Now is there any real necessity for the assumption that Weland's relationship to Widia is a secondary development? It is found in two of the three national versions of the story[203], and hence dates back in all probability at least to the sixth century. It is not found in the Völundarkviða; but then Widia is altogether forgotten or unknown in Northern tradition. Moreover there is a distinct reference to offspring of Weland and Beaduhild at the end of the poem. Once grant that the relationship is old and the reason for the heroic treatment of the story becomes obvious. It is merely the reflection of the son's fame upon the father. As Widia is never said to be the son of anyone else the probability is that he was supposed to be illegitimate, and that a story was soon current as to his being the offspring of a union between a princess and a bondsmith. In such a case there would be a natural tendency to the accumulation of material from folk-tales about his parentage.
If this view is correct the story must of course come originally from the Goths or some neighbouring people. I cannot see that the Westphalian traditions are any more conclusive than the Berkshire cromlech as to its original home. If Weland was a character of folk-tale and his name had at one time a definite meaning, these local traditions may have been quite independent of the heroic story. The real difficulty seems to me to lie in determining the amount of material from folk-tale contained in the latter. We need not entertain any doubt as to the adventure with the swan-maidens. But what about Nithhad and Beaduhild? The latter name is not obviously framed to suit the character or circumstances of the unfortunate princess. Nithhad might be explained more easily in this way; yet a Gothic prince of that name is recorded by Jordanes (cap. 22). At all events there is no conclusive evidence in either case that these characters did not originally belong to the story of Widia.
Another story which is believed to be of wholly mythical origin is that of Heðinn and Högni. In Kûdrûn it appears as the introduction to a much longer story, from which point of view it bears a superficial resemblance to the story of Scyld and possibly to that of Weland. But since this feature is peculiar to the German poem and the second story seems to be entirely unknown from other sources, we can hardly do otherwise than treat the story of Heðinn and Högni as an independent narrative.
This must have been one of the most popular stories of the Heroic Age, since it can be traced in England, as well as in Germany and the North. None of the characters however can be traced in any historical work[204], and the time to which it refers is quite uncertain. The Northern version of the story contains a supernatural element in the endless battle which forms its conclusion. It is generally held that this is the oldest element in the story and that Hild, whose name means 'war,' was really a valkyrie. The whole story then is to be regarded as a myth of 'unceasing strife between conflicting powers[205].' But we may naturally ask whether it is truly scientific, when dealing with a story known from three separate national traditions, to regard as the original element a feature found in only one of the three. It may be urged of course that the reconciliation, which in Kûdrûn[206] takes the place of the tragic ending found in the Northern version, rendered it necessary to drop the mythical element; and again that we have extremely little information about the English form of the story. The latter remark is certainly true; but the little that we do know practically precludes the possibility of a mythical interpretation. Strictly speaking the passage in Deor's Elegy (cf. p. [56]) is not a reference to the story at all, but a matter of fact statement by the poet that he had been in the service of the Heodeningas. Hence, in view of the fact that this passage—together with Widsith, v. 21—is probably by far the earliest reference to the story which we possess, I cannot regard the mythical interpretation as anything more than an extremely doubtful hypothesis[207].
Thus far we have been dealing with stories which are supposed to be of entirely mythical origin. Now we have to consider certain cases in which elements undoubtedly historical are believed to be blended with myth. As examples of this type we may take the stories of Waldhere and Sigurðr. In both cases the historical elements are practically the same.
In the former case it should be mentioned that the mythical theory is by no means universally accepted. Those scholars however who do adopt this interpretation base their view upon a supposed connection between the story of Waldhere and that of Heðinn and Högni. The chief points of resemblance between the two are as follows: (i) The heroine is called in the one case Hiltgund (Hildegyth), in the other Hildr (Hild). (ii) Both stories deal with abduction (so-called) and then with fighting. (iii) The man (Waldhere, Heðinn) who carries off the girl has in both cases to fight with a man called Hagen or Högni. (iv) In both cases the combatants have previously been friends—though strictly this feature applies only to the Northern version of the Heðinn story. Now the first consideration carries no weight at all; for half the feminine names which occur in Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry contain the element -hild- (e.g. Beaduhild, Hildeburg), while in the Continental and Scandinavian authorities also they are extremely common. Again, the last consideration obviously has little validity, except when taken in conjunction with the other two. But these (the second and third) points of resemblance are, it seems to me, altogether misleading. To begin with it is hardly correct to apply the term 'abduction' to an escape of hostages, such as the story of Waldhere relates; at all events the conditions have nothing in common. Then the fight which follows is not, as in the case of Heðinn and Högni, with an aggrieved father, or indeed with a pursuing force of any kind; it is an unprovoked attack made by a third party in the hope of plunder. Lastly, the part played by the person called Hagen (Högni) is quite different in the two cases. In one he is the injured father who is wholly responsible for the fight; in the other he is a vassal of Gunther (Guthhere), who is only drawn into it, with great reluctance, through the obligation of avenging his nephew (Patufrit), who has already been slain.
It is true that a different version of the story appears in Thiðreks Saga af Bern[208]. Here Högni (Hagen) is represented as pursuing the fugitives on behalf of Attila, while Guthhere does not appear. Now it has been widely assumed that this version is an independent and more original form of the story than that contained in Ekkehard's work, in spite of the fact that it does not make its appearance till nearly three centuries after the latter—and probably nearly six centuries after the composition of the Anglo-Saxon poem. But the lapse of time in itself provides a perfectly adequate explanation of such divergencies, especially if we bear in mind the unfavourable conditions under which the heroic stories were preserved in Germany during the early Middle Ages. As the stories gradually became forgotten two tendencies are constantly observable: (i) to connect stories or incidents which originally were quite distinct, (ii) within the individual story to lose sight of all except the outstanding characters and incidents. Hence it is only in accordance with what we might expect that two different sets of opponents of the hero should be confused. For a parallel we may compare the late North German ballad on Eormenric's death (cf. p. [9]), which describes how Theodric with eleven companions broke into the king's castle and slew him. It is generally agreed that this ballad is due to confusion of some kind with the story of Hamðir and Sörli[209], who were likewise enemies of Eormenric, though not connected in any way with Theodric.
The saga itself really contains evidence which points to an earlier form of the story agreeing with that given by Ekkehard. For the hero is called Valtari af Vaskasteini[210], and there can be no doubt that this expression is to be explained by the rocky defile mentioned by Ekkehard (v. 490 ff.) in the Vosges (saltus Vosagus)—on the confines of Guthhere's dominions. Further it is to be noted that the story is introduced as an episode in the relations of Theodric and Eormenric, and that the hero is represented as a nephew of the last named. All scholars are agreed that this is due to late combination—and no doubt rightly. Yet Waldhere is associated with Theodric and Eormenric also in a number of German poems which are quite independent of the saga, and consequently it is by no means improbable that these combinations both preceded and helped to bring about the disappearance of Guthhere from the story.
In its earlier form the affinities of the story with that of Heðinn and Högni are, as we have seen, scarcely worth consideration. Yet apart from this supposed connection there is no case for believing it to have a mythical foundation—except the assumption that myth is a necessary ingredient in every heroic story. Whether it is to be regarded as history or fiction is of course quite a different question and one which we shall have to consider later.