The statements of the poems as to the prevalence of court-minstrelsy during the Heroic Age are fully confirmed by the testimony of contemporary Roman writers. Perhaps the most important reference is a passage in Priscus' account of his visit to Attila in the year 448. After describing the banquet given by the king to his guests he proceeds as follows[128]: "When evening came on torches were lighted and two barbarians stepped forth in front of Attila and recited poems which they had composed, recounting his victories and his valiant deeds in war. The banqueters fixed their eyes upon them, some being charmed with the poems, while others were roused in spirit, as the recollection of their wars came back to them. Others again burst into tears, because their bodies were enfeebled by age and their martial ardour had perforce to remain unsatisfied."
It will be noticed that this account bears a curious resemblance to the passage from Beowulf which we have just quoted. Nothing is said as to the language in which the poems were composed[129], but at all events we need hardly doubt that in this as in other respects Attila was following Gothic custom. For the duet we find an interesting parallel in a passage of Widsith (v. 103 ff.): "Then Scilling and I began to sing with clear voices before our victorious lord; loudly rang out our music as we played the harp. Then it was openly confessed by many brave-hearted and experienced men that they had never heard a better song."
Evidence for the cultivation of minstrelsy at Teutonic courts in Gaul is furnished by letters of Cassiodorus (Variarum II, 40 f.) and Sidonius Apollinaris (Ep. I, 2). The former document is an answer from the Ostrogothic king Theodric to a request from Clovis, king of the Franks (d. 511), who had asked him to send him a skilled minstrel. Sidonius' letter is a very full account of Theodric II, king of the Visigoths, who reigned from 453 to 466. He states that the king seldom admitted jesters when he was dining, and that he took no pleasure in music except when it encouraged manliness of spirit as well as pleased the ear. In neither of these cases however is it certain that the performers were Goths.
A clearer case of Teutonic minstrelsy, dating from the same period, occurs in one of Sidonius' poems (Carm. 12[130]), in which the author complains that he has to live among troops of longhaired and greedy Burgundians, listening with polite attention, in spite of his disgust, to their songs. More than a century later we hear of Frankish court-minstrelsy in a neighbouring district. In a poem addressed to Lupus, duke of Aquitaine, about the year 580, Venantius Fortunatus (Carm. VII 8. 61) says: "Let the Roman sound your praise with his lyre and the barbarian with his harp[131]"; and again: "Let us frame verses for you, while barbarian poets compose their lays; thus the hero will be greeted with like honour, though in diverse strains[132]." In the introduction to his poems the same author complains of the constant buzzing of the harp, as it resounds to the barbarian lays[133].
A curious case of royal minstrelsy is recorded by Procopius (Vand. II 6) in his account of the siege of Mount Pappua (A.D. 534). Gelimer, king of the Vandals, wrote a letter to Faras, the Herulian chief who commanded the besieging army, begging him to send him a harp, a loaf and a sponge. The explanation given by the messenger was that the king had composed a song upon his misfortunes and as he was a good minstrel he was anxious to accompany it with a mournful tune on the harp as he bewailed his fate[134]. We are again reminded of Hrothgar, but perhaps still more of Hrethel's dirge over his son (Beow. 2460 f.).
These examples are sufficient to show that minstrelsy was widely cultivated in the courts of the Teutonic princes who had established themselves in Roman territory. Taken together with the references in Anglo-Saxon poetry, which deals of course with the more northern peoples, they leave no doubt that the prevalence of court-minstrelsy was one of the characteristics of the Heroic Age. For the existence of professional minstrels the Roman evidence is not so clear, though we may regard in this light the two 'barbarians' mentioned by Priscus (p. [84]). On the whole the impression which we gain from our authorities is that the cultivation of the art was more or less general as in the north.
But it must certainly not be assumed that the poems of the period were always of an ephemeral character. Jordanes (cap. 5), in a passage to which we have already referred, says that the Goths "used to sing to the strains of the harp ancient poetry dealing with the deeds of their ancestors, Eterparmara, Hanala, Fridigernus, Vidigoia and others who are very famous in this nation[135]." Again, when he mentions the migration of the Goths to the Black Sea (cap. 4), he refers to "their ancient poems," where this event is commonly related in almost historical style[136]. From such expressions we must conclude that Jordanes knew, directly or indirectly, of Gothic poems which he believed to have been in existence for a considerable time.
Jordanes' language may be compared with Einhard's reference to the 'barbarous and very ancient poems' collected by Charlemagne (cf. p. [62]). But in reality there appears to be an essential difference between the minstrelsy of the Heroic Age and that of Charlemagne's time. In the latter period we hear only of 'very ancient poems' or of poems dealing with 'the deeds of the ancients,' as in the story of Bernlef. The two expressions may really be more or less equivalent, for there is nothing to show that Bernlef was an original composer. For the existence in his time of court-minstrelsy, or indeed of any poetry dealing with contemporary persons and events, we have no evidence which can be called satisfactory[137].
In the Heroic Age on the other hand we have references not only to 'ancient poems' but also to original compositions, dealing with the praise or fortunes of living men. The exploits of Attila, one of the leading figures of that age, were sung in his own presence, as we know from an eye-witness. We need scarcely doubt therefore that Beowulf truly reflects the spirit of the times when it makes one of the Danish king's thegns compose a poem on the hero's exploit immediately after the event. It is to such compositions that heroic poetry—indeed in a sense we may say the Heroic Age itself—owes its origin.
The beginning of the process may be seen from a few passages in Widsith. At the end of the poem we are told that "he who wins praise (lof) shall have his glory (dom) established on high beneath the sky." The meaning of the first expression is explained by another passage (v. 70 ff.): "I have been in Italy with Alboin. No human being, as far as my knowledge goes, had a readier hand than had Audoin's son for the winning of praise, nor a heart more ungrudging in the distribution of rings and shining bracelets." We may compare also what the poet says of his patroness, the princess Ealhhild (v. 99 ff.): "Her praise spread through many lands, when I set myself to declare in song where under heaven it was that I knew of a gold-adorned queen who lavished presents in the noblest fashion." The chief object which the characters of the Heroic Age set before themselves is to 'win glory'—to have their fame celebrated for all time. Thus in Beow. 1387 ff. the hero says: "Let him, who can, win for himself glory before he dies; that is the best thing which can come to a knight in after times, when he is no more." Such glory may be won by brave deeds, as when Beowulf says to Hrothgar before his second adventure (ib. 1490 f.): "I will win for myself glory with Hrunting (a sword), or death shall take me," or again when the queen says to Beowulf (ib. 1221 ff.): "Thou hast brought it about that men shall esteem thee far and near and for all eternity, wheresoever the sea encircleth its wind-swept barriers." But the same object can be attained by generosity, which will ensure one's praise being sounded from court to court.