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THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
^Ss~fiS^
THE
ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS*;
AN EXAMINATION OF THEIR
VALUE AS AIDS TO
HISTORY;
A SEQUEL TO THE " HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF
BRITAIN BY THE SAXONS."
BY DANIEL H. HAIGH. (f*
" Hie reges populosque vides, quos alea fati
" Extulit et pressit, sed ab his metire futura.
" Aspice quo devenere potentes :
" Aspice quam nihili sit honor, lux, gloria mundi."
Henry of Huntingdon.
LONDON:
JOHN RUSSELL SMITH,
36, SOHO SQUARE.
1861.
7/a a
GENERAL
H?7t>o
TO JOSEPH MAYER,
My dear Sir,
[TRANGE as the theory which is advocated in
the following pages may appear, it is advanced
with an entire conviction of its truth. In part,
— as far as it relates to the Scyldings and their settlements
in Northumbria, — it has been already submitted to the
Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and an ab-
stract from my papers, accompanied by illustrative notes
from the pen of their able secretary, Mr. LongstafFe, has ap-
peared in their Transactions. These notes are incorporated
in the present work, together with other valuable informa-
tion kindly furnished by him to me.
Under any circumstances, we have reason to be proud of
these noble remains of the poetry of our forefathers; but our
interest in them must be greatly increased, when we discover
that they are based, not on mythological superstitions, but
on historical facts ; that they relate to a period, not of inde-
119760
VI DEDICATION.
finite antiquity, but of the occupation of Britain by the Teu-
tonic race ; that they are not borrowed from any foreign
source, but are entirely our own. With the hope, that you
will find this little book, as a key to these sagas, worthy of
your acceptance,
I remain, my dear Sir,
Very faithfully yours,
Daniel H. Haigii.
Erdington, July 27th, 1861.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Page
I HE chronicled history of the fifth century is imper-
fect 1
The Anglo-Saxon sagas partly supply what is wanting 2
The poem of Beowulf. Opinions with regard to its
origin, and subject-matter ib.
Its internal evidence proves, that it was originally composed in
Northumbria, about the middle of the sixth century . . 3
The Lament of Deor, the Traveller's Tale, and the Saga of Wald-
here, also belong to England, and enable us to understand the
later Teutonic sagas 4
The latter appear to have been founded on traditions, which passed
from England to the continent in the sixth century . . 5
A parallel to this theory in the circumstances of the Heliand . . 6
In the Nibelungen series, old sagas have been designedly transformed
into mere romances 7
The historic value of Beowulf supported, in one instance, by Gregory
of Tours 8
CHAPTER II.
The story of Scyld Scefing . . 10
This story appropriated by iEthelweard, William of Malmsbury,
and Simeon of Durham, to Sceaf, the head of the Anglo-Saxon
genealogy 11
Scyld Scefing and Beowulf of the poem, have nothing to do with
Sceaf, Sceldwa, and Beawa, of the genealogy . . . .13
Beowulf, Healfdene, and his sons, a continuous descent . . .15
Vlll CONTENTS.
Page
The story of Scyld, purely Anglo-Saxon 15
Scyld, Beowulf, and Healfdene, probably reigned in Northumbria . 16
Heremod, (apparently a son 'of Healfdene), and Sigemund . .18
Heorogar and Hrothgar 20
Hrothgar's residence, at Hart in Durham ib.
Feud with the Beards 22
Grendel 23
The court of Hrothgar, at the time of Beowulf's visit . . .24
Later fortunes of this family 26
CHAPTER III.
The fight at Finnesham 29
CHAPTER IV.
Hrethel, king of the Geats, probably one of the associates of Henc-
gest, resided for a time in Yorkshire, and then went to Suffolk 37
His children, Herebeald, Hasthcyn and Hygelac . . . .39
Haethcyn and Hygelac succeeded him. Their feud with Ongen-
theow and the Sweos 40
Hygelac' s fall in battle with the Franks 45
CHAPTER V.
Waermund, king of the West- Angles, reigned at Warwick . . 50
Two of his nobles endeavoured to set aside the succession of his son
Offa, on the ground of physical incapacity, were defeated in
council, appealed to arms, and perished in battle . . .51
The result of this battle was an extension of Waermund's territory.
Its scene identified on the borders of Gloucestershire and Ox-
fordshire 52,53
Waermund resigned the government in favour of Offa, died, and was
buried at Gloucester 56
The story of Offa's queen ib.
CHAPTER VI.
Three versions of the story of Horn 62
Heatholaf, his father, reigned in Yorkshire 63
His death 64
The fortunes of Horn 68
CONTENTS. IX
CHAPTER VII.
Beowulf adopted by Hrethel ; his aquatic contest with Brecca
Accompanied Hygelac in his expedition against the Sweos .
His voyage to Heort, conflict with Grendel, and return l
Was admitted by Hygelac to partnership in the kingdom
Took part in Hygelac's expedition against the Franks .
Refused to take the kingdom into his own hand, to the prejudice
of his cousin Heardred, after Hygelac's death
Became sole ruler of the Geats, after Heardred's death
At feud with the Wiwings
Called to reign over the Scyldings, after the fall of Hrothgar's
race. The arrival of Eoppa and Ida ....
Ida's reign in Bernicia
Beowulf's adventure with a dragon ; his death
The scene of this adventure identified
The death of Beowulf immediately preceded the accession of JElle
he was probably of the same race
Wiglaf, the son of Weohstan
Wulf and Eofer, the sons of Wonred
Wlph, the adversary of Urien of Rheged ....
Connection of the heroes of the poem of Beowulf with the ancestors
of five of the Anglo-Saxon royal dynasties
The succession of the first sovereigns of Deira and Bernicia .
Page
71
72
ib.
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
84
86
88
89
90
ib.
91
1 (Note to page 75) : —
I have said that the speed at which the cobles, used on the Yorkshire coast,
can sail, with a fair wind, is about eight miles an hour. " Eight or nine," was the
answer to a query on this head, addressed to a friend resident on the coast, who
derived his information from the fishermen themselves ; but a sailor, to whom I
put the same, and who was less likely than the fishermen to give a favourable esti-
mate of the sailing powers of their craft, said " seven ;" and this I think is rather
under the mark. However, since the note to page 75 was printed, I have met
with something which I had previously overlooked, and which will enable us to
form a more precise judgment as to the speed of Beowulf's vessel.
In the tenth century, the discoverer of America, Biorn Heriulfsson, favoured by
a brisk S. W. wind, made the voyage from Newfoundland to Greenland in four
days. The distance is 565 miles in a direct course, and this gives over 140 miles
a day — about six miles an hour. Now a voyage of about 160 miles would bring
Beowulf s vessel, after coasting Norfolk as far as Cromer, and then steering direct
for Hart, within sight of Flamborough Head, the first high cliff on the Yorkshire
coast. This, at six miles an hour, would require twenty-seven hours. The time
stated in the poem seems to refer to the hour when Beowulf and his companions
first saw land ; and from this point they would be able to prosecute their voyage,
and reach the court of Hrothgar in the evening (for the evening meal immediately
followed their arrival).
b
CONTENTS.
APPENDIX.
Page
Remarks by Mr. Howitt, Mrs. Jameson, Mr. Walbran, and Mr.
Longstaffe, on dragon-stories generally . . . .95
Series of these stories from the tenth to the fifteenth century . 97
CHAPTER VIII.
The Lament of Deor. Weland and Beadohild . . . .101
Geat and Maethhild 103
Theodric and Eormanric. Deor and Heorrenda .... 104
The Traveller's Tale 105
The time of the Traveller's journey 106
All the princes he names, except Alexandreas, were of Barbaric race ib.
He certainly travelled in this island 107
Traces remain, in this country, of the presence of most of the tribes
whom he visited . . 108
In some instances these are accompanied by other traces, of the
princes whom he mentions as ruling these tribes . . .114
Other traces again, of princes whom he visited . . . .118
His Eormanric was the father of iEthelberht, king of Kent . . 121
His iEtla, a king of Huns, who reigned, first in Warwickshire, and
afterwards in Norfolk . .122
His Gifica, Guthhere, and Gislhere, kings of a part of the Burgun-
dian nation, who were settled in England . . . .124
The fragments, lately discovered, of Waldhere's saga . . .125
Gerald of Fleury's Latin version of the same . . . .128
The story of Eormanric and Theodric, as collected from the sagas 131
Traces of the connections of Eormanric, in the districts of which
Oxford is the centre 133
The story of JEtla 138
Traces of his connections in Warwickshire and Leicestershire, and
in Norfolk 139
The Burgundian princes . , . . . . .140
Their course traced from Middlesex, through Essex, to iEtla's
kingdom 141
Irminfrid of Thuringia ; his war with Theoderic, king of the Franks 142
Hadugot, the ally of Theoderic 143
Irminfrid's flight to iEtla 144
His death * 145
CONTENTS. XI
Page
The Traveller's journey was made early in the reign of Eormanric,
and of Theoderic the Frank . 146
His home was in Cheshire or North Staffordshire ; he traversed the
midland districts, and spent some time in the territories of
Eormanric . 147
Deor lived within the territories of Eormanric, but after his death 148
The Traveller was probably Hama ib.
The Lay of Hildibrand 149
CHAPTER IX.
Cyneric, king of the West Saxons. Death of Wihtgar. Ida, king
ofBernicia. The battle of Salisbury 156
The battles of Barbury and Hardenhuish 157
iElle, king of Deira. Dutigirn, the antagonist of Ida. Maelgwn,
king of Gwynedd 158
Urien of Rheged, and other British princes ; their conflicts with
the Angles ; Wlph and Flamdwyn 159
Adda, king of Bernicia ; Ceawlin, king of the West Saxons ;
^thelberht, king of Kent 160
Clappa and Theodwulf, kings of Bernicia ; the battles of Wembdon
and Bedford 161
Frithuwulf, king of Bernicia ; the battle of Derham . . .162
Theodric, king ofBernicia ; the battle of Arderydd . . . 163
The siege of Medcaut (Lindisfarne) ; death of Urien . . .164
The battles of Mondrum and Fadley 167
iEthelric, king of Bernicia ; the battle of Cattraeth ; JEthelric and
Frithuwald, kings of Deira ; the battle of Wanborough . 168
iEthelfrith, king of Bernicia ; the arrival of S. Augustine ; Ceolric
and Ceolwulf, kings of the West Saxons . . . .170
Hussa, king of Deira ; the battle of Dalston ... . . 171
^thelfrith's conquest of Deira ; the family of JEUe . . .173
Cynegils and Cwichelm, kings of the West Saxons ; the battle of
Bampton 174
The battle of Chester 175
British tradition relative to the early years of Eadwine, the son of
JEUe 177
His accession to the throne of the united kingdoms of Deira and
Bernicia. Conclusion .178
E ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS
v-C B 3T
or
THE
CHAPTEK I.
Their Historic lvalue.
or.
ITY
HE system of chronology, which has been
maintained in the " History of the Con-
" quest of Britain," enables us to recognize a
groundwork of historic truth, in stories which
have hitherto been regarded as mere romances. To have dis-
cussed, in that work, such of these stories as belong to the fifth
century, would not only have broken the chain of our history,
but would have been premature, whilst the chronology itself
was in question ; but now that we have established our
system as a framework wherein to place them, we are in a
position to enter upon this, the most interesting department
of our inquiry.
The history of the fifth century, although it presents us
with an unbroken chain of events, is necessarily imperfect
with regard to the gradual establishment of the Saxon king-
doms, because its notices of the Saxons are most entirely
2 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
confined to those who came into conflict with the Britons.
The kings of Kent appear at intervals until A. D. 487 ; the
kingdom, founded in Northumbria by Octa, ceases with the
fall of Colgrim in a.d. 471 ; a kingdom rises in Sussex,
holds for a time the supremacy over the other Saxons in
Britain, and yields it in A.D. 498 to Wessex. The ances-
tors of the Bernician, Deiran, East Anglian, Mercian, and
East Saxon dynasties, accompanied or followed Horsa and
Hencgest to Britain, and probably founded principalities ;
but the history says nothing about them or their children,
because they either were not engaged in the wars of their
time, or, if they were, appeared only as followers of Octa,
Colgrim, JElle, or Garmund.
To the Cambrian genealogist we are indebted for the facts,
that Seomel was the first, of the ancestry of JElle of Deira,
who conquered that province and Bernicia, and that Wiwa
was the first of his line, who reigned in Britain over the East
Angles ; and the existing remains of the epic poetry of our
forefathers, whilst they relate chiefly to events of the sixth
century, tell us something of the second Hencgest, of Offa,
of Seomel's son Swerting, and of others who reigned in
Britain during the fifth century, whilst the great conflict was
going on, and before the establishment of the kingdoms, which
figure in the history of a later time.
Of these remains the poem of Beowulf is the grandest ; it
has deservedly engaged the attention of the most eminent
scholars of Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, as well as of
our own country ; but unfortunately it has been very much
misunderstood. Its origin has been referred to the Scandi-
navian kingdoms, and to a period antecedent to the immigra-
tion into Britain of the Teutonic race ; and its subject to the
THEIR HISTORIC VALUE. 3
misty regions of mythology. One eminent scholar, Mr.
Thorpe, has expressed his conviction that the heroes of this
poem are real kings and princes of the North, whilst he assigns
to them a home in Sweden. 1 I claim for it an English
origin, and, (although in a different sense from that in
which he puts them), adopt his queries, and the answer to
them : —
(< What interest could an Anglo- Saxon feel in the valorous
" feats of his deadly foes the Northmen ? in the encounter of
" a Sweo-Gothic hero with a monster in Denmark ? or with
" a fire-drake in his own country ? The answer, I think, is
" obvious — none whatever."
And, I think, the same answer must be given to the query,
" What interest could an Anglo-Saxon feel in translating
" such a poem for his countrymen ? "
I regard it as the composition of a Northumbrian scop,
familiar with the scenes he describes, and acquainted with
persons who had been cotemporary with some of his heroes ;
I believe that all the events he records, 2 with two exceptions,
occurred in this island, and most of them in Northumbria,
during the fifth and sixth centuries.
In its present form, the poem is not older than the tenth
century, but it bears the marks of having been transcribed
from a much older original, in the retention of many forms of
words, which we may regard as early Northumbrian, from
their correspondence with those with which the Northumbrian
1 He considers it a " metrical paraphrase of an heroic saga composed
" in the south-west of Sweden, in the old common language of the North,
" and probably brought to this country during the sway of the Danish
" dynasty." Preface to Beowulf, vin.
2 Not including, of course, the giant and dragon stories.
4 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
monuments and the Durham Ritual have made us acquainted ;
and thus we obtain the first indication of the author's father-
land. His fidelity in descriptions of scenes, which we can
identify beyond all doubt, even after the lapse of thirteen
hundred years, supplies the second. A curious passage, in
which he quotes the authority of persons who had been her
cotemporaries, for the character of a certain princess, in such
a way as to warrant the inference that he had conversed with
them, shows that he must have composed his saga not very
long after the events of which it treats. On the other hand,
there is no allusion whatever to events later than the time of
-ZElle's accession to the throne of Deira; and with the ex-
ception of a few passages, which may have been added after
the conversion of Northumbria to Christianity, and some
allowance for embellishments, we may believe that it
comes to us in substance as it was originally delivered by
its author.
The Lament of Deor, the Traveller's Tale, and the re-
cently discovered fragments of a saga of Waldhere, are in-
valuable relics of the same class of literature. For these also
I claim an English origin, and with their aid I shall be enabled
to show, that Eormenric, Theodric, ,/Etla, and others who
figure in the grand cycle of Teutonic romance, were kings and
chieftains who flourished in England, in the first half of the
sixth century. Identified with Hermanaric and Theodoric,
kings of the Ostrogoths, and with Attila, king of the Huns,
their story presents the grossest anachronisms ; the process
is inconceivable, by which the great Attila of history
could be cotemporized with Hermanaric, who died about a
quarter of a century before he was born, with Theodoric, who
was born two years after he died, and with Irminfrid of
THEIR HISTORIC VALUE. 5
Thuringia, who survived Theodoric some years ; identified,
on the other hand, with Eormenric of Kent, the cotemporary
of Irminfrid, with Theodoric his nephew, and with an JEtla
who certainly reigned in Norfolk, all these anachronisms dis-
appear ; and, however great may be the corruptions which
have crept into the story which the cycle presents to us, — a
story so popular that it was reproduced and embellished from
age to age, for several centuries, and in different countries, —
whatever details of the true history of Hermanaric, Theodoric,
and Attila, may eventually have been incorporated with it,
these sagas enable us to accept it as founded on fact, as sub-
stantially true.
In its earliest form we find it in an English dress, and it is
easy to account for its appearance on the continent at a later
time. The epoch, in which these heroes flourished, was also
one of a great emigration to the continent ; the conquest of
Britain was complete, and large bodies of the Anglo-Saxons,
by feuds and other causes, were forced to seek settlements
abroad. They carried with them, of course, the traditions of
their island home, and songs originally composed in England,
recounting the exploits of their heroes, were sung at their
feasts in France 3 and Thuringia. Traditions of the events
which were connected with their expatriation, would be pre-
served from generation to generation ; and these would be the
groundwork of the German romances, which are all of com-
paratively modern date, abound in names of places and
countries, bring together their heroes from all parts of Europe,
and contain anachronisms even more startling than those
3 When, for instance, the Hocings from Kent settled at Hocquinghem,
they would not forget their hero Hnaef.
6 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
above noticed. One fragment alone of these songs remains
in something like its original form, — the Lay of Hildebrand ;
it is referred with great probability to the eighth century,
and almost equals Beowulf in its simplicity.
The theory that sagas, originally English, were carried to
the continent, and formed the basis of a very popular cycle of
romances, will be found to be borne out by facts which will
be adduced in the following pages, and has its exact parallel
in the circumstances of the Heliand. We know that the
poetical works of our Caedmon 4 embraced the whole series of
Scripture history, yet only a part thereof, relating the principal
events of Genesis and Exodus, and a fragment treating of one
of the events of the Captivity in Babylon, remain to us. The
Heliand contains the Gospel story ; and not only is it perfectly
Caedmonian in its style, but there is a tradition which evidently
relates to it, that in the reign of Louis the Pious, a herdsman
received poetical inspiration in his slumbers, and on awaking
turned the whole Scripture narrative, of the Old and New
Testament, into excellent verse. Here is undeniably Baeda's
story of Caedmon, localised in Germany ; and it is very pro-
bable that the Heliand is one of the volumes of Caedmon's
paraphrase, carried to Germany by an Anglo-Saxon mis-
sionary, and translated into the old Saxon dialect. So the
sagas of Theodric and iEtla, of which we possess a fragment
4 Sir F. Palgrave, Archaeologia, xxiv. 342, has called in question the
story, and the name of Caedmon. With regard to the story, we must re-
mark that the subject of it must have been living in Baeda's childhood,
in a monastery which had intimate relations with his own ; and with re-
gard to the name, that it has remained amongst us to this day (Cadman),
and that in each of its elements it has its correspondents in other Anglo-
Saxon names, Casdwealh, Caedbaed, Tilmon, Tytmon.
THEIR HISTORIC VALUE. 7
in their earliest form, and to which we have references in
Beowulf, the Lament of Deor, and the Traveller's Tale, were
conveyed by their cotemporaries to the continent, were trans-
lated into other dialects, as in the Lay of Hildebrand, and in
later times amplified and corrupted, as in the Wilkina Saga
and the Nibelungen Lied.
The embellishments of the stories in the Edda and Wilkina
Saga are such as may have been made in good faith, by scalds
whose object was to combine separate traditions, and to
illustrate their subject with matter derived from other sources;
but in the poems of the Nibelungen series, the old sagas, on
which they are founded, have been designedly transformed
into mere romances. This we learn from the poems them-
selves, and M. Thierry 5 has clearly explained the object with
which this was done.
When the Emperor Otho the Great, at the battle of Augs-
burg, A. D. 955, conquered the Hungarians, he granted them
peace, on condition of their receiving amongst them mis-
sionaries of the Christian faith. Pilegrin, one of the most
eminent ecclesiastics of his time, superintended the Hungarian
mission, and was made Bishop of Passau in a.d. 971. Sarolt,
a sort of Amazon, a fit representative of Brunhild and Chrim-
hild, who rode, fought, and drank like a warrior, received the
faith, and was the means of the conversion of her husband
Geiza, who became chief of the Hungarian nation in a.d.
972, and was baptized in the following year. Under their
auspices, the Hungarians became Christians, and although
they apostatized some years later, and drove Pilegrin from
his diocese, he had the consolation before his death, in A. D.
5 Attila et ses successeifrs, n. 349.
8 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
991, of seeing S. Stephen, the son of Geiza and Sarolt, seated
on the Hungarian throne.
The Lament of the Nibelungen tells us that this Pilegrin
wrote the story of Attila in Latin, and actually presents him
to us as a cotemporary of Attila, receiving at Passau the
news of the slaughter of the Nibelungen, resolving to put it
on record, and engaging one of Attila's bards to assist him.
The Nibelungen Lied introduces him in his palace at Passau,
entertaining his niece Chrimhild on her way to Attila's court,
and speaks of Attila's court as the centre of the propagation
of the Christian faith, of a Christian church at Etzelburg, and
of the baptism of Ortlieb, the son of Attila and Chrimhild.
It is evident that the good bishop had in view the work in
which he was himself engaged ; his Attila, Chrimhild, and
Ortlieb are no others than Geiza, Sarolt, and S. Stephen;
the character of Attila, as he presents it, is that which he
proposed for an example to Geiza ; and ancient historic sagas
have become a mere romance in his hands. We fortunately
possess them, although but in a fragmentary condition, in
their purest, their original form.
The exact accordance between the poem of Beowulf, and
Gregory of Tours' History of the Franks, with regard to the
circumstances of Hygelac's last expedition and death ; and
the general correspondence between this poem, the Traveller's
Tale, and the S. Albans' tradition, with regard to the history
and character of OfFa ; warrant us in considering these poems
as historic, (every allowance, of course, being made, in the
marvellous stories of Sigemund's and Beowulf's adventures
with dragons, for the genius of a people who were disposed
to regard everything extraordinary as supernatural). These
and other marvels we put out of the question ; they may or
THEIR HISTORIC VALUE. \)
may not be later embellishments ; our object will be, to en-
deavour to ascertain how much of the poem relates to the
history of our country in the fifth and sixth centuries ; the
notices it contains of Hrothgar's family, of Hencgest, of
Heatholaf and Horn, of Hygelac, of Beowulf, and of Offa, will
be the subjects of the following chapters ; and we shall then
examine the Lament of Deor, and the Traveller's Tale, before
we resume the history of the establishment of the Anglo-
Saxon kingdoms.
CHAPTER II.
The Ancestors and Family of ' Hrothyar.
HE poem of Beowulf commences with the
story of Scyld Scefing.
* Lo ! We have heard of the Gar-Danes
" in days of yore, the power of mighty kings,
how the aethelings achieved valour. Oft did Scyld Scef-
ing tear away the mead-settles from the hosts of his foes,
from many tribes; the warrior dismayed them, after he
was first found destitute. Therefore he abode in com-
fort, waxed under the welkin, throve in dignities, until
every one of those sitting around, over the whale path,
should obey him, pay him tribute. That was a good king.
A son was afterwards born to him, young in the courts,
whom God sent for comfort to the people. He knew the
1 Following Mr. Kemble's prose translation for the most part, I have
occasionally made use of Mr. Thorpe's, in the following series of quota-
tions. The references are to the pages of the original MS., given in the
margin of Mr. Kemble's edition of the text. I think it unnecessary to
swell the bulk of this volume by citations of the text, as the poem is
easily accessible, through the labours of these eminent scholars, and
others on the continent.
THE ANCESTORS OF HROTHGAR. 1 1
" evil need they had suffered a long while, princeless. There-
" fore the Lord of life, the ruler of glory, gave him worldly
" honour. Beowulf, Scyld's son, was famous, his glory
" sprang widely in the divided lands." 2
" Then, at the appointed time, Scyld, very decrepid, be-
" took him to go into the Lord's enclosure. His dear com-
" rades then bare him out, to the shore of the sea, as he
* himself, the friend of the Scyldings, the dear land chief,
* bade them, whilst he ruled his words ; long he held it.
" The ringed ship, the aetheling's vehicle, icy and outward-
" bound, stood then at the hithe. Then they laid down the
" dear prince, the giver of rings, in the bosom of the ship,
" the great one by the mast. There were many treasures
" of ornaments, brought from far- ways. I have not heard
" of comelier keel, decked with war-weapons and battle-
" weeds, bills and byrnies. Many treasures lay on his bosom,
" that should depart with him far into the possession of the
u flood. They furnished him with offerings, princely trea-
* sures, not less than they had done, who sent him forth at
" the beginning, when a child, alone over the waves. More-
u over they set for him, high over head, a golden sign. They
" let the sea bear him, gave him to ocean. Sad was their
" spirit, mourning their mood. Men, hall-counsellors, heroes
" under heavens, knew not to say forsooth who received that
" freight." 3
The tradition, of Scyld's exposure when a child, was known
to some of our mediaeval chroniclers, ^Ethelweard, William
of Malmsbury, and Simeon of Durham ; but they have erro-
neously connected it with Sceaf, the head of the Anglo-
Saxon genealogy. I say erroneously, for I cannot but re-
2 F. 129. a F. 129, 130.
12 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
gard as a purer form of the legend, that which this poem
presents to us ; since its author must have lived some cen-
turies nearer to the times of which he speaks, than iEthel-
weard, and tells us more of the history of this Scyld, than,
(as far at least as appears), these later writers knew. His
authority appears to be supported by other circumstances.
iEthelweard says, 4 that Scef, an infant, was found by the
inhabitants of the isle of Scani, in a boat, which had drifted
to their shore, laden with armour; that they adopted and
educated him, and eventually elected him their king.
This tradition is evidently what is alluded to in the passage
above cited ; the only variation is in the name ; and this is
easily accounted for by the supposition, that ^Ethelweard,
(or the authority whence he derived it), mistook Scefing for
Sceaf, and attributed it to the only Sceaf of whom he had
any knowledge, the head of the Anglo-Saxon genealogy.
Having done this, he omits the whole series of generations
between Sceaf and Sceldwa.
About a century and a-half later, William of Malmsbury 5
gives us another version, in which the circumstance of the
armour is omitted, but another is introduced, — that of a sheaf
of corn placed at the head of the child, — which can only be
regarded as an addition to the story, suggested by the sup-
4 ** Ipse Scef cum uno dromone advectus est in insula Oceani, qua?
*' dicitur Scani, armis circumdatus, eratque valde recens puer, et ab in-
" colis illius terra? ignotus ; attamen ab eis suscipitur, et ut familiarem
" diligenti animo eum custodierunt, et post in regem eligunt."
6 " Iste Sceaf, ut ferunt, in quandam insulam Germanise Scandzam
" appulsus, navi sine remige puerulus, posito ad caput frumenti mani-
" pulo, dormiens, ideoque Sceaf nuncupatus, ab hominibus regionis illius
" pro miraculo exceptus, et sedulo nutritus ; adulta aetate regnavit in
" oppido, quod tunc Slaswic nunc vero Haithebi appellatur."
THE ANCESTORS OF HROTHGAK. 13
posed meaning of the name. In the genealogy which accom-
panies it, he inserts the name of Sceaf between those of
Heremod and Sceldwa. This shows that he was borrowing
from sources independent of the genealogy, at the head of
which he places Streph, saying of him, (what the Saxon
Chronicle relates of Sceaf), that he was the son of Noe, born
in the ark.
The truth is, that Scyld Scefing and Beowulf of this poem
have nothing to do with Sceaf, Sceldwa, and Beawa of the
genealogy. Misled by the similarity of the names, ^Ethel-
weard has attempted to identify them, and consequently has
cut off from the genealogy the ancestry of Sceldwa; and
"William of Malmsbury, foisting Sceaf into a place which
does not belong to him, has invented another name to take
that which really does.
What has been stated in the " History of the Conquest of
" Britain" with regard to Geat and Woden, applies equally to
Sceaf, and the rest of his descendants; the names in the
genealogy are the names of men, borne, not by these alone,
but by others.
Sceaf is one of those names which seem to have descended
from age to age, from the earliest post-diluvian times. Shebas
are mentioned amongst the posterity of Ham and Shem ; the
Traveller speaks of a Sceafa as king of the Longobards ; and
we have found several traces in this country, either of this
individual, or of a namesake. Heremod is a name of great
antiquity. It is ascribed in the Scandinavian mythology to
a son of the first Woden ; it was borne, in the sixth century
before the Christian aera, by the Athenian citizen, who deli-
vered his country from the yoke of tyrants, (in honour of
whom it was decreed that it should be given to no other) ;
14 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
it was also the name of one of the personages who are
celebrated in this poem, and of others. The Scandinavian
genealogy has not only Skiold, corresponding to our Sceldwa,
but a second, one of the sons of Woden, and the first king of
Hleidre ; and another, king of Varna, is mentioned in the
Ynglinga Saga, cotemporary with Eystein king of Upsal ;
all perhaps, as well as the Scyld of our poem, namesakes of
an original Scyld, of whom the statement 6 might be true,
that he was the first colonist of Germany. Beowa occurs as
the name of a witness to a charter 7 of Nunna, king of the
South Saxons ; and, as that of an earlier chieftain, one of the
first colonists of Britain, in several local names. 8 Tsetwa was
the name of one of the kings of the Longobards. 9 Beowulf,
a name which has never occurred but in this poem (in which
two persons in no way related bear it), is certainly distinct
from Beowa ; but even were it the same, (as other instances
show that the same person might have a short as well as a
long name), the coincidence of Sceldwa and Beowa in the
genealogy, with Scyld and Beowulf in the poem, would not
be more remarkable, than that of the two cotemporary Ead-
berhts in the eighth century, each the son of an Eata.
I see no reason then for identifying Scyld and Beowulf
with Sceldwa and Beowa, the ancestors of Woden, nor for
supposing that the poet has omitted a long succession be-
tween Beowulf and Healfdene ; on the contrary, I am con-
vinced that they are distinct persons, who lived at different
8 In a MS. at the Bibliotheque Imperiale, 6055.
7 Cod. Diplom. 1001. 8 Beowanhain, C. D. 353, for example.
9 So also, when, lower in the genealogies, we find the names of Ossa,
Eoppa, Ingwi, Offa and others, occurring in different lines of descent, we
may well believe, that those who bore them were so named after heroes
of earlier times, well remembered then, though now forgotten.
THE ANCESTORS OF HROTHGAR. 15
epochs. The poet clearly speaks of Healfdene as the son of
Beowulf, in the same sense as Beowulf was the son of Scyld.
u Then was in the towns, a long time, Beowulf of the
" Scyldings, the dear king of the people, famous among na-
" tions ; (his father had passed away, the prince from his
" dwelling) ; until from him in turn sprang high Healf-
" dene." 10
And he uses precisely the same expression, immediately
afterwards, in speaking of Healfdene's offspring : —
" Four sons, chiefs of hosts, numbered forth to him, sprang
" into the world, Heorogar and Heothgar, and good Halga." 11
It is clear that he speaks of a continuous succession, Scyld,
Beowulf, Healfdene, Heorogar and his brothers.
The story of Scyld and the boat is purely Anglo-Saxon.
The Danes knew nothing of it ; their second Skiold was the
son of Woden, and received the kingdom from his father ;
and he was the first, according to their tradition, who bore
amongst them the title of king. Yet if Woden came to Den-
mark at the time we have supposed, his son Skiold may well
have been living during the infancy of our Scyld, and his
name have been bestowed by the people of Skane on the
child so mysteriously drifted to their shores, with the addi-
tion of the distinctive name Scefing, i. e. u the son of the
« boat." 12
10 F. 130.
11 There is a defect in the MS., and the fourth son of Healfdene is not
mentioned here.
12 For although our glossaries do not give see/ as a name for a boat,
the modern skiff proves that they had such a word, equivalent to the
O. H. G. scef, Welsh ysgaff, Breton scaff, Erse sgaffa, Gr. <r>u*<j>n ; and the
word sceofel, shavell (Tusser), " shovel," indicates the existence of a verb
sceafan, sceqf, sceafen, from which it was derived, as <rxa.$n from c^kitTM.
A writer in the Gent. Mag. 1857, August, p. 122, in reference to Wil-
16 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
This, I believe, is really the meaning of the word Scefing ;
and this meaning, understood no doubt when the Saxon
Chronicle was compiled, may have suggested the idea that
Sceaf, the head of the genealogy, was born in the ark. A
child found under such circumstances would have, of course,
no known father, no pedigree ; it would therefore be quite
natural to give him such a name as this, Scefing " the son of
« the boat." 13
That Scyld, Beowulf, and Healfdene reigned in Northum-
Iiam of Malmsbury's suggestion as to the derivation of this name, says
" it is just as likely that he was named from the schiff or skiff m which
" he came." Schiff however, does not represent our skiff, but our ship.
13 I suspect we have another notice of him, under another name. In
the Anglo-Saxon rune-poem, the following stanza occurs : —
Ing waes asrest, Ing was first,
mid East-Denum, among the East-Danes,
gesewen Secgum, seen by the Secgas,
oth he siththan est until he after eastward
ofer waeg gewat. over the wave departed.
Wasn sefter ran. Thought followed him.
Thus Heardingas So the Heardings
them haele nemdun. named the hero.
Wan in the sixth line, of course, is " waggon," but I do not see how
this would make sense. I venture to read wen, and take it to mean that
the regrets of his people followed him. The East Danes were subjects
of Hrothgar, and Sigeferth, prince of the Secgas, appears, from the
" Fight at Finnesham," to have been a vassal of Healfdene. The cir-
cumstances of Ing's mysterious appearance amongst these people, and
his final departure over the sea, corresponding with Scyld's story, seem
to indicate that he is the same person ; and the concluding lines accord
with the supposition that he was known by another name. Besides, the
poem of Beowulf supplies two circumstances confirmatory of this theory,
that Scyld- Scefing and Ing were one ; the first, that Hrothgar's people,
the Scyldings, are twice called Ingwinas ; the second, that Hrothgar
gave Beowulf a sword, which had belonged to his brother Heorogar, and
probably was an heir-loom in his family, and that Beowulf, in his last
conflict, had a sword which had belonged to Incg.
THE ANCESTORS AND FAMILY OF HROTHGAR. 17
bria, as Hrothgar certainly did, is very probable. Reckoning
the generations upward from Hrothgar, we find that Scyld
must have been living at the time, a.d. 375, when, as we
have seen, an immigration of Saxons took place ; and, at the
beginning of the fifth century, the Secgas, subjects of this
family, had given name to Segedunum, (Secga-dun), which
became one of the stations of the wall. This, the most east-
erly station, was possibly the place which Simeon of Durham
calls " Scythles-cestre by the wall," and Roger of Howden
" Scylte-cestre ;" a name which appears to contain that of
Scyld, as those of the neighbouring North and South Shields
do to this day. North of the wall, again, we have, in close
proximity, Shilbottle, (Scyldes-botl), "the palace of Scyld,"
and Bolton on the Alne, and Boulmer, which may derive
their names from that of Beowulf; the former, indeed, seems
to be the Bolvelaunio of Ravennas, and to contain the names
of Beowulf and Alauna, (Beowulfi-Alauniurn), as it is placed
next to Alauna, which is probably Alnwick. 14
From these facts, I infer the probability, that Scyld, Beo-
wulf, and the Secgas, had effected settlements on the coast
of Northumberland, towards the close of the fourth century ;
and they might be the people who were received by Vorti-
gern.
After the notice of the three sons of Healfdene, there is
evidently a defect in the MS., so that the name of the fourth
is lost. From the context it appears, that they were all sons,
" heads of hosts ;" and two passages, which will be cited im-
mediately, make it almost certain that the fourth was Here-
14 It may be the name of the river Alne, for although the list in which
it occurs is professedly one of cities, the occurrence of Tamese among
them shows that some of them may be rivers.
18 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
mod. Already established in Britain when Horsa and
Hencgest came, Healfdene and his sons would naturally
make common cause with them, (besides being already in
Vortigern's interest, if the original settlement of the family
was made under his auspices). Accordingly we have found I5
traces of all their names, in districts marked by the presence
of those chieftains.
On account of some feud, of which the origin is unknown,
the subjects of Healfdene appear 16 to have been leagued with
Hencgest II. against Fin, the son of Folcwalda; and the
following passages contain notices of other feuds.
" Heremod was not an honour to the children of Ecgwela,
" the Scyldings. He waxed not according to their pleasure,
u but for destruction, and for a deadly plague to the people
" of the Danes. Angry of mood, he destroyed his table-
u enjoyers, his near friends ; until that he, the great prince,
u alone departed from the joys of men. Though the mighty
" God had exalted him with the joys of power, with energies,
" had advanced him above all men, yet there grew in his
" spirit a blood-thirsty disposition ; he gave not rings to the
" Danes after judgment. He dwelt joyless, so that he en-
" dured the labour of war, a tedious public plague." 17
Ecgwela was probably a prince of the Danes, before the
days of Scyld ; but there seems to be no other way of ac-
counting for Heremod, than the supposition that he was the
son of Healfdene. The next passage seems to represent him
as an ally of Sigemund.
" Well he told everything that he had heard of Sigemund,
* of his valiant deeds, the battles, wide journeys of the Wael-
19 History of the Conquest of Britain, p. 159.
16 See the following Chapter. " F. 167.
(*~ \ » n « n r
V or THE
UNIVERSITY
THE FAMILY OF HKOTHGAR. 19
" sing, much unknown. Of those things, his warfare and
u crimes, the children of men knew not well, save Fitela
" with him. Then he would say something of this sort,
" how the uncle and his nephew were always sharers of hard-
" ship, in every conflict. They had cut down with their
" swords many of the race of the Eotens. No little glory
" sprang to Sigemund after his death-day, after the bold in
" war quelled the worm, the keeper of the hoard. He, the
" aetheling's son, alone ventured on the bold deed under a
" hoar-stone, nor was Fitela with him. Yet it chanced him,
" that his sword pierced through the wondrous worm, so that
" the noble iron stood fast in the wall ; the dragon perished
" in death. The monster had gained by daring, that he
" might enjoy the hoard of rings at his own pleasure.
" Waelse's son loaded the sea-boat, bare bright ornaments
" into the ship's bosom. Heat melted the worm. He was
" far the greatest of wanderers, through the human race, the
" refuge of warriors. Therefore at first he throve by valiant
" deeds. After Heremod's war, labour and valour had
" ceased, he was forth betrayed, amongst the Eotens, into
" the power of his foes, quickly exiled The waves of sor-
" row afflicted him long ; he became a life-long care to his
" people, to all his nobles. So oft in former times, many a
" prudent man, — who trusted to him for deliverance from
" evils, (trusted) that the chieftain's son should thrive, in-
" herit his father's honours, rule his people, his hoard, and
" refuge-city, the kingdom of heroes, the patrimony of the
" Scyldings, — bemourned the adventures of the bold-hearted
"one." 18
Heremod may have been the immediate successor of Healf-
dene. Heorogar's succession only is mentioned; he must
18 F. 149.
20 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
have reigned but a short time, and although he left a son
Heoroweard, the kingdom came to his brother Hrothgar.
" Then was to Hrothgar given success in battle, the glory
({ of war, so that his dear kinsmen gladly obeyed him, until
" that the youth waxed, a great kindred band." 19
Another defect in the MS. deprives us of the means of
knowing the fate of these princes, and the reason why Hroth-
gar was preferred to his nephew, for preferred he certainly
was, and that by Heorogar. For Hrothgar, giving a sword
and suit of armour to Beowulf: —
" Said that king Hiorogar, lord of the Scyldings, had it a
u long while. He would not give these breast-weeds in
" preference to his son, the bold Heoroweard, though he was
" dear to him." 20
Twelve years before the date of the principal event in the
poem, therefore about a.d. 495 —
" It came into his mind that he would command men to
" construct a palace, a great mead-hall, which the sons of
" men should speak of for ever ; and therein distribute to
" young and old, all such as God had given him, except the
" folk-share, and the lives of men. Then I have heard that
" the work was widely proclaimed to many a tribe through-
" out the earth, that a folk-stead was being adorned. In time
" it befel him, soon among men, that it was all ready, the
" greatest of palaces. He gave it the name Heort." 21
This I have no doubt is Hart in Durham. Its situation,
about two miles from the coast, agrees very well with the
distance of Heort from the shore, indicated in the poem ; and
it is just the distance from the coast of Suifolk, Hygelac's
territory, for Beowulf s voyage to have been accomplished in
19 F. 130. » F. 177. 2 » F. 130.
THE RESIDENCE OF HROTHGAR. 21
the time specified. Indeed the identity of Heort with Hart
seems to be established beyond question, by a passage in
Canto xx., taken in connection with these, and other circum-
stances, to be noticed in the sequel. A mere is mentioned —
" Where the hill-stream flows downward under the shades
" of the cliffs, the flood under the earth. It is not far hence,
" a mile of distance, that the mere stands, over which hang
" barky groves. There lives not one so wise of the sons of
P men, who knows the bottom." 22
At just this distance from Hart, there was, until lately, a
large pool, called the Bottomless Carr, from which a stream,
the " hill-stream" of the poem, still designated by the equiv-
alent name How-beck, flowed through the parish of Hart into
the Slake of Hartlepool, and still flows, though the pool has
been drained, and converted into arable land. Thus the
name of the pool and of the stream, and the distance from
Hart, exactly correspond with the scene described in the
poem ; and if there be not a reference in the lines which
follow : —
" although the heath-stepper, the hart mighty of horns,
" wearied by hounds, driven from afar, seek the holt-wood,
u sooner will he give up his soul, his life upon the brink, than
" he will (plunge) therein his head," —
to the story, from which the name of Hartlepool, (Heruteu,
" the water of the hart," Hiartapoll, Hert-in-pole) originated,
and which is represented on the common seal of the borough,
(a hart, standing in water, and attacked by a hound), it must
be admitted that the coincidence is remarkable. The lines
which follow these, again, relating the progress of Hrothgar
and his thanes, as they tracked Grendel's mother along the
52 F. 160.
22 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
coast, particularly those two which speak of " precipitous
" cliffs, many nicor-houses," exactly describe the coast of
Hartlepool, and its wave-worn caves.
At Hart there are traces of an ancient fort, including an
area of about two acres, bounded by the Howbeck on the
south ; and, about a hundred yards to the south-west, there
is an enclosure, called the Palace Garths. We have no in-
timation of the historic kings of Northumbria having ever
resided at Hart ; and as the proximity of the Palace Garths
to the fort certainly indicates a royal residence, we have here
an additional circumstance, in support of our conjecture, that
Hart was the residence of Hrothgar.
Shortly, as it seems, after its construction, the fortress of
Heort was attacked by the Beards, led by Withergyld,
Frode, and Ingeld his son.
(t The hall arose, high and horn-curved. It awaited the
" war-tempest of hated fire. Nor was it long thenceforth,
" ere the warrior commanded them to swear with oaths." 23
" My friend thou may est know the sword, the dear iron,
" which thy father bare to the fight, under his closed helmet,
" for the last time, when the Danes, the bold Scyldings, slew
" him, gained the battle-field, after Withergyld fell, after
" the overthrow of heroes." 24
These however we could not have understood precisely,
but for the clearer notice of the same affair in the Traveller's
Tale.
" Hrothwulf and Hrothgar, paternal cousins, held longest
" peace together, after they had repulsed the race of Wi-
«' cings, and defeated Ingeld's army, slaughtered at Heort
" the host of the warlike Beards." 25
23 F. 130. 84 F. 175. » L. 91-100.
THE RESIDENCE OF HROTHGAR. 23
The neighbourhood of Hart actually presents the traces of
a battle such as this. Near the north-western extremity of
the Slake of Hartlepool, a number of holes have been found,
about five feet below the surface, each filled with human
bones, and about eight feet square ; 20 and one grave, opened in
1851, contained the bodies of one hundred and fifty men of
tall stature. The custom of most Teutonic tribes, in the
days of Paganism, was undoubtedly to burn the bodies of the
illustrious dead, but those of inferior rank, especially when
slain in battle, would be buried ; and the occurrence of so
many graves, each containing several bodies, is most readily
accounted for by the supposition of some battle, of which the
tradition is lost, having been fought in the neighbourhood.
The first of the passages cited above, seems to imply that
a peace was concluded between Hrothgar and Ingeld, as on
a similar occasion between Fin and Hencgest.
Ingeld's principality appears to have been in the neighbouring
county of York, where three Inglebys, Ingleton, and Ingle-
borough, bear his name, as WyclhTe, Barton, and Barforth on
the Tees, do those of the Wyes (or Wycings) and Beards.
The hostility of a ferocious giant, named Grendel, is said
to have been the occasion of terror of Hrothgar's people for the
space of twelve years. Discarding of course, as exaggerations,
all the marvellous circumstances of this part of the story, I still
believe it had some foundation in fact. Grendel is certainly
the name of a man ; it occurs in the composition of the names
of places, in such a way as to leave no doubt on this point.
Not only do we find it in the names of Grendlesmere 27 in
Wiltshire, and Grindelespytt 28 in Worcestershire, to which the
26 Sir C. Sharp's History of Hartlepool. 27 C. D. 353.
28 C. D. 59.
24 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
late Mr. Kemble thought that some association with traditions,
like the story in question, had given origin ; but in that of
Grindleton in Yorkshire, and Crindale dykes 29 on the Roman
wall. Near to the latter there is Grindon lough and Grandy's
knowe ; and in the neighbourhood of Hart there is a parish
named Grindon, and Grandy's close, all apparently bearing
the name of the same person, — once no doubt a powerful
chieftain settled in the county of Durham ; and, singularly
enough, in close proximity to Grandy's close, there is Thrum's
law, i. e. the u giant's hill."
We are introduced to the court of Hrothgar, at the time of
Beowulf's visit for the purpose of combating this giant.
Hrothwulf, his cousin, is there ; and the poet, confirming the
statement in the Traveller's Tale, says, " as yet was their
" peace together." Hrothgar's queen is Wealhtheow, of the
family of the Helmings, the mother of two sons, Hrethric
and Hrothmund, and of a daughter Freaware. Ingeld the
son of Frode, prince of the Beards, is a visitor at his court,
an accepted suitor for the hand of Freaware; and it was
hoped that this alliance would be the means of eifacing the
memory of the old feud, and securing peace between the tribes : —
u Whiles Hrothgar's daughter, before the nobles, bare the
" ale-cup to the warriors in order, whom I heard those sitting
" in the hall, where she gave bright treasure to the heroes,
" name Freaware. Young, decked with gold, she was
" espoused to the glad son of Frode. Therefore hath he, the
" shepherd of his kingdom, become a friend of the Scyldings,
u and that rumour tells, that with the wife he has allayed a
** deal of death-feuds and conflicts." 30
29 Gryndeldikes in an old deed, quoted by Mr. Longstaffe.
30 F. 174.
THE COURT OF HROTHGAR. 25
This, however, it was not, for the poet puts a prophetic
speech, (his way of relating subsequent events), into the
mouth of Beowulf, predicting that an old warrior would stir
up in the breast of Ingeld the remembrance of his father's
fall, by calling his attention to his sword, carried about the
palace by Hrothgar's son; that Ingeld would murder the
prince, make his escape, renounce his bride, and renew the
war: —
" Yet seldom anywhere does the fatal spear rest, even for
" a little while, after a people's fall, although the bride be
" good. Therefore the prince of the warlike Beards, when
" he goeth about the palace, and every thane of their people,
u may think of that ; when the royal child of the Danes,
" served by nobles, rejoices to gird on himself the hard and
" ringed sword, the legacy of the ancients, the treasure of the
* warlike Beards, whilst they might wield their weapons,
" until they misled their dear comrades, and their own lives,
" to the linden-play. Then an old spear-warrior, who beholds
" the ring, who remembers all the war-slaughter of men, will
" say at the beer ; fierce will be his spirit, sad of mood will he
" begin, through his bosom's thought, to try the mind of
" the young warrior, to wake the plague of war and
" will say that word ; ' My friend, thou may est know the
" 'sword,' &c.
" So will he excite and remind him, every time, with
" mournful words, until the occasion come, that the fated
" thane, after the bite of the bill, shall sleep blood-stained,
" deprived of life, for his father's deeds. Thence the other
" warrior will escape, he knows the land well. Then the
" sworn oaths of warriors will be broken on both sides.
" Deadly hatred will afterwards boil in Ingeld, and the love
E
26 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" of his wife will become cooler, after the waves of care.
" Therefore I do not consider the alliance of the warlike
" Beards, their part of lordly kinship with the Danes reliable,
" (nor) their friendship fast." 31
The victim of Ingeld's revenge seems to have been Hroth-
mund ; for, in another prospective speech, Beowulf speaks of
Hrethric, as coming to the Geats to seek aid, and of him-
self as being allowed by Hygelac to conduct an army of
auxiliaries : —
" If that I hear, over the course of the floods, that they
" who dwell around thee urge thee with terror, as, hating
w thee, they whiles have done, I shall soon be ready. I will
" bring to thee thousands of thanes, of heroes to help. I
" know of Hygelac, the lord of the Geats, though he be
" young, the shepherd of his people, that he will, by words
" and works, enable me, that I may defend thee well, and bear
" to thine aid the spear-forest, the support of thy power, if
" thou have need of men. If then Hrethric, the king's son,
" shall repair to the courts of the Geats, he may find many
" friends there." 32
Another of these speeches, assigned to Wealhtheow, inti-
mates that, when Hrothgar died, his cousin Hrothwulf, who
was much younger than he, succeeded him, and repaid the
kindness he had received from them in his youth, by protect-
ing their son Hrethric : —
" When thou shalt go forth to see the Godhead, I know
<{ my glad Hrothwulf, that he will maintain the youth with
" honour, if thou, friend of the Scyldings, leavest the world
" before him. I ween that he will repay our son with good,
** if he remembereth well what benefits we two performed
31 F. 174, 175. 32 F. 170.
THE FAMILY OF HROTHGAR. 27
* for his pleasure and dignity, formerly when he was a
" child." 33
Allusion is afterwards made to the extinction of Hrothgar's
race in war, and to Beowulf s being called to reign over the
Scyldings.
Such is the history of a family who appear to have origi-
nally settled in the districts north of the wall, afterwards
borne part in the enterprise of Horsa and Hencgest, and
eventually moved southward, and occupied the southern
division of what is now the county of Durham. In this dis-
trict we have several traces of the persons who are mentioned
in connection with them. The Helmings, the family of
Wealhtheow, have given their name to Helmington ; and the
Secgas, subjects of Healfdene, to Sedgefield, about six miles
from Hart. Naisbury about a mile south of Hart, and
Neasham on the Tees, may have derived their names from
Hnaef, Healfdene's vassal, who fell at Finnesham ; and Elwick,
Elstol, Elton, and Eldon, all in South Durham, and the first
and last near Hart, theirs from the Scylfing Ela, who is
mentioned at the commencement of the poem, after the notice
of Hrothgar's sons.
Beowulf the Scylding is said to have reigned in the Scede-
lands, and Scedenig, (probably the island near the coast, the
destruction of which is alluded to in the days of Beowulf the
Geat), is named as a residence of Hrothgar. Doubtless these
two names have a common derivation, and Mr. Kemble has
rightly translated scedelandum in u in the divided lands."
Sceadan and sundrian have the same signification, " to divide "
or w separate ; " and these Scedelands appear to be represented
33 F. 156.
28 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
by the modern Sunderlands, of which one is on the coast of
Northumberland, north of Shilbottle, two in Durham, one in
Cumberland, and one in Yorkshire. As used in this poem,
the word perhaps means the lands which were apportioned to
this race at their first coming ; and, (like other words now
applied to parishes), once designated districts of considerable
extent.
It is observed that Ingeld's knowledge of the country is
said to have favoured his escape, a circumstance confirmatory
of the supposition that his home was in Yorkshire, his terri-
tory bordering on Hrothgar's.
All these circumstances considered, we can have no doubt
of the correctness of our theory, which assigns to these princes
of the Scyldings a kingdom on the coast of Northumbria, and
identifies Heort with Hart. Our Healfdene, Hrothgar, and
Halga, are not to be confounded with Halfdan, Hroar, and
Helgi, of the Norse genealogy, whom a collation of the genea-
logies proves to have lived several generations later, and whose
pedigree differs from theirs in every other respect. Beowulf
the grandfather, and Heorogar the elder brother, of Hrothgar
are equally unknown to Danish tradition ; in the genealogy,
Hrolf is the son of Helgi and nephew of Hroar ; in the poem,
Hrothwulf is the cousin of Hrothgar by the father's side.
Saxo perhaps was acquainted with the story of our Hrothgar,
and so incorporated with his history the building of Roskeldia,
in "his laudable anxiety to connect in one work, for the
" honour of his fatherland, all the legends which he found
" here and there current, respecting any princes of the
" Teutonic stock." 34
34 Kemble, Preface to Beowulf, II. p. xxxi.
CHAPTER III.
The Fight at Finnesham.
T is in this poem we find the earliest notice
of the second Hencgest, who appears for the
first time in our history in A. D. 444.
If we take strictly the chronological indi-
cations it supplies, of the length of Hrothgar's reign, it
would appear that he succeeded to the throne about a.d.
445, and had reigned sixty-two years 1 at the time of Beo-
wulf's visit to his court. We may therefore presume that
the interval, between his accession and the death of
Healfdene, which was occupied by the reigns of Heremod
and Heorogar, was not long. This, however, is not of much
1 As Healfdene's war-chiefs, however, were living at the time of Beo-
wulf's visit, there seems to be a sort of necessity to suppose a shorter
duration for Hrothgar's reign. Hund may have originally signified the
number to which it is first attached in the Anglo-Saxon system of nu-
meration, i.e. "seventy ;" or it may have been " sixty-four," eight times
eight, as eight was the sacred number. If so, the hund missera, of which
Hrothgar speaks, would be thirty-five or thirty-two years, previous to
the twelve years 5 persecution of Grendel. This would place his accession
in a.d. 460 or 463, forty-seven or forty-four years before Beowulf's
visit, which is far more probable.
30 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
consequence, since the title, " Healfdene's hero," given to
Hnaef in one of the following passages, does not necessarily
imply that the events, in which he took part, occurred in
Healfdene's lifetime ; for the song is said to have been sung
(t before Healfdene's war-chiefs," and that was at the time of
Beowulf's visit. It is probable, however, that they did occur
during his reign, or at any rate before Hrothgar's acces-
sion.
It seems to me almost certain, that the hero of the story is
not the first Hencgest, who led the Angles to Britain. He
is called the (( prince's thane," and so might our Hencgest be
called until A. d. 434, when he succeeded his brother as king
of Kent, but of course not afterwards ; and if Fin, as we
have supposed, accompanied our Hencgest to Britain, this
feud, in which he perished, could not have occurred before
a.d. 428. Nor could it have occurred between that date
and a. d. 434 ; for, besides that policy would dictate the ne-
cessity of preserving peace with his allies, whilst he was
engaged in securing a firm footing in Britain, Hencgest's
time, during these first six years of his residence in this
country, appears to have been too actively occupied, to have
left him leisure for a feud such as this, in which part of two
years were spent. The first Hencgest, therefore, had no-
thing to do with it. After his expulsion and return to
Britain, we have an interval of six years, from A.D. 437 to
443, when the Teutonic tribes, relieved from all fear of mo-
lestation on the part of the Britons, were at liberty to
quarrel amongst themselves. To this interval the feud may
with great probability be referred ; and, as the hero cannot
have been the first Hencgest, who was then a powerful king,
we can have little hesitation in accepting the alternative, that
THE FIGHT AT FINNESHAM. 31
he was the second Hencgest, of whom the Frisian traditions
speak, the nephew of the first.
Hencgest I. had established his son Octa in Northumbria,
and from Northumbria this Hencgest appears to have come,
for he was associated in his enterprise with Hnaef of the
Scyldings, whilst he was himself a chieftain of Eotens or
Jutes. He was therefore a neighbour of the family who, as
we have seen, reigned on the coast of Durham.
The Finnesham of the poem appears to be the place which
still bears the name, in Norfolk ; in the neighbourhood of
which, (about nine miles distant), the name of Fin's queen,
Hildeburh, occurs at Hillborough ; 2 that of her father, Hoce,
at Hockwold, (twelve miles from Finsham and nine from
Hillborough), and at Hockham, (twenty miles farther to the
south-west) ; and that of Guthhere, one of the heroes of this
expedition, at Gooderstone.
It is not a little remarkable, that of the very few frag-
ments which remain of the heroic poems of our forefathers,
one, (which survived the almost universal destruction of
these monuments of antiquity, until it could be transcribed
by a scholar who appreciated its value, and since his time
has disappeared), relates to the same event, and supplies in
part what is wanting in this episode. The narrative it con-
tains is here placed after the introductory lines to the passage
in Beowulf, which presents to us a picture of the mode in
which the memory of the exploits of their heroes was pre-
served amongst our forefathers, and the recital thereof enter-
tained them at their feasts.
" There was song and sound all together, the joy-wood
2 " Hildeburh wella," Domesday.
32 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" touched, the lay oft sung, before Healfdene's war-chiefs ;
" when Hrothgar's minstrel, the joy of the hall, should tell
" about Fin's sons, when the invasion came upon them,
" (when) Healfdene's hero, Hnsef of the Scyldings, should
" fall in Frisian slaughter." 3
The fragment introduces the Frisian king arousing his
followers, on seeing the light of the fire, which his enemies
had kindled for the destruction of his castle.
" Then the warlike young king cried aloud, ( This dawns
" • not from the east, nor does a dragon fly here, nor are the
" € horns of this hall burning ; but here it blazes forth, the
" e fowls sing, the cricket chirps, the war-wood resounds,
" s shield answers to shaft. Now shines the moon, wander-
" ' ing under the welkin. Now deeds of woe arise, that this
" ' people's enmity will do. But wake up now, my warriors,
" • hold your land, think of valour, march in array, be una-
" ( nimous.' Then many a gold-decked thane arose, girded
" on his sword. Then noble champions went to the door,
* Sigeferth and Eaha drew their swords, and at the other
" doors Ordlaf and Guthlaf and Hencgest himself turned on
" their track. Then yet Guthhere upbraided Garulf, that he,
" sa noble a soul, bare not arms to the hall-doors the first
" time, now a fierce enemy would take it. But he, the
" fierce-minded warrior, inquired above all publicly, who
" held the door ? ( Sigeferth is my name,' quoth he, * I am
" ' prince of the Secgas, a leader widely known. I have en-
" ' dured many woes, hard battles ; for thee is yet here
w c decreed, whatever thou thyself wilt seek from me.' Then
" was the din of slaughter in the hall. The keeled-board
" should (the sword) they took in hand to break the
3 F. 153.
THE FIGHT AT FINNESHAM. 33
" bone-helm. 4 The castle-floor resounded, until in the fight,
" Garulf, Guthhere's son, fell first of all earthdwellers. The
" corpses of many good foes surrounded him. The raven
M wandered, swarthy and sallow-brown. Never did I hear
" of sixty victorious heroes more worthily, better bear them
" at a conflict of men, nor ever so 5 nor better repay
" for white mead, than his bachelors requited Hngef. They
u fought five days, so that none of them, of the noble com-
u panions, fell, but they held the door. Then the wounded
" hero (Hnaef) betook him to go away, said that his byrnie
" was broken, his wardress weak, and also that his helm was
" pierced. Then the shepherd of his people soon inquired of
" him, how the warriors recovered of their wounds."
The sequel is in Beowulf.
" Hildeburh at least had no cause to praise the Eotens'
" compact. She was bereaved of the guiltless ones, her be-
" loved children and brothers, at the war-play ; they fell in
u succession, wounded by the spear. That was an afflicted
4 " Sceolde celod bord
" genumon handa
" ban-helm berstan."
Mr. Kemble suggests the possibility that some lines are lost, as the
metre is defective ; and this I believe is the case. As an alternative, he
ventures a correction, " sceolde naeglod bord genumen handa." Mr.
Thorpe proposes " sceolde nalaes bord genumen handa," and his transla-
tion of the following line, " they lacked the bone-helm," would require
another word to be altered, " berstan " into " burston." Where an error
is evident, and the substitution of a word restores sense to an unintelli-
gible passage, we may generally accept the emendation ; but not when
the alteration of a word requires other alterations, as in this case.
5 " ISTe nefre swa
" noc hwitne medo
" sel forgyldan."
Here again I suspect that something is wanting. Mr. Thorpe pro-
poses M ne naefre sang ne hwitne medo."
F
34 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" lady. Not in vain did Hoce's daughter mourn their death,
" after morning came, when she might see under heaven
" the slaughter of her kinsmen, where she held before most
" of the world's joy. War took away all Fin's thanes, save a
(t few only, so that he might not in any wise contend with
" Hencgest at the meeting-place, nor defend by war the sad
u remnant from the prince's thane. But they offered him
" conditions, that they should yield to him wholly another
" palace, a hall and throne ; that they should have half
" power with the sons of the Eotens, and that Folcwalda's
" son, every day, at the gifts of money, should honour the
" Danes, Hencgest's band, should grace them with rings,
" with hoard -treasures of solid gold, even as much as he
" would supply to the race of Frisians in the beer-hall. Then
" they pledged a fast covenant of peace on both sides. Fin,
" boldly, peaceably, undertook with oaths to Hencgest, that
" he would honourably maintain the sad remnant 6 by the
** doom of his witan ; so that no man, by words or deeds, should
" break the treaty, nor ever remind (them) through wicked
" device, though princeless they must follow the slayer of
" their ring-giver, since so they were obliged. If then any
u one of the Frisians should make mention of that murder-
* feud with insolent speech, then the edge of the sword
" should punish it afterwards. The oath was taken on both
" sides, and much gold raised from the hoard.
" The best of warriors, of the warlike Scyldings, was ready
" on the pile. The gore-stained sark, the swine all-golden,
" the boar iron-hard, were easily seen at the pile ; many a
* noble crippled with wounds ; some had fallen in the battle.
6 Hnaefs band.
THE FIGHT AT FINNESHAM. 35
" Hildeburh then commanded her own son to be involved in
" flame, to burn his body at Hnasf's pile, and to place the
" wretched one on his shoulder on the pile. The lady
* mourned, lamented in songs. The warrior ascended,
" whirled to the clouds ; the greatest of death-fires roared
u before the mound. The mail-hoods melted, the wound-
" gates burst ; then the blood sprang forth, the loathly bite of
" the corpse. Flame, greediest of spirits, devoured all those
u whom there war took away. The glory of both nations
" was departed.
" The warriors then, deprived of friends, betook them to
" visit the dwellings, to see Frysland, the homes and lofty
" city. Hencgest there yet abode with Fin, through the
" death-hued winter. He tilled the land peaceably, though
" he might drive the ringed prow on the sea. The sea boiled
" with storms, wan against the wind ; winter locked the wave
" with icy bond, until that another year came to the dwell-
M ings. So now doth yet that which constantly happily pro-
" videth glory-bright weather. Then was winter departed,
" the bosom of the earth fair. The exile departed, the guest
M from the dwellings. He thought more of vengeance than
" of a sea-voyage, if he might contrive a hostile meeting,
<( since he inly remembered the sons of the Eotens. So he
" did not shun worldly counsel, when he placed on his bo-
" som Hunlafing, the flame of war, the best of swords. For
" there were among the Eotens men known for the sword,
" and bold of spirit. Savage sword-slaughter afterwards
u overwhelmed Fin at his own home ; when Guthlaf and
u Oslaf, after the sea-voyage, sadly remembered the grim
" onset, considered their portion of sorrows. He might not
u restrain in his breast his wavering mood. Then was the
£6 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" hall surrounded by the hosts of his foes, Fin also slain, the
" king amongst his troop, and the queen taken. The shooters
" of the Scyldings bare to the ships all the household wealth,
" of jewels and mounted gems, of the earth-king, such as
" they might find at Finnesham. They bare the noble lady
" on the sea-way to the Danes, led her to their people." 7
7 F. 153-155.
CHAPTER IV.
Hygelac and his Family.
YGELAC was the son « of Hrethel, and
nephew of Swerting. Hrethel, whose name
occurs in this poem alone, was probably one
of the associates of Hencgest ; and, from the
traces that remain of his name, we may infer that he resided
for a time in Yorkshire, (where Seomel, his father or father-
in-law, reigned), and afterwards removed to Suffolk.
For we have several places which bear the name of his
subjects, the Weders; in Suffolk itself, two Wetherdens,
Weatherheath, Wetherup, and Wetheringsett ; and in the
adjoining county of Cambridge Wetherley hundred ; and one
which bears the name of his family, Redlingfield, in Suffolk.
His own name appears at Rattlesden and Rattlerow hill,
in the same county ; the etymology of the latter, Hrced-
lan hrckw, suggesting the idea that it was his place of sepul-
ture.
About a mile distant from one of the Wetherdens, there is
an ancient fortress, of the usual plan of Anglo-Saxon strong-
holds, called Haughley, which may have been the residence
of this family. In its name, (when we consider its varia-
38 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
tions 1 ), we may even trace that of Hygelac himself. This is
a name which we cannot expect to meet with, otherwise than
in a corrupted or abbreviated form ; and it is therefore by no
means surprising, that we can find no name on the map of
Suffolk which can be positively said to contain it. There is
one, however, respecting which I think there can be little
doubt, Hoxne. In Brompton's time it was Hoxton, but he
says that its ancient name was Eglesdon or Halesdon. Wen-
dover calls it Haeilesdune, and Leland, quoting from a Life
of S. Eadmund, Hegilesdune. If we suppose it Hygelaces-
dun, the transition to its present name is easy ; but it is im-
possible to conceive the process by which Halesdun could
become Hoxton. It is about four miles to the north of Red-
lingfield. Uggeshall, farther to the east, may be a corruption
of Hygdesheal, Hygd having been, as it appears, another
name of Hygelac. 2
1 Huiglauc, Hugleikr, Chocilaic.
9 Prof. Leo, and Messrs. Ettmiiller and Thorpe, have taken Hygd
to be the name of Haereth's daughter, Hygelac's queen ; Mr. Kemble, on
the contrary, regarded it as another name of Hygelac. I follow Mr.
Kemble for these reasons : —
1. To take the passage, which speaks of Haereth's daughter, (f. 172),
in continuation of what is said of Hygd, seems, (as Mr. K. has remarked),
to make nonsense of the whole ; to take it separately, and suppose that
the lines, which connected it with what precedes it, are lost, renders it
perfectly intelligible in itself. No more than one or two couplets are
necessary, to connect this notice of the queen with that of her husband.
2. The parallel is exact between, —
u The building was excellent, the king a famous prince,"
and
" the hall high, Hygd very young, wise, well-established," —
and the king must be Hygd.
3. The meaning of Hygd is the same as that of the first part of Hy-
gelac's name, and it would be appropriate as a second name for him. We
have several instances of simple and compound names being borne by the
same person.
HYGELAC AND HIS FAMILY. 39
Hrethel's family consisted of three sons, Herebeald, Haeth-
cyn, and Hygelac, and a daughter, not named, who was given
in marriage to Ecgtheow. He died of grief for the loss of
his eldest son, as related in the following passage : —
i( The deathbed was strewed for the eldest unfitly, by the
" act of his kinsman, when Hasthcyn, his lord-friend, slew him
" with an arrow from his horn-bow ; he missed his mark and
" shot his kinsman, one brother another, with a bloody shaft.
" That was a priceless slaughter, horribly done. Hrethel
" was weary of heart. Nevertheless the aetheling must part
u from life unavenged. It would be so sad for the old man
" to endure, that his young son should ride upon the gallows.
" So the helm of the Weders bore boiling heart-sorrow for
" Herebeald. He might in no wise avenge the feud on the
" slayer, nor on account of it hate the warrior with hostile
" deeds, though it was not pleasing to him. He then for
" sorrow, since this woe befel him, gave up the joy of men,
u chose God's light ; left to his sons, (as a happy man doth),
" his land and royal city, when he departed from life." 3
Here it seems to be clearly expressed, that the old man's
affection for his surviving son withheld him from avenging
the feud ; and that it was priceless, because the weregild was
not demanded, rather than because the laws of the Geats ex-
acted none under such circumstances. 4
Haethcyn, (whose name may possibly be traced in that of
Akenham about twelve miles from Rattlesden), and Hygelac
4. Beowulf received a beautiful collar, at Hrothgar's court, from
Wealhtheow, and gave it to Hygd on his return home ; Hygelac wore it
in his last conflict with the Franks ; it seems therefore that Hygd and
Hygelac are one.
3 F. 1 84. 4 As Mr. Thorpe has understood it.
40 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
appear to have reigned conjointly on the death of their father.
Immediately, as its seems, after their accession, they under-
took an expedition against the Sweos, which is thus related
in two passages of the poem. The first immediately follows
that just quoted : —
" There was quarrel and strife, mutual dissension, fierce
f< hatred of warriors, of the Sweos and Geats, over the wide
" water, after Hrethel died ; until to him Ongentheow's sons
" were "
Here there is a hiatus in the MS. ; what followed perhaps
related to the war which Beowulf waged with the Scylfings,
at a later time.
" Brave, fierce in war, they would not hold peace over the
" deep, but oft they completed the terrible ambush around
" Hreosnabeorh. (That feud and offence my friend may re-
" late, as it was known). War was busy for Haethcyn, the
" lord of the Geats, although the other bought with his life a
" hard bargain. Then, on the morrow, I have heard, the
" other kinsman stole on the slayer, with edges of the sword.
" There Ongentheow attacks Eofer. 3 His war-helm glided
(< off, the old Scylfing fell pale. He remembered his hand
" and the feud full well, he withheld not the fatal blow." 6
The foregoing passage is necessary to the complete under-
standing of some parts of the following, in which we have
fuller and clearer details of this campaign. The poet makes
5 " Thaer Ongentheow There Ongentheow
" Eofores niosath." visits Eofer.
Mr. Thorpe suggests the following alteration of these lines, —
" Thajr waes Ongentheow There was Ongentheow
" Eofores nithes seed." sated with Eofer's enmity.
6 F. 185.
HYGELAC AND HIS FAMILY. 41
Beowulf, who is the speaker in the foregoing, refer to his
friend's knowledge of the circumstances of the history, (" my
" friend may relate ") ; and accordingly he represents one of
Beowulf's warriors, after his death, as saying, inter alia : —
" Nor do I in any wise expect peace or fidelity from the
" Sweofolk. For it was widely known, that Ongentheow
" deprived Haethcyn, the Hrethling, of life, beside Raven-
" wood ; when, for pride, the Geats' people first sought the
* warlike Scylfings. Soon to him the prudent, old, and
" terrible father of Ohthere dealt a hand-blow. The sea-
" leader, the old man, long before, had borne away, from the
" bridal-hearth, the maid decked with gold, the mother of
" Onela and Ohthere ; and then he followed his deadly foes,
" until they escaped with difficulty into Ravensholt, deprived
" of their lord. Then he beset the escaped of the swords,
" weary with wounds, with a mighty force. Oft he threatened
" woe, all night long, to the wretched race ; said that he
M would take them in the morning with edges of the sword ;
" hang some on gallows-tree for sport. Much comfort came,
" together with the dawn of day, to the sad of mood, after
ff they heard Hygelac's horns and trumpets sound ; when the
" good king came faring after them, with the force of his
" people. The bloody trace of the Sweos and Geats, the
" deadly rush of men, how the people excited feud with them,
" was widely seen. The good (king) then betook him with
" his comrades, prudent and very sorrowful, to seek (his)
" fortress ; the warrior Ongentheow went higher ; he had
" heard of Hygelac's warfare, the proud chiefs battle-craft ;
" he trusted not that he could repel his foe's seamen, the war-
" like voyagers, defend his treasure, his children, and his
" bride. Thence again the old man withdrew under the
G
42 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" earth-wall. Then was treasure offered by the Sweos'
" people, an ensign to Hygelac. 7 Then they passed forth
" over the peaceful plain. The Hrethlings afterwards
" thronged to the rampart. Then was hope destroyed for
" Ongentheow, the grey-haired, with edges of the sword; so
" that the king of the people should yield to Eofer's doom
" alone. Wulf Wonreding angrily reached him with his
" weapon, so that, for the blow, blood sprang forth from the
" veins, under his hair. Yet the old Scylfing was not dis-
" mayed, but quickly repaid that deadly attack with a worse
" exchange. The swift son of Wonred could not give a
" hand-blow to the old man, after the king of the people
" turned towards him, for he beforehand cut through the
" helmet on his head, so that he must bow, blood-stained ; he
** fell on the earth. Yet he was not doomed, although the
" wound disabled him, but he recovered himself. Then the
" fierce thane of Hygelac let his broad falchion, his old
" Eotenish sword, break the giant helmet over the shield-
" wall, where his brother lay. Then sank the king, the
" shepherd of his people, his life was stricken. There were
" many who rescued his kinsman, they raised him up quickly,
" when room was made for them, that they might command
" the battle-field, when one warrior stripped another. They
" took from Ongentheow his iron-byrnie, his hard-hilted
" sword, and his helmet together ; they bare to Hygelac the
" armour of the hoary warrior. He received the war-gear,
" and fairly promised them rewards among the people, and
"so he performed. The lord of the Geats, the son of
7 The " ensign to Hygelac " corresponds to the modern flag of truce ;
and the " peaceful plain " was the space left unoccupied by the opposed
forces, while proposals for peace were under consideration.
HYGELAC AND HIS FAMILY. 43
" Hrethel, when he came home, paid Eofer and Wulf for the
" battle-onslaught. Besides treasures, he gave to either of
" them a hundred thousand of land, and locked rings ; nor
" needed any man on earth upbraid them for the gift, since
" they won glory in battle. And then he gave to Eofer
" his only daughter, a dignity to his home, a pledge of
" affection." 8
From these two passages we learn, that Ongentheow long
before had carried off Haethcyn's bride, who became his
queen, and the mother of his sons Onela and Ohthere ; and
that, immediately after the death of their father, Haethcyn
and Hygelac led an armament over sea, to avenge the feud. 9
They appear to have divided their forces ; Haethcyn's divi-
sion was attacked by Ongentheow, suffered defeat with the
loss of their leader, and fled into Ravenwood, where Ongen-
theow beset them all night, threatening to exterminate them
on the morrow. At daybreak, however, Hygelac's division
arrived to their rescue. A second battle ensued, resulting in
the discomfiture of Ongentheow, who withdrew up the country
to his fortress, Hreosnabeorh, pursued by the Hrethlings.
The Sweos offered their treasures as the price of peace, but
in vain. In the assault upon the fortress, Ongentheow,
attacked and wounded by Wulf, dealt him in return a severe
though not mortal wound, and then fell by the hand of Eofer.
8 F. 193, 194.
9 The whole context shows that this was an aggression on the part of
the Geats, their first ; for the origin of the feud, a previous expedition
of Ongentheow and the Scylfings, is spoken of. So the reading, " when
" the Scylfings first sought the Geats," (which is, besides, inconsistent
with the statements relative to Ongentheow's withdrawing to a fortress
after his defeat, the Geats following him, the Sweos offering their
treasures, and Hygelac's return home), is out of the question.
44 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
Hygelac, on his return home, rewarded the valour of the two
brothers, by giving to each a large grant of land, and to
Eofer the hand of his daughter in marriage.
Whether this battle was fought on the continent or in
England, does not of course affect the question of the home
of Hrethel and Hygelac ; but I think it very probable that
it was in this country. Norse traditions, indeed, mention an
Angantyr, king of Sweden, but his story differs altogether
from that of our Ongentheow ; and the mention of Sweorice
is not decisive, because wherever the Sweos established a
kingdom, it would of course be Sweorice. Now this was un-
doubtedly one of the races which settled in Britain ; the
Scylfings have left their name to Shilvington in Northumber-
land ; and the mention of this race, in the midst of details re-
lative to Hrothgar's family, renders it probable that they
were his neighbours. Accordingly, it is in the district which
borders on his territories, that I find the scenes of this cam-
paign. The first battle was fought in the neighbourhood of
a wood, which is called Hrefnes-holt and Hrefna-wudu ; the
former designation being derived from the name of Hrsefn,
the latter indicating that of his family, the Hraefnas or Hrsefn-
ingas, of whom we have several traces in this country, and
one of them at Kavenhill, on the coast of Yorkshire, near
Whitby. The position of this Ravenhill suggests the pro-
bability that the adjacent Robin Hood's bay may really be a
corruption of Ravenwood bay. 10 In this neighbourhood the
first battle may have been fought; and War dyke to the
south, and the Green dyke to the east, of Ravenhill, may be
10 The similarity of names having occasioned the memory of this
popular hero to be connected, not only with the bay, but with the ancient
tumuli near Kavenhill, Robin Hood's butts.
HYGELAC AND HIS FAMILY. 45
the remains of entrenchments, which the fugitives constructed
to defend their position from the threatened attack of Ongen-
theow. Six miles to the north-west is a village, Ugglebarnby,
which seems to bear the name of Hygelac, and may mark the
scene of the second battle ; close to it appears to have been a
place called Brecca, 11 the name of a neighbour of Hygelac ;
and about twenty miles farther to the west is Roseberry
Topping, 1 * a lofty precipitous hill, around the conical summit
of which a complete circle of large pits is supposed to mark
the dwellings of a primitive race. This, I believe, is Hreos-
nabeorh, the fortress to which Ongentheow retired after the
battle with Hygelac, in the defence of which he lost his life.
The close of the fifth century, or beginning of the sixth, may
be assigned as the date of this feud.
As this was certainly the period of Hygelac's reign, it is
exceedingly probable that he would be confederate with Gar-
mund in the war against the Britons, and so may have given
his name to Hygelaces git 13 near Clifton in Somersetshire,
Hucklecote near Gloucester, and Hugglescote near Charley
in Leicestershire, both of which neighbourhoods were scenes
of this war.
Three passages in the poem allude to Hygelac's death : —
" That ring Hygelac of the Geats, Swerting's nephew, had
u for the last time, when he defended the treasure under his
* banner, guarded the spoil of the slain. Fate took him
u away, when he for pride sought woe, feud with the Fri-
" sians. He, the powerful prince, carried the ornament, the
" precious stones, over the cup of waves. He fell beneath
11 Domesday.
12 Rosedale, a valley to the south-east of this hill, bears the name of
the same race. I3 Cod. Diplom. 566.
46 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" his shield. Then the king's life, his breast-weeds, and the
" ring together, departed into the grasp of the Franks.
" Worse warriors plundered the fallen, after the lot of war.
" The people of the Geats held the home of the dead." 14
" That was not the least of contests, when they slew Hy-
" gelac ; when the king of the Geats, the lordly friend of
" the people, the son of Hrethel, perished in war-onsets,
" sword drunken, beaten down by a bill, in the Frislands." I5
" Now there is expectation to the people of a time of war,
" when the fall of the king becomes known among the Franks
" and Frisians. The feud was formed, fierce with the Hugas,
" when Hygelac came faring with a fleet to Frisland ; there
" the Hetwaras overcame him in war. Boldly they came
" with over-might, so that the mailed warrior must bow, he
" fell in battle, the chieftain gave no treasure to his no-
« bles." 16
This unfortunate expedition of Hygelac 17 is recorded by
Gregory of Tours, and in the " Gesta Regum Francorum."
The former 18 tells us, that in the beginning of the reign of
14 F. 156. u F. 182. ,fl F. 193.
17 This Hygelac is not to be confounded with his namesake, Hugleikr,
king of Sweden, who fell in battle on Fyrisvellir, near Upsal. The
latter, according to the Ynglinga Saga, was the son of Alf, an unwarlike
character ; his opponent was Hake, a viking who invaded his territory ;
and his two sons fell with him. He has therefore nothing in common
with our Hygelac, but the name, and the circumstance that he also fell
on the battle-field.
18 " Dani cum rege suo, nomine Chocilaico, evectu navali per mare
" Gallias appetunt. Egressi ad terras, pagum unum de regno Theuderici
" devastant atque captivant ; oneratisque navibus, tarn de captivis quam
" de reliquis spoliis, reverti ad patriam cupiunt. Sed rex eorum in littus
" residebat, donee naves altum mare comprehenderent, ipse deinceps
*' secuturus. Quod cum Theuderico nunciatum fuisset, quod scilicet
HYGELAC AND HIS FAMILY. 47
Theuderic, a.d. 511, the Danes with their king, Chocilaic,
disembarked on the coast of Gaul ; plundered and devastated
a district belonging to Theuderic, filled their ships with the
spoils, and with captives, and were preparing to return home,
their king waiting on the shore, until the vessels could be
got into deep water ; that Theuderic, as soon as the intelli-
gence reached him, sent his son Theudibert with a large force
to attack him ; and that he slew the king, defeated the Danes
at sea, and recovered all the spoils. The narrative in the
latter 19 is couched in nearly the same terms, but supplies one
particular in addition ; the name of the tribe who occupied
the plundered district, — the Attoarii or Hetwaras. In the
days of Tacitus, this tribe, whom he calls Chatuarii, occupied
an island at the mouth of the Rhine ; and on an island so
situated, and perhaps the same, a writer of the tenth cen-
tury 20 testifies, that the bones of Hygelac were preserved
to his time, and shown to strangers on account of their gi-
" regio ejus fuerit ab extraneis devastata, Theudebertum, filium suum, in
" illas partes, cum magno exercitu ac magno armorum apparatu, direxit.
" Qui, interfecto rege, hostes navali praelio superatos opprimit, omnemque
" rapinam terrse restituit." H. F. in. 3.
19 " In illo tempore, Dani cum rege suo, nomine Chochilago, cum
" navali hoste per altum mare Gallias appetunt, Theuderici pagum At-
" toarios, et alios devastantes, atque captivantes, plenas naves de captivis
" habentes, alto mare intrantes, rex eorum ad littus maris resedit. Quod
■ cum Theuderico nunciatum fuisset, Theudebertum, nlium suum, cum
u magno exercitu in illis partibus dirigens ; qui, consequens eos, pug-
u navit cum eis caede maxima, atque ipsis prostratis regem eorum inter-
" fecit, praedam tulit, et in terram suam restituit." C. xix.
20 " De Huiglauco Getarum rege, mirae magnitudinis. Et sunt mirse
" magnitudinis, ut rex Huiglaucus, qui imperavit Getis, et a Francis
" occisus est ; quem equus a duodecimo anno portare non potuit, cuius
" ossa in Rheni fluminis insula, ubi in oceanum prorumpit, asservata
" sunt, et de longinquo venientibus pro miraculo ostenduntur." MS.
Saec. x. quoted by Moritz, Alt-Haupt-Deutsche Blatter.
48 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
gantic size. He also says, that he was king of the Getas,
and was slain by the Franks. The Chronicon Quedlin-
burgense supplies a further illustration of the passage, which
speaks of the Hugas as Hygelac's adversaries, in designating
the king of the Franks Hugo Theodoricus. These notices
are very important, not only because they serve to fix the
date of Hygelac's reign, — ending about the time of Theu-
deric's accession, — but also because their exact agreement
with the passages in the poem which relate to the same
event, warrants us in regarding the poem as in the main his-
torical ; since in the single instance, in which the light of
authentic history is brought to bear upon it, it is found to be
exactly accordant therewith.
Heardred, Hygelac's son, is called Hereric's nephew. He-
reric was therefore probably the brother of Hygelac's queen.
If we identify him with the Frank king, Chararic, we shall
probably discover the occasion of the feud. Chararic, as well
as other princes of the Frank blood royal, had been treacher-
ously slain by Chlodovech ; Garmund and Isembard, to re-
venge these murders, conducted an expedition to Gaul, and
were defeated by Chlodovech, in the territory over which
Chararic had reigned ; and, about the same time, Hygelac,
(whose probable connection with Garmund has been already
noticed), landed in Theuderic's territory, immediately north
of Chararic's, and after a successful foray, was slain by Theu-
debert. It is by no means improbable that these two expe-
ditions were made each in conjunction with the other ; that
vengeance, for the murders of which Chlodovech had been
guilty, was the motive of Hygelac, Chararic's brother-in-law,
as it was of Isembard.
The probability that Hrethel, the brother or brother-in-
HYGELAC AND HIS FAMILY. 49
law of Swerting, — whose father, Seomel, was the first of the
ancestors of JElle to establish himself in Northumbria, — was
associated with them in their enterprise, and afterwards
settled in Suffolk, where so many traces of his name, and of
those of his family and people remain, (a probability which
circumstances to be noticed in the next Chapter will be found
to confirm), justifies us in claiming a place in our history for
Hygelac ; whose name is found, if not distinctly within the
limits of his own principality, at any rate in other districts in
which, from the circumstances of the times in which he lived,
we might expect to find it. According to the genealogies
he would be the cotemporary of Wilgils, between whom and
^Elle there are two generations. He fell about A. D. 511,
and .ZElle became king of Deira in A. D. 558.
CHAPTER V.
The Story of Offa.
HE story of Offa, as preserved to us in this
poem, in the Traveller's Tale, the Chronicle
of John Rosse, and Matthew Paris' Life of
him, now claims our attention. The two
last are drawn from one source, the records of the monastery
of S. Albans. Matthew Paris was a member of the com-
munity there ; and John Rosse says, that he read the story
there in a book "De Gestis Abbatum," and had seen it worked
in tapestry on the walls of the abbot's hall. We might
therefore expect to find these writers perfectly accordant,
but it is not so ; there are differences between them as to cer-
tain details, which, however, do not materially affect the
story. It is to this effect.
When the Saxons had established themselves in Britain,
(probably at the time of Hencgest's conquest, a. d. 441),
they divided the land amongst themselves, appointing kings
in different districts ; and Waermund received for his prin-
cipality what is now called Warwickshire, repaired the
town of Warwick, and gave his name to it. He had but
one son, born to him when he was far advanced in years,
of vigorous form, but blind until his seventh year, and
THE STORY OF OFFA. 51
deaf and dumb until his thirtieth. This defect was a source
of great grief to the king and his nobles, for it was impossible
to name the prince heir to the throne, and the age and in-
firmities of the king made it necessary to settle the succes-
sion. One of his nobles, who is called Rigan and Aliel,
coveted it for his family, and was abetted by another, named
Mitun. He petitioned the king to adopt him for his heir,
and took care to intimate to him, through his partizans, that
what he sought as a grace, would be extorted by force of
arms, if refused. The old king was to be moved neither by
entreaties nor by threats ; he summoned his Witan, and their
decision was adverse to the pretensions of Aliel, who conse-
quently left the council in anger, and prepared for war. In
a few days he had collected an army, and challenged Waer-
mund to battle. A second council was held to arrange mat-
ters, and OfFa, who was present at their deliberations, suddenly
acquired the faculty of hearing, so as to become cognizant of
what was going on, and then that of speech. Aliel's friends,
who were present, were confounded and retired; the rest
besought Waermund to confer on his son the insignia of
knighthood ; and OfFa accordingly received them, along with
several companions.
Both parties were now determined on war ; the time and
place for the encounter were fixed ; and the forces of OfFa
and Aliel met on the opposite banks of a river, named Avene.
The battle began, and was continued for some time with mis-
siles ; at length OfFa with the bravest of his warriors crossed
the stream, was followed by the main body of his army, put
his enemies to flight, and pursued them with great slaughter.
They rallied however, and renewed the fight with such ob-
stinacy., that it was very doubtful what the result would be,
52 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
when both parties, weary of the contest, were compelled to
take rest. During the armistice, the insolence of two sons
of Aliel, Hildebrand (or Brutus) and Sueno, provoked the
vengeance of Offa, and they fell by his hand. The conflict
was renewed, but victory soon declared for Offa ; his enemies
fled before him, Aliel was drowned in attempting to cross a
stream, named after him Riganburn, and Mitun also fell.
Offa gave honourable burial to the corpses of the nobles, who
had fallen in the battle ; and those of the rest of the slain
were buried, under an immense heap of stones, which received
in consequence the name of Qualmhul, (Slaughter-hill).
The battle-field was called afterwards Blodewald.
The victory is thus noticed in the Traveller's Tale: —
" Offa ruled Ongle; Alewih, who was the proudest of
" those men, the Danes ; yet did he not gain lordship over
u Offa, but Offa won, first of men, whilst yet a knight,
w most kingdoms. None of equal age with him, gained
" greater lordship in war. By his single sword he enlarged
u the march for the With-Myrgings, by Fifeld-ore. Angles
* and Swaefs held it thenceforth, as Offa won it." 1
This passage, as far as it goes, agrees exactly with the S.
Albans' tradition. Aliel is a corruption of Alewih ; Rigan
perhaps indicates the particular tribe to which he belonged,
the Rugas, for these would be comprehended under the name
of Danes ; and Mitun is possibly a corruption of Witta, whom
the Traveller mentions as having ruled the Swaefs. 2 The
phrase cniht wesende, " whilst yet a knight," means, what the
story tells us, that Offa had not attained to the royal dignity
to which his birth entitled him, at the time of the battle.
The two accounts enable us to identify beyond a doubt
1 L. 71-90. 2 L. 45.
THE STORY OF OFFA. 53
the scene of this celebrated conflict. The Traveller says it
was hi Fifeld-ore, which I translate " the beginning (or bor-
" der) of Fifield ;" and this is Fifield in Oxfordshire, sepa-
rated from Gloucestershire by the river Evenlode, which I
take to be the Avene of the story, the river on the banks of
which the rival armies met. It is not of course to be expected
that we should be able to find all the ancient names of places
still in use ; for a very large proportion of those which are
mentioned in the Codex Diplomaticus cannot now be traced. 3
So we do not find Blodewald, doubtless Bleddan-weald, " the
" wold of Bledda;" 4 but although his name has disappeared
from the neighbouring wold, it still remains at Bledington, 5
the parish in Gloucestershire which borders on Fifield, and is
separated from it by the Evenlode.
The names of the parishes of Swell and Slaughter supply
a remarkable verification of the identity of this district with
the scene of the battle. We are told that the corpses of the
lower ranks of the slain were buried under a heap of stones,
3 Salmonnesburg (137), which is known to have been in the neigh-
bouring hundred of Slaughter, and indeed gave name to it, may be cited
as an instance of such a name now lost.
4 A chieftain, after whom Bleadon in Oxfordshire, and Bledlow (Bled-
dan hlaew) in Buckinghamshire, have been named.
5 Bleddan-diin, as Seckington in Warwickshire was Seccandun, and
Abingdon in Berkshire, Abbandun. It is not unusual to find that places,
which once bore the names of chieftains, now bear those of his descend-
ants. Thus Coludesburg in Berwickshire is now Coldingham. We also
frequently find the name of the family and of its founder in close prox-
imity, as in the instances of Shenlow in the parish of Shenington in Ox-
fordshire, Winterton and Wintringham in Lincolnshire, Repton in
Derbyshire and Repington in Warwickshire. It is not improbable that
the wold v north-west of Bledington, may have been called Bleddan-weald,
the Blodewald of the story ; the author of which may have altered the
name in accordance with his own idea of its derivation.
54 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
which was called from the circumstance Qaalmhul, " the hill
" of Slaughter." Slaughter-hill is doubtless the place indi-
cated ; it is three miles west of Bledington, and has given
name to two neighbouring parishes, as well as to the hun-
dred. The bodies of the nobles were buried apart; they
would of course be burned, in accordance with the customs
of the Teutonic tribes, (as exemplified in the cases of Hnaef
and Beowulf) ; and although the story does not give the name
of the place where this was done, the occurrence of the names
of two villages, Upper and Lower Swell, in the immediate
neighbourhood of the Slaughters, helps us to determine it.
Swell certainly means u burning," or a " funeral pile ;" the
only other place in England which bears this name, is in
Somersetshire, in the neighbourhood of another battle-field,
that of Langport; and the Kev. David Royce, Vicar of
Lower Swell, (to whom I am indebted for much interesting
information relative to this group of parishes), tells me that a
long deep bed of ashes was discovered in his churchyard, on
digging foundations for the enlargement of the church ; and
that, of eleven barrows in the parish, the largest is called
Picked Morden, a name which seems equivalent to " selected
u slain." If this be correct, it will be that in which the
burnt corpses of the nobles were buried. The field in which
it stands is called Camp ground, and he says, that an old
woman once told him, that the last battle that was fought in
England was fought there. A well in the parish of Slaughter
is called the king's well, where they say the king washed his
wounds after the battle. A valley to the northward of these
parishes is called the Danes' Beat.
The poem tells us that the result of the battle was the ex-
tension of the dominions of Offa, and the settlement of the
THE STORY OF OFF A. 55
boundary line between the Angles and the Swaefs ; the story
indicates that it was the addition of Gloucestershire to Wasr-
mund's dominions ; for it tells us that they were in Warwick-
shire, (in which county and in Worcestershire we have already
noticed several traces of his name), and, four years after the
battle, we are informed, that he was buried at Gloucester ;
and, in perfect accordance with the poem and the story at
once, the county map shows us the Evenlode the boundary,
for several miles, between Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire ;
" the march continues " to this day " as Offa won it, by
" Fifeld-ore." The contest was not, however, confined to
this neighbourhood ; we are told of a flight and a pursuit, of
a second battle, of the final discomfiture and flight of Ofla's
foes, and of their leader perishing in the Riganburn. This
seems to be the Rugganbroc, 6 a stream which falls into the
Stour, not far from its junction with the Avon. Battle
bridges, near Chipping Campden, nearly in the direct line
between Fifield and the Rugganbroc, is said to be so named
from a battle fought there between the Mercians and West
Saxons ; and as none of the recorded battles, between these
nations, appear to have been fought in this locality, it is pro-
bably Offa's conflict with Alewih of which this tradition speaks.
The names of Alewih and Witta occur at Alvescott and
Witney, in Oxfordshire, about eight miles to the south-east
of Fifield ; that of the former at Alveston in Gloucestershire,
and Alveston in Warwickshire ; and this last is almost directly
north of the junction of the stream, in which he is said to have
perished, with the Stour ; so that it would seem to indicate,
that the object of his flight was to gain a fortress which be-
longed to him.
8 Cod. Diploni. 55.
56 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
After the battle, Waermund invested Offa with the royal
dignity, and resigned the government of the kingdom into his
hands. He died four years afterwards, at a very advanced
age, and was buried at Gloucester. Offa enjoyed a prosper-
ous reign, overcame all his enemies, and was enabled to hold
his dominions for a long time in peace, whilst other kings
were involved in war.
Some time afterwards, (as Matthew Paris relates), being
separated from his retinue whilst hunting, he found a young
girl, who said that she was the daughter of a prince of York,
who had commanded her to be conveyed to that solitude and
murdered, because she refused to submit to his lust, but that
the executioners had spared her life, and left her there. Ross
here supplies an important variation, viz. that, under the
same circumstances, the maiden fled from her father, under
the guidance of a faithful thane. Offa brought her home,
and committed her to the care of his domestics ; and, some
years later, being importuned by his nobles to marry, took
her to wife, and had children by her. Offa's wisdom and
power were so widely celebrated, that other kings frequently
sought his advice and assistance. An invasion of the Picts
and Scots, on one occasion, compelled the King of Northumbria
to ask him for aid; he offered him the supremacy of his
kingdom, and requested the hand of his daughter in marriage
without dowry, (to which an alliance with her father seems
to have been considered equivalent). Offa accordingly led
an army to assist him, obtained an easy victory over the
enemy, and drove them back into Scotland. Whilst he was
still in the North, he sent a messenger home with despatches.
The messenger inadvertently stayed at the court of the father
of Offa's queen, who contrived to intoxicate him, and to sub-
THE STORY OP OFFA. 57
stitute for the despatches others, in which the regents of
Offa's kingdom were commanded to have her conducted with
her children to a lonely place, and mutilated, on the pretext
that she was a sorceress. Although astonished at the receipt
of such an order, they dared not disobey ; the family were
conveyed to a wilderness, where the children were slain, but
the beauty of the mother moved the executioners to spare
her ; and a hermit, who lived in the neighbourhood, found
them, obtained by his prayers the restoration of the children
to life, and took care of them. Not long after his return
home, Offa discovered the place of their retreat ; the hermit
urged him to found a monastery in thanksgiving, and he pro-
mised to do so, but died without having fulfilled his promise.
It was fulfilled however by his descendant Winfrith, who, on
account of the similarity of the circumstances of his own early
life to those of his ancestor, assumed the name of Offa.
In the poem of Beowulf we have an allusion to some of
the circumstances of this story, with the information that the
lady whom Offa espoused, was also, and (as it seems) after-
wards, the wife of Hygelac : —
" Although she was not mean, nor too sparing of gifts, of
" hoarded treasures, to the people of the Geats, Hasreth's
" daughter, the bold queen of the people, practised violence
<( of mood, terrible wickedness. Save her wedded lord, who
" gazed on her every day with his eyes, none of the dear
" companions durst approach that beast, but she allotted, told
" to him, bands of slaughter, twisted with hands. Soon
" afterwards, after the grasp of hands, it was settled with the
" knife ; so that the good sword must determine it, make
" known the fatal evil. Such is no queenly custom, for a
" lady to practise, though she be beautiful, that a peace-
58 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" weaver should pursue a dear man for his life, for fierce
u anger. Heming's kinsman, at least, drinking ale, reviled
" her for that. Others said, that she had less perpetrated
" mighty evils, crafty malice, after she first was given adorned
" with gold to the young champion, the noble beast; after
" she sought OfFa's court, in a journey over the fallow flood,
" by her father's command ; where she afterwards, living
" well on the throne, in good repute, enjoyed life's creations,
" held high love with the prince of heroes, the best of noble
" race, of all mankind, between the seas, to my knowledge.
u For OfFa, the spear-bold man, was widely renowned for
" gifts and wars. In wisdom he held his patrimony. From
" him Geomer sprang, for help to heroes, Heming's kinsman,
" Garmund's nephew, mighty in conflicts." 7
As, then, Hygelac fell in battle, in or about a. d. 51 1, and his
son Heardred was not then old enough to take the kingdom
into his own hands, the death of Offa may be supposed to
have occurred about the beginning of the sixth century.
The S. Albans' story differs from that in the poem, as to
the circumstances under which this lady made her appearance
in OfFa's dominions ; and whilst we are bound to follow the
latter as the older and more trustworthy authority, it is not
difficult to discover the clue to the principal variations in the
former. The S. Albans' legend, for instance, says that her
father was a prince of York, the poem that she came to OfFa's
court over " the fallow flood." It also appears that she was
Haereth's daughter, and Hereric's sister, (since Heardred was
Hereric's nephew). Chararic, whom I have conjecturally
identified with Hereric, reigned in the north-eastern provinces
7 F. 172, 173.
THE STORY OF OFF A. 59
of Gaul, and the name of Evreux, (Eburovices or Ebroicas)
is so similar to that of York, (Eburacum, Ebraice, or Eferwic),
that it is easy to understand, how Matthew Paris, compiling
his life of Offa from the pictured history and from tradition,
might mistake one for the other; and, having done this, it
would be quite natural for him to place the territory of the
king whom Offa went to assist, in Northumbria, and to call his
enemies Picts and Scots.
OfFa appears to have reigned over an extensive territory,
and to have enjoyed a high reputation for wisdom and valour;
it is not therefore incredible, (especially when we take into
consideration the circumstances of the history of Arthur, and
of Hygelac, his cotemporaries, and of the Anglian princess
who compelled the king of the Varni, by force of arms, to
marry her), that his aid, and the hand of his daughter in
marriage, should have been sought by a continental sovereign;
so that the sequel of the S. Albans' story may be substantially
true.
Quite incidental, and yet very remarkable, is the coinci-
dence between the story and the poem, in those passages
which speak of the character of the queen. The poet gives
two opposite characters of her, both from hearsay, and in
such a way as to show that her memory was still fresh in
men's minds, and her conduct freely discussed over their
cups, when he composed his poem ; the first, that she was a
cruel sorceress, and this on the word of Heming's kinsman ;
the other, that she was a good queen, and an affectionate wife
to Offa, and this on the authority of others, who said that she
had not been guilty of the cruel practices attributed to her,
at least since her union with him. In this latter character the
poet himself represents her as the wife of Hygelac, saying: —
60 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" Hgereth's daughter went through the hall with mead-
" servings, loved the people, bare the liquor-cup to the nobles
" to hand." 8
Thus he bears witness to the general truth of the S.
Albans' legend, which also indicates that she had both these
characters ; one which her father imputed to her, (perhaps in
palliation of his conduct towards her), and one which she
really maintained in the kingdom in which she found refuge ;
for the reason assigned for the cruel orders, given in the des-
patches which her father is said to have substituted for those
of Offa, was that she was a sorceress, the character with which
Heming's kinsman reproached her.
This difference also satisfactorily accounts for the dis-
crepancy between the story and the poem, with regard to the
circumstances under which she sought refuge in Offa's kingdom.
Her father would represent her flight as a banishment on
account of her crimes, whereas the truth probably was, as Ross
relates it, that she fled to escape from him, under the guidance
of a trusty thane.
Thus, whilst the S. Albans* story furnishes an important
complement to the brief notices of Offa in Beowulf and the
Traveller's Tale, its variations from them are accounted for,
by the supposition of a mistake, (into which Matthew Paris
might easily fall), with regard to the name of the city where
the father of Offa's queen reigned, and by the peculiar cir-
cumstances of her history. The community of S. Albans
may well have possessed, from early times, documents relative
to the history of their founder's ancestor, which had a parti-
cular interest for them, inasmuch as it is said, that the founda-
b F. 173.
THE STORY OF OFFA. 61
tion of their house by Offa II. was an obligation contracted
by Offa I, and bequeathed to his son. Nor have we any right
to call in question the circumstance, which is implied, of the
first Offa having been a Christian. So far from being in-
credible, it is perfectly consistent with statements which we
find elsewhere, relative to the history of these times, — notices
of Saxons having embraced Christianity, and, as Christians,
having been allowed to retain their settlements undisturbed,
when their Pagan kindred were expelled from the island.
Many conversions to Christianity may have occurred, whilst
the British bishops still retained possession of their sees, and
great numbers of clergy still remained in Britain. It was
during this period, anterior to Garmund's exterminating per-
secution, that Offa reigned. If, as is probable, he kept aloof
from the conflicts which the Northumbrians waged with
Arthur during the years 467 to 471, and the struggle which
Cerdic maintained with him a few years afterwards, he would
be allowed to hold his kingdom in peace, (as it is stated that
he did, whilst other kings were involved in war), unmolested
by Arthur, whose wars with the Saxons were rather defensive
than offensive. His being a Christian, if such were indeed
the case, would contribute to the maintainance of this peace
between them ; but whether he was a Christian or not, the
author of Beowulf, the Traveller, and the Monk of S. Albans,
unanimously accord to him the character of a brave and
successful warrior, and a wise and good king.
CHAPTER VI.
The Story of Horn.
HIS story, once very popular with our fore-
fathers, as Chaucer and Lydgate testify, pro-
perly claims a place here ; because, although
it is not preserved in anything like the ancient
form in which that of Hygelac and Beowulf comes to us, and
therefore cannot be considered of equal authority, it speaks of
events of the same age, and throws some light on an obscure
passage, which refers to the history of Beowulf's father. It
is presented to us : —
I. In a very good English version of the fourteenth
century ; ' defective at the end.
II. In a French version of the twelfth; 2 complete.
III. In another English version of the fourteenth ; 3 defec-
tive at the beginning and end.
The first, as Mr. Coneybeare has justly remarked, bears
the clearest marks of having been derived from an early
Anglo-Saxon original ; and the fact, that it gives pure An-
1 Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, W. 4, 1. (Ritson's Metrical Ro-
mances, vol. in. 282).
3 Harleian MS. 527. 3 Ibid. 2253.
UNIVERSITY
or
THE STORY OF HORSr ~ 63
glo- Saxon names to the English, and Celtic names to the
Welsh and Irish personages, whom it mentions, affords a
presumption of its general truthfulness. In the general out-
lines of the story, the other two agree with this, although
they differ in the details ; but the names in the second agree
more nearly with those in the first, than do those in the
third. The last indeed seems to be the composition of a
minstrel, who was very imperfectly acquainted with the story,
and filled up the meagre outlines which his memory retained,
with names and circumstances of his own devising. I shall
take the story, therefore, as it is in the first, borrowing an
occasional illustration from the others.
A prince, whose name was doubtless Heatholaf, 4 appears
to have reigned in Yorkshire, where Haddlesley, in the parish
of Birkin, preserves the only trace of this name that can be
found in this country. By his queen, Godild, he had a son
named Horn, whom he placed under the tutorship of his
steward Herlaund, along with eight youths, sons of his
thanes, — Hatherof, Tebaude, Athelstan, Winwold, Gariis,
Wihard, Witard, 5 and Wikel, — whom he had chosen for his
son's companions.
A Danish fleet entered the Tees, and their crews disem-
barked in Cleveland ; but Heatholaf promptly assembled his
forces on Northallerton moor, attacked, and defeated them.
He then went to hunt on Blackmoor, (near Helmsley), and
afterwards held a feast at Pickering. Thence he went to
4 Hatheolf, I. Aoluf, II. Allof, III. In I. he is said to have reigned
north of the Humber, in II. his dominions are said to have been in
" Bretaine," in III. they are generally called " Suddene," i. e. " Suth-
"Denas."
5 Or Wigard.
64 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
York, where, after exacting from his son's young companions
an oath of fidelity to him, he gave to them the lands which
their fathers, who had fallen in the battle, had held of him-
self. Nine months after this victory, three kings, — Ferwele,
Winwald and Malkan, — came from Ireland, and invaded
Westmoreland. Heatholaf again collected his forces, and
gave them battle on Stainmoor. Ferwele and Winwald, and
nearly the whole of each army perished; and Heatholaf,
maimed by the stones which the remnant of his foes cast upon
him, was despatched by Malkan, who then returned to Ire-
land.
In the French version, his death is ascribed, in one place
to Romuld, (who from the epithet bestowed upon him, " le
" malfe," would seem to have been a traitor and rebel), in
another to Rollac, son of Godebrand, and nephew of Here-
brant and Hildebrant. This remarkable variation in the
French MS., (not necessarily a contradiction, since several
persons appear to have had a part in Heatholaf 's death), en-
ables us to identify Heatholaf with the prince whose fall is
alluded to in Beowulf; for here we have the names of three
brothers Godebrand, Herebrand, and Hildibrand ; and Here-
brand with his son, a second Hildibrand, and his grandson,
Heathobrand, are the famous Wylfings of the sagas.
Beowulf's father was Ecgtheow, a Waegmunding, " to
" whom Hrethel of the Geats gave his only daughter in
" marriage," 6 and as it said that he was "known to nations,
w well remembered throughout the earth," 7 it is probable that
he played a conspicuous part in the wars of his time. Hroth-
gar is represented saying to Beowulf, on his arrival at his
court : —
e F. 138. 7 F. 135.
THE STORY OF HORN. 65
" Thy father quelled his greatest enemy. With the Wyl-
" fings he slew Heatholaf, when the spear-folk could not
" overcome him, for dread of his prowess. Thence, over the
ie rolling of the waves, he sought the South-Danes' folk, the
" favour of the Scyldings ; when I indeed ruled the Danes'
" folk, and held in my youth wide realms, the treasure city
" of heroes." — " Afterwards I settled that feud with money.
" I sent old treasures to the Wylfings over the water's back.
" He swore oaths to me." 8
Now if we compare this passage with the stanzas in the
poem, 9 which describe the battle, and the death of Heatholaf,
8 F. 140.
9
" The Irise ost was long and brade,
" On Stainesmore ther thai rade,
" Thai yaf a crie for pride ;
* Hende Hatheolf hem abade,
" Swiche meting was never made,
" With sorwe on ich a side.
*' Right in a litel stounde,
" Sexti thousand wer layd to grounde,
" In herd is nought to hide ;
" King Hatheolf slough with his hond,
" That was comen out of Yrlond,
" Two kinges that tide.
" King Hatheolf was wel wo,
" For the Irise ost was mani and mo,
" With scheld and with spere ;
" Ful long seththen man said so,
" When men schuld to batayl go,
" To men might on dere.
" Thei King Hatheolf saught fast ;
" King Malkan stiked attelast,
" His stede that schuld him bere.
" Now schal men finde kinges fewe,
" That in batayl be so trewe,
" His lond for to were.
66 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
we find in the latter a satisfactory explanation of one at least
of the obscure allusions in the former. We are told that,
after Malkan had killed Heatholaf 's horse and forced him to
fight on foot, the Irish folk pressed upon him, intending either
to kill or capture him ; that he defended himself so bravely,
that they were forced to keep at a distance, until, by hurling
stones at him, they had completely disabled him ; and that
Malkan then thrust his sword into his heart. Ecgtheow and
the Wylfings, 10 and perhaps Romuld also, might be engaged
" When King Hatheolf on fot strode,
" The Yrise folk about him yode,
" As hondes do to bare.
" Whom he hit opon the hode,
" Were he never knight so gode,
" He yave a dint wel sare ;
" He brought in a litel stounde,
" Wel fif thousende to grounde,
" With his grimly gare.
" The Yrise ost tok hem to red,
14 To ston that douhti knight to ded,
" Thai durst neighe him na mare.
" Gret diol it was to se,
44 Of hende Hatheolf that was so fre,
" Stones to him thai cast,
" Thai brak him bothe legge and kne,
" Gret diol it was to se,
" He kneled attelast ;
" King Malcan with wretthe out stert,
" And smote King Hatheolf to the hert,
" He held his wepen so fast,
" That King Malcan smot his arm atwo,
" Ere he might gete his swerd him fro,
" For nede his hert to brast."
10 We have a remarkable verification of the fact of the Wylfings having
been connected with the history of Northumbria, and associated with the
Irish, in the occurrence of the name of Herebrand at Herebrandston in
THE STORY OF HORN. 67
in this affair ; for, by the Anglo-Saxon name, which the Eng-
lish poem gives to one of the three kings who came from
Ireland, it implies that a part of the invading army was
Anglo-Saxon; and so far coincides with the French version,
which represents Herebrand and Hildibrand as going to Ire-
land some years later, and opposed to Horn, in the battle in
which Malkan fell.
The names of the other kings, who were opposed to Hea-
tholaf, are purely Celtic. Ferwele, (identical with Fernwail
or Farinmagil), occurs at least three times in history, — as
borne by the son of Idwal, the king who fell at Dirham, and
a descendant of Vortigern ; and Malkan, (the same as Mail-
cun, Maglocun, or Maelgwn), was the name of two princes
at least, who figure in the history of the fifth and sixth
centuries.
The battle must have been fought early in the second half
of the fifth century, for it was during Hrothgar's youth. It
was, therefore, before Ecgtheow and Hrethel left Yorkshire
and went to Suffolk ; for Ecgtheow and the Wylfings must
have been neighbours to Heatholaf, if it was necessary for the
weregild to be paid, before the feud could be settled. The
treasures which Hrothgar sent, enabled the Wylfings to do
this, and as it was some time afterwards, it was probably after
Horn's return to his paternal dominions.
On the death of Heatholaf, an earl of Northumberland
seized upon his territory. His name appears from the French
version to have been Romund, possibly Hrothmund of the
Pembrokeshire, amongst a number of English names, which seems to be
most satisfactorily accounted for, by the circumstance of that district
having been the scene of an invasion of Scots from Ireland, and Angles
from Northumbria in a. d. 449.
68 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
East- Anglian genealogy, whose name occurs at Romanby 11
near Northallerton.
Herlaund fled with his youthful charge to the court of
King Houlak, 12 " fer sou the in Inglond," who received them
graciously and promised them his protection. His territory
must have been in East Anglia, for it was far to the south-
ward of Heatholaf 's kingdom, Horn came to it by sea, and,
when banished from it, made a long journey westward into
Wales. Lions, therefore, which the French version gives as
the name of his residence, may indicate King's Lynn, and so
Houlak may have reigned in the district, which, up to the
time of Hencgest's expedition, not long before, had been
occupied by Finn.
Houlak had no son by his queen, but a daughter, Riminild.
She became enamoured of Horn, and gave him for his knightly
outfit, a horse, a horn, and a sword of Weland's workmanship.
Horn and Hatherof were then knighted by the king ; Tebaud
and Winwald crossed the sea, and took service with the king
of France ; Gariis and Athelston, in like manner, joined the
retinue of an earl in Bretaigne ; and the rest remained with
Houlak. Wigard and Wikel traduced Horn and Riminild
to her father, and Horn was banished from his court. He
assumed the name of Godebounde, 13 and journeyed westward
into Wales, where he entered into the service of Elidan, a
king who dwelt on Snowdon.
Elidan, of course, is a British name. It was borne by a
Bishop of Alclud, mentioned by Geoffrey as promoted to that
11 Romundebi, Domesday.
15 Hunlaf, who reigned in Bretaigne at Lyons, II.
13 Gudmod, II. Godmod, HI.
THE STORY OF HORN. 69
see by Arthur. No other of the name appears to be men-
tioned in history, but it is possible that Elidan here may be a
contraction of Elidyr Lydanwyn, 14 the name of Llywarch
Hen's father, a prince who certainly lived in the fifth century,
but of whom nothing more is known.
Whilst Horn was with him, messengers came from Finlak,
a king of Ireland, entreating aid against Malkan. Horn was
sent thither, and landed at Yolkil. A battle ensued, in which
he killed Malkan, and recovered his father's sword, but was
himself severely wounded. 15
Yolkil may be either Dalkey, the nearest point on the Irish
coast to Wales, or Youghal. Finlak is Findloga, a name
which was borne by two Irish princes who lived in the fifth
century. One was the father of S. Finnian of Clonard, 16 the
other of S. Brendan of Clonfert. 17 The former was more pro-
bably the king to whose assistance Horn was sent.
Finlak gave to Horn the territory of Malkan, and wished to
have given him his daughter in marriage, but Horn would not
14 For this suggestion I am indebted to Mr. Stephens of Merthyr-
Tydfyl.
15 In the French version it is said that Hildibrant and Herebrant
arrived in Ireland, and sent their nephew Kollac to demand tribute of
the king, (who is called Gudred) ; that Horn fought with and slew him ;
that Hydebrant killed the king's sons ; and that their death was avenged
by Horn.
16 Who in the hymn for his feast is said to have been —
" Nativus de Lagenia"
" Qui nomen sprevit regium."
The Annals of the Four Masters record his death a. d. 548, and the
editor in a note refers to O'Clery's Irish Calendar, where he is mentioned
as the son of Finnlogh, son of Fintan of the Clanna Rudhraighe, and it
is said that he died a.d. 552, or according to others in a.d. 563.
17 He was born in a. d. 484 in Kerry.
70 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
forsake his troth, plighted to Riminild. Intelligence reached
him that a king named Moging 18 was a suitor for her hand at
Houlak's court, and he returned at once to prevent the
marriage. Having defeated his enemies, and justified himself
with the king, he espoused Riminild, and then led an expedi-
tion into Northumbria, to recover his father's kingdom.
Here the MS. abruptly breaks off, with the mention of
Thorbrand, who would seem to have been a prince in North-
umbria; and Horn's subsequent history is lost. 19
The territory of Moging was probably in Derbyshire, for
his name and that of Reynis occur in that county, at Mug-
gington 20 and Renishaw, but nowhere else in England.
18 Modun of Fenice, II. Mody of Reynis, III.
19 III. merely says that his expedition was successful, and that he
reigned with Riminild in Northumbria.
20 Mogintone, Domesday.
CHAPTER VII.
The Story of Beowulf ; the Accession of ^E lie in Deira ; the
Arrival of Ida ; and the Chronology of the Reigns of his
Successors.
ROTHGAR says of Beowulf, « I knew him
" when he was a cniht;" 1 that is, before he
attained to the princely rank, to which his
birth entitled him, whilst he was at the
court of Hrethel ; for Beowulf says of himself: —
M I was seven winters old, when the prince of treasures,
" the lordly friend of peoples, King Hrethel, took me from
w my father, held and had me, gave me treasure and feast,
" remembered our kinship ; I was a prince in his dwellings,
" not in any wise less dear to him in life, than any one of his
" children, Herebeald, and Haethcyn, or my Hygelac." 2
Hrothgar's acquaintance with him must have been whilst
this family were his neighbours, before they settled in Suffolk.
Among the exploits of Beowulf's youth, particular mention
is made of a rowing-match, (for so it seems to me it must be
understood), with Brecca prince of the Brondings, in which
F. 138.
2 F. 184.
72 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
Beowulf was victor. He is said to have reached the shore
of Finna land, the " land of the Fins/' and Brecca to have
landed " at Heatho-Ragmis, whence he, beloved by his people,
" sought his dear territory, the land of the Brondings, his
" fair peaceful burgh, where he owned a people, a burgh,
u and rings." 3
Beowulf and Brecca, therefore, were neighbours ; Brecca's
principality was not far from HretheFs court. Heatho-
Raemis must be on the coast, and the territory of the Brond-
ings at some distance inland. The former I take to be
Ramsey in Essex, or Ramsholt in Suffolk, which is not far
from it. About ten miles from Rattlesden is Breckley, bear-
ing the name of Brecca ; and Bransfield, Brandeston, Brant-
ham, and Brandon, in the same county, may indicate settle-
ments of the Brondings, as they seem to be named after their
father Brand or Brond. Of the Fins there is now no trace
on the coast, but two Finboroughs, not far from Rattlesden,
show that they were settled in this district, neighbours, if not
subjects, of Hrethel.
Beowulf was with Hygelac in his campaign against the
Sweos, for he says of him, immediately after his notice of it : —
" I repaid in war, as it was granted to me, with my shining
" sword, the treasures which he gave to me. He granted
" me land the joy of a patrimony. He had no need to seek,
" buy with value, worse warriors among the Gifthas, nor
" among the Gar-Danes, nor in Sweo-rice. Thus I in con-
" flict, alone in the array, would do battle before him." 4
Some time after this, during Hygelac's reign, he resolved
to go to Heort, for the purpose of combating the giant
Grendel, of whose cruelty tidings had reached him.
3 F. 141. « F. 185.
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 73
" He commanded to make ready for him a good wave-
w traverser, said he would seek the war-king, the great
u prince, over the swan-road, since he had need of men.
" The good chief had chosen champions of the Geat's people,
" of those whom he might find the keenest. With fifteen
" he sought the sea-wood ; a warrior, a water-crafty man,
" pointed out the land-boundaries. The time passed on.
" The floater was on the waves, the boat under the hill, the
" warriors ready stepped on the prow, the streams rolled, the
" sea against the sand. The warriors bare bright ornaments,
" beautiful war-gear, into the bosom of the bark. The men
" shoved out the bounden wood on the welcome voyage.
" Then, most like to a bird, the foam -necked floater, wafted
" by the wind, departed over the wave-sea, until that the
" wreathed prow had sailed about one-hour of another day,
" so that the voyagers saw land sea-cliffs shine, steep moun-
" tains, wide sea-nesses. Then was the sea traversed, at the
" end of their toil." 5
The Scyldings' coast-guard rode down to the shore to
meet them, and having learned from them that they were
come to offer their assistance to Hrothgar, committed their
vessel to the care of his brother officers, conducted them
until they came within sight of Heort, and then returned to
his post. Arrived at the palace, they were challenged by
one of Hrothgar's thanes, and then Wulfgar, prince of the
Wendels, undertook to report their coming to the king.
They were ushered into his presence, graciously received,
and entertained at a feast. The following night, Beowulf
vanquished the giant ; two days afterwards he slew GrendePa
5 F. 134.
L
74 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
mother ; and then, loaded with - presents by Hrothgar and
Wealhtheow, embarked on his homeward voyage.
u He departed in the vessel, stirring the deep water, left
" the land of the Danes. There was by the mast a sea-
" mantle, a sail cord-fast ; the sea-wood groaned, nor there
u did the wind, over the billows, hinder the wave-floater
" from its journey. The sea-goer went, the foam-necked
" floated forth over the wave, the bounden prow over the
" ocean streams, so that they might descry the Geat's cliffs,
u the known nesses. The keel sprang up, forced by the
" wind, stood on land. Quickly at the sea the shore-guard
" was ready, who a long time before had watched the course
" of the dear men, ready at the shore. He secured the wide-
" bosomed ship, fast with anchor-bonds to the sand, lest the
" force of the waves might wreck it, the winsome wood. He
" commanded then to bear up the treasure of the aethelings,
" the ornament, and solid gold. They had not thence far to
" seek the giver of treasure, Hygelac the Hrethling, where
" he dwelleth at home with his comrades near the sea-wall.
" The building was excellent, the king a famous prince ; the
" hall high, Hygd very young, wise, well-established, though
" he had dwelt few winters within the burgh-enclosure." 6
From these two descriptions, of Beowulf's outward and
homeward voyage, it appears that he started from and arrived
at the same point ; but, whereas at starting he had some dis-
tance to travel before he reached the sea, on his return he
found Hygelac resident near the shore. This residence was
perhaps Uggeshall, and the point of embarkation some place
on the neighbouring coast. Covehithe is the nearest point
6 F. 171, 172.
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 15
to Uggeshall ; its name indicates an ancient harbour, and it
answers the description in the poem very well. Hence to
Hartlepool the distance may be computed at about two hun-
dred and twenty miles, a distance which might well be ac-
complished in the time specified, from an early hour in the
morning of one day until one o'clock of the next, with a fair
wind. 7 On the outward voyage, as they drew near to land,
the lofty cliffs of the Yorkshire coast would present them-
selves to their view, and then the cliffs of Hartlepool, on
which Hrothgar's coast-guard was stationed ; and after pass-
ing the latter, they would disembark on the sands to the
north, whence a journey of about two miles would bring
them to Hart. On their homeward voyage they descried
the well-known cliffs of the Geats, the high lands between
Lowestoft and South wold.
After his return, Beowulf was associated in the kingdom
with Hygelac, who —
" Gave him seven thousand, a dwelling and throne. The
" land was natural to them both together in the nation ; the
" territory, the patrimonial right stronger in the other, the
n wide realm his who there was the better." 8
As we have already noticed, it is intimated that he led an
expedition to the assistance of Hrothgar against the Heatho-
Beards. He was the companion of Hygelac in every enter-
7 I am not aware that we have any data, whereon to found a judg-
ment as to the speed of the vessels in use amongst our forefathers. It
seems probable that they are fairly represented as to form by the primi-
tive cobles of the fishermen of the Yorkshire coast ; and, (as they were
constructed for quick sailing, by a people who paid great attention to
navigation), not unreasonable to suppose that their speed was equal to
that of these cobles, i. e. about eight miles an hour.
8 F. 178.
76 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
prise, and in the last fatal expedition, which cost the king his
life, his valour was particularly distinguished : —
" I, for valour, was the handslayer of Daeghraefn, the
" champion of the Hugas. He might by no means bring
" the treasure, the breast-ornament, to the Frisian king, but
■J he, the keeper of the standard, the aetheling, fell in battle.
" Nor was the sword his bane, but I grasped in conflict the
" flowings of his heart, I brake the bone-house." 9
The poet also follows up his notice of the fall of Hygelac,
with a special remembrance of the part which his hero played
in the enterprise: —
f{ Thence Beowulf came by his own valour. He bore a
" separate part. 10 He had on his arm thirty war-suits,
" when he went down to the sea. The Hetwaras, active in
M war, who before bare the shield against him, had no need
" of boasting. Few returned from the war-bold man, to visit
u their home. Then he the son of Ecgtheow, a poor solitary,
" swam 11 over the path of seals, back to his people, where
" Hygd had given him treasury and kingdom, rings and a
" throne. He trusted not in his son that he could hold his
" paternal seats against foreign people. Then was Hygelac
" dead." 12
This passage supplies information, additional to that in the
last chapter, relative to this expedition, victorious at first,
unfortunate in its result. It would seem that Hygelac and
9 F. 185.
10 So I translate " sund-nytte dreah."
11 The word swimman appears to be used, here and elsewhere, in the
sense of to "traverse the sea." We know, from the French accounts,
that this was a naval expedition ; so, of course, Beowulf had a ship in
which to return.
18 F. 182.
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 77
Beowulf, in their invasion of the Hetwaras' country, divided
their forces, and ravaged it in different directions ; and that
Beowulf returned from his foray with the spoils of thirty
foes, whom he had slain. He is said to have returned solitary,
because he had lost in Hygelac, his uncle, his partner in the
kingdom, and his dearest friend.
We give the sequel of his history in the poet's own
words.
" Not the sooner for that might the poor people find, at
" the hands of the aetheling, on any account, that he would
" be lord to Heardred, or would choose the kingdom. But
" he supported him among the people with friendly counsels,
" with honour joyfully, until he grew older; he ruled the
« Weder-Geats." 13
w So the son of Ecgtheow, a man known for wars, grew
" old in good deeds, he acted after judgment, nor did he
" drunkenly strike his hearth-enjoyers. His soul was not
" cruel." 14
He seems however to have incurred the dislike of his
people for a time, on account of this disinterested affection
for his young cousin, and his reluctance to engage in aggres-
sive wars: —
" Long was the shame, that the sons of the Geats, on the
" mead-bench, did not reckon him good, nor would make him
u of much account, the lord of their hosts. Very oft they
" said that he was lazy, a base aetheling. A reverse of every
" grievance came to the glorious man." 15
By the death of Heardred, who fell in a battle with the
Scylfings, of which two passages in the poem speak some-
13 F. 182. H F. 178. ,5 Ibid.
78 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
what obscurely, he was left in sole possession of the king-
dom: —
" After Hygelac fell, and war-swords became the bane to
" Heardred, under the shield-wall, when hard war-bold men,
" the warlike Scylfings, sought him among the victorious
" people, overcame Hereric's nephew in wars, Beowulf after-
" wards received the broad kingdom into his hand ; he held
" it well fifty winters. That was a good king, an old
" guardian of the land." 16
u Avengers, the sons of Ohthere, sought him over the sea ;
u they had deposed the helm of the Scylfings, the best of
" sea-kings, of those who distributed treasure in Swiorice,
" the great prince. That was for a token to him. He then,
u unsupported, the son of Hygelac, received a deadly wound
" with the swingings of the sword ; and then, after Heardred
66 fell, the son of Ongentheow returned to visit his home.
u Then he let Beowulf hold the throne, rule the Geats ; that
" was a good king. He remembered retribution, for that
" ruin of the people, in later days. He became a friend to
* Eadgils, when distressed, supported him with people, over
(< the wide sea. Afterwards he punished the son of Ohthere
u with warriors and weapons, with cold care- wanderings,
u deprived the king of life." 17
From these passages we learn, that the sons of Ohthere
had rebelled against Eadgils, Ongentheow's son, (doubtless by
a former wife), driven him from his kingdom, and then pursued
him to the country ]of Beowulf and Heardred, whither he had
fled for refuge ; that they were worsted in the battle which
ensued, for, (although Heardred fell), Eadgils was enabled to
16 F. 178, 179. ,7 F. 182, 183.
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 79
return home ; and that Beowulf assisted him with a fleet, and
overcame and slew one of Ohthere's sons. This was Ean-
mund, who in another passage is said to have fallen by the
hand of Weohstan, Beowulf's kinsman : —
" He drew his old sword, which was, among men, a relic
" of Eanmund, the son of Ohthere ; of whom, when a friend-
" less wanderer, Weohstan was the slayer in conflict, with
w edges of the sword ; and he bare away from his kinsman
" the brown-hued helmet, the ringed byrnie, the old Eotenish
" sword, which Onela had given him, his kinsman's battle-
u weeds, the ready furniture of war. He spake not of the
" feud, though he had exiled his brother's son." 18
During the whole of Beowulf's reign, after Hygelac's fall,
he is said to have been at feud with the Mere-Wioings : —
" Ever since, the Mere-Wioings' peace has been refused
"to us." 19
In this name we may recognize the Wiwings, or people of
Wiwa, whose name we have noticed at Wiveton in Norfolk,
and who founded the kingdom of the East Angles early in the
sixth century. Having recently arrived, and settled on the
coast, they would be called Mere or Sea-Wioings ; they would
be Beowulf's neighbours ; and the terms, in w T hich this feud
is mentioned, seem to imply that its result was disastrous to
him. Here, then, we are enabled to connect the termination
of Beowulf's rule in East Anglia, with the foundation of the
historic kingdom of the East Angles ; and we may presume
that this feud was the occasion of his accepting the kingdom
of the Scyldings, after the fall of Hrothgar's race. That he
did so, appears from a speech of one of his thanes, who, — in
18 F. 188. 19 F. 193.
80 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
continuation of his story, above cited, of the war between the
Geats and Scylfings, — says : —
" That is the feud and enmity, the deadly malice of men,
" on account of which I expect that the Sweos' people will
" seek us, after they shall hear that our lord is dead ; who
" before held treasure and kingdom against enemies, estab-
" lished folk-right after the fall of heroes, the bold Scyldings,
" or yet further practised valour." 20
This is one of those prospective speeches, which the poet
puts into the mouth of his heroes, alluding to events, of which
he was cognizant as having occurred after the time of his
story ; and, as we have connected Beowulf's reign with the
foundation of the East Anglia kingdom on the one hand, so,
on the other, this speech is valuable, as assisting us to connect
these events with the authentic history of Northumbria. For
it is very probable that the invasion of Eoppa and Ida was the
occasion of the fall of Hrothgar's race.
They arrived at Flamborough, with a fleet of sixty ships,
during the first half of the sixth century, but their territory
appears to have been beyond the Tyne; so that probably
they were defeated in Deira, moved northward, and founded
the kingdom of Bernicia, of which Ida became the sovereign
in A. d. 547. The History of the Britons concludes with the
following notice : 21 —
" The more the Saxons were vanquished in wars, the more
50 F. 194.
21 " Quanto magis vero Saxones prosternebantur in bellis, tanto magis
H a Germania, et ab aliis augebantur Saxonibus ; atque reges et duces
4t cum multis militibus, ab omnibus pene provinciis ad se invitabant ; et
" hoc egerunt usque ad tempus quo Ida regnavit, Alius Eboba (Eobda,
" V.) Ipse primus rex fuit in Bernech, et in Cair Afrauc de genere
" Saxonum." C. 56.
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 81
M they were reinforced from Germany, and by other Saxons ;
" and they invited to themselves kings and chiefs from almost
" all provinces with many warriors ; and they did this until
" the time when Ida reigned, the son of Eobda. He was the
" first king in Berneich, and in Cair Affrauc, of the race of
" the Saxons."
Henry of Huntingdon says : 22 —
"When the chiefs of the Angles, in many and great
H battles, had conquered for themselves that country, they
" chose one Ida, a very noble youth, for their king. He
" reigned twelve years, always in arms and toils, and con-
" structed Bebbanburgh, and surrounded it first with a hedge,
" and then with a wall. This kingdom began in the year of
" grace 547."
Allowing, therefore, some time for the reign of Eoppa, the
arrival of these chieftains must have been some years previous.
Foiled, I suppose, by Beowulf, who came to the aid of the
Scyldings, and prevented from forming a settlement in the
province in which they landed, they retired to the northward,
established beyond the Tyne the kingdom of the Beornicas,
(or descendants of Beornec), and fixed their residence at
Bamborough. So the Cambrian genealogist also tells us: 23 —
" Ida, the son of Eobba, held the regions in the northern
22 " Cum enim proceres Anglorum, multis et magnis praeliis patriam
11 (sc. Nordhumbrorum) sibi subjugassent, Idam quendam, juvenem
" nobilissimum, sibi regem constituerunt. — Hie igitur regnavit xn annis
" fortissime, semper armatus et laboriosus : construxit autem Bebanburgh,
" et circundedit earn prius sepe, postea muro. Regnum hoc incepit anno
" gratiae dxlvii."
23 " Ida, films Eobba, tenuit regiones in sinistrali parte Britanniae, id
" est, Umbri maris, et regnavit annis duodecim, et vixit Dinguayrth
" Guarth Berneich."
M
82 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" part of Britain, that is, of the Umber sea, and reigned twelve
" years, and lived at Dinguayrth Guarth Berneich:" —
And how the name of the place was changed to Bebban-
burch : —
" Eadlfered Flesaurs — gave to his wife, who is called
" Bebbab, Dinguoaroy (or Dinguayrdi), and it received its
" name, that is, Bebbanburch, from the name of his wife." 24
This, doubtless, is the Cair Affrauc of the Paris and Vatican
MSS. of the History of the Britons, (not noticed in the
others), for Gaimar tells us, that Bamborough was founded
by Ebrauc, and restored by Ida ; so that even the evidence of
these two MSS. does not contravene that of every other
authority, — that Ida's kingdom was Bernicia only.
To return to our hero. Beowulf eventually reigned at
Hart, where his early triumph over Grendel was gained ; and
in its neighbourhood the scenes of his last adventures are
placed. We are told, that —
" The fire-dragon, the earth-warder, had utterly destroyed
" the fortress of the people, an island without." 25
This, doubtless, indicates some convulsion of nature, and of
such a convulsion the shore of Hartness presents undeniable
traces. For a distance of nearly two miles south of the Slake
of Hartlepool, between high and low water marks, the soil is
filled with the remains of large trees, and heaps of agglomerated
leaves, containing abundance of hazel-nuts ; and the convul-
sion which submerged this forest may also have destroyed the
island without, of which possibly the Longscar rock, imme-
diately south of Hartlepool, may be the remnant.
24 " Eadlfered Flesaur — dedit uxori suae Dinguoaroy, quae vocatur
" Bebbab, et de nomine uxoris suscepit nomen, id est, Bebbanburch."
25 F. 181.
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 83
This was ascribed to the wrath of a dragon, whose hoard
had been plundered ; and the story of Beowulf's encounter
with the monster follows. Its credibility must depend upon
that of many others of the same kind, told of other heroes. It
relates that Beowulf, knowing that a wooden shield would be
of no use, provided himself with one of iron, and attacked the
dragon with his sword, but could not inflict a wound, and was
in danger of perishing, when a young warrior, his kinsman
Wiglaf, came to his assistance. The wooden shield of the
latter was destroyed at once by the dragon, so that he was
compelled to fight by Beowulf's side, under the protection of
his. Beowulf now struck the monster on the head, with no
other result than the fracture of his sword, but Wiglaf con-
trived to plunge his into its body, and so brought the conflict
to a close. The effects of the wound, which Beowulf had re-
ceived in the first onset, began to appear ; and in spite of the
tender care of Wiglaf, who washed it, and sprinkled him
with water, when fainting, he died shortly afterwards.
Now we may ask, if this story had been an invention, why
should not Beowulf have been the victor, like Sigemund, and
other heroes of these stories ? Why should the poet have
ascribed the honour of killing the monster, not to his hero,
but to Wiglaf, who but for this adventure would not have
been noticed at all ? In this, as in another of these stories,
the prowess of the hero would have been unavailing, but for
assistance rendered at the critical moment. Are not these
circumstances indications, that the story had at least some foun-
dation in fact ? Let it pass, however, for what it is worth, in
the reader's judgment, when compared with others, (for which
he is referred to the Appendix). The author, at least, be-
lieved it : there can be no doubt that he had in view the scene
84 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
in which tradition placed the adventure, and that scene can
even now be identified. It is described in several passages: —
" The mound all prepared, new by the cliff, stood in a
" field, near to the water-waves." 26
This passage speaks of its original construction, long before
Beowulf's time, when it received the treasures, of which it
was plundered by his thanes. The next speaks of it at the
time, as —
" A mound under the earth, near to the holm-raging, the
w strife of waves. Within, it was full of ornaments and
" wires, a strong stone-hill ; a path lay under, unknown to
" men." 27
" He saw there by the wall a stone arch stand, a stream
" break out thence from the hill." 28
" He looked on the giant's work, how the stone-arches,
" fast on props, held the eternal earth-hall within." 29
From these notices it is evident that it was a tumulus,
containing chambers, formed of large flag-stones set on edge,
supporting others laid horizontally over them ; 30 and it was
on a cliff, over which Beowulf's companions are said to have
shoved the body of the dragon, and which was called Earna-
nass. The scene was evidently well-known to the poet, and
I have no hesitation in identifying it with Eagles-cliff, a pro-
montory in Durham, about fifty feet high, nearly surrounded
by the Tees,
Eagles-cliff is an exact translation of Earna-naes, and this
name was doubtless given to it after the Conquest, when the
Norman-French word eagle supplanted the Anglo-Saxon
26 F. 179. 27 Ibid. J8 F. 186. » F. 189.
30 Such as those at Uleybury in Gloucestershire, and New Grange
near Drogheda.
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 85
earn, 31 and when the reason of its original name having been
conferred upon it was forgotten ; for Earndale, a few miles to
the south-west, indicates a settlement of a tribe called Earnas
in the neighbourhood ; and possibly Yarm, on the south bank
of the Tees, opposite Eagles-cliff, may be a contraction of
Earna-ham. There is no tumulus now on Eagles-cliff; its
materials would be too valuable to be spared, when stone was
needed for the construction of the church and village which
now occupy the promontory ; but the spring still rises in the
churchyard, and falls into the Tees. The river of course still
retains its old Celtic name ; that which is given to it in the
poem being merely a generic name, bestowed by the Angles
on other rivers as well. 32
Beowulf's last instructions to Wiglaf, for his funeral,
were : —
" Command the warlike brave, to make a mound at the sea-
" headland, bright after the funeral-pile, which shall rise high
" for a memorial to my people, on Hrones-nses ; that here-
" after sea-farers may call it Beowulf's hill, when the Brent-
" ings drive afar over the darkness of the floods." 33
Hron's name is preserved in that of Runswick village near
Whitby ; four miles to the north of which there is a lofty
headland, which may well have been Hrones-naes, for on it is
the village of Boulby, the name of which is an easy contrac-
tion of Beowulfes-beorh. Beowulf's instructions indicate,
that the Brentings were accustomed to make voyages past
31 In the Anglo-Saxon vocabularies we find only earn ; Layamon has
cern ; in the fifteenth century the Norman French word had taken its
place, for in vocabularies of that period we have eggle, egylle, and egyle.
32 The Holme, for instance, in Yorkshire, a tributary of the Calder.
33 F. 190, 191.
86 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
the headland chosen for his tomb ; and accordingly we find
a settlement of this tribe in Yorkshire, near the shore of the
Humber, at Brantingham.
The reign of Beowulf over the Geats is said to have lasted
fifty years. This period, computed from the time of his visit
to Hrothgar's court, immediately after which he was raised
to the throne by Hygelac, (some years before a.d. 511),
brings the time of his death so near to the generally received
date of the accession of ^Elle, that we may regard the latter,
his kinsman as descended from Swerting, as his immediate
successor. Indeed I have little doubt, that JElle is the per-
son, who is named in the mysterious lines, which occur, en-
tirely without context, near the beginning of the poem: —
" I heard that the queen of Ela, the consort of the warlike
" Scylfing:" 34 —
For we learn from the speech of Beowulf's thane, cited
above, that the Scylfings renewed their feud with the Geats
immediately after Beowulf's death, and this Ela was a Scyl-
fing. That he was so, does not in the least impugn his
identity with ^Elle of Deira, the descendant of Swerting.
For the Geats and Scylfings were connected by the ties of
kindred ; Weohstan is said to have slain his kinsman, the son
of Ohthere ; Wiglaf, his son, is called a prince of the Scylfings ;
and they were of the same family as Beowulf, the Waegmund-
ings. What the precise relationship between these races
was, can only be matter of conjecture ; but as the alternative
is presented to us, that Hrethel was the brother, or that he
married the sister of Swerting, we may adopt the latter in
preference ; and thus Hrethel and Hygelac would be con-
34 F. 130.
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 87
nected by marriage with the ancestry of iElle, and Ecgtheow
and Beowulf, Weohstan and Wiglaf, probably descended
directly from the same stock.
Hrethel and his family appear to have been in Yorkshire
first, where also we have found the Scylfings ; a feud was
commenced between them which may have compelled the
former to seek a new home ; after Hrethel's death his sons
undertook an expedition against the Scylfings ; the Scylfings
in their turn invaded the territory of the Geats, after the
death of Hygelac ; Beowulf repulsed them, carried the war
into their country, and subdued them; and lastly, as it
appears, they renewed the conflict, after his death, and were
victorious. For so the conclusion of the speech, of which part
has been already quoted, informs us : —
" Now the war-leader has laid down laughter, sport and
" joy of song. Therefore the spear will be brandished with
u hands, raised in hands, many a morning cruel. The warrior
(i shall not waken the sound of the harp ; but the wan raven,
" busy over the dead, shall chatter much, shall tell the eagle,
" how it sped with him at his feast, when with the wolf he
" plundered the slain." 35
And the poet confirms it with a comment of his own : —
" So the bold warrior was saying, of evil forebodings ; he
" belied not much of fates or words."
Now as Ela was a Scylfing ; as the Scylfings were victorious
over the Geats after Beowulf's death, which occurred about
the time of iElle's accession ; as Hrethel's family were con-
nected with the ancestors of ^Elle ; and as Beowulf's ancestors
were Scylfings, it seems fair to conclude, that Ela of the
35 F. 195.
88 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
poem is JEWe of the history of Deira. Where then shall we
find Scylf the ancestor of his race ? It is not improbable that
the Cambrian genealogist has given his name more correctly
than the Anglo-Saxon chronicler; that he is the person whom
the former calls Zegulf, the latter Saefugel, and of whom as
the cotemporary and associate of Hencgest, we have found
traces in Yorkshire and elsewhere. Thus does the history of
Beowulf bring us to the commencement of the authentic his-
tory of Northumbria ; the chain of probabilities which enable
us to claim him for England is complete ; and may fairly be
considered as amounting to something like certainty, when all
the circumstances are taken into account.
Two or three names still remain to be noticed. In Beo-
wulf's last conflict he was assisted by a young warrior, one
of his comrades : —
" Wiglaf was he called, son of Weoxstan, 36 a lovely shield-
" warrior, prince of the Scylfings, kinsman of ^Elfhere. He
" saw his liege-lord suffer heat under his war-helm. He re-
" membered then the benefit that he had granted him before,
" the wealthy dwelling-place of the Wa?gmundings, every
" folk-right, as his father had possessed it. He might not
" then refrain, he took his yellow linden shield, drew his old
"sword . He 37 held the ornaments many half-years,
" the bill and the byrnie ; until his son might achieve earl-
" ship as his father before him. He gave him then among
" the Geats numberless war-weeds of every kind, when he,
" sage, betook him on his way forth from life." 38
36 Weohstan or Wihstan (readings which occur in other passages) are
doubtless better than Weoxstan. The x in the latter can only represent
the Runic Gifu or Gear.
37 Weohstan. » F. 188.
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 89
Farther on, Beowulf says to him : —
u Thou art the last of our race, of the Wgeo-mundings." 39
We have four traces of a person named Wihstan, nearly in
a line ; Wistaston in Herefordshire, Wistanstow and West-
answick in Shropshire, and Wistaston in Cheshire ; and it is
very probable that he was the Wihstan of our poem ; for, in
close proximity to Wistanstow, we have traces of the Geats
and Hrethlings, in the names of the township of Gatton, and
of the parish of Ratlinghope, of which it forms a part. This
district, then, may have been one of the scenes of his military
career. Wiglaf inherited the spoils of Eanmund from his
father, and Beowulf granted to him the home of the Wa3g-
mundings, Wymondham in Norfolk. He accompanied Beo-
wulf to the North.
Wulf and Eofer, the sons of Wonred, were chiefs high in
the favour of Hygelac, and doubtless would accompany Beo-
wulf when he went to reign over the Scyldings. It was
about the beginning of the sixth century that they signalized
themselves in the war with the Scylfings ; and, towards the
middle of it, a chieftain of the name of Wulf appears to have
been engaged in wars with the Cambrian Britons. He is
noticed in one of the poems in praise of Urien of Rheged ;
and as the son of Wonred is the only person of the name
with whom we are acquainted, as his presence in the North
is easily accounted for by his connection with Beowulf, and
as he may reasonably be supposed to have been living at the
time, we may with great probability suppose him to be the
same person. The poem appears to contain an enumeration
» 9 F. 191.
N
90 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
of Urien's successes over the Angles, before which these
lines occur, naming Wulf as his antagonist : —
"Oddreigddylawadnawdoethaw " Of the chiefs owned by us, the
" Don " wisest was Don,
" yn i ddoeth Wlph yn dreis ar ei " When Wlph came to spoil his foes,
" alon
6 hynny ddoeth Urien yn edydd " When Urien came in the day in
" yn, Aeron." " Aeron."
After the mention of eight battles, these lines follow : —
" Atveilaw gwyn goruchyr cyd " Decayed is the fair sovereignty
" mynan « f the united (tribes),
" E ' in g l eddyl gwyrthryd " The purpose of the Angles is hos-
" tile,
" Lledrudd a gyfranc ag Wlph " Slaughtering and contest and
" yn rhyd." « Wlph in the road." 40
We have now concluded our notice of the heroes of this
poem, and the following table exhibits their relationship, and
their connection with their cotemporaries, the fathers of the
Anglo-Saxon royal dynasties. Healfdene's family settled in
Northumbria in the fourth century; he was cotemporary
with Hencgest I. and connected with Hencgest II ; his dy-
KENT - Danes - Bermcia.
I — *
Scyld-Scefiug
Beowulf
Hencgest, . . . ally of Healfd ene N . Hentholaf In-wi
iEsc-Octa Heremod Heorogar Hrothgar = Weal htheow Halga HrotlLulf Ho!n /EtlLlbcrlU Sv
°" a Heoroweard Hrethric Hrothraund Osia v
Eormenric „ '
Eoppa V
Ida Y
40 I give these lines as translated by Mr. Nash in his excellent work
" Taliesin." Mr. Stephens of Merthyr Tydvil has furnished me with a
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 91
nasty, in the persons of his grandsons, perished about the
time of Eoppa's invasion, and probably in conflict with him.
Seomel established himself in Deira, and founded Samlesbury
in the fifth century ; his son Swearting was the brother-in-law
of Hrethel, and Swearting's fourth descendant, -ZElle, was the
successor of Hrethel's grandson, Beowulf, in Deira. Hrethel,
Hygelac, and Beowulf reigned in Suffolk ; feuds with the
family of Wiwa, the founder of the East- Anglian kingdom,
and the fall of Hrothgar's race, occasioned Beowulf's return
to Deira. Hygelac appears to have married the widow of
OfFa; Heatholaf and Horn were cotemporary with Hroth-
gar.
Such are the indications, which the poem presents, of the
connection of its heroes with the ancestors of five of the
Anglo-Saxon royal dynasties, and the reader will see that
they are quite consistent with the genealogies. The author
also mentions Eormenric, the ancestor of the kings of Kent,
of whom we shall have more to say in the following
chapter.
Geats.
Sweos.
, .-, .A.
M ERCIA.
E.Angua.
Wsegmundiiigs
Nl.=OD{fenthoew=N 2 .
Offa
Angenthec
Eomaer
Pybba
Hrvp
w Willi elm
|
in-law of . . Hrethel Wonred
T \~ 1
id Hsetbryn Hygelac Nl.=Ecgtheow W'eohstan Wulf Eofer
Eadgils Onela Ohthere
Wiwa
1
Heartlred Beowulf Wiglaf
Eauniund
Wnffa
1
1
Tytla
translation of the last, " the red-stained hero will slay Wlph at the ford,"
which has at least the advantage of being more intelligible.
V2 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
As we have connected the reign of Beowulf with the times
of Ida and of .ZElle, the chronological succession of the kings
of Bernicia and Deira may fitly conclude this chapter.
The names of the sons of Ida are variously stated. The
Cambrian genealogist says they were twelve, whose names
are " Adda, Eadlric, Decdric, Edric, Deothere, Osmer, of one
U queen Bearnoch, Ealric." This list, therefore, is incom-
plete. Florence of Worcester also, in his Chronicle, and in
the Appendix, mentions twelve ; Adda, Baelric, Theodric,
wZEthelric, Osmaer, and Theodhere, sons of his queen ; Occa,
Alric, Ecca, Oswald, Sogor, and Sogothere, sons of concu-
bines. Thus he supplies what is wanting in the Cambrian's
list, and vindicates the correction, " ex una regina" for " et
" unam reginam," proposed by Mr. Stevenson.
The oldest authorities, — the Cambrian genealogist, and
the compiler of the Chronological Notes, which are appended
to More's MS. of Baeda, — are nearly agreed as to this suc-
cession : —
Glappa one year, Adda eight, JEthelric four, Theodric
seven, Frithuwald six, Hussa seven; (the reign of Glappa
being given by the latter authority only).
But the Cambrian adds a note, which distinctly marks the
period of Frithuwald's reign, — " in whose time the kingdom
" of the Kentishmen received baptism, by the mission of Gre-
" gory ;" and this shows that there is some mistake. On the
other hand, Florence of Worcester's statement gives us a per-
fectly consistent chronology, enables us to verify the Cam-
brian's note with regard to Frithuwald, and to account for
the government of Deira after the death of iElle. I accept
it, therefore, in preference ; and as the united reigns of
JEthelric, Frithuwald, and Hussa, as stated by the Cambrian,
THE STORY OF BEOWULF. 93
exactly supply the interval between the death of ^Elle, A. D.
588, and ^Ethelfrith's usurpation of Deira, A. D. 605, I take
these three names as those of JElle's successors in Deira, and
Florence's succession as that of Bernicia.
Bernicia. Deira.
a.d. Years. Years.
547 Ida 12
558 ^lle 30
559 Adda 7
566 Clappa 5
571 Theodwulf ...... 1
572 Frithuwulf 7
579 Theodric 7
586 JEthelric, son of Ida . . 7
588 JEthelric, son of Adda . . 4
592 Frithuwald 6
593 ^thelfrith 24
597 Arrival of S. Augustine.
598 Hussa 7
605 conquers Deira. iEthelfrith 12
617 Eadwine, succeeds to both kingdoms.
By this scheme the different statements are nearly recon-
ciled, and the succession of the kings of Deira, over which
iEthelfrith did not gain the supremacy, until he had reigned
twelve years in Bernicia, is satisfactorily accounted for.
Florence seems to have confounded two -ZEthelrics, the son
of Ida, and the son of Adda, when he says, that the former,
after the death of iElle, expelled Eadwine, and reigned in
Deira ; for iEthelfrith, the son of iEthelric, was not king of
Deira until seventeen years afterwards ; and the expulsion of
Eadwine, and the seizure of his inheritance, are elsewhere
ascribed to him, with greater probability. For Eadwine,
born in a.d. 586, was incapable of reigning at his father's
death; but was old enough to assert his claim in a.d. 605,
94 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
which was certainly the date of the commencement of ^Ethel-
frith's twelve years' reign in Deira. I believe it was also
the date of the termination of Hussa's reign, which could not
have been prolonged beyond this date, nor have ended more
than a year earlier; since a.d. 597, the date of S. Augus-
tine's coming, must fall within the reign of Frithuwald, his
predecessor. The little that is known of the history of these
princes will find its place in the concluding chapter of this
work.
Ja^L.
..■aMK-saRffliK.
APPENDIX.
K. SHAEON TUENEE, no doubt, ex-
presses the general feeling with regard to
these dragon - stories, when he says, that
" giants and dragons have no place in au-
u thentic history ;" yet there are not wanting authors, and
they in no-wise liable to the imputation of over-credulity,
who do not hesitate to avow their conviction that they may
have been founded in facts, and be substantially true.
Thus Mr. Howitt hints, that ** individuals of the fast-de-
" caying genera, now known only in a fossil state, may have
ie grown to an enormous size in the morasses of the North,
" and truly been a terror to the country."
Mrs. Jameson remarks, that " the dragon may have been,
" as regards form, originally a fact, because whether the scene
" of these dragon-legends be laid in Asia, Africa, or Europe,
" the imputed circumstances are little varied ; and the dragon
" introduced in early painting and sculpture, is so invariably
" a gigantic winged crocodile, that it is presumed there must
" have been some common consent, and that the type may
" have been some fossil remains of the Saurian species, or
" even some far-off dim tradition of one of these tremendous
" reptiles."
96 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
Mr. Walbran, speaking of the Sockburn and Lamb ton
worms, says, u It is not altogether unreasonable to suppose,
" that in these, and other similar instances, some such crea-
" tures did really exist, though their powers and appearance,
" like many by-gone circumstances, of the authenticity of
" which we are perfectly assured, were magnified and misre-
" presented, in their transmission through centuries, by the
" ignorance of the narrators."
Mr. LongstafFe, in a series of interesting papers on the tra-
ditions of Durham, in which the opinions of these writers are
cited as above, after saying that the Durham worms are only
gigantic amphibious animals of the snake kind, suggests the
following pertinent queries : — " Take them as symbols,
" whence arose the symbol ? The facts are laid at no very
" distant period ; had they referred to human dragons, would
" not the facts have been recorded in history ? Why are we
" to discredit narratives of monstrous serpents, any more than
" those of wolves and boars?" 1 In another place he says, —
61 The dates of these legends are so recent, that it seems next
" to impossible, (if rovers or tyrants be typified), that the
u symbolized events should not have been chronicled."
Again, in a memoir " On Durham before the Conquest,"
he observes, u Durham had no lack of monsters. Its worms,
" enormous serpents of amphibious habits, gave employment
" to the heroes of Lambton, Sockburn, and other places ; if
" we may believe that the legends, which with all the
" attendant evidence, scarcely reach above the mediaeval
1 Mr. LongstafFe particularly refers to the fact of the capture of a
monstrous boar, commemorated by the dedication of an altar to Silvanus,
found at Stanhope in Weardale.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII. 97
" period, have a groundwork of truth. To explain them
" away, with the existence of enormous British serpents in
" the last geological strata, and corroborations of similar le-
" gends, as to other wild animals, before us, is no easy task."
A brief notice of some of these legends will be the best
illustration of these remarks.
In the tenth century, (for that seems to have been his
aera), Guy, Earl of Warwick, killed a winged dragon in
Northumberland.
Before the Conquest, an ancestor of the Conyers family
killed a dragon at Graystanes, in the parish of Sockburn.
The manor of Sockburn was granted to this family by Ralph
Flambard, Bishop of Durham, (a. d. 1099-1133), and has
been held ever since by the service, of the lord of the manor
meeting the bishop at Neasham ford, on his first entrance
into his diocese, and presenting a sword, in memory of the
event.
a.d. 1133, Gilles de Chin, lord of Berlaimont, slew a
dragon which dwelt in a cave, near the village of Wasme,
and in memory thereof, an annual procession was established
at Mons.
In the thirteenth century, John, son of Roger de Somer-
ville, of Wichnor in Staffordshire, killed a dragon, by means
of a wheel, to which burning peats were attached, fixed on
the point of a spear ; with this he charged the monster, and
left it fixed in his body, inflicting thus a mortal wound. For
this he was knighted by William the Lion, made his chief
falconer, and lord of the manor of Linton, in Roxburghshire,
in which the encounter took place.
In the fourteenth century, when the Knights of S. John
conquered Rhodes, a dragon is said to have dwelt in a den,
o
98 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
on the brink of a morass, at the foot of Mount S. Stephen.
Several knights, who had ventured to attack it, had fallen
victims, and the Grand Master prohibited the rest from at-
tempting so dangerous an enterprise. One alone, Deodato
de Gozon, ventured to disobey, resolved to rid the island of
the monster, or die. Having made himself, by reconnoi-
tring it at a distance, familiar with its form, he had a model
of it constructed, and trained two young bull-dogs to seize it
by the belly, whilst he charged it with his lance. When
they were perfect in this exercise, he rode down with them
to the marsh, leaving some confidential attendants in a place,
whence they could watch his proceedings in security. As
the dragon ran to meet him, he charged it, but the monster's
scales turned the point of his lance, and, his horse becoming
unmanageable through terror, he was compelled to dismount,
and continue the conflict with his sword. A stroke of the
monster's tail felled him to the ground, and he was on the
point of being devoured by it, when his bull-dogs seized it
as they had been taught, and afforded him an opportunity of
recovering his footing, and burying his sword in its body.
Mortally wounded, the dragon reared in its agony, fell upon
him, and would have crushed him to death, had not his at-
tendants come to his assistance, and rescued him. On his
return to the city, the people received him with triumph,
but the Grand Master had him committed to prison, and
brought to trial for disobedience ; and it was only at the
urgent entreaties of his council, that he consented to com-
mute the sentence of death, for one of deprivation of the
habit, and expulsion from the order. Deodato was accord-
ingly deprived, but was afterwards restored, and eventually,
in A. D. 1346, became one of the most illustrious Grand
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII. 99
Masters of the Order. He died a.d. 1353, and on his tomb,
which remained in the Church of S. John at Rhodes, until
the city fell into the hands of the Turks, his conflict with the
dragon was represented, with the inscription dragonis
extinctor. This story at least appears to be sufficiently
matter of fact, and free from exaggeration.
Thomas Walsingham relates, that, in a. d. 1344, a Saracen
physician offered his services to Earl Warren, for the destruc-
tion of a serpent, which was committing depredations at
Bromfield in the Welsh Marches, and destroyed it by his
medical skill.
In the fifteenth century, another knight of Rhodes, Sir
John Lambton, is said to have slain a dragon at Lambton in
Durham ; and, because he neglected the fulfilment of his
vow, to kill the first living creature that should meet him
afterwards, (for it was his father that met him), to have en-
tailed a curse on nine generations of his family, which seems
to have taken effect.
With these, and other stories of the same kind before us,
forming, as it were, a consecutive chain of evidence of the ex-
istence of these creatures, it is impossible not to feel the force
of Mr. Longstaife's remark, that it is no easy task to explain
them away. There seems no reason, why a race of dragons
may not have once existed, like the Irish Elk and other wild
animals, in this country, the Dodo in the Mauritius, and the
Dinornis in New Zealand ; and it is worthy of remark, how
many of these stories are connected with the northern coun-
ties, as if the race had longest survived in those districts.
The habitation of the Sockburn worm appears to have been
in the immediate neighbourhood of the scene of Beowulf's
adventure, the account of which at one time I felt inclined
100 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
to explain, by the supposition that Beowulf fell a victim to
mephitic vapours, collected in the recesses of a chambered
tumulus, which he plundered; but which, after the perusal of
the evidence collected by Mr. Longstaife, and with the con-
viction on my mind, that the author of the poem lived very
near to the times of his hero, I am compelled to admit may
have had its foundation in fact, whatever amount of exagge-
ration it may contain.
CHAPTEK VIII.
The Lament of Deor ; the Tale of the Traveller.
HE Lament of Deor, in the Exeter Book, is
a relic of Anglo-Saxon poetry, inferior in
value to no other. Adversity, which had
befallen him, gave him occasion to seek com-
fort in the reflection, that as Weland and Beadohild, Geat
and Maethhild, Theodric and Eormanric's people, had sur-
mounted their woes, so he might his own ; and prompted him
to write this poem, supplying an important link in the chain
of evidence, which connects these personages with the his-
tory of our country.
I have already expressed my conviction, that Weland, as
well as his father and brother, accompanied Horsa and Henc-
gest throughout their career of conquest. The traditions of
England, Scandinavia, France, and Germany, celebrate his
skill as a goldsmith and armourer ; as such he would be an
invaluable auxiliary to the forces of the invaders of Britain ;
and if, in romances, heroes of a later period are said to have
possessed weapons of his forging, in our poems, which con-
tain the earliest notices of him, kings and chieftains who
flourished in the fifth and sixth centuries, are said to have
102 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
owned these treasures. It is impossible to trace the tradi-
tions which relate to him beyond the fifth century.
In Beowulf, the hero's coat of mail, the legacy of Hrethel,
is said to have been his work ; in the story of Horn, the hero
receives from Riminild a sword of his forging ; in the recently
discovered fragments of the saga of Waldhere, we have allu-
sions to his sword Mimming, his father-in-law Nithhad, and
his son Widia ; and in that curious collection of early tradi-
tions, the Life of Merlin, Rhydderch, king of Cumbria, is
represented as commanding cups to be produced, which We-
land chased in the city Sigeni. 1 The last is most important,
as evidence of a British tradition, that Weland resided in this
country ; for Sigeni was certainly in Britain, and its destruc-
tion is the subject of one of the predictions, ascribed in the
same work to Merlin. 2
It is probable that Weland Veceived his name on account
of his skill, for the Icelandic Voelundr, and the Ceylonese
Velende, equally signify " smith ;" and the verb welan, to
" burn," to u be hot," &c. suggests its etymology. 3
The Lament of Deor begins with an allusion to his mis-
fortunes : —
" Weland knew in himself the worm of exile. The prudent
w chief endured sorrows ; had grief and weariness, winter-
" cold wretchedness, for companions ; oft experienced misery ;
" after Nithhad had laid him, unhappy man, in captivity with
" a tough sinew-band."
w Her brothers' death was not so sore in mind to Beado-
1 " Pocula quae sculpsit Guielandus in urbe Sigeni." L. 235.
2 " Urbs Sigeni et turres et magna palatia plangent
" Diruta." L. 614.
3 It was certainly a personal name ; borne amongst others by a chief-
tain who had been in England, and invaded France in a.d. 861.
THE LAMENT OF DEOR. 103
" hild, as her own affair, that she had discovered certainly
" that she was pregnant. Never might she think assuredly,
u how that could happen."
Mr. Thorpe has justly remarked, that the greater simpli-
city of the story, as alluded to in these passages, over that in
the Edda, speaks strongly in favour of its greater antiquity ;
and the fact, that we have it in its simplest and most ancient
form in our language, gives us an additional claim to Weland.
Still from the Edda we may gather a few particulars, suffi-
cient to explain these allusions, viz. that Nithhad, coveting
the wealth of Weland, beset his dwelling, took him prisoner,
and conveyed him to an island, where he compelled him to
work for him ; that Weland took revenge by murdering the
sons of Nithhad, and violating his daughter Beadohild, whilst
under the influence of a narcotic potion, and then made his
escape. Whether he afterwards took further revenge or
not, does not appear ; but Beadohild was recognized as his
wife, and their son Wittich, Wudga, or Widia, plays a con-
spicuous part in other sagas.
Possibly the ancient fortress, Uffington Castle, in Berk-
shire, may have been the " urbs Sigeni" of the Life of Mer-
lin, the residence of Weland ; for a cromlech, a little more
than a mile distant, bearing the name of Wayland's smithy,
seems to indicate a traditional belief, that he dwelt in its
neighbourhood ; and this tradition is as old as the tenth cen-
tury, for " Welandes smiththe," is mentioned in a charter of
Eadrsed, A. D. 955. 4 Wadley, a few miles to the north, bears
the name of his father, and the Nythe farms, six miles to the
west, may have been named after his enemy Nithhad.
Deor's next stanza introduces us to Geat and Msethhild,
4 Cod. Diplom. 1172.
104 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
who are wholly unknown to Scandinavian or German ro-
mance, but whose story was doubtless once familiar to our
forefathers : —
u We have many times heard, that Geat's wooings to
" Maethhild were endless, so that the pining love took away
" from him all sleep."
The scene of this story may have been in Oxfordshire, for
a register of the boundaries of Wychwood forest gives us in
close proximity, Gatesden, Madlebroc, and Madlewell. Traces
of a Geat we have noticed elsewhere. Possibly he was the
son of Vortigern, and grandson of Hencgest, whom the triads
call Gotta ; but of Maethhild I can find no other trace.
Then follow these notices of Theodric and Eormanric: —
" Theodric had not 5 Masringaburg for thirty winters. That
" was known to many."
" We have heard of Eormanric's wolf-like mind. He pos-
" sessed wide nations of the kingdom of the Goths. Many a
" warrior sat, bound with sorrows, anticipating calamity,
" wished enough that there were an end of that kingdom."
The identification of Theodric and Eormanric must be re-
served for the present. We shall find them reigning in the
districts in which Weland and Geat dwelt, but somewhat later.
Of himself Deor say s : —
" A sorrowing one sits deprived of happiness ; in his mind
" it grows dark ; he thinks to himself that his share of woes
" is endless. Then may he think that the wise Lord changes
" enough, throughout the world. To many a chief he dis-
" penses honour, constant success ; to others a share of woes.
5 I adopt, without hesitation, Mr. Coneybeare's suggestion that ne
should be supplied, —
" Theodric ne ahte Mseringaburg."
Without it the stanza is unintelligible.
THE LAMENT OF DEOR. 105
" That I will say of myself, that I was for a while the scop
" of the Heodenings, dear to my lord. Deor was my name.
" I had a good following, a faithful lord, for many winters ;
(( until that now Heorrenda, a song-crafty man, has obtained
u the land-right, which the refuge of warriors gave to me
" before."
Heoden, whose name is retained by Hednesford in Staf-
fordshire, and once was by Hedenesdene 6 in Hampshire, and
who perhaps was one of the associates of Hencgest, was the
father or lord of the Heodenings. Deor's own name occurs
in the same district as those of all the persons he commemo-
rates, at Deoran treow 7 in Berkshire; and perhaps Dirham
in Gloucestershire may have been the land-right, the loss of
which he laments. He does not go far from home, then, for
illustrations of his theme, nor to very remote times ; Weland,
Nithhad, Geat, Maethhild, Theodric, and Eormanric, may all
be traced in the district in which Oxfordshire, Berkshire,
Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire meet; and all lived in the fifth
or sixth centuries.
As Deor then undoubtedly belongs to us, so also does He-
orrenda, a scop whose accomplishments are celebrated in
several Teutonic sagas.
The Traveller's Tale, like many other pieces in the Exeter
Book, is but a fragment of a larger poem. The first twenty
lines introduce the Traveller to us, speaking of him in the
third person, and giving parenthetically a brief notice of his
origin, and of his journey, and perhaps an allusion to his sub-
sequent fate.
" The Traveller spake, unlocked his word-hoard, he who
6 C. D. 1063. 7 Chron. Abingdon, i. 146.
P
106 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" had met most tribes over the earth, travelled through na-
" tions. Oft he had received in hall a memorable gift. No-
" bles gave birth to him, from among the Myrgings. He
" with Ealhhild, the faithful peace-weaver, in his first journey
" sought the abode of the Hreth-king, Eormanric, the hostile
" faith breaker, east of Ongle. He began then much to
" speak." 8
Then follows, in the first person, the Traveller's own ac-
count of his wanderings. I shall endeavour first to deter-
mine the period of his journey, to identify as far as possible
the peoples whom he mentions, and to ascertain the country
to which he belonged ; and shall then be able to show the
bearing of this poem on the history of our country.
The time, then, is distinctly limited by his mention of
Theodric, 9 the son of Chlodovech, who reigned over the
Franks from a.d. 511 to 534. His journey, therefore, was
made after Theodric's accession to the throne, and all the cir-
cumstances of his story lead to the conclusion, that it was
during the earlier part of Theodric's reign.
He commences his story with a list of illustrious princes,
some of whom he afterwards tells us that he visited. With
one exception, all these are of Barbaric race, and, as far as
they can be identified, lived either before or during the time
which is indicated by this notice of Theodric. The excep-
tion is : —
" Alexandreas richest of all of the race of men." 10
And the Traveller says : —
" He most prospered of those whom I have heard of over
" the earth."
8 L. 1-20. 9 L. 49. ,0 L. 31-36.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 107
It is not, of course, Alexander of Macedon who is here
meant; it is not likely that he would be mentioned in the
company of princes, all of whom flourished in the fifth and
sixth centuries ; he is very probably that Alexander of whom
Procopius speaks, who, having raised himself from an humble
station, took a prominent part in the affairs of the empire at
this period, was employed confidentially by the Emperors,
and was notorious for his wealth and avarice.
Of the rest, — Fin Folcwalding 11 was killed about the
middle of the fifth century, and Ongentheow, 12 king of the
Sweos, about its close, or the beginning of the sixth ; Wada 13
of the Haelsings, and Sceafa u of the Longbeards, were pro-
bably companions of the first Hencgest; Alewih 15 of the Danes,
and Witta of the Swaefs, 16 were the antagonists of Offa;
Offa, 17 Breoca, 18 Hrothgar and Hrothwulf lg were all living
about the beginning of the sixth century ; and -ZEtla, 20 Eor-
manric, 21 Gifica, 22 and Hagena, 23 were, as will be shown in
the sequel, the Traveller's cotemporaries.
That he travelled on the continent, is admitted of course;
but it is equally certain that this island was the scene of
some part at least of his wanderings, for he tells us that he
was with the Scots and Picts. If then we had no evidence
to the fact, that others of the races whom he mentions were
actually settled in this country, we might have presumed
that some of them were so, for a Teutonic noble would hardly
have mentioned a Celtic people whom he found here, and
have omitted all notice of the tribes of his own race. Now
a very large proportion of those whom he visited, must have
11 L. 55. n L. 64. I3 L. 46. M L. 66. ,5 L. 72.
16 L. 45. » L. 71. ,8 L. 51. ,9 L. 91. 20 L. 37.
31 L. 40. w L. 42. » L. 159.
108 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
been, at one time or another, amongst the colonists of Britain ;
and they were most probably here at the time of his journey,
for the evidence of Procopius shows, that the colonization of
Britain was so complete, only a few years later, that the
Anglo-Saxon race were already forced to seek fresh settle-
ments in Gaul. He says : —
" Three very numerous nations, the Angili, Frissones, and
" those named from the island Brittones, over each of which
" a king presides, possess Brittia. So great, indeed, appears
" to be the fecundity of these nations, that every year vast
" numbers, migrating thence with their wives and children,
" go to the Franks, who locate them in such places as seem
" the most desolate of their country." 24
The story of Hadugot also, which will be noticed in the
sequel, is evidence of the same fact, that the tide of emigra-
tion, which had flowed steadily from the continent to Britain
during the fifth century, was returning in the sixth ; and we
have many indications, in the occurrence of the names of the
same families, in the eastern and southern counties of England,
and on the opposite coasts of the Continent, of this emigration
of the Angles to Gaul. 25
Now of the tribes or families, whom the Traveller visited
or mentions, we find traces in this country of the following ;
and if the names of some of them be found on the Continent
also, it is most likely that they were in England at the time
24 De Bello Gothico, iv.
25 As, for example, these —
Haffreingue Havering. i Lozinghem Loseley.
Halinghen Hailing. Mareoing Markington.
Hardinghem Hardingham. i Mazenghem Massingham.
Harlingen Harling. j Molinghem Mollington.
Hocquinghem Hucking.
Hondeghem Huntingdon.
Inghem Ingham.
Ledringhem Letheringham.
Leffrinchouke Leverington.
Bainghem Bingham.
Balinghem Ballingdon.
Bellaing Bellingham.
Bazinghem Basingstoke.
Bezinghem Bessingham.
Boesinghe Bossington.
Dringham Dringoe.
Echinghem Eckington.
Eriughem Erringden.
Nabringhem Naff'erton.
Racquinghem Rackham.
Radinghem Reading.
Teteghen Teddington.
Totinghero Tooting.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. - 109
of his journey, whether those names indicate their original
homes whence they came hither, or the settlements which
they formed in the reign of Theodric.
Amothingas. Emmotland in Yorkshire, anciently " aet
Eamotum ;" 26 perhaps also Amotherley, also in York-
shire.
Baningas. Baeningesburg, 27 now Banbury Camp, and Ben-
ningwyrth, 28 now Bengeworth, Worcestershire ; Ban-
ningham, Norfolk ; Benningborough and Benning-
holme, Yorkshire ; Bennington, Hertfordshire ; and
Bennington, Lincolnshire.
Brondingas. In Suffolk, subjects of Brecca, already no-
ticed.
Creacas. Cracoe, Craike, and Crakehall, Yorkshire ;
Creake, Norfolk; Crakemarsh, Staffordshire.
Denas, or Deningas. Denford, Northamptonshire; Den-
tons in Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Lincoln-
shire, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland, Kent,
Sussex, and Derbyshire ; Denhams in Suffolk and
Buckinghamshire ; Denbury in Devonshire. The lord
of the Denas, mentioned in this poem, was Alewih,
the enemy of Offa ; Hrothgar's subjects are called
Denas or Deningas, and Gaimar speaks of Danes as
settled in Norfolk.
Englas. Anglesey, Cambridgeshire ; Anglesey island ;
Englefield, Berkshire ; Englewood Forest. The En-
glas, in this poem, were subjects of Offa.
Eolas. Youlthorpe and Youlton, Yorkshire; Youlgrave,
26 Sax. Chron. a.d. 926. 27 Cod. Diplom. 148.
28 Ibid. 61, &c.
110 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
Derbyshire. There was also a village in Hunting-
donshire, called "aet Eolum." 29
Eowas. Ewshott, Hampshire.
Finnas. Findern, Derbyshire ; Finney, Yorkshire ; Fin-
borough, Suffolk.
Fresas. Already noticed, as associated with the Angles in
the invasion of Britain.
Geatas. Gatton, Shropshire; Gatton, Surrey; Gatcombe,
Wight.
Gefflegas. Gifle, 30 Devonshire ; Yeaveley, Derbyshire.
The latter is probably the "Gyfla" or "Eyfla" of
300 hides, mentioned in the u Numerus Hidarum."
Gefthas. Iffley, 31 Oxfordshire ; Gipton, Yorkshire. They
are mentioned in Beowulf, in terms which indicate
that they were settled in this country.
H^elsingas. Helsington, Westmoreland; Elsing, 32 Nor-
folk.
Heatho-Beardas and Long-Beardas. Heatho being
merely a prefix indicative of their warlike character,
Ettmuller supposes the Heatho-Beardas to have been
of the same race as the Long-Beardas. The former
are only mentioned by the Traveller when he alludes
to their defeat at Heort ; the latter he visited. This
nation appears to have given name to the Bardfields,
Essex ; Bardwell, Suffolk ; Bardsea, Lancashire ; and
Bardsea 33 island, Caernarvonshire.
29 Cod. Diplom. 599. 30 Ibid. 314, 1290.
31 Givetelei, Domesday. f Helsinga, Domesday.
33 It is evident that the three islands, Anglesey, Bardsey, and Ram-
sey, derive their names from the Englas, Heatho-Beardas, and Heatho-
Rsemis ; and that the commonly received derivation of the second must
be set aside.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. Ill
Heatho-R&mis. Ramsey, Huntingdonshire ; Ramsden,
Yorkshire ; Ramshope, Northumberland ; Ramsholt,
Suffolk ; Ramsden and Ramsey, Essex ; Ramsgate,
Kent; Ramsbury, Wiltshire; Ramsey island, Pem-
brokeshire.
Herefaras. Harberton, Devonshire.
Herelas or Herelingas. Harlthorpe, and Harlington,
Yorkshire; Harle, Northumberland; Harling, Nor-
folk ; Arlington, Sussex ; Harlton, Cambridgeshire ;
Harlington, Bedfordshire ; Harlington, Middlesex ;
Arlington and Harlingham, Gloucestershire ; and
Arlington, Devonshire.
HociNGAS. Hucking, Kent.
Hreadas or Hreadingas. Readabeorh ; 34 Radfield, Cam-
bridgeshire ; Radford, Nottinghamshire ; Radford,
Oxfordshire ; Radford and Radway, Warwickshire ;
Radley, Berkshire ; Radwell, Bedfordshire ; Radwell,
Hertfordshire ; Reading, Berkshire ; Raddingham,
Somersetshire.
Hronas or Hroningas. Runhall, Runham, Runton, Nor-
folk ; Runwell, Essex ; Runnington, Somersetshire ;
Runningmead, Surrey.
Hunas. Hunton, Yorkshire ; Huncoat, Lancashire ; Hun-
wick, Durham; Hunworth, Norfolk; Hundon, Suf-
folk ; Hunton, Kent ; Huncote, Leicestershire.
Hundingas. Huntingdon ; Huntingdon, Yorkshire ; Hun-
tington, Cheshire ; Huntingdun, 35 Leicestershire ;
Huntington, Staffordshire ; Huntington, Hereford-
shire; Huntingfield, Suffolk.
34 Cod. Diplom. 100. * Ibid. 473, 1330.
112 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
Idumingas. The name of a person, who might be the
ancestor of this family, occurs at Idmiston, 36 Wilt-
shire, and this perhaps was their settlement.
Leonas. Leonberg ; 37 Lenborough and Linford, 38 Buck-
inghamshire; Lenham, Kent; Lenton, Nottingham-
shire ; Lintons, Linthorpe, and Linthwaite, York-
shire ; Linacre, Lancashire ; Linley, Derbyshire ;
Linton, Cambridgeshire.
Rumwalas. Rumbruge, 39 Hampshire ; Rumworth, Lanca-
shire ; Rumburgh, Suffolk ; Romford, Essex. The
name of the first may indicate a residence of this
family in Hampshire, in which county also is the next
place the Traveller mentions, Eatule, now Yateley.
The Rumwalas have been supposed to be the Romans
of Italy, on account of this Eatule, (which has also
been understood to be Italy), occurring in context
with this name ; but, besides that it is inconceivable
that the word Italia could be represented under this
form, the Traveller would hardly have said, "also I
was in Italy," after he had said, " I was with the
Romans." The Rumwalas may indeed have been the
Roman race in Britain, who of course were not ex-
tinct, at the time of the Traveller's journey.
Rondingas. Perhaps Roudingas, Tacitus' Reudingi, a tribe
coterminous with the Angli in his days; Rodings,
Essex ; Rodington, Shropshire.
Rugas. Rugawic ; 4 ° Rugby, Warwickshire.
Seaxas. Saxby, Lincolnshire ; Saxton, Yorkshire ; Sax-
30 Idemestun, Domesday. 37 Cod. Diplom. 284.
38 Leonaford, Asser. 39 Cod. Diplom. 992.
40 Ibid. 123.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 113
thorpe, Norfolk ; Saxham and Saxtead, Suffolk ; Saxb y ,
Leicestershire.
Sycgas or Secgas. Sedgefield, Durham ; Sedgewick, "West-
moreland; Sedgeford, Norfolk; Sedgeley, Stafford-
shire ; Sedgemoor, Worcestershire.
Sercingas. Their name appears combined with that of the
Angles in Anglezark, Lancashire, and alone in the
island of Sark.
Seringas. Sharrington, Norfolk; Sherrington, Bucking-
hamshire.
Sw^efas. S waff hams and Swavesey, Cambridgeshire ; S waff-
ham, Norfolk ; Swefling, Suffolk ; Swaton, 41 Lin-
colnshire ; Suavetorp, 42 Yorkshire; Suevecamp, 43
Herefordshire.
Sweos. Swayfield, Lincolnshire ; Sway, Hampshire.
Sweord-weras. These are the Suardones, neighbours of
the Angli from the time of Tacitus. " Sweordora,
300 hides," occurs in the " Numerus Hidarum ; " and
we have Swarby, Lincolnshire; Swarland, North-
umberland; Swardestone, Norfolk; Swerford, Ox-
fordshire ; Sweord-hlincas, 44 Kent ; Sweord-leah, 45
Dorsetshire.
Throwendas. Troughend, Northumberland*
Thyringas. Thorington, Suffolk ; Thorington, Essex.
W^ernas. Warnford, Northumberland; War nham, Sussex;
Warnborough and Warnford, Hampshire.
Walas. Walburn and Walden, Yorkshire; Walton in
Staffordshire ; and many other Waltons and Waldens.
41 Suavetone, Domesday. 42 Domesday. 43 Ibid.
44 Cod. Diplom. 199. 45 Ibid. 260.
114 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
Wenlas. Wendlebury, Oxfordshire; Wendel-hill, York-
shire.
Winedas. Windham, Sussex ; Wendling, Norfolk ; Wend-
over, Buckinghamshire.
Wrosnas. Rossendale, Lancashire.
Wycingas. Wycinges-mearc, 40 Canterbury; Wyke and
Wycliffe, Yorkshire.
Woingas. Wuhinga land, 47 Hampshire ; Wing, Bucking-
hamshire; Wing, Rutlandshire; Wingfield, Derby-
shire ; Wingfield, Wiltshire ; Wingfield, Suffolk ;
Wingham, Kent.
Wuleingas or Wylfingas. Wolfinges lasw, 48 Wiltshire ;
Wylfingaford. 49 These were the family of Herebrand,
Hildibrand, and Heathobrand.
Ymbras. Imber, Wiltshire.
Ytas. Itton, Monmouthshire; Ytinga ford, 50 and Yting
stoc. 51
Thus we find probable traces in this country of more than
half the tribes or families whom the Traveller visited ; and
occasionally we find, in the neighbourhood of places which
bear their names, other traces of the chieftains whom he men-
tions as their rulers, some of whom were his cotemporaries.
" Becca ruled the Banings," 52
and was visited by him. 53 At the foot of Breedon hill, on
which is the deserted earthwork, now called Banbury camp,
anciently Baeninges-burg, 54 is Beckford. Bengeworth, an-
46 Cod. Diplom. 3. 47 Ibid. 624. 48 Ibid. 460.
49 Ibid. 1335. 50 Ibid. 1257. 51 Ibid. 1227.
52 L. 39. 53 L. 231.
54 " Breodun, in cuius cacumine urbs est antiquo nomine Baeninges-
burg." Charter of Uhtred, king of the Hwiccas, a.d. 756. Cod.
Diplom. 148.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 115
ciently Benningewyrth, isabout six miles distant from these ;
in the same county again we have Beccanleah 55 near Honey-
bourn, and Beckbridge near Broadwas; and in the neigh-
bouring county of Oxford, we have another Banbury and
Beckley; so that it will readily be admitted that Becca's
principality was in this district.
He mentions the Creacs and the Fins twice, and each time
in context : —
" Casere ruled the Creacs, and Caelic the Fins ; " 56
and,
u I was with the Creacs, and with the Fins, and with
* Casere, who held sway of the joyous cities of Wiolan and
" the Wilns, and the kingdom of the Walas." 57
These princes therefore were neighbours. Casere is cer-
tainly a Teutonic name, it was borne by the ancestor of the
East- Anglian kings, and so probably by others besides this.
I find, however, no trace of him, but of his subjects the Creacs,
Wilns, and Walas, and of Wiolan I do ; at Craykemarsh,
Staffordshire, Great and Little Wilne in Derbyshire, Wilne-
cote in Warwickshire, Walton-on-Trent and another Walton,
Willenhall, and perhaps Willington, in Staffordshire ; and of
his neighbours, Caelic and the Fins, at Calke and Findern in
Derbyshire. A district comprising part of the three counties
of Stafford, Warwick, and Derby, would seem to have been
the territory of these chieftains.
Alewih, the lord of the Danes, has been already noticed.
"Hnsef ruled the Hocings." 58
This is a different person from Healfdene's vassal, who fell
at Finnesham, and who was not a Hoeing, but the adversary
of Fin, Hoce's son-in-law. About fourteen miles to the
55 Cod. Diplom. 570. 5f> L. 41, 42. s7 L. 153-158. 58 L. 59.
116 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
north of Hocing-maed 59 (" the field of Hoce") in Hampshire, was
Hnaefleah 60 in Berkshire, and in the same district of Hamp-
shire, Hnagfes scylf 61 near Crondall. The Hocings appear to
have been amongst the families who emigrated to Gaul in the
reign of Theodric, and Nebi and Huocingus are mentioned
amongst the ancestors of one of the wives of Charlemagne.
« Helm ruled the Wulfings." 62
The charter which supplies Wolfinges hew, gives us also
Helmestreow in its neighbourhood.
" Wald ruled the Woings." 63
Waltham in Hampshire, and Upwaltham in Sussex, are in
the neighbourhood of " Wuhinga landaes hyrn ; " in Kent we
have a Waltham not far from Wingham; and in Essex,
Wingford bridge connects the parishes of Great and Little
Waltham.
" Holen ruled the Wrosns." 64
Holen's name occurs at Hollin in Kossendale, and Hollins-
head to the west of it, and at Hollins on the borders of York-
shire, Lancashire, and Derbyshire.
({ Hringweald was called king of the Herefaras." 65
Four charters mention Hringwoldes beorg. 66 It was near
Otterford, on the borders of Somersetshire and Devonshire,
and in the latter county we have Harberton near Totness.
Hringweald's name occurs also at Ringwold in Kent, perhaps
atBingwood in Hampshire, and at Hringwoldes treow 67 near
Burcombe in Wiltshire, so that perhaps he was one of Henc-
gest's allies.
59 Cod. Diplom. 1091. ■» Ibid. 430. 6 « Ibid. 595.
62 L. 60. ■ L. 61. 64 L. 68.
65 L. 69, 70. w Cod. Diplom. 1051, 1052, 1117, 1140.
87 Ibid. 1115.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 117
" Mearchealf ruled the Hundings." 68
There are two parishes named Marcle, a possible abbrevia-
tion of Mearchealf, about twelve miles from one of the Hunt-
ingtons, in Herefordshire.
" Thyle ruled the Bondings." 69
There are three Tilburys, two to the south, and one to the
north, of the district in Essex, in which we have noticed the
Rodings.
"Billing ruled the Waerns." 70
I have noticed this chieftain, as probably one of Hencgest's
associates.
" Sceafthere ruled the Ymbras." 71
The name of Shaftesbury, about eighteen miles from Imber,
may be an abbreviation of Sceaftheresbyrig.
" Sceafa ruled the Longbeards." 72
He also has been noticed, as probably a follower of Henc-
gest.
" Hagena ruled the Holm-kingdoms." 73
This name occurs in Lincolnshire, at Hagnaby near Alford,
and Hagnaby near Spilsby, both on the borders of the fen-
country, which may well have been called Holm-rice ; Hain-
ton near Wragby, in the same county, may also have been
named from him.
"Meaca ruled the Myrgings." 74
We find the name of this prince at Mackley, close to Mar-
chington, in Staffordshire, at Mackworth, near Markeaton, in
Derbyshire, and again at Maxtoke in Warwickshire. The
Myrgings are probably the same as the Myrcas, 75 who gave
68 L. 48. • L. 50. 70 L. 52. 7l L. 66.
73 L. 67. 73 L. 43. 74 L. 47.
75 So the Gothic royal race are called Amalas and Amalingas, and
Hrothgar's subjects Denas and Deningas.
118 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
name to the kingdom of Mercia. Under the patronymic
form of their name they have left few traces, but Mearcyncgs-
eol, abbreviated to Markshall, suggests that a similar
abbreviation may have taken place in other names. The
Traveller distinguishes the Myrgings from the With-Myrg-
ings. He was himself of a noble family among the former,
and he says that he visited the latter/ 6 and includes them
among the subjects of Offa. 77 His feudal lord was Eadgils,
whose name we find at Etchells in Cheshire ; and if this
prince were the same as Eadgils, who is mentioned in Beowulf,
and who certainly was living at the same time, the presence
of the Myrgings in Yorkshire would be accounted for.
In most of these instances, there can be little doubt, that
the identity of the princes whom the Traveller mentions, is
established, by the occurrence of their names in the same dis-
tricts as those of the tribes, whom he represents as subject to
them. His notices of them are, therefore, equally with those
of Hrothgar and of Offa, already referred to, allusions to
traditions current in England, for two only of them were
visited by him ; the rest probably lived before his time, and
some of them as early as the days of Hencgest. Besides
these, Whalley in Northumberland, Whalley in Lancashire,
and Whaley in Cheshire, bear the name of
" Hwala once the best," 78
and Sigeres ac, 79 on the Ouse in Yorkshire, that of Sige-
here, of whom he says: —
" Sigehere longest ruled the Sea-Danes." 80
Many of the princes, too, whom he visited, may be shown
76 L. 238. 77 L. 86. 78 L. 29, 30.
79 Cod. Diplom. 480. " L. 57, 58.
119
to have reigned in England. Thus Beadeca, 81 whose name
we have found in Hampshire, Bedfordshire, and Derbyshire,
the sixth descendant of Woden in the line of the East Saxons,
might very well have survived until his days. As he was
with the Englas, 82 Incgentheow, 83 whom he visited, was
perhaps the son of Offa, whom the Cambrian genealogist calls
Ongen, the Saxon Chronicle Angeltheow, and Florence,
(apparently confounding him with a person who is named in
the Bernician genealogy), Angengeat. Secca's 84 name occurs
at Seccandun, now Seckington, in Warwickshire; Sifeca's 85
at Seofecandene, 86 near Burford, in Oxfordshire, (called
Sewkedene in a document of a.d. 1300, which also mentions
Sewkeford near it), at Seofecan wyrth, 87 now Seacourt, also
in Oxfordshire, and at Seovechesham, now Abingdon, in
Berkshire ; Seafola's 88 probably at Sible Hedingham, and
Sibleys, not far from it, in Essex; Hlithe's 89 at Lidbury
camp on Salisbury plain, and at Liddington, in the same
county, where there is a large fortress ; Gislhere's 90 at Gisl-
hereswyrth, 91 now Isleworth, in Middlesex; Hungar's 92 at
Hungarton in Leicestershire, and Hungerford in Berkshire ;
Raedhere's 93 at Battery in Devonshire ; Elsa's 94 at Elsenham
in Essex.
He gives us a particular notice of one of the princes who
entertained him : —
w I was also in Eatule with JElfwine, the son of Eadwine,
" who had, in my opinion, of mankind the lightest hand to
81 L. 235. 82 L. 123. M L. 234.
84 L. 231. 85 L. 233. 86 Cod. Diplora. 570.
87 Cod. Diplom.1216. 88 L. 232. ■ L. 234.
90 L. 248. 91 Cod. Diplom. 38. 9i L. 236.
93 L. 247. 94 L. 235.
120 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" win praise, the most generous heart in the distribution of
" rings, bright circlets." 95
Eatule, I believe, is Yateley in Hampshire, in which dis-
trict a prince named iElfwine appears to have lived, whose
territory extended about sixteen miles to the west, since
JElfwines mearc 96 was in the neighbourhood of Hannington.
Idstone, near Ashbury in the adjoining county of Berkshire,
was anciently Edwinestone. 97
Thus it is certain that the Traveller was in England, and
probable that a very large proportion, of those whose names
he enumerates, were settled in the districts, which now form
the counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Warwick-
shire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wilt-
shire, Hampshire, and Berkshire. England, then, being
ascertained to have been the scene of great part of his
wanderings, and the period being indicated by his notice
of Theodric, we are in a position to identify more of the
personages whose names occur in his highly interesting nar-
rative.
He says he was with Eadwine. 98 He, therefore, visited
him in the course of his journey, and, as it would appear,
conducted his daughter Ealhhild to the court of Eormanric,
whose dominions were eastward of Ongle, the kingdom of
Offa, (which, as we have seen, comprised Gloucestershire at
this time). This Eadwine, whether the same person as the
father of ^Elfwine or not, (though it is more probable that he
was not, since JElfwine seems to have been an independent
prince), may have been the chieftain, whose name is borne by
95 L. 141-150. 96 Cod. Diplom. 939.
97 Domesday. 9S L. 235.
121
two parishes, the Edwins in Herefordshire. If so, his terri-
tory would actually come within the compass of the Tra-
veller's journey, since he was with the Hundings, traces of
whom, with their prince Mearchealf, we have found in this
county.
He thus describes his visit to Eormanric : —
" I was with Eormanric. There all the time the king
" of the Goths treated me well. He, the chieftain of his
" citizens, gave me a ring, whereon were marked six hundred
" sceats of beaten gold, in shilling-reckoning. That, when I
" came home, I gave to Eadgils, the prince of the Myrgings,
" my patron-lord, for a possession, for a recompense to my
" beloved, because he gave me land, my patrimony. And
" then Ealhhild, the noble lady-queen, the daughter of Ead-
" wine, gave me another (ring). I lengthened her praise
" through many lands, when I should say by song, where I
" knew under heaven the best gold-decked queen, dispensing
"gifts; when I and Skilling raised the song, with clear
* voice, for our victor-lord, our voice resounded loud to the
"harp. Then many men, proud in spirit, they who knew
" well, spake in words, that they had never heard better song.
" Thence I traversed all the country of the Goths. I always
" sought the best of journeys; that was the household band of
"Eormanric." 99
This Eormanric, the cotemporary of Theodric the Frank,
can be no other than the father of the first Christian king of
Kent, JEthelberht. iEsc-Octa died in a.d. 491, and if
twenty years are rightly assigned to the reign of Ossa, that
of Eormanric would commence in a.d. 511, and he died pro-
» L. 177-224.
R
122 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
bably in a.d. 560. His dominions were eastward of Offa's.
He is called king of the Goths, and rightly so ; for the gene-
alogies have shown us, that the royal dynasties of the Angles,
Jutes, and Saxons, were of the same blood as those who ruled
the Goths ; and they enable us to understand how Oslac, the
father-in-law of iElfrsed, was a Goth, 100 as descended from
Stuf and Wihtgar, who were nephews of Cerdic king of the
West Saxons, and whose followers, equally with the colonists
of Kent, were Jutes ; and what Belisarius meant, when he
said, (as represented by Procopius), " we permit the Goths
" to occupy Britain." 101 We even find in this country, in the
name of Amalburn, 102 a trace of that which was the noblest
race amongst the Goths, the family to which all the Ostro-
gothic kings belonged. This is, of course, the Eormanric, to
whom one of Deor's stanzas refers.
In connection with the Hreadas,and their princes Wulfhere
and Wyrmhere, the Traveller mentions an ^Etla, apparently
the same person as he who is said, in the beginning of the
poem, to have ruled the Huns : —
" I sought Wulfhere and Wyrmhere full often. There war
" ceased not, when the army of the Hrgedas should defend with
" hard swords, about the wood of the Wistlas, their old patri-
" monial seat, from the folks of JEtla." 103
Like other chieftains of the time, engaged in the innumer-
able wars of which Henry of Huntingdon speaks, Wulfhere
and Wyrmhere appear to have moved from place to place.
We find traces of their names, in connection with that of the
ioo it Q s i ac Goth us erat natione, ortus enim erat de Gothis et Jutis, de
" semine scilicet Stuf et Wihtgar." Assek.
101 De Bello Gothico, n. ,02 Cod. Diplom. 685.
103 L. 239-246.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 123
Hrasdas, repeatedly in different districts. In Warwickshire
the names of Wulfhere and -ZEtla occur close together at
Wolverheath, Wolvershill, and Attleborough, the former in-
dicating perhaps no more than a temporary presence, the
latter a fixed residence. In Cambridgeshire, Radfield hun-
dred ; in Suffolk, Westley, Westleton, and Woolverstone ;
and, north of these, in Norfolk, Wolverton and Wormegay ;
present traces of the Hreadas, Wistlas, Wulfhere and Wyrm-
here. This may have been their proper country, and the
scene of the war of which the Traveller speaks; for in
Norfolk we have two places named after ^Etla, Attlebridge
and Attleborough, indicating perhaps that he settled there,
after the expulsion of these people. In Buckinghamshire we
have Wolverton, and Radcliffe ; in Oxfordshire, Wolvercote,
Radford, and Radcote ; in Somersetshire, Wolverton, and
Radstock ; in Herefordshire, Wolverlow, Wormelow, Worm-
bridge, Wormsley, and Radlow.
This JEtla was the Traveller's cotemporary, and that he
was, like his namesake, the historic Attila, a king of the
Huns, is not impossible ; for we have Hundon in Suffolk, and
Hunworth in Norfolk, in the same district as Attlebridge,
and Attleborough ; and Huncote in Leicestershire, not far
from the other Attleborough ; and, four miles from this Hun-
cote, we have a trace of another Hunnish name, Froila, at
Frowlesworth. The sequel will confirm this.
The Traveller also speaks of having visited the Burgen-
das: —
" And I was with the Burgends ; there I received a
" ring, there Guthhere gave me a welcome present, in reward
" of song ; that was no sluggish king." 104
104 L. 131-136.
124 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
Now the kings of the Burgundians proper, at this time,
were Sigismund, a.d. 516 to 524, and Godemar, a.d. 524 to
534, with whom their monarchy ceased. 105 They had no king
whose name will answer to Guthhere, but Gundahari, who
established their kingdom in Gaul, and was slain A. D. 436 ;
and as Gundebald, promulgating his laws, in A. D. 502, makes
mention of " our ancestors of royal memory, Gibica, Godo-
" mar, Gislahari, and Gundahari : " — it is evident that the
three former must have preceded Gundahari, his grandfather,
in the ancient seats of their nation. The first, Gibica, has
been identified with the individual of whom the Traveller
speaks, 106 as having ruled the Burgends; but there was a
Gifica once in England, who gave his name to Gifican cumb, 107
near Tisbury in Wiltshire, Indeed I am satisfied that a de-
tachment of this nation effected settlements in this island ; —
perhaps immediately after that great revolution, which seated
Gundebald on the throne, and in which Arthur appears to
405 The succession of the Burgundian kings was as follows : —
a. d. 407, Gundahari passed the Rhine.
413, was elected King by the whole nation. Slain by
the Huns in
436, Gundevech, his son, succeeding. He was followed by,
473, Chilperic, his son, whose brothers Gundebald, Godemar, and
Godegisl had principalities under him.
490, Gundebald slew his three brothers, and the sons of Chilperic. In
.516, Sigismund, his son, succeeded him. In
.523, he was defeated by the Franks, and in
524, was slain by them, with his sons Gislahari and
Gundebald. Godemar, his brother, reigned after him ten
years. In
534, he was put to flight by the Franks, and it never was
known what became of him. Did he find an
asylum in England, and give name to Godmersham
in Kent ?
m L. 40. ,07 Cod. Diplom. 641.
waldheke's saga.
125
have taken part. Of this band of refugees, or allies of Modred,
Gifica may have been the leader ; his relation to Guthhere and
Gislhere will shortly appear.
The opportune discovery, and publication, by Mr. George
Stephens of Copenhagen, of two leaves of an Anglo-Saxon
saga, has supplied most important illustrations of this part of
my subject. The first leaf contains the following passage : —
-" hyrde hyne georne.
" Hiiru Welandes wore
" ne geswiceth monna senigum,
" thara the Mimming can
" hearne gehealdan.
" Oft aet hilde gedreas,
" swat-fag and sweord-wiind,
l " sec aefter othrum.
" iEtlan ord-wyga,
" ne last thin ellen nii gyt
" gedreosan to daege,
" dryhtscipe (feallan).
" Ac is se dag cumen,
" thaat thii scealt aninga other-
" twega
" lif for-ledsan,
" oththe lange
" dora agan mid eldum,
" ^Sllfheres sunu.
" Nalles ic the, wine mi'n,
" wordum cithe thy,
" ic the gesawe,
" aet tham sweord-plegan,
" thurh edwitscype,
" aeniges monnes
" wig for-biigan,
" oththe on weal fleon
" lice beorgan ;
" theah the lathra fela
" thinne byrn-homon
" billum heowun.
— " heard him gladly.
" At least Weland's work
" fails not any man,
" who can Mimming
" shining hold.
" Oft in battle fell,
" blood - stained and sword-
" wounded,
" one warrior after another.
" iEtla's van-warrior !
" let not thy courage now yet
" fail to-day,
" thy lordship fall.
" For the day is come,
" that thou shalt wholly either
" lose thy life,
" or long
" have power among men,
" ^Elfhere's son !
" Never, I to thee, my friend,
" say it in words,
" saw I thee,
" at the sword-play,
" through cowardice,
" of any man
" the combat decline,
" or flee to fortress
" thy body to defend ;
" although many foes
" thy mail-shirt
u hewed with bills.
126
THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
Ac thii symle furthor
feohtan sohtest,
mael ofer raearce ;
tha, ic the, metod, on-dred,
thaet thii to fyrenlice
feohtan sohtest,
aet tham aet-stealle,
othres monnes
wig-raedenne.
Weortha the selfne
godum daedum,
thenden thin god recce.
Ne murn thii for thi mece,
the wearth mathma cyst,
gifede to eoce unc.
Thy thii Giithhere
scealt beot for bigan,
thass the he thas beaduwe
ongan, mid unryhte,
aerest secan.
Forsoc he tham swurde,
and tham sync-fatum,
beaga maenigo ;
mi sceal, beaga-leas,
hworfan from thisse hilde
hlafurd, secan
ealdne ethel,
oththe her aer swefan.
Gifhetha"—
" But thou ever further
" soughtest to fight,
" mark over border ; 108
" when I feared for thee, prince,
" that thou too fiercely
" soughtest to fight,
" at the battle-field, 109
" another man's
" war-counsellors.
" Honour thyself
" with good deeds,
" whilst thy good lasts.
" Mourn not thou for the sword,
" which was choicest of treasures,
" given us for aid.
" For thou to Guthhere
" shalt his threat repel,
" for that he these quarrels
" began, with injustice,
" first to seek.
" He forsook the sword,
" and the treasure-chests,
" many rings ;
" now shall, ring-less,
" turn from this fight
" the lord, to seek
" his old patrimony,
" or here first sleep.
" If he then"—
The second leaf contains the following, belonging to the
108 This seems to be a proverbial expression, — " the landmark removed
M beyond the boundary," — applied to Waldhere's aggressive conflicts.
109 Mr. Thorpe, Codex Exoniensis, translates cet-stealle "refection-
" place ;" but the context, speaking of S. Guthlac's warfare with the
powers of darkness, shows that it means rather the standard, or the spot
where the standard was planted for battle : —
" him to aet-stealle M for his standard
" aerest araerde " first reared
" Cristes rode." " Christ's rood."
WALDHERE'S SAGA.
127
sequel of the story, bat not immediately connected with the
above : —
" (beado-me)ce baeteran,
— " battlesword better,
" biiton tham anum,
" save that one,
" tha ic eac hafa on stan-fate
" which I eke in the stone-chest
" have
" stille gehided.
" stilly hidden.
" Ic wat thaet ic thohte,
" I knew that I thought,
" Theodric Widian
" Theodric with Widia
" selfum on-stodon,
" himself stood forward,
" and eac sine micel
" and eke much treasure
" raathma mid thi mece,
" of ornaments with the sword,
" monig othres mid him
" many another with them
" golde gegirwan.
" to grace with gold.
" Iu lean genam,
" Of old he received reward
M thaes the hine of nearwum
" because that him out of prison
" Nithhades maeg,
" Nithhad's kinsman,
" Welandes beam,
" Weland's son,
u Widia ut-for-let ;
" Widia delivered ;
" thurh fifela gefeald
" through the monster's territory
" forth onette.
" forth proceeded.
" Waldere mathelode,
" Waldere spake,
" wiga ellen-rof
" (the mighty warrior
u haefde him on handa
" had in his hand
" Hilde frore,
M Hild's icicle,
" giith-billa gripe,
" the gripe of war-bills),
" gyddode wordum.
" spake in words.
" Hwaet, thii huru wendest,
" Lo ! thou at least thoughtest,
" wine Burgenda,
" friend of the Burgends,
thaet me Hagenan hand
hilde gefremede,
and getwaemde fethe
Wigges feta. 110
Gyf thii dyrre, aet thus 111
" heatho,
werigan hare byrnan,
" that me the hand of Hagena
" finished in conflict,
" and divided the path
" of Wig's feet.
" If thou dare, in such combat,
" wear thy white byrnie,
110 Mr. Stephens suggests that feta is an archaic form of the dative
singular. I regard it as the genitive plural, for fota.
111 Mr. Stephens reads I'hurs heatho, " Thor's conflict."
128
THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" standath me her on eaxelum
" here rests on my shoulder
" JElfheres laf,
" iElfhere's legacy,
" god and geap neb,
" good and curve-pointed,
" golde geweorthod,
" adorned with gold,
" ealles unscende,
" altogether unshent,
" aethelinges reaf,
" the spoil of the aetheling,
" (halwend) to habbanne
" wholesome to have,
" thonne had wereth
" when the hood defendeth
" feorh-hord feondum.
" the life-hoard from foes.
" He bith fah with me,
" He shares feud with me
" thonne unmaegas
" when strangers
" eft onginnath,
" again begin,
" mecum gemetath,
" meet me with swords,
M swa ge me dydon.
" as ye did me.
" Theah mseg sige syllan,
" Yet may victory give,
" se the symle byth
" He who is always
" recon and raed-fest
" just and constant
" ryhta gehwilces.
" of each one's rights.
" Se the him to tham Halgan
" He who himself to the Holy
" helpe gelifeth,
" trusteth for help,
" to Gode gioce,
" to God for aid,
" he thaer gearo findeth.
" he there readily findeth it.
" Gif tha earnunga
" If then of retribution
" <er gethenceth,
" one think beforehand,
" thonne mtoten 112 wlanee
" then might we proud ones
u welan britnian,
" enjoy our wealth,
" aehtum wealdan.
" rule our possessions.
" Tha3t is"—
"That is"—
These precious fragments, with the Traveller's notices of
Guthhere, Gislhere, -ZEtla, and Eormanric, as his cotempo-
raries, lead us to the most interesting part of our inquiry, the
relation of these poems to the grand cycle of Teutonic ro-
mance. These fragments evidently belong to an Anglo-Saxon
version of the story, which Gerald of Fleury paraphrased in
Latin hexameters, in the tenth century, — a version which
represented the original more faithfully and in a purer form
112 Sic for moton.
waldhere's saga. 129
than the said paraphrase does. To be assured that it was
more faithful, we need but advert to the circumstance, that,
in these fragments, Guthhere is represented as a Burgundian
prince, et friend of the Burgends," which he really was, and,
in the Latin poem, he is uniformly represented as a king of
the Franks. Similar licence, doubtless, has been taken by
the poet, when he assigns to Herric the kingdom of Bur-
gundy, and to Alfer that of Aquitaine ; yet he may, perhaps,
have given us the substance of the story correctly, and his
poem enables us to understand, to a certain extent, these
precious relics of the Anglo-Saxon saga.
He tells us, that Attila invaded the territory of the Franks,
and received from king Gibic, as a hostage, a young noble
called Hagen, because Gibic's son Gunther was too young to
be taken from his mother ; that then he proceeded against
Burgundy and Aquitaine, and received, as hostages, from
Herric and Alfer, the sovereigns respectively of those terri-
tories, Hildigund the daughter of tne former, and Walther
the son of the latter. Hagen and "Walther were educated at
the court of Attila, and treated in every respect as his sons,
and Hildigund, in like manner, was treated as a daughter by
Attila's queen, Ospirn. In process of time, Hagen, having
heard of the death of Gibic and the accession of Gunther,
regarded himself as released from his engagements, and fled
to his own country. Attila, fearing lest Walther should fol-
low Hagen's example, offered him a wife and land; but
Walther declined his offers, being secretly attached to Hil-
digund, who had been betrothed to him by her father, with
his own father's consent, before they left their homes. He
distinguished himself as the leader of Attila's army. One
day, returning victorious from battle, he found Hildigund in
s
130 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
the palace alone, embraced the opportunity of declaring his
love, and made arrangements with her for their flight. They
effected their escape accordingly, after having entertained
Attila and his nobles at a feast, and made them drunk ; and
reached in safety the frontiers of Gunther's kingdom. There
Walther was treacherously attacked by Gunther and Hagen,
with their warriors, but he defeated them, pursued his way
to his own country, and married Hildigund.
In Biterolf, Walther and Hildigund are said to have been
present at a feast given by Gunther to Rudiger, the ambas-
sador of Attila; and in the Wilkina saga, Walther, as the
leader of the forces of Hermanaric, is the ally of Gunther in
a war with Attila, and perishes in single combat, together
with Dietlieb, his adversary.
Our fragments belong to that part of Waldere's saga, which
spoke of the unprovoked attack made upon him by Guthhere
and Hagena. In the first, Hildigund is the speaker, address-
ing the son of -ZElf here as " ^Etla's van-warrior," (which he
had recently been), reminding him of his valiant deeds, and
assuring him of success, because Guthhere's attack was un-
just. In the second, Guthhere and Waldhere are holding
parley, prelusive to a combat, and the latter alludes to Ha-
gena's attack upon him. As far, therefore, as they extend,
these fragments are in accordance with the poem, except in
the single instance which has been already referred to, and
in this their superior accuracy is indisputable ; but they con-
tain also allusions to circumstances, on which the later sagas
throw no light.
The theory that all these sagas are founded on Anglo-
Saxon traditions, and that Eormanric and ^Etla reigned in
England, will be found to receive striking confirmation, from
the names of places in the territories, which respectively
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 131
owned their sway, and which, as indicated by these names,
appear to be situated, relatively to each other, exactly as the
sagas would lead us to infer that they were.
Discarding from the story of Eormanric, the circumstances
which Jordanis relates of the great Hermanaric, and which
there is no reason to believe are not correctly ascribed to
him, we gather from the sagas the following outline of his
history.
An extensive territory owned his sway, and many kings
were subject to his authority. This accords with what Deor
sings of him, and with Boece's statements, that he attacked
the British king Constantine with a fleet, and that he made
a league, which he faithfully kept, with the Picts and Scots ;
both which indicate that his dominions were not confined to
Kent. We shall be able to form some idea of the extent of
his kingdom, after we have noticed his connections, and the
traces of their names which remain. Boece's notices of him
are favourable to his character, and so also is the Traveller's ;
but the author of the poem of which the Traveller's Tale
forms part, the author of Beowulf, Deor, and all the sagas,
speak of him as a cruel tyrant. For the little that we know
of him we are mainly indebted to the compositions of scalds,
who were in the interests of his enemies.
The intrigues of Sifeca, a prince high in his confidence,
and the influence which he exercised over Eormanric, are
represented as having been the cause of his crimes, and of
the hatred with which his memory was regarded. The Wil-
kina saga tells us that Eormanric had dishonoured Sifeca's
wife during his absence, and that Sifec§, learning what had
occurred, on his return, resolved on the destruction of Eor-
manric's race. At his suggestion, Eormanric undertook an
132 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
expedition, for the purpose of exacting tribute from Oseric,
king of the Kussen ; whilst they were away, he sent a message
to a relative of his own, to put to death the king's son, Fre-
otheric ; and afterwards led Eormanric to believe that the
murder had been contrived by Oseric. Other accounts say
that Eormanric himself willed the murder ; but it is easy to
understand how the act of his favourite might be imputed
to him, and the circumstantial narrative of this saga may
possibly contain the truth.
The Herelings, Emerca and Fridla, sons of Theodhere, the
brother of Eormanric, were the next victims of Sifeca's re-
venge. He found means to exasperate their uncle against
them, and to instigate him to order them to be hanged.
He now began to sow enmity between Theodric, son of
Theodinaer, another of Eormanric's brothers. As the lay of
Hildebrand imputes Theodric's misfortunes to Ohthere's jea-
lousy, whilst these accounts implicate Sifeca only, they may
be reconciled by the supposition, that Ohthere was Sifeca's
instrument. Theodric however escaped, fled eastward into
the land of the Huns, where ^Etla received him kindly, and
gave to him in marriage Herrad the niece of his queen Herche.
Hildibrand accompanied him in his flight, leaving his bride
and an infant son, afterwards called Heathobrand.
Theodric was early distinguished for his valour ; he is said
to have slain a giant, named Grim, and his wife, Hild ; but
in an encounter with another giant, named Sigenoth, the
brother of Hild, he was not so fortunate ; he was overpowered
and cast into a dungeon, from which he was eventually de-
livered by Hildibrand. This seems to be the affair which is
alluded to in the fragment of Waldhere's saga, where the de-
liverance is ascribed to Widia; if so, this is of course, as
being earlier, more trustworthy.
Of" THE
UNIVERSITY
^ OF
THE TRAVELLER'S T^4E. ORHV£« ^ 133
Hildibrand was the son of Herebrand, and father of Heatho-
brand, and these are the Wylfings whom we have already-
had occasion to notice, and whose name we have found hi
Berkshire, at Wylfingaford. In Berkshire also, and in the
neighbouring counties of Oxford, Wilts, Somerset, and Buck-
ingham, we find traces of many others of the connections of
Eormanric.
We have already noticed four places in Oxfordshire and
Berkshire, which bear, or have borne, the name of Sifeca.
Sevenhampton in Wiltshire, and Sevinestone, 113 now Simp-
son, in Buckinghamshire, may have been named after his son
Seafona, (Sabene in the sagas), who is said on one occasion
to have conducted the army of Eormanric against JEtla.
The name of Fridla the Hereling, whom, with his brother
Emerca, the Traveller visited, 114 occurs at Frithelabyrig, 115
near Oxford, probably at Frilford not far distant, at Frideles-
ham or Frilsham, in Berkshire, and Frithelstock in Devon-
shire. Near Burford, in Oxfordshire, a stone pillar is men-
tioned in the records of the boundaries of Wychwood Forest,
which has but lately disappeared, named Frethelestone.
Marcham, the parish in which Frilford is situate, may bear
the name of Emerca his brother, and Ecgerdeshel 116 that of
Echeard, who is said to have been their guardian. That of
Ohthere, whom the Traveller does not mention, frequently
occurs ; for instance, at Otterbourne, Hampshire, and Ottery,
Otterford, and Otterhampton, Somersetshire. At Didmarton,
in Gloucestershire, we find the name of Theodmaer, and at
Ditteridge in Wiltshire, and at Totteridge, (anciently Tedric-
esham 117 ), that of his son Theodric. In the sagas, Theodric
is usually called " of Bern," and this is generally Latinized
113 Domesday. m L. 226, 227. m Cod. Diplom. 1216.
Ibid. 556. U7 Domesday.
no
134 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" Verona," but in the " Genealogia Viperti comitis Groi-
" censis " it is called " Verdun." This is nearer to the truth ;
for I have no doubt but that it was Farringdon, the ancient
name of which was Ferandun, as Henry of Huntingdon gives
it. Deor, however, leads us to understand that his residence
was Maeringaburg ; and we have one distinct trace of the
Maerings in Berkshire, Mseringes thorn, 118 and another, about
which there can be very little doubt, Marridge hill, about
thirteen miles south of Farringdon, (Maeringa having been
changed into Marridge, as Wanating into Wantage, and
Torring, the name of a river in Devonshire, into Torridge).
Within a mile of the latter is Membury, and this name may
easily be believed to be a corruption of Maeringaburg.
Near Frilsham, in Berkshire, there is a circular fortress
called Grimsbury; and six miles distant from it is Ilsley,
(Hildleah or Hildesleia in old charters). Near Burford in
Oxfordshire, is Signet, and near Long Wittenham in Berk-
shire, Sinodun hill, another ancient fortress. In these we
have the names of Theodric's antagonists, Grim, Hild, and
Sigenoth.
Scilling, who is mentioned by the Traveller, 119 in terms
which seem to indicate that he was Eormanric's scop, has
given name to Scillinges broc 12 ° near Long Wittenham.
Alverston, near Brading, in Wight, Alverstoke, near
Gosport, in Hampshire, and ^Elfheres stapol 121 in Hamp-
shire or Berkshire, bear the name of ^Elfhere ; and Wealderes
weg, 122 probably in Hampshire, and Walderes wil, 123 in
Wiltshire, that of his son Waldhere.
Herric who is mentioned in the Latin romance of Wald-
118 Cod. Diplom. 1151. m L, 207. 120 Chron. Abingdon, i. 135.
121 Cod. Diplom. 592. m Ibid. 774. 123 Ibid. 355.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 135
here, is probably the Heathoric whom the Traveller visited. 1 * 24
It would appear that his territory was in the neighbourhood
of .ZElfhere's, and at Hatherley, and Hatherop, in Glou-
cestershire, (the latter near the borders of Oxfordshire and
Wiltshire), and at Hatherden, in Hampshire, we have traces
of his name.
Gifica's we have already found in Wiltshire.
Ludeger of Saxony, and Liudegart of Denmark, are repre-
sented in the Niebelungen lied as making war upon the Bur-
gundians. Other sagas also mention them, but with some
differences. In Biterolf they appear as Saxons, (except in one
passage, where Ludeger is called king of Denmark), and allies
of Gunter. In the Rabenschlacht, Liudegart is king of the
Saxons, and Ludeger of the Misnians ; and they are allies of
Eormanric. In Dietrich's Flucht they are subjects, first of
-ZEtla, then of Eormanric. Now we find these names very
near together in Wiltshire, at Ludgershall and Liddiard, and
we have besides another Ludgershall in Buckinghamshire,
on the borders of Oxfordshire, and Ludegarstun, 125 in Glou-
cestershire, another Liddiard in Somersetshire, and Lid-
geardes beorg, 126 in Berkshire, on the borders of Hampshire.
Two of the heroes of the sagas are honoured by the Tra-
veller with a particular notice. At the conclusion of his
story he says : —
" (I sought) Wudga and Hama. That was not the worst
P of leagues, though I should always name them last. Full
" oft the yelling spear flew, whining, from that band, on the
" fierce nation, when the gold-decked chiefs, Wudga and
" Hama, would avenge their men and women." 127
Wudga is the Widia of the second fragment of Waldhere's
Cod. Diplom. 233. 125 Ibid. 654. ,26 Ibid. 1159. m L. 250-262.
136 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
lay. He was the son of Weland, by Beaclohild; received
from his father, amongst other knightly gear, the celebrated
sword Miming ; and, thus equipped, challenged Theodric to
fight, and would have killed him but for the intervention of
Hildebrand. Eventually, however, after a successful career,
he fell by Theodric's hand.
Hama also left his home, to seek his fortune as a warrior,
and fought a duel with Theodric. Constantly associated in
all his warlike enterprises with Wudga, he plays a conspicuous
part in the sagas of Eormanric and Theodric. Beckhild, a
sister of Brunhild, is named as his wife. Enmity arising be-
tween him and Sifeca, he left the court of Eormanric, lived
a long time in solitude, and then entered a monastery. He
quitted it, however, on Theodric's return to his paternal
dominions, and resumed his warlike career.
Of these latter circumstances the author of Beowulf has
something to tell us. Speaking of a collar, which Wealhtheow
gave to Beowulf, he says : —
u I heard of no better in the hoard-treasures of heroes
" under heaven, since Hama bore away to Herebyrhte-byrig
" the collar of the Brosings, the jewel and its casket. He fell
" into the treacherous enmity of Eormanric, chose the asternal
"counsel." 128
" Choosing the asternal counsel" seems to be well explained
by the statement, that he lived in solitude for a time, and then
entered a monastery, circumstances not at all improbable,
since Boece says that Eormanric allowed Christianity to be
preached amongst his subjects, though not himself a Christian.
The enmity, which is described in the Sagas to Sifeca, and in
Beowulf to Eormanric, was probably instigated by Sifeca,
like the rest of the crimes which are imputed to Eormanric.
128 F. 156.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 137
Of Widia there is one clear trace in Dorsetshire, on the
borders of Hampshire, at Wychbury, anciently Widian-
byrig; 129 and Havant in the same county, anciently Haman-
funt, 130 as well as Southampton, " Portus Hamonis," are
named after Hama. In this county too, and in Berkshire,
and Gloucestershire, we have traces of Hama's wife, Beck-
hild. Behhilde sloh 131 was in Hampshire; Bashilde stoc 132
probably in Berkshire ; Beaghildae byrigels, 133 now Beckett,
near Ashbury, in Berkshire, marked her tomb ; and Bechilde
treu 134 was probably in Gloucestershire.
I think there can be little doubt that the seat of Eorman-
ric's kingdom was on the borders of Oxfordshire, Berkshire,
Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire, and probably at Oxford ; that
his dominions extended considerably to the west of Kent, and
might comprise Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire,
and parts of Wiltshire, Somersetshire, and Hampshire. They
were, therefore, as the Traveller says, * east of Ongle," the
kingdom of Offa ; and Eormanric might well, with so exten-
sive a territory, come into collision, as Boece informs us, with
Constantine, king of the Britons. Our history and these
sagas are by no means discordant; on the contrary, their
statement, that he put all his sons to death, is perfectly con-
sistent with the historical fact, that his successor was ^Ethel-
berht, a son begotten in his old age, and only eight years old
when he came to the throne, in a.d. 560. 135 The natural re-
129 Cod. Diplom. 633. ,3 ° lb. 624. *■ lb. 1054.
132 lb. 592. 138 lb. 1148. m lb. 387.
135 Possibly the difference of five years, in the dates which the Saxon
Chronicle and Baeda give for the accession of iEthelberht, may be thus
explained; a.d. 560 is the date of Eormanric's death, a.d. 565 is the
year in which JEthelberht was allowed to take the kingdom, for which
T
138 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
suit of a minority in such times would be, that iEthelberht
would succeed to a greatly diminished territory. During the
greater part of Eormanric's reign, and whilst he was at the
height of his power, the West Saxons appear to have made
no advances. The unchronicled reign of Creoda occupied a
great part of this period, and his dominion, as well as that of
Cyneric, was probably very limited. From the conquest of
Wight, at any rate, in a.d. 510, we hear nothing of their
wars for forty years. In a.d. 551, and 555, towards the
close of Eormanric's reign, they come under our notice again,
engaged in repelling the advances of the Britons in Wiltshire ;
and the narratives of Cutha's and Ceawlin's campaigns, in
a.d. 571 and 577, show that the Britons were then in
possession of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Gloucester-
shire. The Britons on the one hand, and the West Saxons
on the other, may have availed themselves of this minority to
encroach on Eormanric's territory, and ^Ethelberht's invasion
of Wessex in a. d. 568, at the age of sixteen, may have been
merely an effort on his part for the recovery of his hereditary
rights.
Let us now turn to ^Etla, and his connections. Oseric,
son of Hertnit, is said to have been a king of the Bussen in
the North. He sent an embassy to Melias, king of the
Huns, requesting the hand of his daughter, Oda, in marriage.
Melias put the messenger in prison, whereupon Oseric made
an expedition into the land of the Huns, and succeeded in
carrying her off. ^Etla is said to have abandoned his paternal
dominions, and conquered Hunenland. He sought in mar-
his age disqualified him when his father died ; a parallel to the case of
Hygelac and Heardred.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 139
riage Herche, the daughter of Oseric ; was refused, but suc-
ceeded in obtaining her by a stratagem of the Markgrave
Rudiger. Thenceforward he was the enemy of Oseric;
and later, accompanied by Theodric, who assisted him in all
his wars, he invaded the territory of Waldemar, Oseric's
brother, defeated him with great slaughter, and conquered
Russland.
Oseric has been already noticed as a tributary of Eormanric.
His subjects were probably the Wrosnas of whom the Tra-
veller speaks ; we have found them in Lancashire, and there
also we find the name of Waldemar, his brother, at Walmersley
near Bury, and Walmersley near Bolton. Melias is very
probably Meegla, or Melwas, who came to Britain with his
father Port, reigned in Somersetshire, and on one occasion
was opposed to Arthur. It is not said of what race he was ;
but the earlier Melga, or Melwas, appears to have been a
king of the Huns, so that this was probably a Hunnish
name ; and in the district where he and his father landed, we
find a single trace of another, Froila, at Froyle. The sagas
speaks of a change of territory on the part of .ZEtla, and as
we have noticed his name, as well as that of his enemy,
Wulfhere, in Warwickshire, and in Norfolk, perhaps Wulf-
here attacked him in the former, and was afterwards attacked
and defeated by him in the latter. The war, of which the
Traveller was a witness, resulted in what the sagas call
iEtla's conquest of Hunenland, and he was established there,
in Norfolk, at the time of which the sagas speak. In War-
wickshire and Leicestershire, as well as in Norfolk and Suf-
folk, we find traces of persons who are connected with his
history.
The name most worthy of remark, is that of Herche, who
140 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
is said, in many of the sagas, to have been ^Etla's queen. It
is so similar to Kerka, which Priscus gives as the name of
the historic Attila's queen, that it might be regarded as bor-
rowed by the sagas from his history ; but the Latin romance
of Waldhere calls her Ospirn, which corresponds in its initial
element to that of her father Oseric, 136 and may represent her
original name. Herche, then, may have been given to her
after her marriage with ^Etla, in memory of the queen of his
earlier namesake ; and it is remarkable that two places in
England should have borne her name, both in the district
where ^Etla reigned, Herkeham, 137 in Norfolk, and Herches-
tede 137 in Suffolk. Three miles from Attleborou^h in War-
wickshire, Oserry, now Erdsbury, may have been named
after her father. In Gudrun's lied a Hunnish princess,
Herborg, is mentioned ; we find her name at Harborough,
anciently Hereburge byrig, 138 nine miles from Attleborough.
Hageneford, 139 now Hainford, in Norfolk, Yelvertoft in North-
amptonshire, on the borders of Warwickshire and Leicester-
shire, Yelverton in Norfolk, and Walberswick in Suffolk,
present traces of Hagen, Gelfrat, and Walber, who are men-
tioned in the sagas in connection with .ZEtla.
The Edda and the German sagas agree in saying, that
JEtla married the daughter of Gifica, king of the Burgun-
dians, but in the former she is named Gudrun, in the latter
Chriemhild. The authority of the Edda, as being earlier,
and likely to have preserved these traditions in a less cor-
rupted form, is preferable ; the sagas appear to have sub-
136 It is almost needless to remark that the Anglo-Saxons affected
similarity of names in their families.
137 Domesday. 138 Cod. Diplom. 710, 1298. m lb. 1270.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 141
stituted for the name of Gudrun, that of her mother Crimhild,
the wife of Gifica. At the time of her marriage with .ZEtla,
Theodric and Irminfrid king of Thuringia were at his court.
After seven years, plotting revenge against Hagen, the mur-
derer of her first husband, Sigefrid, she invited her brother
Guthhere to visit her. He accepted the invitation, and went,
accompanied by her other brothers Gemot and Gislhere, as
well as by Hagen, Dank wart, and Volkart, and a numerous
following; for Hagen, who had been invited by name, and
had reason to dread the vengeance of the queen, suspected
treachery. The Niebelungen lied describes their journey,
and its description is in perfect accordance with what we
have supposed to be the relative positions of the territories of
Guthhere and .ZEtla, and with the local nomenclature of the
districts, through which the Burgundians must have passed,
on their way to Attleborough.
Soon after they had crossed the frontier of their own king-
dom, on account of an outrage committed by Hagen, they
were attacked by a party of Huns, commanded by the bro-
thers Gelfrat and Elsa, but repulsed them, and slew Gelfrat.
They met with a kind reception in the territory of Rudiger,
with whom they sojourned some time, and who gave to Gisl-
here his daughter-in-law in marriage. Thence they pursued
their journey to the court of .ZEtla.
The district in which the Burgundian brothers Gunter,
Gemot, and Gislhere resided, is indicated by the names of
Gunnersbury and Isleworth in Middlesex. The prince with
whom they sojourned on their way, is called Rodolf, as well
as Rodingeir, in the Wilkina saga ; the former probably his
personal name, the latter one derived from that of his people,
whose settlements we recognize in the Rodings, in Essex ;
142 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
and in the neighbourhood of one of these Rodings, the pa-
rishes of Garnet, Great and Little, bear the name of one of
the Burgundian princes. Thus we have a clear indication
of the route they took, the old Suffolk way, through Essex ;
and in this county, the name of Elsa, who was visited by the
Traveller, 140 occurs at Elsenham. Thus the kingdom of JEtla
appears to be as distinctly localized as that of Eormanric,
and consistently with the statement in the Lay of Hilde-
brand, that Theodric fled eastward from his own home to the
court of iEtla.
To account for the presence of Irminfrid of Thuringia at
the court of ^Etla, we must turn to his history. He was
married to Amalaberga, the niece of Theoderic king of the
Ostrogoths, and at her instigation made war upon his brother
Baderic, assisted by the forces of Theoderic king of the
Franks, whose alliance he had secured, by a promise of half
Baderic's territory. Baderic was defeated and slain, but Ir-
minfrid would not fulfil his promise, so Theoderic, and his
brother Chlothachari, invaded Thuringia, and put him to
flight. In this war, Theoderic was assisted by Sweves,
Saxons, and Bavarians ; and although we know that Sweves,
as well as Saxons, were settled in Britain at this time, we
should not have known that Theoderic's allies came from
Britain, but for the following very important passage, in the
" Translatio Sancti Alexandri:" 141 —
140 L. 235.
141 " Saxonum gens, sicut tradit antiqultas, ab Anglis Britannia? in-
" colis egressa, per Oceanum navigans, Germanise litoribus, studio ac
" necessitate quasrendarum sediura, appulsa est in loco qui vocatur Ha-
" duloha, eo tempore quo Thiotricus rex Francorum, contra Irminfridum
" generum suum, ducem Thuringorum, dimicans, terram eorum ferro
" vastavit et igne. Et cum jam duobus prseliis, ancipiti pugna incer-
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 143
" The race of the Saxons, as old tradition tells, emigrating
" from the Angles, the inhabitants of Britain, crossing the
(( ocean with the desire, and under the necessity, of seeking
" settlements, arrived at the place which is called Haduloha,
(( at the time when Thiotric, king of the Franks, warring
" against Irminfrid his son-in-law, the chief of the Thurin-
" gians, wasted their territory with fire and sword. And
" when they had fought in two battles with doubtful success,
" but with miserable slaughter of their people, Thiotric, dis-
" appointed in his hope of victory, sent messengers to the
" Saxons, whose leader was Hadugoto. For he had heard
" the cause of their coming, and, having promised them set-
" tlements, engaged them to assist him ; with the aid of these,
" fighting bravely as if it had been for liberty and their
" country, he overcame his enemies, and, according to his
" promise, gave their territory to the victors, the natives be-
" ing wasted, and almost exterminated. They, dividing the
" land by lot, since many of them had fallen in the fight, and
" they could not occupy it all, on account of their small
" number, let out a part of it, and especially that which is to
" the east, to farmers, to be held on rent, but occupied the
" rest themselves."
" taque victoria, miserabili suorum caede decertassent, Thiotricus, spe
" vincendi frustratus, misit legatos ad Saxones, quorum dux erat Hadu-
" goto. Audivit enim causam adventus eorum, promissisque pro vic-
" toria habitandi sedibus, conduxit eos in adjutorium; quibus secum
" quasi jam pro libertate et patria fortiter dimicantibus superavit adver-
" sarios ; vastatisque indigenis et ad internitionem pene deletis, terram
" eorum juxta pollicitationem victoribus delegavit. Qui earn sorte divi-
" dentes, cum multi ex eis in bello cecidissent, et pro raritate eorum
" tota ab eis occupari non potuit, partem illius, et earn quaa maxime
" respicit ad orientem, colonis tradebant, singuli pro sorte sua, sub tri-
" buto exercendam. Csetera vero loca ipsi possidebant." Pertz, ii. 674.
144 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
Goldast 142 has published an ancient document, which fur-
nishes us with a distinct narrative of these events. Under a
king named Rudolf, it is said, a multitude of Sweves were
compelled by scarcity to seek settlements abroad, equipped a
fleet, crossed the sea, landed at Schleswig, and plundered
Denmark so successfully, that they were enabled to mount
twenty thousand of their number on the horses they had
stolen. Then, partly mounted, and partly on foot, they
crossed the Elbe, and occupied the neighbouring districts.
Theoderic, fearing lest they should make a league with Ir-
minfrid, with whom he was then at war, hastened to attach
them to his own interests, by promising to cede to them cer-
tain territories; and the mounted Sweves immediately joined
his army, the rest remaining in their tents. Irminfrid at-
tacked them, but was compelled to retreat behind the river
Unstrut. For three days the Thuringians held one bank of
the river, and the Franks and Sweves the other ; until the
former, despairing of success, sent Iring, Irminfrid's chief
counsellor, to treat with Theoderic. A treaty of peace was
at length arranged, the basis of which was, that the Thurin-
gians should continue to hold their own territories, but as
vassals of Theoderic. A Sweve who was informed of this
by a Thuringian, carried the intelligence of it to his people,
and they, fearing that Theoderic would break his engage-
ments with them, and unite with Irminfrid to drive them out
of the country, crossed the river in the night, and attacked
the Thuringian camp with such fury, that five hundred only,
with Irminfrid, escaped, and fled to Attila, king of the Huns.
Then the Sweves were enabled to occupy without opposition
the district watered by the river Unstrut.
142 Rerum Suevicarum Scriptores.
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 145
These two narratives evidently relate to the same events,
although the immigrants are called Saxons 143 in the one, and
Sweves in the other. Each informs us, that necessity com-
pelled them to seek a new home, that they were engaged by
Theoderic to assist him in his war with Irminfrid, that they
vanquished the Thuringians, and took possession of their
country. One tells us the name of their leader, and that of
the district in which they were encamped, Hadeln at the
mouth of the Elbe ; the other indicates the scene of the war,
and the districts in which they were settled, in the interior
of Saxony. Now it is remarkable, that the name of the king
of these people in their native land is precisely that which is
given in the Wilkina saga to iEtla's ally, Rodolf ; his people,
the Rodings, were neighbours of the Angles and Sweves
from the earliest times, and of the Sweves we have found
traces in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. Irminfrid's protector
cannot of course have been the historic Attila, who died
seventy years before ; we may therefore accept the proba-
bility, which so many circumstances combine to raise almost
to certainty, that he was another of the name who reigned in
Norfolk, cotemporary with Eormanric of Kent, and there-
fore with Irminfrid himself; and that in this theory we have
found the key, to the right understanding and appreciation of
these sagas.
Gregory of Tours says, 144 that Irminfrid perished by a fall
143 If they came from England it would be natural to call them Angles
or Saxons, even though they were really Sweves ; so that there is no
contradiction here. The great body of the nation of the Sweves at this
time was settled in Spain, so that it is the more probable, that these be-
longed to tribes who had become detached from the nation.
141 in. 8.
U
146 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
from the walls of a city, whilst he was conversing with The-
oderic ; but in the Niebelungen lied it is said, that he fell into
the hands of Volkart and was slain. It is not my object to
vindicate the details of sagas, in which ancient traditions are
presented to us in such a corrupted form, as they are in this
and others ; yet I think that these two accounts may be re-
conciled, by supposing that Gregory found the name of The-
oderic in the tradition which he records, and that he assumed
him to have been the king of the Franks, instead of Theo-
deric, the ally of iEtla, with whom Irminfrid was associated
in the war. This conjecture removes the improbability which
appears in Gregory's story, that Irminfrid should have ac-
cepted an invitation from one who was his deadly foe, and
whose character for treachery was so well known. The dif-
ferent versions, of the story of the Saxon settlement in Thu-
ringia, supply an instructive example, of the way in which
persons of the same name have been mistaken one for an-
other, not only in the sagas, but in documents like these, of
a more strictly historic character. Irniinfrid's wife was the
niece of Theoderic the Ostrogoth, as Jordanis and Gregory
of Tours relate ; yet in one of the above-cited narratives he
is called the son-in-law, and in the other the brother-in-law
of Theoderic the Frank.
The date of this event appears to have been about a. d.
528, and we cannot but remark the similarity of the circum-
stances, of Hadugot's settlement in Thuringia, and those of
Hencgest's coming to Britain, just a century earlier.
The Traveller's journey must have been some years pre-
vious to this date, for he speaks of JEt\& as engaged in a con-
test with Wulfhere and Wyrmhere, of whom the sagas knew
nothing, and of Emerca and Fridla as still living. It was
THE TRAVELLER'S TALE. 117
therefore, as I have said, early in the reign of Eormanric, and
of Theoderic the Frank ; so that between its date and that
of Eormanric's death, there is ample room for Theoderic's
thirty years' exile, and for the tragedies, which form the sub-
ject of the sagas, and were being enacted at the time of the
great emigration from England to France, of which Hadu-
got's was probably one instalment.
England, then, was the country of the Traveller's origin,
and of the greater part at least of his wanderings. Setting
out from the territories of his feudal lord, Eadgils, in Che-
shire or North Staffordshire, he traversed the midland dis-
tricts, and spent a considerable time in what is now Oxford-
shire and Berkshire. In the midland counties, we have found
vestiges of many of the princes and peoples whom he men-
tions ; in Berkshire, and the adjacent counties, traces of the
connections of Eormanric, and not only of those whom he
names, but of others who are celebrated in the sagas; in
Middlesex, the names of the Burgundian princes, whose
course we have been enabled to follow, through Essex and
Suffolk, to the kingdom of iEtla. I am satisfied that this
Tale of the Traveller relates the history of real wanderings ;
else we should have had allusions to events of a later time, —
the exile of Theoderic for instance, and the crimes of Eor-
manric, — of which the author of the poem, of which this
Tale formed a part, was not ignorant, but of which the Tra-
veller himself says nothing. Those to which he does allude,
Offa's war with Alewih, and Hrothgar's defence of Heorote,
must have occurred within his own recollection; and it is
evident, that he speaks of the heroes of the Teutonic sagas,
at a period some years earlier, than that to which the inci-
dents related in these sagas must be referred. Thus he is an
148 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
invaluable auxiliary, enabling us to claim for those sagas an
English origin ; to vindicate for them, however corrupted, a
foundation in fact ; to glean therefrom an outline of the his-
tory of our country during the earlier part of the sixth cen-
tury ; and, with their aid, to supply some particulars of the
innumerable wars, and the names of some of the chieftains,
otherwise unnamed, of which and of whom Henry of Hunt-
ingdon speaks, in his brief summary of the history of this
eventful period.
At a later time, when the Traveller's cotemporaries, Eor-
manric and Theoderic, had passed away, the Scop Deor lived,
within the limits of their territories, where their names, and
those of Weland and Beadohild, Geat and Msethhild, were
familiar in men's mouths as household words.
The Traveller's Tale, with the introductory lines, formed
part of an epic poem, from which perhaps, had it been pre-
served to us, we should have learned more of his history.
Yet, although the loss of it is much to be regretted, I think
we have sufficient evidence, whereon to found a probable
conjecture as to his identity. I can see no reason, of necessity
or propriety, why " he must always name Wudga and Ham a
" last," — characters who certainly were entitled to honour-
able mention among the first, for they were in no respect
inferior to any of the heroes of their time, — unless he were
himself Hama, and must name in connection with himself,
his inseparable companion in arms. The circumstance of his
having received a magnificent collar from Eormanric, seems
to be that to which the author of Beowulf alludes, when he
says, that " Hama carried away to Hereby rhte by rig, the
" collar of the Brosings, the jewel and its casket ;" and the
statements with regard to Hama, that he enjoyed the favour
THE LAY OP HILDIBRAND. 149
of Eormanric for a time, but eventually incurred his dis-
pleasure, through the intrigues of Sifeca, will, (if we admit
the identity of Hama with the Traveller), account for the
different terms, in which the Traveller and the author of the
poem which contains his Tale, speak of Eormanric.
In the district which I have supposed was occupied by the
Myrgings, we have traces of both these chieftains. Wichnor
and Hamstall Bidware are but a few miles south of Mackley
and Marchington. Herberbery, or Harbury, in Warwick-
shire, may be the Hereby rhte-by rig, to which Hama retired,
with the gift of Eormanric : Hampton Lucy, and Ham brook,
are in its neighbourhood. Hama's collar was called the
" Brosinga mene," because it had belonged to the Brosings,
either before or after it came into Eormanric's possession.
No trace of this family has been found out of England ; but
here one parish, Broseley, in Shropshire, is certainly named
either from them or their progenitor, and so of course was
their residence ; and Brassington in Derbyshire perhaps was
another.
The Lay of Hildibrand, to which occasional reference has
been made in the foregoing pages, is interesting to philo-
logists as an early monument of the German language ; but
those who may be disposed to admit the claims I have ad-
vanced, with regard to the heroes of the sagas, and the sagas
which have perpetuated their renown, will regard it with
feelings of greater interest still. It is the only relic, in a
foreign dialect, of the grand Teutonic epos, that is worthy to
be placed side by side with Beowulf, the Fight at Finnes-
ham, the Lament of Deor, the Traveller's Tale, and the
fragments of the Saga of Waldhere. Written on the first
and last leaves of a MS. of the Books of Wisdom, of the
150
THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
ninth century, (in the Library at Cassel), it seems to have
been preserved to us, as it were, fortuitously.
Theodric has returned, after thirty years of exile, to claim
his paternal dominions, and the poet recounts to us the story
of Hildibrand, his faithful companion, encountering his son
Heathobrand in front of the two armies : —
" Ik gihorta that seggen,
" that sih urhettun aenon rauotin,
" Hiltibraht enti Hathubrant,
" untar heriun tueni,
" sunu-fatarungo ;
" iro saro rihtun,
" garutun se iro gudhamun,
" gurtun sih iro suert ana,
" helidos ubar ringa,
" do sie to dero hiltu ritun.
" Hiltibraht gimahalta,
" Heribrantes sunu ;
" her uuas heroro man,
" ferahes frotoro ; 145
" her fragen gistuont, foheni
" uuortum,
" wer sin fater wari,
u fireo in folche ;
" eddo welihhes cnuosles du
" sis. 145
" Ibu du mi senan sages,
" ik mi de odre uuet.
" Chind in chunincriche,
" chud ist min al irmindeot.
" Hadubraht gimahalta,
" Hiltibrantes sunu ;
" Dat sagetun mi usere liuti,
I heard say that,
that challenged one another
" to single combat,
Hildibrand and Hathubrand,
in sight of the two armies,
of the son and the father ;
raised their weapons,
prepared their war-coats,
girded on their swords,
the heroes over rings,
when they went to the fight.
Hildibrand spake,
Heribrand's son ;
he was the elder man,
more prudent of soul ;
he stayed to inquire, in few
" words,
who his father was,
of men in the nation ;
or of what race art thou.
If thou tellest me of one,
" I know myself the other.
" Child in the kingdom,
" known to me is all the nation.
" Hathubrand spake,
" Hildibrand's son ;
" That told me our people,
145 No alliteration. The Grimms suggest the transposition —
" her uuas frotoro man ferahes heroro."
146 Here also the Grimms suggest the transposition —
u fireo in cnuosle eddo welihhes folches du sis."
THE LAY OF HILDIBRAND.
151
alte anti frote,
dea er hina-warun,
dat Hiltibrant,
hsetti rain fater.
Ih heittu Hadubrant.
Forn her ostar gihueit,
floh her Otachres nid,
hina miti Theotrihhe,
enti sinero degano filu.
Her furlaet in lante,
luttila sitten
prut in bure,
barn unwahsan,
arbeolaosa heraet.
Ostar hina det,
sid Detrihhe
darba gistuontum,
fatereres mines.
Dat uuas so friuntlaos man.
Her was Otachre
ummett-irri,
degano dechisto.
old and sage,
who long ago departed,
that Hildibrand
my father was called.
I am called Hathubrand.
Long ago he went eastward,
fled from Otachar's enmity,
hence with Theodric,
and many of his thanes.
He left in the land,
sit a little
bride in bower,
a child ungrown,
a destitute family.
Eastward hence he went,
after Theodric
evils befel,
of my uncle.
That was so friendless a man.
He was to Otachar
very hostile,
most famous of thanes.
" unti Deotrichhe
" darba gistontun.
" Her was eo folches at ente.
" Imo wuas eo feheta ti leop.
" Chud was her
" chonnem mannum.
" Ni waniu ih iu lib habbe.
" Wittu irmingot,
" quad* Hiltibraht,
" obana ab heuane,
" dat du neo danahalt mit sus
" sippan man
" dine ni gileitos.
" Want her do ar arme
" wuntane bouga,
until Theodric
evils befel.
He was ever at the head of
" the nation.
Fighting was ever dear to him.
Known was he
to brave men.
I ween he lives not now.
Witness thou, mighty God!
quoth Hildibrand,
above from heaven,
that thou in no wise with a
" man so related
hast sanctioned conflict.
Wound he then from his arm
the circling bracelet,
* From this word to inwit, the writing is by another hand.
152
THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" cheisuringu gitan,
" so imo seder chuning gap,
" Huneo truhtin.
" Dat ih dir it nu bi huldi gibu.
" Hadubraht gimalta,
" Hiltibrantes sunu ;
" Mit geru seal man
" geba infahan,
" ort widar orte.
" Du bist dir alter Hun
" ummet-spaher ;
" spenis mih mit dinem wuortun.
" Wilihuh di nu
" speru werpan.
" Pist al so gialtet man,
" so du ewin inwit* fortos.
" Dat sagetun mi
" sseo-lidante,
" westar ubar Wentil-sseo,
" dat inan wic furnam.
" Tot ist Hiltibrant,
" Heribrantes suno.
" Hiltibrant gimahalta,
" Heribrantes suno ;
" Wela gisihu ih,
" in dinem hrustim, 147
" dat du habes
" heine herron goten ;
" dat du noh bi desemo riche,
" reccheo ni wurti.
" Welaga nu, waltant got,
" quad Hiltibrant, 148
" we wurt skihit.
imperially formed,
as once the king gave to him,
the lord of the Huns.
That I give thee now for
" good will.
Hathubran spake,
Hildibran's son ;
With spear shall one
take the gift,
point to point.
Thou art to thyself, old Hun,
very crafty ;
thou beguilest me with thy
" words.
I will now thee
strike with the spear.
Aged man as thou art,
so thou hast always practised
" deceit.
That said to me
sea-farers,
westward over the Wendel-sea,
that war took him away.
Dead is Hildibrand,
Heribrand's son.
Hildibrand spake,
Heribrand's son ;
Well do I see,
in thy armour,
that thou hast
no good lord ;
that thou yet in this kingdom,
art not a hero.
Alas ! now, mighty God !
quoth Hildibrand,
how fate urges !
147 The Grimms suggest sitim, " moribus," for hrustim, on account of
the defect of alliteration.
148 The Grimms suggest the transposition —
" Welaga nu, quad Hiltibrant, waltant got."
THE LAY OF HILDIBRAND.
153
" Ih wallota
" sumaro enti wlntro
" sehstic urlante,
" dar man mih eo scerita
" in folc sceotantero.
" So man mir at burc aenigeru,
" banun ni gifasta.
" Nu seal mih suasat ehind
" suertu hauwan,
" breton mit sinu billiu,
" eddo ih imo ti banin werdan.
" Doh maht du nu aodlihho,
" ibu dir din ellen taoc,
" in sus heremo man
** hrusti giwinnan,
u rauba bi hrahanen ;
" ibu du dar enic reht habes,
" Der si doh nu argosto, quad
" Hiltibrant
" Ostarliuto,
" der dir nu wiges warne,
M nu dih es so wel lustit.
" Gudea gimeinun,
" niuse de motti,
" wer dar sih dero hiutu hregilo
" hrumen muotti,
" erdo 1501 desero brunnono
" bedero uualtan.
" Do hettun se serist
" asckim scritan,
" scarpen scurim,
" dat in dem sciltim stont.
" Do stoptun to-samane ;
" staimbort chludun ;
" hewun harmlico
" I wandered
" summers and winters
" sixty abroad ;
" where man me ever destined
" among the shooter's people.
" So man me at any city,
" has not bound as a murderer.
" Now shall my own child me
" hew with sword,
" destroy with his bill,'
" or I be his murderer.
" Therefore mayest thou easily,
" if thy strength avails thee,
" from so old a man
" win armour,
" spoils from his corpse ;
" if thou there shalt have any
" right.
" Be he then the basest, quoth
" Hildibrand
" of Eastern people,
w who shall now refuse thee the
"fight,
" now it pleases thee so welL
M Good companions I
" let the encounter determine, 149
" who there to-day of these vests
" may boast,
** or these byrnies
" both possess.
« Then let they first
" cut with their ash-spears,
" with sharp dints,
" that stood in the shields.
" Then stepped they together ;
" their stone-axes resounded ;
" they hewed harmfully
149 This is the correspondent of campus judicet, " let the field decide,"
of the Anglian law.
150 eddo.
154 THE ANGLO-SAXON SAGAS.
" huitte sciltl, " the white shields,
" unti im iro lintun , " until their linden bucklers
" luttilo wurtun, " became little,
" giwigan miti wabnum." " to contend with weapons." 151
Here unfortunately the MS. ends. For the result of the
battle we must have recourse to the Wilkina saga, which,
although it differs materially in the details of this story, may
perhaps have preserved an outline of the tradition. There,
at least, the unamiable temper which characterizes Heatho-
brand in this poem, is pourtrayed even more strongly.
The aged Hildibrand leaves Theodric's army, resolved to
seek his son, meets, and recognizes him, by tokens which had
been previously indicated to him. They encounter at first
with spears, then dismount and continue the battle with their
swords. Alebrand (Heathobrand) repeatedly demands the
name of his antagonist, and Hildibrand in turn inquires if he
be of Ylfing-(Wylfing)-race. This Alebrand denies, and
immediately afterwards is disabled by a terrible blow, which
cuts through his mail-shirt, and wounds his hip. He now
pretends to surrender; but, as Hildibrand holds forth his
hand to receive the proffered sword, Alebrand aims a trea-
cherous blow at him, which, had it not been skilfully warded,
would have severed his hand. Hildibrand remarks, n A wo-
u man taught thee that stroke, not thy father ;" then, after
completely mastering him, asks, * Art thou my son Alebrand?
" I am thy father Hildibrand." They embrace, and kiss
each other, mount and ride to Bern. There is a happy
meeting between Hildibrand and his wife. The next day
Alebrand assembles the people, announces to them the ap-
151 " Die beiden altesten deutschen Gedichte," by the brothers Grimm,
in 1812. W. Grimm, in 1829, published facsimiles of the MS.
THE LAY OF HILDIBRAND. 155
proach of Theodric, and asks whether they will have him or
Sifka for king. They declare their attachment to Theodric,
and go forth to bid him welcome.
Here we take our leave of the sagas, and in the next
chapter shall resume the chronicled history of the sixth cen-
tury. Will no one undertake the publication and collation
of the two versions of the saga of -ZEtla, — the Latin, in the
Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and the
French, in the Library of Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart. ?
CHAPTER IX.
The Armals of the Sixth Century,
A. D. 534.
YNERIC succeeded to the kingdom of the
West- Saxons, and reigned twenty-six years,
seventeen of which were passed without dis-
turbance on the part of the Britons. His
expedition on behalf of Burghard, against "Wasing, must be
referred to an early period of his reign.
A. D. 544. Wihtgar, his relative, died, and was buried in
the neighbourhood of the town, which was named after him
Wihtgares-byrig, now Carisbrook
A. D. 547. Ida founded the kingdom of Bernicia.
— 551. "In the eighteenth year of his reign, Cyneric
" fought against the Britons who had come with a very great
" army to Salisbury. But he, having collected auxiliaries
" from all quarters, met them most victoriously, and their
" immense forces being routed, scattered them on either
" hand, and put them to flight." '
1 " Kinric rex, anno xvin regni sui, pugnavit contra Britannos, qui
" venerant cum magno exercitu usque ad Salesbirig. Ille autem, undique
" congregates auxiliis, occurrit eis invictissime, ingentibusque copiis fusis,
" utrinque dispersiteos et iu fugam convertit." Hen. Hunt.
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 157
This statement of Henry of Huntingdon shows that Wilt-
shire was in the hands of Cyneric, and that this was an in-
vasion of his dominions on the part of the Britons.
A. D. 555. " Cyneric in the twenty-second year of his
" reign, and Ceaulin his son, fought again with the Britons.
(< But it was fought thus : — The Britons, as it were to avenge
" the confusion of war which they had suffered about five
" years before, warriors being assembled, furnished with
" arms and strong in numbers, arrayed their ranks at Beran-
" buri ; and when they had set in order nine divisions, which
i( number is most proper for war, to wit, three being placed
" in the front, and three in the centre, and three in the rear,
u and leaders being suitably appointed in those divisions, and
" the archers, and javelin-throwers, and cavalry, being dis-
" posed according to the system of the Romans, the Saxons,
" all collected together in one body, rushed upon them most
" boldly ; and the standards being scattered and overthrown,
" and the spears broken, they carried on the affair with
" swords, until at the close of day the victory remained
" doubtful." 2
The Saxon Chronicle merely notices the battle, and as
there is no claim to victory for the Saxons, I suspect that
2 " Kinric, xxn anno regni sui, et Ceaulin Alius ejus, pugnarunt iterum
" contra Britannos. Sic autem pugnatum est : Britanni quasi vindicaturi
" confusionem belli, quam circa quinquennium pertulerant, congregatis
" viris bellicosis, armis et numero munitis, acies ordinaverunt apud Be-
" ranburi ; cumque statuissent novem acies, qui numerus bello est aptis-
" simus, tribus scilicet in fronte locatis, et tribus in medio, et tribus in
" fine, ducibusque in ipsis aciebus convenienter institutis, virisque sagit-
" tariis et telorum jaculatoribus equitibusque jure Romanorum dispositis,
" Saxones in eos, omnes in una acie conglomerati, audacissime irruerunt,
" vexillisque collisis et dejectis, fractisve lanceis, gladiis rem egerunt ;
" donee, advesperascente die, victoria in dubio remansit." Hen. Hunt.
158 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
the result was favourable to the Britons ; and that this was
the battle of Harddnenwys, mentioned in the u Song of the
" Ale," in which Urien of Rheged commanded the Britons.
It began at Barbury hill, near Ogbourn S. George, in Wilt-
shire, and was continued and completed at Hardenhuish,
fourteen miles to the westward. Four miles still further to
the west is Slaughter ford.
A. d. 558. 2EX\q became king of Deira, probably succeed-
ing Beowulf.
The Cambrian genealogist says : —
" Then, in that time," (of Ida), " Dutigirn fought bravely
" against the nation of the Angles. The Talhaern Talanguen
" flourished in poetry, and Neirin, and Taliesin, and Bluch-
" bard, and Cian, who is called Gueinchguant, flourished
M together in British poetry. Mailcun, a great king, reigned
" among the Britons, that is, in the region of Guenedotia ;
" for his great grandfather, that is, Cunedag, with his sons,
" whose number was eight, had come previously from the
" northern part, that is, from the region which is called
" Manau Guotodin, one hundred and forty-six years before
" that Mailcun reigned ; and they expelled the Scots with
" immense slaughter from those regions, and they never re-
" turned again to dwell there." 3
3 " Tunc Dutigirn in illo tempore fortiter dimicabat contra gentem
" Anglorum. Tunc Talhaern Talanguen" (vel " Cataguen " vel "Tat
11 Anguen") " in poemate claruit, et Neirin et Taliessin, etBluchbard, et
" Cian, qui vocatur Gueinchguant," (vel " Guenith Guant"), " simul in
" uno tempore in poemate Brittannico claruerunt.
" Mailcunus magnus rex apud Brittones regnabat, id est, in regione
" Guenedotse, quia atavus illius, id est, Cunedag cum filiis suis, quorum
" numerus octo erat, venerat prius de parte sinistrali, id est, de regione
" quae vocatur Manau Guotodin, centum quadraginta sex annis antequam
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 159
Of Ida's antagonist Dutigirn, nothing more is known. If
the flight of Cunedda took place, as I have supposed, in A. d.
410, Mailcun's accession must be dated a. d. 556, He is of
course a different person from the king, whose death the
Annals of Cambria record ten years after the battle of Cam-
lann, the fifth ancestor of Cadwallo. He is noticed after-
wards, as the leader of the forces of Gwynedd, in the battle
of Ardderydd, and he fell in the battle of Cattraeth.
Many poems are ascribed to Taliesin ; but they are of very
doubtful authenticity, and even those which appear to have
the best claim to be considered genuine, in their present form
are not earlier than the twelfth century, and contain verses
which there is great reason to believe are interpolations.
These are devoted to the praises of Urien of Rheged, his son
Owain, and Gwallawg ap Lleenawg.
One, which has been already quoted, mentions eight battles
fought by Urien with the Angles, at Alcluyd, Inver, Cellawr
Brewyn, Hireurur, Cadleu, Aberioed, Cludwein and Pen-
coed. One of the poems in praise of Gwallawg, notices his
presence with Maelgwn at the last. Wlph was Urien's an-
tagonist.
Another, descriptive of the battle of Gwenystrad, does not
tell us who his opponents were, but it seems, from the sixth
line, that they were Britons.
A third, the most interesting of the series, speaks of a
battle fought from sunrise to sunset, at Argoed Llwyfain ;
of Flamdwyn advancing with his troops, in four divisions,
extending from Argoed to Arfynyd ; of his demanding host-
" Mailcun regnaret, et Scottos cum ingentissima clade expulerunt ab
" istis regionibus, et nusquam reversi sunt iterum ad habitanduin."
160 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
ages and Owain refusing them; and it is intimated that
Flamdwyn was slain, and his army entirely routed. An
elegy on Owain says, that Flamdwyn fell by his hand.
Flamdwyn has been, without any warrant, identified with
Ida. It is far more probable that he was Flaem or Flayn,
who, with his brother Scardyng, is said to have been
amongst the followers of a chieftain named Engle, in old tra-
ditions, which are preserved in the Chronicle of Robert of
Brunne. Flamborough bears his name, and Scarborough is
said to have been given to his brother.
We have no indication of the date of these conflicts of
Urien with Wlph and Flamdwyn, but possibly they are
those of which Henry of Huntingdon speaks, as anterior to
Ida's establishment of the kingdom of Bernicia; and Engle
and his nineteen sons may have accompanied him and his
father.
a.d. 559. Adda, son of Ida, succeeded him in Bernicia.
After noticing the reigns of Ida's successors, the Cambrian
genealogist continues : —
" Against them four kings Urbgen, and Kiderchhen, and
" Guallanc, and Morcant fought." 4
Rhydderch Hen appears, from the Life of S. Kentigern,
to have begun to reign in Strathclyde about A. D. 560. We
shall have occasion to notice him more particularly in the
sequel. Guallanc is Taliesin's Gwallawg.
A. d. 560. Ceawlin succeeded Cyneric in Wessex. Eor-
manric, king of Kent, died, leaving a son, ^Ethelberht, eight
years of age, who in
4 " Contra illos* quatuor reges, Urbgen, et Rider ch -hen, et Guallanc,
* et Morcant dimicaverunt."
* " Illos" is the reading of Gale's and other MSS. ; "ilium "is cer-
tainly wrong.
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 161
A. D. 565. succeeded to the kingdom.
— 566. Clappa succeeded Adda in Bernicia.
— 568. " Ceawlin, in the ninth year of his reign, and
" his brother Cutha, very bold men, urged by various causes,
" fought against -ZEthelberht, who had invaded their king-
" dom with proud forces. Engaging in conflict at Wipan-
" dune, they slew two of his princes, Oslaf and Cnebba, and
" an innumerable multitude with them, in the shock of battle,
" and made king ^Ethelberht flee to Kent. That was the
" first battle which the kings of the Angles fought amongst
" themselves." 5
JEthelweard says that Ceawlin and Cutha were the ag-
gressors. I have already said that I regard this as an attempt
on ^Ethelberht's part, at the age of sixteen, to recover his
hereditary rights, which had been wrested from him during
his minority. If, however, ^Ethelweard be right, it will ap-
pear that he still retained the extensive territories of his
father. Wipandune, (Wibbandun, or Uubbandune,) is most
probably Wembdon in Somersetshire. The assertion, that
this was the first breaking out of war amongst the kings of
the Angles, is at variance with Henry of Huntingdon's state-
ment, before cited.
A. D. 571. Theodwulf succeeded Clappa in Bernicia.
" In Ceawlin's twelfth year, his brother Cutha fought with
u the Britons at Bedcanford, which is now called Bedford ;
5 " Ceaulin, anno nono regni ejus, et Cutha frater ejus, viri audacis-
simi, causis variis compellentibus, pugnaverunt contra Aedelbert, qui
in regnum eorum viribus superbis introierat. Ingressi vero praslium
apud Wipandum, duos consules ejus, scilicet Oslaf et Cneban, et innu-
meram multitudinem cum eis, bello fulminantes, ceciderunt, regemque
Aedelbert usque ad Kent fugaverunt. Istud est primum bellum quod
inter se reges Anglorum gesserunt." Hen. Hunt.
Y
162 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
" fought and conquered, and took by force of arms four fort-
u resses, viz. Lienberig, and Aelesbury, and Benesintune,
" and Aegnesham ; but Cutha, a great man, the brother of
u the king, died in the same year." 6
For the first of these Gaimar gives Luitone, i. e. Leighton
in Buckinghamshire; the rest are Aylesbury in Bucking-
hamshire; Bensington, and Ensham, in Oxfordshire. The
Britons had evidently followed up their success at Harden-
huish, and recovered much of their lost territory. The scale
of victory appears to have turned at this time in favour of the
West- Saxons.
A. D. 572. Frithuwulf succeeded Theodwulf in Bernicia.
— 577. " Ceawlin and Cuthwine, his son, in the eigh-
" teenth year of his reign, fought against the Britons ; for
" three of their kings, Commagil, and Candidan, and Farin-
" magil, arrayed their disciplined and splendid forces against
" them, according to the rules of war, at Deorham. So the
" battle was fought most vigorously, but the Lord Almighty
" gave the victory to his enemies, and cast off his own people
" who had foolishly offended him ; and on that day the afore-
f{ said three kings of the Christians fell, and the rest were
" put to flight. But the Saxons, having become terrible to
u them, in the pursuit of them took three most excellent
" cities, Gloucester, Cirencester, and Bath." 7
6 " Ceaulini anno xn pugnavit Cutha frater ejus cum Brittannis apud
" Bedcanfordam, quae modo dicitur Bedeforda ; pugnavit igitur et vicit,
" cepitque armorum effectu mi castra munita, scilicet Lienberig, et
" Aelesbury, et Benesintune, et Aegnesham ; sed Cutha, vir magnus,
" frater regis, eodem anno obiit." Hen. Hunt.
7 " Ceaulin et Cuthwine, films ejus, anno xvin regni ejus, pugnaverunt
" contra Brittannos. Tres autem reges eorum Commagil, et Candidan,
" et Farinmagil, acies in eos confertas et splendidas, praelii legibus dis-
" tinxerunt, apud Deorham. Bellatum est igitur robustissime ; victoriam
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 163
The scene of this battle was Derham in Gloucestershire.
Its result was the addition of Gloucestershire to the West-
Saxon territories.
a. d. 579. Theodric, son of Ida, began to reign in Bernicia.
To this year must be referred a battle which the Annals
of Cambria record : —
u cxxix year. Battle of Arderit between the sons of
u Elifer, and Guendoleu son of Keidiau, in which Guendoleu
" fell. Merlin became mad."
The Life of Merlin tells us/ that Rodarch, king of the
Cumbrians, was associated in this battle with Merlin, king of
the Demetians, and Peredur, (the son of Elifer), king of the
Venedotians. The king of Scotland is called Guennolous,
and there can be no doubt of his identity with Cennaleph of
the Pictish Chronicle, and Ceanalath, or Cendaeladh, of the
Annals of Ulster and Tighearnach.
" vero dedit hostibus suis Dominus omnipotens, abjecitque suos qui vane
" offenderant eum ; et ceciderunt die ilia tres reges Christianorum prae-
" dicti, reliqui autem in fugam versi sunt. Saxones vero horribiles eis
11 facti, inter sequendum eos, tres urbes excellentissimas sibi ceperunt,
" Gloucestre, et Cirecestre, et Badecestre." Hen. Hunt.
8 " Contigit interea plures certamen habere
" Inter se regni proceres, belloque feroci
" Insontes populos devastavisse per urbes.
" Dux Venedotorum Peredurus bella gerebat
" Contra Guennoloum, Scotiae qui regna regebat.
u Jamque dies aderat bello praefixa, ducesque
" Astabant campo, decertabantque catervae
" Amborum pariter miseranda caede nuentes.
" Venerat ad bellum Merlinus cum Pereduro,
" Rex quoque Cumbrorum Rodarcus, S83vus uterque ;
" Caedunt obstantes invisis ensibus hostes,
" Tresque ducis fratres, fratrem per bella secuti,
" Usque rebellantes caedunt perimuntque phalanges.
" Inde per infestas cum tali munere turmas
" Acriter irruerant, subito cecidere perempti." L. 23-37.
164 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
The former record, under a.d. 557, —
" The flight before the son of Maelchon,"
and the latter, under a.d. 560, express the same event more
fully —
" The flight of the Albanachs before Bruidi son of Mael-
chon."
Bruide became king of the Picts in A. d. 556 or 557, and he
reigned a year with Cennaleph his predecessor ; so that it
would seem that he drove him out of the kingdom in A. D.
558 ; and that, in A. D. 579, Cennaleph made an attempt
to recover it, but was defeated and slain. The name of
Bruide's father, Maelcon, satisfactorily accounts for the pre-
sence of the forces of Gwynedd in this battle, if, (as is very
probable), he may be identified with Mailcun or Maelgwyn.
Arthuret, in Cumberland, appears to represent Arderit (or
Arderydd), the place where it was fought.
The Cambrian genealogist continues : 9 —
" Deodric fought bravely against that Urbgen with his
u sons. In that time one while the enemy, another the
" natives were vanquished, and he (Urbgen) shut them up
" three days and three nights in the island Medcaut ; and,
u whilst he was in the expedition, he was murdered for envy,
" through Morcant's instigation, because in him above all the
u kings was the greatest valour in the prosecution of the
" war."
The date of this event is limited by the reign of Theodric ;
9 " Deodric contra ilium Urbgen cum filiis dimicabat fortiter. In illo
" autem tempore aliquando hostes, nunc cives, vincebantur ; et ipse con-
" clusit eos tribus diebus et tribus noctibus in insula Medcaut, et dum
" erat in expeditione jugulatus est, Morcanto destinante pro invidia, quia
" in ipso prae omnibus regibus virtus maxima erat in instauratione belli."
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 165
it must therefore have been between those of the battles of
Arderydd and Cattraeth, (in which latter Urien's son Owain
was the commander), i. e. between a.d. 579 and 586.
A. D. 584. " Ceawlin, in the twenty -fifth year of his reign,
" and Cuthwine, fought with the Britons at Fedhanlea. It
" was fought fiercely and terribly on either side. Cuthwine,
" overpowered by a great multitude, was vanquished and
" slain. The Angles, therefore, were routed and put to
" flight ; nevertheless king Ceawlin, having reorganized his
" army, when his people had abjured flight, at length over-
" came the victors in battle, and pursuing the Britons, took
" many regions and innumerable spoils." 10
The accuracy of this statement of Henry of Huntingdon is
remarkably verified by the other notices of this event. The
Irish Annals mention this and two of the following battles*
(dating each three years earlier than the Saxon Chronicle) ;
and Fordun supplies important details, which enable us to
understand clearly the nature of the struggle. The Annals
of Ulster, under a.d. 581, record, —
" The battle of Manann in which Aedan, son of Gabhran,
" was victor."
The Annals of Tighearnach call it " praelium Mannense."
Fordun tells us, 11 that Aidan, who was consecrated king of
the Scots by S. Columba in a.d. 570, and reigned thirty-
10 " Ceaulin, vigesimo quinto anno regni sui, et Cuthwine, pugnaverunt
" cum Brittannis apud Fedhanlea. Pugnatum est autem perniciose et
" horribiliter utrinque : Cuthwine gravi multitudine oppressus, prostratus
" et occisus est. Victi sunt igitur Angli, et fugae dati, rex tamen
" Ceaulin, rursus reparato exercitu, cum fugam sui abjurassent, tandem
" prselio victores vicit ; persequensque Brittannos, regiones multas et in-
" numerabilia spolia cepit." Hen. Hunt.
11 in. 27.
166 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
five years, was victorious over the Picts and Saxons, when-
ever they invaded his dominions ; but that he suffered defeat
on two occasions, when he assumed the offensive ; once, when
his army was led by Brendin, king of Man, and once when
he commanded in person. His narrative of the former defeat
is as follows : —
" Malgo, king of the Britons, when he heard the fame of
" his valour, sent messages to him, beseeching him that, in
" remembrance of old alliance and friendship, he would not
s{ refuse to aid him against the wicked heathen nation.
" Readily giving ear to so just a request, in the fifteenth
" year of his reign, he sent Griffin his son, an illustrious
" soldier, and Brendin, king of Man, his nephew by his
" sister, with a powerful force. He would not, however,
" have committed to them the conduct of so great an affair,
" since he was wont with prudence, and often, to lead his
" army in person, and intended himself to have taken the
" command of this expedition, had not his princes, with wiser
" counsel, dissuaded him from his purpose. Immediately
" on their departure, the northern Britons join them, and
" thus united they direct their march towards Malgo, securely,
(S as fearing no danger. But lo ! suddenly, on the third day
" after they had passed Stanmore, they meet not unexpectedly
" with the troops of the Pagans, whom Ceulin, king of the
" West Saxons, commanded, in the place that is called Fethan-
" leg ; where, when they had bravely contended for a great
st part of the day, Cutha the son of Ceulin was slain, with the
" whole of the first division which he commanded. The
" other divisions of the Pagans did not on that account
" abandon the field through fear, but took care to press on
" more valiantly, until, with cruel slaughter, they routed both
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 167
" our people and the Britons, who at first seemed to be gain-
" ing the victory." 12
Boece mentions Malgo as the ally of Aidan, and Bruide,
king of the Picts, as confederate with the Saxons, in this
battle, but confounds it with a later one, in which JEthelfrith
was Aidan's opponent.
Now it appears that the Britons and Scots gained the victory
in the first instance, and put the Saxons to flight ; and this
was the battle of Mann or Manann, now Mondrum, in
Cheshire. Then Ceawlin rallied his forces at Fedhanlea, now
Fadley, a few miles from Mondrum, and gained the victory.
Thus the Annals of Ulster mention only Aidan's victory, and
pass over his subsequent defeat ; Fordun records the defeat
only; whilst Henry of Huntingdon gives us both sides of
12 " Misit autem ei nuncios Malgo rex Britonum, cum suae probitatis
" praeconium audisset, obsecrans, ut posterae confederations et amicitiae
" non immemor, auxiliari sibi contra nefandae nationis ethnicam gentem
" non recuset. At ille faciliter tam justae petitionis aurem inclinans
" effectui, filium suum Griffinum militem egregium, atque Brendinum
" Euboniae regulum, ex parte sororis nepotem, anno regni sui xv cum
" manu potenti destinavit. Non enim illis hac vice tanti curam com-
" misisset negotii, cum antea nihilominus exercituum prudenter soleret
" et saepius ducatum gerere, quia dictam per se profectionem regere dis-
" posuit, si non saniori consilio primates diligentius ipsum a proposito re-
" vocassent. Ulis mox cum exercitu proficiscentibus Britones associantur
" Boreales, et sic conjuncti simul quasi nihil timentes secure Malgonem
" adire contendunt. Sed ecce subito, die tertia postquam Moram trans-
" issent Lapideam, in paganorum turmas, non improvisi penitus incidunt,
" quibus prasfuit West-Saxonum rex Ceulinus, loco qui Fethanleg appel-
" latur, ubi cum non parvo dici spatio fortiter certassent, Cutha, Ceulini
" films, cum tota quam ducebat acie prima peremptus est. Nee tamen
" ob id paganorum acies reliquae quicquam timentes ex campo recedere,
" quin et fortius instare curabant donee et nostros et Britones, qui bellum
" primo videbantur evincere, crudeli caede terribiliter effugarent."
in. 28.
168 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
the affair, and chronicles not only the defeat, but a great
victory which preceded it.
a.d. 586. ^Ethelric, son of Ida, succeeded Theodric in
Bernicia. Theodric is possibly the Loegrian chieftain who
fell on the fourth day of the battle of Cattraeth ; and as the
length of his reign coincides with the interval between it
and the battle of Arderydd, his predecessor Frithuwulf may
have fallen on that occasion.
The Annals of Cambria say : —
" cxxxvi year. Guurci and Peredur the sons of Elifer
" die,"
And these appear to be the same as Gwaourdur and Pere-
dur, who were killed on the third day of the battle. In this
battle the Saxons, — under Bradwen or Bun, who is thought
to have been the widow of Ida, and probably her sons, though
their names are not given, — with the Picts, attacked the
Britons of different provinces, assembled for an annual
festival, and almost entirely destroyed them. Most of the
British chiefs were slain, and amongst them Owain, son of
Urien.
A Pictish leader, Dyvnwal Yrych, was slain by Owain in
this battle. His name seems to have perplexed those who
have hitherto w r ritten on this subject, as it is identical with
that of Domhnall Brec, king of the Scots, in the seventh
century. He is, however, equally a historical character. He
is noticed as having invaded Brecknock, and having been
afterwards defeated by Caradoc Yreichvras, one of the chiefs
who fell in this battle.
a. d. 588. iEthelric, son of Adda, succeeded JElle in Deira.
— 592. Frithuwald succeeded him.
" A battle was fought at Wodnesbeorh, that is, the hill of
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 169
" Woden, and no small slaughter being made, king Ceawlin
" in the thirty-third year of his reign was driven from the
" kingdom." 13
I follow Florence of Worcester here, for his account is con-
firmed by Fordun, and Henry of Huntingdon has evidently
made a slip when he says, that Ceawlin died in the thirtieth
year of his reign, and that this battle was fought in the third
year afterwards. Ceawlin was certainly the leader on one
side in this battle, but there were Angles on the other, con-
federate with the Britons and Scots. The Annals of Ulster
record it three years earlier : —
u The battle of Lethroidh won by Aedhan, son of Gabhran,"
And Fordun adds the details :- —
" King Aidan, in the twenty-third year of his reign, (a. d.
f* 592), being requested by the Britons, and their king Cad-
u wallo, to aid them against the aforesaid Ceulin, proceeded
" with his army to Chester, where the Britons had assembled,
" prepared to fight against him. He, when he had heard
" this, advanced to meet them prepared for war, and a severe
" battle being fought at Wodenysborth, Cealin, and Quichelm,
" and Crida, the leaders on Ceulin's side, and many of the
u warriors of his army, perished, and he, fleeing wounded,
" was immediately deprived of the kingdom." 14
13 " Pugnatum est in loco qui dicitur Wodnesbeorn, id est * mons
" ' Wodeni,' et strage non modica facta, rex Ceaulin, anno imperii sui
" xxxiii expulsus est regno." Flok. Wigorn.
14 " A Britonibus et suo rego Cadwallone, rex Aydanus regni sui xxiii
" contra prsedictum Ceulinum regem de subsidio requisitus, ad Cestriara
" cum suo perrexit exercitu, quo Britones cum eo turmatim globati per
" acies adversus ipsum dimicaturi convenerant. Quibus et ipse cum hoc
" audisset, cum suis paratus ad bellum obvius incedit, et apud Wodenys-
" borth duro commisso praelio, duces de parte Ceulini, Cealinus, et Quich-
z
170 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
According to this statement, the notice of the deaths of
Ceawlin, Cwichelm, and Crida, which is placed under the
following year in the Saxon Chronicle, should be united to
that of the battle. Ceawlin is a West-Saxon prince, a name-
sake of the king; Cwichelm bears the same name as the son
of Cynegils, who died in a.d. 636 ; Crida is possibly the king
of the Mercians, the son of Cynewald. William of Malms-
bury's notice of Wodnesdic, in connection with this battle,
and the name given to it in the Ulster Annals, (Lethroidh,
probably Liddiard in Wiltshire), show that Wodnesbeorh is
Wanborough in their neighbourhood ; not Wednesbury in
Staffordshire. Not far from it, " Cwichelmes hlaew " 15 bears
the name of one of the princes who fell there.
Ceolric usurped the kingdom of the West Saxons, and
reigned five years. According to William of Malmsbury,
Ceawlin died soon afterwards in exile.
The kingdom of the Mercians, which, as we have seen, had
been independent for more than a century, begins now to
appear in history. Pybba succeeded Creoda in this year ;
and, some years later, was succeeded by Ceorl, who was
reigning in a.d. 605, when Eadwine,the son of JEWe, sought
refuge at his court.
a.d. 593. ^Ethelfrith, who is called "the cruel,'' 16 suc-
ceeded his father jEthelric in Bernicia.
A. D. 597. The memorable year of the arrival of S. Augus-
tine.
Ceowulf succeeded Ceolric in Wessex. " He fought and
" elm, et Crida, copiaeque bellatorum sui pene perierunt exercitus, sed
" et ipse vulneratus fugiens regno statim privatus est." m. 29.
13 Cod. Diplom. 693, 1289.
'• " Qui vocatur ferus." Hen. Hunt.
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 171
" contended incessantly with the Angles, or with the Welsh,
" or with the Scots, or with the Picts."
a.d. 598. Hussa succeeded Frithuwald in Deira.
— 603. " In the seventh year of king Ceolwulf, Edelfert
n the cruel king of the Northumbrians, brave and ambitious
u of glory more than all the kings of the Angles, wasted the
" nation of the Britons. Wherefore, stirred up by his suc-
" cesses, iEdan, king of the Scots who inhabit Britain, came
" against him with an immense and brave army, but escaped
" with a few, vanquished. For almost all his army was slain
" in the celebrated place which is called Degsastan ; in which
u battle also Tedbald, the brother of Edelfrid, was killed with
" all the army which he led ; nor from that time has any of
H the Scottish kings dared to come to battle against the
" nation of the Angles." u
The Annals of Ulster, as usual, record this battle three
years earlier than the true date, under a.d. 599 : —
" The battle of the Saxons in which Aedan was defeated,"
And those of Tighearnach notice : —
" The battle against the Saxons by Aedan, in which fell
" Eanfraich, brother of Etalfraich, by Maelumha son of
" Baedan, in which he (Etalfraich) was victor."
17 " Ceolwulfi regis anno vn. Edelfert rex ferus Nordhumbrorum,
" fortis et glorias cupidus, plus omnibus Anglorum regibus, gentem vasta-
" bat Brittonum. Nemo in tribunis, nemo in regibus plures eorum
u terras, exterminatis vel subjugatis indigenis, aut tributarias genti An-
" glorum, aut habitabiles fecit. Unde motus ejus profectibus JEdan, rex
" Scottoruin qui Brittanniam inhabitant, venit contra eum cum immenso
" ac forti exercitu ; sed cum paucis victus aufugit. Siquidem in loco
" celeberrimo, qui dicitur Degsastan, omnis per ejus est caesus exercitus ;
" in qua etiam pugna Tedbald, frater Edelfridi, cum omni illo quem ipse
" ducebat exercitu peremptus est ; neque ex eo tempore quisquam regum
" Scottoruin adversus gentem Anglorum in praelium venire ausus est."
Hen. Hunt.
172 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
Fordun says, that in the thirty-third year of Aedan, A. D.
602, " it was agreed between him and the Britons, that at a
" set time, they should attack on either side, he on the north,
" they on the south, the Northumbrian people, whom 2Bthel-
" frid, a valiant and wise king, who had continually harassed
" the Britons and Scots, then governed. The king therefore,
fC although advanced in age, expecting that they on their part
* would do what they had agreed by treaty, invaded the
( ' parts of Northumbria, the time of night coming on ; and
f* whilst his army daily was engaged in burning and plunder-
?' ing, king ^Ethelfrid, coming one day, with a compact
" force, upon the Scots engaged in this kind of plundering
" through the villages and the fields, overcame them, but not
" without great slaughter of his own people.
"After the said war, ^Ethelfrid miserably wasted the
" nation of the Britons, and made many of their territories
" either tributary to the nation of the Angles, or occupied by
M them, the natives being exterminated." 18
Hence -ZEthelfrith was known amongst the Britons by the
epithet Flesaur, the " desolator."
11 " Conventum est inter ipsum et Britones, populos Northumbrenses,
" qaos tunc rex fortis viribus et prudens iEthelfridus rexit, qui Britones
44 continuis et Scotos affecit injuriis, iste quidem ad Boream, illi siquidera
? ad Austrum, utrisque partibus impetere condieto subfirmata fide termino
44 convenirent. Rex igitur, quamvis aetate grandaevus, adveniente
" nocturno tempore, sperans eos ex adverso facturos quod pacto pepi-
" gerant, Northumbriaa partes invasit, et dum per dies singulos incendio
" suus vacaret et spoliis exercitus, una dierum dispersos hnjusmodi praa-
" dando per villas et arva Scotos, rex JEthelfridus condenso superveniens
" agmine, non absque suorum magna casde superavit. Post autem dictum
" bellum rex -ZEthelfridus gentem Britonum misere vastavit, pluresque
" terras eorum, exterminatis indigenis, aut genti Anglorum tributarios,
** aut babitabiles fecit." hi. 30.
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 173
Boece gives the name of the battle-field Deglaston, which
seems to be more correct than Baeda's Dgegsastan. It is now
Dalston, near Carlisle ; and as Aidan was certainly in ^Ethel-
frith's territory when he was attacked, Cumberland must
have formed at this time, as it certainly did later, part of the
kingdom of Bernicia.
In the Bodleian MS. of the Saxon Chronicle, it is said,
that Hering, the son of Hussa, conducted Aidan's army into
^Ethelfrith's dominions.
I have given my reasons for supposing that Hussa reigned
in Deira until A. D. 605, when it fell into the hands of ^Ethel-
frith; and certainly, in this circumstance, we have a pro-
bable pretext for JEthelfrith's having invaded Deira, and
annexed it to his own kingdom. I suspect that this Hering
was no other than Hereric, the nephew of Eadwine, and the
father of S. Hild. ^Ethelfrith's second wife was Ache, the
sister of Eadwine, and their eldest son S. Oswald, who was
thirty-seven years of age at the time of his death, must have
been born in the very year of iEthelfrith's conquest of Deira.
Hereric was in banishment at the court of Cerdic, king of
the Britons of Elmet, in a.d. 614; and was poisoned there,
doubtless by iEthelfrith's instigation. For we know that,
at the same time, he was compassing, by similar means, the
death of Eadwine. Eadwine invaded Elmet, and expelled
Cerdic; and this must have been in or before a.d. 616; for
in that year, the year before his victory over ^Ethelfrith, the
Annals of Cambria place Cerdic's death. On obtaining
possession of the throne of Northumbria, Eadwine banished
his sister, with her children, and those of iEthelfrith's first
wife, Bebbe. These circumstances seem to furnish a clue
to Hereric's parentage and history ; and to warrant the con-
1 74 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
jecture, that Ache, the daughter of iElle, was the wife of
Hussa, and the mother of Her eric, and afterwards became the
wife of JEthelfrith ; that Hereric, who had taken part witH
the Scots in A. D. 603, found shelter among the Britons until
A. d. 615 or 616, when the fear of JEthelfrith caused Cerdic
to put him to death; and that Eadwine invaded Cerdic's
kingdom on this account.
A. D. 607. " Ceolwulf fought a very great battle against
u the South Saxons ; in which either army suffered very
" severely ; but the slaughter was more terrible on the South
" Saxon side." ,9
A. d. 611. Cynegils succeeded him. In the fourth year
of his reign,
A. D. 614, he associated his son Cwichelm with himself
in the kingdom, and they fought with the Britons at
Beamdune (Bampton in Oxfordshire). At the very begin-
ning of the fight, panic seized the Britons, and they fled
precipitately, leaving two thousand and sixty-two dead upon
the field. 20
Boece says that iEthelfrith was confederate with Cynegils
on this occasion, and he and Fordun represent Cadwallo as
19 " Ceolwulfus inter multa bella contra multos facta, quse causa brevi-
u tatis praetermissa sunt, pugnara maxiniam habuit contra Sudsexas ; in
" qua uterque exercitus ineffabiliter contritus est. Clades tamen de-
" testabilior contigit Sudsexis." Hen. Hunt.
20 " Quarto autem regni sui anno, assumpsit secum filium suum Kich-
" elmura in regnum, et inierunt bellum contra Brittannos apud Beandune.
" Cum igitur obviarent sibi acies terribiliter et pulcherrime, vexilli?
" inclinatis, in ipsa, prima collisione invasit horror Brittannos, timentesque
" aciem securium maximarum splendentium et framearum magna? longi-
M tudinis, fuga, in principio, sero tamen, potiti sunt. Saxones igitur, sine
" detrimento sui victores, numeravere mortuos Brittannorum, et inventi
" sunt mortui duo millia et sexaginta duo." Hen. Hunt.
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 175
leader of the Britons. The latter says, that he went secretly,
with few attendants, to seek the aid of Eugenius, (Eochadh
Buidhe), king of the Scots; that, having received fair pro-
mises from him, he repaired to Ireland, and thence to Armorica,
whence he returned immediately with a large army, placed
at his disposal by king Salomon ; and that he harassed the
Saxons in many battles. Of these only the last is recorded, the
famous battle of Chester ; in which ^Ethelfrith, after having
put to the sword a number of the monks of Bangor, (twelve
hundred according to Ba^da, two hundred according to the
Brut), who had come to pray for the success of their coun-
trymen, defeated the British army, but not without great loss
on either side. Baeda and the Brut are agreed, that Broc-
mail, the governor of Chester, escaped by flight; but the
latter says, that the slaughter of the monks occurred after the
battle was fought, and the city taken ; which seems more
probable. Neither of these authorities supplies any indica-
tion of the date of the battle ; except that the latter seems to
fix A. D. 616, the year of the death of .ZEthelberht, king of
Kent, as a limit, by saying that it was fought at his sugges-
tion. However, it is recorded in the Annals of Cambria
and Tighearnach, with particulars, which enable us to de-
termine it with something like certainty. In the former we
read : —
t( clxix year. The battle of Cair Legion, and there fell
" Selim the son of Cinan. The rest of Jacob the son of
" Beli."
Another copy connects the deaths of these princes.
The Annals of Tighearnach say, under a.d. 613: —
* The battle of Cairelegion, where the holy men were
4 slain, and Solon Mac Conian, king of the Britons, fell ; and
176 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
" king Cetula fell there. Etalfraich was the victor, who
" afterwards immediately died."
The record of the death of Cadwallo, whose presence at
the battle of Bampton Fordun mentions; reasonable time
allowed for his journeys to Scotland, Ireland, and Armorica,
his return, and some battles previous to this ; the statement
that iEthelfrith died immediately after this battle ; and the
fact, that the Annals of Tighearnach are four years too early
in their notices of this series of events ; concur to fix A. d.
617, the year in which iEthelfrith was slain by Kaedwald, as
the date of this battle. The Brut does not mention the
death of Cadwallo, but, consistently with the statement that
he fell in this battle, records, immediately afterwards, the
election of another king Cadwan. Previous to this, how-
ever, JEthelfrith is said to have been defeated at Bangor,
with the loss of ten thousand of his army, by Brochmail,
Blederic, duke of Cornwall, Margaduc, king of Demetia, and
Cadwan, and to have fled to his own dominions. Cadwan
followed him, and passed the Humber, and a battle was on
the point of being fought, when peace was made by the in-
tercession of mutual friends, and Cadwan and -ZEthelfrith
agreed each to allow the other to remain in undisturbed en-
joyment of his territories.
The whole sequel in the Brut is disfigured with the grossest
misstatements. Authentic materials may have formed the
groundwork of the story, but these are unfortunately blended
together in the most hopeless confusion. It is probably true
that .iEthelfrith discarded his first wife Bebbe, when he mar-
ried Ache, but he was not the father of Eadwine. What is
said of Cadwallo's being defeated, and visiting Scotland, Ire-
THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 177
land, and Armorica, Fordun relates more truly under A. D.
614. Aidan, the king of the Scots, is said to have been
killed by Cadwallo, after the battle of Hatfield ; he really
died in A. D. 605 ; and Cadwallo is here, and throughout the
whole story, confounded with his later namesake, who fell in
the battle of Heavenfield, A. D. 634 ; yet he is made to sur-
vive it, and, — by another confusion with Cadwaladr who fell
a victim to the pestilence of A. D. 664-5, — is said to have died
of sickness, after a reign of forty-eight years. Cadwaladr, in
his turn, is confounded with the West-Saxon Casdwealh ; and
Ine, the successor of Caedwealh, and Ivar Vidfadme, his ally,
are claimed as chiefs of the Britons ; and, to conclude this
extraordinary series of historical blunders, Offa, the king of
the Mercians, is called ^Ethelstan by Layamon, (for it was
he who renewed the tribute of Peter's pence, sixty-five years
after it had been established by Ine).
What truth may be concealed under the story of Eadwine's
having been educated at the court of Cadwan, I cannot
divine. It cannot be true that Eadwine was born there, for
he was two years old at the time of his father's death ; and
it is impossible that he could have been brought up in igno-
rance of the Christian faith, under the auspices of so religious
a prince as Cadwan. He might indeed have sought refuge
amongst the Britons, at the age of nineteen, in a. r>. 605, and
have formed an intimacy, as related, with Cadwallo ; and the
hostility, to which he fell a victim, may have originated in
jealousy of the imperial state he affected, of which Baeda
makes particular mention. These matters, however, must
always remain involved in uncertainty. All that we really
know of Eadwine's early years is, that at some period of his
A A
178 THE ANNALS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
exile he must have taken refuge with Ceorl king of the
Mercians, whose daughter he married ; that the hostility of
^Ethelfrith pursued him from kingdom to kingdom; that
Rsedwald, king of the East Angles, eventually espoused his
cause, and placed him on the throne of the united kingdoms
of Deira and Bernicia, by his victory over JEthelfrith, in
a.d. 617.
At the beginning of the seventh century, Anglo-Saxon
history begins to assume a more distinct character. Eight
kingdoms are established, and six of these, — Kent, Sussex,
Wessex, and Mercia, founded in the fifth century, and Ber-
nicia and Deira, in the sixth, — have a history more or less
complete. The foundation of the kingdom of the East- Angles
must have been about the beginning of the sixth century,
and Wiwa was its first king, but his great grandson, Raed-
wald, is the first who figures in our annals ; and Sleda, who
married the sister of ^Ethelberht, is the first king of the
East-Saxons whose name is recorded, although there is reason
to believe that his great grandfather Bedca reigned in Eng-
land. Henceforth, for more than a century, Venerable Baeda
is our great historian, and although his immortal work leaves
much to be desired with regard to the other kingdoms, the
history of Northumbria, at least, (of which, during the fifth
and sixth centuries, we already know more, than of the rest),
is almost complete.
THE END.
or the Y
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