditnui in
rusticos spicilegia sua eelebrantes, qui ultimam frugum vehttn floribus coronattt,
addita imagine splendide vestita, qua Cererem forsitan significare volentes, earn
/line inde movent et magno cum elamore Viri juxta et mu/ieres, seivi at que aneillae,
etirvui insidentes per plateas vociferantur, donee ad horreum devenianl ; Mannhardt,
Myth. Forseh., p. 326 f.

280 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

This they call the Harvest Queen, and it represents the Roman
Ceres1." A similar story comes from the neighbourhood of
Cambridge: "At the Hawkie, as it is called, I have seen a clown
dressed in woman's clothes, having his face painted, his head
decorated with ears of corn, and bearing about him other symbols
of Ceres, carried in a waggon, with great pomp and loud shouts,
through the streets, the horses being covered with white sheets ;
and when I inquired the meaning of the ceremony, was
answered by the people that they were drawing the Harvest
Queen2."

In the last instance the Harvest Queen is represented by a
man, while in the other cases we hear of a figure, which seems
to be the earlier form of the custom. What the figure was made
of we are not told, but there can be little doubt that originally
it was a corn figure made from the last sheaf. In Scotland it is
said to have been customary at one time to make the last sheaf
into the likeness of a female figure which was called Carline3.
In Bulgaria however a much more primitive form of these
practices is known4. The last sheaf is made into a figure called
SJiitarska zarka (' Corn-queen ') or Shitarska moma (' Corn-
mother'), and is clothed in a chemise and carried round the
village. Afterwards it is either thrown into the river in order to
call down plentiful rain and dew for next year's crops; or else it
is burnt in the fire, and the ashes are then strewn over the
fields.

Scepticism is sometimes expressed as to whether we are
justified in tracing the origin of such practices as these to
ancient religious rites. In one case however we have evidence
which places a derivation of this kind practically beyond doubt.
It has been mentioned above (p. 256) that among the Prussians
in the seventeenth century the last corn was cut with special
ceremony and that from the ears a garland was made which the
reaper wore on his return home. It has also been suggested

1 Brand, Popular Antiquities of the British Isles, II. 20 ; Mannhardt, op. cit.

P- 333-

2 Brand, op. cit. II. 22 ; Mannhardt, /. c.

3 Mannhardt, op. cit. p. 326.

4 ib. p. 332.

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 28 1

that this custom may have some bearing on the representation
of the god Potrimpo. Beside Potrimpo however we find also
another god named Kurcho (cf. p. 254 f.), who seems merely to
have been a local variety of the same deity. Now, the earliest
reference to the name Kurcho, or rather Curche (apparently a
feminine form), occurs in a document dating from the year 1249
and is highly significant : " Once a year, when they had
gathered the crops, they used to make an idol which they called
Curche and worshipped as a god1." The figure described in this
passage clearly belongs to the same type as the ' Ceres ' and the
' Harvest Queen ' mentioned in the English references which we
have been considering2. In this case however we have a definite
statement that the figure was an object of worship. So far as I
can see, this statement admits of only two interpretations.
Either the figure was a corn-fetish from which Kurcho, the corn-
god of later times, was descended ; or else it was intended as a
representation of the corn deity.

From the similarity of the Prussian and English customs we
need not hesitate, I think, to conclude that among our own
ancestors also the sheaf, or a figure made from a sheaf, was once
an object of worship — though doubtless this worship had already
become more or less obscured even in the time of the Abingdon
chronicler. On the other hand the occurrence of the shield
(scyld) beside the sheaf {sceaf) in our story leaves us little room
for doubt that the ceremony described above has some con-
nection with the legend of Scyld-Sceaf. What the nature of
this connection may be it is difficult to decide. The most
natural explanation seems to be that the shield and the sheaf
together had once formed a fetish or the symbol of some deity,
before they came to be personified. But at all events, if there is
any connection at all, we clearly cannot admit that the sheaf
was not introduced into the story of Scyld before the twelfth
(or eleventh) century.

1 ydolo quern semel in anno collectis friigibus consueuerunt confingere et pro deo
colere, cui no men Curche imposueruni ; cf. Usener, Gbtternamen, p. 94.

2 Praetorius (p. 23 ff.) describes a ceremony connected with the worship of
Kurcho which seems to have rather a close resemblance to the story quoted above
(p. 279 f.) from Hutchinson.

282 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

In regard to the name of the child we have already given
reasons for believing that this was originally Scyld, and that
Scefing was a surname derived from the sheaf rather than a
patronymic. The process of development which brought about
the creation of a Sceaf and the transference of the story to him
is not very difficult to trace. When the expression Scyld Scefing
came to stand at the head of a list of patronymics {Beo Scylding
etc.), it would naturally be regarded, sooner or later, in the same
light. Hence Scyld appeared on the one hand as son of Sceaf,
while on the other he was said to be a foundling of unknown
parentage. The transference of the story from Scyld to Sceaf
was therefore a natural way out of the difficulty. Against the
alternative explanation, viz. that the child's name was originally
Sceaf, there is a serious objection. We have no evidence
whatever for the use of Sceaf as a personal name in England,
or, so far as I am aware, in any Teutonic nation. This objection,
it may be observed, holds equally well against the supposition
that Scefing was originally a patronymic — except of course that
it might come from a name Sceafa1. But perhaps it may be
urged that Scyld is also unknown as a personal name in England,
for place-names such as Scyldes treow, Sceldes ford, may all refer
to the same legendary hero. That is no doubt true. But we
do find similar names applied to persons, e.g. Brond and Helm,
whereas Sceaf belongs to an entirely different category. More
weighty than this however is the fact that in Old Norse literature
the corresponding name, Skioldr, is not uncommon. Its popu-
larity there is due no doubt to the fact that it was the name of
the first king of the Danes.

It is to this person that we must now turn our attention.
There can be no reasonable doubt that the Danish Skioldr is
identical with the Scyld of our story. It is true that for the two
most remarkable facts related of Scyld, namely his arrival as

1 I cannot admit that one is justified in assuming the identity of the names Sceaf
and Sceafa ; for, though Beo and Beowa do apparently occur side by side (cf. Binz,
Beitrage, xx. 155 f.), such cases are quite exceptional. If the sheaf was an object
of worship in early times, as I have suggested, names compounded with sceaf-
might naturally be expected. Sceafa may then be a form similar to Cit\a (for
Cu\wine).

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 283

a child and the manner of his funeral, we have no evidence in
Scandinavian tradition. The vernacular literature, as we have
already noticed, has little to say of Skioldr, while Saxo's Scioldus
bears but slight resemblance to Scyld. Yet notwithstanding
this the original identity of the two is quite clear. Scyld is the
eponymous ancestor of the Scyldungas (Scyldingas), Skioldr of
the Skioldungar. That the Scyldungas and the Skioldungar, at
all events Healfdene (Halfdan, Haldanus) and his family, are
identical, needs no demonstration. Scyld rules in the Scedeland,
{Scedenig\ which we have interpreted (p. 259 f.) as meaning the
lands on both sides of the Sound; Skioldr is connected both with
Sjajlland and Skaane. Now therefore we obtain an explanation
of the fact that Scyld is associated with the sheaf, the symbol of
agriculture ; for in Scandinavian tradition Skioldr is said to have
been the husband of Gefion, whom we have given reasons for
regarding as originally a deity of agriculture.

It will be convenient now to review briefly the evidence
which we have been considering. We have seen (i) that there is
reason for believing the sheaf to have been a religious symbol
among the heathen English ; (ii) that the mention of the shield
beside the sheaf in the Abingdon story points to a connection
with the story of Scyld ; (iii) that Scyld is identical with
Skioldr, the husband of Gefion, the goddess of agriculture.
I think then we are justified in regarding the sheaf as an original
element in the story, and consequently in bringing it into con-
nection with the form of religion which appears to have been
specially prominent in Sjaelland.

The origin of the legend is difficult, if not impossible, to
explain. The combined evidence of English and Scandinavian
tradition seems to show that the belief in the existence of a
person named Scyld-Skioldr goes back to the sixth, if not to the
fifth century. On the other hand the fact that the two traditions
have iittle or nothing in common as to the history of this person
certainly gives us reason for doubting whether he was anything
more than a name at this time. It may be granted that in all
probability his personality was originally derived from the name
of his descendants. But this observation gives us little help
towards explaining the characteristic features of the English

284 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

form of the legend. It is worth noting that in the Abingdon
story the shield and the sheaf are brought together without
any suggestion of a child. Now, if we are right in supposing
that this story is based on some ancient religious ceremony, the
sheaf may very well have been regarded as a manifestation of
the corn-deity. But there are said to be analogies, e.g. in the
ritual of the Eleusinian Mysteries, for representing the corn as
the child of the corn-goddess1. I am inclined to suspect there-
fore that the tradition may have originated in the ritual of some
festival — presumably one which was celebrated in the autumn.

As for the name Scyldiingas-Skiolditngar, we need not
hesitate to believe that this originally meant 'the people' or
' kinsmen of the shield.' Similar appellations are not uncommon,
e.g. Rondingas, Helmingas, Brondingas. But it does not neces-
sarily follow that such names arose from the use of shields,
helmets or swords in battle. The origin of most tribal and
dynastic names is of course disputed ; but such a nomenclature
as this would have too little that was distinctive about it. More
probably these names meant either ' the people of the shield, the
helmet ' etc.2, or else the people who used shields, helmets etc., in
some special way3. In the former case we may compare the
Ancile of the Romans and the Palladion of the Greeks4; in either
case we may note that occasionally shields have been found in
the North which can never have been used except for ceremonial
purposes5. Is it possible that the Danes ever possessed a shield

1 Cf. Frazer, Lectures on the Early History of the Kingship, p. 175 f. It is
perhaps worth mentioning that in part of Russia the last sheaf is said to be called
Imjaninnik, ' Geburtstagskind ; ' Mannhardt, op. cit. p. 332; cf. also Korndamonen,
p. 28 f. ; Frazer, The Golden Bough*, II. p. 183.

2 For a sacred sword cf. Jordanes, cap. 35. Aeneas Silvius {Hist, de Eur. 26)
states that the Lithuanians worshipped an iron hammer.

3 Cf. Ammianus Marcellinus, xvn. 12, § 21 : eductisque mucronibus quos pro
numinibus colunt iurauere se permansuros in fide. The reference is to the Quadi.
The Franks and Goths had a custom, which among the former can be traced back to
the first century (Tacitus, Hist. IV. 15), of proclaiming allegiance to a new king or
leader by hoisting him upon a shield (cf. J. Grimm, Deutsche Rechtsalterthiimer,
P- 234 f-); but it is at least doubtful whether this act had any religious significance.
There is no evidence for such a custom in the North.

4 For this observation I have to thank Mr A. B. Cook.

5 Cf. Montelius, The Civilisation of Sweden in Heathen Times (Engl. Transl.),
p. 66 f. ; Schrader, Heallexikon der indogerm. Altertumskunde, p. 720. It is perhaps

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 285

which stood in a relationship to Gefion similar to that borne by
the Palladion to Pallas Athene ? We have no evidence, it is
true, for the representation of Gefion as a ' shield-maiden ' ; but
it is to be remembered that the amount of information altogether
which we possess about this goddess is extremely small. At all
events her northern counterpart, Freyia, is intimately associated
with the Valkyries and even rides to battle herself1. On the
whole then this is the explanation which I am inclined to
favour.

We have observed that the English tradition seems to point
to a ritual ceremony in which the chief part was played by a
sheaf regarded as the child of the corn-deity. There is nothing
improbable in supposing that in such a ceremony the sheaf may
have been carried on a sacred shield. But, granting this, it must
be admitted that there is at least one feature in the story which
still requires explanation. According to our hypothesis we
should expect the child to come from the corn-field. But as
a matter of fact he is said to have come from the sea. Even in
the Abingdon story the shield and the sheaf play their part in
the water. In view of this difficulty therefore we must be
prepared to take account of any evidence obtainable from
other traditions, which may possibly contribute towards its
elucidation.

Of such traditions there are two which deserve to be noticed.
The first is the story of the god Ullr. What is
stated in Scandinavian literature about this person
is unfortunately far from clear; but it is generally agreed that
he must have been an important deity in early times. He is
said to have been called Skialdar Ass, ' the god of the shield '
(Skaldsk. 14). Again, the poets use the expression 'Ullr's ship'
(skip Ullar, askr Ullar) as a designation of the shield {ib. 49).
This expression has never been satisfactorily explained ; but it

worth noting that it seems to have been customary to hoist a shield, apparently
a white shield, called fr&skioldr (i.e. ' peace-shield') as a sign of peace ; cf. Saxo,
p. 158 ; Fri5biofs S. 15 ; Saga Magnus Berfaetts 8. Saxo (p. 72) mentions the use of
a red shield for this purpose; but according to Helgakv. Hund. 1 34 this would appear
to have meant war.

1 Cf. Grimnismal 14, Gylf. 24, Sorla Thattr 2, 5, 7.

286 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

would seem to show that he used his shield as a boat, a trait
which points to some affinity with the Abingdon story. Many
modern writers hold that the reference to the shield in these
phrases is due to a misapprehension, that originally the word
used was skffi, which is said to mean both 'shield1' and 'ski';
and they point to Gylf. 31 where it is stated that Ullr was
expert in archery and in the use of ski. On the strength of this
passage indeed it is thought by many that Ullr was originally a
Finnish god. But the explanation suggested, besides being
somewhat unnatural, is open to the objection that ski are quite
as useless for purposes of navigation as a shield. Moreover that
the implement in question, whatever it may have been, was used
for locomotion by water is shown by a statement of Saxo's
(p. 81 f.), according to which Ullr (Ollerus) was so skilled in
magic that he was able to cross the sea on a bone which he had
marked with spells2. Of course in itself this passage rather
deepens than explains the mystery ; but Saxo's account in
general tells decidedly against the supposition that Ullr was of
Finnish origin. Briefly this account is as follows : Othin had
disgraced himself so much by his conduct towards Rinda that
the gods deposed and exiled him and chose Ullr as their chief,
investing the latter with all the dignity and even the name of
Othin. But when nearly ten years had passed Othin returned,
and the gods received him gladly. Ullr fled to Sweden, but was
killed by the Danes. It would seem then that he was supposed
to have some connection with Denmark. Again, the occurrence
of the name Wolthuthewaz on the chape found at Thorsbjserg
(cf. p. 142 f.), though it may not be quite conclusive, certainly
favours the idea that Ullr was known in the southern Baltic in
very early times. For his antiquity the peculiar nature of his
relationship to the other gods may be regarded as evidence.

1 I do not know what authority there js for skicS=i shield.' It is not recognised by
Cleasby-Vigfusson in this sense. The fact that a closely related word is used with
this meaning in the Celtic languages (cf. Much, Beitr. xx. 36) can hardly be regarded
as conclusive evidence.

2 Fa?na est ilium adeo prestigiarum usu calluisse lit ad traiicienda maria osse, quod
dirts carminibus obsignauisset, nauigii loco uteretur nee eo segnius quam remigio
preiecta aquarum obstacula superaret.

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 287

Sif is said to be his mother and Thor his step-father, but his
father's name is never mentioned.

The second story which should be taken into consideration

is that of Ing, given in the Anglo-Saxon Runic poem which we

have already quoted (p. 230). Dr Olrik {op. cit., p. 258 ff.) has

pointed out that this account possesses three features which

show affinity with the story of Scyld. (1) Ing

Ing.

sojourned for a while among the Danes. (2) He
came from a world which was not human — for it was among the
Danes that he was first seen by men. (3) Eventually he passed
away over the sea. In the last case the parallelism may not be
complete, for the words of the poem {pfer waeg gewat) admit and
perhaps rather favour the supposition that Ing's departure took
place while he was yet alive — which would link his story rather
with that of the 'swan-knight' (Lohengrin). But this must be
regarded as somewhat uncertain.

Now Dr Olrik has called attention (p. 248 ff.) to the fact
that Scandinavian literature contains two stories of kings whose
funeral rites took the same form as those of Scyld, with the
exception that the ship was set on fire in both cases. It is
worth noting that both these kings, namely Haki (Yngl. S. 27)
and SigurSr Hringr (Skiold. S. 27), appear to have been of
Danish origin and that in both cases the ceremony is carried out
at the dying man's command. In the latter case however it is
said to be in accordance with the custom of his ancestors {more
maiorum suorum). This statement is doubted by Dr Olrik, who
thinks that both incidents are reflections of the legend of Scyld.
But I am by no means satisfied as to the validity of his objections,
viz. that the practice is mentioned only in heroic sagas1 and that
it is ascribed in both cases to the king's command. Ship-
cremation on land is placed beyond doubt by the fact that the
burnt remains have actually been found — a species of evidence
which from the nature of the case it is impossible to obtain for
this practice. The literary evidence however for the former
variety is with one exception (the story of Ibn Fadhlan) little if

1 What Dr Olrik says about Balder's funeral (Gylf. 49) does not seem to me quite
conclusive. Surely the natural meaning of the passage is that the ship was launched
in the sea.

288 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

at all better than for the latter. Moreover we have in reality no
evidence that according to Scandinavian tradition Skioldr — or
whatever name the eponymous ancestor originally bore — did
receive funeral rites of this kind. I am disposed therefore to
believe that the launching of the funeral ship really was an
ancient custom, presumably indeed the older form of the custom,
from which both ship-cremation (on land) and ship-burial were
derived.

Dr Olrik is doubtless right in bringing the story of Scyld's
departure over the sea into connection with his first arrival on
the sea-shore. The one incident seems to be the natural
counterpart of the other. Further, when he points out that the
same features are present not only in the story of the swan-
knight but also probably in that of Ing, we must admit that this
view has much in its favour ; for if the hero came to the Danes
from an unknown world it is natural to conclude that he was
believed to have come from over the sea. Indeed it may have
been of Ing, as he suggests, that the story was originally told ;
for the tradition of Ing seems to be the older of the two. At all
events this person had been entirely forgotten by the Danes at
a time when Skioldr was regarded as the founder of their
kingdom. But I am unable to follow Dr Olrik in his further
suggestion (pp. 253 ff., 261) that the legend was derived from
the peoples of the Atlantic. If we set aside Procopius' story
{Goth. IV. 20), which is of a somewhat different character, the
western legends which he cites are all of late date. In these
cases moreover the voyage is definitely to a land of the dead1;
the first part of the Scyld-story seems to be wanting.

I have tried above to show that the story of the child is
derived from the ritual of a cult connected with agriculture. It
seems by no means improbable that this story has been blended
with another — that of a hero who came from over the sea and
eventually returned the same way, whether in life or death.
Now the name Ingwine in Beowulf seems to be used as a

1 Except of course where the point of the story is that the dead is allowed to
choose his own resting-place (id. p. ■254). For such cases we have a good Northern
parallel in Egils S. Skall. 27 f., where Kveldulfr's coffin takes the place of the 'high-
seat pillars' (cf. p. 279).

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 289

synonym for Scyldingas. Thus we find eodor Ingwina (1. 1045)
beside eodor {eodur) Scyldinga (11. 428, 664) and frean Ingwina
(1. 1320) beside frean Scyldinga (11. 291, 351, 500 etc.), the
reference in all cases being to the same person, Hrothgar, king
of the Danes. This fact, taken together with what is said of Ing
in the Runic poem, certainly makes a strong case for believing
that as the eponymous ancestor of the Danish kings Scyld
(Skioldr) is the successor of Ing, and consequently that he may
have taken over characteristics which originally belonged to his
predecessor. It is true of course that in Scandinavian tradition
traces of the name Ing, or rather its derivatives, are confined
exclusively to Sweden ; in connection with Denmark the name
is practically unknown. But here Scandinavian tradition must
be at fault, for it is incredible that the Inguaeones of Roman
times were confined to Sweden. The case is parallel therefore
to the disappearance of the name Nerthus in connection with
Denmark1, though the deity herself survived under a different
name {Gefion). This being so, we may reasonably expect to
find traces of Ing not only in the English tradition of Scyld but
also in the Scandinavian traditions of Skioldr. The most
prominent fact in the latter however, indeed almost the only
distinctive feature in Skioldr's history, is that he was the hus-
band of Gefion. We may now give the genealogy of the myth.

Ing Nerthus

I I 1

Scyld, i.e. Skioldr = Gefion Freyia (Ingun ?) or Skialf (cf. p. 2^0).

I
Frey or Ingvi.

It has been conjectured before now that Ing was originally
the husband of Nerthus, but, so far as I am aware, this conjecture
has been based on the supposition that Ing (Ingwaz), as also
Frey, was a form of 'the ancient sky-god Tiwaz' (Tyr)-, the

1 According to Kock {Hist. Tidskr., xv. 163) a trace of the name Nerthus is
preserved in Sjselland in the medieval place-name Niartharum (i.e. Niarftar heimr)
in the herred of Sokkelund.

2 The theory that Tyr (*Tiwaz) was originally a sky-god was based on the
identification of his name with Sanscrit dydus (Zeus), 'sky,' which is now known
to be incorrect. The word *thvaz (Scr. devas, Lith. devas etc.) may ultimately be
connected with dydus etc., but there can be no doubt that it had come to mean ' gi»l '
in very remote times.

C. 19

290 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

idea being that the ' sky-god ' ought to be the husband of
'Mother Earth.' On such speculations however I fear we can
hardly build with safety, at all events until some evidence has
been produced to show that Ing was really identified or connected
in any way with the sky. But the above table gives us, I think,
a better reason for believing that Ing and Nerthus, whoever the
former may have been, actually were regarded as husband and
wife. Moreover this suggestion is materially strengthened if we
are right in our hypothesis (cf. p. 253) that the kings of the
Swedes were originally regarded as husbands of Freyia. Indeed
in that case the conclusion will be difficult to avoid ; for the
early kings of the Swedes were individually called Yngvi, and
thus the Swedish tradition, in which the old name, or a derivative
of it, has been preserved, will fall into line with that of the
Danes. The question as to who this Ing really was is one which
cannot profitably be approached without reference to the social
conditions of the time — a problem to which we shall have to
give our attention in the following chapter. It is not un-
reasonable however to suppose that traces of him may be
preserved in the male god NiorSr, Freyia's father, as well as in
OSr, the husband by whom she was deserted.

Hitherto we have considered the story of Scyld Scefing from
the side of mythology and religion only. From
significance the ethnological point of view however the story
has an importance which it would be difficult to
overestimate. According to both English and Scandinavian
tradition Scyld (Skioldr) belongs to Sjselland-Skaane. Again,
according to English tradition, as represented by Beowulf, as
well as according to Scandinavian tradition, he was the ancestor
of the Danish royal family. Lastly, in English tradition the
Danes are called Ingwine, and the eponymous Ing is said to
have been first seen among the Danes. How it can be con-
tended in face of these facts that Scyld (or Sceaf) and Ing
originally belonged only to English tradition, and that these
legends were acquired by the Danes from the Angli, I confess j
I am not able to understand. Another hypothesis, namely that
the Danes were an invading people who conquered Sjaelland

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 29 1

and took over its local traditions, might be regarded as possible
if the connection of these legends with the Danes was limited to
Danish sources, or even to Scandinavian tradition generally.
But the fact that English court poets were ready to admit the
connection renders this hypothesis incredible ; while at the same
time it must be remembered that there is no evidence worth
consideration to show that the Danes really were an invading
people. The name Datii {Dene, Danir) may of course, like
Franci, have come into existence at a comparatively late period
(cf. p. 151). But there is no reason for supposing that the
people themselves were any other than those who had been
associated with the legends of Scyld and Ing from the begin-
ning.

On the other hand it is not to be overlooked that Scyld was
also regarded as the ancestor of the English royal families, at
all events of that of Wessex. The legend, it is true, is only
given by late writers, Aethelweard and Malmesbury, but the
genealogy itself occurs in the Saxon Chronicle, a document of
the ninth century. Yet we must observe that, although Aethel-
weard and Malmesbury trace the origin of the house of Wessex
to Scyld-Sceaf, it is in the Danish islands {Scani, Scandza,
i.e. Scedenig) that they let him first make his appearance. This
would seem to show that according to tradition English royalty,
or at least some branch of it, traced its origin to the lands in
question. Now, earlier in the chapter (p. 271 ff.) it was pointed
out that the name Heremod occurs in the West Saxon genealogy
and that the same name is borne by an ancient Danish king in
Beowulf (cf. p. 148 ff.). There is no definite evidence however
for identifying the two persons. But if the West Saxon and
Danish kings claimed descent from the same ancestor the
identification is not unlikely. More important is the occurrence
of the name Beaw or Beo, the son of Scyld. This person, as we
have seen, clearly corresponds to the first Beowulf of the poem,
who, like both his father (Scyld) and his son (Healfdene), is
represented as a king of the Danes. His name has not been
preserved by Scandinavian tradition, and he may possibly never
have been known in Denmark, though on the other hand he
may also have been forgotten, like Ing. The important point

19 — 2

292 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

to notice however is that Scyld is not the only person who is
represented by Beowulf as a king of the Danes and by the
genealogies as an ancestor of the kings of Wessex.

An objection may perhaps be raised against the use of
arguments derived from the names Scyld, Beo etc., on the
ground that these names do not occur in the earliest royal
genealogies which we possess, namely those given in Dr Sweet's
text (Cott. Vesp. B 6 ; cf. p. 60), in the Historia Brittonum and
in an earlier passage in the Chronicle itself (ann. 547). But it
is easy to exaggerate the force of this objection. There is no
doubt that the Historia Brittonum has used a text closely
related to Dr Sweet's genealogies, and it is more than probable
that another text of the same family was in the hands of the
compilers of the Chronicle. The various texts then appear to
come ultimately from one written source, and consequently
cannot be regarded as independent traditional evidence. Now
the Chronicle (ann. 855) has combined this earlier genealogy
with another list of names (Taetiva — Sceaf) which clearly has a
different origin. It is true that the documentary evidence for
the latter is not so early as for the other. But this fact does
not justify us in assuming that the genealogy itself came into
existence at a later period. Indeed all the evidence we possess
is against the supposition that it was composed in the time of
King Alfred.

In the first place it is difficult to believe that a chronicler of
this period would desire to bring the king's ancestry into any
sort of connection with that of the heathen princes who had
just wrought such immense havoc in his country. Indeed the
place which the genealogy occupies in the Chronicle itself
suggests that it has been taken from an earlier edition, of which
it may very well have formed the close (cf. p. 25). Again, we
have seen (p. 272) that it appears to have been derived ulti-
mately from a Latin document, which may quite possibly have
been much older. But with regard to the tradition we are able
to get more definite evidence than this. Of the names which
occur in the list only two, Heremod and Scyld, are recorded in
native Scandinavian tradition, and the former is all but forgotten
(cf. p. 149 f.). For the rest we have no evidence at all. On the

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 293

other hand both Beo and Hwala, as well as the term Sceafing
(Scefing), are known from Beowulf and Widsith, while the story
of the child also occurs in Beowulf. It is quite clear then that
the affinities of the genealogy lie not with later Scandinavian
tradition but with the cycle of legend to which Beowulf belongs,
i.e. with a cycle which goes back to the period of the Anglo-
Saxon invasion. The occurrence of Scyld- and Beo- in a
number of place-names1 in various parts of the country points
to the same conclusion.

In one respect of course this genealogy compares unfavour-
ably with the earlier one, namely in the apparent interpolation
of five names before Sceafing (cf. p. 271 f.). If Heremod is really
the person mentioned in Beowulf he must have been placed
many generations too high2, and the names which follow
probably belong to the same category. But we have already
noticed that most of the genealogies contain suspicious elements.
More than this however it is difficult to believe that in heathen
times Woden was credited with five generations of ancestors, as
in the Frealaf—Geat list. One can hardly avoid suspecting that
in the genealogy from which this list was originally derived the
name Woden was a later insertion, designed to bring the list
into harmony with others — just as we find the same name
inserted after Seaxneat by Florence (cf. p. 59). The same
remark applies of course to the table to which Scyld and Beo
belonged. Now we have already pointed out that the name
Geat suggests a Gbtish origin for the family or families which
claimed descent from that person. On the same principle but
with much more confidence we may concede the probability of a
Danish origin for the family or families which claimed descent
from Scyld. Presumably the two lists originated in different
parts of the country. The older genealogy clearly comes from

1 Scyldes treow, Scildes we//, Beuentreu etc. The fact that Scyld- and Beo- are
extremely rare in personal names proves only that the tradition had little vitality
within historical times and consequently tends to show the antiquity of the place-names.
It is worth noting that the treow and well suggest heathen worship.

2 Assuming that the genealogy is genuine, which there seems to be no adequate
reason for doubting, it is conceivable that Bedivig was originally attached (in
tradition) to Baeldaeg or Brond. The other B- names in the genealogies are too late
to be worth mentioning.

294 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

■ one of the northern kingdoms. On the other hand all the
evidence at our disposal points to a southern origin for the later
list. One is naturally tempted to think first of the Jutes of
Kent or the Isle of Wight. But the evidence of the place-
names is distinctly against this suggestion. The safest examples
of names compounded with Scyld- come from Wiltshire and
Northamptonshire, while Beo- is scattered over the greater part
of the country, the best example again coming from Wiltshire1.
There can be little doubt therefore that the tradition was
common Anglo-Saxon property, a conclusion which is certainly
against the supposition that it was of Jutish origin, for the Jutes,
at all events the inhabitants of Kent, seem to have been quite a
distinct people in early times (cf. p. 85 f.). On the whole we
need not hesitate to say that the evidence, so far as it goes, is
decidedly favourable to Wessex as the home of the genealogy2.
The conclusion to which we have been brought is that the
traditional connection of English royalty with Scyld of Scedenig
goes back in all probability to the time of the invasion. Now
it is to be remembered that the English royal families, at all
events those of Mercia and Wessex, claimed descent from the
ancient kings and princes of Angel. This conclusion therefore
affords exactly the evidence which we required at the close of
the last chapter. We saw there that traces of the cult of
Nerthus are to be found both in the Swedish Upland and the
Danish Sjaelland. It is impossible on geographical grounds to
locate the sacred island in the former district, whereas the
situation of the latter suits the conditions quite well. Now the
Angli are mentioned by Tacitus as one of the tribes which
shared the cult of Nerthus. This statement therefore is fully in
accord with the fact that some at least of the Angli traced the
origin of their race to the eponymous ancestor of the Scyldingas,
the husband of Gefion whom we have identified as Nerthus
under another name.

1 Cf. Binz, Beiti-age, xx. pp. 148, 155 ff. It is worth noting also that the personal
name Beowulf occurs in the Northumbrian Liber Vitae {Bimtulf) and probably in a
Dorsetshire entry in Domesday Book {Beulf) ; ib. p. 159.

2 It is to be remembered that the West Saxon genealogy does not occur either in
Dr Sweet's text or in the Historia Brittonum.

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 295

If this be granted the much debated question as to the
home of the Angli may be regarded as practically settled.
They must have been a Baltic people. Where precisely on the
coasts of that sea their home lay in Tacitus' time we cannot of
course determine with certainty. But at all events there is
nothing to prevent us from believing that it was the same
region which we find them occupying in later times.

Another point on which the story of Scyld throws light is
the nature of the bond by which the various tribes which
shared the cult of Nerthus were held together. Since the
Angli and the Danes claimed descent from the same ancestor,
there can be no doubt that the bond was believed to be one of
blood — as in the parallel case of the cult shared by the Sem-
nones and kindred tribes (cf. p. 224 f). We need not hesitate
to conclude that the other tribes, whose names have since dis-
appeared, shared the same belief. Indeed the term Inguaeones,
which seems to have been applied to the peoples of the southern
Baltic, in itself involves a claim to common ancestry, whether
the eponymous Ing was really regarded as the husband of
Nerthus or not.

This observation brings us to a final question : Were the
Inguaeones identical with the tribes which shared the cult of
Nerthus? That the latter group were included in the former
may be inferred with practical certainty from the use of the
names Ing and Ingwine in Anglo-Saxon poetry. It has been
thought however that the former group was a more extensive
one, partly because the Swedish royal family were called Yng-
lingar and partly because Pliny includes the Cimbri, Teutoni
and Chauci among the Inguaeones. The former case however
rather makes for the identity of the two groups than otherwise ;
for we find the name Nidrtr (i.e. Nerthus) in the most intimate
connection with the Ynglingar. The Swedes may not have had
any part in the religious rites celebrated in Sjaelland in Tacitus'
time, but there can be little doubt in view of this fact that their
cult was ultimately obtained from there1. In regard to the

1 Cf. Kock, Hist. Tidskrift, xv. p. 167, where it is suggested that the Ynglingar
themselves had come from Denmark. This view does not entirely depend on the
explanation of the name lngunarfreyr given on p. 231.

296 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

latter case, if we are right in believing that the Cimbri and
Teutoni lived about the Liimfjord, we should naturally expect
their connections to lie with the Danish islands. With the
Chauci however the case is different. Geographically they
belonged to quite a different area ; and, again, no traces of
either Ing or Nerthus have been found among the populations
of the North Sea. But enough has already been said on this
point. On the whole it seems to me most probable that the
inclusion of the Cimbri, Teutoni and Chauci among the
Inguaeones is due to a conjecture on the part of Pliny, based on
some statement similar to Tacitus' proximi Oceano Inguaeones.
The original statement may have meant no more than that the
Inguaeones were maritime peoples.

At the time when history opens the Teutonic peoples of the
western Baltic are all included among the Danes. In Beowulf
the terms Dene and Ingwine are apparently synonymous, though
the latter seems to be becoming obsolete. Our discussion has
led us to conclude that the Ingwine of the sixth century were
the descendants of the Inguaeones of the first century, whether
the two words are really identical or not. It is true that the
Angli of Britain seem never to have included themselves among
the Danes ; but the reason for this may be that the name Dene
(Danir) had not come into use as a collective term before the
invasion of Britain. There can be no doubt that those who
remained behind were subsequently known as Dene ; indeed the
name Engle must have disappeared very quickly. The case of
the populations of the south coast of the Baltic was somewhat
different. Partly, like the Angli, they migrated westwards,
while whatever element remained behind was swallowed up in
the Slavonic invasion. With these reservations however we may
probably equate the Danes of the Middle Ages with the
Inguaeones of the first century.

We must now turn to consider the relationship of the Angli
The Angii and to t^ie Saxons. The latter, as we have seen (p. 193),
the Saxons. are recorciecl to have occupied the neck of the
Cimbric (i.e. the Jutish) peninsula. From this we might perhaps
infer that the two tribes were either identical or very closely akin

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 297

to one another — a hypothesis which would certainly fit in with
the evidence for the Angli and Saxons in Britain. On the other
hand if, as we have suggested, the Saxons were really confined
to the west coast of the peninsula, they may have been a people
with quite different affinities. Sjaelland and its religious
associations would probably lie beyond their horizon. The cult
of the Irminsul, though the evidence is not altogether conclusive
(cf. p. 229 f.), certainly rather tends to support this latter view.
Moreover we never hear of the Angli in connection either with
the Saxon raids against the Roman provinces or with the subse-
quent history of western Germany — which would be very
remarkable if the two nations were really closely connected.
The Angli must of course have obtained access to the North
Sea when they invaded Britain. But may not this access have
been obtained, by conquest or otherwise, at a comparatively late
period, when the westward movements of the Saxons had already
been long in progress?

Now in an earlier chapter (p. 81 ff.) it was pointed out that,
though the social systems of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms present
certain points of resemblance to those of other Teutonic nations,
among which we may include the Frisians, Old Saxons and
Scandinavians, yet at the same time they exhibit some very
distinctive features which we do not find elsewhere. Especially
we may notice the absence of a special class of freedmen and
the fact that the ceorl or ordinary freeman possesses a wergeld
which elsewhere is associated not with the freeman but with the
freedman. The ordinary free householder seems to have been
described as a ' tribute-payer' {gafolgelda), a characteristic which
apparently distinguished him from the higher classes of society.
Again these higher classes or nobility contained many families
which did not hold land and which appear not to have differed
from the ceorls except through the possession of hereditary
privileges. We have already remarked, arguing from analogy,
that the most reasonable explanation of such traits as these is
presented by the hypothesis of conquest. The ' gesithcund '
classes will in that case be descended from the conquerors and
the ceorls from the conquered population.

298 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

It seems to me very probable that these phenomena are to be

brought into connection with the appearance of the

of Heigi Hun- Angli on the North Sea. Moreover a fairly distinct

dingsbani. 11 • r r 1 r- ....

recollection ot a conquest ol the Saxon inhabitants
of the peninsula seems to have been preserved by Danish
tradition. This tradition is recorded by Saxo in a passage
(p. 51) to which we have already had occasion to allude, but
which is so important that it will be convenient here to give it
in full. Speaking of a Danish king named Helgo he says:
"he conquered in battle Hundingus the son of Syricus, king of
Saxony, at the city of Stadium1 and challenging him to a single
combat overthrew him. For this reason he was called ' the slayer
of Hundingus,' deriving a glorious surname from his victory.
He took Jutland from the Saxons and gave it to his generals
Hesce, Eyr and Ler to hold and administer. In Saxony he
decreed that the freeman and the freedman should have an equal
wergeld, wishing, as it seems, to make it perfectly clear that all
the families of the Teutones were equally in bondage and that
the whole nation had been degraded by the loss of their freedom
to an equally dishonourable condition2."

Here it will be observed we find presented to us exactly the
phenomena which differentiate the English social systems from
those of kindred nations. The freeman's wergeld is reduced to
a level with that of the freedman — a fact which of itself would
naturally bring about the disappearance of the latter as a
separate class of society. That the conquered population were
made subject to tribute is only what might be expected under
the circumstances. Attention however should be paid to the

1 It is not clear what town is meant, as place-names ending in -sledt are very
common in Holstein and South Jutland. Holder suggests Hollingstedt, near Slesvig.
Elsewhere in Saxo's History the name Stadium is applied to Stade.

2 Hundingum Saxonie regis Syrici filium apud Stadium oppidum prelio uicit
eundemque ex prouocacione adortus duello prostranit. ob quod Hiindingi interemptor
uocatus uictorie decus cognomine usurpauit. Iutie Saxonibus erepte ius procuraci-
onemqite Hesce Eyr et Ler ducibus commisit. apud Saxoniam ingenui ac liberti tiecem
pari summa rtpendeiidam constituil perinde ac liquido constare nolens quod cunctas

Tetitonum familias cqua seruitus teneret omniumque corrttpla libertas parent
condicionis ignominiam redoleret. Ler is possibly a corruption of Leifr, the name of
Helgi's pilot in Vols. S. 9.

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 299

setting in which the story is placed by Saxo. The hero, Helgo,
is identified by him with Helgo the son of the Danish king
Haldanus (Halfdan), brother of Ro (Hroarr) and father of Roluo
(Hrolfr Kraki). All these persons are well known to us from
both Scandinavian and English tradition, and we need not
hesitate to believe that a member of this family named Helgo
(Helgi, Halga) did live in the latter part of the fifth century.
But the identification noted above is peculiar to Saxo. Else-
where in Scandinavian literature Helgi Hundingsbani, who
is certainly the same person as the hero of our story, is brought
into relationship with quite a different set of persons. He is
represented as the son of Sigmundr, the son of Volsungr, while
his mother is said to have been a Danish princess named
Borghildr. In regard to the history of the Volsungar enough
has been said above (p. 148 f.). If any credit is to be attached to
the story, Helgi must have lived in the early years of the fifth
century. The two poems in which he figures (HelgakviSur
Hundingsbana I, II) are taken up mostly with his fight against
a king named Hogni, whom he slew and whose daughter, Sigrun,
he married. In Helgakv. II. 4 Hogni and Sigarr are spoken of
as brothers. This latter may possibly be the same person as the
Sigarr whose story we have discussed (p. 146 ff.), for the dates
more or less agree. Helgi did not long survive his victory, being
slain by Dagr, the son of Hogni, in revenge for his father. With
regard to the scene of the action all the places mentioned in the
two poems, which can be identified, lie in the south-western part
of the Baltic, viz. Hlesey (Lesso), Brandey (Brando), HeSinsey
(Hiddenso), Hringsta5ir (Ringsted) and Sigarsvellir (Sigersted)1.
There can be no doubt therefore that Helgi is a Danish hero,
thoueh it is to be observed that the names Danir and Damnork
do not occur.

The references to Hundingr in both poems are quite brief and
give no indication as to the position of his kingdom. But, if we
may admit the evidence of the Thattr af Nornagesti (cap. 6), the
territories of Hundingr's sons must have lain on the coasts of

1 Cf. Mogk in Paul's Grundriss1', II. p. 612, where the following identifications also
are suggested : d MSinsheimuin (Moen), / Orvasund (Oresund or Stralsund), &
Varinsfit^i (Warnow, Warnemunde), frd Svarinshaugi (Schwerin).

300 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP.

the North Sea. This agrees very well with the story that
Sigmundr was attacked and slain by them ; for Sigmundr's home
in later life is said to have been in the land of the Franks or the
Netherlands by both Scandinavian and German tradition. Out-
side Scandinavian literature nothing is known of Hundingr or
his sons. In Widsith however (11. 23, 81) we hear of a tribe or
dynasty called Hundingas, though no clear indication is given as
to their territories. It is by no means impossible that this
dynastic name has been turned into a personal name in Scandi-
navian tradition1.

We have already seen that at the time in which Sigmundr is
said to have lived migratory movements from the old land
of the Saxons to the Netherlands certainly were in operation.
Hence, if Sigmundr was a real person, there is nothing im-
probable in the supposition that he may both have resided for a
time in Denmark and subsequently settled in the Netherlands —
though we shall then have to conclude that he was of Saxon
rather than Frankish nationality. Further, it is likely enough
that in course of time these movements brought about their
natural consequences. The Saxons who remained in the
peninsula became weakened and finally succumbed to the attacks
of their eastern neighbours. The Hundingas may have been the
dominant family among the Saxons when this national disaster
took place.

It may perhaps be objected that we have no evidence for
believing Helgi to have been an English king. We must bear in
mind however that the fact that the Angli had once lived in the
neighbourhood of the Danes was not preserved by Scandinavian
tradition. If, as we have seen, Offa and his family had come to
be regarded as Danes, the same might also have occurred in the
case of Helgi. As a matter of fact Saxo is our only authority
who does describe him as a Dane, and it is to be remembered
that this writer has confused him with another Helgi who was

1 There are other cases of the same kind ; we may compare e.g. Saxo's Hadingus
and Hothbroddus with the Heardingas of the Runic Poem and the Heathobeardan of
Beowulf. The reason for such changes is probably to be found in the fact that family
names are often applied to individuals, e.g. gamela Scyldiug (of Hrothgar), Beow. 1 792 ;
cf. also such expressions as Hidrvar^r Ylfingr (Yngl. S. 41).

XI] KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS 301

certainly of Danish origin. The poems do not specify Helgi's
nationality. According to our view of the story the conflict
between Helgi and Hundingr was really a contest between the
nations of the Baltic and those of the North Sea. We need not
hesitate to believe that the Angli were the most important of
the former, at all events of those which were settled on the
mainland. But it does not necessarily follow that the leader of
the eastern forces in this campaign himself belonged to the
Angli.

We may well believe that between the tribes which occupied
the peninsula both pitched battles and single combats were of
frequent occurrence in the time with which we are dealirfg1.
Indeed the Thorsbjaerg deposit itself is evidence for a very
serious conflict. But especially would this be the case if, as we
have seen reason for believing, the west and east coasts were
occupied by nations with quite different affinities. I cannot see
that any improbability is involved in the suggestion that one of
these conflicts ended with disastrous results for the western
population. The effects recorded by Saxo are after all probably
no more than what took place on other occasions, e.g. when
the Thuringi were conquered by the Franks and Saxons. In
early times we hear of tribes which met with an even more
tragic fate, such as the Ampsiuarii, who according to Tacitus,
Ann. XIII. 56, were entirely destroyed or enslaved. On the
conquerors themselves the effect would doubtless be a consider-
able access of strength and wealth, which would put them into
a position to undertake distant enterprises.

It will be convenient now to summarise the results to which
our discussion has brought us. The Saxons and the Angli seem
originally to have occupied the west and east coasts of the
peninsula respectively. Apart from geographical proximity

1 It is possible of course that the incident related by Saxo with reference to the
Saxon wergelds — which has all the appearance of a genuine tradition — may have
been transferred from a different story. In an earlier work (Studies on Anglo-
Saxon Institutions, p. 410 f.) I suggested that it was originally connected with Offa's
fight at the Eider. Subsequent consideration however has led me to the conclusion
that the scepticism with which I formerly regarded the story of Helgi was scarcely
justified.

302 KING AETHELWULF'S MYTHICAL ANCESTORS [CHAP. XI

however we have no reason for believing that they had any close
affinity with one another. The evidence of religion and tradition
clearly connects the Angli with other tribes settled on the coasts
and islands of the Baltic, more especially with the inhabitants of
Sjaelland. With the Saxons the case is not so clear, but what
evidence we have points to western affinities. From the third
century onwards the Saxons began to move westwards over the
sea, perhaps impelled by pressure from behind. Those who
remained were conquered, according to Danish tradition, by
a king named Helgi, who seems to have lived about the beginning
of the fifth century. The invaders of Britain though called
Saxons by the natives really belonged to a nation which had
only recently made its appearance on the western seas. In
subjection to them however was a numerous population, pre-
sumably of Saxon origin. With the course of time this subject
population would naturally tend to predominate, while the
descendants of the Angli would dwindle into a military aristo-
cracy. Lastly it appears from the genealogy of the East Saxon
dynasty that at least one princely family of the Saxons had
succeeded in maintaining its position, probably in alliance with
the Angli ; while in view of the numbers necessarily required for
the success of the invasion it is very probable that a considerable
proportion of the warriors who took part in it were drawn from
all the surrounding regions.

CHAPTER XII.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD.

In Chapter VII we discussed the social and political condi-
tions of the migration period chiefly from the evidence of native
tradition. We saw that kingly government was then all but
universal, though two or more kings were frequently to be found
reigning together. The kings seem to have belonged to native
dynasties and in general derived their claim from paternal
ancestry. After the kings the most important element in the
nation was the \eod, which appears to have been rather in the
nature of a court than a popular assembly, consisting as it did of
warriors old and young in the personal service of the kings.
These persons were not exclusively members of the royal family
or even born subjects of the kings, for wealthy kings attracted
warriors to their service from many quarters. The government
of districts and villages was granted to such warriors as a reward
for their services. Generally speaking, the constitution of
society, at all events in its upper strata, seems to have been
military rather than tribal in character, the bond between lord
and man being considered fully as strong as that of blood-
relationship — equivalent perhaps to that of father and son.

When we turn to earlier times the evidence at our disposal is
of a very different character. 'Heroic tradition' (heltesagn) is
practically non-existent. Indeed, so far as the more northern
nations are concerned we may say that tradition has not pre-
served the name of a single hero earlier than the fourth century
who can be regarded as historical with any degree of probability.
In place of this we have only folk-tales and stories relating to

304 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

gods and other beings who are clearly more or less mythical,
together with survivals of primitive customs and beliefs which
may be traced in later times. It need scarcely be mentioned
that all this evidence is of a kind which requires to be treated
with the utmost caution. Secondly, we have some valuable
notices regarding contemporary Teutonic society from a few early
Roman writers, especially Tacitus. Here again however caution
is necessary. In all probability the information furnished by
these writers applies primarily to the tribes with which the
Romans themselves came in contact, and we must not assume
that all their statements hold good for those settled in more
remote regions. Particular attention must be paid to any notices
which point to diversity of custom. Thirdly, it is to be remem-
bered that remote districts often preserve primitive forms of
organisation long after they have been modified or abandoned
by regions more accessible to external influence. Now Norway
seems to have been less exposed to southern influence than any
other Teutonic land in early times. Hence, as our materials for
this country are exceptionally rich, we may reasonably expect
to find here evidence which will be worth consideration in its
bearing on early Teutonic society. Lastly, valuable illustration
may often be supplied by the customs of non-Teutonic peoples,
especially those settled in neighbouring countries. Among
these we may specify the inhabitants of the eastern Baltic, a
region which has always been slow to receive external influence,
and also the Gauls for whom we have information dating from
very early times.

The general impression produced by reading the works of
state of Tacitus and other contemporary writers is that the
civilisation. state 0f civilisation among the Teutonic peoples of
that period was very appreciably lower than what we find in the
fifth and sixth centuries. Some difficulty however is occasioned
by the fact that the information which they furnish seems not to
harmonise entirely with the results of archaeological investigation.
Thus, to take a special case, Tacitus {Germ. 6) says that the
Germani had so little iron that swords and long spears were
seldom used ; for the most part they had only short spears or
javelins with short and narrow heads. This statement would

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 305

seem to suggest that the iron age was but beginning, and
evidence to the same effect is perhaps to be obtained from cap.
43, where it is stated that the characteristic weapon of certain
eastern tribes was a short sword. Now since the regular type
of sword used by both Teutonic and Celtic nations in historical
times struck the Romans as very long, one is tempted to see
here a reference either to the bronze sword or at least to a primi-
tive (Hallstatt) iron sword1 modelled on the bronze type. Yet
archaeologists put back the beginning of the iron age even in
Scandinavian lands to a time from five to seven centuries before
Tacitus.

In such cases as this archaeologists seem to me to have been
too ready to argue that because the same type of article occurs
both in the north and in the south, the periods during which it was
in use in both quarters must to a certain extent overlap. No
doubt the period during which a given article was used in
Holland or Saxony must coincide to a certain extent with that
during which it was used in Belgium or Bohemia ; but does it
necessarily follow that the period during which it was used in
Denmark must coincide at all with the latter?

On the other hand2 archaeological investigation has un-
doubtedly shown that certain statements made by ancient
writers are erroneous and that many inferences drawn from the
language of ancient writers are unfounded. As an example
of the former we may take Strabo's statement (p. 291) that the
Suebi, or perhaps the Germani in general, did not practise
agriculture but lived like nomads, placing their belongings on
waggons and moving about from place to place. For the
latter we may refer to a much discussed passage in Caesar's
Commentaries {Gall. IV. 1 ; cf. VI. 22) in which he credits the
Suebi with a wasteful and apparently absurd system of agricul-
ture, alleging that they never cultivate the same spot for more
than a year but keep continually moving onwards — from which
it has been inferred that agriculture was still in its infancy.
Tacitus' evidence is perhaps not wholly incompatible with such

1 Cf. S. Midler, Urgeschichte Europas (Germ. Transl.), p. 131 f. (fig. 114).
- For a fuller discussion of the subject treated in this and the following paragraphs
see Hoops, Waldbaume und Kulturpflanzcn, Kap. 12.

C. 20

306 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

an inference, for it shows that agriculture, though known, was
neglected. Yet it has always been somewhat of a difficulty that
the remote Aestii are said to have been more given to agriculture
than the rest of the Germani. A more serious objection how-
ever is that the terms for cereals and for cultivation are for the
most part common to all the Teutonic languages, and indeed in
great measure to all the Indo-European languages of Europe,
though at the same time it is clear that they were not recent
loan-words.

Archaeological investigation has now proved that the cultiva-
tion of cereals in the north of Europe goes back to the stone
age. Of still greater importance is the discovery of the repre-
sentation of a plough with two oxen among the rock-carvings at
Tegneby in Bohuslan, which date from the bronze age1. However
sceptical one may feel towards the dates fixed by archaeologists,
this discovery shows without doubt that a highly developed
system of agriculture was practised in Sweden before the begin-
ning of the Christian era. Some other explanation of the
accounts given by Caesar and Tacitus must therefore be found.
What the true explanation is has been clearly shown by a care-
ful examination of the various passages in which these writers
refer to the subject2. The growth of the military spirit had led
to a neglect of agriculture, as both writers expressly state. The
peculiar phenomena recorded by Caesar are probably due to
special conditions which may be described as migratory, though
scarcely as nomadic, while Strabo's incorrect statement may
have arisen out of a misunderstanding of Caesar's account.

How far these migratory conditions prevailed and to what
causes they were due it is difficult to determine with the limited
information at our disposal. The first three occasions on which
the Romans came in contact with Teutonic tribes (viz. the
Cimbri, the forces of Ariouistus, and the Usipetes and Tencteri)
were all cases of migration ; but this is only what might be
expected. There is moreover a good deal of linguistic evidence
which tends to show that a considerable part of western

1 Cf. Montelius, Civilisation of Sweden, p. 71 (fig. 79); Sveriges //istoria2, p. 78
(fig. 87); Hoops, op. cit., p. 500 (fig. 3).
- Cf. Hoops, op. cit., pp. 508 ff., 526 ff.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 307

Germany had been inhabited by Celtic peoples at no very
remote period. On the other hand the Cherusci had apparently
not changed their territories between the time of Caesar {Gall.
VI. 10) and that of Tacitus, while the existence of sacred groves
of great antiquity, like that of the Semnones, shows that the
tribes which possessed them cannot have moved for many
generations. We may also refer to the broad earthwork, which
the Angriuarii had made to protect themselves from the Cherusci
(Ann. II. 19). In Tacitus' own time we do hear of a migration
of the Angriuarii, but it has been suggested above that this move-
ment may have been inspired by fear of the Chauci. Caesar
expressly states that the Usipetes and Tencteri had migrated
through pressure from the Suebi. In another case, that of the
Bataui {Germ. 29), we are told that the migration was due to
a seditio domestica among the Chatti, to whom the Bataui had
formerly belonged. Quite possibly Ariouistus' movement may
have been due to a similar cause.

Among the more northern peoples, with whom we are
primarily concerned, the great migration of the Cimbri is the
only movement of which we have any record1. This movement
was said to have been caused by a disastrous flood, and at all
events we know that the ridicule with which Strabo (p. 293)
treated the story was due to ignorance. The absence of all
reference to subsequent migrations cannot be ascribed entirely
to the fact that the Romans themselves did not visit these
regions, for we hear of the Langobardi on several occasions
during the first century. Further, it is to be remembered that
migratory movements by land in such a region must always
have been attended with considerable difficulty and that the
expansion of these peoples in later times took place almost
entirely by sea. Hence, with the evidence which we now have
before us for the antiquity of agriculture, I think we are bound
to conclude that under normal conditions the populations of
the western Baltic were settled communities, although Tacitus
{Germ. 40) states that the military spirit was prevalent even here.

1 The Harudes who look part in Ariouistus' invasion may have come from Jutland ;
but it is quite possible that their fathers had left that country with the Cimbri.

20 2

308 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

We have seen that the earliest mention of the Angli dates
from the first century and that they then formed part of a
Form of religious confederacy, the sanctuary of which lay in

government. ajj probability in Sjselland. Regarding the organisa-
tion of the tribe we have no evidence earlier than the fourth
century, at which time they were governed by kings from whom
the Mercian royal family of later times claimed descent. Beside
this family however we find a number of others which succeeded
in obtaining thrones in Britain, and which likewise claimed
divine ancestry, though from the god Woden downwards their
genealogies were distinct from that of Mercia. Now are we to
suppose that the institution of royalty goes back to the time of
Tacitus, and, if so, did the Angli possess more than one royal
family ?

In Scandinavian history and tradition kingship is universal ;
but of course the earliest traditions scarcely reach beyond the
time of King Wermund. For Continental nations however
much earlier information is available from Roman sources.
According to Tacitus some tribes were under kingly government
in his time, but in general his account gives the impression that
he regarded the kingly ciuitas as somewhat exceptional. To
turn to specific cases we are told {Germ. 42) that the Marcomanni
and the Quadi had formerly been under kings of their own
native stock, though now they were ruled by aliens. The reign
of Maroboduus goes back to the time of Augustus1, while the
first reference to the Ouadi {Ann. II. 63) is in connection with a
king of that tribe. The Hermunduri were under a king named
Vibilius in the time of Tiberius and Claudius {Ann. II. 63, XII. 29),
and the Semhones under a king named Masyus (?) in the time
of Domitian (Dio Cassius, LXVII. 5). For the Langobardi we have
no evidence, as might be expected from their remote position ;
but according to their own traditions they had been under a
long line of kings reaching back almost to the time of their
first (legendary) migration. On the whole then there can be
no doubt that kingly government was the type which prevailed
among the Suebic tribes. According to Tacitus {Germ. 43)

1 In the Res Gestae D. Aug., cap. 32, mention is made of reges...Marcomanorum
Stuborumquc complures.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 309

the Goths and other north-eastern tribes also were ruled by
kings.

With the tribes of western Germany the case is not so clear.
Apart from the Burgundians, who -had migrated from the east,
and Suebic peoples, such as the Alamanni, we have, so far as
I am aware, not more than six references to kings dating from
before the fourth century, viz. Italicus and Chariomerus, kings of
the Cherusci (Tacitus, Ann. XL 16; Dio Cass., LXVII. 5), Verritus
and Malorix, kings of the Frisii {Ann. XIII. 54), Maelo, king of
the Sugambri (Res Gest. D. Aug. 32), an unnamed king of
the Bructeri (Pliny, Ep. II. 7), and Ariouistus, who may have
belonged to the Suebi. Elsewhere we find mention only of
duces and principes. The dux was a military leader in time of
war; the principes were persons who acted as magistrates (ius
dicere) in districts and villages, and who were elected at tribal
assemblies. It is probable from Tacitus' account of the principes
{Germ. 13 ff.) that the dux would, as a rule at least, be drawn
from among them1; but whether the rank of princeps itself was
limited to certain families or open to all free tribesmen is a ques-
tion upon which different views have been held. All that can be
said with certainty is that it is never stated of any princeps that
he was not of noble birth ; but the amount of information which
we possess about such persons is after all extremely slight. An
exception may perhaps be made in the case of the Cherusci, who
enter a good deal into Roman history during the early years of
the first century. A number of their principes are known by
name, and it is curious to note that all of them belonged to one
or other of two families, the relationships between the various
members being as follows2:

x y

-1 r -1" -1

Segimerus Segestes Sigimerus Inguiomerus

2((rid<iKos Segimundus Qovav(\8a = Arminius Flauus

Italicus
It is nowhere stated that Segimerus the brother of Segestes
was identical with Sigimerus the father of Arminius ; but the

1 Among the Old Saxons in later times the military leader was chosen by lot from
among the satrapae; cf. Bede, II. E. v. 10.

2 cf. Velleius, II. 118; Strabo, p. 2Qi f. ; Tacitus, Ann. 1. 55, 57, 71.

3IO SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

identity of the names suggests that the two families may have
been related. If so, one could hardly help suspecting that the
form of government which prevailed among the Cherusci was
really a kind of dynastic rule, such as we find in later times
among the Franks and in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. More-
over this suspicion is fully confirmed by the fact that in the
negotiations which led to Italicus being made king his family is
described as stirps regia {Ann. XI. 16). It is highly probable there-
fore that the kingship to which Arminius aspired and which
Italicus succeeded in obtaining was not a new institution. The
case of the Cherusci may possibly have been exceptional ; but it
is at all events worth noting that the principes of the Chatti
intermarried with those of the Cherusci1 and that the Bataui, who
according to Tacitus {Germ. 29, Hist. IV. 12) were an offshoot of
the Chatti, are likewise said {id. IV. 13) to have possessed a stirps
regia. On the whole then, especially when account is taken of
the fact that among the Franks kingship can be traced back to
the fourth century, it seems difficult to avoid the conclusion that
the distinction drawn by Tacitus between reges and principes was
based not on a contrast between kingship and ' republicanism '
but on the presence of one or more ruling princes within the
same tribe2.

At all events we have seen that kingship prevailed among
the Suebic tribes which lay to the south of the region inhabited
by the Angli and also probably among the Cherusci, the eastern-
most tribe of western Germany, as well as among the Goths and
other peoples of north-eastern Germany. Scandinavian tradition,
as we have already observed, knows no other form of govern-
ment. Lastly, we hear of kings also among the Cimbri3 who
invaded Gaul and Italy two centuries before Tacitus' time. It
is decidedly probable therefore that the same type of government
prevailed among the Angli and the neighbouring tribes at the
very beginning of the Christian era.

The evidence of folk-tales, whether German, Norwegian or
Lithuanian, goes much further than this. In them we find

1 cf. Strabo, p. 292 ; Tacitus, Ann. XI. 16.

2 cf. Miillenhoff, Deutsche Altertumskunde,\V. p. 184 ff.

3 cf. Orosius, v. 16 ; Plutarch, Marius 25.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 3II

kings everywhere, and consequently their territories seem to be
extremely small. Now in Norway we do actually find, even in
historical times, kings like SigurSr Syr, who were persons of
comparatively little importance. The eight kingdoms in the
Throndhjem Fiord, mentioned in Haralds Saga hins harfagra,
cap. 7, must obviously have been very small. In Prussia we have
from King Alfred (Orosius, I. 1. 19) contemporary evidence for a
still more surprising state of things. The merchant Wulfstan
told him that in Estland (East Prussia) there were very many
fortified places (byrg) and that in each of these there was a king.
If such a state of things ever prevailed in South Jutland it would
of course afford an explanation of the large number of royal
families which that region appears to have possessed. The
vassals and officials of various degrees whom we find holding
land as grants from the kings will then have taken the place of
local and more or less independent chiefs, just as in later times
we find earls set over provinces which had formerly been
independent kingdoms both in England and Norway. There is
some difficulty however in reconciling such a view with the
account of the Teutonic ciuitas given by Tacitus. It is to this
subject that we must now turn our attention.

We have seen that after the king or kings the most import-
Tribai an-t political element in the migration period was

assemblies. ^e j,^^ which appears to have been a body of
warriors, old and young, attached by personal service to the
king. It consisted partly, but only partly, of members of the
royal family ; indeed its members were not necessarily born
subjects of the king. In Tacitus' works we find, mention of
bodies, the comitatus of kings and principes, which apparently
resembled the \eod in all respects. But in addition to these we
hear also of concilia or tribal assemblies which seem to have been
very much larger bodies. Tacitus deals with these concilia at some
length (Germ. 11 f). He says that they met at certain fixed
times, that they elected the principes and settled disputes, and that
with them rested the ultimate decision on all questions of great
importance. The principes discussed beforehand what matters
should be brought before the concilium ; but it can hardly be
maintained that the concilium consisted only, or even chiefly,

312 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

of the principes and their personal followers. For we are told
{Germ. 13) that it was at these assemblies that youths were
admitted to the rights and privileges of warriors. The initiation
was performed sometimes by a princeps, sometimes by the
youth's father or relatives — a fact which clearly implies that the
rights of a warrior were obtainable without admission to a
comitates. So also in Germ. 7 Tacitus states that when the
tribe was called out to war, the line of battle was arranged
according to families and kindreds. It is plain then that though
a military system similar to that which we find in English and
Scandinavian records did exist it by no means pervaded the
national organisation to the same extent.

Special attention deserves to be paid to the somewhat sub-
ordinate position apparently occupied by the king at these
assemblies. The presidential functions seem to have belonged
to the priests. At the taking of the omens indeed, which
probably preceded the meeting, we are told {Germ. 10) that the
tribal high-priest {sacerdos ciuitatis) was accompanied by the
king or princeps. But when the assembly actually met it was
the priests who opened the proceedings by enjoining silence
{id. 1 1 ). Again, Tacitus states that freedom of speech was
allowed, though qualified by the rank or reputation of the
speaker ; but none except the priests had power to enforce
obedience. So also when the tribe went out to battle {id. 7) the
priests accompanied it, taking with them certain divine symbols
from the sacred groves, and it was they alone who then had the
power of inflicting summary punishment on offending tribesmen
— the idea being, as Tacitus says, that this was done not at the
bidding of the general but at the god's command. We may
further note that on at least one occasion {Ann. II. 12 ; cf. Hist.
IV. 14) when a call to arms had been raised the tribes met in
a sacred grove. Where the regular assemblies were held we are
not explicitly told ; but there is every probability that the same
places were chosen, for it was with these sacred groves that the
priests were specially associated1.

1 cf. the O. H. Germ, gloss parauuai-i — aruspes (Graff, llorterbuch, III. 344),
which is in all probability related to Ang. Sax. bearo, 'grove' (O. Norse borr, Russ.
boi') ; perhaps also O. H. Germ, harugai-a — antspices, from haruc — Incus, nemus etc.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 313

Tacitus' account of the concilium may be, and often has been,
illustrated from the descriptions of Swedish assemblies given in
Rembertus' Life of St Ansgar, cap. 24, and in St Olaf's Saga
(Heimskn), cap. 80 f. In the former the king is represented as
bringing before his assembly the question whether the introduc-
tion of Christianity should be permitted. Previously to doing
so he goes out with his nobles to cast lots. In St Olaf's Saga
the king's policy is openly discountenanced by the assembly
under the leadership of the lawman and he is compelled to
change his attitude by threats of violence, remarking as he does
so that it has been the practice of all kings of the Svear to give
way to the wishes of the commons. It is not safe, as we shall
see later, to assume that the old type of tribal organisation had
been preserved unchanged in Sweden from the earliest times.
But the Swedish evidence will at all events furnish a useful
parallel to Tacitus' concilium.

One important difference between the two cases is that there
is no reference to priests in the Swedish stories. We do
occasionally hear of priests in the North, but there is no evidence
whatever for believing that the persons so called were devoted
exclusively to religious duties. In Norway it is abundantly
clear that priestly duties and the possession of temples went
with temporal authority, in the case of both earls and petty
local chieftains, and the peculiar hierarchic magistracy of
Iceland had the same origin. Above all we have no evidence
for the existence of high-priests in the North. At public
festivals the chief place always seems to have been taken by the
king or the head of the community.

With this exception the Swedish assembly bears a close
resemblance to the concilium of ancient times. Now it is worth
noting that "the assembly of all the Svear" tying allra Svia)
mentioned in St Olaf's Saga coincided with the great spring-
festival and that it was held at Upsala in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of the national temple, as is shown by the statement
that the crowd sat on the barrows. This fact tends to confirm
the suggestion mentioned above that the ancient tribal assem-
blies of the Continent were likewise held in sacred groves and
further that they were primarily religious festivals like those
mentioned in Germ. 39, Ann. I. 50.

314 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

It is probable that the case of the Swedish assembly was
somewhat exceptional in the North. In St Olaf's Saga, cap.
96, the king's councillors are represented as saying that the
Uppland Swedes (Uppsvia aett) were the noblest people in the
North because they were sprung from the gods themselves. In
Saxo's account of the battle of Bravik nine Swedish warriors are
specially said to have been descended from Frey (cf. p. 232),
from which it appears probable that the claim to descent from
that god was not limited to the royal family. Indeed if we are
to believe the evidence of Ynglinga Saga the Swedish royal
family of that date no longer claimed such descent. Now
Tacitus' language seems to imply that among the ancient
Germani similar claims were held by the tribe as a whole.
We may refer to the genealogical remarks in Germ. 2 and
the expressions eiusdem sanguinis and initio, gentis in ib. 39. If
so all free tribesmen would ultimately be of the same origin
as the king himself. On the other hand it is by no means
impossible that the genealogical references apply only to the
tribal nobility, and in the case of the Ynglingar this explana-
tion is distinctly more probable. In either case the comparative
insignificance of the kingly office is to some extent accounted for.

When we turn to the Frankish and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms,
which were of a far more autocratic character, we find no trace
of such community of origin between the king and the tribe.
The kingdom was inseparably bound up with the royal family,
and the essential qualification for a king was that he should be
descended from the founder of the dynasty. Such was the
case with the Franks down to the time of Pippin and with
the Anglo-Saxons until a much later period. It is frequently
stated that kingship was of comparatively recent origin among
the Franks, and as a matter of fact we find no mention of
Frankish kings before the fourth century. But considering the
paucity of our information for the second and third centuries
this is altogether inconclusive. In the first century, as we
have already seen, there is evidence for kings or stirpes
regiae among several of the Rhineland tribes, the Bructeri,
Sugambri and Bataui, the two latter of whom are generally
recognised to have been of Frankish nationality. How the
change in the character of kingship came about is not quite

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 315

clear ; but we may surmise with some probability that it was
due partly to the disappearance of the nobility and partly to the
extension of the territories ruled by the kings. The evidence at
our disposal seems to point to a gradual consolidation of small
tribes into larger units, with a corresponding increase in the
influence of the rulers — a process which was no doubt considerably
facilitated by the straitened position in which the Franks found
themselves through pressure from the Saxons. In England the
same process took place, but in very much later times. Here
however kingship of a more or less autocratic type seems to go
back as far as our records reach. It is true that there is only
one family of which we can say with certainty that it was of
royal rank before the invasion. Of the other families all that
we know definitely is that they claimed divine descent — in most
cases from the god Woden. But is there any valid reason for
supposing these families to have been originally of non-royal
rank ?

In order to be able to form an opinion on this question it
Teutonic will be well to consider briefly what were the
kingship. characteristics of a king according to ancient
ideas. Perhaps the simplest definition is that he was a member
of a royal family invested with some degree of authority, while
the claim to royalty on the part of the family was derived from
time beyond record and based, at least in England and the
North, on divine descent. It need hardly be pointed out that
a king was not necessarily independent. But, further, it was
not essential even that he should possess land of his own. This
may be seen from a passage in St Olaf's Saga (Heimskr.),
cap. 4, where it is stated that sea-kings regularly bore the
royal title if they were of kingly birth, even though they
governed no territories. It is even possible in view of the
Russian word trnjaz that the notion of authority was not
originally essential and that the word cyning was once equi-
valent to cyneboren mon (' man of royal birth ') and applied
to all members of the royal family. Such an explanation is
favoured by the fact that cyning is in form a patronymic and
perhaps originally meant 'son of the family.' It may not be a
word of very great antiquity. The Gothic language, and perhaps

316 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

also the Burgundian1, used quite a different term, viz., piudans,
which in Anglo-Saxon has the sense of ' prince,' though it is
frequently applied to kings. Again, according to a story in
Yngl. S. 20 the word konungr was first used in connection with
the family of Danr hinn mikillati (cf. p. 150 f.). Before that
time the title applied to the kings of the Swedes was drottinn,
i.e. Ang. Sax. dryhten, ' lord.' These words, }>eoden and dryhten,
are clearly derived from \eod and dryht, and neither of them
contains any notion of hereditary qualification, like cyning.
What word was used in Tacitus' time we unfortunately do not
know. Yet in spite of these reservations the fact that the word
cyning {kuning, konungr) is common to the English, German,
and Scandinavian languages and was borrowed at an early
date by Finnish, Lithuanian and Slavonic leaves little room
for doubt that it had come into use before the invasion of
Britain.

We have seen that it was not necessary that a king should
possess territories of his own. But though this was the case
with kings individually we have no evidence for kingly families
which did not possess territories. Their territories might be
very small, so small that we should probably speak of the
owners as chieftains rather than kings. I doubt very much
whether Tacitus would have applied the term rex to the ' kings '
of the Este (Aestii) described by King Alfred. Still the fact
remains that, so far as we know, all royal families did possess
territories of their own, and we can scarcely doubt that this was
one of the qualifications for kingship. But on the other hand
all owners of territories did not claim royalty. We may note
especially the case of the earls of Lade, who ruled a large
portion of Norway for over a century and a half. Occasionally
they were dispossessed, but at other times they were entirely
independent. When Earl Hakon and Harold (Grenski) divided
Norway between them in 975, it was the latter only who took
the title of king ; yet the former was by far the more important
person. The explanation is that Harold belonged to the royal
family, whereas Hakon's ancestor, Hakon the son of GriotgarSr,

1 cf. Ammianus Marcellinus, xxvm. 5. 14: apud hos (sc. Burgundies) generali
nomine rex appellatur hendinos (for theudinos ?).

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 317

had only received his territories as an earl's fief from Harold
the Fair-haired. Even when Viking chiefs settled in foreign
countries, Russia, Normandy and the British Isles, the same
distinction was observed. Those who belonged to royal families
bore the kingly title, while those who were not of royal birth
were known as earls, though they might be more powerful
than the others. That the same feeling prevailed in England
seems to be shown by the fact that Aethelred of Mercia and
the rulers of Bamborough did not take the kingly title. Its
existence however is a distinct argument for believing that all
the founders of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms claimed to be of
royal descent.

The question which we are discussing has an important
bearing on the organisation of the nation as a whole. It is
commonly assumed that before the period of autocracy a more
or less democratic form of government prevailed, the chief
power being vested in a tribal assembly similar to Tacitus'
concilium. But it is to be remembered that there is absolutely
no positive evidence for the existence of such a system among
the Angli and, further, that the first appearance of kingship has
been erroneously dated by constitutional historians. It is true
that in the Sweden of the eleventh century we do find a some-
what remarkable parallel to the German concilium of Tacitus'
time. Further, we need not doubt that the Angli also had
tribal gatherings of their own, in addition to the festival of
Nerthus in which they participated with other tribes. The
question at issue is with regard to the character and the object
of these gatherings. Now it is worth noting that the earliest
references which we have to the assembly of the Swedes do not
suggest that it was of the character which we find in St Olaf's
Saga. Thus in Yngl. S. 38 we are told that Braut-Onundr, the
great-grandson of ASils, had 'district-kings' {hercfcskonungar}
under him in many parts of Sweden. "Tiundaland was ruled
by Svipdagr the Blind. There lies Upsala, where the assembly
of all the Svear is held. Great sacrifices were then held there,
to which many kings resorted. That was at midwinter." In
cap. 40 similar statements are repeated. In cap. 42 we find
Granmarr, king of Sodermanland, visiting Upsala, ' as was

318 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

customary,' at the time of the spring sacrifice and consulting
the oracle as to his future. A reminiscence of such visits is
probably preserved in Adam's statement (cf. p. 266) that all
the kings and peoples of Sweden sent offerings to the great
nine-yearly sacrifice at Upsala. It is quite possible that these
national gatherings were known as allra Svia \ing even in
the time of Onundr, but the tradition gives us no ground for
believing that they were then of the democratic character which
we find them possessing in the eleventh century. They would
seem rather to have been religious gatherings of hereditary
local chiefs with their followers. There is surely no im-
probability in supposing that the tribal gatherings of the
Angli may have been of a similar character.

We have now seen that, though the Swedish assembly of the
eleventh century apparently resembled the German concilium
of Tacitus' day, this resemblance largely disappears when we
get back to the seventh century. In place of a popular
assembly we seem to have a religious gathering of ' district-
kings ' in dependence on a supreme king. But we have yet
to notice that Tacitus himself has something to say about the
Swedes (Suioncs) and that he specially excepts this nation from
his general description of Teutonic political organisation. " They
have respect also for wealth," he says {Germ. 44), "and so the
government is vested in the hands of one man — no longer have
we any reservations to make — whose claim to obedience is
beyond question1." He then goes on to mention another point
in which the Swedes differed from the rest of the Germani,
namely that it was not lawful with them to carry arms in
public ; they were kept locked up in the charge of a slave2.
This goes a good deal beyond anything recorded in heroic
tradition, but it strongly recalls the legends of the mythical
peace-kings Frey and FroSi.

Unless Tacitus' statements are to be discredited, for which
there is no justification, the political system of the Svear in his

1 est apud illos et opibus honos, eoque units imperital, nullis iam exceptionibus,
11011 precario iwe parendi.

2 nee a?-?na ut apud cetcros Germanos in promiscuo sed clausa sub custode et quidem
seruo, etc.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 319

day differed essentially from what he seems to regard as the
normal type. But if we take his evidence for the Teutonic
nations as a whole there is no difficulty in tracing the sequence
of the various forms of government. We begin with the tribes
of the Rhineland : here we find stirpes regiae, but very few
actual kings ; the concilium seems to be the centre of authority.
Next we come to the Frisians, with kings who can scarcely be
called kings, and to the Cherusci, where kingship is intermittent.
Next the Suebi, where kingship is constant and, if we may
judge from the history of Maroboduus and his successors, not
entirely impotent. Beyond them we come to the Goths, where
kingship is of a somewhat stricter form. Indeed 'obedience to
kings ' is noted by Tacitus as one of the salient characteristics
of the north-eastern tribes in general1. Lastly, when we reach
the Svear we find absolutism. The farther we proceed from
the frontier, the more primitive — degraded according to Tacitus'
ideas — are the forms of political organisation which we meet
with. It is a natural inference that kingship was once universal
and, if we may trust Greek and Roman analogies, a trace of
it may be preserved in the sacerdos ciuitatis. We may further
note that in Gaul also kingship had once been general, though
in Caesar's time it survived only among the Belgae. Greek and
Roman tradition will supply further illustrations ; but these
reflections lead us beyond the bounds of our subject.

The causes which led to the temporary decline of kingship
in the west cannot adequately be discussed here'-, but we need not
doubt that it was connected, as elsewhere, with the separation of
political from religious authority. Divisions in the political power
would naturally serve to increase the influence of the concilium,
which was at first probably an essentially religious gathering like
those in the North ; and this influence in turn tended to preserve
the tribe from actual disintegration. But the concilium itself
could hardly have existed under such conditions, had not the
tribe possessed a common hierarchy. Again, the tribal unity,

1 Gertn. 43 : omniumque harum gentium insigne rotunda saita, breues gladiitt erga
reges obsequium. It is perhaps worth Doting that this feature is here associated with
weapons of an archaic type (cf. p. 305).

2 The possibility of Gaulish inlluence is perhaps to be taken into account.

320 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

such as it was, presented ambitious princes from time to time
with the opportunity of restoring monarchy — a course to which
the conditions of the migration period were exceptionally
favourable. But it must not be assumed that all the kingdoms
of this period had passed through the same stages of develop-
ment. Even where a distinct order of priests is found it may
have arisen at different times and through different causes.

With regard to the Angli1, we have seen that geographically
they occupied a position probably nearer to the Frisians than
to the Swedes (Svear). But it is to be remembered that their
affinities lay with the Baltic and that their religion and oldest
traditions were closely connected with those of the Svear —
a fact which renders it probable that their political organisation
also was originally of the same type. Its form in Tacitus' time
can only be conjectured ; but having regard to the zones we
should most probably expect it to be intermediate between the
Swedish and Gothic types. Again, from the very beginning
of historical times we meet with a system in the Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms which may be described as more or less autocratic.
Traditions which go back to the fourth century give no hint
of a different type of government. Taking these various con-
siderations into account I think there is little likelihood that
the intervening centuries witnessed either kingless government
or a tribal assembly similar to the German concilium.

We have noticed above that among the Northern peoples,
Divinity including the Angli, the claim to royalty seems to

of kings. have been based on divine descent. It was thought
formerly that such claims were necessarily fictitious — that the
god's name was prefixed to a known line of ancestors in order
to gain additional distinction for the family. Recent researches
in Greek and Roman tradition however have tended to throw

1 The Angli possessed a distinct order of priests in the seventh century ; but
the little information which we possess about these persons (cf. Bede, H. E. II. 13)
suggests that their position differed somewhat from that of the ancient German priests.
They seem to have been more definitely subject to the kings — especially as contrasted
with the priests of the Burgundians (cf. Amm. Marc, xxviii. 5. 14). Further, there
is no evidence in England for. the existence of a hierarchy, or even a sanctuary,
common to the whole nation.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 32 1

doubt on the necessity of this explanation. In certain cases
the god's name may have been added or substituted for another.
Thus, as I have suggested elsewhere1, Eyvindr in his poem
Haleygiatal may have substituted Othin and SkaSi for Holgi
and ThorgerSr HolgabruSr. But in general there seems to be
no adequate reason for doubting that, on certain occasions at
least, men might be called Othin (Woden), just as they were
called Zeus, Jupiter or Saturn.

In other cases again we have to take account of the deifica-
tion of human beings.- This principle is recognised by Adam
of Bremen who says of the Swedes (IV. 26) colunt et deos ex
Jiominibus factos and refers to the Life of St Ansgar (cap. 23)
where the deification of a king named Ericus is described-
According to Landnamabok, I. 14, a certain Grimr, the ancestor
in the fourth generation of an Icelandic settler, was worshipped
after his death under the name Kamban. Such cases are
probably to be compared with the family cults of the Prus-
sians, mentioned by Lasicius-. The worship paid apparently to
Skioldr-Scyld and certainly to Frey may have arisen, in part
at least, from the same principle. In illustration of the latter
case we have already cited the story of Halfdan the Black
(cf. p. 252). Reference may also be made to the account of
Olafr GeirstaSa-Alfr who is expressly said to have been wor-
shipped //'/ drs3.

But it was not only after death that kings acquired charac-
teristics which we should regard as divine. We have seen above
that the kings of the Swedes were credited, like Frey himself,
with the power of controlling the harvest and that they were
liable to be sacrificed in time of famine. Similarly, Ammianus
Marcellinus, XXVIII, 5. 14, states that the kings of the Bur-
gundians were deposed according to national custom if the
crops failed or if the course of war proved disastrous. What
steps were taken by such persons in order to promote the
fertility of the fields we are not told. But we have seen that

1 Folk -Lore, XI. 292, note.

- Respublica Poloniae etc. (Leyden, 1642), p. 280 : sunt etiam quaedam ueteres
Nobilium Jamiliae quae peculiares colunt deos, ut Mikutiana Simonaitem, Micheloviciana
Sidzium, Sckemietiana et Kiesgaliana Vcntis Rekicziovum, aliae alios.

a Fornmanna Sogur, X. 212 ; Flat. II. 7.

C 2 1

322 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

the famine in Olafr Tretelgia's time was attributed to the fact
that that king was not given to blot, and I have already sug-
gested that this word may mean not so much sacrifice to the
gods as the performance of certain magical ceremonies for the
production of rain and sunshine, such as we discussed in an earlier
chapter (p. 238 f.). Even the gods are represented as occupying
themselves with bldt (Yngl. S. 2, 4, 5, 8, 11 ff.). So of the
legendary king Aun it is stated (ib. 29) : " he was a wise man
and much given to blot; he took no part in military expeditions,
but governed his territories." It is scarcely necessary to point
out that this type of king, which is not uncommon in the earliest
traditions, presents the most striking contrast to the kings of
the age of national migrations.

When the large barrows beside the church at Old Upsala
were opened it was remarked that, though rich in gold ornaments,
they were found not to contain any weapons. Now Bede (H. E.
II. 13) states that the priests of the Angli were not allowed to
carry weapons — from which it has been inferred that the graves
at Upsala were those of the guardians of the temple. Nothing
could be more probable; but, unless Northern tradition is wholly
misleading, the chief guardian of the temple {yorftr vestalls) was
the king himself. We may note that Frey also is said to have
been without weapons.

Bede does not explain why priests were not allowed to carry
weapons. An explanation however seems to be offered by
Tacitus' account of the festival of Nerthus, where it is stated
that all iron was put away so long as the goddess was enjoying
human society. Since it was apparently owing to the presence
of the divinity that weapons were put away, we may probably
infer that the priests were prohibited from carrying weapons
because they were in constant attendance on the deities. If we
are to credit Tacitus' statement regarding the Swedes it is
difficult to see how this custom also can be explained otherwise.
The neighbourhood of the king may have been regarded as
a ' place of great peace ' {mikill gri^asta^r), which would again
tend to show that the king was regarded as divine. No doubt
his divinity was less than that of the deified departed ; yet if he
was both treated as divine and credited with divine properties

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 323

it is probable that he was regarded at all events as more than
human. This is a phenomenon for which analogies are to be
found in many parts of the world, as Mr Frazer has shown.

It may of course be urged that Tacitus' account is not really
parallel to the story of Frey, that in the one case it is the ruler
who is without weapons, in the other his subjects. This is
doubtless true ; but it is surely no fatal objection to connecting
the two phenomena, for we have already (p. 253 ff.) seen reason
for suspecting that the king was originally the husband of the
goddess and that his own divinity was secondary. In Tacitus'
time the change may not have taken place. The position of the
kings of the Svear may really have been analogous to that of
the priest of Nerthus, so far as one can compare small theocratic
communities with a large religious confederacy of distinct and
distant tribes. Yet the fact remains that in both cases the
goddess was ultimately forgotten and her place taken by a
divine or semidivine king. On the whole then it will scarcely
be going too far to characterise the difference between the migra-
tion period and the preceding age — so far at least as the more
northern nations are concerned — by the statement that in the
former the king was the descendant of a god, while in the latter
he was a god himself.

The above discussion has led us to conclude that political

Social organisation of some kind goes back far beyond

organisation. tjie a^e Qf- national migrations. Just as we find

a number of tribes joining together in religious confederacies, so
we need not hesitate to believe that the tribe itself was made up
of a number of local communities under chiefs of their own,
each of whom probably possessed a stockaded village where he
practised blot and administered justice under his sacred tree.
The question whether such persons were really chiefs of clans
is one which the evidence at our disposal will scarcely enable us
to answer. We need not hesitate however to believe that organ-
isations of kindred formed an influential element in society.
Indeed Tacitus' statements (cf. p. 312) seem to indicate that
among some of the Germani at least their importance was
greater than in later times.

21 — 2

324 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

It is a much more difficult matter to form a clear idea as
a natic re- to tne nature °f these organisations. According
lationship. to i-j^g prevalent view the Teutonic family system

was mainly agnatic from early times. Cognates did share in the
payment and receipt of wergelds, though in many laws in less
proportion than agnates. It was to the latter however that the
guardianship of women and minors belonged, and it was through
the male line that the possession of property descended. In
some laws, e.g. the Lex Scania Antiqua, we find, as Mr Seebohm
has pointed out1, evidence for a system similar to that of the
Welsh gwely, according to which a man's property was divided
first among his sons, then among his sons' sons and then again
among their sons. In its simplest form, viz. the division of a
father's property among his sons, this system is widespread.
Among the Franks and Anglo-Saxons we frequently find it
applied even to the kingdom. Succession in the male line
occurs everywhere. Among the Franks, Burgundians, Danes
and Swedes we can trace it back to the fifth century, among the
Angli even to the fourth.

Now it is manifest that any such system of succession must
be bound up to some extent with marriage customs of the
Deega type. It is not necessary that the wife should actually
enter the establishment of the husband's family, though this does
occur sometimes, as in the Skaane code mentioned above. But
it must have been the normal practice for the married couple to
take up their abode in the village or on the property of the
husband's family ; and that is as a matter of fact what we
regularly find in England and, speaking generally, in all Teu-
tonic nations within historical times. Moreover there are two
common varieties of marriage which are hardly compatible
normally with any other principle than the Deega. These are
marriage by purchase, in the strict sense, and marriage by
capture. The latter is found in all Teutonic nations, but it is at
least doubtful whether one would be justified in regarding it as
the regular custom anywhere. Marriage by purchase appears
in its crudest form in Kent, where wives would seem to have

1 Tribal Custom in Anglo-Saxon Law, pp. 23 ff., 279 ft.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 325

been bought much in the same way as slaves or cattle1. For
the rest of England we havre unfortunately little evidence ; but
purchase seems to have prevailed, at least in Wessex (cf. Ine 31).
There is no doubt also that it was the custom among several
Continental nations, especially the Langobardi, the Burgundians
and the Old Saxons2. More than one passage in Saxo's History
points to its former prevalence in Denmark, though elsewhere in
the North it seems to be hardly known. Cases where the price
was paid to the bride herself, which we find both on the Conti-
nent and in the North, and cases of the so-called ' symbolical
purchase,' which prevailed among the Franks, are both usually
regarded as survivals of real purchase ; but they are sometimes
capable of a different interpretation.

In this connection there is one practice which deserves
special attention, viz. the marriage of a brother's or father's
widow. The former is found especially in the North, the latter
in England and among the Warni. Again this practice has
clearly some bearing on the regulations laid down in the Lex
Saxonum (§ 42) with regard to the guardianship of widows.
The guardian, who is the person entitled to the bride-price if the
widow marries again, is (1) her stepson or, failing him, (2) the
brother or (3) the nearest male relative of the deceased husband.
It need scarcely be pointed out that such customs as these
assume the prevalence of Deega marriage. Further, we may
note that practices of this kind are apt to be associated with
a degraded position of women. Such was the case with the
heathen Prussians, among - whom we have evidence both for
marriage by purchase, and for marriage of a widow by her
husband's son and brother3. In Dusburg's Chronicle4 it is
stated that the Prussians in accordance with ancient custom

1 We may refer especially to Aethelberht 31, the simplest meaning of which is that
the adulterer must supply the husband whom he has wronged with a new wife. An-
other interpretation is however possible, viz. that he is to be responsible for the cost
of a second marriage (cf. Hazeltine, zur Geschichte dcr Eheschliessung nach angel-
sachsischem Recht, p. 24 f.).

2 cf. Hermann, zur Geschichte des Brautkaufs, p. 22 ff.

3 cf. Michov in Grynaeus' Nouns Orbis Terrarum etc. (Basel, 1537), p. 519 : apud
quos (sc. Samagittos) licitum erat uni uiro plures habere ttxores et patrc mortuo nouer-
cam fratreque glotem in uxorem acciperc.

4 Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum, 1. 54.

326 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

were wont to buy their wives for a fixed sum of money. " Hence
he treats her like a slave and does not sit at table with her.
She washes the feet both of members of the family and of
strangers daily." Again, in a document of 12491 we are told that
" when a father has bought a wife with pecunia which belongs
jointly to him and his son, it has been customary up to now that
on the father's death the wife should fall to the son, just like any
other property which has been acquired out of the common
fund. But in order to prevent men from claiming their step-
mothers for the future they have (now) promised neither to buy
nor sell wives." The wife therefore was really a chattel here, as
the Kentish laws also seem to imply. The practice of suttee
which we know to have prevailed not only among the Slavs2 but
also among some Teutonic peoples, especially the Heruli3 who
were probably near neighbours of the Angli, may be interpreted
as pointing in the same direction.

There can be no doubt then as to the prevalence among the
heathen Teutonic peoples of agnatic organisation with its con-
comitants, Deega marriage and probably also a very subordinate
position of women in the household. But the questions we have
to consider are whether this system was universal and whether it
goes back to a period beyond the recollection of our earliest
documents and traditions. Now Tacitus states {Germ. 19) that
if a woman committed adultery it was usual for her husband to
expel her from home. Again, polygamy was known (id. 18), as
among the heathen Prussians and the Scandinavians also in later
times, though it was exceptional and limited to persons of high
position. In general however it cannot be said that Tacitus'
account points to a degraded position of women, but quite
distinctly to the contrary. His remarks on the subject of the
marriage contract (Germ. 18) cannot, as they stand, be inter-
preted to prove the prevalence of purchase. If such really was
the custom in his time, as is commonly assumed, our author

1 cf. Hermann, op. cit., p. 19.

2 cf. Bonifacius, Ep. 72 ; Thietmar, Chron. VIII. 2.

3 cf. Procopius, Goth. n. 14. I have elsewhere collected some evidence for the
prevalence of the same custom among other Teutonic peoples {The Cult of Othin,
p. 42 ff.).

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 327

must either have received incorrect information, or else he must
have greatly misunderstood his informants.

Again it appears from another passage {Germ. 20) that the
Traces of constitution of the family was by no means so
cognation. predominantly agnatic as in later times. "Sisters'

sons receive as much consideration from their uncle as from
their father. Some even regard this relationship as closer and
more sacred than the other and attach more weight to it when
taking hostages, the idea being that the fidelity of their depend-
ents will be more effectively secured thereby and at the same
time a wider circle of relatives brought under control1." The
plain meaning of these words is that the bond between mother's
brother and sister's son was in general held to be as close as that
between father and son, and though custom did indeed vary in
this respect the variation took the form of regarding the former
relationship as more binding. Now there is evidence from many
parts of the world for the growth of the agnatic bond at the
expense of that between cognates, while the reverse process
is seldom or never found. It is a natural inference therefore
from Tacitus' language that a change of this kind was taking
place among the Teutonic peoples of his time and that it was as
yet by no means complete. The statement which follows, that
a man's property passes at his death to his children or, if there
be no children, to his brothers, father's brothers and mother's
brothers, can hardly be held to invalidate this interpretation.
All that may fairly be inferred from it is that the agnatic
principle had obtained the upper hand in regard to succession,
especially when the deceased had left children. Quite possibly
however the vague expression fratres, patrui, auunculi may be
founded on variations of custom, in cases where a man died
childless, which Tacitus did not think it worth while to specify.

We must conclude then that the few sentences which Tacitus
devotes to the social organisation of the Teutonic peoples pre-
sent not inconsiderable difficulties to the hypothesis that the
agnatic system which we find prevailing in later times was

1 sororum filiis idem apud auunculum qui ad patrem honor, quidant sanctiorem
artioremque hiinc nexnm sanguinis arbitrantur et in aecipiendis obsidibus magis
exigunt, tamqua/n et animum Jirmius et domum latins teneant.

328 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

of very great antiquity. These difficulties however are substan-
tially increased by the evidence of the Lex Salica, a body of
laws which both from its antiquity and its comparative freedom
from Roman influence deserves careful consideration. Now
there are three Titles in the Lex which have an important
bearing on social organisation. The first of these, Tit. XLllli
{De Reipus), deals with the regulations for the re-marriage of
widows. The price to be paid by the bridegroom is three solidi
and one denarius, a remarkably small sum, it will be observed,
as compared with the corresponding amount specified in the
Lex Saxonum, viz. 300 sol. The persons qualified to receive the
price are stated to be (1) the eldest son of the widow's sister, (2)
failing such, the eldest son of her niece, (3) the son of her con-
sobrinus {consobrina according to other MSS.) on the mother's
side, (4) her mother's brother, (5) her deceased husband's brother,
but only if he is not to succeed to the inheritance. It scarcely
needs pointing out that this scheme is based on an entirely
different principle from that of the Lex Saxonum. The very
trifling sum specified is often interpreted as an instance of 'sym-
bolical' purchase. But it is difficult to see how this can be the
case, since it is to be paid to the widow's own relatives1 ; even
when these are wanting, the husband's heirs are directly excluded.
Again, within the widow's own family preference is given to those
of a younger generation and, most remarkable of all, the persons
qualified to receive the ' price ' are probably all related to the
widow only in the female line2.

Tit. LIX {De Alodis) gives a list of the various persons
qualified to succeed to the property of a childless man. Though
there is much textual divergence the persons specified according
to the best readings seem to be (1) the mother, (2) brother and
sister, (3) mother's sister. The last clause adds that no inherit-
ance in land is to pass to a woman, and it has been supposed
that this represents primitive custom, while the former clauses

1 In Tit. lxxi, which occurs only in Cod. i and n, there is mention of a payment
to the relatives of the deceased husband; but this Title is in all probability a later
addition.

2 For a fuller discussion of this subject see Howitt, Proceedings of the Australasian
Association for the Advancement of Science, Melbourne, 1901, p. 321 ff., where affinities
with Australian (aboriginal) custom are pointed out.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 329

are due to recent innovations. But, apart from the fact that an
innovation on behalf of the mother's sister is contrary to all
analogy, this hypothesis is open to the objection that in the
century before Clovis' time the territories occupied by the Salii
had almost wholly changed. The conditions therefore were
such as would be favourable to military tenancy of some kind,
and evidence to this effect may perhaps be obtained from Tit.
LXXVill, an addition dating from Chilperic's reign, which seems
to indicate that it had been the custom until then for the lands
of a man who left no sons to pass to the iticini. But, whatever
may be the explanation of the last clause, the Title as a whole
is clearly difficult to reconcile with agnatic organisation of the
family1.

Tit. LVIII (De Chrenecrudd) is unfortunately rendered very
difficult by the extraordinary variety of readings presented by
the different MSS. The matter treated in the Title is as
follows. In heathen times, if a man guilty of homicide was
unable to pay the whole amount required by law, he was to enter
his house and throw earth from its four corners over his nearest
relatives, in order apparently that further responsibility might
devolve upon the latter. The first relatives mentioned are the
mother2 (or the father or both according to different MSS.) and
the brother. Next, according to the great majority of the MSS.,
come the mother's sister and her children. Then follows a
difficult passage, which has been much discussed, with reference
to the participation of further relatives on the mother's or
father's side or both according to different MSS. Codices I, 2
and 1 1 omit mention of the mother's sister and her children,
and it has been suggested, though with little probability, that
the former has crept in from Tit. LIX. It is surely far more
reasonable to suppose that the words in question have been
dropped from the three codices, especially as there is a close
affinity between Cod. 1 and II, In regard to Cod. 2, where
filius which cannot be correct by itself is preserved, no other
explanation seems to be admissible. But if the words soror

1 For a fuller discussion of this subject see Dargun, Multfrrecht und Raubehe,
p. 6 1 ff.

- Cf. the obscure passage relating to the receipt of wergelds in Tit. ci.

330 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

matris etc. did stand in the original text there can be little
doubt that the true reading in the preceding sentence is mater.

Taking these passages as they stand, it seems to me difficult
to reconcile them with any system of social organisation which
can properly be called agnatic. On the other hand it is not a
purely cognatic system, for in Tit. LVIII we do find mention of
agnates, though apparently after the cognates. Again, it is to
be remembered that the regulations in Tit. LIX are expressly
said to apply only to those who have no children. I think that
some semblance of a rational scheme may be obtained from the
Lex if we may take it as a general principle that the persons on
whom property, rights and obligations devolve are supposed to
be living more or less together. But if so it is clear that the
form of marriage which prevailed when these customs originated
must have been of the Beena type. So far as I can see, it is
hardly possible to explain otherwise the mention of the mother's
sister in Tit. LVIII and LIX and the whole series of relatives
given in Tit. XLIIII. In that case we must of course assume
that both the typical childless man of Tit. LIX and the typical
man of Tit. LVIII are unmarried. But is this really improbable?
A more serious difficulty perhaps is raised by the reference to the
children in Tit. LIX. According to our hypothesis the inherit-
ance should come only to daughters and unmarried sons, while
married sons would receive their portion when they left home.

But I am not prepared to maintain that any such consistent
system existed at the time when the Salic Law was first com-
mitted to writing. At all events it is clear from the extra-
ordinary variety of readings, particularly the substitution of male
and agnatic for female and cognatic relatives, which we find even
in the earliest MSS., that the original provisions soon became
unintelligible. Yet the fact that such substitutions were required
in itself goes far towards showing that the social organisation of
the Franks must originally have been of a wholly opposite type
to that which we find in later times.

Of course the fact that unmistakable traces of cognatic
organisation appear both in the Lex Salica and in Tacitus'
works does not prove that this system was formerly common to all
Teutonic peoples, for Tacitus' information was probably derived

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 33 1

from the tribes of western Germany. It is not likely that these
tribes had passed from agnation to even partial cognation ; but
there is doubtless a possibility that differences of this kind had
prevailed from very remote times. The laws of the various
Suebic nations, the Alamanni, Bavarians and Langobardi,
present but few traces of cognatic organisation as compared
with the Lex Salica. But it is to be remembered that the laws
of these nations date from a considerably later period than the
latter — from a time indeed when Frankish society itself was
quite definitely agnatic. If we had earlier evidence for Suebic
society we might find a different state of things. As a matter of
fact the only case of succession to a Suebic kingdom of which
we know in early times is that recorded by Tacitus, Ann. XII.
29 f., where the king of the Ouadi is displaced by two sons of
his sister.

In most of the Scandinavian laws also agnatic relationship
is preferred, e.g. in the payment and receipt of wergelds. But
here again it is to be remembered that these laws are very late.
Sometimes we hear of grandfathers' grandfathers and cousins in
the third and fourth degree, from which it has been inferred that
Scandinavian society was organised in large agnatic kindreds.
But even if this be so it ought not to be assumed that such
organisations must have been of great antiquity. Some
explanation at all events is required of the fact that they figure
so little in the sagas, whether legendary or historical. There is
no evidence that they were ever such perfectly organised bodies
as the clans of Scotland and Ireland. Yet in Scotland paternal
succession was not introduced into the royal family until the
ninth century, while in Ireland also, where it is much older, there
are distinct traces of the opposite system.

For marriage by purchase we have but little evidence in
Scandinavian literature or tradition. In succession sons were
preferred before daughters in the time of the laws. But,
failing sons, daughters succeeded ; and it is clear from the sagas
that this was the case as far back as the ninth century.
Moreover, in heathen times not only estates but temples and
religious duties1 were inherited in the same way. When we get

1 Cf. Landnamabok, v. 8, where it is stated that an Icelander named Loptr used

332 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

back to the eighth century we constantly find the kingdom
passing to daughters' sons and even to daughters' husbands.
As an example of the former case we may note that according
to both Saxo and Old Norse works Harald Hildetand and his
successors all came to the Danish throne through Harald's
mother, though the accounts differ in other respects. Halfdan
the Black succeeded to the throne of AgSir through his mother
and his son Haraldr to that of Sogn in a similar way1. Indeed
instances are quite frequent. One case occurs even in Beowulf,
where the hero himself obtains the throne by right of his
mother. For the acquisition of the throne by marriage we
have instances in Yngl. S. 38, where Halfdan Hvitbeinn marries
the daughter of Eysteinn, king of HeiSmork, and receives a
large portion of that district; ib. 51, where Halfdan's son,
Eysteinn, marries the daughter of Eirikr, king of Vestfold, and
succeeds him ; ib. 41, where HiorvarSr marries the daughter of
Granmarr, king of Sodermanland, with a view to succession.
We may also refer to Saxo's stories of Gram and Sigtrugus
(p. 17 f.), of Omundus and Ringo (p. 266 f.) and of Snio (p. 281 f.),
where the kingdom is acquired by killing the king and marrying
his daughter. Unsuccessful attempts of a similar character are
recorded by the same writer, pp. 35, 45.

It is in regard to succession through females that Scandi-
navian custom differs most perhaps from English and Frankish
custom. According to the latter if a king left no son he was
succeeded by his brother or other male agnatic relative,
sometimes quite remote. In the North however we never, so far
as I am aware, hear of a daughter being passed over in favour
of a more distant relative in early times. If we may trust the
traditions of Ivarr VfSfaSmi and his family, the daughters'
descendants even preserved the family name {Skioldwigar).

But beyond all this we sometimes find daughters' husbands
receiving a share in their fathers' kingdoms even when there
are sons. Such is the case with HeiSrekr in Hervarar S. ok

to go to Norway every three years to offer sacrifice, both for himself and his mother's
brother, at a temple which had been in the charge of his mother's father. For this
reference I have to thank Miss B. S. Phillpotts.
1 Saga Halfdanar Svarta r, 3.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 333

HeiSreks, cap. 10. In Yngl. S. 53 we are told that when
GuSroSr, king of Vestfold, married Alfhildr, daughter of
Alfarinn, he received half of Vingulmork as her dowry.
SigurSr Hringr, who married another member of the same
family, likewise called Alfhildr, is also said to have obtained
territories in this region1. In Skiold. S. (Sogubrot) 5 a king
named Hildibrandr, who had a son and a daughter, is represented
as advising his son to give his sister in marriage to some
distant prince and not to grant her territories in his kingdom.
In Saxo's History (p. 224) we find an adventurer named Ebbo
demanding the hand of the daughter of Unguinus, king of the
Gotar, and half the kingdom as a dowry, though Unguinus had
a son. From Fra dauSi Sinfiotla it appears that Borghildr, the
wife of Sigmundr, had territories of her own, although she had
a brother.

These examples will be sufficient to show that Beena
marriage plays a decidedly important part in Northern tradition.
In particular we may note the history of the Ynglingar during
the five generations preceding Harold the Fair-haired. During
the time specified members of this family, which is said to have
come from Sweden, are represented as obtaining at least six
provinces in Norway through marriage, viz. Soleyiar, HeiSmdrk,
Vestfold, Vingulmork, AgSir and Sogn. In most of these cases
there seems to be no adequate ground for doubting the truth of
the tradition.

It would certainly not be correct to deny the existence of
agnatic succession in Norway at this time, for we have no
trustworthy examples of sons being passed over in favour of
daughters. Evidence to this effect is to be found only in
folk-tales2. But tradition does seem to take us back to a stage
intermediate between the two systems, when the two sexes had
equal rights in succession. Moreover there is evidence for another
custom which supplies the exact correlative to that which we have
been discussing. According to William of Jumieges, I. 4 f, it was
usual for Scandinavian chiefs to keep only one of their sons at

1 Cf. Skiold. S. (Sogubrot) 6, 10; Haralds S. hiiis harfagra (Heimskr) 14. For
this example I have to thank Mr A. Mawer.

- Cf. K. Pearson, The Chances of Death etc., II. p. 58 IT.

334 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

home and to send out the rest to seek their fortune elsewhere.
We need not suppose that such persons intended to spend their
whole lives in piracy. Far more probably they would be ready,
like Olaf Tryggvason, to settle down whenever a favourable
opportunity presented itself. William's statement refers of
course to the Viking Age, but the traditions preserved in the
sagas leave us no room for doubting that the custom had
prevailed from early times.

Again, it is worth noticing that it appears to have been an
extremely common practice in the North to send one's children
to others, to be brought up. Very frequently they were sent to
the mother's relatives. Such was the case for instance with
Olafr Tretelgia and his son Halfdan Hvftbeinn. In Haralds S.
Harf. 21, we are told that Harold had many wives and numerous
children and that all the latter were brought up at their mothers'
homes. It seems not unlikely that this custom may have some
connection with the intimate relations between mother's brother
and sister's son noted by Tacitus. The very frequent practice of
naming a child after its mother's father or brother may also be
taken into account.

We may now sum up briefly the results of our discussion.
There seems to be no evidence for believing that a purely agnatic
system ever prevailed in the North, while the farther we go back
in native tradition the more prominent become the traces of the
opposite system. This fact, taken together with the clear
evidence of the Lex Salica and Tacitus' notice of the succession
to the throne of the Suebi, surely gives us good reason for
suspecting that the change from cognation to agnation among
the northern and western Teutonic peoples was not of any very
great antiquity. Indeed it is by no means improbable that the
transition was taking place in Tacitus' own time as his remarks
in the Germania suggest. The process may of course have
occupied many generations, but it is only reasonable to suppose
that it took place later in the north than in the south. After all
our earliest trustworthy evidence for succession in the North
does not go back beyond the fifth century.

Among the Angli, as we have seen, the evidence for
succession from father to son goes back a century earlier than

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 335

among the Swedes and Danes. Apart from this however we
have extremely little information regarding the social organisa-
tion of early times, a fact which it is always well to keep in
mind. Thus, in contrast with the system prevailing in the
North, cognate relatives seem to have been entirely excluded
from the succession. But in the light of the illustrations given
above is it not possible, for example, that Aethel frith may have
derived some claim to the throne of Deira through his wife?
Again, we hear sometimes of kings being succeeded by cousins
of the fifth and sixth degree. Yet it is difficult to avoid
suspecting that their succession may have been facilitated by
nearer relationships through the female line, which happen not
to have been recorded. No doubt such relationships were
disregarded in later times. But the strength of the agnatic
principle may have grown with time. Again, it is generally
believed that agnates were preferred before cognates in the
receipt and payment of wergelds. But here also the evidence,
such as it is, does not go back beyond the tenth century.

It is certainly worth noticing that in the earliest records which
we possess women of high rank seem to hold a very important
and influential position. This feature is often ascribed to
southern and Christian influence ; but if so it is not a little
remarkable that it is much more prominent in the seventh
century than in the eighth or ninth. Thus we find Eanfled, the
wife of Oswio, pursuing a very independent line of action
within half a century of the conversion, while Cynwise, the
wife of the heathen king Penda, would seem to have been
acting as regent in her husband's absence, perhaps like Hygd the
wife of Hygelac. Above all, Seaxburg, the wife of the convert
Coenwalh, is said to have occupied the throne herself after his
death. Bede's account of St Aethelthryth shows that queens
had estates and retinues of their own ; and this custom also
must go back to heathen times, for the first reference that we have
to Bamborough, the chief residence of the Northumbrian kings,
is the statement that it was given by the heathen king Aethel-
frith to his wife Bebbe'. Such cases may have some bearing on
the custom of marriage between stepson and stepmother. It

1 Hist. Brit., § 63 ; such gifts were customary also in the North ; cf. Vngl. S. 17.

336 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

has been pointed out above that this form of marriage is
sometimes associated with a very degraded social position of
women. But we must not assume that it was necessarily due to
such conditions. Quite different causes may have produced the
same result, e.g. the desire to prevent property from passing by
re-marriage out of the possession of the sons.

If the regulations contained in the Kentish laws regarding
the purchase of wives reflect general Anglo-Saxon custom—
which after all is somewhat uncertain — we shall have to conclude
that the position of women in the higher and lower ranks of
society differed greatly. But this difference may really be due to
a deterioration in the position of the latter. The invasion itself
might naturally be expected to have such an effect, for there
can be little doubt that at first a considerable proportion of the
women were taken from the native population. Moreover it is
worth noting that those continental nations for which there is
the clearest evidence for marriage by purchase, namely the Old
Saxons, the Burgundians and the Langobardi, were likewise all
settled in conquered territories. That they were much mixed
with the native populations may be inferred from the fact that
in each of these cases the language of the invaders perished
within a few centuries of the invasion.

It may perhaps be urged that the possession of influence by
women does not necessarily hang together with a cognatic
system of society. Certainly among primitive peoples the
condition of women may be extremely bad under such a system,
while on the other hand in highly civilised society women may
hold a very influential position under a purely agnatic system.
But the society of the times with which we are dealing belongs
to neither of these categories. It is clearly to be compared
rather with that of the Homeric Greeks, where again the same
phenomenon is prominent. But there is some reason for
believing that Greek society of that age was in a state of
transition from cognation to agnation. This being so it is worth
while to carry our investigations somewhat farther back in order
that we may be able to avail ourselves of the earliest evidence
on the subject.

Now it has already been observed that according to Tacitus

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 337

autocracy prevailed among the Swedes (Svear), the most remote
with one exception of all the peoples of ' Suebia ' mentioned by
him. The most remote people of all however are called Sitones,
and of them he says {Germ. 45) that they resemble the Swedes
in every respect except that they are governed by women1.
Beyond autocracy then we come to gynaecocracy. It is
generally thought that the Sitones — whose name is not known
elsewhere — may have been of Finnish rather than Teutonic
nationality2, and as a matter of fact we have no clear evidence
for the existence of any Teutonic peoples beyond the Swedes.
But, whatever the language which they spoke, Tacitus' words
clearly give no countenance to the idea that they belonged to a
wholly different circle of civilisation from the Swedes.

There is a passage however in Tacitus' Histories, IV. 61,
which is free from any doubt on this score. In his own time a
maiden belonging to the Bructeri, Veleda by name, had held a
wide sovereignty " in accordance with the ancient custom of the
Germani, which makes them regard most women as endowed
with the gift of prophecy and, as their devotion grows, even as
goddesses3." She lived secluded in a tower and gave answers by
means of one of her relatives ut internuntius numinis (ib. 65). We
may compare Germ. 8, where it is stated that armies had often
been prevented by women from taking to flight. For there was
nothing that the Germani dreaded more than that their women
should be captured. So strong was this feeling that there was
no more effective way of ensuring obedience than by having
girls of high birth included among the hostages, " for they
believe them to possess some sacred and prophetic property, and
neither scorn the advice which they tender nor treat their
answers with neglect4." It scarcely needs pointing out how

1 Suionibus Sitonum gentes continuantur • cetera similes uno differunl quodfemina
dominatur.

- The suggestion that Tacitus' account arose out of a misunderstanding of the
name Kvena land (cf. the patria, terra feminarum of Adam of Bremen, ill. 15, iv.
1 9) need hardly be discussed here.

3 ea uirgo natiouis Bructerae late imperitabat, uetere apud Germanos more, 1/110
plerasque feminarum fatidicas et augescente superstitione arbitrantur deas.

4 inesse quin etiam sanctum aliquid et prouidum putant, nee ant consilia earum
aspernantur ant rcsponsa negiigunt.

C. 2 2

3$8 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

absolutely opposed is the view of women shown in this passage
to that held by the heathen Prussians and probably also in
Kent. We have seen above that some of the Germani
apparently demanded the sons of chiefs as hostages, while
others preferred their sisters' sons. Here we have a third
variety which seems really to point to Beena marriage as well
as cognation. At all events the various passages in which
Tacitus alludes to the subject when taken together leave little
room for doubt that the position of women in his day resembled
that of the queens and princesses of the early Anglo-Saxon age
rather than that shown in the Kentish laws. At the same time
they afford an explanation of this position, namely that its
origin is to be sought in religion.

Now it has been mentioned above that Tacitus attributes a
good deal of power to the priests of the Germani. Caesar on
the other hand has no reference to such persons and says
explicitly {Gall. VI. 21) that the Germani had no druides to take
charge of their religious rites. This statement is perhaps
capable of more than one interpretation, and few modern
writers are willing to admit that the priesthood can have grown
up between the time of Caesar and that of Tacitus1. Yet
there are certain facts which must not be overlooked. One of
the most important of priestly duties was that of taking the
omens. On state occasions this duty was performed by the
sacerdos ciuitatis (Germ. 10) ; in the private household his place
was taken by the pater familiae. But in Caesar's time on what
must be regarded as a state occasion {Gall. I. 50) we find the
same duty discharged by the matres familiae. Again, there can
be no doubt that in Tacitus' time sacrifices, whether human or
otherwise, were performed by the priests. Yet one of the very
earliest notices of Teutonic religion which we have is the story
preserved by Strabo (p. 294) of the white-robed prophetesses of
the Cimbri who slaughtered and disembowelled the prisoners,
prophesying victory to their own people2. There is good reason

1 Strabo (p. 292) mentions a certain Ki^-r\% tlov Xclttwv iepetis in connection with
the triumph of Germanicus (a.D. 17).

2 Cf. Orkneyinga S. 8, where the mangling of the victim by the ' blood-eagle ' rite
is treated as a sacrifice for victory.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 339

therefore for believing that several of the chief functions of the
priesthood had in earlier times been discharged by women1. It
is by no means improbable that the saccrdos muliebri ornatu- of
Germ. 43 had taken the place of a woman.

The exercise of priestly functions by women was not
unknown in the North3. In legendary sagas we find such
duties performed especially by queens and princesses. Thus in
Fri5]>iofs S. 9 the two queens are represented as warming and
greasing the gods at a disablot, a passage which — like the saga
itself as a whole — by no means deserves the suspicion with
which it is commonly regarded. So in Hervarar S. I, the
king's daughter is carried off while she is ' reddening ' the shrines
at a disablot by night. But beyond this we have to take
account of the very important part played in Northern
mythology by certain classes of beings, the nprnir and valkyriur,
who are partly divine and partly human4. Just as the heavenly-
sanctuary with its world-tree is in all probability derived from
earthly prototypes like that at Upsala5, so we need not hesitate
to believe that the nornir who dwell beneath the tree had a
similar origin. It will be sufficient here to refer to the story of
the three maidens given by Saxo, p. 181. Again, we have to
remember that the ancients did not clearly distinguish between
foretelling an event and bringing it to pass. The distance
therefore between these mythical beings and the prophetesses of
antiquity is not so great as might at first sight appear. On the
other hand the same beings are very closely connected with the
guardian spirits of families (haminginr, fylgiiikonur, disir), in
which much of Norwegian and Icelandic religion was centred.

1 Other priestly duties may have been performed by the kings themselves, for
there is no need to suppose that the separation of political and religious authority
(cf. p. 319 ff.) was complete by Caesar's time even in the west.

2 The theory that this expression refers merely to a mode of dressing the hair does
not seem to me to have been established ; cf. p. 225, note 2.

3 Cf. Folk-Lore, xi. 297 f.

4 For the valkyriur we may refer especially to the poem Sigrdrifumal. In
England also the use of the phrase iviccean and waelcyrian would seem to show that
they were regarded partly as human.

6 Cf. The Cult of Othin, p. 75 ff . ; Hermann, Nordische Mythologies p. 592 ff. ;
R. M. Meyer, Zeitschr. f. deutsche Philol., XXXVIII. 17: f.

22 2

340 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

If ThorgerSr HolgabruSr belonged to this class1 the element of
ancestor-worship was probably not entirely absent from such
cults.

The above brief discussion will perhaps suffice to indicate
that there are at all events some grounds for suspecting that the
agnatic system of the Angli was of no great antiquity. To
prove the prevalence of the opposite system would take us far
beyond the limits of such a work as this — indeed with the
evidence at our disposal it would scarcely be possible. But we
have seen that there appear to be very distinct traces of
cognation and Beena marriage to the north, south and west of
the Angli, and further that the earliest available evidence for
the various Teutonic peoples by no means points to a degraded
condition of women. The gynaecocracy of the Sitones and the
Bructeri may be a local and abnormal development2, but its roots
are clearly to be found in a peculiar religious position of women
which, so far as I can see, is difficult to reconcile with the
prevalence of Deega marriage.

Above all it is to be remembered that the evidence for the
antiquity of the agnatic system is purely inferential. We know
that paternal succession in the royal family prevailed among the
Angli in the fourth century and among the Cherusci in the first
century ; but that is all. Have we any right to assume that the
Angli were agnatic in the first century ? At this time apparently
their chief deity was a goddess. Now we find gods taking the
place of goddesses, just as priests take the place of priestesses.
This same goddess appears later in the North as a god, and her
descendants, the Ynglingar, figure as an agnatic kindred. But
what reason is there for supposing that they were agnatic when
their deity was still female ? Moreover we find in the traditions
associated with this deity and her family the same feature which
among the royal families of the ancient world, e.g. those of the

1 Cf. Keyser, Samlede Afhandlinger (1868), p. 312 f. — a reference for which I have
to thank Miss B. S. Phillpotts.

2 It should be noted that Langobardic tradition begins with a woman, Gambara,
who is represented, like Veleda, as both ruler and prophetess (Script. Rer. Lang, et
Ital., pp. 2, 7f.).

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 34I

Egyptians and Carians, is believed to mark the transition from
cognation to agnation, namely the union of brother and sister1.

In conclusion we must notice two specific objections which
may be raised against the suggestion that society remained
cognatic until such a comparatively late period. One is that
most English kings claimed direct paternal descent from Woden.
But in order to make this argument available for proving that
society was agnatic it must be shown that these kings claimed
to be the successors as well as the descendants of the god, for
the recognition of paternal ancestry does not necessarily involve
paternal succession. We may note that according to Homer the
Lycian king Sarpedon was a son of Zeus. Yet his title to the
throne was derived from his mother and his mother's mother.
Indeed it is of this nation that Herodotus (I. 173) states that
descent was reckoned by the mother down to his own time. For
a further analogy we may refer to the story of the origin of the
Gauls given by Ammianus Marcellinus (XV. 9. 6). According to
native tradition, he says, Hercules after slaying the tyrant
Tauriscus, who had been oppressing Gaul, begat by noble
women a number of children who gave their names to the
regions which they governed2. This legend, it will be seen,
is really quite compatible with the custom of the Picts, according
to which the succession passed after brothers to the sisters' sonss,
while the king's father himself was probably always a stranger.
It is not unlikely that in early times the king was not allowed
to marry and have children which he could call his own, but that
he had the right of intercourse wherever he wished. At all
events this is what is stated of the king of the Hebrides by the

1 Cf. White, Joitrtial of Hellenic Studies, XVIII. 238 ff. ; Ridgeway, Preelections
delivered before the Senate of the University of Cambridge, Jan. 1906, p. 154 ff. For
these references I have to thank Mr Frazer.

- regionum auteni incolae id magis omnibus adseuerant, quod etiam nos legimus in
inonumentis eorum incisum, Amphitryonis Jiliuin Herculem ad Geryonis el Taurisci
saetcium tyrannorum perniciem festiuasse, quorum alter Hispanias alter Gallias
infestabat, superatisque ambobus coisse cum generosis feminis suscepisseque liberos plures
et eos partes quibus imperitabanl suis nominibus appellasse.

3 It is worth noting that what is probably the oldest Gaulish legend which we
possess deals with a king of the Bituriges and his sister's sons (cf. Livy, v. 34).

342 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CHAP.

Irish interpolator of Solinus1. The explanation may be that he
was regarded as divine or semi-divine and perhaps, like Northern
chiefs, as the husband of a goddess.

The second objection is the genealogy given by Tacitus,
Germ. 2. The Inguaeones, Hermiones and Istaeuones are said
to be descended from three sons of Mannus who was himself
the son of the god Tuisto. Here, it will be observed, Mannus
seems to correspond somewhat to the Gaulish Hercules2. The
legend of three ancestral brothers is found in many parts of the
world, and there can be no doubt, as we have seen, that the
names Inguaeones, Hermiones and Istaeuones are of great
antiquity. But the reference to carmina antiqua can hardly
be held to prove that the genealogy in the form given by
Tacitus was either ancient or widespread3. Indeed Tacitus
was clearly not in a position to guarantee its antiquity, while
the fact that Tuisto and Mannus are entirely unknown else-
where— even in the Frankish genealogical text (cf. p. 208) —
gives good reason for suspecting that they were by no means
universally recognised. With regard to the brothers themselves
we have seen that nothing is known of Istio, while of Irmin we
can only conjecture that he was the person whom Tacitus else-
where calls Hercules. Ing however was remembered in English
tradition, which connected him with Denmark. It has been
suggested (cf. p. 288 ff.) that he was an earlier form of Scyld-
Skioldr, the stranger who came to the Danes from an unknown
land and married the goddess of Sjaelland. In that case we are
brought back to a primitive story of Beena marriage similar to
what we see in the old folk-tale of Svipdagr and MengloS. But
whatever may have been the conception of Ing, whether he was

1 Ed. Mommsen, p. 234 f.: rex nihil swim habet, omnia uniuersorum, ad aeqnita-
tem certis legibus stringitur ac ne auaritia deuertat a itero disci/ panpertate iustitiam,
ntpote cui nihil sit rei familiaris, uerum alitur e publico, nulla illi femina datur
propria, sed per uicissitudines in gteamcumaue covnnotns sit usnariam sumit. unde ei
nee uotwn nee spes conceditur liberorum. Cf. Zimmer, Sitznngsbcrichte d. k. preuss.
Akademie d. Wissenschaften zn Berlin, 1891, p. 286, note.

2 Cf. the story of the origin of the Scythians given by Herodotus, IV. 8 ff.

3 We may compare the two accounts of the origin of the Scythians given by
Herodotus, iv. 5 ff., 8 ff., in both of which three ancestral brothers figure but which
otherwise have little in common.

XII] SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 343

a god, or whether, as I am disposed to believe, the name was
originally a title of the king of the Danes, or again whether,
as many hold, the personification of Ing was quite late and
derived from the name Inguaeones — the fact remains that our
earliest reference to the peoples of the south western Baltic
represents the cult of a goddess as their chief characteristic
and as the bond by which they were held together. Further,
that this cult was of an ancestral character is rendered extremely
probable, as we have seen, by the analogy of the festival of the
Semnones, by the association of the names Nior'&r and Yngvi in
Scandinavian tradition and above all by the English story of
Scyld.

In Denmark itself, if we may judge from the silence of the
native authorities, not only Ing but even Gefion seems to have
been entirely forgotten. The kings traced both their ancestry
and their title to Skioldr, and even in Beowulf it is by Scyld's
military prowess that the empire is built up. According to
Skioldunga Saga, FroSi, the Danish counterpart of Frey, was
the grandson of this eponymous hero. But the beginning of all,
according to Northern mythology, was the goddess Gefion who
created the fertile land with her plough. Tacitus' notice shows
that in the first century the cult of the island goddess was in full
vigour. His description of her as Terra Mater may faithfully
represent the conception of her which prevailed among the
Northern peoples of his day. Our discussion however has led
us to suspect that the origin of the cult, chthonic as it doubtless
was, should ultimately be traced, not to a poetic personification
of the earth, but rather to a power of controlling the earth's
fertility with which human beings both in life and after death
were credited and which was doubtless included among the
supernatural properties attributed by the ancients to their
women.

The investigation of the social organisation of the Northern
peoples has been somewhat impeded in the past by the assump-
tion that these peoples must have migrated at a comparatively
late period from the steppes of southern Russia or western Asia,
where they had dwelt formerly as nomad herdsmen. Now,
thanks to archaeological researches, we are able to trace back the

344 SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD [CH. XII

inhabitants of the Baltic coasts and islands for thousands of years
before the Christian era and to watch the growth of their civili-
sation from the stone age. Neither the discoveries themselves nor
the earliest native traditions give any hint of a pastoral nomadic
life — which indeed would be totally unsuited to a region com-
posed very largely of islands and peninsulas ; but on the contrary
both point decisively to the antiquity of agriculture. In the
eastern Mediterranean, where a similar course of development
can be traced, the more primitive type of social organisation
survived until the iron age was well established. Until definite
evidence to the contrary is forthcoming it seems to me that there
is a presumption in favour of believing that such was the case
also in the North.

ADDENDA.

p. 4, note. Probably the name Meanuari denotes the inhabitants of the
basin of the Meon ; cf. the ancient Continental names Ampsiuarii and
Chasuarii (from the rivers Ems and Hase).

p. ii, 1. 22 ff. cf. Round, The Commune of London, etc., p. 4 f., where
attention is called to the prevalence of the ending -ham in place names
in the neighbourhood of rivers. It should be remembered however that
this ending represents Ang. Sax. ham(m) as well as ham.

p. 38, note 4. From the words Eg/rid ' fi lilts Osbiu regnauit noucm minis in
§ 64 both Zimmer (p. 95 f.) and Thurneysen (p. 84) infer that an earlier
text was composed in 679. This seems to me very doubtful, for the
statement may quite well be due to a slight scribal error, villi for xiiii.
The latter figure would be correct since Ecgfrith reigned from 15 Febr.,
671 to 20 May, 685.

p. 149, 1. 19 ff. cf. Skaldsk. 64, where it is stated that Siggeirr, the son-in-
law of Volsungr, and Sigarr, who hanged Hagbarftr, belonged to the
same family (the Siklingar).

p. 155, 1. 17 ff. cf. Round, op. cit., p. 1 5 ff .

p. 1 58 ff. For the military organisation of the Anglo-Saxon period cf. Beck,
Eng. Hist. Rev., xxi. 766.

p. 163, 1. 8 ff. In illustration of the relations subsisting between king and
council reference may be made to the interesting story told by Procopius,
Vand. 1. 22. In this case the decision of the king (Gaiseric) was thought
ridiculous by all his men, but there is no suggestion that any opposition
was offered.

p. 230, 1. 34. The word 'extended' is open to objection, as the evidence (cf.
especially such compounds as Inguiomerus, Ingibrand) does not seem
to me to admit of certainty in regard to the original form of the name.

p. 231, bottom. Local and personal names compounded with Fro- (i.e.
Frey-) are not entirely unknown in Denmark (cf. Petersen, Ueber den
Gottesdicnst und den Gbttcrglauben des Nordens, Germ. Transl., pp. 31,
35), but their evidence is hardly conclusive. Of more importance is the
fact that we find the cult of a god named Proue(n) — apparently the

346 ADDENDA

Slavonic form of Frey-r or of Ang.-Sax. frea — among the Wagri of
north-eastern Holstein (cf. Helmoldus, Chroti. Slavorum, I. 53, 70, 84).
It seems likely from the evidence that this cult was of local origin and
derived from the previous inhabitants of the district. If so, we may
perhaps most probably regard it as an independent development, though
precisely parallel to the Swedish cult.

p. 239, 1. 27 f. It is scarcely impossible however that the notice in the
Indiculus Superstitionum (Mon. Germ., Leg. 1. 19 f.) De snlcis circa
iiillas may have reference to some such custom. We may also refer to
the semi-heathen rite described in Grein-Wiilcker, Bibl. der ags. Poesie,
I. 314 ff.

p. 248, 1. 13 ff. The Benty Grange helmet is figured in C. Roach Smith's
Collectanea Antigua, 11. 238 f. ; the Vendel helmet and the Bjornhofda
plate in Sveriges Historia2, 1, pp. 192, 198 (fig. 210, 223); the Gundestrup
bowl in S. Midler's Nordische Altertumskunde, II. Plate 2 and p. 161 ff.
(fig. 100 and 102 — 104).

p. 268, 1. 1 ff. Account should be taken however of the Slavonic cult of
Proue; cf. the add. to p. 231 above.

p. 288, 1. 19. Apart from Tacitus' remarks in Germ. 2, the fact that Ing (late
Goth. Enguz) was used as the name of one of the letters in the Runic
alphabet is an argument for believing that this person was known very
soon after the beginning of the Christian era, if not earlier.

p. 313, 1. 17. It is true that the Swedish king (Olof Skottkonung) mentioned
in St. Olaf's Saga was a Christian, but the new religion appears to have
obtained hardly any foothold in Svealand by this time.

p. 321, 1. 14 f. According to Faereyinga S. 1, Gri'mr Kamban was a con-
temporary of Harold the Fair-haired and the first settler in the Faroes.

P- 337 ^ There is some ground for suspecting that persons similar to
Veleda may have existed among the (presumably Celtic) inhabitants of
Upper Bavaria in the bronze age. A barrow excavated at Miihlthal
was found to contain the skeleton of a woman very richly apparelled
and holding in her hand a staff or sceptre, the head of which was in the
form of a wheel-cross. In the same barrow were found the remains of
two other human bodies (without ornaments) and three wild boars, the
latter of which, if not the former also, had clearly been deposited as
sacrificial offerings, in some cases at a much later period ; see Naue,
Die Bronzezeit in Ober-Bayern, pp. 39 ff., 119— a reference for which
I have to thank Miss B. S. Phillpotts.

INDEX.

Abingdon, Chronicle of 278, 281, 283 f.

Aelle (1), king of Sussex 2, 14 f., 87^

Aelle (2), king of Deira iof.

Aesir 240, 246.

Aestii 179, 248 f., 306, 316.

Aethelberht (1), king of Kent 1, 12 f.,

17. »> 37. 55 U 189.
Aethelberht (2), king of Last Angha

i2of., 132.
Aethelfrith 10, 167, 335.
Aethelthryth 8, 335.
agnation 3241?.
Agni 250 f.
agriculture 248, 254 (., 261, 263, 283,

305 ff.
AgtJir 332 f.
Alamanni 81 ff., 138, 167, 178, 208,

216 ff., 221 f., 309, 331.
Alaric 174.

Alboin 18, 91, 132, 168, 174.
Alewih 128, 146, 150 ff.

Ali (i) 147.

Ali (2) 248 f. (see Onela).

allegiance 13 f., 166 ff.

Alokiai 194, 215.

Amlethus 133, 145, 165, 188.

Ampsiuarii 180, 301.

Angel 42, 52, 55, 104 ff., 128, 133, 135)

140, 144, 181, 184, 192, 205 f., 294.
Angeltheow 144.
Anglia Vetus 103^,275.
Anglo-Frisian languages 64, 99ff-, 141 ff.,

203, 222.
Angr'iuarii 178, 195, 197, 209, 307.
Angulus 54, 103, 105, 192 (see Angel).
Annates Cambriae 14, 27.
Ariouistus 223, 306 f.
Arminius 226, 309 f-
armour 161, 187, 189 ff.
assemblies i54ff., 172' 3°9- 3Ilff-
Askold 175.

Athislus I22f., 135 f., 138.
Atfils 18, 134, 146 f-. 248, 25of., 317.
Attila 131, 138, 173, 179-
Aun 322.
Avars 114, 178.

Bataui no, 307, 310, 315.
Bavarians 81 ff., 208, 221, 331.

Bebbe 22, 335.

Beena marriage 330, 333, 338, 340.

Beo, Beaw 272 f., 291, 293 f.

Beowulf (1), king of the Gotar 163,

166 ff., 172 f., 176, 180, 248, 332.
Beowulf (2), king of the Danes 273,

291 (see Beo).
Bernicia 10, 41, 183.
Bemician royal family 59 ff., 88, 145,

182, 269.
boats as sacred emblems etc. 239 f., 249.
Borghildr 149 f., 299, 333.
Boruhtwarii 90 (see Bructeri).
Bravik, battle of 94, 232, 314.
brooches 17, 75 f.
Bructeri 180, 195 ff-. 220,309, 314.337.

340.
Burgundians 149, 174, i77f-> '99. 2°7 *"•>

219 ff., 309, 321, 324 f., 336.

Ceadwalla 4f., 32, 180.

Ceawlin jf., 12, 14, 21, 23 f., 32 f., 88.

Celtic influence 190 f.

Celtic peoples 305, 307.

Cerdic 10, 20 ff., 47, 134, 15°-

Chaibones 95.

Chamaui 195, 197-

Charoudes, 'Charydes 193, 211 (see

Harudes).
Chasuarii 195, 197.
Chatti 116, 178, 196, 199, 207, 209,

21, f., 2l8, 221 f., 225, 229, 307, 310.

Chauci 95, 178, 195 ff-, 201, 207, 209 f.,
215, 221, 232, 257, 29; f., 307.

Cherusci 116, 195 ff., 207, 209, 215ft.,
218, 221 f., 225, 229 f., 233, 307, 309 f.,

3 '9, 340-
Chilperic 101, 107, 329.
Cimbri 193, 198, 201, 207 f., 209 ff.,

295 f., 306 f., 310, 338.
Cimbric Peninsula 93, 193, 296.
Clovis 1 10, 329.
Coenwalh 3, 16, 335.
cognation 327 ff.
comites, comitatus (ancient German) 167,

3] if.
concilium 3 1 1 ff., 3 1 7 ff-
cremation 73 f. , 244, 287 f.
Creoda 24, 33.
Cynewulf 26 f., 158, 165 f., 173-

348

INDEX

cyning 315 f.

Cynric 20 If., 47.
Cynwise 335.

Danelagh 83, 85.

Danish invasion 7, 11, 132, 1 =,9 f., 183 f.

Danish kings: see Alewih, Ali(r),
Beowulf (2), Danr, Frofii, Hadingus,
Halfdan (3), Haraldr (2), Heremod,
Hiorvarftr, Hroarr, Hrolfr Kraki,
LoSbrok, Sigarr, Skioldr, Vigletus.

Danr 150 ff., 316.

Deega marriage 324 ff., 340.

Deira 10, 59 f., 172, 183, 269, 335.

Denmark 18, 52, 73, 75, 83, 125, 132,
149, 169, 23of., 239, 289, 291, 314,

325-
disir 339.
Domaldi 251.
Dulgibini 195, 197.

Eadgils (1), king of the Swedes 18, 134,

146 (see ASils).
Eadgils (2), prince of the Myrgingas 135^,

167, 169.
Ealhhild 135, 138.
Eanfled 335.
Eanmund 168, 173.
East Anglia 7, 54, 59 f., 86, 160, 183,

269.
Edwin 12 f., 163, 189.
Eider i23f., 128, 135, 139 ff., 203.
Elmet 182.
Engilin 112 f., 115.
Eomer i3of. , 144.
Eormenric 131, 135 f., 138, 147, 165,

167 ff-, 179.
Eowa 164.

Erminus 208, 221 f. (see Irmin).
Essex 2, 34, 41 f., 54, 74 f., 86 ff.
Essex, dialect of 6r, 70 f.
Essex, royal family of 59, 87, 302.
Este, Estland (see Aestii) 311, 316.
Eucii, Euthiones 97 f. , 107.

festivals 224 f., 234 ff., 240 ff., 263 ff.,

3!3> 31?, 322.
Finn, son of Godwulf 40, 42, 270.
Finn, son of Folcwalda 52 f., 102, 166.
Folco 122.

folk-tales 303 f., 310 f.
Frankish genealogical text 208, 221,

225, 342.
Franks 17, 81 ff., 91, 93, 95, 99^ 102,

noff., 145, 177 f., 180 f., 186, 208,

221, 30of., 310, 3i4f., 324f., 330.
Freawine 21, 33, 122, 127, 133, 145,

269.
Frey 231 f., 240 ff., 271, 289, 314, 318,

321 ff.

Freyia 240, 246 f., 249 ff., 260 ff., 285,

289 f.
Fricco 245, 265.
Frisian language 62 ff., 67, 91, 93 ff.,

142 f.
Frisians 17, 19, 52, 55, 81 ff., 163, 166,

195, 203, 206, 257, 297, 309, 319 f.
Frisonofeld 10 1.
Fri'S-Fro'Si 257 f.
P'ro'Si enn friftsami (Frotho III) 150,

169, 257 f., 318.
FroSi enn fraskni (Frotho IV) 146 f.
Frowinus, see Freawine.
fyrd 159 ff.

Gallehus, horns from 142, 187.

Gambriuii 208, 220, 223 ff.

Gauls 190 f., 304, 341.

Geat 40, 270 f., 293.

Geberich 136.

Gefion 258 ff., 283, 285, 289, 294, 343.

Gepidae 174, 177 f., 180, 208, 221 f.

German, St. 39, 50 f.

German language 63 f., 96, 101, 141 ff.,

222 f., 3r6.
Gewis 21, 33, 36, 38.
Gildas 14, 27, 31 f., 41, 45 ff., 49 ff., 55,

184.
Gotar t8, 107, 130, 173, 176, 270, 333.
Gothic language 64, 143, 222, 315.
Goths 135, 145, 174, 177, 181, 186,
^207f., 216, 2i9f., 310, 319.
Grimr (Kamban) 321.
Gunnarr (Gundicarius, king of the Bur-

gundians) 149, 168.
Gunnarr Helmingr 241 ff., 246, 2,^3,

264 f.
Guorthigirnus 38 ff., 43, 50 (see Wyrt-

georn).
Gu'cSro'Sr 333.
Gutones 199 (see Goths).
Gylfi 259.

gynaecocracy 337, 340.
Gyrwe 8 f.

Hadingus 232, 258.

Hadubrand 173.

Hagbaro'r 146 f.

Haithaby 104 f., 275.

Haki 147, 149.

Hakon (Earl) 316.

Halfdan (1) hvitbeinn 332, 334.

Halfdan (2) svarti 252, 321, 332.

Halfdan (3), king of the Danes (see

Healfdene) 146, 283, 299.
Hamundr 149.
Haraldr (1) Grenski 316.
Haraldr (2) Hilditonn 94, 332.
Haraldr (3), hinn harfagri 317, 333 f.
Hardeland 214.

INDEX

349

Harudes 193 (see Charoudes).

harvest ceremonies 237, 279 ff.

Healfdene 52, 146, 171, 283, 291.

Heardred 173.

Heathobeardan 147.

Heiftmork 332 f.

HeiSrekr 175, 332.

Helgi(i) Hundingsbani 202, 298 ff.

Helgi (2), son of Halfdan 299.

Heligoland 93, 95, 99, 256 f.

Hengest(i) 35 ff". , 103, 174, 184.

Hengest (2) 52 f., 166.

Hercules 228 ff., 341 f.

Heremod 148 ft"., 165, 272 f., 291 ff.

Hermiones 199, 207 f., 215, 218, 220 ff.,

229, 342-
Hennunduri 196, 199, 207, 215 ff., 308.
Heruli 95, 109 ff., 1 1 4 f . , 138 f., 163,

165, 179 ff., 191, 199, 218, 326.
Hildibrand 173.
Hiltgund 13S, 179.
Himmerland 21 4.
HicirvarSr (Heoroweard) 165, 168.

orvarSr Ylfingr 332.
Iistoria Brittonum 10, 33, 38 ff.,

4.2, 183, 192, 208, 2q2. .

Hnaef ^2, 140, i667 171.

Holda 261 ff.

Holland 107, 109, 305.

Holstein 91, 105, 115, 124, 137, 141,

192, 199, 203, 210, 217.
Horsa 35 ff., 103, 174.
Hrethric 165.
Hroarr (see Hrothgar)
Hrolfr Kraki 18, 134,

189, 248, 299.
Hrothgar 52, 146, 157,

176, i8o,' 188 f., 248, 289,
Ilmthwulf 18, 134, i46f.

Kraki).
Huldr 164, 250 f-, 254
Hundingr 298 ff.
Hunferth 163, 165.
Huns [31, 177 f.
I [wala 271 f. , 293.
I [wicce 5 f., 59. 182.
Hygelac 18, no, 130,

146, 189, 299.
146 f., 166, 169,

163, 165
(see
263.

i67f..
Hrolfr

163, 167 ff., 335.

Ibor 1 74.

Icel 15 ff., 144.

Iceland 83, 231, 244, 256, 279.

Ida lo, 16, 41, 156, 183.

Ing 230, 287 ff., 295, 342.

Ing(\v)- 226.

Ingeld 146.

In^uaeones 199, 207 ff., 215, 220 if.,

'230 ff., 289, 295 f., 342.
Ingunarfreyr 231, 244, 252 f.
[nguo 20N f. , 221 ff.
Ingwine 230, 2S8 f., 295 f.

Iiirundr 147.
Ireland 19, 331.
Irmin- 226 ff., 342.
Irminfrith 92, 100, 1 10, 180.
Irminsul 103, 226 ff., 243, 297.
Isis 240, 249.

Istaeuones 199, 207 ft., 220 ft.
Istio 208 f., 221 f., 342.

Ivarr ViSfaSmi 165, 332.

Jallinge 122, 124, 193.

Jutes (Iutae, Iuti) of Britain 4f., 28 ff.,

52, 54ft".. 88 f., 90, 103 ff., 192, 294.
Jutes (Iuti) of Jutland 133, 163.
Jutland 52, 73, 94, i04ff., 145, 192 f.,

201 f., 215, 311.

Kent if., 17, 35 ff-, 54ff-> 77 ff-- 84 ff.,
102 f., 108, 172, 294, 324, 326, 336, 338.
Kentish dialect 61, 65 ff.
Kentish royal family 59 f., 156, 269.
Keto 1 2 2 f.
kindred 154 f., 323 ft.
Kragehul (deposit) [87.

Land, property in 168 ff., 328 f.
I.angfeogatal 125, 260.
Langobardi 91, 109, 115, 132, 174, 177,
179 f . , 193ft-., 201 f., 205, 208, 2l6f.,

307 f., 325. 331. 336-
Leire 124, 133, 145, 259, 267.
Lex Angliorum et Werinorum 81 f.,

108 f., 1 1 2 ff".
Lex Salica Si, 328 ff., 334.
Lex Saxonum 81 f. , 325, 328.
Liimfjord 73, 2i4f. , 296.
Lindsey 8 f., 59, 269.
London 2, 17, 227.
Lothair 91, in.
LoSbrok (Ragnarr) 183.
Lugii 194, 216, 219, 225.

Mannas 208, 219, 223, 342.
Marcomanni 178, 196, 216 f., 30S.
Maroboduus 179, 190, 3i6f., 223,30s.

Maw 208, 220, 223 ff., 22y.
Maypoles, Maytrees 227, :;/> f.
Mecklenburg 199, 210 f.
Mercia 6f., 17, 54, 79ft"-, 102 f, 11S,

121, 156, 182.
Mercian royal family 15 ff., 59^, 132 f.,

156, 182, 102, 269. 30S.
Merseburg (glosses etc) 97, 141.
Middle Anglia S f., 17, 54, 86, 103.
Myrgingas 128, 135 ft"., 167, 179.

Nerthus 116, 20of., 206, 134, 1391".,

243 ft"., 254 If., 264 ff., 2S9f., 294 ft".,
3»7> .'>2 2f-

35o

INDEX

Netherlands 107, in, 113^. r37- r49>

icSi, 300 (see Holland).
NinnSr 173. 239 ff., 258, 290, 295.
Nordalbingi 91, 105.
nornir 339.

North Frisians 94 f. , 99, 101, 142.
North Suabi 97 f., 101, niff., 138 f.,

203, 216, 218.
Northumbria 10, 53, 55, 79 ff., 85 f.,

103, 119.
Northumbrian dialect 61 , 65 ff.
Norway 75, 83 f., 109, 175, 213, 231,

241 f., 247, 256, 304, 311, 313, 316,

333-
Nydam (deposit) 142 f., 187, 191.

Obotriti 91, 104.

Octa 37, 40 f., 44, 46 f.

Odoacer 174, 180.

Offa(i), king of Angel n8f., 121 ff.,

147, 192, 203, 206, 300.
Ona(2), king of Mercia 7, 57, 1 1 9 ff. ,

I31-
Oghgul 41, 52, 55, 103, 192.
Oisc (Aesc) 16, 35 ff., 44, 46 f., 156.
Olafr Geirstafta-Alfr 321.
Olafr Tretelgia 251 f., 322, 334.
Olafr Tryggvason 231, 241 f., 253, 334.
Old Saxons 54, 60, 64, 81 ff., 90 ff., 177,

181, 297, 325, 336.
Onela 167, 173.
Ongentheow 167, 169.

Onundr 317 f.
Oswald 1 3 f .
Oswine 173.
Oswio 13 f., 335.

Othin 148, 175, 240, 245, 258 f., 265,
, 270, 286, 321.
Ottarr heimski 246, 260.

Penda 6, 16, 134, 151, i59f-> l64> 335-

Perchta 262.

Picts 36, 39, 46, 50, 341.

pigs, sanctity attached to 246, 248 f.

plough ceremonies 238 f., 261 ff.

priestesses 241, 246, 338 f.

priests 234^ 246, 249, 256, 312 f., 320,

32.2 f., 338.
principes 309 ff.

Prussian marriage customs 325 f., 338.
Prussian religion 243, 247, 254^, 280 f.,

321.

Quadi 217 f., 30S, 331.

reeve 157.

RefSgotaland 175.

Rendsburg 127, 136, 193.

Ringo 232, 332 (see Sigur'Sr Hringr).

Rollo 175.

Roricus (see Hrethric).

Rugii 172, 179.

Runic letters 142 f., 176.

sacerdos ciuitatis 312,319.

Salii 329 (see Franks).

sanctuaries 178, 200, 224 ff., 229 f.,

312 f.
Scadinauia 210, 212 f.
Scandinavian languages 62 ff., 142 f,

223, 316.
Scandinavian laws 83 f. , 324, 331.
Sceaf 104, 133, 273 ff., 281 f., 290 ff.
Scedenig, Scedeland 259 f., 283, 291,

294.
Scotland 331.
Scyld 146, 178, 250, 271, 273 ff., 28rff.,

287 ff, 342 f.
Scyldungas, Scyldingas 283^,289,294,

3°4-
Scylfingas 232, 250.
Seaxburg 335.
Seaxneat 59, 293.
seiSr 246, 251.
Semnones 178, i94ff., 2or, 211, 2i6ff,

223 ff., 266 f., 307 f.
sheaf 275 f., 278 ff., 285.
Sigarr (Sigehere) 1468"., 299.
Siggeirr 149.

Sigi 175-

Sigibert 91, 111.

Sigmundr 148 f., 299 f., 333.

Siguro'r(i) Fafnisbani 148?.

Sigur'Sr (2) Hringr (see Ringo) 232, 287,

333.
Sigur-8r(3) Syr 311.
Silingai 194, 219.
Sinfiotli 148.

Sinus Codanus 208, 210, 212 ff.
Sitones 216, 337, 340.
Sjaelland 124, 151, 257, 259, 267 f., 283,

290, 294 f., 297, 302, 308, 342.
Skaane 124, 140, 259, 283, 290, 324.
Skandia 194, 260.
SkaSi 258, 321.
Skialf 250 f., 254, 289.
Skidldr (Scioldus) 138, 250, 258 ff.,

282 f., 288 ff, 314, 342 f.
Skioldungar (see Scyldungas) 259, 283 f.,

332-
slaves 1 7 f.
Slesvig, province of 75, 94, 99, 124,

141, 181, 201 f., 206.
Slesvig, town and estuary 100, 104^,

122, 124, i33ff-> J93, 275> 277.
social divisions 77 ff., 297 f.
Sogn 332 f.

StarkaSr 147, 189, 232.
stirps regia 310.

INDEX

351

Suabi, Suaui (see Suebi) 91,97^, 100 f.,

1131T., 1 36 ff.
Suarines 198, 200, 234.
Suebi, Sueui (see Suabi) 96, 100 f., 174,

177 f., l8l, 193 f., 197 f., 199, 201,

203 ff., 207 f., 215 ff., 220, 222 ff., 229,

^4°, 305. 307 ff-- 3i9' 33'. 334-
Sueuon 97.
Sugambri, Sygambroi 193, 195, 309,

3X5-

Surrey 2, 59.

Sussex 2, 14, 34, 41 f. , 54, 74 f., 86 ff.,

160.
Sussex, dialect of 61, 65 f., 71.
Sussex, royal family of 59, 87.
Swaefe (see Suabi, Suebi) 1 r 3 f . , 128,

136, 204, 217.
Sweden 75, 109, 122 f., 134^, r74f->

212, 231 f., 242, 244, 250, 253, 256,

258 f., 266, 289, 306, 313, 317 f.
Swedish kings, see Agni, A"$ils, Aun,

Domaldi, Gylfi, Iorundr, Ivarr Vi'5-
faftmi, Olafr Tretelgia, Onela, Ongen-

theow, Onundr, Vanlandi, Vfsburr,
Yngvi.
Sylt 99, 202.

Tamfana 225.

Tegneby (rock-carvings) 306.

Tencteri 178, 195, 306 f.

Teutoni (Teutones) 194, 199, 207 ff.,

210 ff., 29,; f.
Teutonoaroi 194, 198 f.
thegns 157 f . , 161 f.
J>eod 156 f., 303, 311, 314.
Theodberht i8f.,97, 107, 178.
Theodric(i), king of the Franks 18,

91 f., 100, 1 79 f.
Theodric(2), king of the Ostrogoths

109, in, 179.
Thor 245, 279, 287.
Thorger'Sr Holgabru'Sr 247, 321, 340.
Thoringia 1 io. *
Thorsbja^rg (deposit) 142^, 187, 189^,

30 r.
Throndhjem 171, 231, 253, 311.
Thrytho i3of. , 133.
Thuringi 91 ff., 97, uoff., 172, 178 ff.,

208, 301.
Thyland 214.

Tribal Ilidage 6 ff . , 11, 160.
Tuisto 208, 342.
Tyr 289.

Uffo (see Offa) 122 ff.
Ullr 285 f.

Upsala 231 f., 245, 266f., 313, 317!'.,

322, 339.
Usipetes, Usipii 178, 203, 220, 225,

306 f.

valkyriur 285, 339.

Vandals 177, 18 r, 208, 220 ff.

Vandilii 199, 207 f., 2i9ff., 229.

Vanir 240, 246, 254.

Vanlandi 251, 257.

Varini (see Warni) x 98 ff. , 207, 219, 234.

Veleda 337.

Vest fold 175, 332 f.

Vi (deposit) 187, 190.

Viggo 168.

Vigletus 122, 124, 132 ff., 144 f.

Vingulmork 333.

Visburr 250 f. , 257.

Visigoths 177.

Volsungar 14S, 175, 299.

"\\ aegmundingas 169 ff.

Walthari (Waldhere) 138, 173.

Wanderer 170, 172, 176.

Warni 19, logff., 139, 163, i 79 f. , 199,

256, 325-
weapons 161, 187, 190^, 304^, 318.
Weohstan (Weoxtan) 168, 172.
wergelds 77 f., 297 f.
Wermund 118, 1 2 2 ff . , 147, 150, 182,

192, 308.
Wessex 3 ff., 20 ff., 54, 77 ff., S4 ff., 102,

182, 294, 325.
Wessex, dialect of 61, 64 ff.
Wessex, royal family of 32 f., 59 ff., 87,

J33f-. '45. '82, 269, 272, 291 f.
Widsith 18, 102, 106, 113 f., 127 f., 132,

J35. 137 <"•> '5° f-> I5.1, 167 ff., 179,

189, 192, 204, 217, 277, 300.
Wig 21, 33, 133, 269.
Wight, Isle of 4, 20 f., 28 ff., 54, 103,

180, 294.
Wiglaf 169. 172.

Wigo 122 f, 133 f., 145 (see Wig).
Wihtlaeg 132, 134, 144 (see Vigletus).
Woden 21, 40, 60, 133, 189 (., 228, 2'hj,

293. 308, 315, 331, 341.
Wulfstan 311.
Wylhngas 176.
Wyrtgeorn (Vurtigeraus) 35 ff., 59, 174

(see Guorthigirnus).

Vnglingar 175, 231 f., 2?of., 295, 333,

340-
Yngvi 230 f., 299 f.
Yngvifreyr 164, 231, 244, 252 (>ee

Frey).

CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

•*

Binding sect. FEB 2 1976

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

DA Chadwick, Hector Munro

152 The origin of the English

C4.2 nation

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