Ballads. (Page [36].)
Professor Child is perhaps hasty in regarding the two parts of Clerk Saunders as independent. The first part, though unlike the Helgi story in circumstance, seems to preserve the tradition of the hero's hostility to his bride's kindred, and his death at their hands.
The Helgi story, in all its variants, is as familiar in Page 58Danish as in Border ballads. The distribution of the material in Iceland, Denmark, England and Scotland is strongly in favour of the presumption that Scandinavian legend influenced England and Scotland, and against the presumption that the poems in question passed from the British Isles to Iceland. The evidence of the Danish ballads should be conclusive on this point. There is an English translation of the latter by R.C.A. Prior (Ancient Danish Ballads, London, 1860).
The Everlasting Battle. (Page [39].)
The Skald Bragi (before 850 A.D.) has a poem on this subject, given with a translation in the Corpus, vol. ii. Saxo's version is in the fifth book of his History. According to Bragi, Hild has a necklace, which has caused comparison of this story with that of the Greek Eriphyle. Irish legendary history describes a similar battle in which the slain revive each night and renew the fight daily, as occurring in the wanderings of the Tuatha De Danann before they reached Ireland. According to Keating, they learnt the art of necromancy in the East, and taught it to the Danes.
The latest edition of the Gudrun is by Ernst Martin (second edition, Halle, 1902). There is a modern German translation by Simrock.
Angantyr. (Page [42].)
The poems of this cycle are four in number—(1) Hjalmar's Death-song: (2) Angantyr and Hervör; (3) Heidrek's Riddle-Poem: (4) Angantyr the Younger and Hlod. All are given in the first volume of the Corpus, with translations.
Herrarar Saga was published by Rafn (Copenhagen, 1829–30) in Fornaldar Sögur, vol. i., now out of print. It has been more recently edited by Dr. Bugge, together with Völsunga and others. Petersen (Copenhagen, 1847) edited Page 59it with a Danish translation. Munch's Nordmuendenes Gudelære (out of print) contains a short abstract.
Death of Angantyr. (Page [43].)