FOOTNOTES:
[33] Verba Dei legantur in sacerdotali conuiuio. ibi decet lectorem audiri, non citharistam; sermones patrum, non carmina gentilium. quid Hinieldus cum Christo? angusta est domus; utrosque tenere non poterit. non uult rex coelestis cum paganis et perditis nominetenus regibus communionem habere, quia rex ille aeternus regnat in coelo, ille paganus perditus plangit in inferno. uoces legentium audiri in domibus tuis, non ridentium turuam in plateis. Mon. Germ., Epist. Carol. II 124; cf. O. Jänicke, ZfdA. XV 314.
[34] The names Grendel, Cain, Abel, Alexandreas and Casere are not included.
[35] For the figures and the method of calculation see Note I.
[36] But open to very serious objections, as has been shown by Prof. W. W. Lawrence in the Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, XXIV 251 ff.
[37] Compound names containing wīd- or -sīþ (-sinþ-) are used in other Teutonic languages; but the latter apparently does not occur in England, while the former is extremely rare.
[38] In contrast with the body of the poem (vv. 10-134) it is non-strophic, after the general fashion of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Originally when the poem was recited it may have been introduced with a short explanation in prose, such as we find e.g. in Rígsmál or Atlakviða. The epilogue (vv. 135-143), which is likewise non-strophic, may belong to the same stratum.
[39] Especially the regular use of unsyncopated forms such as 3 sg. onwindeð, past part. onsended.
[40] The statistics for these poems are as follows: Juliana 27:3, Christ (II) 28:3, Elene 66:9, Guthlac (A) 42:6, Dream of the Cross 10:5, Exodus 10:14, Beowulf 13:65; see Brandl, S.-B. d. Akad. der Wiss. zu Berlin, 1905, p. 718 f.
[41] Cf. Brandl, l.c. (p. 721 ff.).
[42] Hist. Eccl., IV 24: canebat autem de creatione mundi et origine humani generis et tota genesis historia, de egressu Israel ex Aegypto et ingressu in terram repromissionis, de aliis plurimis sacrae scripturae historiis, de incarnatione dominica, passione, resurrectione et ascensione in caelum, de Spiritus Sancti aduentu et apostolorum doctrina. item de terrore futuri iudicii et horrore poenae gehennalis ac dulcedine regni caelestis multa carmina faciebat; sed et perplura de beneficiis et iudiciis diuinis, etc. Prof. Brandl (Grundr., II 1028) holds that the reference is to lyric poems throughout. But is this interpretation really necessary?
[43] On this date see Note II.
[44] For a brief discussion of this question see Note III.
[45] A few examples are given in the following chapter.
[46] vv. 27, 72, 101, 570, 670, 706, 711, 756 (?), 786, 788, 790, 801, 806, 811, 852, 940, 967, 975, 986 (?), 1201, 1255, 1379, 1626, 1658, 1680, 1682, 2088, 2182, 2216 (?), 2276 (?), 2469, 2650, 3083 (?).
[47] vv. 168 f. (?), 227 f., 440 f., 478 f., 588 f., 625 f., 945 f., 955 f., 1314 f., 1397 f., 1778 f., 1841 f., 1997 f., 2819 f., 2874 f., 3108 f.
[48] vv. 13-17, 90-8, 106-14, 316-8, 381-4, 665-7 (?), 685-7, 696-702, 928-31, 977-9, 1056-62, 1261-5, 1271-6, 1553-6, 1609-11, 1661-4, 1688-93, 1716-8, 2291-3, 2329-31, 2341-3 (?), 2741-3, 2794-7, 2855-9, 3054-7, 3069-73.
[49] vv. 588 f., 977-9. 2741-3. 2819 f.
[50] It is perhaps worth noting that in v. 2186 the expression dryhten wereda is used of Hygelac. Elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon poetry this phrase is applied only to the Deity.
[51] Clark Hall, Beowulf, p. xxviii.
[52] If there is Celtic influence at all it is more probably Welsh.
[53] Cf. p. [46], note, where the passage is quoted in full.
[54] The amount of freedom differs of course greatly from case to case (cf. Note IV, p. [101] ff.); but it is only in communities which have elaborated the art of minstrelsy to a very high degree that the form of words can become absolutely stereotyped.
[55] Beowulf (1889), pp. 110-160.
[56] Quellen und Forschungen, LXII (1888); summarised p. 242 ff.
[57] The Origin of the English Nation, p. 93, note.
[58] The references quoted on p. [41] ff. preclude the possibility that these stories were first acquired from the Danes, when the latter again became known in this country about the close of the eighth century.
[59] A different view is taken by Schücking, Beowulfs Rückkehr (Studien zur engl. Philologie, XXI), p. 65 ff.
[60] We may refer especially to the account of Attila's funeral given by Jordanes, cap. 49 (from Priscus).
[61] Apart from certain expressions the general tone of these speeches, especially the last words of all (v. 2813 ff.), is scarcely Christian; but they contain nothing which is obviously opposed to Christian doctrine.
[62] E.g. in the imprecation, v. 3069 ff. The imprecatory formulae of charters can scarcely be regarded as analogous.
[63] Cf. Brandl, op. cit., p. 1003.
[64] The same idea is frequently expressed in the Homeric poems, e.g. Il. VII 79 f., XXII 342 f., XXIII 75 f., XXIV 37 f., Od. XI 71 ff., etc.
[65] This date does not depend in any way on the question where the poem originated. Cremation may possibly have lingered in Northumbria longer than elsewhere; but that kingdom seems to have become entirely Christian between 626 and 642.
[66] E.g. possibly some of the elegiac passages (e.g. vv. 2236-2270, 2450-2464), which show a certain resemblance to such poems as the Ruin and the Wanderer.
[67] The name Hegelinge in Kûdrûn is probably a corruption of Hetelinge (i.e. Heodeningas).
[68] Presumably including vv. 88-108; but I am not prepared to suggest an elaborate analysis of the poem.
[69] These lists are perhaps derived in part from mnemonic catalogues—'inventories' of the stories known to the minstrels who composed them. Metrical catalogues of this kind are said to be in use among Servian minstrels at the present day; cf. Krauss, Slavische Volkforschungen, p. 186 ff., where a specimen is given.
[70] Waldhere, Deor and Widsith all contain 'Christian' passages, like Beowulf. The interpolations in Widsith (e.g. vv. 15 f., 82 ff.) appear to have been made by some one who possessed a certain amount of erudition; but there is no need to attribute them to a different period.
[71] Cf. Olrik, Kilderne til Sakses Oldhistorie, p. 132.
[72] The name appears to have been quite common in the North during the Viking Age; yet the apparent absence of umlaut suggests derivation from a (Frisian?) form corresponding to the Ang.-Sax. Aetla (cf. Aecci, Aeddi beside Acca, Adda).
[73] In contrast (e.g.) with Kûdrûn, which clearly shows its foreign origin (cf. p. [34]).
[74] Such names may have been current before, though their frequent occurrence is no proof of this and may be due to the popularity of the heroic poems. It is perhaps worth noting that alliteration is shown by certain names which are generally believed to have been introduced into the story in Norway or Iceland, e.g. Oddrún, Erpr, Eitill with Atli, Giaflaug, Gullrönd (Guðrún?) with Giuki and Gunnarr. If we may judge from the genealogies in Landnámabók and elsewhere the principle of alliteration seems to have been generally given up in family names before the ninth century.
[75] The Cult of Othin, p. 51 f.
[76] Cf. Bugge, Beiträge, XII 45 ff.
[77] Cf. Sievers, Ges. d. Wiss. zu Leipzig, Ber. 1895, p. 180 ff.
[78] Kilderne til Sakses Oldhistorie, pp. 18 ff., 132.
[79] The Origin of the English Nation, p. 118 ff.
[80] Item barbara et antiquissima carmina, quibus ueterum regum actus et bella canebantur, scripsit memoriaeque mandauit (Vita Caroli Magni, cap. 29).
[81] Cassiodorus (Var. VIII 9) states that the Gothic king Gensimundus, who according to Jordanes (cap. 48) reigned shortly after Eormenric's death, was widely celebrated in poetry (toto orbe cantabilis); but his name is preserved only in Gothic records.
[NOTE I. THE USE OF HEROIC NAMES IN ENGLAND.]
The distribution of heroic names in English historical documents is as follows. The Liber Vitae contains 35 (37), of which nine (eleven) are peculiar to that work[82]. Of those which occur in other documents 29[83] belong to persons born apparently before 700, six to such persons only, 14 or 15[84] to persons born between 700 and 800, two to such persons only, and 22[85] to persons born after 800, four to such persons only. It must be remembered that, apart from the Liber Vitae, the materials for the ninth and tenth centuries are much more abundant than those for earlier times.
In the Liber Vitae itself it is possible within certain limits to distinguish between persons of early and later date. Investigations in the lists of kings, queens and abbots have shown that they are arranged chronologically, and it is only reasonable therefore to expect that the same is true of the much longer lists of clerics and monks. A brief examination of the names will make it clear that such is actually the case. Some modernisms of language, such as -ferth for -frith, or of orthography, such as -ht- for -ct-, are practically confined to the last parts of the lists, which may be by later hands[86]. But even within the parts certainly written by the first scribe archaic forms such as -iu- for -io- are more frequent at the beginning of the lists than later; so also occasional -b- for -f-. Above all we may note the uncompounded names in -i, a type common in early Anglo-Saxon, but practically extinct after the eighth century. Fol. 24, the first in the clerics' list, contains eleven such names, while fol. 30 contains none; fol. 34, the first in the monks' list, has eight, while fol. 38 has only one.
Now we shall probably be well within the mark if we assume that one fifth of the names in each list[87] belong to persons born in the seventh century. On this basis we find that of the 35 (37) heroic names which occur in the Liber Vitae nine (ten) are limited to persons of the seventh century[88], and twelve (thirteen) to persons of the eighth[89]. The total number of names in each century (cf. p. [43]) may be obtained by comparing the evidence of the Liber Vitae with that of the other documents[90].
The fact that so many heroic names occur in the Liber Vitae has led several writers to conclude that the true home of English heroic poetry was in the north. But no such inference is really justified by the evidence. The number of personal names recorded for the south of England during the sixth and seventh centuries is very small; yet it is only here that we meet with persons called Eormenric, Hoc and Hagena—names which belong to quite different cycles of story. Moreover out of the 37 heroic names preserved in the Liber Vitae no less than 28 occur in place-names in various parts of England. The frequence therefore of heroic names in the Liber Vitae is to be attributed in part to the great abundance of the material and in part to its comparatively early date.
Including the evidence of the Liber Vitae there are fifteen heroic names which seem to be borne only by persons of the eighth century or later times. Eight of these however occur also in place names[91]. Of the remaining seven[92] all except one or possibly two[93] make their appearance during the eighth century. On the other hand it has already been mentioned that not less than nineteen heroic names[94] occur only in local nomenclature.
We have still to mention a few heroic names which are not found in the extant remains of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Theodhere (Diether) is known only from the sixth century, Hild, Herding, Iuring, Omoling only from the seventh, Hildegyth and Blaedla from the seventh and eighth, Wulfheard from all periods, Ecga only from the eighth century, Ecgheard from the eighth and ninth, Sigesteb only from the ninth. Hild, Wulfheard and Ecga are found also in place-names. In some of these cases, e.g. in that of Hildegyth, the non-occurrence of the name in the poems is clearly due to mere accident; but it would scarcely be safe to assume that all these characters were celebrated in Anglo-Saxon poetry.