[201] In Thiðreks Saga, cap. 30, Weland flies away in a garment which he has made from feathers collected for him by his brother Egill. It is thought by some that the engraver of the Franks casket had the same story in mind, since a figure catching birds is represented behind the form of Beaduhild.
[202] It is commonly held that this account has been influenced somehow by the story of Weland. If so it is a valuable illustration of the process discussed in p. [119] ff. above. But the view seems to me somewhat far-fetched.
[203] Waldhere is the only English poem which mentions Weland as the father of Widia; but I cannot admit that there is any ground for supposing this poem to have had a different origin from the rest (cf. p. [57] f.). The variant forms Widia—Wudga may be explained by English sound-laws, while Niðhad, whatever its explanation, occurs also in Deor's Elegy.
[204] Saxo (p. [158] ff.) connects the story with the reign of Frotho III (Fróði the Peaceful), and this may be an ancient feature, as Fruote von Tenemarke appears as one of Hetel's chief men in Kûdrûn.
[205] "Ein Bild des unaufhörlichen, allgemeinen, aber nie entschiedenen Kampfes entgegengesetzter Mächte, des Aufgangs und des Niedergangs, des Entstehens und Vergehens, des Seins und Nichtseins" (Müllenhoff, ZfdA. XXX 229). Prof. Sijmons (Grundriss, III 711, where this interpretation is quoted with approval) regards the story as 'tiefsinnig.' I confess the interpretation is too deep for my comprehension. A totally different view is taken in Panzer's Hilde-Gudrun, where the origin of the story is traced to a folk-tale (p. [250] ff.). It seems to me that this theory is open to somewhat the same objection as the other, namely that it is founded too much upon features peculiar to one or other version. At the same time I doubt whether Wate's original connection with the story can be properly inferred from Wids. 21 f. The influence of folk-tales is clear enough in both versions of the story, but I think it is secondary.
[206] From a passage in Lamprecht's Alexander (v. 1321), a work of the twelfth century, it appears that Hagen (Högni) was killed in the earlier German version of the story.
[207] For the endless battle there are a number of parallels; cf. Panzer, op. cit., p. 327 ff. (also Pausanias, I 32. 3, with Mr Frazer's note).
[208] There is also a Polish version which has several peculiarities of its own but shows no special affinity with the form of the story found in Thiðreks Saga.
[209] The early North German version of this story, represented by the Annals of Quedlinburg (cf. p. [37], note), apparently made Eormenric perish in the fight.
[210] It is held by many that this name was originally connected with Wascono lant, an early German name for Aquitaine (Gascony) and that the introduction of the Vosges (Wasgunberg) was later and due to the confusion of two similar names. But, if there has been any such confusion at all, chronological considerations render it far more probable that the transference was in the reverse direction.