FOOTNOTES:
[12] Except of course those which deal only with supernatural beings (p. [11] f.).
[13] Quoted in the prose Edda (Skaldskaparmál, cap. 66).
[14] Theodosio XV et Valentiniano IV coss. (A.D. 435): pax facta cum Vandalis.... eodem tempore Gundicarium Burgundionum regem intra Gallias habitantem Aetius bello obtriuit, pacemque ei supplicanti dedit, qua non diu potitus est. siquidem illum Hunni cum populo atque stirpe sua deleuerunt.
[15] The overthrow of Guthhere is ascribed to Attila by Paulus Diaconus in his Gesta episc. Mettensium (Mon. Germ., Scr. II p. 262), Hist. Misc. XIV (Muratori, Scr. I p. 97); but he is a late authority. On the other hand an anonymous Gaulish chronicle, which ends in the year 452, attributes the whole of the Burgundian disasters to Aetius: bellum contra Burgundionum gentem memorabile exarsit quo uniuersa pene gens cum rege per Aetium deleta (Mon. Germ., Chron. Min. I 660). But this seems to be due to the confusion of two events which Prosper clearly distinguishes (cf. Idatius, Chron., Theodosii ann. XII, XIII).
[16] Liber Legum Gundebati, cap. 3 (Mon. Germ., Leg., Vol. III p. 533): si quos apud regiae memoriae auctores nostros, id est Gebicam, Godomarem, Gislaharium, Gundaharium, patrem quoque nostrum et patruum, liberos liberasue fuisse constiterit, in eadem libertate permaneant.
[17] This cycle is supposed to have been known in England at one time, owing to the juxtaposition of the names Seafola (Saben) and Theodric in Widsith, v. 115. Theodric, king of the Franks, is mentioned in the same poem (v. 24).
[18] Cf. Berger de Xivrey, Traditions Tératologiques, p. 12.
[19] Einhardi Ann., 812 (Mon. Germ., Scr. I p. 199). Prof. Olrik (Nordisches Geistesleben, p. 44) apparently rejects this identification, as he places Haraldr Hilditönn not long after the time of Hrólfr Kraki.
[20] The list makes no claim to completeness. Thus several of the characters in Hervarar Saga (probably mentioned also in Widsith, v. 116 ff.) have been identified with historical persons of the fifth century. But the evidence is far from satisfactory.
[21] The Origin of the English Nation, p. 134 f.
[22] But also with Theodric. This is a question to which we shall have to refer later.
[23] Venimus in illum locum ubi dudum Vidigoia, Gothorum fortissimus, Sarmatum dolo occubuit (cf. also cap. 5).
CHAPTER III.
SCENE AND NATIONALITY IN THE HEROIC STORIES.
In the last chapter it was pointed out that the age covered by the heroic poetry and traditions of the Teutonic peoples coincides with a clearly marked period of history, extending over about two or possibly three hundred years, and coming to an end in the latter half of the sixth century. Something must now be said regarding the geographical and ethnographical limitations of the stories—the localities in which the scenes are laid and the nationalities to which the various characters belonged. The scenes are distributed over a considerable part of Europe, extending from Italy to Sweden and from western Russia to the Vosges and the Netherlands. The British Isles however seem to have lain outside the area, though in the late form in which some of the stories have come down to us, we do occasionally find references to them—generally to Scotland or Ireland—which are probably due to confusion with stories of the Viking Age. Indeed it is remarkable that the early Anglo-Saxon poems contain no reference to persons or events connected with this country. Further, except possibly in the case of the story of Hengest and Horsa, we have no evidence worth consideration that poems dealing with such subjects ever existed. Norway also is not made the scene of any of the main stories, though it is mentioned incidentally in English and German as well as Scandinavian poems. The Balkan peninsula figures only in the later German poems, while references to places in Italy are limited practically to the Dietrich (Theodric) and Wolfdietrich cycles.
Turning to the question of nationality we find the following peoples represented: (i) to the Goths belong Eormenric, Theodric, Wudga (Witege) and probably most of the heroes associated with them; (ii) to the Huns Attila; (iii) to the Burgundians Guthhere and his family; (iv) to the Rugii apparently Hagena (Högni), the father of Hild; (v) to the Franks Hugdietrich and Wolfdietrich, if the identifications are correct; (vi) to the Frisians Finn; (vii) to the Angli Wermund and Offa; (viii) to the Danes (a) Fróði the Peaceful, (b) Sigarr and his family, together probably with Hagbarðr and Haki, (c) Hrólfr Kraki and his family, perhaps also Froda (Frotho IV) and Ingeld; (ix) to the Götar Hygelac, Beowulf and their relatives; (x) to the Swedes (Svear) Aðils and his family.
It is somewhat remarkable that we have no stories dealing with Alamannic or Bavarian heroes, since the German poems which have come down to us are almost entirely derived from the territories of these peoples[24]. The Vandals too are unrepresented, and probably also the Visigoths, while the evidence for Frankish heroes is slight and rather unsatisfactory. Frankish nationality is claimed by most scholars for Siegfried, chiefly on the ground that Xanten is represented as his home in the Nibelungenlied[25]. Yet he is never called a Frank, and it is not clear that Xanten was in the possession of the Franks at the time to which the story refers. The same nationality may perhaps be claimed for Waldhere. In several German poems Langres is said to be his home, though he is also called a Spaniard, while Ekkehard makes his father king of Aquitaine[26]. To this question we shall have to return later. In any case both stories refer to a period considerably anterior to the real conquest of Gaul by the Franks, and it is certainly a curious fact that Clovis and his great achievements seem to be entirely unnoticed in poetry.
It appears then that though most of the principal Teutonic nations are represented in our stories the relative prominence assigned to them does not at all correspond to what we should expect. Most remarkable is the fact that in stories relating to the Continent nearly all the chief characters (Eormenric, Theodric, Guthhere, Attila, etc.) belong to nations which had passed out of existence before the end of the sixth century. From Jordanes (cap. 5) we gather that the preservation of the early Gothic traditions was very largely due to the pride taken by that people in its own heroes of the past. Yet it is not easy to see how the survival of the stories which have come down to us can be ascribed to any such feeling.
Let us first examine the Anglo-Saxon poems. In Beowulf the scene is laid first in the land of the Danes and later in that of the Götar. The hero himself belongs to the latter nation, but in the earlier part of the poem the former are decidedly the more prominent. Taking it as a whole the interest is divided between the royal families of these two nations; the only other dynasty which comes in for any considerable share of attention is that of the Swedes. In the story of Finn the interest is centred in a prince and his followers who according to Beowulf were of Danish nationality and involved in hostilities with the Frisians. In Waldhere the hero and heroine, whatever their nationality, belong to Gaul, while their opponents are Burgundians. In Deor the interests are mainly, perhaps exclusively, Gothic. In Widsith the foremost characters are Eadgils, prince of the Myrgingas (a dynasty hostile to the Angli), and the Gothic king Eormenric; after them the English king Offa, the Danish kings Hrothgar and Hrothwulf, Guthhere, king of the Burgundians, Aelfwine (Alboin, king of the Langobardi) and several Gothic heroes. In all these poems there is no reference, as far as we know, to any person of English nationality except Offa and his relatives (Beow. 1944 ff.), nor except in Widsith is the name of the Angli even mentioned.
If we turn now to the Scandinavian records, which are entirely Norse (Norwegian-Icelandic), so far as the vernacular literature is concerned, the phenomena which confront us are on the whole very similar. As we might expect from the comparative lateness of our authorities the nationality of the various characters is not very clearly indicated. It is remembered that Atli (Attila) belonged to the Huns and Iörmunrekr (Eormenric) to the Goths, but Gunnarr (Guthhere) is only once called lord of the Burgundians. As for Sigurðr, his later adventures are uniformly located in the Rhineland, but the history of his family is generally connected with Denmark, which is also the scene of Helgi's exploits. Most noteworthy however is the fact that Norway is only mentioned once in the Older Edda, namely in the prose of Helgakviða Hiörvarðssonar. In the sagas it is somewhat more prominent, e.g. in the account of Biarki's origin in Hrólfs Saga Kraka; but these passages are usually regarded as accretions to the original stories. Of course there are numerous other sagas which deal exclusively with Norwegian history and legend. These stories however are peculiar to Norwegian-Icelandic literature, and the earliest persons who figure in them, if we may regard them as historical, cannot have lived before the seventh century. In stories relating to earlier times the scene is practically always laid in Denmark or southern Sweden or in the lands south of the Baltic.
Even in the German poems national feeling has influenced the choice of subjects comparatively little. The poems in their present form are mainly Austrian or Bavarian. Yet except in the second half of the Nibelungenlied this region does not figure prominently[27], and even there the Bavarian characters that occur are generally believed to be rather late additions to the story. The chief characters of the story in its original form were clearly Burgundians and Huns, to whom the Goths may have been added at a fairly early date. The stories which deal with the Rhineland—those of Siegfried and Walther—may be derived ultimately from early Frankish poems; but this cannot be proved. Most of the others are concerned with Gothic heroes, the true scene of whose adventures is to be sought in Poland, Hungary, Italy and other countries which had ceased to be Teutonic before the time of our authorities. Theodric, it is true, seems to have become a national hero in the south-east, but this feature is prominent only in the latest poems, and even here it is clearly remembered that he belonged to Italy. But the most remarkable case is that of Kûdrûn. The poem itself is probably Austrian, but the names which it contains show that the story is derived from Frisian sources. The scene is laid first in Ireland, then in Denmark and lastly in Normandy. Yet if we take into account the various Scandinavian versions and the references to the story in Anglo-Saxon poetry, there is every probability that it came originally from the Baltic.
This short discussion will suffice to show how singularly free the poems we have been discussing are from anything in the nature of national interest or sentiment. They are certainly national in the sense that the characters are drawn entirely, or almost entirely, from within the Teutonic world—for even Attila can hardly be regarded as an exception. But nationalism in the narrower sense, i.e. in the interests of the poet's own nation or tribe, seems to be altogether wanting. The interest is centred in one or more individual characters and in the various adventures that befall them. Sometimes, as in Beowulf, it does also embrace the history of the family to which these persons belonged, but the nation, apart from the royal family, is practically disregarded.
The contrast afforded by the historical poems of the ninth and tenth centuries[28] is sufficiently obvious. We have seen that these poems, whether English or German, uniformly deal with the poet's own nation. The poem on the battle of Brunanburh is an expression of national triumph. It is not concerned with the personal adventures of the king or his brother, but with the prowess of the English army as a whole. The bravery of the princes is certainly noticed, but they appear to be regarded as the champions and representatives of the nation. The Ludwigslied breathes on the whole a similar spirit, in spite of its strongly religious tone. Even in the skaldic poetry of the North traces of national pride are clearly discernible, as in Hákonarmál (v. 3), where Haakon, at the head of his Norwegian troops, is described as the terror of the Danes.
It may perhaps be urged that, though the poems which have come down to us have no national interest, they may be derived from older poems which originated in the hero's own land. Thus many scholars believe Beowulf to be of Scandinavian origin in one sense or another, though the linguistic arguments which have been brought forward in favour of this view are not generally admitted. But there is a curious lack of uniformity in the national interests of the poem, as we have already seen. If it had been the chief intention of the original poet to glorify the Danish nation, he would not have ignored it as he has done in the latter part of the poem. On the other hand if his intention was to glorify the Götar he would hardly have begun with an account of the early kings of the Danes. The difficulty has been got over by supposing that the poem as we have it is of composite formation, and it may very well be that the second part of the poem is a later addition. But it is to be observed that somewhat similar phenomena occur in other cases. Thus the stories of Siegfried and Attila are connected both in the Nibelungenlied and the Edda, and there can be no doubt that the connection is of considerable antiquity. Yet the only common element in the two stories is supplied by the Burgundians, and the portraiture of their princes, especially that of the king, is hardly of such a character as to suggest its derivation from a poem composed for the glorification of the Burgundian nation.
The evidence then of Beowulf alone is scarcely sufficient to justify us in assuming more than that its author or authors were interested in the royal families of the North, and that they possessed a considerable amount of information regarding them. The account of the early kings of the Danes seems to be in the nature of a tribal or family tradition—to be compared with the early stories given by Jordanes, Paulus Diaconus and Widukind. Traditions of this kind are no doubt generally of a mythical character, and consequently their origin is to be sought in the particular locality or family with which they are concerned. We have no evidence that such traditions formed the main theme of stories which were common to the poetry of the various Teutonic peoples. But it is natural enough that a poet who was well acquainted with some royal family, whether that of his own nation or not, would also know its traditions, and that he would utilise them incidentally or by way of introduction in a poem largely concerned with the fortunes of that family.
The main story of the poem stands on a different footing. Of course if it could be shown that the Danish princes who figure both in Beowulf and the various Scandinavian records were fictitious persons, who never really existed, we should be bound to hold that they were derived from a common story, probably of Scandinavian origin. But few scholars would now be willing to admit such a proposition. Certain incidents, such as the exhortation of Ingeld (Ingellus) by the old warrior (Starcatherus), may be held to point to a common origin in poem or saga; but most of the events narrated appear to have been either preserved by memory or invented independently.
With the stories of Sigurðr (Siegfried) and Waldhere the case is somewhat different. It is the opinion of the great majority of scholars that both these heroes are mythical or fictitious, in spite of the fact that they are associated with undoubtedly historical characters. If this view is correct—a question which we shall have to discuss later—we may conclude at once that the different versions of the two stories, Scandinavian and German in the one case, English and German in the other, have sprung from a common source, whether in poem or saga. But even if we take the opposite view, viz. that Sigurðr and Waldhere were real persons and that their adventures are founded on fact, it does not by any means follow that the different versions of their stories must have originated independently. Neither hero seems to have belonged to a family of outstanding position, nor were their exploits such as to influence the destiny of nations.[29] In the age of Hunnish supremacy scores of petty princes must have undergone somewhat similar adventures and distinguished themselves by similar deeds of heroism. Hence it can hardly be due to accident that the handful whose names we know were celebrated far and wide in the Teutonic world.
The story of Eormenric is again rather a different case. There can be no question that this king was a historical person, but the earliest detailed account which we possess of his doings, viz. that given by Jordanes, dates from nearly two centuries after his death. Now we find what is perhaps the most striking episode in Eormenric's story, namely the account of Swanhild and the vengeance attempted by her brothers, both in Jordanes and the Older Edda (Guðrúnarhvöt and Hamðismál) with comparatively slight variations. The chief feature wanting in Jordanes' account is supplied by the Annals of Quedlinburg.[30] How much truth the story contains we are not in a position to decide. But even if we grant that the main features are historical, the event can hardly have been of the first importance, since the attack seems really to have failed in its object. Ammianus Marcellinus says that Eormenric committed suicide owing to despair at the impending Hunnish invasion, and Jordanes recognises that his death was partly due to this cause. But in the later (Scandinavian and German) accounts it is entirely forgotten. Hence if we bear in mind the close agreement between the Gothic and Scandinavian versions of the story, not only in the names of the characters but also in the description of Swanhild's death, we can hardly help inferring that they are derived from a common narrative source.
In conclusion mention may be made of a story which appears to be definitely at variance with historical truth, namely the account of Attila's death given in the Edda poems Atlakviða and Atlamál. It is there stated that Attila was murdered with his two children by his wife Guðrún in revenge for her brothers (Gunnarr and Högni), whom he had treacherously put to death. Now Jordanes (cap. 49) says that Attila died from the bursting of a blood-vessel on the night of his marriage with a girl named Ildico. As his account is derived from Priscus, a contemporary and trustworthy writer, there can be little doubt that it is correct. Yet it should be observed that the Roman chronicler Marcellinus Comes, who wrote apparently a few years before Jordanes, says that Attila died by the hand of a woman.[31] The account given in the Edda therefore is no invention of an Icelandic or Norwegian poet, but founded on a story which was current among the Romans within a century after Attila's death. Indeed considering the circumstances it is by no means unlikely that the story originated immediately after the event.
These examples will be sufficient to show that the subjects of many of our poems are derived from stories which passed from one Teutonic people to another and some of which were of great antiquity. Further, it is a proof of the popularity of these stories that they were preserved until comparatively late in the Middle Ages, in spite of the fact that they did not appeal to national interests. The question how they were preserved and transmitted is one which we shall have to discuss in the following chapters. We may note at once however that the most obvious means of preservation, namely by means of writing, was almost certainly not used to any great extent. Had that been the case the divergencies between the different versions of the stories would be far less noticeable than they are. Even in the case of Waldhere, which shows probably the least amount of variation, the Anglo-Saxon fragments show a treatment of the subject totally different from that which appears in Ekkehard's poem. Again, there is no evidence that the Roman alphabet was used in the North, except possibly by a few foreigners here and there, before the end of the tenth century, while the Runic alphabet, though it had been known for many centuries, seems not to have been employed for literary purposes until very late times. But, as we have already mentioned, some of the Edda poems date probably from the ninth century, and the story of Heðinn and Högni is used by the poet Bragi who lived apparently in the early part of that century. On the Continent of course the case is somewhat different. We have seen that Charlemagne did have a number of ancient poems written down; but there is nothing to show that his collection had any permanent influence. When the Quedlinburg annalist or his authority quotes the heroic stories, perhaps some two centuries later, he refers not to any written works but to songs formerly current among the country people. It is doubtless by oral tradition therefore, whether in verse or prose, that the stories of the Heroic Age have mainly been preserved.
There can be no question that a large number of similar stories have perished. A glance through the catalogues of Widsith will show many names which otherwise are entirely unknown to us, and also an appreciable number which are not mentioned elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon literature, though they figure in German and Scandinavian records. It would scarcely be wise however to assume that all the stories of the Heroic Age were common Teutonic property. Thus we have no evidence for the story of Waldhere in the North[32], while stories dealing with Danish heroes seem to have been little known in Germany. The latter observation deserves notice all the more in view of the obvious popularity of such stories in England—a fact proved not merely by Beowulf and Finn, but still more by the prominence assigned to Danish characters in Widsith.
It will be convenient now to summarise briefly the results of our discussion. We have seen that the scenes of the heroic stories are distributed over most of the lands formerly occupied by the Teutonic peoples. Norway and England however, as well as the distant kingdoms of the Visigoths and Vandals, seem to lie outside the area. The heroes also are drawn from many nations, though not in the proportion which we should expect. Thus the Frankish nation, which ultimately became dominant, is but poorly represented, while the most prominent places are taken by peoples such as the Ostrogoths and Burgundians, which lost their nationality in the course of the sixth century.
We have further seen that a very large proportion of the characters of the heroic stories figure in the literature of two or more nations, and that frequently the same stories are told of them. In the latter case it is probable, indeed often practically certain, that the different versions of the story are ultimately derived from a common narrative. On the other hand, where the same characters are known but only in connection with different events, such derivation can be proved only if it can be shown that the characters themselves are fictitious. This remark applies especially to a number of characters common to Beowulf and Scandinavian stories relating to Hrólfr Kraki and his times.
It is fully in accord with these facts that the heroic poems are not concerned at all—or at least only to a very slight degree—with local or tribal interests. Their tone indeed may be described as in a sense international, though with the restriction that characters and scenes alike are drawn exclusively from within the Teutonic world.