Owing to the pressure of teaching and other duties a considerable time has unfortunately elapsed since the earlier portions of the book were printed. I would therefore respectfully call the reader's attention to the list of Addenda at the end, where references will be found to several important works which have appeared in the meantime.
In a work, such as this, which deals with records preserved in a number of different languages, difficulties necessarily arise with regard to the spelling of proper names. In the representation of Teutonic names the system adopted in my previous books has in general been retained. Any such system is of course open to objections, of the cogency of which I am quite aware; and consequently I have not felt inclined to carry out my scheme with rigid consistency. The same remarks apply to the representation of Greek names—which will doubtless displease many critics. South Slavonic names and words are given according to the usual Croatian orthography.
I cannot attempt here to enumerate the various scholars to whose writings I am indebted. It will be seen that they are many and that much of what I have had to do is in the nature of criticism. One name however, that of Professor Ridgeway, I cannot leave unmentioned, since it is largely to his inspiring influence—by no means through his writings alone—that my interest in these subjects is due.
It remains for me to record my obligations to a number of friends who have generously responded to my requests for information or criticism on various points. In particular I must mention Miss A. C. Paues, Mr A. B. Cook, Dr W. H. R. Rivers, Mr S. A. Cook, Professor J. W. H. Atkins, Professor A. Mawer, Mr E. H. Minns and Mr F. W. Green. Above all I am indebted to Mr E. C. Quiggin and Mr F. G. M. Beck, who have most kindly read through a considerable part of the book in proof and several chapters even in manuscript. It is scarcely necessary to add that in the sections dealing with Celtic history and poetry Mr Quiggin's criticism has been of the greatest value to me. My thanks are due, further, to my pupils, Mr C. A. Scutt, of Clare College, and Mr Bruce Dickins, of Magdalene College, for similar kind services in the proofs of the later chapters. From the staff of the University Library—in particular I must mention Mr A. Rogers and Mr O. Johnson—I have received the same unfailing and courteous attention as in the past. Lastly, I have to thank the Syndics of the University Press for undertaking the publication of the book and the staff for the efficient and obliging way in which the printing and corrections have been carried out.
H. M. C.
December, 1911.
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
|---|---|---|
| I. | The early narrative poetry of the Teutonic peoples | [1] |
| II. | The Heroic Age of the Teutonic peoples | [19] |
| III. | Scene and nationality in the heroic stories | [30] |
| IV. | The origin and history of the heroic poems | [41] |
| V. | The poetry and minstrelsy of early times | [77] |
| VI. | Supernatural elements in the heroic stories | [110] |
| VII. | Mythical elements in the heroic poems | [131] |
| VIII. | The use of fiction in the heroic poems | [151] |
| IX. | The Heroic Age of Greece | [168] |
| X. | The Homeric poems | [193] |
| XI. | Early Greek poetry and minstrelsy | [221] |
| XII. | Supernatural elements in the Homeric poems | [249] |
| XIII. | Myth in the Homeric poems | [263] |
| XIV. | Fiction in the Homeric poems | [292] |
| XV. | The common characteristics of Teutonic and Greek heroic poetry | [320] |
| XVI. | Society in the Heroic Age | [344] |
| XVII. | Government in the Heroic Age | [366] |
| XVIII. | Religion in the Heroic Age | [393] |
| XIX. | The causes and antecedent conditions of the Heroic Age | [432] |