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11148-S
RUNIC AND HEROIC POEMS
OF THE OLD TEUTONIC PEOPLES
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
C. F. CLAY, MANAGER
aotrtron: FETTER LANE, E.C.
100 PRINCES STREET
tto gork: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
JBombag, Calcutta ant JBaDros: MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD.
Toronto: J. M. DENT AND SONS, LTD.
THE M ARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA
All rights reserved
RUNIC AND HEROIC POEMS
OF THE OLD TEUTONIC PEOPLES
edited by
BRUCE DICKINS
Allen Scholar
Sometime Scholar of Magdalene College
Cambridge :
at the University Press
1915
Cambridge :
PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A.
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
PREFACE
TN preparing this edition I have set before myself a
threefold aim; in the first place, to supply a sound,
conservative text with all the necessary apparatus, prolego-
mena, translation, bibliography and notes both critical and
ezegetical ; in the second, to make use of the archaeological
method which Professor Ridge way has applied so brilliantly
to the study of the Homeric poems; and in the third, to
emphasise the essential unity of the old Teutonic languages
in 'matter' as in poetic diction. How far it has been
accomplished I cannot say : I can at least plead with
Marryat's nurse in Mr Midshipman Easy that my book
is 'such a little one.'
It cannot be claimed that the Runic poems are of any
great literary value ; they are exactly parallel, indeed, to the
old nursery rhyme :
'A was an Archer who shot at a frog ;
B was a Butcher who had a big dog.'
But they are of certain interest to the student of social
history and of supreme importance in the early history of
the English language, a fact most unfortunately neglected
in two of the most recent and otherwise the best of English
historical grammars.
The Anglo-Saxon poem last appeared in England in
1840; the Norwegian is only available in Vigfusson and
a3
78
vi Preface
Powell's Icelandic Prose Reader and Corpus Poeticum
Boreale; the Icelandic has never before been published in
this country.
The second part of this work contains the extant
fragments of Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry outside Beowulf
and Widsith, which have been so admirably treated by
Dr Chambers (Cambridge, 1912 and 1914). Finn has,
indeed, been edited by Dr Chambers as an appendix to
Beowulf', but my notes were already complete when Beowulf
appeared, and as I differ from him on various points so
much the worse for me in all probability I have ventured
to include it. It has been a labour of love : for Finn,
mutilated and corrupt, is yet the fine flower of Anglo-Saxon
heroic poetry. Full of rapid transitions and real poetic glow,
the fight in Finn's beleaguered hall, lighted by the flash of
swords and echoing with the din of combat, is one of the
most vivid battle-pieces in any language a theme too often
worn threadbare by dull mechanical prentice-work in later
Anglo-Saxon poetry, when versifying the scriptures became
a devastating industry and the school of Cynewulf antici-
pated by some eight centuries the school of Boyd.
Waldhere has not been edited in English since the
editio princeps of 1860, and Dr W. W. Lawrence's treat-
ment of Deor is not very accessible in Volume IX. of
the American journal Modern Philology.
The Old High German Hildebrand has never before
been edited in English, and I must apologise to experts
for my temerity. It is primarily intended for students of
Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse ; but it may, I hope, be useful
to neophytes in German too.
It is now my pleasant duty to thank my many friends in
Cambridge. I have received encouragement and help of the
Preface vii
most substantial kind from the Master, President, Librarian
and Fellows of my own College; from the Disney Professor
of Archaeology and the Schroder Professor of German ; from
Miss A. C. Paues, of Newnham College, Mr E. C. Quiggin,
of Gonville and Caius College, and Mr E. H. Minns, of
Pembroke College. My friends and fellow students, Miss
N. Kershaw, of St Andrews, and Mr W. F. W. Mortlock,
Scholar of Trinity College, have read part of the MS. From
the staff of the University Library and of the University
Press I have received unfailing courtesy, however much I
have tested their patience. But most of all I have to thank
Mr H. M. Chadwick, Bosworth and Elrington Professor of
Anglo-Saxon, who has rescued me from countless pits which
I had digged for myself Anyone who has had the good
fortune to work with him will appreciate my debt ; no one
else can estimate it. If this volume does anything to
lighten the burdens which he has piled upon himself, I
shall not feel that I have toiled in vain.
B. D.
35 BRUNSWICK SQUARE, W.C.
October 15th, 1915.
ABBREVIATIONS
Aarb. f. n. 0. Aarbrtger for nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie. Kjoben-
havn, 1866-.
Anglia. Zeitschrift fiir engliscbe Philologie. Halle, 1878-.
Archivf. n. S. Herrigs Archiv fiir das Studium der neueren Sprachen and
Literaturen. Braunschweig, 1846-.
Arkiv f. n. F. Arkiv for nordiak Filologi. Christiania, 1883-8 ; Land,
1889-.
B. B. Banner Beitrage zur Anglistik hrsg. v. M. Trautmann. Bonn, 1898-.
E. St. Englische Stadien. Heilbronn, 1877-89 ; Leipzig, 1890-.
Germ. Germania, Vierteljahrsschrift fiir deutscbe Altertumskunde. Stutt-
gart, 1856-8, Wien, 1859-1892.
M. G. H. Monumenta Gennaniae Historica edidit G. H. Pertz ; Scriptorum
Tomi xxix. Hannoverae, 1826-.
M. L. N. Modern Language Notes. Baltimore, 1886-.
M. L. R. The Modern Language Review. Cambridge, 1906-.
Mod. Phil. Modern Philology. Chicago, 1903-.
P. B. B. Paul und Braunes Beitrage zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache
und Litteratur. Halle, 1874-.
P. G. (1), (2). Pauls Grundriss der Germanische Philologie. Strassburg,
1891-3, 1896-1909.
P. M. L. A. Publications of the Modern Language Association of America.
Baltimore, 1889-.
Tidskrift. Tidskrift for Philologie og Paedagogik. Kjobenhavn, I860-.
Z.f. d. A. Haupts Zeitschrift fur deutsches Altertum. Leipzig, 1841-53,
Berlin, 1856-.
Z. f. d. Ph. Zachers Zeitschrift fiir deutsche Philologie. Halle, 1869-
1908; Stuttgart, 1909-.
CONTENTS
PAOC
THE RUNIC POEMS
INTRODUCTION . 1
BIBLIOGRAPHY 9
TEXT, TRANSLATION AND NOTES
The Anglo-Saxon Poem 12
The Norwegian Poem 24
The Icelandic Poem 28
APPENDIX: THE ABECEDARIUM NORDHANNICUM . . 34
THE HEKOIC POEMS
INTRODUCTION 37
BIBLIOGRAPHY 50
TEXT, TRANSLATION AND NOTES
The Anglo-Saxon Waldhere 56
The Anglo-Saxon Finn 64
The Anglo-Saxon Deor 70
The Old High German Hildebraud ... 78
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 86
INDEX 92
THE RUNIC ALPHABET FIGURED
THE RUNIC ALPHABET
1. From tfie earliest inscriptions:
K.IVl>.l>.R.<.X.f-. N.t.UVI' W.Y. f.
f.u.f>.a.r.k.j.w: h.n.i.j.? .p.z.s:
t. &.M.N.r. *.*.$-.: .
t . b . e . m.l.ng.d.o.
2. Anglo-Saxon, (a) Runic Poem. (6) Salzburg Codex.
r.A.f.S. R.K.X.F: H.t.l.i J .K.Y. h
f.n.>.o.r.c.;.w: h.n.i.j.i, h . p .,?.
.H:P.KA. T.
t . b . e . m . 1 . ng . o . d : a . SB . y . to . ea . [q . (o) . at . g .]
3. Scandinavian, (a) Jsellinge Stone. (6) Runic Poems.
() P. IV f. k R. f: *>.l.t.h: T.B.r.T.A.
w r. ft. fr.i R.r : *.ki.ui:i.B.rt.it.
f.u.)>.a. r.kth.n.i.a.s :t.b.l.m. -r.
THE RUNIC POEMS
Building the Runic rhyme, thy fancy roves
SODTHEY
INTRODUCTION
THE RUNIC ALPHABET
The origin of the Runic alphabet, the native script of the
Teutonic peoples, is still a matter of dispute. Isaac Taylor
derived it from a Thracian Greek alphabet, Wimraer of
Copenhagen from the Latin alphabet; but each of these
theories is open to grave objections, and it is perhaps
less dangerous to conclude with von Friesen of Upsala that
it was taken from a mixture of the two. It is sufficient
here to mention that it must have been known to all the
Teutonic peoples and that the earliest records go back at
least to the fourth century. It was certainly known by the
Goths before their conversion ; for Wulfila took several of
its characters for his Gothic alphabet, and two inscriptions
(Pietroassa in Wallachia and Eovel in Volhynia) have been
found in lands occupied by the Goths in this period.
In its original form the Runic alphabet consisted of
24 letters, which from the absence of curved or horizontal
lines were especially adapted for carving on wood. Testi-
mony is borne by Venantius Fortunatus, whose lines
Barbara fraxineis pingatur runa tabellis
Quodque papyrus agit, virgula piano, valet
contain the earliest literary reference to the Runic character ;
by the Icelandic sagas and by the Anglo-Saxon poem known
as the Husband's Message ; but from the nature of the case
the lance-shaft from Kragehul (Fyn) is almost a solitary
D. R. P. 1
2 Introduction to
survivor of such inscriptions. The alphabet was divided
into three sets later styled in Icelandic Freys astt, Hogols
eett, Tys astt, from their initial letters F, H, T. These
names were understood as " Frey's family," etc. ; but
tripartite division certainly goes back to the original
alphabet it is found on the sixth century bracteate
from Vadstena, Sweden and it is more probable that
sett is derived from dtta, "eight," and so originally meant
"octave." Each letter, moreover, occupied a definite
position; for in Codex Sangallensis 270 are to be found
several varieties of Runic cypher Isruna, Lagoruna, Hahal-
runa, Stofruna the solution of which demands a knowledge
of the exact position of each letter in the alphabet. Thus
in the Latin Corui, the example given, the sixth letter of
the first series is C, the eighth of the third O, the fifth
of the first R, the second of the first U, the third of the
second I 1 . A cypher similar in type to the Hahalruna of
the St Gall MS., but adapted to the Scandinavian alphabet
of the Viking Age, is to be found in the grave-chamber
at Maeshowe (Orkney), and there are traces of similar
characters, now for the most part illegible, in Hackness
Church near Scarborough.
Among the earliest inscriptions from the North of
Europe are those found in the bog-deposits of Nydaua and
Torsbjserg in Slesvig, Vi and Kragehul in Fyn, etc., which
range in date from the third or fourth to the sixth century.
They are written in a language which may be regarded as
the common ancestor of English and Scandinavian ; it still
preserves the full inflections and is thus more primitive than
the Gothic of Wulfila. The contemporary inscription from
the Golden Horn of Gallehus (Jutland) may be quoted as
an illustration, Ek Hlewa^astiz Holtingaz horna tawicto.
(I Hlewagastiz Holtingaz made the horn.)
1 These cryptograms are possibly to be attributed to Hrabanus Maurus,
Abbot of Fulda (822-856), who is known to have been interested in the
Bunic alphabet ; cf. the Abecedarium Nordmannicum, p. 34 and his treatise
De Inventione Linguarum (Migne cxn. 1582). Comus is the Latin equivalent
of Hraban (ON. Hrafn) and medieval scholars were fond of Latinizing their
Teutonic names, e.g. Hrotsvith (Clamor validus), Aldhelm (Vetus galea).
the Runic Poems 3
To the same period belong a brooch found at Charnay in
Burgundy, and probably also an inscribed spear-head from
Miincheberg (Brandenburg), together with two or three
smaller objects found in the north of Germany. In
Germany, however, inscriptions of this character are quite
rare and mostly unintelligible, the latest belonging probably
to the eighth century.
There can be no reasonable doubt that the alphabet was
introduced into England by the Saxon invaders in the fifth
century, though the inscriptions dating from the first two
centuries after the invasion are very few and fragmentary.
Among them we may especially note those on a gold coin of
unknown provenance in imitation of a solidus of Honorius
and a scabbard -mount from Chessell Down in Wight. These
are connected by the forms of the letters with inscribed
objects from Kragehul and Lindholm (Sk&ne), which date in
all probability from the early part of the sixth century,
though the English inscriptions may be somewhat later.
Runic legends also occur on a number of silver coins, some of
them bearing the names jJ>il(i)r&d (doubtless the Mercian
king Aethelred, 675-704), or Pada, identified by some with
Peada, brother of Aethelred, by others, and more probably,
with his father Penda (d. 655). Runes are also found on a
number of other small objects of metal or bone, the most
interesting of which is the Franks Casket, generally believed
to date from about 700.
The gradual disuse of the Runic alphabet is well illus-
trated by coins of the eighth and ninth centuries. The
last king whose name appears in Runic characters is Beonna
of East Anglia (c. 750), and even on this coin a Roman O
is found. On coins of subsequent kings we only meet
with an occasional Runic letter, usually L. In the names
of moneyere, however, the Runic letters seem to have
persisted somewhat longer; for there are a number of
coins issued by Eanred of Northumbria (809-841 ?), on
which two of his moneyers signed their names in Runic
characters.
Of memorial stones there are in existence nearly a
12
4 Introduction to
score (principally in the North of England) bearing in-
scriptions in the English Runic character. The most notable
of these are the elaborately carved crosses at Ruthwell
(Dumfries) with verses abridged from the Dream of the
Cross and Bewcastle (Cumberland), the grave slab with
inscriptions both in Roman uncials and Runic characters
from Falstone (Northumberland), and the three stones from
Thornhill (Yorks.). Cf. Thornhill III. GilmiJ) ar&rde after
Berhtsuipe becun on bergi. Gebiddajy peer saule. (Gilswith
erected to the memory of Berhtswith a monument on the
tomb. Pray for her soul.) The earliest date probably
from the seventh century; while the latest contain forms
which point to about the middle of the ninth. There
seems no reason, however, for supposing that for this
purpose the English Runic alphabet remained longer in
use than for coins. At all events there is no evidence
that it survived the great Danish invasion of 866, which
swept away the upper classes in the greater part of
Northern England. After this time we find only MS. Runic
alphabets, doubtless preserved as antiquarian curiosities,
except for the letters wyn and frorn, which had been
adopted into the Anglo-Saxon book -hand, and e&el, d&g
and man, which were occasionally used as shorthand in
the MSS.
From the sixth century, however, the alphabet had
developed on totally different lines in Scandinavia and
England. To the original 24 letters the English eventually
added six, sesc, ac, yr, ear, calc, gar, if not a seventh tor.
The Scandinavian alphabet, on the other hand, continually
reduced the number of letters, until by the ninth century
no more than sixteen were left. How incapable they were
of representing the sounds of the language can be seen from
the greater Jaellinge stone set up by Harold Bluetooth, king
of Denmark (c. 940-986):
Haraltr kunukR baf> kaurua kubl fiansi aft Kurm fapur sin auk
aft J>qurui muj>ur sina, sa Haraltr ias sar uan Tanmaurk ala auk
Nuruiak auk Tani karpa kristna.
(Bang Harold ordered this monument to be made to the
the Runic Poems 5
memory of Gorm his father and Thyre his mother, that
Harold who conquered all Denmark and Norway and
christianised the Danes.)
From the beginning of the eleventh century, however,
the alphabet was supplemented by the so-called "dotted
runes" (stunginn k, , t, b = g, e, d, p).
The later Runic alphabet was known in Denmark,
Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroes, the
Orkneys, Man and England, in every part of the Scan-
dinavian world ; even in the South of Russia an inscription
has been found. In Denmark there are something less than
200 inscriptions, few of which are later than 1150 ; in
Sweden there are nearer 2000, some of which can scarcely
be earlier than the fifteenth century. Scandinavian also in
language and in character are the inscriptions from the
Orkneys and Man. In England, too, there are a few relics
of the Danish conquest, such as the sculptured stone in the
library at St Paul's (c. 1030) and the porfastr comb from
Lincoln in the British Museum 1 .
In Norway and Iceland, however, the Runic alphabet
is never found on monumental stones of the Viking Age,
though it was used commonly enough for other purposes.
The later Norwegian inscriptions date from the period
1050-1350, the Icelandic are not earlier than the thirteenth
century. Generally speaking we may say that the Runic
alphabet, always connected more or less with magical
practices, fell under the suspicion of witchcraft in the
Scandinavian countries and perished in the great outburst
of superstitious terror which followed the establishment of
the reformed religion, though there is some little evidence
to show that in Sweden it lingered on into the nineteenth
century*.
1 The Bridekirk font (Cumberland) bean a twelfth century English inscrip-
tion in the Scandinavian Runic characters of that time with a few additional
letters borrowed from the Anglo-Saxon book-hand.
1 There is not much evidence for the magic use of runes in this country.
Bede (U.K. iv. 22) tells the story of a Northumbrian noble captive to the
Mercians at the battle of the Trent (67'J), whose chains were mysteriously
loosened, whenever his brother, who thought him dead, celebrated masses for
the repose of his soul. His gaoler in ignorance asked him whether he had
6 Introduction to
THE ANGLO-SAXON RUNIC POEM.
The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem is taken from the Cot-
tonian MS. Otho B X, which perished in the fire of 1731.
It had, however, been printed by Hickes in his Linguarum
Veterum Septentrionalium Thesaurus, I. 135 (London, 1705),
from which the present text is derived. It consists of short
stanzas, 29 in all, of two to five lines each, at the beginning
of which stand the Runic characters described, preceded by
their equivalents in ordinary script and followed by their
names. It has been suggested, however, that in Otho B x,
as in the Norwegian poems, the Runic characters alone were
found, the names being added from some other MSS. At
any rate Hempl, Mod. Phil. I. 135 ff., has shown that the
variant runes, etc., were taken from Domitian A IX, and
some such theory is needed to account for the frequent
discrepancy between the stanzas and the names which they
describe. This may be due in part to the lateness of the
MS., which from linguistic criteria can scarcely have been
earlier than the eleventh century, e.g. v. 37, underwrejyyd for
-od (-ed), and vv. 32, 91, &on, &onn for &onne. The poem
must, however, be far earlier, pre-Alfredian at least (with
traces perhaps of an original from which the Scandinavian
poems are likewise derived); for there is not a single oc-
currence of the definite article, &one in v. 70 being demon-
strative. The versification is moreover quite correct. Cf.
Brandl, Grundriss der germanischen Philologie z , n. 964.
THE NORWEGIAN RUNIC POEM.
The Norwegian Runic poem was first printed (in Runic
characters) by Olaus Wormius, Danica Literatura Anti-
quissima, p. 105 (Amsterodamiae, 1636), from a law MS. in
litteras solutorias, de qualibus fabulae ferunt, concealed about bis person.
These litterae solutoriae are doubtless to be compared with Havamal, CL :
pat kannk et fj(rrj>a ef mr fyrpar bera
bond at boglimum
Svd ek gel at ek ganga ma
sprettr af fgtum fjgturr
en af hpndum haft.
the Runic Poems 7
the University Library at Copenhagen, which perished in
the fire of 1728. This version was used by Vigfusson and
Powell in their Icelandic Prose Reader (Oxford, 1879) and
Corpus Poeticum Boreale (Oxford, 1883), where the textual
difficulties are dealt with in a very arbitrary fashion.
The MSS. had, however, been copied later in the seven-
teenth century by Ami Magnusson and J<5n Eggertson,
whose transcripts, far more accurate than Worm's, exist at
Copenhagen and Stockholm. It was on these that Kalund
based his text in the first critical edition, Smastykker
(K0benhavn, 1884-91), pp. 1 ff., 100 ff., in which are in-
corporated valuable suggestions by Sophus Bugge and
B. M. 6lsen. Kalund added the names of the Runic letters,
but printed the texts in their original orthography. In this
edition, however, it has been thought more satisfactory
to adopt the normalised Old Norwegian spelling used in
the German translation of Wimmer's great work, Die Runen-
schrift, pp. 273-80 (Berlin, 1887).
The poem, which has certain affinities to the Anglo-
Saxon, is ascribed to a Norwegian author of the end of the
thirteenth century ; rseiti and rossom alliterate, which would
be impossible with the Icelandic forms rei& and hrossum.
It is composed in six-syllabled couplets, each of which con-
taius two semi-detached statements of a gnomic character;
the first line, which has two alliterating words, is connected
by end-rhyme (except in the case of 15) and enjambement
with the second which has none.
THE ICELANDIC RUNIC POEM.
The Icelandic Runic Poem, which is supposed to date
from the fifteenth century, is somewhat more elaborate than
its Norwegian prototype. It consists of sixteen short stanzas
dealing in succession with the letter names of the Scan-
dinavian Runic alphabet. In each of these stanzas are
contained three kenningar the elaborate periphrases which
bulked so large in the technique of the Icelandic skaldic
poems. The first and second lines are connected by
8 Introduction
alliteration, the third has two alliterating syllables of its
own.
The Icelandic Runic alphabet contained several more
letters at this time ; but only the sixteen current in the
Viking Age are treated here. This is perhaps natural if
the poem is derived from a much earlier original, though it
does not seem that the later dotted U, K, I, T, B, introduced
to represent O, G, E, D, P (with the possible exception
of P, plastr), had names of their own. They were simply
called stunginn Iss, stunginn Tfyr, etc. dotted I, dotted T,
etc.
The poem is taken from four MSS. in the Arnamagnaean
Library at Copenhagen.
1. AM. 687, 4to, parchment of the fifteenth century
and containing the Runic characters, but not the
names.
2. AM. 461, 12mo, parchment of the sixteenth century,
with names only.
3. AM. 749, 4to, paper of the seventeenth century,
with names and letters in alphabetical order,
followed by "dotted runes."
4. AM. 413, folio, pp. 130-5, 140 ff., from parchments
of the sixteenth century copied in J6n Olafsson
of Grunnavik's MS. Runologia (1732-52),
(a) with names and letters in alphabetical order,
(6) with names and letters in Runic order except
that Iggr precedes maftr.
Cf. Kalund, Smastykker, pp. 16 ff. ; Wimmer, Die Runen-
schrifi, pp. 281 ff.
Introduction 9
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE RUNIC POEMS.
The Runic Alphabet.
The extensive literature of the last thirty or forty years
will be found noted in the Jahresbericht filr germanische
Philoloffie (Leipzig, 1879-1914); only the more important
books and articles can be mentioned here.
Liljegren, J. O. Run-Lara. Stockholm. 1832.
Liliencron, R. von and Miillenhoff, K. Zur Runenlehre (Allgem.
Monatsschrift, pp. 169 ff., 310 ff.). Kiel 1852.
Stephens, Q. The Old Northern Runic Monument* of Scandinavia and
England. 4 vols. London and Kj0benkavn. 1866-1901.
- Handbook of the Old Northern Runic Monuments. L. & K.
1884.
The Runes, whence came they? L. & K. 1892.
Taylor, L Greeks and Goths. London. 1879.
Burg, F. Die alteren nordischen Runeninschriften. Berlin. 1885.
Wimmer, L. F. W. Die Runenschrift. Berlin. 1887.
De tytke Runemindesmaerker (Aarb. f. n. 0. 1894. pp. 1 ff.).
Henning, R Die deutschen Runendenhndler. Strassburg. 1889.
Bugge, S. Norges Indskrifter mod de celdre Runer. Christiania.
1891-1903.
Der Runenstein von Rok. Stockholm. 1910.
- Runinskriftens Oprindelse. Christiania. 1905-1913.
Sievere, E. Runen und Runeninschriften (P. G., I. 238 ff.). Strassburg.
1891.
Friesen, O. von. Om Runskriftens Hdrtomst. Uppsala. 1904.
Panes, A. C. Runes and Manuscripts (Camb. Hist. Eng. Lit. L 7 ff.).
Cambridge. 1907.
Neckel, G. Zur EinfUhrung in die Runenforschung (Germanisch-
Romanische Monattschrift, I. pp. 7 ff., 81 ff). Heidelberg, 1909.
Noreen, A. AltisHindische und altnorwegische Grammatii- 3 . Halle.
1903.
Liljegren, J. O. Run-Urtunde. Stockholm. 1833.
Thoreen, P. G. De danste Runemindesmaerker. 3 vols. Ej0benhavn.
1864-1880.
Codex Runicus. Kj0benhavn. 1877.
Wimmer, L. F. W. De danste Runemindesmaerker. 4 vols. Kj0benhavn.
1895-1906.
do. haandudgave ved Lis Jatobsen. K0benbavn. 1914.
Bugge, S. Norges Indskrifter med de yngre Runer. Christiania.
1902, 1906.
10 Bibliography
Of the Swedish inscriptions now in course of publication by the
Kongl. Vitterhets Histone och Antiqvitets Akademi the following have
appeared :
Soderborg, S. and Brate, E. Glands Runinskrifter. Stockholm. 1900-
1906.
Brate, E. Ostergotlands Runinskrifter, L Stockholm. 1911.
Kalund, K. Islands Fortidslcevninger (Aarb. f. n. 0. 1882. pp. 57 ff.).
Olsen, B. M. Runerne i den oldislandske Literatur. K0benhavn.
1883.
J6nsson, F. Runerne i den danske-islandtke Digtning og Litteratur
(Aarb. f. n. 0. 1910. pp. 283 ff.).
Farrer, J. Notice of Runic Inscriptions discovered during recent exca-
vations in the Orkneys. Printed for private circulation. 1862.
Kermode, P. M. C. Manx Crosses. London. 1907.
Sweet, H. The Oldest English Texts. E.E.T.S. London. 1885.
Victor, W. Die northumbrischen Runensteine. Marburg. 1898.
Chadwick, H. M. Early Inscriptions from the North of England
(Yorkshire Dialect Society, Part III). Bradford. 1901.
Napier, A. S. The Franks Casket (Furnivall Misc., pp. 362 ff.).
Oxford. 1901.
THE ANGLO-SAXON RUNIC POEM.
Hickes, G. Linguarum Veterum Septentrionalium Thesaurus, l. 135.
London. 1705.
Grimm, W. K. Uber deutsche Runen, pp. 217 ff. Gottingen.
1821.
Kemble, J. M. Archaeologia, xxvm. 339 ff. London. 1840.
Ettmuller, L. Engla and Seaxna scdpas and bdceras, pp. 268 ff.
Quedlinburg. 1850.
Zacher, J. Das gotische Alphabet Vulflas u. d. Runenalphabet. Leipzig,
1855.
Grein, C. W. M. Bibliothek der angelsiichsischen Poesie, u. 354 ff.
Cassel. 1858.
Germ. x. 428.
Rieger, M. Alt- und angelsdchsisches Lesebuch, pp. 136 ff. Giessen.
1861.
Botkine, L. La Chanson des Runes. Havre. 1879.
Wulker, R. P. Kleinere ags. Dichtungen, pp. 37 ff. Halle. 1882.
Grein-Wiilker. Bibliothek der ags. Poesie, I. 331 ff. Kassel. 1883.
Wulker, R. P. Qrundriss z. Oeschichte d. ags. Litteratur. Leipzig.
1885.
Meyer, R. M. Die altgermanische Poesie, pp. 21 ff. Berlin. 1889.
Brooke, Stopford A. History of Early English Literature, i. 342 ff.
London. 1892.
of the Runic Poenis 11
v. Qrienberger, Th. Die germanischen Runennamen (P.B.B., XXL
185 ff.). Halle. 1896.
Die ags. Runenreihen (Arkiv /. n. F. xv. 1 ff.). Lund. 1899.
Chadwick, H. M. Aneeiger f. indogermanische Sprach- und Alter-
tunukunde, IX. 60-63. Strassburg. 1898.
Kluge, F. Angdtiichxisckct Lesebuch^ pp. 152 ff. Halle. 1902.
Hempl, G. ffickes' addition* to the Runic Poem. (Mod. Phil., L 135 ff.)
Chicago. 1903.
Meyer, R. M. Die altgermanitche Runengedichte (P.B.B. xxxil. 67 ff.).
Halle. 1907.
Brandl, A. Oetchichte d. ae. Literatur (Paul's Grundrus d. germanitchen
PhUologie (ed. 2), n. 964 ff). Strassburg. 1908.
THE SCANDINAVIAN RUNIC POEMS.
0. Wormius. Danica Literatura Antiquunma, pp. 105 ff. Amstero-
damiae. 1636.
W. K. Grimm. Uber deutsche Runen, pp. 246 ff. Gdttingen. 1821.
P. A. Munch. Kortfattet Fremttilling af den nordiske Runentkrift,
pp. 7 ff. Christiania. 1848.
G. Vigfdssou and F. Y. Powell. Icelandic Prose Reader, pp. 440 ff.
Oxford, 1879.
Corpus Poeticum Boreale, n. 369 ff. Oxford. 1883.
Kr. KAlund. Smattykker, pp. I ff, 100 ff. K0benhavn. 1884-91.
L. F. A, Wimmer. Die Runenschrift, pp. 273 ff. Berlin. 1887.
F. Holthausen. Altisl&ndischet Lesebuch, p. 93. Weimar. 1896.
THE ANGLO-SAXON BUNIC POEM
i Feoh by)> frofur fira gehwylcum ;
sceal Seah manna gehwylc miclun hyt daelan
gif he wile for drihtne domes hleotan.
4 Ur by]? anmod ond oferhyrned,
felafrecne deor, feohtej? mid hornum
msere morstapa; pset is modig wuht.
7 Dorn by)? Searle scearp; tJegna gehwylcum
anfeng ys yfyl, ungeinetum re]?e
manna gehwylcum, 8e him mid resteS.
10 Os by)? ordfruma selcre spraece,
wisdomes wrajm ond witena frofur
and eorla gehwam eadnys ond tohiht.
1. Feoh. Cf. AS. fech, Gothic fe from Salzburg Codex 140, a late
copy of a Northumbrian text which there is some evidence for connecting
with Alcuin. Cf. Chadwick, Studies in Old English (Camb. Phil. Soc. 1899,
p. 117). Cf. Wimmer, die Runenschrift, p. 85.
4. Ur (Salz. AS. ur, Goth. uraz). Cf. ON. urr, OHG. uroJiso; bos
taurus primigenius, the aurochs or buffalo, the gigantic wild ox described
by Caesar, B.G. vi. 28, as inhabiting the Hercynian forest :
Tertium est genus eorum qui uri appellantur. Hi sunt magnitudine
paulo infra elephantos, specie et colore et figura tauri. Magna vis eorum est
et magna velocitas, neque homini neque ferae quam conspexerunt parcunt....
Amplitude cornuum etfigura et species multum a nostrorum bourn differt.
It is to be distinguished from the bison (e.g. Seneca, Phaedra, v. 68;
Tibi dant variae pectora tigres,
Tibi villosi terga bisontes,
Latibus feri cornibus uri,
and Pliny, Nat. Hist. vm. 15) with which it was confused in medieval
Germany, cf. Albertus Magnus, De Animalibus, xxn. 2.
"Its remains occur abundantly in the later Plistocene deposits of
Britain, those from the brick-earths of Ilford, in Essex, being remarkable
for their fine state of preservation and showing the enormous dimensions
attained by this magnificent animal " (Lydekker, Wild Oxen, p. 11, London,
1898). In Western Europe, however, it was still found in the Middle Ages ;
in the sixth century it was hunted in the Vosges (Gregory of Tours, x. 10,
Venantius Fortunatus, Misc. vn. 4. 19 ; cf. Nibelungenlied, str. 880), and
doubtless in other thickly wooded regions, but was extinct by the end of the
period. In Poland alone it persisted somewhat longer in the forest of
Jakozowska (described and illustrated by von Herberstein, Rerum Mosco-
vitarum Commentarii, Antwerp, 1557), where the last was killed in 1627.
Cf. Lydekker, The Ox and its Kindred, pp. 37-67, pi. ir. m. (London,
1912).
The horns of the aurochs, occasionally 6J feet in length with a capacity
of well nigh a gallon, were much prized as drinking vessels in medieval
Europe, cf. Egilssaga, c. XLIV. 3, Saxo, Bk vi. (Holder, p. 168) ; and the
poet, who is scarcely likely to have seen an aurochs in the flesh, may have
used one brought to England from the continent.
THE ANGLO-SAXON RUNIC POEM
F. (wealth) is a comfort to all men; yet must every man
bestow it freely, if he wish to gain honour in the
sight of the Lord.
U. (the aurochs) is proud and has great horns ; it is a very
savage beast and fights with its horns; a great ranger
of the moors, it is a creature of mettle,
p. (the thorn) is exceedingly sharp, an evil thing for any
knight to touch, uncommonly severe on all who sit
among them.
O. ( ? ) is the source of all language, a pillar of wisdom
and a comfort to wise men, a blessing and a joy to
every knight.
Hence oferhyrnfd, "with great horns," ofer being intensive as in
TV. 29, 71, oferceald, oferleof.
7. Jxnm, so in all AS. Runic alphabets and in most of the OHQ.
derivatives (cf. v. Grienberger, Ark.f. n. F. xv. p. Iff.). / was adopted into
the AS. book-hand and persisted throughout the ME. period, the last trace
of it surviving in the archaistic ye (lot the).
The Scandinavian alphabets, however, have J>un (of. AS. fiyrt, a giant),
and the Salzburg Codex Gothic thyth, which have no connection with each
other or with AS. f>orn.
1O. Ot (Salzb. AS. o)<*anuz, a god (cf. Jordanes, c. xm., Gothi...pro-
cfret tuot, quorum quati fortuna vincebant, non purot hominet, ted Antit, id
eft itmideot, vocavenmt, and the ON. a'**), the name of A in the original
alphabet. Cf. A(n)*uT$i*alat of the Kragehul lance-shaft. But original a
seldom remained in AS., and the character became the English Runic letter
for (esc). Accordingly a lixature of A and N was invented to express
the o, which arose from -an- followed by J? or *. Later, when the name of
the original letter had become afel, ot was used for o in all cases, whatever
might have been their origin.
Ot is a common element in AS. personal names, e.g. Oswald, Oswine,
etc. ; cf. A(n)nnsisalat above, and its Gen. pi. eta used in the charm wiS
fmrttiee (G.-W. i. 318)
gif hit ware eta geteot ofSe hit ware ylfa getcot
o6Se hit ware hagtettan getcot, nu ic viUan /in helpan.
Its precise meaning here is perhaps open to question, though the collocation
mtir ok alfar is common in ON. mythological poetry.
In the Icelandic poem 6u t which likewise represents original * antuz, =
Othin, and it is just possible that this stanza refers to some such episode as
that described in Gylfaginning, c. nc. ; J>d er j>eir gengu meS imvantrondu
Borttynir (Otfinn, Vili and Ve), fundti Jir trt tvau ok t'>kn vpp trfin ok
tkymt4fu afmenn; gaf inn fyrtti ond ok Iff, annarr vit ok hreering. III dtj6nu,
mdl ok heyru ok tjdn. But it is not very likely that the origin of human
speech would be attributed to a heathen divinity, and on the whole it U
preferable to assume that the subject of the stanza is the Latin ot, month,
which would be equally appropriate.
14 The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem
13 Rad by |? on recycle rinca gehwylcum
sefte ond s\vij>hwaet, SamSe sitte)? on ufan
meare msegenheardum ofer milpa)?as.
16 Cen by)? cwicera gehwam, cu)? on fyre
blac ond beorhtlic, byrne)? oftust
Sser hi se)?elingas inne resta)?.
19 Gyfu gumena by)? gleng and herenys,
wra)?u and wyr)?scype and wraecna gehwam
ar and aetwist, Se by)? o)?ra leas.
22 Wenne bruce)?, Se can weana lyt
sares and sorge and him sylfa haefj?
blaed and blysse and eac byrga geniht.
25 HseglbyJ? hwitust corna; hwyrft hit of heofones lyfte,
wealca)? hit windes scura ; weor)?ej? hit to waetere
sySSan.
27 Nyd by)? nearu on breostan; weor)?ej? hi )?eah oft
ni)?a bearnum
to helpe and to hsele gehwae)?re, gif hi his
hlysta)? seror.
29 Is by)? oferceald, ungemetum slidor,
glisna)? glaeshluttur gimmum gelicust,
flor forste geworu/it, fseger ansyne.
22. Hickes, wen ne. 31. geworulit.
13. Bad (Salz. AS. rada, Goth, reda), as in other alphabets. It is
most satisfactory on the whole to take rad as " riding," cf. rseiif, reiff of the
Norwegian and Icelandic poems.
"Biding seems an easy thing to every warrior while he is indoors, and
a very courageous thing to him who traverses the high-roads on the back of
a stout horse," though it is doubtful whether byf> can mean "seems," and
neither hw&t nor any of its compounds are used of things.
Professor Chadwick has, however, suggested to me that the proper name
of this letter is rada of the Salzburg Codex, corresponding to the ON. reiffi,
"tackle (of a ship)," " harness," hence "equipment" generally. Here it
would be used in a double sense, in the first half as "furniture" (cf. ON.
reiffustol, "easy-chair," AS. rsadesceamu), in the second as "harness."
16. Cen (Salzburg AS. cen, Goth, c/tozma?) found only as the name of
the Hume letter C. Cf. OHG. kien, ken', pinus, fax, taeda, "resinous pine-
wood," hence "torch." Like the ON. K (kaun), it is descended from the
K (<) of the earliest inscriptions. From the sixth century, at least, English
and Scandinavian developed on independent lines, the point of divergence
being marked by the lance-shaft from Kragehul (Fyn) and the snake from
Lindholm (Skane), which has the same intermediate form of K (^) as
the earliest of English inscriptions, the SKANOMODU coin and the
scabbard-mount from Chessell Down. But in AS. c and g became palatal
before front vowels, and the original letters were used for this sound, new
The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem 15
R. ( ? ) seems easy to every warrior while he is indoors
and very courageous to him who traverses the high-
roads on the back of a stout horse.
C. (the torch) is known to every living man by its pale,
bright flame; it always burns where princes sit
within.
G. (generosity) brings credit and honour, which support
one's dignity ; it furnishes help and subsistence to all
broken men who are devoid of aught else.
W. (bliss) he enjoys who knows not suffering, sorrow nor
anxiety, and has prosperity and happiness and a good
enough house.
H. (hail) is the whitest of grain ; it is whirled from the
vault of heaven and is tossed about by gusts of wind
and then it melts into water.
N. (trouble) is oppressive to the heart ; yet often it proves
a source of help and salvation to the children of men,
to everyone who heeds it betimes.
L- (ice) is very cold and immeasurably slippery; it glistens
as clear as glass and most like to gems ; it is a floor
wrought by the frost, fair to look upon.
characters, cole and gar, being invented to express the gutteral sounds.
These later characters do not occur on the Thames scramasax or in any of
the few inscriptions from the South of England, so it may be inferred that
they were peculiar to Northnmbria.
cole does not actually occur in Hickes, but is taken from Domit. A. ix.
and Galba A. n
19. Gyfu (Salzburg AS. geofu, Goth, geuua), gumena, abstract, "gene-
rosity."
22. Hickes, Wen ne brucef, Se can weana lyt. Wenne, dat. sg. of wen, not
wen (ef. Dona. A. ix.) f a Kentish form of the wyn of the Salzburg Codex,
Galba A. n. etc. (Sievers, Anglia, xiu. 4). As the name of the Runic W,
wyn suits admirably in the passage* of Cynewulf, e.g. Crist, v. 805, Elene,
v. 1263, and is found elsewhere in AS. MSB., e.g. Elene, v. 1089, on
vuldret W\ Kiddle XCL 7, modW ; Ps. Cos. xcix. 1, Wsumia}>= jubilate.
From the Runic alphabet wyn, like Jx>rn, was adopted into A3. script.
26. llatgl (Salz. AS. haegil, Goth. haul). Cf. Hay all in the Norwegian
and Icelandic poems. The first two Runic characters in Hickes are taken
from Domit. A. ix., the third alone belongs to the poem ; cf. Hempl. Mod.
I'hiL i. 13.
20. wealeaj> hit windet icura ; if tcur can be fern, as Goth, tkura (windis),
ON. ik&r, tcura, N. pi., may be retained ; otherwise it must be emended to
euro*.
27. Nyd (Salzb. AS. natd, Goth, noict ?). Cf. Scandinavian poems
and Elene, T. 1260 : N gefera nearutorge dreah enge rune.
16 The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem
32 Ger by]? guraena hiht, Sonne God laete}>,
halig heofones cyning, hrusan syllan
beorhte bleda beornum ond Searfum.
35 Eoh by]? utan un8me]?e treow,
heard hrusan faest, hyrde fyres,
wyrtrumun underwre]?yd, wyn on e]?le.
38 PeorS by}? symble plega and hlehter
wlancum [on middum], 5ar wigan sitta]?
on beorsele bli]?e aetsomne.
41 Eolh-sec^r eard hsef]? oftust on fenne
wexeS on wature, wunda]? grimme,
blode breneS beorna gehwylcne
Se him senigne onfeng gede]?.
45 Sigel semannum symble bi}? on hihte,
Sonne hi hine feria}? ofer fisces be]?,
o]? hi brimhengest bringe]? to lande.
32. H. Son. 37. H. wynan on eple. 39. on middum supplied
by Grein. 41. H. eolhx seccard.
33. Ger (Salz. OE. gaer, Goth, gaar) = summer.
Gear originally meant the warm part of the year (cf. Eussian flpl>,
"spring-corn"), parallel to winter ; this meaning is occasionally found in
AS., e.g. Beowulf, v. 1134. Then both gear and winter were used for
the whole year, though at a later time winter was restricted to its original
significance.
In Scandinavian dr came to denote the "products of the summer," hence
"plenty, abundance," e.g. til drs okfri&ar, " for peace and plenty."
In the older alphabet the letter stood for J ; but the initial j, falling
together with palatal g in AS., is almost invariably represented by the gyfu
letter in inscriptions. Cf., however, v. 87, iar.
35. Eoh : except in Runic alphabets this word is written iw, se hear da
iw of Riddle LVI. 9; but cf. OHG. iha beside iwa. The original form may
have been *ihwiz. Hickes gives the value as eo, doubtless taken from
Domit. A. ix. The value of the letter in the original alphabet is quite
unknown ; but the Salzburg Codex has ih with the values i and /;, and this
agrees with the only intelligible inscriptions in England in which the letter
occurs, viz. Dover: Gixlheard (value i) ; Ruthwell : Almehttig (value h);
Thornhill II : Eateinne for Eadfiegne (value i).
Eoh survived as yogh, yok, etc., the name of the 3 letter in Middle
English. Cf. A. C. Panes, M. L. R. vi. 441 ff.
38. Peorff (Salzb. AS. peord, Goth, pertra). P was a rare sound in
the parent language. It is absent from the earliest Northern Inscriptions,
and in the alphabet from the Yadstena bracteate is represented by B. The
brooch from Charnay, Burgundy, has in this place a letter much resembling
the modern W, and in England it is found only in MS. lists of runic
characters and on coins (e.g. Pada, Epa), never in inscriptions.
PeorS is never found save as the name of the letter P, and no stress can
be laid on any of the suggested meanings. Leo, At. Glossar. Halle, 1877,
The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem 17
J. (summer) is a joy to men, when Qod, the holy King of
Heaven, suffers the earth to bring forth shining fruits
for rich and poor alike.
/. (the yew) is a tree with rough bark, hard and fast in
the earth, supported by its roots, a guardian of flame
and a joy upon an estate.
P. (the chessman ?) is a source of recreation and amuse-
ment to the great, where warriors sit blithely together
in the banqueting-hall.
Z. (the ? -sedge) is mostly to be found in a marsh; it
grows in the water and makes a ghastly wound,
covering with blood every warrior who touches it.
S. (the sun) is ever a joy to seafarers (or, in the hopes
of seafarers) when they journey away over the fishes'
bath, until the courser of the deep bears them to land.
compares Slav. pizda= vulva, W. Grimm the Icelandic ptf, "a pawn in
chess." This latter suggestion is not regarded with much favour bj
H. J. B. Murray in his History of Chen, p. 420 (Oxford, 1913).
41. Hickes, Eolhx teccard hufp of tut t onfenne.
Grimm emends to eolugtecg eard, Greiu to eolx tecg card and Bieger to
eolh it eg eard, " the elk-sedge (sumpfgras als lager oder nahrung des elches)
always grows in a marsh."
This letter, originally t (which disappeared finally, and became r else-
where in AS.), is a fossil found only in Bunic alphabets. An earlier form of
the name is seen in Epinal-tirfurt, 781, papilmu : ilugsegg, ilugieg (cf. the
ilcM of the Salzburg Codex), which cannot be connected with the word for
elk, and Wright- Wiiiker, Foe. 286. 36, eolxtecg: papiluus, where papiluut
probably =papyriu.
Cf. Epinal-Erfurt, 795, paperum, papirum : earitc.
Corpus, 1503, papirum : eoritc (bulrush).
The subject of this stanza is therefore some ruah, species unknown.
In this connection it is interesting to note that both tecg and the Lat.
gladioltu, which it glosses in E.E. 463, and Corpus, 977, are derived from
words for sword ; cf. Skeat, Etymological Dictionary, p. 546 (Oxford, 1910).
48. Hickes, blode breitef.
The natural way would be to take it as " browns (stains) with blood "
from brun; cf. Dante, Inferno xiu. 34, Da che fatto fu poi di tongue
bruno; but no such verb occurs in AS. or ON. Brenef (from beornan),
"burns with blood," makes no sense. A better interpretation is suggested
by a passage in Wnlfstan, 183. 17 Drihtnet rod bif blode beurnen, "the
cross of the Lord is covered with blood." Possibly we should emend to
beernef (though this verb does not actually occur) rather than to beyrnelf.
46. Sifri (Salxb. AS. tygil, Qoih. tugil) evidently "sun." Cf. Norwegian
and Icelandic 6l. Moreover in the Exeter book it is found at the beginning
and the end of Riddle vn., to which the answer ia " the sun." Cf. Tapper,
Riddlet of the Exeter Book, p. 81, and Wyatt, Old Englith Riddle*
(frontispiece 2, 8).
46. hine, for heonan, hence, away ; cf. Bede's Death Song, v. 1 Mr hit
For the intrans. use of /man, cf. Maldon, v. 179, etc.
D. B. P.
18 The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem
48 Tir bij> tacna sum, healdeS trywa wel
wi]> sej^eliogas; a bib on fserylde
ofer nihta genipu, nasfre swiceb.
51 Beorc byj> bleda leas, bere]? efne swa Seah
tanas butan tudder, bij> on telgum wlitig,
A-eah on helme hrysted faegere,
geloden leafum, lyfte getenge.
55 Eh byj? for eorlum aebelinga wyn,
hors hofum wlanc, 5aer him hsele]> ymb[e]
welege on wicgum wrixla]? spraece
and bij> unstyllum aefre frofur.
59 Man byb on myrgbe his magan leof:
sceal J>eah anra gehwylc ofrrum swican,
forSam drihten wyle dome sine
}>&t earme flsesc eorj?an betaecan.
63 Lagu byb leodum langsum gejmht,
gif hi sculun nebera on nacan tealtum
and hi sseyba swybe bregaj?
and se brimhengest bridles ne gym[eS].
53. H. peak. 56. H. ymb. 59. H. deg inserted above man.
60. H. odrum. 64. H. nejnm. 66. H. gym.
48. Tir (Salzb. AS. TL Goth. Tyz).
There can be no doubt that the original name of this letter was Ti (Tiw)
from *Tiwaz, cf. ON. Tyr, pi. tivar. This word appears in glosses, e.g.
Epinal-Erfort, 663, Corpus, 1293, Mars, Martis : Tiig, and most of the
Teutonic peoples use it as a translation of Martis, in the third day of the
week. It is natural therefore to suppose that Tir is a misreading for Tiw.
If tacna SWOT = star, one would expect it to be the planet Mars <? ; but the
description of the poem is appropriate rather to " a circumpolar constella-
tion" (Botkine). Possibly the poet had in his mind a word different from
the original name of the letter.
Cf. ON. tyri (?) : lumen (Egilsson, Lexicon Poet. s.v.). E.g. LeiSarvisan,
v. 14, harri heims tfyriss; "King of the light of the world."
61. Beorc (Salz. AS. berc, Goth, bercna; cf. ON. bjarkan). The
customary meaning "birch" is here unsuitable; but according to the
glossaries it can mean "poplar" too,
e.g. Epinal-Erfurt, 792, populus : birciae.
Corpus, 1609, populus : birce.
Wright, Voc. i. 33. 2, 80.13, byre : populus.
Anecdota Oxon., 56, 364, 365, byric: populus, betula.
byp bleda leas. Doubless popular science. Cf. Evelyn, Silva (London,
1908), i. 128 : " I begin the second class with the poplar, of which there are
several kinds ; white, black, etc., which in Candy 'tis reported bears seeds."
It is a fact, however, that poplars are almost always grown from slips or
suckers. For instance, Mr H. J. Elwes declares that he has never found in
England a poplar grown from seed either naturally or by nurserymen, that
The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem 19
T. ( ? ) is a (guiding) star; well does it keep faith
with princes ; it is ever on its course over the mists
of night and never fails.
B. (the poplar) bears no fruit ; yet without seed it brings
forth suckers, for it is generated from its leaves.
Splendid are its branches and gloriously adorned its
lofty crown which reaches to the skies.
. (the horse) is a joy to princes in the presence of
warriors, a steed in the pride of its hoofs, when
rich men on horseback bandy words about it ; and
it is ever a source of comfort to the restless.
M. the joyous (man) is dear to his kinsmen ; yet every
man is doomed to fail his fellow, since the Lord
by his decree will commit the vile carrion to the
earth.
L. (the ocean) seems interminable to men, if they venture
on the rolling bark and the waves of the sea terrify
them and the courser of the deep heed not its
bridle.
moreover nogood description or illustration of the germination of poplars seems
to have been published in England before that of Miss F. Woolward in 1907 ;
of. Elwes and Henry, The Tree* of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. vn.
pp. 1770 ff. (Edinburgh, 1913).
The grey poplar (populut canetcent), indigenous to England and Western
Europe, is a large tree attaining 100 ft or more in height (lyfte getenge) and
15 ft in girth.
66. Eh, as the Salzburg Codex. Of. Gothic aihwatundi, Lat. equut,
Greek ftnrot ; value E in the original alphabet and in AS.
In Scandinavian, however, the word became jor and the letter dis-
appeared, E being represented by I. Later still a dotted I was introduced
to differentiate between E and I.
66. Hickes ymb, emended to ymbe,metri gratia (Sievers, P. B.B., x. 519).
69. Man (Salzburg AS. mon, Goth, manna). Gf. p. 32, 1. 1 (Icelandic
poem), MaSr er maun* gaman ok moldar auki.
Above the correct value m Hickes engraves d. deg., doubtless taken from
Domit. A. ix. Of. v. 74, Dug.
The Runic character for M is used fairly often in the Lindisfarne Gospels
and the Bitnale of Durham, once too in the preface to the Rusliworth
Gospela, FarM for Farman (e.g. Surteei Society, Stevenson, Rituale
Eceleriae Duntlmentit, 1840 ; Stevenson and Waring, The Linditfarne and
Riuhworth Ootpelt, 4 vols., 1854-1865). It is found moreover in the Exeter
Book, e.g. Bain, v. 24, Mdreama, for mandreama.
68. Lagu, sea, cf. OS. lagu- in compounds, ON. lygr. (Salzburg Codex
hS.lagu, Goth, laaz.)
The name meaning is found in the Bunio passages of Cynewulf, Crist,
T. 807, Elene, v. 1268, Fates of the Apostles, n. v. 7.
66. ne gym[ef]. Hickes, negym, the last two letters being doubtless
illegible in the MS.
22
20 The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem
67 Ing waes serest mid East-Denum
gesewen secgun, o)> he si55an est
ofer waeg gewat ; waen sefter ran ;
tSus Heardingas tSone hsele nemdun.
71 E)?el by)> oferleof seghwylcum men,
gif he mot Baer rihtes and gerysena on
brucan on bo^e bleadum oftast.
74 Daeg by)> drihtnes sond, deore mannum,
msere metodes leoht, myrg)? and tohiht
eadgum and earmura, eallum brice.
77 Ac by]? on eorj?an elda bearnum
flaesces fodor, fere)? gelome
ofer ganotes bae)>; garsecg fandaj?
hwaeber ac hsebbe sej>ele treowe.
73. H. blade. 74. H. mann inserted above dag.
67. Ing (Salzb. AS. Ing, Goth. Enguz), the letter for ng in the original
alphabet ; occasionally it is used for ing, e.g. Bir^ngu on the stone from
Opedal, Norway ; Ing is doubtless the epouym of the Ingwine, a name
applied to the Danes in Beowulf, vv. 1044, 1319, where Hrothgar is styled
eodor Ingwina, frean Ingwina.
The earliest reference to Ing is to be found in the Ingaevones of Tacitus,
c. ii., and Pliny, whom Professor Chadwick (Origin of the English Nation,
pp. 207 ff.) has shown there is some reason for identifying with the con-
federation of Baltic tribes who worshipped Nerthus, id est Terra Mater,
on an island in the ocean, perhaps the Danish isle of Sjaellnnd. But in
later times the name is almost exclusively confined to Sweden ; e.g.
Arngrim J6nsson's epitome of the Skioldunga saga (Olrik, Aarb.f.n.O.,
1894, p. 105) : tradunt Odinum...Daniam...Scioldo, Sveciam Irtgoni filiis
assignasse. Atque inde a Scioldo, quos hodie Danos, olim Skiolldunga fuisse
appellatos ; ut et Svecos ab Ingoni Inglin<ja. In Icelandic literature, e.g. the
Ynglinga saga, the name Ynglingar is applied to the Swedish royal family,
and the god Frey, their favourite divinity and reputed ancestor, is himself
styled Yngvi-Freyr and Ingunar freyr (the lord of the prosperity of the
Ingwine or the husband of Ingun). It is significant, moreover, that the
name of his father Njo.r'Sr is phonetically equivalent to Nerthus, and his own
cult as a god of peace and prosperity is evidently descended from that of the
selfsame goddess (cf. Chadwick, O.E.N. p. 230 ff.).
69. wSn sefter ran, doubtless to be connected with the following passages,
Tacitus, Germania, c. XL : They have a common worship of Rerthus, that is
Mother Earth, and believe that she intervenes in human affairs and visits the
nations in her car, etc., and the story of Gunnarr Helmingr in the Flatey-
jarb6k Saga of Olaf Tryg^vason, which relates that there was in Sweden an
image of the god Freyr, which in winter time was carried about the country
in a car, gera monniim drbdt, to bring about an abundant season for men ;
cf. Vigfusson and linger, Flateyjarb6k, i. 338, translated in Sephton's Saga
of K. Olaf Tryggvason, p. 258 ff .
70. Heardingas, not elsewhere in AS., perhaps a generic term for
"warriors" as in Elene, vv. 25, 130. It corresponds however to the ON.
Haddingjar and the Asdingi, a section of the Vandals (from haddr, " a
The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem 21
NO. (Ing) was first seen by men among the Blast-Danes, till,
followed by his car, he departed eastwards over the
waves. So the Heardingas named the hero.
CE. (an estate) is very dear to every man, if he can enjoy
there in his house whatever is right and proper in
constant prosperity.
D. (day), the glorious light of the Creator, is sent by the
Lord ; it is beloved of men, a source of hope and
happiness to rich and poor, and of service to
all.
A. (the oak) fattens the flesh (of swine) for the children
of men. Often it traverses the gannet's bath, and
the ocean proves whether the oak keeps faith in
honourable fashion.
coiffure " ; of. Tacitus' account of the Suevi, Germ. c. xxxvin.). The term
ikati Haddingja, " prince of the H.," is used in Kalfavisa (Skaldskaparmal,
c. Lvin.), and is applied to Helgi, the reincarnation of Helgi Huudingsbani,
in the prose which follows Helgakviba Huudin^sbana n.
In two of the Fornaldar Sogur, Hr6mundarsaga Greipssonar, c. vi., and
Orvar-Oddssaga, o. xiv., Haddingi is a personal name; and in Saxo, Bk i.
(Holder, p. 19 ff.J, mention is made of a Hadingus, King of the Danes,
whose visit to the nether world is probably alluded to in the phrase from
Gu|>rtinarkvi|>a bin forna, c. xxiu., lands Haddingja dx tiskorit. It is
worthy of note, moreover, that the verses (Gylf, c. xxin.) in which NJ9rSr
and Skai bewail their incompatibility of temperament are by Saxo (Holder,
p. 33) attributed to Hadingus and his wife. On the whole it seems most
satisfactory to regard Htardingat as the name of a people or a dynasty,
conceivably the North Suevi ; for Saxo, at any rate, derives fictitious
personages from national or dynastic names, of. Hothbroddug, Bk H.
(Holder, p. 52), and the Heaffobeardan of Beowulf, vv. 2032 ff.
71. Ejxl (Salzburg AS. oedil, Goth, utal), originally perhaps *r>Jrila,
the name of the letter in the original alphabet. Cf. Golden Horn of
Gallehus (Jutland), HORNA TAWIDO; English coin from British Museum,
8KANOMODU. In AS. it became cej>el (WS. ef>el) and the letter changed
its value to <z, e.g. Ruthwell Cross, LIMW(EKIGNJB. This letter is
occasionally found in AS. MSB. as a grammalogue for ej>el, e.g. Waldhere,
T. 81, Beowulf, v. 520, 913, 1702.
74. Day (Salz. AS. daeg, Goth. daaz). Hickes, following the ignorant
scribe of Dom. A. ix. , inserts m, iminn, above the correct value d.
The Runic letter D is regularly found as a grammalogue for dag in the
Rituale of Durham, occasionally too in the Lindisfarne Gospels.
77. Ac (<. * aik-), doubtless a ligature of A and I, the first of the
characters introduced to express the sound-changes which differentiated AS.
from the language of the earliest Northern inscriptions.
elda bearnum Jlmteei fodor, acorns, as the food of swine, since pork was
the flesh most commonly eaten in AS. times. For an illustration of swine
feeding in an oak-forest, of. AS. calendar for September, Cott. Tib. B. v.,
Jul. A. vi.
For the second part of the stanza, cf. Egill Skallagrimsson's HSfuflautn,
str. i., "Drrfft eik d flat vif uabrot " (Egilssaga, o. ix.).
22 The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem
8 1 JE&c bib oferheah, eldum dyre
stij? on stajmle, stede rihte hylt,
Ceah him feohtan on firas monige.
84 Yr byj? ae|;elinga and eorla gehwaes
wyn and wyrjjmynd, byj? on wicge faeger,
faestlic on faerelde, fyrdgeatewa sum.
87 lar byj> eafi# and 5eah a bruceb
fodres on foldan, hafaj? faegerne card
waetre beworpen, 5ser he wynnum leofa)?.
90 Ear by)? egle eorla gehwylcun,
5onn[e] faestlice flaesc onginne)?,
hraw colian, hrusan ceosan
blac to gebeddan ; bleda gedreosa)?,
wynna gewita]?, wera geswicaj?.
86. H. fyrdgeacewa. 87. H. eqfixa. 88. H. onfaldan.
91. fonn. At the end of Hickes' transcript there stand four runes to
which no verses are attached, cw, cweorS '; c [coZc]; st, stan; g, gar. Two
of these Runic letters, calc and gar, are found on the Buthwell Gross in the
value of guttural c and g.
81. JSsc, identical in form with A (*amuz), the fourth letter of the
older alphabet, since in the majority of cases original a became & in AS.
84. Yr (Salzb. yr). The Kunic passages in Cynewulf give no assistance
and the meaning is much disputed. The new edition of Grein's Sprach-
schatz translates "horn," I know not upon what evidence unless it be the
parallel phraseology of Biddle xv. Others have identified it with the ON.
fir, "bow," cf. p. 32 ; but this corresponds to AS. eoh, p. 16. Is it possible
to connect AS. yr with the word sexe-yre in the Chronicle 1012 E, translated
by Plummer "axe-head," "axe-iron"? We might compare Yr er . . .brotgjarnt
jam in the Icelandic poem, p. 32.
87. Hickes, lar (io) biff eafixa, and ffeah abrucep. Following Dom. A.
ix. and Galba A. n., W. Grimm emends to lor.
As it stands eafixa is a Gen. pi. with nothing on which to depend, and
the addition of sum (Grein) would render the verse unmetrical. The final a
of eafixa should therefore be deleted (Bieger).
abrucef) Grimm, a brucej>, "always enjoys."
This letter is not in the Salzburg Codex.
No such word as iar, ior exists ; but the description here given is plainly
that of some amphibious creature, usually taken as the eel (Grimm), though
it might equally well be a lizard or newt (afexe, efe.te).
It is worth remarking that the letter is used in a number of Scandinavian
inscriptions from the seventh century onwards, e.g. Bjorketorp, Stentofte,
Gommor (Blekinge) and Vatn (Norway), seventh cent. ; Kallerup, Snoldelev,
Flemlose (Denmark) and Orja (Skaane), early ninth cent., as a form of
the letter dr (a). The original value of this was j ; moreover it occurs in
two English inscriptions : Dover, GISLHEABD ; Thornhill HI, GILSUITH,
with the value of palatal g, since palatal g and original j had fallen together
at an early date in AS.
The Anglo-Saxon Runic Poem 23
M. (the ash) is exceedingly high and precious to men.
With its sturdy trunk it offers a stubborn resistance,
though attacked by many a man.
Y. ( ? ) is a source of joy and honour to every prince
and knight ; it looks well on a horse and is a reliable
equipment for a journey.
IO. ( ? ) is a river fish and yet it always feeds on land ;
it has a fair abode encompassed by water, where it
lives in happiness.
EA. (the grave ?) is horrible to every knight, when the corpse
quickly begins to cool and is laid in the bosom of the
dark earth. Prosperity declines, happiness passes
away and covenants are broken.
There appears to be no reason for doubting that this is a survival of the
twelfth letter (j) of the older alphabet. Is it possible then that tar (tor) is
a corrupt form of the name gear ? Of. v. 32 (Chadwick). In that case we
mast of coarse assume that the poet had some other name in his mind,
e.g. eel, newt.
O. Ear (Salzb. tor, value eo) ; this word is only found in Runic
alphabets. Orein compares ON. aurr, a poetical word which seems to
mean loam or clay (of. V^luspa xix. 2, Alvissmal xn. 4, Bigs^ola z. 3,
Qrottasongr zvi. 3), hence "ground" in the sense of "grave."
The letter is fairly common in inscriptions, e.g. Dover, GISLH.E JRD,
Thames cramasax, B.C.4QNOTH, and often in Northumbria. In Northum-
brian inscriptions it is used for eo as well as for ea, doubtless owing to the
fact that these diphthongs were confused in Northumbria.
THE NORWEGIAN RUNIC POEM
1 F6 vaeldr fraenda r<5ge ;
fytSesk ulfr i sk6ge.
2 Ur er af illu jarne ;
opt l^ypr raeinn a hjarne.
3 purs vaeldr kvinna kvillu ;
katr vaerSr far af illu.
4 Oss er flaestra faerfta
fgr; en skalpr er svaerSa.
5 RaeiS kveSa rossom vaesta;
Reginn s!6 svaerSet baezta.
6 Kaun er barna bglvan ;
bgl ggrver nan fglvan.
7 Hagall er kaldastr korna;
Kristr skdp haeimenn forna.
1. Ft. The Eunic characters for F and M are used in Icelandic MSB.
for/e and maffr; cf. J6nsson, Oldnorske Litteraturs Historic 11. 254. frsenda
roge, a kenning for gold ; cf. rogi Niflunga, Bjarkamal, v. 19, etc.
fjffesk ulfr i skoge. Cf. Cott. Gnomic Verses, v. 11 : wulf sceal on
bear owe.
3. tJr. Cf. J6n Olafsson, Runologia (Add. 8 fol. p. 141) : Sunnlendingar
kalla smidiu uur, f>at Nordlingar smidiu giall, " people in the S. of Iceland
call wr what the Northerners call slag, the refuse from a smith's furnace."
This is supported by a passage in the J>4ttr af Gull-Asu-^orSi, c. vi. (ed.
Jonsson, XL. Islendinga J>settir, p. 83, Reykjavik, 1904), Urt jam, kvaff
kerlingr, ok atti kneif deigan. [Smastykker, p. 100, cf. pp. 106, 112.]
3. fours. As against the AS. J>orn (found twice in the grammatical
treatises attached to the Prose Edda, Edda Snorra Sturlusonar n. 38, 365),
all Scandinavian Runic alphabets have Jmrs, tbe first element in such
personal names as the Gothic Thorismund and the Gepide Thnrisind ; the
earliest form of this word is the thuris of Hrabanus Maurus' Abecedarium
Nordmannicum, see p. 34.
kvinna kvillu, kvilla= kvilli, sickness, ailment, freq. in mod. usage
(Cleasby-Vigfusson). In their Corpus Poeticum Boreale n. 370, Vigfusson
and Powell translate the phrase "hysterics," perhaps on the strength of
Skirnismal xxxvn. :
purs ristk J>er ok jrria stafi:
ergi ok #}>i ok djyola;
svd af ristk sem J>at d reistk,
ef gflrvask fiarfar f>ess.
4. Oss, orig.<*Ansuz, like the AS. os, perhaps perverted from its
original significance by ecclesiastical influence in Norway as in England.
The text requires some emendation ; Worm's Oys er flestra ferda, En
skalpur er sverda has obviously lost a syllable ; and Magniisson's Oss er
laid fiettra fserda, En skalper er svserda, though translateable, is nnmetrical.
THE NORWEGIAN RUNIC POEM
1 Wealth is a source of discord among kinsmen ;
the wolf lives in the forest
2 Dross comes from bad iron;
the reindeer often races over the frozen snow.
3 Giant causes anguish to women ;
misfortune makes few men cheerful.
4 Estuary is the way of most journeys;
but a scabbard is of swords.
5 Riding is said to be the worst thing for horses;
Region forged the finest sword.
6 Ulcer is fatal to children ;
death makes a corpse pale.
7 Hail is the coldest of grain ;
Christ created the world of old.
Kalund, therefore, substitutes for laid the synonym fir (so AM. 739 4to, a
MS. collection of Edda excerpts, in which Worm's version of the poem is
preserved), and places it at the beginning of the second line. Bugge and
Olsen, however, regarding fpr, a short syllable, as metrically doubtful,
suggest fserill, yet a third synonym. [Smastykker, p. 101.]
6. RxiS. Of. AS. poem, v. 13 ff.
Regitin, son of HrerSniarr, who received the " Otter-price " from the
Aeair, and brother of the serpent Fafnir, who brooded over the gold on
Gnita-heath. He fostered Sigurd, forged for him the sword Oramr and
persuaded him to slay the dragon, but was slain by Sigurd, who suspected
treachery. Of. Beginsmal, Fafuismal, Skaldsk. cc. XXXIX.-XL. and Vglsunga
saga cc. xm.-xix., tvmrSet btezta ; cf. Skaldsk. c. XL. : /a gyrffi Reginn nerff
f>at er Gramr heitir, tr ird var hvatt at SigurSr bra niffr I rennanda vatn, ok
t'>k i tvndr uUarlagf, er rale fyrir ttrtiuminum at tverfseggini. fwi natt
klauf SigurSr ttefja Regin* ofau I ttokkinn med" tverfinu.
9. AM, JE, Kaun er beggja barna
bol gorvir naan folfvan,
which Bnpge would retain, " An ulcer in fatal to children of both sexes ; it
makes a corpse pale." Olsen, comparing kaun er barna bol of the Icelandic
poem, and Landnamabok (Itl. i. 1526) bol gj'drir mik fdlvan, would
emend to
Kaun er barna bqlvan; "An ulcer is fatal to children;
bgl g+rver man fdlvan. death makes a man pale."
[Smattykker, p. 101.] But while accepting the emendation of the first line,
I do not think it necessary to alter the MB. reading of the second.
7. kaldattr korna. Cf. A3. poem, v. 25, Hagl byj> hwitiut coma, and
Seafarer, v. 82, hmglfeol on ear fan, corna caldatt.
Krittr. Christ was sometimes regarded as the Creator. Cf. Skaldsk.
c. LI.: Ilvernig tkal Kritt kallat Svd at kalla hann tkapara himint ok
jarffar, etc.
26 The Norwegian Runic Poem
8 NauSr gerer naeppa koste ;
ngktan kselr i froste.
9 Is kgllum bni braeiSa;
bliodan )>arf at IseiSa.
10 Ar er gumna goSe ;
get ek at o,rr var Fr<5Se.
11 S61 er landa Ijdme;
liiti ek helgum d6me.
12 Tyr er aeinendr asa ;
opt vaerSr smiSr blasa.
13 Bjarkan er laufgr^hstr lima;
Loki bar flaerSa tima.
14 Ma5r er moldar auki ;
mikil er grseip a hauki.
15 Lo.gr er, faellr 6r fjalle
foss; en gull ero nosser.
16 Yr er vetrgr^nstr viSa;
vaent er, er brennr, at svitSa.
8. Nau&r. For use of the letter in magic, cf. Sigrdrifumal vii. :
Olrunar skalt kunna ef Jru vill annars kvsm
velit fnk i trygfi, ef truir ;
d horni skalt rista ok a handa baki
ok merkja d nagli NauJ>.
9. Is kgllum bru br&iffa. Cf. Exeter Gnomic Verses, v. 72 ft. :
Forst sceal freosan...is brycgian,
w&terhelm wegan,
and Andreas, v. 1260 ff.
10. Ar, descended, like the AS. gear, from the old j letter (*jdra). It
means (1) year, (2) summer, cf. gear in Beowulf, v. 1136, (3) what summer
brings, harvest, (4) prosperity, especially in the phrase til art ok friffar, for
peace and prosperity.
Fr6Se, Friftleifsson (Frotho III of Saxo, Bk v.), the peace-king of Danish
legend who is made a contemporary of Augustus. So great was the security
in his days that a gold ring lay out for many years on Jsellinge Heath.
Fr6tSi owned the quern Grotti, which ground for him gold or whatsoever
else he wished ; hence gold is called by the skaldic poets Frdffa mjol,
"Frofti's meal." Cf. Skaldsk. c. XLII. ; Skjoldunga saga c. in. [Chadwick,
Origin of the English Nation, p. 257 ff. j
12. T$r, originally "the god," cf. Lat. divus; the pi. Tivar is used as
a generic name for the gods in the Older Edda. In the Prose Edda (Gylf
c. xxv.) he is the god of war, but most of his functions have been usurped
by Othin and he is a character of small importance in Scandinavian religion
as it has come down to us.
The Norwegian Runic Poem 27
8 Constraint gives scant choice ;
a naked man is chilled by the frost.
9 Ice we call the broad bridge ;
the blind man must be led.
10 Plenty is a boon to men;
I say that Frothi was generous.
11 Sun is the light of the world ;
I bow to the divine decree.
12 Tyr is a one-handed god ;
often has the smith to blow.
13 Birch has the greenest leaves of any shrub ;
Loki was fortunate in his deceit.
14 Man is an augmentation of the dust;
great is the claw of the hawk.
15 A waterfall is a River which falls from a mountain-side;
but ornaments are of gold.
16 Yew is the greenest of trees in winter ;
it is wont to crackle when it burns.
sinendr, because he offered his right hand as a pledge to the Fenrimlfr,
who promptly bit it off when he found himself securely bound with the
fetter Gleipnir (Oylf. c. xxxrv.). Cf. Sigrdrifumal vi. :
Sigrunar tkalt kunna, ef vill tigr hafa,
ok rlfti & hjalti hjors,
tumar d vfttrimum, sumar & valbgstum
ok nefna tytvar 7V/.
18. Bjarkan ( = bjork, birch), found only as the name of the letter B in
the Runic alphabet.
Loki bar flserSa tima is not perhaps very satisfactory ; it will translate,
however, if bar tima be taken in the sense of bera gafu til, to be fortunate
in; cf. 6lsen and Bugge, SmXstykker, pp. 102, 111. So it seems unnecessary
to accept the C. P. B. emendation, Loki brdfimrffa tima.
The reference is doubtless to Loki's responsibility for Balder's death.
Oylf. c. XLIX.
14. MaSr er moldar auki. Cf. Hervarar saga c. v. 3 :
Mjok eruff ordnir Arngrims tynir
megir at meiniamir moldar auki,
probably from Psalm en. 14.
16. Construe; fott er Iqgr fallr 6r fjalle.
natter. Icelandic hnoitir.
16. It is worth noting that <jr is phonetically equivalent to the AS. eoh
(ih), though the character which bears that name is apparently descended
from the fifteenth letter of the old alphabet (eolh-tecg), which in Scandinavian
inscriptions from the sixth century onwards (e.g. Eragehul, Stentofte, etc.)
is inverted.
THE ICELANDIC RUNIC POEM
1 Fd er fraenda r6g
ok flaeSar viti
ok grafseiSs gata
aurum fylkir.
2 Ur er skyja gratr
ok skdra foverrir
ok hirtSis hatr.
umbre visi.
3 purs er kvenna kvb'l
ok kletta biii
ok varSninar verr.
Saturnus )>engill.
4 Oss er aldingautr
ok dsgarfts jgfurr,
ok valhallar visi.
Jupiter oddviti.
5 Rei5 er sitjandi saela
ok snuSig fert5
ok j6rs erfiSi.
iter rsesir.
6 Kaun er barna bol
ok bardaga [for]
ok holdfua hiis
flagella konungr.
1. Jlsetiar viti, AM. 687; fyrifa gaman, 461, 749, JO 5; Fofnis bani,
JO a. Cf. porSar saga HraeiJa c. vi., viti leifnis lautar; ignis maris
(Egilsson).
grafseiffs gata, lit. "path of the grave-fish" (seiSr : pisciculus, Egilsson),
a kenning for gold from the connection of dragons and other serpents with
graves containing treasure. Cf. Bjarkamal, v. 19, Grafvitni* diinn ; Harms61,
v. 44, dselar sniffs dunn.
aurum, etc. (from 687), more or less accurate equivalents in Latin of the
letter names.
fylkir, etc. (from 687), a series of synonyms for " king," each of which
alliterates with the stanza to which it is attached ; with the exception of
oddviti they are to be found in the fiulor (rhymed glossaries) printed in
C.P.B. n. 422 ft.
2. skfija grdtr. Cf. Ragnars saga LoSbrokar, c. MI. (FAS. i. 224),
nu skfrtr & mik skyja grdtr.
THE ICELANDIC RUNIC POEM
1 Wealth = source of discord among kinsmen
and fire of the sea
and path of the serpent.
2 Shower = lamentation of the clouds
and ruin of the hay-harvest
and abomination of the shepherd.
3 Qiant = torture of women
and cliff-dweller
and husband of a giantess.
4 God = aged Qautr
and prince of Asgard
and lord of Valhalla.
5 Riding = joy of the horseman
and speedy journey
and toil of the steed.
6 Ulcer = disease fatal to children
and painful spot
and abode of mortification.
tkdra pvtrrir. Wimmer reads skara fiverrir, "der eisrander aufloser,"
from ikor, "edge of the ice " ; bat tkdra (cf. Haldorsen, Lexicon Itlandico-
Latino-Danicum, Havniae 1814, skdri: circulu* qui uno ictu faleit metitur,
"swathe") is metrically preferable. (Smdttykktr, p. 111.)
umbre, obviously a mistake for imber. Cf. AM. 687, p. 3, Ymber ikur,
tkur tr ur, ur tr runattafr (Wimmer, p. 287).
8. kUtta biii. Cf. Hymiskvi^a n. bergbui, cliff-dweller, a common
kenning for giant.
Varfriin, a giantess in the Nafnafiulor, Snorra Edda, ed. J6nsson, p. 269.
AM. 749 has tif/drull teggr.
4. aiding autr, an epithet of Othin, the original meaning of which had
probably been forgotten at the time of the poem's composition. Cf. Veg-
tamskvijja n., Upp reit 0]>inn aldinn gautr (according to Gering " redner,"
"sprecher"? "ancient sage"?). More probably Gautr is to be taken as
"god of the Gautar " (the Geatas of Beowulf), cf. Grimnismal LIV., Gautr;
Sooatorrek, v. 4: Her gautr ; Valgautr, etc., an abbreviation of the Gauta-
T&r found in H&konarmal, v. 1.
Othin is always depicted as an old man.
For dtgarf and valhqU see the Prose Edda passim.
valhallar vlti. Cf. Bugge, Snuutykker, p. 112.
^^ Rtiff. Cf. Rad in the Anglo-Saxon poem, p. 14.
./fr, classical Icelandic j6i.
6. 687, 461, 749, JO a, read bardagi alone, accepted by Wimmer.
JO 6, however, has bardaga fir, which Bagge, Smattykker, p. Ill, takes in
the sense of "et sted, hvor Plage (Smerte) fsrdes (holder til)."
30 The Icelandic Runic Poem
7 Hagall er kaldakorn
ok krapadrifa
ok smika sott
grando hildingr.
8 NauS er ]>yjar )?ra
ok Jmngr kostr
ok vassamlig verk.
opera niflungr.
9 Iss er arborkr
ok unnar )>ak
ok feigra manna far
glacies jofurr.
10 Ar er gumna gd5i
ok gott suruar
ok algrdinn akr
annus allvaldr.
11 S61 er skyja skjoldr
ok skinandi roSull
ok isa aldrtregi
rota siklingr.
12 Tyr er einhendr ass
ok ulfs leifar
ok hofa hilrair
Mars tiggi.
13 Bjarkan er laufgat lim
ok litit trd
ok ungsamligr viSr
abies butSlungr.
7. sndka sott, sickness of serpents, a kenning for winter. Gf. naSra
deyfi in Ivarr Ingimundarson, C. P. B. n. 264.
8. Cf. GrottasQngr, especially strophe xvi. :
Nu erum komnar til konungs huso.
miskunnlausar ok at mani hafpar;
aurr etr iljar, en ofan kuljri,
drqgum dolgs sjotul ; daprt's at Fropar.
Jrrd, aegritudo animi, maeror (Haldorsen).
pungr kostr, 749, JO. Jwera erfiffi, 461, illegible in 687.
9. arborkr, illegible in 687.
The Icelandic Runic Poem 31
7 Hail = cold grain
and shower of sleet
and sickness of serpents.
8 Constraint = grief of the bond-maid
and state of oppression
and toilsome work.
9 Ice = bark of rivers
and roof of the wave ,/
and destruction of the doomed.
10 Plenty = boon to men
and good summer
and thriving crops.
11 Sun ss shield of the clouds
and shining ray
and destroyer of ice.
12 Tyr = god with one hand
and leavings of the wolf
and prince of temples.
13 Birch = leafy twig
and little tree
and fresh young shrub.
unnar fiak, 461, 749, JO b: doubtful in 687; unnar f>ekja, JO a.
Cf. Grettia sags, o. LII. , i marfiaks mifjum firffi (in the midst of IsafjortJr,
Icefirth).
feigra manna fdr, 687 ; feigt far, JO a ; feigt mantis foraf, 461 ; feigs
foraS, 749, JO 6 ; of. Fafnisraal IT. , alt er feigt foraff. With the use of this
phrase as a kenning for "ice," of. MalsliattakvaBSi, v. 25, tjaldan hittitk
feigt vyk frfrin (Wimmer).
10. gott tvmar, 749, JO a ; doubtful in 687 ; glatt $., JO b.
algrmnn akr, 749, JO ; ok vel flett /at er vill, 461 ; 637 has dala
(doubtful) dreyri, "moisture of the dales," i.e. <ir, N. pi. of , "river"
(Wimmer).
11. *k<rja ikjoldr. Cf. p6rsdr&pa, v. 13, himintarga (C.P.B. n. 19).
749 and JO have, in place of Ita aldrtregi, hverfandi hv(l, " circling wheel,"
of. rota.
12. hofa hilmir. Cf. Haraldsaaga Harfagra, c. iz. 1 hilmir vfbrautar :
praaaes fani, rex (Egilsson).
18. ungtamligr. Bngge reads vegiamligr, "glorious," in place of
uHgtamligr, which is not found either in old or modern Icelandic.
(Smaitykker), p. 112.
32 The Icelandic Runic Poem
14 Ma5r er maims gaman
ok mo 1 <Jar auki
ok skipa skreytir
homo mildingr.
15 Lb'gr er vellanda vatn
ok viSr ketill
ok glommungr grund.
lacus lofftungr.
16 Yr er bendr bogi
ok brotgjarnt jam
ok fifu farbauti
arcus ynglingr.
14. MaSr er manns gaman. This phrase occurs also in HavarnalxLvn..
whence it is doubtless borrowed.
skipa skreytir. Cf. Fommanna sygur xi. 187. skautreina skreytir :
exornatw navium (Egilsson).
16. vellanda vatn, 687 ; all other texts have vellandi vimr (i.e. vimur),
" hervorquellende flut." Cf. the Norwegian poem (Wimmer).
glommungr, name of a fish in the fiular, Snorra Edda, p. 286.
16. Yr. The character found here is regularly used for Y in the
Icelandic inscriptions, none of which are much earlier than 1300. Cf.
Kalund, Aarb. f. n. 0. 1882, p. 98 ff .
brotgjarnt jam = $r,& different word from fir, bow. Cf. ur of the
Norwegian poem, kaldyr of Merlinusspa and kaldtir =cferrum fragile of
Haldorsen (Wimmer).
The Icelandic Runic Poem 33
14 Man = delight of man
and augmentation of the earth
and adorner of ships.
15 Water = eddying stream
and broad geysir
and land of the fish.
16 Yr = bent bow
and brittle iron
and giaut of the arrow.
brotgjarnt = brittle. Cf. Eg ill Skallagrimsson's Arinbjarnar drdpa, v. 1 :
hMfk lofkdtt }>annx Ungi itendr
obrutfjjarnt I brayar turn
(ezegi monomentum acre perennius).
For brotgjarnt jdrn, 749 has bardaga gangr, "journey of battle"; JO 6,
bardaga gagn, " implement of battle."
Fifujnrbauti, JO 6; /l/o, poetical word for "arrow"; of. /utor, Snorra
Edda, p. 281.
Fdiiauti, a giant, father of the god Loki, Gylf. o. xxxm., 8km. o. xvi.,
hence in poetry a generic term for giant. 749 b&s fenju jleygir, " speeder of
the arrow."
D. K. P.
APPENDIX
Abecedarium Nordmannicum.
From Codex Sangallensis 878, fol. 321, a 9th century
MS. of Hrabanus Maurus containing the earliest example
of the sixteen letter alphabet of the Viking Age. Of.
Mullenhoff and Scherer, Denkmaler deutscher Poesie und
Pro8d w p. 19 (Berlin, 1892); for facsimile, Wimmer, Die
Runenschrift, p. 236 :
Feu forman,
Ur after,
Thuris thritten stabu,
Os ist himo oboro,
Bat endost ritan
Chaon thanne cliuot.
Hagal, Nau hab&
Is, Ar endi Sol,
Tin, Brica endi Man midi
Lago the leohto,
Yr al bihabetf.
In the MS. the Scandinavian Runic characters are found. In addition :
1. Under Feu forman WEEA in English Runic letters and T with one
stroke as in v. 9. 7. Above Hagal an English H with two crossbars.
8. Above Ar an English A. 9. Above Man an English M. 11. Above Yr a
variety of English Y.
THE HEROIC POEMS
Res gestae regumque ducumque et trittia betta
HORACE
32
INTRODUCTION
WALDHERB
In the year 1860 Professor E. C. Werlauff of the Royal
Library, Copenhagen, was looking through some odds and
ends of parchment brought back from England by the
Icelandic scholar Gri'mur J. Thorkelin, the first editor of
Beowulf, when he came upon two leaves of Anglo-Saxon
MS. which had evidently been used in the binding of a
book. Upon examination they proved to contain fragments
of the Waltharius story, hitherto unknown from English
sources, and in the same year Professor George Stephens
brought out the editio princepa styled Two Leaves of King
Waldere's Lay.
It was a popular story on the continent and several
versions of it are preserved ; cf. especially Learned, The
Saga of Walther of Aquitaine (Baltimore, 1892), and Althof,
Waltharii Poesis, I. 17-23 (Leipzig, 1899).
1. By far the most complete, as also the earliest, of
the continental forms is the Latin epic of Waltharius by
Ekkehard of St Gall, the first of that name, ob. 973. It is
a poem of 1456 hexameter lines, composed according to a
later namesake of the author (usually known as Ekke-
hard IV) as an academic exercise in the Vergilian mood,
dictamen rnagistro debitum. An occasional phrase or turn
of syntax betrays its Teutonic origin ; cf. Althof, W. P. I.
28-32, 44-57, etc.: and Ker, The Dark Ages, pp. 222 ff.
(Edinburgh, 1904).
Briefly summarised, the story runs as follows: At the
time of the great Hunnish invasions there ruled in Gaul
three princes of Teutonic blood: (1) Gibicho, king of the
Franks, at Worms; his son was called Guntharius. (2) Here-
38 Introduction to
ricus, king of the Burgundians, at Chalon-sur-Sa6ne; his
daughter Hiltgunt was betrothed to Waltharius, son of (3)
Alpharius, king of Aquitaine. Attacked by a countless
army of the Huns, they could not but submit and render
hostages to Attila. In place of Guntharius, who was then
too young, Gibicho sent Hagano of Trojan blood; but the
others were forced to deliver up their own children. The
hostages were well treated by Attila and raised to high
positions at the Hunnish court. But on the death of Gibicho
Guntharius revolted and Hagano fled to Worms. Thereupon
Attila, fearing lest Waltharius should follow the example
of his sworn companion, proposed to wed him to a Hunnish
maiden. Waltharius, however, induced him to withdraw
the proposition and prepared for flight with Hiltgunt. One
night while the Huns were heavy with wine, they slipped
away, carrying much treasure with them. They fled by
devious ways and all went well till after they had crossed
the Rhine by Worms. Now at last they felt out of danger ;
but Guntharius had heard of their arrival and thought only
of recovering the tribute paid by his father to the Huns.
Hagano tried to turn him from so discreditable and dangerous
a venture; but Guntharius would not be gainsaid. With
twelve chosen warriors, of whom the unwilling Hagano was
one, he fell upon Waltharius, who was resting in a defile of
the Vosges. He demanded the treasure and the maiden,
and Waltharius, when his offer first of 100, then 200 rings
had been refused, made a stubborn resistance. The position
was impregnable ; eight of the Franks he slew in single
combat and, when the three survivors attacked him with a
trident, he was equally successful. Guntharius and Hagano
then drew off; on the following day Waltharius, who had
left his strong position, was waylaid by them and a furious
combat ensued, in which Guntharius lost a leg, Hagano
an eye and Waltharius his right hand 1 .
Sic, sic, armillas partiti sunt Avarenses. (v. 1404)
1 Hence the lords of Wasgenstein, some ten miles as the crow flies
from Worms the traditional site of the battle, bore as their coat of arms
six white hands on a red field ; cf. the seal of Johann von Wasichenstein
(1339), figured by Althof, Das Waltharilied, pp. 216 ff.
the Heroic Poems 39
After a formal reconciliation the Franks returned to
Worms and Waltharius at length reached home where, after
his marriage to Hiltgunt and his father's death, he ruled
successfully for thirty years.
2. Waltharius is paraphrased in part in the Italian
Chronicon Novaliciense, II. cc. 7-13 (cf. Bethroann, MQH.
88. vu. 73-133), where however the story is attached to a
local hero, a champion of the Lombard king Desiderius
(757-774).
3. There are moreover a few strophes extant of a Bavarian-
Austrian epic of the first part of the thirteenth century,
which give a somewhat less sanguinary version of the story.
The exceedingly dilapidated fragment from Qraz (cf.
Mttllenhoff, ZfdA. xn. 280 ff.) tells how Walther learned for
the first time from Hagen, who was on the point of departure
from the Hunnish court, that he had been betrothed to
Hiltgund; cf. Heinzel, Die Walthersage, pp. 13 ff. (Wien,
1888).
A somewhat longer fragment, 39 strophes, is preserved
in two MS. leaves from Vienna (cf. Massman, ZfdA. 11. 216 ff.).
(a) After leaving Worms Walther and Hiltgund are
escorted home to Langres by Volker and sixty of Qunther's
knights. A messenger is sent ahead to Walther's father
Alker (or Alpker), who, overjoyed at the news, prepares for
their reception.
(6) HUdigunde Br&te describes Hiltgund's life at Langres,
Walther's passionate love and the preparations for the wed-
ding, to which even Etzel (Attila) and his wife are invited.
4. There are numerous incidental references in the
Nibelungenlied
(str. 2281,
Nu wer was der dfem schilde vor dem Wasgensteine saz,
D6 im von Spdne Walther sd vil der mdge sluoc.
Str. 1694,
Er und von Spdne Walther ; die wuohsen hie ze man,
Hagen sand ich wider heim: Walther mit Hiltegunte entrari)
and other Middle High German sources; cf. Althof, Das
Waltharilied, pp. 180-9.
40 Introduction to
5. In the piSriks saga af Bern, cc. 241-4 (Bertelsen, n.
105 ff.), a thirteenth century Norwegian compilation from
North German ballads, the story is simplified ; Gunther has
disappeared and Hggni is an agent of the Hunnish king.
Valtari af Vaskasteini, nephew of Erminrikr, king of
Apulia, and Hildigund, daughter of Ilias of Greece, hostages
to Attila, flee by night from the Hunnish court, taking
with them a vast treasure. Pursued by Ho,gni and eleven
knights, Valtari turns to bay, kills the eleven Huns and
puts Ho.gni to flight. But as Valtari and Hildigund are
feasting after the battle, Hggni returns to the attack;
whereupon Valtari strikes him with the backbone of the
boar which he is eating. Hggni escapes with the loss of
an eye and the fugitives make their way to Erminrik's court
without more ado.
6. There is moreover a Polish version of the story, the
earliest form of which is to be found in the Chronicon
Poloniae by Boguphalus II, Bishop of Posen, ob. 1253 ; cf.
Heinzel, Das Waltharilied, pp. 28 ff. and Althof, W. P.
i. 17-23.
Here Wdaly Walczerz (Walter the Strong) is a Polish
count who carries off Helgunda, a Frankish princess, whose
love he has won by nightly serenades. At the Rhone he
is overtaken by the betrothed of the princess, who challenges
him to battle. The pursuer is slain and Walczerz carries
home his bride to Tynecz by Cracow. The sequel, which
relates how Walczerz is betrayed by Helgunda, cast into
prison and helped in the end to vengeance by the sister of
his gaoler, has nothing to do with the original story.
It has been suggested that the version found in piSriks
saga represents the original form of the story. This is most
improbable; for while Guthhere appears in Waldhere, by
at least two centuries the earliest in point of date, the
episode in piSriks saga has gone through the ballad
process of simplification. It is unfortunate that so little
remains of Waldhere ; but it may be assumed that in general
outlines it followed the story of Waltharius. It varied of
course in detail ; the characterisation of the heroine is vastly
the Heroic Poems 41
different. Contrast with Waldhere A the corresponding
passages of Waltharius :
v. 544: In terramque cadens effatur talia tristis:
" Obsecro, mi senior, gladio mea cdla secentur,
" Ut qvae non merui pacto thalamo sociari
"Nidlius alterius patiar consortia carnis " ;
v. 1213: " Dilatus jam finis adest; fuge domne propinquant;
and piCriks saga, c. 243 : Herra, harmr er pat, er Jru skallt .i.
beriaz vitf .xij. riddara. Riff hcelldr aptr ocfor&a pinu liui.
Nor is it likely that the grotesque ending of Waltharius
found a place in the English version. Moreover it appears
that Waldhere encountered first Hagena, then Guthhere,
whereas Guntharius and Hagano made a combined attack
upon Waltharius.
It may be advisable to say something on the historical
bearings of the story, discussed at length by Heinzel, Althof,
and Clarke, Sidelights on Teutonic History in the Migration
Period, pp. 209-231.
Aetla (Attila) is of course the great king of the Huns
ob. 453, the flagella Dei, who terrorised Europe for some
twenty years until defeated by Aetius on the Catalauuian
plains ; cf. Chambers, Widsith, pp. 44-48.
Guthhere (the Gunnarr Gunther of the Old Norse and
Middle High German Nibelung cycles) is the historical king
of the Burgundians, who in the year 411 set up the Emperor
Jovinus and, as a reward for surrendering his puppet, was
allowed to occupy the left bank of the Rhine. For twenty
years he ruled at Worms : then, perhaps under pressure
from the Huns, he invaded Belgic Gaul and was thrown
back by Aetius (435). Two years later he was defeated and
slain by the Huns, and the sorry remnants of his people
took refuge in the modern Burgundy. He is the Gundaharius
of the Lex Burgundionum issued by his successor Gundobad
in 516; cf. Chambers, Widsith, pp. 60-63.
In Waltharius however he is represented as a Frank,
Hiltgunt and Herericus as Burgundians; for, since in the
tenth century Worms was Frankish, Chalon-sur-Sadne
Burgundian, Ekkehard applied the political geography o
42 Introduction to
his own time to a story of the migration period. It is
quite uncertain therefore of what nationality these persons
really were. Learned suggests that Herericus may be a
reminiscence of the Chararicus who ruled Burgundy after
the Frankish conquest (Gregory of Tours, iv. 38). But
as in the case of Waltharius himself, nothing definite is
known.
In the Anglo-Saxon fragments Waldhere is simply called
' the son of Aelfhere ' the Alpharius of Ekkehard, v. 77.
Hence it has been thought that, as Aquitaine was held by
the Visigoths in the days of Attila, the hero belonged to
that people a view most probably held in the later Middle
Ages ; e.g. he is called Walther von Spanje, Walter of Spain,
in the Nibelungenlied. But it is likely that the original
story had some native name, which has been displaced by
the classical 'Aquitania.' Now the battle between Waldhere
and his foes took place in the Vosges (Vosegus, Ekkehard
passim: vor dem Vasgensteine, Nibelungenlied, 2281), whence
he is styled Valtari of Vaskasteini in piSriks saga ; and so
before the time of Ekkehard the name of the Vosges must
have been confused with Vasconia = Aquitania ; cf. the
" Wessobrunner Gloss " of the eighth century : Equitania :
uuasconolant 1 .
A ditfereut indication is furnished by the MHG. frag-
ments: there too he is called der vogt von Spdnje, but his
home is placed at Lengers, the French Langres (dept Haute-
Marne), no very great distance from Cbalon-sur-Sa6ne, the
home of Hiltgunt in Ekkehard, v. 52. Of course the Mero-
vingian conquest of Gaul had hardly begun as yet; but
it is not at all unlikely that there were small Teutonic
communities to the S.W. of the Vosges already in the first
half of the fifth century. For certain Teutonic place-names
in that district confirm the statement of Eumenius that
Constantius Chlorus settled "barbarian cultivators" in the
neighbourhood of Langres ; cf. Chad wick, Heroic Age,
p. 162; Zeuss, Die Deutschen und die Nachbarstdmme,
pp. 336, 582-4. Waldhere may or may not have belonged
1 Cf. P.G.fcjm. 707.
the Heroic Poems 43
to one of these communities : this much at least is certain
that, like Sigurd and other heroes of the migration period,
he was a character of no historical importance.
FINN.
The Finn fragment, incomplete at the beginning and
the end, was discovered in the Lambeth Palace Library
towards the end of the seventeenth century. The MS. has
since been lost; luckily it had been printed in Linguarum
Veterum Septentrionalium Thesaurus, 1. 192 ff. (London, 1705),
the monumental work of Dr George Hickes, the non-juring
Dean of Worcester and one of the most devoted of those
eighteenth century scholars to whom we owe so much.
The story of Finn must have been popular in Anglo-
Saxon times. It is the subject of an episode in Beowulf,
w. 1008-1159, and three at least of its characters are
included in the epic catalogue of Widsith :
v. 27. Finn Folcwalding (weold) Fresna cynne ;
v. 29. Hnxf Hocingum;
v. 31. S&ferft Sycgum.
Moreover the Finn filii Fodepald Nennius Interpretatus,
Finn (filii Frenri), filii Folcvald 1 who appears as an ancestor
of Hengest in Historia Brittonum, 31, a mistake for the
Finn Godwulfing of other Anglo-Saxon texts (e.g. Chronicle
547 A), is clearly due to acquaintance with the story of Finn,
the son of Folcwald 2 .
From the continent evidence is scanty; the name Nebi
(Hnaef) is occasionally found in Alemannic charters and
Thegan, Vita Ludovici, c. II., gives the following as the
genealogy of Hildegard, the wife of Charlemagne : Gode-
fridus dux genuit Huochingum, Huochingus genuit Nebi,
Nebi genuit Immam, Imma uero Hiltigardam; cf. Mullen-
hoff, ZfdA. xi. 282.
From Beowulf, v. 1068-1159, it appears that Hnaef, a
vassal prince of the Danes, met his death among the Frisians
at the court of Finn. The reasons for his presence there are
1 Mommsen, Chronica Minora, p. 171 (Berlin, 1898).
* Chadwick, Origin of the Engliih Nation, p. 42.
44 Introduction to
nowhere stated in the episode or in the fragment. Very
probably they were connected by marriage ; the episode at
least suggests that Hildeburh, described as Hoces dohtor in
v. 1076, was the wife of Finn. She may have been Huaef's
sister, since in Widsith, v. 29, Hnaef is said to have ruled
the Hocingas, and this would agree with v. 1074, where
Hildeburh bewails the loss of sons and brothers, perhaps
a poetical use of plural for singular; cf. w. 1114-1117.
Hnaef's followers, led by a certain Hengest, hold out in the
palace-hall and inflict such fearful loss upon the Frisians
that Finn is forced to come to terms. An agreement is
made in flat defiance of the spirit of the comitatus and
peace is kept throughout the winter. But when spring
returns, Oslaf and Guthlaf, two of Hnaef's retainers (cf.
Ordlaf and Gufrlaf of Finn v. 18) make their way home.
Determined to avenge their fallen lord, they collect rein-
forcements and return to Friesland, where they wipe out
their dishonour in the blood of Finn and all his followers.
The story opens with the fall of Hnaef; nothing is known
of its antecedents. The elaborate superstructure reared
by Miillenhoff (Nordalbingische Studien, I. 157) and Simrock
(Beowulf, p. 190ff.) the death of Folcwald at the hands of
Hoc, the settlement of the blood-feud by the marriage of
Finn and Hildeburh, the subsequent murder of Hnaef while
on a visit to the Frisian court is pure hypothesis, erected
on analogy with the Ingeld story; cf. Beowulf, w. 2U20-2066
and Saxo, Book VI. There is no reason for ascribing treachery
to Finn Eotena treowe (Beow. v. 1071) refers to the loyalty
of Hnaef's men, not to the bad faith of the Frisians and it
is just as probable that Hnaef was the aggressor.
The episode in Beowulf is to be regarded as a paraphrase
of some full-length treatment of the subject; cf. Odyssey vili.
499 and the cyclic poem of the Sack of Troy ('lAi'oy TTepcic) 1 .
But it is not easy to square the fragment with it. On the
whole it seems most reasonable to assume that the fragment
opens after the death of Hnaef, describes the battle hinted
1 D. B. Monro, Homer's Odyssey, Books xm-xxir, pp. 371 ff. Oxford,
1901).
the Heroic Poems 45
at in Beowulf and breaks off just before the armistice of
v. 1085. The hearogeong cyning would then be Hengest,
the folces hyrde Finn. It is true that in Beowulf, v. 1085,
Hengest is styled Jteodnes tfegne, an epithet scarcely com-
patible with hearogeong cyning, since in Anglo-Saxon epic
poetry the title cyning is confined to ruling princes. More-
over it would seem from Finn, v. 43, that there had been
at least five days fighting, whereas in Beowulf the battle
was over in a single night. These difficulties have given rise
to divergent views as to the precise moment in the story to
which the fragment relates; Moller (Altenglische Volksepos,
p. 65) places it between vv. 1143-4 of Beowulf, Bugge
(P.B.B. ill. 20 ff.), before the death of Hnaef. But the
balance of probability is in favour of the view expressed
above 1 .
DEOR.
The MS. of Deor is to be found on fol. 100 of the Exeter
Book, the mycel Englisc hoc be gehwylcum ]nngum on Leod-
wisan geworht, presented to Exeter by Bishop Leofric (1050-
1072), and still preserved in the Cathedral Library there.
Setting aside w. 23-34, the poem consists of six short
strophes of irregular length followed by a refrain. Each of
the first five strophes recounts some dolorous episode from
heroic story, Weland's captivity at the hands of Nithhad, the
Geat's hopeless love for Maethhild, the thirty years of exile
suffered by Theodric, the sixth the poet's own misfortunes.
The form is almost unique in Anglo-Saxon poetry, the only
other instance being the so-called First Riddle of Cynewulf
with its refrain ungelic is us. It is usually styled Deor's
Lament (des Sangers Trost) and reckoned among the lyrics,
but the only passage which recalls the Wanderer and the
1 In a paper read before (he Philological Society on Dec. 6tb, 1912,
Dr R. W. Chambers has suggested that the fight was a three-cornered affair.
Hnaef of the Healf-Dene and Garulf of the Eotenaa came to blows at
a meeting of prince*. Hnaef was slain and Finn stepped in to end the
battle, afterwards taking Hengest into his service. An outline of the argu-
ment u given in no. 4442 of the Athenaeum and on pp. 168-9 of his edition
of Wjatt'a Beovulf (Cambridge, 1914). In the meantime we are awaiting
his promised Introduction to the Study of Beowulf.
46 Introduction to
Seafarer, the Husband's Message and the Wife's Complaint,
is w. 28-34, which is generally recognised to be a late
homiletic addition. Deor has lost his all, but the prevailing
note is hope rather than despair. The refrain seems con-
clusive on that point ; Weland wreaked vengeance on his
oppressor, Beadohild brought forth a mighty son, Theodric
won back his kingdom, the cruel Eormanric died a bloody
death. Their troubles were surmounted, so may Deor's be.
With Lawrence {Mod. Phil. IX. 23), rather may we call the
poem a veritable Consolatio Philosophiae of minstrelsy.
HlLDEBRAND.
The fragment of the Hildebrandeslied, the only surviving
relic of German heroic poetry, was found on the outer cover
of a theological MS. No. 56 in the Landesbibliothek at
Kassel. This MS. was written in the early part of the ninth
century, and from a palaeographical point of view has
considerable traces of Anglo-Saxon influence. Fulda was
probably its home 1 ; but the variations presented as well in
language as orthography are so great that it cannot be
classified as a specimen of any known dialect. High German
and Low German forms are found side by side, even in the
same word.
A convenient table of the dialectical peculiarities has been
given by Mansion in his A hd. Lesebuch, p. 113ff. (Heidelberg,
1912), from which the following particulars are taken :
Consonants.
1. Original p and t remain as in Old Saxon; cf.
v. 88 werpan, 62 scarpen.
v. 16 heittu, 27 ti, 52 dat.
2. Orig. k becomes ch initially and after consonants as in
O.H.G.; cf. v. 28 chud, IQfolche etc.:
elsewhere it is represented indifferently by k, h, ch; cf.
v. 1 ik, 17 ih, 13 chunincriche.
1 Hiltibraht for Hiltibrant is paralleled in other documents from Fulda ;
cf. Kauffmann, Festgabe fUr Sievers, p. 136 ff. (Leipzig, 1896) and Kogel,
P.G., n. 74.
the Heroic Poems 47
3. Orig. d becomes regularly t as in O.H.G.;
cf. v. 35 truhtin, 44 tot.
4. Orig. $, when final, becomes p : cf. v. 27 leop, v. 34 (/op ;
in other positions we find 6 : cf. v. 30 obana, etc.
(pist, prut, sippan, hevane are exceptions.)
5. Orig. 5 regularly becomes g (v. 37 geru etc.), except
when final, where we find c; cf. v. 43 wic, 55 taoc.
6. Orig. /> normally becomes d; but cf. v. 3 Hadubrant.
7. n disappears before />, 0, as in Anglo-Frisian and gene-
rally in the Heliand; cf. v. 5 gudhamun, 12 odre,
15 u*?re.
8. Erratic use of h\ cf. v. 6 rimja (hringa), 57 bihrahanan
(birahanan).
Vowels.
1. Orig. 5 is represented indifferently by o and MO: cf.
v. Sfrotoro, 11 cnuosles.
2. Orig. e is represented by ae and e : cf. v. 19 furlaet,
61 /fH/l.
3. Orig. au (O.H.G. ou) is represented by au and ao: cf.
v. 55 rauba. 53 uoc; sometimes also by o in cases
where O.H.G. has o; c t>. 1 gihorta, 18 /oA; but on
the other hand ao appears in v. 22 laosa, 55 aodlihho.
4. Orig. oi is represented in a variety of ways:
a, v. 65 stoimftorf?; ei, v. 17 heittu; CB, v. 17 hcetti;
ae, v. 22 rae< ; e, w. 47 heme ; ^, v. 52 $nigeru.
Perhaps the most satisfactory solution of the problem is
that put forward by Francis A. Wood, P.AI.L.A. XL 323-330,
who argues that in its present form the Hildebrandeslied
goes back to an Old Saxon poem current in the eighth
century; heard from the lips of a Low German minstrel, it
was written down in High German orthography and written
down from memory, as is shown by the frequent deviations into
prose. The existing MS. is not the archetype, but a copy of
the original ; the meaningless repetition of darba gistontun
after v. 26 seems conclusive on this point 1 .
1 The exact converse of this view is vigorously expressed by Holtzmann,
Oermeaua. n. 389 fl. and Luft, Fettgabe an K. Weinhold, pp. 27 ff. (Leipzig,
48 Introduction to
The hero of the poem is that Hildebrand who occupies a
far from insignificant position in the Nibelungenlied and
the poems of the Heldenbuch. The story of the fragment,
unknown from either of these sources, is concerned with the
meeting of Hildebrand and his son Hadubrand. Leaving
his wife and child at home Hildebrand has followed Dietrich
to the court of Etzel, and now returning after thirty years
of exile finds his son arrayed against him. He learns their
kinship and reveals himself; but Hadubrand, suspecting
treachery, refuses to believe him. The fragment breaks off
just as the fight begins; but there can be no doubt that
as in the Sohrab and Rustum story from the Shah-Nameh
the father is obliged to slay his son 2 .
The whole atmosphere of the fragment forebodes a tragic
sequel, though it is true that later German poems on the
subject, as well as the closely related episode in piSriks
saga, cc. 405-409 (Bertelsen, II. 471; also in Holthausen's
Altisldndisches Lesebuch, p. 24 ff.), end happily with the
mutual recognition of the father and the son. Such are :
1. The fifteenth century Der voter mit dem sun, of
Kaspar von der Ron ; cf. Henrici, Das deutsche Heldenbuch,
pp. 301 ff., translated by F. A. Wood, Ttte Hildebrandslied,
pp. 7 ff. (Chicago, 1914).
2. A broadsheet of 1515; cf. von Liliencron, Deutsches
Leben im Volksklied um 1530, pp. 84 ff.
Moreover an allusion to the death of Hadubrand is pre-
served in a poem found both in Saxo Book vil. (Holder,
p. 244) :
medioacima nati
Illita conspicuo species caelamine constat
Cui manus haec cursum metae vitalis ademit.
Unicus hie nobis haeres erat, una paterni
Cura animi, superoqae datus solamine matri.
Sors mala, quae laetis infaustos aggerit annos,
Et risum mcerore premit sortemque molestat,
1896); for the literature of the subject, cf. Braune, Ahd. Lesebuch i-\,
p. 188 (Halle, 1911).
3 A comparative study of the motive will be found in M. A. Potter,
Sohrab and Rustem (London, 1899).
the Heroic Poems 49
and in Asmundarsaga Kappabana, c. IX. (Fornaldar S&gur,
in. 355):
Liggr />or inn svdsi sonr at hof&i
eptirerfingi, er ek eiga gat,
oviljandi aldrs synjaftak.
There is one reference to Hildebrand in early English
literature in the thirteenth century fragment, discovered in
Peterhouse Library by the Provost of King's:
Ita quod dicere possunt cum Wade:
Summe sende ylues
and summe sende nadderes ;
summe sende nikeres
the hi den watere (MS. biden patez) wunien.
Nister man nenne
bate Ildebrand on tie 1 .
These six lines are perhaps to be connected with the M.H.G.
poem Virginal; see p. 60.
1 Cf. Academy, Feb. 1896, No. 1241 ; Athenaeum, Feb. 1896, No. 3565.
D. B. P.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE HEROIC POEMS.
WALDHERE.
Editions (with translation*).
Stephens, G. Two Leaves of King Waldere's Lay. Copenhagen, 1860.
Mullenhoff, K. and Dietrich. ZfdA. xn. 264 ff., xxx. 259 ff.
Rieger, M. Alt.- u. Angelsdchs. Lesebuch, pp. xviij ff. Giessen, 1861.
*Haigh, D. H. Anglo-Saxon Sagas, pp. 125 ff. London, 1861.
Grein, C. W. M. Beowulf nebst den Fragm. Finnsburg u. Waldere,
pp. 76 ff. Cassel u. Gottingen, 1867.
Weinhold, K., in Scheffel and Holder's Waltharius, pp. 168 ff. Stutt-
gart, 1874.
Wiilker, R. P. Kleinere ags. Dichtungen, pp. 8 ff. Leipzig, 1879.
Grein- Wulker. Bibl. der ags. Poesie, i. 7 ff., 401 ff. Kassel, 1881-3.
Moller, H. Das ae. Volksepos, pp. Ixxvj ff. Kiel, 1883.
Heinzel, R. Die Walthersage. Wien, 1888.
Kluge, F. Ags. Lesebuch^ pp. 128 ff. Halle, 1902.
Holthausen, Ferd. Die ae. Walderebruchstucke, with four autotypes
(Goteborgs Hogskolas Arskrift, 1899).
Trautmann, M. B.B. v. 162 ff. ; xvi. 184 ff.
Strecker, K. Ekkekards Waltharius, pp. 94 ff. Berlin, 1907.
Fraatz, P. Darstellung der syntakt. Erscheinungen in den ags. Waldere
Bruchstucken, pp. 7 ff. Rostock dissert., 1908.
Holthausen, F. Beowvlf nebst den kleineren Denkmalern der Helden-
sage( 3 ). Heidelberg, 1912-3.
Sedgefield, W. J. Beowulf ( %, pp. 105 ff. Manchester, 1913.
English Translations.
(For German etc., see Holthausen, op. cit.)
Gummere, F. B. The Oldest English Epic, pp. 167 ff. New York,
1909.
Clarke, M. G. Sidelights on Teutonic History during the Migration
Period, pp. 219 ff. Cambridge, 1911.
Commentaries.
Bugge, S. Spredte iagttagelser (Tidskrift, vin. 72 ff, 306 ff.).
Kblbing, E. Die W.-Fragmente (E. St. v. 240 ff, 292 ff.).
M8ller, H. Das ae. Volksepos, pp. 156 ff. Kiel, 1883.
Bibliography 51
Miiller, W. Zur Mythologie der deutschen Heldensage, pp. 11 ff. Heil-
bronn, 1886.
Dieter, F. Die Walderefragmente und die wrtp. Oestalt der Walthersage
(Anglia, x. 227 ff., xi. 159 ff.).
Symona, B. P.G.^ in. 793 ff.
Kogel, R. P.0.<D, 11. 81 ff.
Geschichte der deutschen Litteratur, i. 1. 275 ff. Straasburg, 1894.
Learned, M. D. The Saga of Walt her of Aquitaine. Baltimore, 1892.
Coeign, P. J. De Waldere-Fragmenten ( Verslagen en mededeelingen d.
t. akad. van Wetensch., in. reeks, xii.). Amsterdam, 1895.
Binz, G. Zeugnisse tur germ. Sage in England (P. B. B. XH. 217 ff.).
Althof, H. fiber einige Stdlen im Waltharius u, die agt. Waldere-
Fragmente. Weimar Programm. 1899.
Waltharii Poetit. Leipzig, 1899-1905.
- Dot WaltharHied. Leipzig, 1902.
Uber einige tfamen im Waltharius (ZfdPh. xxxiv. 365 ff.).
Trautmann, M. B. B. xi. 135 ff.
Brand!, A. P. O.^, n. 986 ff.
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Roethe, Q. Nibelungia* u. Walthariut (Sitzb. der Berl. Akad. 1909,
xxv. 649 ff.).
Eckerth, W. Dot Waltherlied w . HaUe, 1909.
Droge, K. Nibelungenlied u. Waltharius (ZfdA. MI. 193 ff.).
Clarke, M. Q. Sidelights, pp. 209 ff.
Chadwick, H. M. The Heroic Age, passim. Cambridge, 1912.
THE FINN FRAGMENT.
Editions (with translation*).
Hickes, G. Linguarum Veterum Septentrionalium Thesaurus, I. 192 ff.
Oxford, 1705.
Conybeare, J. J. The British Bibliographer, iv. 261 ff. London,
1814.
* Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, pp. 175 ff. London, 1826.
Grundtvig, 8. Bjovulfs Drape, pp. xl ff. Kbbenhavn, 1820.
Kemble, J. M. Beowulf (t) , I. 238 ff. London, 1835.
Kliputein, L. Analecta Anglo-Saxonica, i. 426 ff. New York, 1849.
Ettmiiller, L. Engla and Seaxna Scopas and Boceras, pp. 130 ff.
Quedlinburg, 1850.
Thorpe, B. Beowulf, pp. 227 ff. Oxford, 1855 and 1875.
Grein, C. W. M. BM. d. ags. Poesie, i. 341 ff. GOttingen, 1857.
Grundtvig, 8. Beowulfes Beorh, pp. 37 ff. Kobenhavn, 1861.
Rieger, M. Ags. Lesebuch, pp. 61 ff. Giessen, 1861.
42
52 Bibliography
Wiilker, R. P. Kleinere ags. Dichtungen, pp. 6 ff. Leipzig, 1879.
Grein-Wiilker. Bibl. d. ags. Poesie, I. 14 ff. Kassel, 1881.
Moller, H. Das ae. Volksepos, n. vij ff. Kiel, 1883.
Kluge, F. Ags. Lesebuch( 3 ), pp. 127 ff. Halle, 1902.
Trautmann, M. Finn u. Hildebrand (B. B. vn. 54 ff). Bonn, 1903.
Beowulf (B.B. xvi. 180 ff), Bonn, 1904.
Heyne, M. Schiicking, L. L. Beowulf \$, pp. 91 ff. Paderborn. 1910.
Sedgefield, W. J. Beowulf ( %, pp. 99 ff. Manchester, 1913.
Holthaiisen, F. Beowulf ( $. Heidelberg, 1912-13.
Wyatt, A. J. Chambers, R. W. Beowulf with the Finnsburg Frag-
ment, pp. 158 ff. Cambridge, 1914.
English Translations.
(For German etc., see Holthaiisen, op. cit.)
Haigh, D. H. Anglo-Saxon Sagas, pp. 32 ff. London, 1861.
Brooke, Stopford A. History of Early English Literature, I. 88 ff.
London, 1892.
Garnett, J. M. Beowulf (4) , pp. 97 ff. Boston, 1900.
Child, C. G. Beowulf and the Finnesburh Fragment, pp. 89 ff. London,
1904.
Huyshe, W. Beowulf: An Old English Epic, pp. 200 ff. London,
1907.
Gummere, F. B. The Oldest English Epic, pp. 160 ff. New York,
1909.
Clark Hall, J. R. Beowulf and the Finnsburg Fragment (%, pp. 156 ff.
London, 1911.
Commentaries.
Ettmuller, L. Beowulf, pp. 36 ff. Zurich, 1840.
Uhland, L. Schriften zur Gesch. der Dichtung u. Sage, vm. 488 ff.
(from Germ. II. 354 ff).
Miillenhoff, K. Zur Kritik des ags. Volksepos (ZfdA. XL 281 ff).
Nordalbingische Studien, I. 156 ff. Kiel, 1844.
Simrock, K. Beowulf, pp. 187 ff. Stuttgart u. Augsburg, 1859.
Haigh, D. H. Anglo-Saxon Sagas, pp. 29 ff.
Grein, C. W. M. Die hist. Verhdltn. des Beowuljliedes (Eberts Jahr-
buch, iv. 269 ff).
Holtzmann, A. Zu Beowulf (Germ. vm. 474 ff).
Grein, C. W. M. Zur Textkritik der ags. Dichter (Germ. x. 422).
Bugge, S. Spredte iagttagelser (Tidskrift, vm. 304 ff).
Dederich, H. Historische u. geographische Studien zum Beowulfliede,
pp. 215 ff. Koln, 1877.
Moller, H. Das ae. Volksepos, I. 46 ff, 151 ff Kiel, 1883.
ten Brink, B. P. G. (l) , n. 1. 545 ff. Strassburg, 1893.
of the Heroic Poems 53
Schilling, H. Notes on the Finnsaga (M.L.N. l. 89 ff., 116 ff.).
- The Finnsburg Fragment and the Finn Episode (M.L.N. u. 146 ff.).
Bugge, S. Das Finnsburg- Fragment (P.B.B. xn. 20 ff.).
Jellinek, M. H. Zum Finnsburg fragment (P.B.B. XV. 428 ff).
Clark Hall, J. R. Beowulf w, pp. 202 ff.
Binz, G. P.B.B. xx. 179 ff.
Boer, R. C. Finnsage u. Nibelungensage (ZfdA. XLVII. 125 ff, 139 ff).
Holthausen, F. Beitrage sur Erkldrung des ae. Epos (ZfdPh. xxvu.
123ff).
Klaeber, Fr. Anglia, XXVIH. 447.
- Archivf. n. A cxv. 181 ff.
Swiggett, G. L. Notes on the Finnsburg Fragment (M.L.N. xx. 169 ff).
Rieger, M. Zum Kampfin Finnsburg (ZfdA. XLVIII. 9 ff).
Klaeber, F. Zum Finnsburg- Kampfe (E. St. xxxix. 307 ff).
Brandl, A. P. G. u. 983 ff.
Clarke, M. G. Sidelights on Teutonic History >, pp. 177 ff.
Wyatt-Chambers. Beowulf, pp. 167 ff.
DEOB.
Editions (with translation *)
Conybeare, J. J. Illustrations of A. -S. Potfry, pp. 240 ff. London, 1826.
Grimm, W. K. Deutsche Heldensage (3} , p. 22. Gutersloh, 1889.
Thorpe, B. Codex Exoniensis, pp. 377 ff. London, 1842.
Klipstein, L. Analecta Anglo- Saxonica, n. 317 ff.
Ettmiiller, L. Engla and Seaxna Scopas, pp. 211 ff.
MUller, Th. Ags. Lesebuch, pp. 171 ff. (1855 ?)
Rieger, M. Ags. Lesebuch, pp. 82 ff.
Grein-Wiilker. Bibl. der ugs. Poesie, i. 283 ff.
Kluge, F. Ags. Lesebuch ($, pp. 139 ff.
Sedgefield, W. J. Beowulf^), pp. 107 ff.
Holthausen, F. Beowulf ($.
English Translations.
Haigh, D. H. A.-S. Sagas, pp. 102 ff.
Atlantic Monthly, LXVII. 287. Boston and New York, 1891.
Gummere, F. B. The Oldest English Epic, pp. 185 ff
Commentaries.
Miillenhoff, K. ZfdA. vn. 530 ff; XL 272 ff; xn. 261.
Grein, C. W. Bl Germ. x. 422.
Meyer, K. Germ. xiv. 283 ff.
Die Dietrichsage. Basel, 1868.
Schipper, J. Germ. xix. 333.
54 Bibliography
MOller, H. Das ae. Volksepos, I. 115 ff.
Morley, H. English Writers (2 >, II. 15 if. London, 1888.
Golther, W. Die Wielandsage (Germ, xxxill. 449 ff.).
Heinzel, R. Uber die ostgotische Heldensage, pp. 16 ff. Wien, 1889.
ten Brink, B. Early English Literature, pp. 60 ff. London, 1891.
Jiriczek, 0. L. Deutsche Heldensagen, I. pp. 124 ff., 157. Strasaburg,
1898.
Tapper, F. jun. Dear's Complaint (M.L.N. x. 125 ff.).
Deor (M.Ph. ix. 265 ff).
The Third Strophe of Deor (Anglia xxxvn. 118 ff.).
Binz, G. P.B.B. xx. 192 ff.
Schiicking, L. L. Das ags. Oedicht von der " Klage der Frau " (ZfdA .
XLVIII. 436 ff.).
Bugge, S. The Norse Lay of Wayland and its Relation to English
Tradition (Sagabook of the Viking Club, II. 271 ff. ; also in Nor-
wegian in Ark. f. n. F. xxvi. 33 ff.).
Schiick, H. Bidrag til tolkning of JRok inskriften (Uppsala Univ.
Arsskrift, 1908).
Brandl, A. P.G., n. 975 ff.
Zur Gotensage bei den AS. (Archiv f. n. S. cxx. 1 ff).
Stefanovi6, S. Zu Deor, v. 14-17 (Anglia, xxxin. 397 S. ; xxxvi.
383 ff; xxxvu. 533 ff).
Lawrence, W. W. The Song of Deor (Mod. Phil. ix. 23 ff.).
Chambers, R. W. Widsith, pp. 15 ff. Cambridge, 1912.
Clarke, M. G. Sidelights on Teutonic History, pp. 118 ff.
HlLDEBRAND.
Editions.
v. Eckart, J. G. Commentarii de rebus Franciae orientalis, i. 864 ff.
Wirceburgi, 1729.
Grimm, Die Briider. Das Lied von Hildebrand u. Hadubrand, etc.
Cassel, 1812.
Grimm, W. De Hildebrando...fragmentum. Gottingen, 1830.
Vollmer, A. Hofmann, K. Das Hildebrandslied. Leipzig, 1850.
Grein, C. W. M. Das HI. Marburg, 1858 ; Cassel, 1880.
Sievers, Ed. Das HI., etc. Halle, 1872.
Wackernagel, W. Altdeutsches Lesebuch^. Basel, 1873.
Heinzel, P. Uber die ostgotische Heldensage, pp. 39 ff. Wien, 1889.
Miillenhoff, K. Scherer, W. Denkmaler deutscher Poesie u. Prosa^), I.
2 ff. ; n. 8 ff. Berlin, 1892.
Wadstein, E. Goteborgs Hogskolas Arsskrift, ix. Goteborg, 1903.
Trautmann, M. Finn u. Hildebrand (B. B. vn.). Bonn, 1903.
v. Grienberger, Th. Das HI. Wien, 1908.
of the Heroic Poems 56
v. d. Leyen, F. Alteste deutsche Dichtungen. Leipzig, 1909.
Braune, W. AUhochdeutsches Lesebuch m , pp. 809. Halle, 1911.
Mansion, J. Ahd. Lesebuch, pp. 113ff. Heidelberg, 1912.
Holthausen, F. Beowulf &. Heidelberg, 1912-3.
English Translations.
(For German, tee Braune and Holthausen, op. cit.)
Gummere, F. B. The Oldest English, Epic, pp. 173ff. New York,
1909.
Wood, F. A. The HUdebrandtlied. Chicago, 1914.
Commentaries.
Lachmann, K. Uber dot Hildebrandslied (Kleiner e Schriften, I. 407 ff. ).
Berlin, 1876.
Holtzmann, A. Germania, IX. 289 ff.
Rieger, M. Ib. IX. 295.
Schroder, O. Bemerkungen zur HI. (Symbolae Joachimicae, pp. 189 ff.).
Berlin, 1880.
Edzardi, A. P. B. B., vni. 480-90.
Moller, H. Uber ahd. Attiterationtpoesie. Kiel, 1888.
Kogel, R. P. tf.fc). n. 71 ff.
Getchichte der deutschen Litteratur, I. 1. 211 ff. Strassburg, 1894.
Luft, W. Die Entwickelung det Dudoges im alten HI. Berlin dissert.
1895.
Zum Dialekt det HI. (Fettgdbe an K. Weinhold, pp. 29 ff.). Leipzig,
1896.
Kauffinann, F. Das HI. (Festgabe fitr E. Sievers, pp. 124 ff.). Halle,
1896.
Erdmann, A. Bemerkungen mm HI. (P.B.B. xxn. 424 ff.).
Meissner, R. Zum HI (ZfdA. XLII. 122 ff.).
Staimbort chlvdun (ib. XLVII. 400 ff.).
Joseph, E. Der Dialog det alten HI. (ib. XLIII. 59 ff.).
Busse, Br. Sagengetchichtliches zum HI. (P.B.B. xxvi. 1 ff).
Franck, J. Die Uberlieferung det HI. (ZfdA. XLVEL 1 ff.).
Rieger, M. Zum HI. (ZfdPh, XLVIII. 1 ff).
Ehrismann, G. Zum HI (P.B.B. XXXIL 260 ff.).
Klaeber, F. HI. 63 f. (M.L.N. xxi. 110 ff).
Jottings on the HI. (ib. XXVL 211 ff).
Boer, R. C. De liederen van H. en Hadubrand. ( Vertlagen d. k. akad.
van Wetensch., iv. reeks, IX.). Amsterdam, 1909.
Wadatein, E. Minneskrift utg. af Jilolog. samfundet, pp. 86 ff. (also in
Q. Hogtkolas Artkrift, xvi.). Goteborg, 1910.
Collitz, H. Zum HI (P.B.B. XXXVL 336 ff.).
WALDHERE
hyrde hine georne :
"Huru Welande[s <jre]worc ne geswiceS
monna aenigum, )?ara Se Mimming can
hearne gehealdan. Oft aet hilde gedreas
5 swatfag ond sweordwund secQj] eefter oSrum.
JEtlan ordwyga, ne laet Sin ellen nu gyt
gedreosan to daege, dryhtscipe [feallan]
Nu is se daeg cumen,
j?aet Su scealt aninga oSer twega,
10 lif forleosan, oSSe langwe dora
agan mid eldum, ^Elfheres sunu.
Nalles ic Se, wine min, word urn cid[e]
[fry] ic Se gesawe aet Sam sweordplegan
Surh edwitscype aeniges monnes
15 wig forbugan, oSSe on weal fleon,
lice beorgan, Seah )?e laSra fela
Sinne byrnhomon billum heowun.
A 2. MS. Weland... wore. 5. MS. sec.
7. feallan supplied by Stephens. 10. MS. langc.
13. MS. sweordwlegan.
A 1. hyrde: probably from hyrdan (heard), "to encourage"; cf.
Elene, v. 841 : /a wees hige onhyrded (Dietrich). It might also come from
hyran, " to hear."
Bugge, however (Tidskrift, vin. 72), regards it as too abrupt an opening
for a speech and refers hyrde to the sword Mimming, "carefully (Weland)
tempered it." But Cosijn compares Beowulf, v. 2813 : het hine brucan wel.
A 2. For the opening of a speech with hunt cf. Guthlac, v. 332 and
the Address of the Soul to the Body, v. 1 :
Huru pees belwfap h&lej>a aeghwylc.
Welande[s ge~\worc : cf. Beowulf, v. 454, and Waltharius, v. 964 ; for the
story of Weland, Beadohild, NrShad and Widia see notes to Deor, pp. 70-73.
ne geswicef: cf. Beowulf, v. 1460 :
Nsefre hit set hilde ne awac
Manna sengum para J>e hit mid mundum gewand.
A 3. Mimming : Weland's moat famous sword.
In prSrik's saga, cc. 57 ff., Mimir is Velent's master, Mimnngr his
masterpiece; cf. Biterolf and Dietlieb, vv. 115-181, Horn Child, in. 298:
" It is the make of Miming,
Of all swerdes it is king,
And Weland it wrought,' 1
WALDHERE
A.
Eagerly she (sc. Hildegyth) encouraged him: " Weland's
handiwork in very truth will fail no man who can wield the
sharp Mimming. Many a time has warrior after warrior fallen
in the fray, pierced by the sword and weltering in his blood.
And in this hour, champion of Attila, let not thy prowess yield,
thy knightly courage fail. Now is the day come when thou,
son of Aelfhere, must lose thy life, or else win lasting glory
among men. Never will I taunt thee with reproachful words,
O lover mine, that in the clash of swords I have seen
thee yield in craven fashion to the onset of any man, nor flee
to the wall to save thy life, though many a foeman smote
thy corselet with his sword. But ever didst thou strive to
and continental references. (Maurus, Die Wielandsage, passim.) In Saxo,
Bk in., however, Mimingus is the name of the tatyrut robbed by Hotherus
of a sword and ring.
A 4. hearne, phonetic spelling of heardne, "sharp"; cf. Beowulf,
T. 2067, Heafobrarna.
A 6. Milan orduryga ; cf. Waltharius, T. 106 :
Militiae primot tune Attila fecerat illoi ;
Nibelungenlied, str. 1735 :
Er und der von Spdne trdten manegen ttic,
Do ti hie IA Etzel vdhten manegen w\c.
For Teutonic princes in the service of Attila, cf. Jordanea, c. xzxvin.
A 7. dryhttcipe : feallan supplied by Stephens to complete the verse.
This leaves a lacuna of half a verse at the beginning of the next line.
Accordingly Holthansen would expunge to dsege and read:
ne lat ffin ellen nu gyt,
gedreotan dryhtieipe. Nu it te dag cumen.
A 8. [Nu] i* te dttg cumen.
At the end of 1. 7 of the us. there is something illegible that may
possibly be nu (Holthausen, Die altenglitchen Waldere-Vruchstucke, p. 5);
of. Beowulf, v. 2646: Nu it te dag cumen.
A 9. offer twega; cf. Maldon, v. 207:
hie woldon pa. ealle oSer twega,
lif forleotan oSSe leofne gewrecan.
A 13 3O, according to Heinzel (WaWiertage, p. 7 ft.), refer to exploits
in the service of Attila, which Hildegyth might possibly have witnessed
from a tower or walled city ; bat the use of the demonstrative fam most
probably limits them to the preceding day, especially as Bugge compares with
weal Waltharius, v. 1118 :
Donee jam cattrum tecurut deterat artnm.
geiawe: Cosijn explains it as poetic licence, "saw" for "heard."
58 Wcddhere
Ac Su symle furSor feohtan sohtest
mael ofer mearce. Dy ic 5e metod ondred
20 ]?aet 5u to fyrenlice feohtan sohtest
set Sam aetstealle oSres monnes
wigraedenne. WeorSa Se selfne
godum daedum, Senden Sin God recce.
Ne murn Su for Si mece ; Se wearS maSma cyst
25 gifede to eoce unc; Sy Su GuShere scealt
beot forbigan, Saes Se he Sas beaduwe ongan
mid unryhte aerest secan.
Forsoc he Sam swurde ond Sam syncfatum,
beaga maenigo ; nu sceal beaga leas
30 hworfan from Slsse hilde, hlafurd secan
ealdne e&el, oSSe her aer swefan,
gif he Sa "
B.
" [rae]ce basteran
buton Sam an urn 5e ic eac hafa
on stanfate stille gehided.
A 25. MS.gifede. 31. MS. *.
B 1. MS. ce.
A 18. ac ffu syrtde furSor feohtan sohtest,
msel ofer mearce.
With the expression sohtest m&l, cf. the Icelandic legal term, sakja mdl,
" to press a suit." Feohtan is a noun in apposition to msel and ofer
mearce = " into the enemy's country." The whole phrase may be trans-
lated " but ever thou didst seek to press home thy martial suit."
A 19. metod, here, as originally, " fate," " destiny" (cf. O.N. mjo.tu9r);
usually an epithet applied to the Creator.
A SO. feohtan, as in v. 18, to be taken as the ace. of feohte rather than
as a verb. The instances of secan + infinitive noted by Callaway (The
Infinitive in Anglo-Saxon, pp. 57, 286) are all taken from rather late prose
works.
A 21. set ffam eetstealle: setsteall occurs twice elsewhere, in Guthlac,
v. 150:
him to SBtstsette serest arserde
Crisles rode ; par se cempa oferwon
frecnessa fela ;
and as a place-name set tetstealles beorh in a charter of Cnut ; cf. Eemble,
Codex Diplomaticus, iv. 31*. The only translation which will suit all three
passages appears to be "position" in the military sense; cf. Walt harms,
T. 1103: tali castro nee non statione locatus.
WcOdhere 59
press home thy martial suit. Wherefore I trembled for thy
fate, for that too fiercely thou didst attack thy warlike
adversary on the field of battle. Win honour for thyself by
noble deeds and till then may God protect thee. Have no
care for that sword; a peerless treasure is vouchsafed to thee
to help us in our time of trouble; wherewith thou shalt
humble Quthhere's pride, in that he unjustly began the
strife against thee. He refused the sword and the casket of
treasure with its many rings. Now ringless he shall leave
this combat and return to the land of which he has long
been lord, or perish here, If he...."
B.
" a better [sword] save that one which I too have
laid at rest in its jewelled sheatb. I know that Theodric
A 36. eocf, phonetic for geoce ; cf. Andreas, v. 1124, eogof>f, etc.
A 2. In support of the emendation bega Uat, "without either,"
which is not absolutely necessary, Bugge brings op Lokasenna, xiu. :
"Jot ok armbauga mundu as veto,
beggja vanr, Bragi."
A SO ff., cf. Beowulf, v. 52U ff. (Cosijn).
B 1. The interpretation of this passage is very doubtful. The fragment
opens towards the end of a speech by Guthhere, just before the swords are
drawn for the last struggle. Presumably Guthhere, who prides himself on
the excellence of his equipment (cf. Atlakvi}>a, vn. :
Sjau eigum talhiit iverfia full hverju,
[hver eru fxira hjolt or golli],
Mum veitk mar baztan mseki hvauattan),
declares that Waldhere possesses no sword better than his own.
The meaning of ttanjmt is disputed ; elsewhere it is used for a receptacle
of stone, such as the alabaster pot of ointment, and a parallel to the whole
passage occurs in the Metra of Boethins xx. 151 : - ^
and <m itanum eac itille geheded.
The translation would then be " a better sword than that one which
I have as well as this, stowed away in a stone-chest."
But would Guthhere have left his most precious sword at home on an
occasion like this? Moreover vaz is used for "sheath" in MHG. and
scabbards set with precious stones are occasionally found in continental
graves of the migration period ; cf. the sword-sheath set with garnets from
the grave of Cbilderic (ob. 481), and the gold band with red stones from the
Kve of Pooan (of Theodoric the Visigoth, who fell in the battle of the
jalaunian Plains? Cf. Lindenschmit, Handbueh drr dcuUchen A It her -
tvmtkmmdt L 68, 232 ff.).
In this case it would be translated as above. For the use of hydan in
ibis sense cf. HomiUet of ^Elfric (ed. Thorpe), n. 246, 24,
Critt het hint hydan 6*t heard item.
i the verse as follows :
[Ne teah ie mid mannum nu]ce bmUran.
60 Waldhere
Ic wat }>cet hine Sohte Deodric Widian
5 selfura onsendan ond eac sine micel
maSma mid Si mece, raonig oSres mid him
golde gegirwan iulean genam,
]>ass Se hine of nearwum NiShades mseg,
Welandes beam, Widia ut forlet
10 Surh fifela geweald forS onette."
Waldere maSelode, wiga ellenrof,
hsefde him on handa hildefro[/]re
guSbilla gripe gyddode wordum :
" Hwaet Su huru wendest, wine Burgenda,
15 ]>cet me Hagenan hand hilde gefremede
ond getwsemde feSewigges ? Feta, gif Su dyrre,
set Sus heaSuwerigan hare byrnan.
StanSed me her on eaxelum JElf heres laf,
god ond geapneb, golde geweorSod,
20 ealles unscende aeSelinges reaf
to habbanne, tyonne ha[n]d wereS
feorhhord feondum; ne bis fah wiS me
)>onne unmaegas eft ongynnaS,
mecum gemetaS, swa ge me dydon.
B 4. MS. ic. 10. MS. gefeald. 12. MS. hildefrore.
18. MS. standaif. 21. MS. had. 22. M3. he.
B 4. Nonsense as it stands in the MS. Trautinann emends ic to hine
(the sword Mimming).
B 7 1O ; cf. Witige's speech to Heime in Alpharts Tod, str. 252 ff. :
Dar an solt du gedenken, du uz ervelter degen
wie ich dir kam ze helfe unde vriste dir din leben.
Daz tet ich zuo Mutdren, da half ich dir uz not,
da miiestestu zewdre den grimmelichen tot
du und der von Berne beide genomen han
wan daz ich in beiden $6 schiere ze helfe kam.
The whole question of Dietrich's captivity among the giants is treated by
Jiriczek, Deutsche Heldensagen i. 182-271. The following are the most
important passages in MHG. poetry :
1. Virginnl (Zupitza, Deutsches Heldenbuch, v. 1 ff.). Dietrich loses his
way near Castle Mutar, where Duke Nitger lives guarded by twelve giants.
He is captured by one of these giants and held in close confinement till he
wins the favour of Nitger's sister, who lets Hildebrand know of his master's
plight. Hildebrand, Witige, Heime and others hasten to his aid; the giants
are slain, the castle taken and Dietrich rescued from captivity.
2. Sigenot (Zupitza, D.H.B. v. 207 ff.). Dietrich is again captured by
a giant and rescued by Hildebrand.
3. Laurin (Janicke, D.H.B. i. 199 ff.) treats of a captivity of Dietrich
among the dwarfs.
A convenient summary of these poems will be found inF. E. Sandbach's
Heroic Saga-Cycle of Dietrich of Bern (London, 1905).
Waldhere 61
was minded to send it to Widia himself and much costly
treasure with that blade and much beside it deck with gold.
Nithhad's kinsman, Widia, the son of Weland, received the
reward that had long been due for rescuing him from cap-
tivity. Through the giants' domain Theodric hastened
forth."
Then spake Waldhere, in his hand he grasped his
trenchant blade, a comfort in the fray the daring warrior,
with defiant words : " Ha, friend of the Burgundians, didst thou
deem in very truth that Hagena's hand had done battle with
me and brought my days of combat to a close? Fetch, if
thou darest, the grey corselet from me who am exhausted
by the fray. Here it lies on my shoulders, even the heirloom
of Aelfhere, good and broad-bossed and decked with gold,
in every wise a glorious garment for a prince to wear, whose
hand protects the treasure of his life against his foes. Never
will it play me false, when faithless kinsmen return to the
attack and beset me with their swords as ye have done.
B 1O. gtftald, which does not occur elsewhere, should be emended to
geveald ; of. Beowulf, v. 903, on feonda geweald (Kluge).
B 12. MB. hildefrore emended by Dietrich to hildefrofre. Cosijn points
oat that frore for frofre is also found in The Rule of St Benct, p. 10 1 (ed.
Logeman, E.E.T.S. 1888).
B IS. guSbilla gripe, abstract for concrete, " snijdend (tot den honw
gereeil) zwaard" [Cosijn], rather than " a gem of war-swords " (gripe = ON.
gripr).
B 14. wine Burgenda; of. Atlakvfra, xix., vin Borgunda (emended to
Borgunda hqllvin by Oering), see introduction, p. 41.
B 19. geapiifb has been translated " well-arched " and " crooked*
nibbed " (B.T.), neither of which epithets is particularly appropriate to
a corselet. On the other hand a mail-coat, found by Engelhardt (Denmark
in the early Iron Age, p. 46, etc.) in the peat-moxses of Torsbjaerg and olten
figured since, was strengthened or decorated with breast-plates (phalerae) ;
cf. the "zieischieben" of bronze in the museums of Kiel, Stettin, Hanover,
etc., mentioned by Liudenschmit, Die AUertlitlmer unserer heidnischen
Vorteit, in. vij. taf. 3. These phalerae were ultimately of iioman origin;
cf. Dareniberg-Suglio, Dictiontmire del Antiquite* grecquet et romainei, iv.
425, for examples from Crefeld and Mainz, especially the gravestone of
M'. Caeliua who fell with Varus, in 9 A.D. Is it impossible therefore that, as
a shield with its boss is styled celled bord, " the beaked shield," in Maldon,
v. 283, so the epithet geayneb, " broad-bossed," should be applied to a mail-
coat of this kind ?
B 28. MS. p6n | un msegai with a lacuna of three or four letters at the
end of the line, which Stephens filled by the insertion of yjlt. Bugge
(Tidtkrijt, vin 306) and Holthausen (Beowulf (3), n. 173) declare that the/
can read p6n off \ un mmgat, though ff is found only in ON. MSB., not else-
where in AS. Onga, the word they postulate, does occur in the sense of
" sting," " point of an arrow" (Kiddle zxiv. 4). They connect it with the
62 Waldhere
25 Deah maeg sige syllan se 5e symle by<S
recon ond rsedfest ryhta gehwilces,
se Se him to Sam halgan helpan gelifeS,
to Gode gioce, he J?aer gearo findeS,
gif Sa earnunga aer geSenceS.
30 Iponne moten wlance welan britnian
aehtum wealdan, )>aet is...."
B 30. MS. mtoten.
Prankish dyywv of Apathias, n. 5, and graves of the Merovingian period ;
cf. too the trident of Waltharius, v. 983 ff. (Althof, W.P. n. 382). In this
case msBQas = mtecgas, " warriors " (Diether, Anglia, xi. 106).
It were better perhaps to keep the reading fxmne unmsegas, which, if
demanding a aira \fy6fj.ei>ov, does fit in with sense and metre. Unmsegas
Waldhere 63
Yet victory can be given by Him who is always prompt
and regardful of everything that is good. For whosoever
trusts in the Holy One for help, in God for succour, finds it
ready to his hand, if first he be determined to deserve it.
Thus can the great distribute their wealth and rule their
possessions: that is "
may be compared with snob forma as unlondt (Walfisc, v. 14), " land that
is 110 land," and translated " kinsmen who are no kinsmen."
B 26. recon ; unless the text be normalised, it is quite unnecessary to
emend to recen, there being sufficient evidence for recon (B.T.).
FINN
[Aor]nas byrnaS naefre.
Hleoj?rode ]>a, hearogeong cyning :
" Ne Sis ne dagaS eastern, ne her draca ne fleogeS,
ne her Sisse healle hornas ne byrnaS ;
5, 6 ac her for)? beraS. Fugelas singaS,
gylleS graeghama, guSwudu hlynneS,
scyld scefte oncwyS. Nu scynetJ ]>es mona
watSol under wolcnum, nu arisaS weadaeda
10 Se Sisne folces niS fremman willaS.
Ac onwacnigea)? nu, wigend mine,
habbaS eowre Alencan, hicgeab on ellen,
windaS on orde, wesaS on mode."
1. Eickes * nas. 3. H. eastun.
12. H. habbaS eowre landa, hie geap on ellen.
1. The fragment opens in the middle of a word; Grein (Beowulf,
p. 75) supplies [beorhtre hor}nas.
3. hleoprode J>a, a satisfactory half-verse of the E type, though
Trantmann and others would reverse the order on the analogy of Andreas,
w. 537, 1360, etc.
hearogeong cyning. Following Grundtvig all modern editors emend to
heapogeong quite unnecessarily to my mind. Hearogeong (for heorugeong)
is a perfectly admissible form, with the same meaning, whatever that may
be, as heafogeong, which is likewise a a-raj- \ey6fievo ; cf. heordra for
heardra in v. 28.
cyning, probably the Hengest of v. 19. He is however styled fieodnet
Segn in Beowulf, v. 1085. This may be a loose or proleptic usage of
eyning ; cf. Abbo, de Bella Parisiaco, i. 38: Solo rex verbo, toeiis tamen
imperitabat; and Chadwick, Studies on Anglo-Saxon Institutions, pp. 301 ff.
(Cambridge, 1905).
3,4. Cf. Grottasgngr. xix. :
Eld sek brinna fyr austan borg:
vigspjqll vaka, ~f>at mun viti kallafir;
mun her kotna hinig of bragjn
ok brenna b<j fyr buj>lungi.
For the portent of a fiery dragon, cf. Saxo, Bk vi. (Holder, p. 175), and the
Chronicle 793 E, icseron gese<-wene fyrene dracan on J>am lyfte fieogende
(before the coming of the Northmen).
A, 6. ac her forj> beraS. Most editors have assumed a lacuna of at
least two half-lines after beraS. Hence Grein (Browulf, p. 75) would supply
feorhgenifflan
fyrdsearu fuslicu
and Bngge (P.B.B. xii. 23),
fyrdtearu rincat
fiacre fianbogan.
FINN
Then cried the king young in war, "It is not dawn
that glows in the east. There is no dragon flying here, nor
are the gables of this hall aflame. But here they are hurry-
ing forth. The birds are singing, the grey-coat is howling,
the war-wood is clanging, shield echoing when smitten by
the shaft. Now shines the moon through rifts in the clouds;
now fearful deeds are afoot that will bring on a pitched battle
here. But wake ye now, my warriors, don your corselets,
think on your prowess, dash to the van, be of good courage."
Schilling, however (M. L. ff. i. 116 ff.) points oat that no subject is required
in A. 8. where one is perfectly well understood; cf. Pogatscher, Anglia, zxin.
261 ff. Moreover btraf is to be taken as intransitive. " But here they (the
Frisians) are hurrying forth " ; of. Elene, v. 45 :
beran ut firsece
rincai under roderum,
and Andreas, v. 1220; also the mod. Eng. use of "bear" in nautical
phrases.
6, 7. There are several ways of taking this passage:
(1) fugelat =" arrows," not elsewhere in A.8., graghama = " mail-
coat " ; cf. Beowulf, v. 334, grmge tyrcan, Andreas, v. 129, gufsearo gullon,
" The arrows are whistling, the mail-coat is rattling."
(2) fugeldi = " birds of carrion," harbingers of slaughter, as often in
A.8. poetry; grseghama = "wolf" ; cf. Exeter Gnomic Verses, 151, wulf te
grstga, Brunanburh, v. 64, etc.
The latter rendering is more in character.
8. Jxt, idiomatic usage; cf. Exodus, v. 430, }xot geomre lyft, etc.
(Klaeber, Archiv /. n. S. czv. 181).
9. wafol; cf. perhaps MHG. wadel, "wandering," "erratic"; see
Chambers, Beowulf, p. 159.
10. folcet nif in the sense of folcgefeoht, folcgeicinn.
13. Hickes, habbaS eowre landa, hie geab on ellen, emended to habbaS
eowre hlencan, hicgeab on ellen on the analogy of Elene, v. 218: habban
heora hlencan, hycgan on ellen; cf. Bugge, P.B.B. zn. 23.
hicgraj) on ellen-, cf. Atlamal, XLVI., hug hi d harfrrmfn and the Homeric
06i>pt5ot dXirip (Iliad, vi. 112).
18. windaS on orde; cf. Genesis, v. 417:
f>t he mid feSerhoman fleogan meahte
windan on wolcne.
The initial letter of windaff is slightly different in form from the
customary 10 of Hickes. Hence Bieger (Z.f.d.A. ZLVIII. 9) and Klaeber
(E. St. xxxix. 428) read f>indu8 = tumttcere, "show your temper"; the
alliteration would then fall on urde, onmode. But cf. v. 27, wreccta (H.
wrecten), where the identical form of w is found and initial J> is out of the
question. Moreover Hickes represents capital / by >, even where the MBS.
have/: cf. Metra of Boethius, iv. 11, 12 ff. in Thetaurui, i. 185 and Grein-
Wulker, m. 7 fl.
D. R. P. 6
66 Finn
14,15 Da aras vnsemg goldhladen 5egn, gyrde hine his
swurde ;
Sa to dura eodon drihtlice cempan,
SigeferS and Eaha hyra sword getugon
and set oj>rum durum Ordlaf and Gu)?laf
and Hengest sylf hwearf him on laste.
20 Da gyt Garulf GuSere styrode
Saet he swa freolic feorh forman sij?e
to Ssere healle durum hyrsta ne bsere
nu hyt ni)>a heard anyman wolde.
ac he fraegn ofer eal(7e] undearninga,
25 deormod hsele)?, hwa )>a duru heolde.
"SigeferS is min naraa (cwej? he), ic eom Secgena
leod,
wreccea wide cu5 ; faela ic wean a gebad,
heordra hilda. De is gyt her witod
swaej?er Su sylf to me secean wylle."
30 Da waes on healle waelslihta gehlyn;
sceolde ce\lod bore? cenum on handa
22. H. baeran. 24. H. eal. 27. H. wrecten, weuna.
31. H. sceolde Celaes borff genumon handa.
14. Apparently there is a half-verse missing here and Sievers (Z.f.d.Ph.
xxix. 563 ff.), regarding goldhladen J>egn as unmetrical, would emend to
goldhladen gumj>egn ; cf. be Monna Craafte, v. 83. Hence Holthausen
(Z.f.d.Ph. xxxvii. 123) proposes
Sa aras [of rseste rumheort] meenig
goldhladen [gum\J>egn.
But, as in Hildebrand, I prefer to print the MS. as prose.
17. Eaha : this form with intervocalic h is declared impossible by
Moller (ae. Volksepos, p. 86), who would emend to Eawa (the name of
Penda's brother in Chronicle, 716 A, 757 A) ; but cf. Echha in Liber Vitae,
94, 96 (Sweet, O.E.T. p. 155 ff.), Aehclia in a charter of Wihtred, K. of
Kent (O.E.T. p. 428) and Acha (fern.) in Bede, H.E. in. 6.
18. durum, pi. for sing., as regularly in ON. dyrr.
Ordlaf and Gufrlaf; cf. the Oslaf and GutSlaf, who appear as Hnsefs
avengers in Beowulf, v. 1148 ff. The names Oddleivus and Gunnleivus are
also found in Arngrim Jonsson's epitome of the lost Skjoldunga saga, c. rv. ;
cf. Chadwick, O.E.N. p. 52.
19. Hengest. Chadwick (O.E.N. p. 52) has shown that there is some
reason for identifying this Hengest with the conqueror of Kent, the only
other person who bears the name.
SO ff. It is just possible that Hickes' reading (with the emendation of
he to he[o]) may be taken.
" Meanwhile Garulf (a Frisian) was taunting the warlike band (Hengest's
men), saying that such noble souls as they should not bear their armour to
the hall-door at the first onset, now that a bold warrior (Garulf himself) was
bent on spoliation." [But
Finn 67
Then up rose many a knight bedecked with gold and
buckled his sword about him. The lordly champions strode
to the door ; Sigeferth and Eaha drew their swords, and to
the other door went Ordlaf and Guthlaf, and Hengest himself
followed in their wake.
Meanwhile Guthhere was urging Garulf that he, whose
life was so precious, should not bear his armour to the door
of the hall at the first onset now that a fierce warrior was
bent on spoliation. But he like a gallant hero demanded
loudly above all the din of battle who it was that held the
door. " Sigeferth is my name," said he. " I am prince of the
Secgan, known as a rover far and wide. Many a hardship,
many a fierce battle have I endured. Yet to thee is either
lot assured that thou wilt seek at my hands."
Then there was the crash of deadly blows within the
hall ; the beaked shield in the heroes' baud must needs
Bat for my own part I am inclined to favour a more radical purge on the
lines of Klaeber (E. St. xxxix. 307, adopted by Chambers) :
/a gyt Garulfe Guffere ttyrde, etc.
"Meanwhile Guthhere was restraining Garulf (his nephew; cf. Hagano
and Patavrid in Waltharius, v. 846; Hildebrand and Wolfhart in Nibelungen-
lied, str. 2208 ff. ), saying that he, whose life was so precious, should not
bear his armour to the hall-door at the first onset, now that so bold a
warrior (Sigeferth) was bent on spoliation; but he (Garulf)...."
28. hyt, loose usage for hie (liyrsta); of. Beowulf, v. 1705 (Klaeber,
Anglia, zxviti. 456).
24. Hickes, eal. Trantmann (B.B. vn. 44) emends to ealle on metrical
grounds; cf. Beowulf, v. 2899: tsegde ofer ealle, and Daniel, v.^28:
frszffn ofer ealle
Swiffmod cyning hwset )>set swefen bode.
2O. Sigeferfi, Seegena lead, doubtless the Steferf who ruled the Sycgan
in Widsith, v. 31. For the confusion of Sa- and Sige-, cf. Saaberht, K. of
the East Saxons, who appears as Saberchtus or Saeberchtu* in the text of
Bede, but as Sigbtrchttu in certain MSB. of the Chronological Summary
(Plummer, Baedae Opera Hittorica n. 353); cf. Chambers, Widsith, p. 199.
Uhland (Germ. n. 357 ff.) and Golther (Germ, xxxin. 474-5) identify this
SigeferJ> with Sigurd the Vglsung, but their views have met with little
support.
(cv/tf) he): the only instance in AS. of the parenthetical "said he," so
common in Hildebrand and the Heliand.
80. Cf. Saxo, Bk n. (Holder, p. 65) :
Jam curia bellii
Concutitur diroque ttrepunt certamine portae.
81, perhaps the greatest crux in AS. poetry. Hickes is quite un-
intelligible; Grein (Beowulf, p. 76) emends to
tceoldt celled bord cenum on handa,
banhelm berttan,
comparing Maldon, T. 283, clufon celled bord, where ceUod probably means
" beaked " (Bosworth-Toller ; cf. Epinal Gloss. 862 : roitruvi = neb vel scipet
celae), no unsuitable epithet for an Anglo-Saxon shield. There are many
52
68 Finn
banhelm berstan; buruhSelu dynede,
o5 set Caere guSe Garulf gecrang
ealra aeresb eorSbuendra,
35 GuSlafes sunu; ymbe hyne godra faela,
j-hwearflacra hraer.^ Hraefen wandrode
sweart and sealobrun, swurdleoma stod.
swylce eal Finn[e]sburuh fyrenu waere.
Ne gefraegn ic naefre wurj?licor aet wera hilde
40 sixtig sigebeorna sel gebaerann,
ne naefre swanos hwitne medo sel forgyldan,
Sonne Hnaefe guldan his haegstealdas.
Hig fuhton fif dagas, swa hyra nan ne feol
drihtgesiSa, ac hig 5a durw heoldon.
45 Da gewat him wund haeleS on waeg gangan,
ssede \&t his byrne abrocen waere,
heresceorpum hror, and eac wses his helm Syrl.
Da hine sona fraegn folces hyrde
hu Sa wigend hyra wunda genaeson,
50 o5Se hwae]?er Baera hyssa
38. H. Finnsburuh. 41. H. swa noc. 44. H. dura.
other suggestions [Trautmann, B.B. vn. 46, cyllod, " covered with
leather," from cyll, "a leather pouch"; Jellinek, P. B.B. xv. 431, celed;
cf. Beowulf, v. 3022, gar morgenceald ; Holthausen ceorlses (collect, sg.),
later clsene, etc.] ; but Grein still holds the field.
banhelm may be taken as a kenning for shield, either :
(1) 6an/ieim=munimentuin ad versus occisores (Sprachschatz) or
(2) banhelm = banhus-helm, "protection for the frame," though in
similar compounds ban = ON. bein ; e.g. banbeorgas, banryft=ocreae. In
either case berstan would be intransitive.
"The beaked shield. ..must needs be shattered."
Bugge, however (P.B.B. xii. 26) would emend to bar-helm, "boar-
helmet," and take berstan as transitive, so in Eiddle v. 8, aud often in
Middle English.
"The beaked shield. ..must needs shatter the boar-helmet " ;
cf. Tacitus, Agricola, c. xxxvi. : Igitur et Batavi miscere ictus, ferire um-
bonibus, ora Joedare ; and Waltharius, v. 195 :
Sternitur et quaedam pars duro umbone virorum.
Unfortunately bar does not occur in Anglo-Saxon poetry. But cannot
banhelm be retained in the sense of " helmet decorated with bones "
(horns) ; cf. the epithets applied to Heorot in Beowulf, v. 704, hornreced,
v. 780, banfah? This view is quite unobjectionable on philological grounds
and is supported by archaeological evidence. Of course there are no such
helmets in existence from the Germanic area. Helmets of any description
are comparatively rare and, decorated with horns, are found only in repre-
sentation; e.g. alongside boar-helmets on the bronze plates from Torslunda,
Oland (Stjerna, Essays on Beowulf, p. 8) ; on the silver disc from Neuwied
(Aithof, Waltharii Poesis, n. 398) ; on the Golden Horn of Gallehus and the
Gundestrup bowl (Muller, Nordische Altertumskunde, n. 155, 165). For
Finn 69
shatter the horned helm. The castle floor reechoed, till in
the fray fell Garulf, son of Guthlaf, first of dwellers upon
earth, and many a gallant warrior about him; The
raven hovered dismal with its dusky plumage; the gleam of
swords flashed forth as though all Finn's castle were aflame.
Never have I heard of sixty warriors flushed with victory
who bore themselves more gallantly nor more honourably
in mortal conflict, nor squires who paid a better recompense
for shining mead than did his retinue to Hnaef. Five days
they fought in such a wise that no man fell out of that
knightly band ; but still they held the door.
Then departed a wounded hero limping from the fray;
he said that his mailcoat, armour of proof, was shattered and
pierced likewise was his helm. Him straightway asked the
keeper of the host how those warriors survived their wounds,
or which of the heroes
non-Germanic, Mycenaean, Macedonian, Celtic, instances, cf. Daremberg-
Saglio, II. 1438 ff., s.v. galta.
88. Hickes' hwearftacra hraer is corrupt, and none of the many
emendations (Grundtvig, hwearflicra hrsew ; Bugge, P.B.B. xn. 27 : hwearf
[fflacra hrmw) are at all convincing. Those editors who see a verb in hraer
are perhaps nearer the mark ( Jell i nek, P.B.B. xv. 431, hwearf laffra
hreat) ; and Holthausen's hwtarf [b]lacra hreat, " a company of pale ones
fell," is supported by Beowulf, v. 2488, hreat [hilde]blac.
88. Hickes, Fimuburuh, an impossible form in AS.
41. Grein (Beowulf, p. 76) emends Hickes to ne ntefre twanat twetne
medo tel forgyldan. Swanat is obviously correct ; but since the metre is
corrupt again, there is no point in altering hwitne.
44. dunt : probably Hickes misread u for a in the MB. , as in v. 3 eattun,
v. 27 weuna.
47. hcretceorpvm hror. Thorpe emends to heretceorp unhror, "his
armour useless," though it is doubtful whether unhntr can bear this
meaning; cf. however, Chambers, Beowulf, p. 162. But the MS. reading
can be translated "strong as armour" (Bosworth-Toller).
48. folcet hyrde: Finn; cf. the common Homeric expression Tol/uera
\auf, "shepherd of the host," applied especially to Agamemnon.
DEOR
Weland fhimbe wurmanf wraeces cunnade,
anhydig eorl earfoba dreag,
hsefde him to gestybe sorge ond longab,
wintercealde wraece ; wean oft onfond,
1. Weland, the most celebrated smith of old Teutonic legend, mentioned
over and over again in the literature of the middle ages. The references,
English, German, Scandinavian and French, are collected by Maurus, Die
Wielandsage, pp. 7-57 (Miinchener Beitrage, xxv., Erlangen, 1902) ; cf. es-
pecially King Alfred's Translation of the Metra of Boethius, x. 33 :
Hweer sint nu J>ses wisan Welandes ban
fises goldsmiSes, )>e wms geo mserost;
and piSriks saga, c. 69 (Bertelsen, n. 105) :
Velent er sva frsegr um alia norffrhalfo heimsins at sva fryckiaz allir
menn mega mest lofa hans hagleic at hveria J>a smiff er betr er gor en annat
smiSi, at sa er Volwidr at hagleic er gort hevir.
Hence any weapon of especial excellence was ascribed to Weland ;
cf. Beowulf, v. 455, Welandes geweorc (of B.'s corselet) ; Waldhere, A 2 (of
the sword Mimming) ; Waltharius, v. 965, Wielandia fabrica (of a mail-
coat), etc.
The story mentioned here is found at length in the Old Norse Vjlundar-
kvifia, one of the earliest of the Edda poems.
Briefly summarised, the story runs as follows : Vtflundr, a mysterious
smith, is surprised by NiJ>9)>r, king of the Niarar, and robbed of a great
treasure, including a (magic?) ring. The ring is given by NiJ>9J?r to his
daughter Bgjmldr and the smith hamstrung to prevent reprisals. Forced
to labour for the king, he seeks an opportunity for revenge, which soon
presents itself. Visited in secret by NiJ>9j>r's sons, he slays them both and
makes of their bones utensils for the royal table. In the meantime Bg)>vildr
has broken her ring and, fearing her father's wrath, she brings it to the
smithy for repair. The smith receives her amiably and offers her wine to
drink ; but the draught is drugged and Vtflundr works his will upon the
sleeping princess. Once more in possession of the ring, he regains his
magic power and flies away, first announcing what has happened to the
king.
An expanded version of the Vtflundr story, owing something to German
influence, is found in prSriks saga, c. 57 ff. (Bertelsen, i. 73 ff.). There
Velent is affiliated to the giant Vafli, the Wada of Widsith, whereas in
Vjtflundarkvi)>a itself he is called vlsi alfa, "prince of the elves," in the
prose introduction "son of the king of the Finns." Moreover the son of
Bpjjvildr and Vtflundr, vaguely hinted at in V01undarkyiJ>a, plays an im-
portant part in piflriks saga. He is VrSga, the Widia-Wudga of Widsith,
DEOR
Weland, the steadfast warrior, bad experience of perse-
cution ; he suffered hardship. As boon companions he had
grief and yearning, misery in the cold of winter. He fell on
T. 130, and Waldhere, B 4, the famous Wittich of the MHG. Dietrich cycle.
This person seems to be identical with the Gothic hero Vidigoia of Jordanes,
cc. T. and XXXIY. Possibly there was something mysterious about the
parentage of this Vidigoia; he may have been the offspring of a Gothic
princess and a bondsmith [Chadwick, H.A. p. 135], and since smiths were
generally regarded as uncanny people, a folk-tale cf. the Gascon Pied* d'Or,
edited by Blade, ConUt Populairet de Gateogne, L 126-147 (Paris, 1886)
may have been superimposed upon the original heroic story.
The second and third words are quite unintelligible ; they are usually
printed Aim bt wurman, and a host of suggestions, probable and improbable,
are collected in Grein- Walker, i. 278 n. Wurman might conceivably be a
blundered place or tribal name. Tapper for instance (Mod. Phil. ix. 266)
suggests that we should keep the MS. reading and translate ' ' in Werma-
land" (the 8. Swedish district of Varmland, which is associated in the
Heimskhngla, Olafs saga Helga, cc. 77, 181, with the neighbouring Nerike
and West Gdtaland ; see v. 14 n.).
4. wintercealde ; twice elsewhere in AS., Andreas, T. 1265, and Bidd.
v. 7, where it seems to mean "in the cold of winter" ; cf. pitSriks saga, c. 73
(ed. Bertelsen, i. 117) :
Velent malir at peir tkulo ganga ofgir til tmiSionnar pegar tnior vetri
nyfallin. En tveinarnir hirfa aldregi hvart peir ganga ofgir effa rettir, en
petta kefir urn r<?frinn veret. Oc pa tamo note eptir fell tnior.
In English tradition Weland is connected with a famous cromlech known
as Wayland Smith near Ashdown in Berkshire ; cf. a letter from Francis
Wise to Dr Mead, printed in Warton's Hittory of Engliih Poetry from the
Twelfth to the Clote of the Sixteenth Century (ed. by W. C. Hazlitt, London,
1871), i. 63 ff. :
" All the account which the country people are able to give of it is :
at this place lived formerly an invisible Smith, and if a traveller's horse had
left a shoe upon the road, he had no more to do than to bring the horse to
this place with a piece of money, and leaving both there for some little time
be might come again and find the money gone but the horse new shoed."
A similar story, told of the volcanic isle of Strongyle, is found in the
Scholia to Apollonins Rhodius, Argotuiutica, n. 761, and silent barter of
this kind still existed among the Veddahs of Ceylon in the days of Enox
(1681) ; cf. Seligman, The Veddaht, p. 6ff. (Cambridge, 1911).
For the smith in tradition, see Scbrader, Sprachvergleiehung u. Urge-
$chicnU s , n. 13-28 (Jena, 1907), and for the Weland story generally
Jiriczek, Deuttehe Heldentagen, pp. 1-54 (Strassbarg, 1898), and Clarke,
SidelighU on Teutonic Hittory, pp. 201-8 (Cambridge, 1911).
72 Deor
5 si)>j7an hine NiShad on nede legde,
swoncre seonobende on syllan monn.
]?aes ofereode; pisses swa maeg.
Beadohilde ne waes hyre bro)?ra dea]?
on sefan swa sar swa hyre sylfre ]?ing,
10 )>8et heo gearolice ongieten haefde
\&t heo eacen wses; aefre ne meahte
]?riste ge)?encan, hu ymb \wt sceolde.
J?aes ofereode ; Jrisses swa mseg.
We )?set MaeShilde monge gefrugnon
15 wurdon grundlease Geates frige,
14. MS. mxShilde.
5. on should be included in the first half-line. An exactly parallel
expression is found in Christ and Satan, v. 539:
f>ec gelegdon on lafne bend
h&fene mid hondum.
6. seonobende ; for the use of sinews as ropes, cf. Judges xvi. 7, mid
rapum of sinum geworhte (A.V. "with seven green withs that were never
dried").
For the whole passage, cf. VtflundarkviJTa, xiv. :
Vitti ser d ho/ndum hgfgar naufiir
En d fdtum fJQtur of spentan.
Vflundr kvaj>:
"Hvcrir 'u jqfrar J>eirs d logfiu
bestisima ok mik bundu."
Several editors (see Grein-Wiilker, i. 278 n.) have wished to read into the
stanza the story of the maiming of Vtflundr ; cf. the prose between strophes
xvm. and xix. of Vkv. : Svd var gyrt at skornar vdru sinar i knesfdtum ok
settr i holm einu.
They therefore emend seonobende to seonobenne, " wound to sinew," and
translate " after Nithhad had laid him in bonds (and laid) a supple sinew-
wound on a better man." But such emendation is quite unnecessary.
7. ofereode, impersonal with gen. of respect ; cf. Shipley, The Genitive
case in Anglo-Saxon Poetry (Baltimore, 1903), pp. 18, 50 : Brandl's rendering
(P. G. 2 n. 975), " das ging voriiber, dieses (gene voriiber) wie es kann," seema
unnecessarily strained.
8. Beadohilde, the daughter of Nifthad ; her brothers had been slain
and she herself outraged by Weland, as can be seen from the ON. Vrflun-
darkvij>a and pi'Sriks saga, c. 78, especially Vtflundarkvif>a xxxvm. : Nu
gengr B$J>vildr barni aukin. Elsewhere her name occurs only as the
Buodell of the Danish ballad, Kong Diderik og hans Ksemper, B 15 (Grundt-
vig, Danmarks Gamle Folkeviser, i. 100, Kjefbenbavn, 1853) :
Werlandt heder min fader,
war en smedt well skfn :
Buodell hede min moder,
en koning-dather wen.
The son of Beadohild and Weland was the Widia (Wudga) of Widsith,
v. 124-130, and Waldbere B, v. 4-10, the Viffga of piiSriks saga, and the
Wittich of the Dietrich cycle in MHG. literature. He was undoubtedly the
Vidigoia, " the bravest of the Goths, who fell by the treachery of the Sar-
matians," and was celebrated by his people in heroic poetry ; cf. Jordanes,
de Origins Actibusque Getarum, cc. v., xxxiv.
Deor 73
evil days after Nitbhad had laid fetters upon him, supple
bonds of sinew on a nobler man.
That was surmounted; so can this be.
On Beadohild's mind her brothers' death preyed far less
sorely than her own condition, when she clearly perceived
that she was with child ; she could not bear to think on
what must happen.
That was surmounted; so can this be.
Many of us have heard that the Geat's affection for
14. MB. we pmt nutf hildf monge gefrugnon.
A number of editors retain this reading and connect maff (elsewhere
unknown in AS.) with the ON. mtifo, translating " Many of as have heard
of Hild's violation." They cannot agree, however, upon the identity of the
lady. Gummere (O.E.E. p. 185) suggests Odila, the wife of Sifka, outraged
by Erminrik in pifiriks saga, c. 276 (Uertelsen, n. 158 ff.). Perhaps the most
plausible of these explanations is that put forward by Frederick Tupper, Jr
(Mod. Phil. rx. 265 ff.) ; he suggests that this, like the preceding stanzas,
refers to the Weland story. The Geat he identifies with NiShad (of. Vkv. ix.,
Nlfabr Nlara drdttin = " lord of Nerike," a part of the Swedish Gdtaland
in medieval times), the Hild with Beadohild. With v. 16 he compares
Vkv. xxxiii. :
Vaki ek ofvalt viljalauts,
tofna ek mintt tiz sunn daujxi.
But elsewhere in AS. frige is used for sexual rather than parental love.
Besides the story of Nitfhad and Widia, the son of Beadohild and Weland
(Nidnda ? and Vidigoia in Jordanes) is almost certainly of Gothic origin and
little likely to be connected with Sweden (as in Vkv.) in a poem so early as
Deor.
With less probability Lawrence (Mod. Phil. ix. 29 ff.) argues that it deals
with the love of Hild and HerSinn, comparing particularly the version found
in Saxo, Bk v.
But the case is far from proven, and it is safer to regard this stanza as
alluding to one of those stories, familiar enough to an Anglo-Saxon audience,
which have not come down to us. Klaeber (Anglia, Beiblatt, xvn. 283 ff.)
regards natS hildf as the Dat. of a compound name, Maf hildf. For the
use of MB- as the first element of a personal name there is at least one
parallel in the M&fhelm of Liber Vitae, 96 (Sweet, O.E.T. p. 156). It is
perhaps derived by haplology from Maeftelhild, for the first element of which
cf. the Prankish Mallobaudes (Schdnfeld, Worterbuch der Germanitchen
Pertontn- und Volktrnamen, p. 159).
The name Geat does occur at the head of the West-Saxon and Bernician
genealogies, and in Old Norse literature there are a number of kings called
Gautr (Chadwick, O.E.N. p. 270) ; but there is nothing to connect this Geat
with them. It should be taken therefore as a national rather than a
personal name ; Beowulf is spoken of as Oeat in vv. 1715, 1792.
The Scandinavian story of the god Freyr's love for the giantess GerSr
(found in Bkirnismal, ILIII. :
Lyng a ntftt, langar 'u tvmr,
ttvf of fTfyjak Jrriart
Opt mer mfnufir minni Jwtti
an tjd hynritt hglf ;
and Gylfaginning, c. xxxvu. : ekki tvaf hann, ekki drakk hann ; engi /ordt
at krejja Aattn mdlrins) u interesting as a parallel but nothing more.
74 Deor
\sst him seo sorglufu slaep ealle binom.
\>ses ofereode ; Jrisses swa maeg.
Beodric ahte ^ritig wintra
Maeringa burg; J?b waes monigum cu\>.
20 J?aes ofereode; pisses swa maeg.
We geascodon Eorman rices
wylfenne gej>oht ; ahte wide folc
Gotena rices; \&t waes grim cyning.
Saet secg monig sorgum gebunden,
25 wean on wenan, wyscte geneahhe
)>aet J>aes cynerices ofercumen waere.
]>3ds ofereode ; Jnsses swa maeg.
16. MS. hi.
18. Beodric. With the notable exception of Wilhelm Grimm most
authorities have identified Dietrich von Bern, the Theodoric of legend, with
the historical king of the Ostrogoths, who conquered Italy from Odovacar
and ruled it with great success from 493 to 527. It is certain that he was
so identified in Anglo-Saxon literature ; for the passages past wees Theodoricut
se cyning pone we nemnap peodric in the Old English Martyrology (p. 84,
ed. Herzfeld, E.E.T.S.) and se peodric wses Amulinga in King Alfred's Old
English Translation of Boethius (p. 7, ed. Sedgefield, Oxford, 1899) equate
the historical Theodoric with the hero of popular tradition. Yet there are
certain striking differences ; for the most notable features of the MHG.
Dietrich story, found already in Hildebrand, are the thirty years of exile
at the Hunnish court and the loss of almost all his knights which find no
counterpart in the life of the historical Theodoric. It seems most probable
therefore that the Dietrich of tradition has been credited with adventures,
which belong more properly to some older Gothic hero ; perhaps his father,
Theodemer, whose name indeed is found in one MS. of the Older Edda
(e.g. \>j6jndr of GuJ>runarkvit>a, in. 3), perhaps the Gensimundus toto orbe
cantabilis of Cassiodorus ; cf. Chadwick, Heroic Age, p. 62.
19. Mseringa burg. A most striking parallel is to be found on the
10th century Runic stone from Rok in Ostergotland, Sweden ; cf. Bugge,
Antiqvarisk Tidskrift for Sverige, v. 1 ff., and Stephens, Handbook of the
Old Northern Runic Monuments, p. 32 ff. (London, 1884) :
raip [p]iaurikR hin purmupi
stiliR flutna [a] strantu hraipmaraR.
sitir nu karuR a kuta sinum
skialti ub fatlapr skati marika.
" Theodoric the bold was riding,
prince of warriors, on the shores of the Gothic sea [Adriatic].
He is sitting armed on his steed,
decked with a shield, the lord of the Maeringas."
This strophe is supposed to be a description of the equestrian statue of
M. Aurelius, ascribed to Theodoric by the barbarians, which stood at
Ravenna till removed by Charlemagne to Aachen in 809 ; cf. Torp,
Ark.f. n. F. xxix. 345 ff.
M&ringas, evidently a name applied to the Ostrogoths; elsewhere we
find in the Eegensburg Gloss Gothi = Meranare, and in the Latin prologue
to Notker's OHG. translation of Boethius Theodoric is called rex Mergo-
thorum et Ostrogothorum.
For the connection between Dietrich and the Tyrolese Meran in MHG.
Deor 75
Maethhild passed all bounds, that his hapless love com-
pletely robbed him of his sleep.
That was surmounted; so can this be.
Theodric ruled for thirty years the fortress of the
Maeringas ; that has become a matter of common knowledge.
That was surmounted; so can this be.
We have learned of Eormanric's ferocious disposition ;
he held dominion far and wide in the realm of the Goths.
A cruel king was he. Many a man sat in the toils of care,
anticipating trouble and continually praying for the down-
fall of his sovereignty.
That was surmounted; so can this be.
literature, ef. Heinzel, Uber die ostgotitche Helderuage, pp. Off. (Wien,
1889); Jiricsek, D.H.S. i. 119 ff.
31. Eormanricet. According to his contemporary, Ammianua Mar-
eellinus, xxxi. 3. 1, Ermenrichus was a great king of the Goths, his empire
stretching from the Baltic to the Enxine, who perished by his own hand,
despairing of resistance to the Huns, c. 375. After Theodoric be was
the most celebrated in tradition of the Gothic kings ; bat he bears a
most sinister character throughout. Widsith, v. 88 ff., credits him with
generosity, but styles him vraf> warloga. an epithet elsewhere applied to
the Devil, and Beowulf, v. 1200, speaks of his tearonifas (murderous wiles) ;
ef. too the Qnedlinburg Annals : attutior in dolo, largior in dono. Already
in the 6th century Jordanes, c. x\rv., relates that he was attacked and
disabled by the kinsmen of Sunilda, whom he had torn asunder by wild
hones, pro mariti fraudutento disctsu, whatever that may mean.
There are three main elements in the later story of Eormanric (Jiriczek,
D.H.S. i. 99). 1. The slaying of Swanhild and the vengeance taken by her
brothers. 2. The death of his son. 3. The murder of the Harlungs (the
Herelingas, Emerca and Fridla, of Widsith, v. 112) ; his persecution of
Dietrich is peculiar to the German version.
From the 9th century at least the story developed on independent lines in
Germany and Scandinavia. The Northern authorities, Bragi's Ragnarsdrapa,
the Hamfcismal, the Prose Edda and the Vplsunga Saga (with the excep-
tion of Saxo, who only knows the Nibelnng story from Low German sources ;
cf. Bk xni., p. 427, notittimam Grimilde erga fratret perfidiam) connect it
with their greatest hero Sigurd Fafnisbani ; Swanhild, daughter of Sigurd
and Guftrun, is avenged by her brothers HanrSir and Sgrli, Jormunrekk's
hands and feet being cut off. In Germany, on the other hand, Eormanric
is attracted into the Dietrich cycle ; Dietrich is represented as his nephew,
though we know from historical sources that he was born some eighty years
after the former's death. In Middle High German literature (Dietrich's
Flncht, etc.), as also in pitiriks saga, Eormanric is the wicked uncle of
tradition; he compasses the death of his two nephews, the Harlungs,
Dietrich the third he deprives of his kingdom. In the latter role he has
evidently displaced Odovacar ; cf. Hildebrand, v. 18.
For an exhaustive treatment of Eormanric in tradition, see Jiriczek,
D.H.S. i. 55-118; Clarke, Sidelight* on Teutonic Hittory, pp. 232 ff. ;
Chambers, Widtith, pp. 15-36.
aa. icylfenne, "wolfish," "ferocious"; cf. Heliand, v. 5059: habdiun
im kufi iculto (of the Jews).
76 Deor
SiteS sorgcearig, sselum bedaeled
on sefan sweorceS ; sylfum JnnceS
30 ]>&t sy endeleas earfofra dsel.
Mseg ]>oune ge)?encan, ]?aet geond )>as woruld
witig dryhten wende]? geneahhe,
eorle monegum are gesceawaS,
wislicne blaed, sumura weana dael.
35 \sst ic bi me sylfum secgan wille,
J?8et ic hwile waes Heodeninga scop,
dryhtne dyre ; me waes Deor noma.
Ahte ic fela wintra folgaS tilne,
holdne hlaford, o]? J>set Heorrenda nu,
40 leoScrseftig monn, londryht ge]?ah,
j?set me eorla hleo ser gesealde.
J?ses ofereode; pisses swa mseg.
30. MS. ear/odd.
31. Cf. Wanderer, v. 58 :
For pan ic gej>encan ne mseg geond pas woruld,
for hwan modsefa min ne gesweorce
ponne ic eorla lif eal geondpence ;
a characteristic mood in Anglo-Saxon literature.
36. Heodeninga scop: Heodeningax = "Heoden and his men," cf. ON.
Hjafningar in the kenning Hjaffninga vefr: "battle" (Skaldsk. c. XLIX.),
and MHG. Hegelingas (the form should be Hetelingas, but it has been
influenced by certain Bavarian place-names ; cf. Jiriczek, Northern Hero-
Legends, p. 134) of the Austrian poem Kudrun.
HeSinn and Hogni Hagena weold Holmrygum, Heoden Glommum of
Widsith, v. 21 and the story of their everlasting conflict are known from
all parts and all ages of the Scandinavian world, in the Bagnarsdrapa of
Bragi Boddason, the earliest of Norwegian skalds, in the Hattalykill of
Rggnvaldr, Jarl of the Orkneys (12th cent.), in the Icelandic Prose Edda
of Snorri Sturlason and Sgrla]>attr, in the Faroese SjurSar KvseSi where,
curiously enough, Hogni is confused with his namesake of the Nibelung
story and in a Shetland ballad of 1774 from the isle of Foula. The better-
known of these versions are collected and translated by Chambers, Widsith,
p. 100 ff. In Kudrun, however, Hetele and Hagen are reconciled ; cf.
Panzer, Hilde-Gudrun, passim (Halle, 1901).
Deor 77
He who is anxious and distressed sits bereft of joy, with
gloomy thoughts in his heart. Suffering, he deems, will
ever be his lot Still he can reflect that the wise Lord
follows very different courses throughout the world; to many
a man he gives honour and abiding prosperity, yet nought
but misery to some.
Of myself I will say this much, that once I was minstrel
of the Heodeningas, my master's favourite. My name
was Deor. For many years I had a goodly office and
a generous lord, till now Heorrenda, a skilful bard, has
received the estate which the protector of warriors gave to
me in days gone by.
That was surmounted; so can this be.
7. Deor. The name Deor (in the form Diar) ocean in a Kentish
charter of 859; cf. Sweet, O.E.T. p. 450. It is also found on a coin of
Coenwulf of Mercia (796-822) ; and Aethelwnlf of Wessex had a raoneyer
of that name at Canterbury ; cf. Griiber and Keary, Catalogue of Englith
Coin* in the B.M., Anglo-Saxon teriet, i. 34, n. 9 ff. (London, 1887-93).
9. Heorrenda, like the H or ant of Kudrun, is Heeden's minstrel. In
the Prose Edda (Skaldks. c. XLIX.) and Sorla)>&ttr, however, Hjarrandi is
become the father of HetSinn, though a tradition of the poet may have
survived in the Hjarrand&ljoC mentioned in Bosa saga, c. xn. (F.A.S. in.
264).
4O. londryht ; as in Beowulf, v. 2886 :
londrihtei mot
f>mre mstgburge monna eeghwylc
idel hweorfan,
seems to mean an "estate " (or the rights over one), granted by the king and
revocable at his pleasure ; cf. Widsith, v. 95 :
he me land fargeaf
mine* faderet efrel, frea Myrginga.
HILDEBRAND
Ik gihorta dat seggen
dat sih urhettun senon muotin,
Hildibrant enti Hadubrant, untar heriun tuem.
Sunufatarungo iro saro rihtun,
5 garutun se iro gudhamun, gurtun sih iro suert ana,
helidos ubar [AJringa; do sie to dero hiltiu ritun.
Hiltibrawt gimahalta, (Heribrantes sunu,) her uuas
heroro man,
ferahes frotoro, her fragen gistuont
fohem uuortum, [A]wer sin fater wari
10, 1 1 fireo in folche, " eddo [A]welihhes cnuosles du sis ?
ibu du mi gnan sages, ik mi de odre uuet,
chind, in chunincriche: chud ist mir al irmindeot."
Hadubrant gimahalta, Hiltibrantes sunu :
15 "Dat sagetun mir usere liuti,
alte anti frote, dea e>hina warun,
3. MS. Hildibraht. 6. MS. ringa. 7. MS. Hiltibraht.
9. MS. war. 11. MS. welihhes. 13. MS. mtn.
1. Ik gihorta (tat seggen, a regular epic formula in the old Teutonic
languages.
2. urhettun might he N. pi. of a noun corresponding to AS. oretta, or
the pret. pi. of a weak verb ; cf. Goth, ushaitjan.
anon, probably N. pi. of adjective ; cf. Heliand, v. 13, enon (MS. enan).
muotin has been interpreted as the imperfect subj. of a verb corresponding
to OS. motion, as the pret. pi. of muoen, "bemuhen," "bedrangen" ; or as
the G. sg. of a noun, for which however there appears to be no evidence in
OHG. nor OS. But cf. Braune, Ahd. Leeebuch, pp. 180-1.
4. Sunufatarungo, a representative of a class of nouns "dvandva
compounds" common in Sanskrit ; cf. OS. gisunfadfr, " father and sons"
(Heliand, v. 1176): AS. suhtergefaderan, "uncle and nephew" (Beowulf,
v. 1164), etc. It might conceivably be an old dual ; otherwise it must be
a G. pi. depending on heriun. Cf. Braune, p. 181.
HILDEBRAND
I have heard it said that Hildebrand and Hadubrand
challenged each other to single combat between the hosts.
Father and son, they set their panoply aright and made
their armour ready: the heroes girt their swords above their
corselets when they rode to the fray.
Hildebrand spake, the son of Heribrand : he was the
older man, the riper in years. He began to ask in a few
brief words who was his father among mortal men, " or of
what stock art thou ? If, young warrior, thou wilt tell me
the name of one man in the kingdom, I shall know the
others of myself; for the whole race of men is known to me."
Then spake Hadubrand, the son of Hildebrand: "Our
liegemen, full of years and wisdom, who lived in days gone
7. Heribranttt nmu extra metrical as in TV. 30, 49, 58.
8. ferahet frotoro ; cf. Maldon, v. 317 : ie earn f rod feoret.
9. fohem uuortum ; cf. Beowulf, v. 2246 : fea worda cwstf.
[h]icer tin fater wari
fireo in folehe ;
T. Grienberger takes fireo with hwer ; cf. Odyssey, i. 170 : rlt -rbOtv tit
aripwr; and Heliand, T. 4974:
Fragodun Jiundo barn, hwilikes he folkes wari :
"Ni bitt thu, etc.,"
where the same abrupt transition from indirect to direct narrative is
found.
But phrases such as manno folc, helido folk are common in the Heliand.
With the whole passage Collitz (P.B.B. xzxvt. 366) compares the
meeting of Diomedes and Glaucus in Iliad vi. 119 ff.
IS. in chunincriche, probably to be taken with (nan as above
(Braune).
irmindtot, "the whole race of men." Irmin- was used as the first
element of compounds (cf. AS. yrmenfieodum in the Menologium, v. 139,
and eormtncynnts in Beowulf, v. 1957 ; OS. irminthiod, frequently in the
Heliand; ON. jormungrundr, "the whole earth") originally with the idea
of universality (of. Trantlatio S. AUxandri, o. HI.: Irniiruul, quod La tine
dicitur imiversalis columna, quasi nutinen* omnia), though afterwards this
idea was often forgotten ; cf. Widukind, Rerum Gestarum Saxoniearum
Lib. i. c. 12: Ilirmin... ; quo vocabulo ad laudem vel ad vituperationem
usque hodie etiam ignorantet utimur quoted by Chadwick, Origin of the
English Nation, pp. 226 ff.
19. alte anti frote; cf. Otfrid, 11. 12. 24: alter inti frudter, and
Beowulf, T. 2449: eald and in/rod.
80 Hildebrand
dat Hiltibrant haetti rain fater ; ih heittu Hadubrant.
Forn her ostar giweit, floh her Otachres nid
hina miti Theotrihhe enti sinero degano filu.
20 Her furlaet in lante luttila sitten
prut in bure barn unwahsan,
arbeo laosa; he[r] raet ostar hina,
Det sid Detrihhe darba gistuontun
fateres mines; dat uuas so friuntlaos man.
25 Her was Otachre ummet tirri,
degano dechisto miti Deotrichhe.
Her was eo folches at ente ; imo was eo fehta ti leop.
Chud was her chonnem mannum.
Ni waniu ih iu lib habbe...."
30 "-|-W[e]tu-f- irmingot" (quad Hildibrawt) "obana
ab heuane,
dat du neo dana halt mit sus sippan man
dine ni gileitos "
Want her do ar arme wuntane bouga
cheisuringu gitan, so imo se der chiming gap,
35 Huneo tmhtin. "Dat ih dir it nu bi huldi gibu."
18. MS. gihweit. 22. MS. heradk ostar hina, dtt. 24. MS. fatereres.
After 26 MS. has darba gistontun, repeated mechanically from above, v. 23.
30. MS. W. . tu, Hildibraht.
18. floh her Otachres nid ; cf. Beowulf, v. 1200 : searoniSas fleah (MS.
fealh) Eormanrices.
It is significant that in Hildebrand, the earliest evidence for Dietrich's
exile at the Hunnish court, his enemy is Otacher, Odoacer-Odovacar, the
Scyrrian or Turcilingian leader of fcederati, who in 476 deposed Romulus
Augustulus, the hist Emperor of the West, and reigned in Italy as Patrician
till the invasion of Theodoric (489), by whom he was treacherously slain
after the fall of Ravenna (493). In the MHG. epics (Dietrichs Fluent, etc.)
Otacher's place is filled by Erminrek ; cf. Deor, v. 21 n. An intermediate
form of the story is found in the QuedUnburg-Wiirzburg Chronicles (MGH.
SS. in. 31, vi. 23) and Ekkehard von Aura (MGH. S$. vi. 130 ff . ), where
Odovacar is the treacherous counsellor of Ermanric, corresponding to the
Sibich of later authorities.
2O ff. Perhaps the most satisfactory way of dealing with this much
disputed passage (cf. Braune, p. 182) is to take prut with v. Grienberger as
pruti (Gen.), "in his wife's bower." It can then be translated without
difficulty as above.
21. barn unwahsan; cf. AS. Genesis, v. 2871 : beam unweaxen.
23. MS. d, which Braune and others regard as dittography for
Det-rihhe : v. Grienberger compares with the inorganic }>se,t found in certain
AS. charters.
Hildebrand 81
by, have told me that my father's name was Hildebrand.
I am called Hadubrand. Long ago he departed towards
the east: he fled from the hatred of Odovacar, away with
Theodoric and many another of his knights. He left behind
his hapless son, bereft of his heritage, a little child in his
mother's bower. But he rode away to the east. In after years
Theodoric had need of my father ; he had lost all his friends
he was exceeding wrathful with Odovacar. The most de-
voted knight by Theodoric's side, he was ever in the fore-
front of the host : he always loved the fray. He was famous
among men of valour ; but I deem he is no longer alive."
"I call to witness the Almighty God from heaven above,"
quoth Hildebrand, "that never hast thou sought the wager
of battle with one so near of kin."
And with that he slipped from his arm the twisted rings
wrought of imperial gold, which the king, even the lord of
the Huns, had bestowed upon him. "This will I give to
thee in earnest of good faith."
24. dat uuat to friuntlaos man, a figure of speech common in AS. and
OS. ; cf. Beowulf, v. 11 : J>ttt wets god cyning, etc. It refers to Theodoric
rather than to Hildebrand ; cf. the prose at the beginning of Gu)>runarkviba
bin forna : fjriffrekr konungr var nuf Atla ok haffi far Idtit fiesta alia
menu tina; Klage, TV. 2061 ff., and Nibelungenlied, str. 2256 ff.
36. ummtt tirri ; cf. Aasen, Norsk Ordbog, p. 808 b (Ghristiania, 1873);
tfiren (tirren) : hidrig, vred, opirret, "hot-headed," "angry," "exasperated"
(Kdgel).
26. dechitto, generally taken as the superlative of an adj. corresponding
to ON. >Mcr, "tractable," "obedient.' 5 Kdgel (Gtschichte der deutschen
Litteratur i. 1. 219) emends to dehtisto ; of. OHG. kideht: devotut. In any
case cf. pifiriks saga, c. 15 (Bertelsen, i. 34) :
En tva mi kit aim hvar fieirra odrumm ath einguir karlmenn hafa meira
rnnazt eptir J>ri tern David kongur ok Jonathan.
27. jolchtt at entf : cf. AS. Riddle LXXX. 8 : herget at ende.
80. H'[et\tu (second and third letters illegible in us.). The twelve
different renderings are collected in Braune, p. 183 ; perhaps the least
difficult of these is Grein's icettu = ORQ. weizzu, "ich mache wissen,"
"rufe zum Zeugen an."
obana ab heuane ; cf. Heliand, v. 5799 : obana Jon radure.
81. neo dana halt ; cf. Goth. Skeireins, iv. d: ni j>e haldit (non
idcirco), and Heliand, v. 2643 :
Than hold ni mag thera medun man gimakon fittan,
though the sense is not quite parallel. If copied correctly it has lost its
force here as in the AS., no /y atr /ram mtahte (Beowulf, v. 754).
82. dine ni gelt Hot ; cf. Veldecke's Eneit, v. 77 ; teidinc leiden (v. Grien-
berger).
. wuntane bouga : cf. Beowulf, vv. 1193, 3134 : wunden gold \ Heliand,
T. 554 : wndan gold.
84. chtituringu, an imperial gold coin; cf. AS. catering: drachma,
didrachma,
D. B. P. 6
82 Hildebrand
Hadubrant gima[/ia]lta, Hiltibrantes sunu :
"Mit gem seal man geba infahan
ort widar orte. Du bist dir, alter Hun,
ummet spaher; spenis mih mit dinem wortun,
40 will mih dinu speru werpan.
Pist also gialtet man, so du ewin inwit fuortos.
Dat sagetun mi sgolidante
westar ubar Wentilsgo, dat inan wic furnam.
Tot 1st Hiltibrant, Heribrantes suno."
45 Hiltibrant gimahalta, Heribrantes suno :
"Wela gisihu ih in dinem hrustim,
dat du babes heme herron goten,
dat du no bi desemo riche reccheo ni wurti."
" Welaga nu, waltant got (quad Hiltibrant), wewurt
skihit.
50 Ih wallota sumaro enti wintro sehstic ur lante,
dar man mih eo scerita in folc sceotantero,
so man mir at burc gnigeru banun ni gifasta.
Nu seal mih suasat chind suertu hauwan,
breton mit sinu billiu, eddo ih imo ti banin werdan.
55 Doh maht du nu aodlihho, ibu dir din ellen taoc
in sus heremo man hrusti giwinnan
rauba birahanen, ibu du dar enic reht habes.
Der si doh nu argosto (quad Hiltibrant) ostarliuto,
36. MS. Hadubraht gimalta. 45. MS. Hiltibraht.
57. MS. bihrahanen.
37-8. There is perhaps a parallel to this passage in the Chronicon
Novaliciense, HI. 22, 23, where Algisus, when offered rings on the point of
a spear, refuses to trust himself within reach of it, exclaiming : Si tu cum
lancea ea mihi porrigis, et ego ea cum lancea excipio ; cf . too Egilssaga, c. LV.
39. Cf. Heliand, v. 1376 : spanan mid is spracu.
41. For the sequence of ideas, cf. prSriks saga, c. 400 (Bertelsen, 11.
338) : hann h&fir sigfiuttfram allan sinn aldr med soRrnffoc drengskap oc sua
er hann gama.ll or f inn.
42. Cf. Beowulf, v. 377 : pone ssegdon fi&t sseliifende.
43. Wentilsgo, "the Vandal Sea," "Mediterranean," a reminiscence
of the days of Gaiseric (428477), when the Vandal fleet terrorised the
Mediterranean; cf. AS. Wendelsse in Elene, v. 231, Alfred's translation of
Orosius, etc.
dat inan vric furnam : cf. Beowulf, v. 1080 : wig ealle fornam Finnes
begnat.
46 ff. Cf. Beowulf, v. 1484 ff.
48. I.e. "You have not lost your lord's favour."
Hildebrand 83
Hadubrand, the son of Hildebrand, replied: "With the
spear should one receive a gift, point to point. Thou
art of exceeding guile, old Hun. Thou seekest to decoy
me with thy words and wilt aim thy spear at me. Thou
hast grown old in the practice of treachery. Seafarers
who went westwards over the Vandal Sea, have told me
that he fell in battle. Dead is Hildebrand, the son of
Heribrand."
Then spake Hildebrand, the son of Heribrand.
* * * *
" By thy garb I see full well that thou hast a generous
lord at home ; thou art no outcast in this land."
" Woe now is me, Almighty God," quoth Hildebrand.
" An evil fate is come upon me. Sixty summers and
winters have I wandered in exile from my native land
and I was ever stationed in the forefront of the host:
yet no man dealt me my deathblow before any stronghold.
But now mine own son will smite me with his sword, slay
me with his brand, or I must be his slayer. Yet now if
thy prowess avail thee, thou canst easily win the harness of
so old a man, carry off the spoils, if thou hast any right to
them. Now were he the craven of the easterners who
40. waltant, got : cf. AS. wealdend god, OS. waldand god.
60. sehstic, i.e. 30 summers and 30 winters, a relic of the counting by
seasons (mit$eri). It is worth noting that Wolf-Dietrich was likewise in
exile for 30 yean ; cf. Chadwick, Heroic Age, p. 155.
In Jriflriks saga, c. 396 (Bertelsen, n. 331), the exile lasted 32 years.
61. tceotantero, simply " warriors" ; cf. Beowulf, v. 1155, etc.
62. bunun ni gifatta ; of. Elene, v. 477 :
Ne meahton hie wa disige deaf offsestan.
63. ttuuat, " own " ; of. AS. twos, and Asmundarsaga Eappabana, c. ix. :
Liggr /or inn tvdii tonr at hoffi.
64. breton mit tinu billiu ; wk vb, of. AS. breodwian (Miillenhoff). For
the phrase, cf. Exodus, v. 199 : billum abreotan.
eddo ih imo ti banin werdan ; of. Heliand, v. 644 :
hogda im te banin uuertfon;
and Beowulf, v. 587 :
Jxah fu //Hum broSrum to banan wurde.
66. ibu dir din ellen taoc, a common phrase in the poetic diction of the
old Teutonic languages ; ct Andreas, v. 460 : gif hit ellen deah, etc.
69. Cf. Waldhere, B 17.
67. ibu du dar enic reht habet, either "if you can make good your
claim" or "if you have justice on your side."
68. ottarliuto, Huns rather than Ostrogoths ; of. Asmundar saga,
where Hildibrandr is styled H&nakappi.
84 Hildebrand
der dir xm wiges warne, nu dih es so wel lustit,
60 gudea gimeinun: niuse de motti,
[AJwerdar sih hiutu dero hregilo rumen muotti,
erdo desero brunnono bedero uualtan."
Do Igttun se serist asckim scritan,
scarpen scurim, dat in dem sciltim stont.
65 Do stoptm tosamane, -fstaimbortf chlu&un,
heuwun harmlicco huittg scilti,
unti im iro lintun luttilo wurtun,
giwigan miti wabnuw
61. MS. werdar sih dero hiutu, hrumen. 65. MS. stoptu, staim bort
chludun.
59. nu dih es so wel lustit; cf. Otfrid, i. 1. 14; so thih es uuola
lustit.
60. gudea gimeinun ; cf. Beowulf, v. 2473 : wroht gem&ne.
niuse de motti; cf. Heliand, v. 224 : he niate ef he mdti ; Beowulf, v. 1387 :
wyrce se }>e mote.
61. MS. werdar for hwedar (AS. hwsefer).
A parallel to this passage is to be found in prSriks saga, c. 19 (Bertelsen, i.
19) : og here sa i brott hvarutveggia er meiri madur er og frseknare verdur f>a
er reynt er (Kogel).
63. Klaeber, H. L. N. xxi. 110 ff.. compares Layamon's Brut,
TV. 28322 ff.:
Summe heo letten ut of scipen
Scerpe garen scripen,
and emends asckim to ascki ; but the dat. is not absolutely impossible if
taken in the sense of "let fly with spears."
Hildebrand 85
should refuse thee the combat, the duel, since thy heart is
set upon it. Let him find out who can which of us this day
is doomed to be stripped of his panoply or to win possession
of both these corselets."
Then first they launched their spears, their sharp weapons,
so that the shields were pierced. Then they strode together,
they clove the bucklers shrewdly smiting at the white
targets until their linden shields, destroyed by the weapons,
were of none avail.
64. tcarpfn $curim (for tcurun perhaps by analogy with atckim) in
apposition to atckim ; cf. Heliaud, v. 5137 :
that man ina witnodi wapne* eggiun,
tkarpun tkurun,
where tktir is generally taken to mean "weapon" (Sievers, Z.f.d.Ph. zn.
113) ; but ef. Beowulf, v. 1033 : tcurheard, etc.
ttont, impersonal, "BO that there was a transfixing of the shields."
66. Most editors emend the us. ttvptun to stopun ; cf. Heliand, v. 4875 :
ttop tmu togegnet, and Rabenschlacht, v. 741 : zetamane ti ttaphten.
MB. itaim bort chludun, regarded by Lachmann as a single compound
noon, a kenning for "warriors." It is tempting, however, to emend
chludun to chlubun on the analogy of Maldon, v. 283 : clufon cellod bord.
The first element of staimbort has never been satisfactorily explained. The
natural way would be to take it as "stone," hence "jewelled shields"; but
I have not seen a single instance of shield-boss set with precious stones
from grave-finds of the period, and the only literary evidence, Gregory of
Tours' Hittoria Francorum, rx. 28, is not perhaps very valuable, though for
later times there is abundant evidence ; cf. Nibelungenlied, str. 1640, 2149 ;
Egilssaga, c. LXXVIII.
68. Cf. Maldon, v. 228 : forwegen mid hit wsepne.
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Cook, A. S. The Christ of Cynewulf. Boston, 1900.
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Wiilker, R. P. Codex Vercellensis. Leipzig, 1894.
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the Fall of Man. Heidelberg, 1913.
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Cook, A. S. The Dream of the Rood. Oxford, 1905.
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INDEX OF NAMES
MENTIONED IN THE POEMS
Wa, Wb=Waldhere A and B. AS, N, I = Anglo- Saxon, Norwegian and
Icelandic Runic Poems. F=Finn. D=Deor. H = Hildebrand.
.Elfhere (Wa. 11, b. 18), 37-43, 56,
57, 60, 61
Mtla, (Wa. 6), 38-41, 48, 56, 57
AsgarSr (I. 4), 28, 29
Beadohild (D. 8), 46, 70, 72, 73
Burgendas (Wb. 14), 41, 60, 61
Deor (D. 37), 45, 46, 76, 77
Eaha (F. 17), 66, 67
East-Dene (AS. 67), 20, 21
Eormanric (D. 21), .46, 74, 75
Farbauti (I. 16), 32, 33
Finn (F. 38), 43-45, 64-69
FroSe (N. 10), 26, 27
Garnlf (F. 20, 23), 66-69
Gautr (I. 4), 28, 29
Geat (D. 15), 45, 72, 73
Gotan (D. 23), 74, 75
GuSere 1 (F. 20), 66, 67
GuShere 2 (Wa. 25), 38-41, 58-61
Gu)>laf 1 (F. 18), 44, 66, 67
GuSlaf 2 (F. 35), 68, 69
Hadubrand (H. 3, 14, 17, 36), 48,
78, 78-83
Hagena (Wb. 15), 38-41, 60, 61,
76
Heardingas (AS. 70), 20, 21
Hengest (F. 19), 44, 45, 64, 66, 67
Heodeningas (D. 36), 76-77
Heorrenda (D. 39), 76-77
Heribrand (H. 7, 44, 45), 78, 79,
82-83
Hildebrand (H. 3, 7, 14, 17, 30, 36,
44, 45, 49, 58), 46-49, 78-85
Hildegyth, 37-43, 56-59
Hun (H. 35, 38), 37-41, 80, 82, 83
Ing (AS. 67), 20, 21
Jupiter (I. 4), 28
Kristr (N. 7), 24, 25
Loki (N. 13), 26, 27
Maeringas (D. 19), 74, 75
MffiShild (D. 14), 45, 72, 73
Mars (I. 12), 30
Mimming (Wa. 3), 56, 57, 60, 70
NiShad (Wb. 8, D. 4), 45, 60, 61,
70-73
Ordlaf (F. 18), 44, 66, 67
Otacher (H. 18, 25), 75, 80, 81
Beginn (N. 5), 24, 25
Saturnus (I. 3), 28, 29
Secgan (F. 26), 66, 67
SigeferS (F. 17, 26), 66, 67
peodric (Wb. 4, D. 18, H. 19,
Theotrihhe; 23, Detrihhe ; 26,
Deotrichhe), 45, 46, 48, 74, 75
Tr (N. 12, 1. 12), 18, 26, 27, 30, 31
Valb.911 (I. 4), 28, 29
VartSnin (I. 3), 28, 29
Waldhere (Wb. 11), 37^3, 56-63
Weland (Wa. 2, b. 9, D. 1), 46,
56, 57, 60, 61, 70-73
Wentilse.o (H. 43), 82, 83
Widia (Wb. 4, 9), 60, 61, 70-73
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