It will not have escaped notice that a large proportion of the stories described or alluded to in the preceding chapter are found in the literature of more than one nation. The most casual reader could not fail to observe the identity of the story of SigurÐr and GuÐrÚn, as given in the Edda and VÖlsunga Saga, with that of Siegfried and Kriemhild related in the Nibelungenlied. Equally obvious is the connection between the story of IÖrmunrekr and Svanhildr in the same Scandinavian authorities and that of Hermanaricus and Sunilda given by Jordanes. A still closer resemblance is furnished by the Anglo-Saxon poem Waldhere and the German-Latin Waltharius. The connection between the German poem KÛdrÛn and the Scandinavian story of HeÐinn and HÖgni is perhaps less striking, but not open to question. The brief references to the story of Weland and Beaduhild in the Anglo-Saxon poem Deor are quite sufficient to prove its substantial identity with that told in VÖlundarkviÐa.

In other cases the same characters appear, though the incidents related are different. Eormenric (Ermenrich) is a prominent figure in Anglo-Saxon and German poetry, as well as in Scandinavian and Gothic records. The Wudga and Hama of Widsith (Waldhere and Beowulf) and the Theodric of Waldhere are clearly identical with the Witege, Heime and Dietrich von Bern of the German epics, while Theodric figures also, though not prominently, in the Edda. Of all the Edda poems[12] those which show the least connection with non-Scandinavian poetry are the three HelgakviÐur. Yet SinfiÖtli, as well as Sigmundr, is mentioned in Beowulf (under the form Fitela) and there are traces that his name was once known in Germany.

We may observe that in Beowulf it is only the persons mentioned in casual references and in episodes lying outside the main action of the story, such as Sigemund, Eormenric, Hama and Weland, to whom we find allusions in German poetry. On the other hand most of the chief characters of the poem are well known from Scandinavian records, though not in connection with precisely the same incidents. There is no doubt as to the identity of the Danish kings Healfdene, his sons Hrothgar and Halga, and Hrothwulf the nephew and colleague of Hrothgar, with Halfdan, his sons HrÓarr and Helgi and Helgi's son, the famous HrÓlfr Kraki—all likewise kings of the Danes. Equally obvious is the identity of the Swedish prince Eadgils the son of Ohthere with AÐils the son of Óttarr in Ynglingatal, while his uncle and opponent Onela is clearly the same person as AÐils' opponent Áli, although the latter is represented as a Norwegian in Old Norse literature. Further, the episode in which Ingeld is incited by an old warrior to avenge his father Froda is evidently to be connected with certain poems given by Saxo, in which the old warrior Starcatherus rouses Ingellus to avenge his father Frotho. Among other persons mentioned in the poem Scyld is doubtless to be identified with the SkiÖldr of Scandinavian tradition; probably also Heremod with the HermÓÐr of HyndluliÓÐ and Weoxtan with the VÉsteinn of the KalfsvÍsa[13]. To the identification of Beowulf himself with the Biarki of Scandinavian tradition, which is doubted by some scholars, we shall have to return later.

The characters of the Finn fragment are much less easy to trace elsewhere. Two of Hnaef's warriors named Ordlaf and Guthlaf are probably to be identified with two Danish princes, Oddlevus and Gunnlevus, mentioned in SkiÖldunga Saga; but there is nothing to show that Sigeferth is identical with SigurÐr the son of Sigmundr. In Widsith however we find a large number of persons who are well known from Continental and Scandinavian authorities. Besides Eormenric, Wudga, Hama, Offa, Hrothgar, Hrothwulf and Ingeld, of whom we have already spoken, we hear of Aetla, king of the Huns (Atli, Etzel), Guthhere and Gifeca, kings of the Burgundians (i.e. the Gunnarr and GiÚki of the Edda), and Sigehere, king of the Danes (i.e. probably Sigarr, the father of SignÝ), as well as the Goths Eastgota the father of Unwine (i.e. Jordanes' Ostrogotha the father of Hunwil), Becca (probably Bikki, the evil counsellor of IÖrmunrekr) and the Herelingas, Emerca and Fridla, who are doubtless to be identified with the Embrica and Fritla, nephews of Eormenric, mentioned in the Annals of Quedlinburg and elsewhere. It is more than probable also that in v. 21: "Hagena ruled the Holmryge and Heoden (MS. Henden) the Glommas," we have an allusion to the story of HeÐinn and HÖgni (the Hetel and Hagen of KÛdrÛn). We may compare a passage of Deor (v. 35 ff.) which tells of a skilful minstrel of the Heodeningas named Heorrenda, presumably the HÔrand of the German poem.

These instances, though far from exhaustive, will be sufficient to show that the same characters recur again and again in the early narrative poetry of the various Teutonic peoples. In the last nineteen poems of the Older Edda (viz. those which deal with human beings) there is but one (HelgakviÐa HiÖrvarÐssonar) which introduces no characters known elsewhere. Among the early Anglo-Saxon poems treated on p. 1 ff. we find no such case, and the same is probably true of the German poems discussed on pp. 5, 7 ff. With the later Anglo-Saxon poems (p. 3) and the German historical poems of the ninth and following centuries the case is quite otherwise. The exploits of Aethelstan and Byrhtnoth are celebrated only in English poems, those of Ludwig III and other German princes only in the poetry of their own country. So also with the skaldic poems of the North. If these introduce any personal names known in the poetry of England or Germany they are names, like Sigmundr and HermÓÐr, derived from earlier poems and not belonging to contemporary persons. Similarly neither English nor German poetry celebrates the deeds of EirÍkr BlÓÐÖx or Haakon the Good.

The phenomena noted above seem to indicate that the poetic cycles with which we have been dealing have a common origin or at least that there was a considerable amount of borrowing between poets of different nations. In order however to be able to form an opinion on this point it is necessary first to consider the following questions: (i) how far the characters and incidents of these poems are to be regarded as historical, (ii) to what period or periods of history they belong. We may note in passing that no doubt need be entertained as to the historical basis of the later group of Anglo-Saxon poems, of German poems such as the Ludwigslied or of the Northern skaldic poems—however much the true facts may be obscured by poetic embellishments.

It is clear enough that some of the characters of the common cycles are historical persons. Thus there can be no doubt that Aetla (Atli, Etzel), king of the Huns, is the famous Hunnish king Attila who died in 453. Again the Burgundian king Guthhere (Gunnarr, Gunther), who plays so prominent a part in the stories of Waldhere and SigurÐr-Siegfried, is clearly identical with the historical Burgundian king Gundicarius (Gundaharius), whose defeat in 435 by the Roman general Aetius is recorded by contemporary writers. Of his end Prosper says only that the Huns destroyed him together with his family and nation[14], and some scholars have denied that Attila had any part in this event[15]. But our knowledge of the course of events on or beyond the Roman frontier at this period is too slight to justify any confident statement on such a point. Of the other members of the Burgundian royal family Gifeca (GiÚki) and Gislhere (Giselher) are mentioned in the laws of King Gundobad who died in the year 516[16].

The Gothic king Eormenric (Hermanaricus, IÖrmunrekr) is another doubtless historical character. The account of him given by Jordanes seems indeed to be derived from tradition, handed down probably in poetic form; but the statement that he took his own life through fear of the Huns is confirmed by the strictly contemporary writer Ammianus Marcellinus (xxxi. 3. 1), from whom we gather that the event took place shortly after 370. He also states that Eormenric was a most warlike king and feared by the surrounding nations on account of his many brave deeds.

In Dietrich von Bern (the Theodric of Waldhere and the ThiÓÐrekr of the Edda) we certainly have reminiscences of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric who ruled Italy from 489 to 526. The statement in the Hildebrandslied that he fled from the hostility of Ottachar and the story of the Rabenschlacht recall his campaigns with Odoacer, which culminated in the surrender of Ravenna in 493. But it cannot possibly be true that he was present at Attila's court, where we find him in the Edda and in German poetry, much less that he had any dealings with Eormenric. The former mistake is generally attributed to confusion between Dietrich and his father Dietmar (Thiudemer), who is known to have been with Attila. The other error however is more difficult to account for and will require to be discussed later.

It is commonly held that in the poems dealing with Wolfdietrich[17] the hero and his father Hugdietrich represent a confusion of the Frankish kings Theodberht (r. 534-548) and his father Theodric I (r. 511-534). In this case however it must be confessed that the resemblances are extremely slight. The application of the name Hugo Theodoricus to Theodric I in the Annals of Quedlinburg cannot at best prove more than that the chronicler identified the two.

The identification of characters which figure in stories relating to the northern kingdoms is naturally more difficult, since references to such persons by contemporary Roman historians are extremely rare. One safe instance however is furnished by the incident, referred to several times in Beowulf, of Hygelac's disastrous expedition against the Franks and Frisians. Gregory of Tours (III 3) and the Gesta Francorum (cap. 19) mention a very serious raid on the lower Rhine by a king of the Danes named Chocilaicus, which ended in his defeat and death through the arrival of an army under Theodberht. The Liber Monstrorum (I, cap. 3[18]), a work of perhaps the seventh century, states that the bones of a certain Getarum rex Huiglaucus, who had been slain by the Franks, were preserved on an island at the mouth of the Rhine. There can be no question that the person referred to in these passages is the Hygelac of Beowulf. The date of the expedition, though not precisely fixed by any authority, may safely be placed within a few years of 520.

Most of the Danish and Swedish princes common to Beowulf and the Northern authorities are now generally regarded as historical characters, though we have no reference to them in contemporary documents. It is to be noted in the first place that though the persons themselves are common to the two traditions, English and Northern, they are not as a rule mentioned in connection with the same incidents. Further, there is no evidence for communication between England and the Baltic during the seventh and eighth centuries. This renders it probable that the two records go back independently to a time at which persons who remembered Hygelac's younger contemporaries might still be alive.

Lastly a few words must be said with regard to the stories of Haraldr HilditÖnn, SigurÐr Hringr and Ragnarr LoÐbrÓk. The sons of LoÐbrÓk are well known from contemporary historical documents through their piratical expeditions, more especially the great invasion of England in 866. Moreover, though the references to LoÐbrÓk himself are rare and doubtful, it is clear enough that the king Ella who is said to have put him to death was the Northumbrian usurper Aella, who reigned from 863 to 867. LoÐbrÓk's father SigurÐr Hringr has been identified with a certain Sigifridus whose conflict with another Danish king named Anulo is recorded in a number of Latin chronicles under the year 812, and Anulo himself with that Óli who is represented as SigurÐr's ally at the battle of BrÁvÍk. Lastly, it has been suggested that a reference to Haraldr HilditÖnn may quite possibly be preserved in the description of Anulo as nepos Herioldi quondam regis[19]; for according to Saxo (p. 250) Óli was the son of Haraldr's sister and eventually succeeded him on the Danish throne.

The above identifications[20] are sufficient to show that historical characters are introduced into most of the stories with which we have been dealing. Further—and this is a very remarkable fact—apart from the last cycles embracing Haraldr HilditÖnn and Ragnarr LoÐbrÓk, which are entirely confined to Northern literature, all the historical personages whom we have been able to identify belong to a period extending over barely two centuries. Eormenric flourished in the latter half of the fourth century, Attila and the Burgundian kings in the first half of the fifth; Theodric towards the end of the same century and in the first quarter of the sixth. Hygelac again was a contemporary of Theodric; while Wolfdietrich, if he is rightly identified with Theodberht, died in 548. In the stories which form the common themes of English, German and Scandinavian poets we find no mention of historical persons who lived after the middle of the sixth century.

Now it will be clear that the cycles of stories dealing with Ragnarr LoÐbrÓk and his ancestors are really, like the skaldic poems, to be compared with German and English works such as the Ludwigslied and the poem on the battle of Brunanburh. The difference in tone is sufficiently accounted for by the social conditions of the Viking Age, which were wholly different from those which prevailed in the Christian kingdoms.

The statement that the common cycles of tradition mention no historical characters later than about 550 ought perhaps to be qualified in one case. Paulus Diaconus (Hist. Lang. I 27) says that the praises of Alboin, king of the Langobardi, who died in 572 (or 573), were sung by the Saxons, Bavarians and other peoples; and it has been suggested that his account of certain incidents in Alboin's career is derived from poetic sources. Further, we find the generosity of the same king celebrated in the Anglo-Saxon poem Widsith, where he is apparently the latest person mentioned. Hence there is some ground for including him among the characters of common Teutonic poetry—which will involve our extending the lower of the chronological limits fixed above by about twenty years. Yet it is not clear that Alboin figured in any poems which can properly be called narrative, except perhaps among his own people.

On the other hand some of the Gothic heroes recorded by Jordanes, if we are to trust his chronology at all, must be referred to times long anterior to the middle of the fourth century. Apart from Gothic tradition the only mention of any of these persons occurs in a brief passage in Widsith (v. 113 f.): "(I have visited) Eastgota, the wise and good father of Unwine." Now Ostrogotha is brought by Jordanes into connection with the Emperor Philip (v. 244-249). He is mentioned also by Cassiodorus (Var. XI 1) as one of the ancestors of Amalasuintha and as a prince renowned for forbearance (patientia). In spite of his suspicious name what is said of him by Jordanes seems to point to a genuine tradition. But if so, even setting aside both the reference to Philip and the genealogy given by Jordanes in cap. 5, he is probably to be referred to a time anterior to the upper limit fixed above. Into the story of Filimer and the migration we need not enter, as there is no reason for supposing it to be anything but a purely Gothic tradition. The story of the Langobardic victory over the Vandals (cf. p. 10) is probably of a similar character.

There remain of course a number of stories which contain no names of persons mentioned in contemporary records. The story of Finn is in Beowulf connected, rather loosely, with Healfdene, Hrothgar's father. Hence if the incidents which it relates are to be regarded as historical, they must be dated somewhat earlier, though certainly not more than a century earlier, than Hygelac's expedition. The story of Offa and his father Wermund must be referred to a still earlier period if we are to trust the evidence of the Mercian genealogy in which these persons figure. I have tried elsewhere[21] to show that the Athislus, who in Saxo's version of the story appears as Wermund's enemy, is probably to be identified with the Eadgils prince of the Myrgingas mentioned in Widsith. The latter is represented as the contemporary of Eormenric, and the date thus obtained agrees with that given by the genealogy. The story of Weland, if it contains any historical element, should be placed perhaps slightly further back; for in Waldhere, as well as in many German authorities, including ThiÐreks Saga, Weland is said to be the father of Widia (Wudga, Witege). The latter is often associated with Eormenric[22], and there can be little doubt that he is to be identified with the Gothic Vidigoia who is mentioned as a hero of the past by Jordanes (cap. 34) in a quotation from Priscus[23]. For the story of HagbarÐr and SignÝ a date is afforded by a poem attributed by Saxo (p. 214) to StarkaÐr. The poet, who in his old age served Ingellus, i.e. Ingeld, the son-in-law of Hrothgar, says that he had followed Haki, the brother of HagbarÐr, in his early youth. In Ynglinga Saga (cap. 23) Haki is made to fight with the Swedish king IÖrundr, four generations above AÐils, but this genealogy cannot be entirely correct.

The only important stories which remain are those of FrÓÐi the Peaceful and HeÐinn and HÖgni. In Saxo's history (p. 158 ff.) the two are brought into connection with one another, and it is certainly to be noted that a Fruote von Tenemarke plays rather a prominent part in KÛdrÛn, especially the first portion. But FrÓÐi is associated with different sets of persons in different works, and his resemblance to the god Frey rather suggests that he was regarded as the typical representative of a Golden Age in the past. The story of HeÐinn and HÖgni is very difficult to locate, both in regard to time and scene. Widsith however, which is our earliest authority for it, represents Hagena (HÖgni) as king of the Holmryge, who appear to have dwelt in eastern Pomerania. Since the whole of the south coast of the Baltic had probably become Slavonic by the end of the fifth century, it is at all events unlikely that the story refers to any period after this.

We shall have to discuss later how far these stories are to be regarded as historical and to what extent the characters and incidents with which they deal are to be attributed to myth or fiction. Here it is sufficient to point out that with the exception of the story of HeÐinn and HÖgni, the connections of which are obscure, all the stories which we have just been discussing are referred by our authorities to generations anterior to the characters of Beowulf. Hence we may safely conclude that the period embraced by the common poetry and traditions of the various Teutonic peoples—what we may call the Heroic Age of these peoples—had come to an end by the middle of the sixth century or at least by the death of Alboin. Its upper limit must in view of the evidence given above be set from two to three centuries back—probably three centuries if we include the story of Ostrogotha.

These limitations are clearly such as to call for some attempt at explanation. Why do the cycles of story which are common to the various Teutonic peoples mention no historical character later than Alboin? Before we can hope to give a satisfactory answer to this question, a number of other phenomena will have to be taken into account. One or two observations however will not be out of place here.

The period extending backwards from two to three centuries before the reign of Alboin coincides with what is generally known as the Age of National Migrations (VÖlkerwanderungszeit). It was during this period that many of the Teutonic nations broke through the frontiers of the Roman empire and carved out for themselves extensive kingdoms within its territories. Among these were the realms of Guthhere and Theodric, and in part also that of Attila. There is no doubt that in all these cases the conquest of the Roman provinces brought with it a great accession of wealth and profoundly affected the life of the invaders.

The same period witnessed the conversion of most of the continental Teutonic peoples to Christianity, another change which produced far-reaching effects upon them. Yet it is not clear at first sight how this change is connected with the chronological limitation of the stories, for while some of the chief characters, Attila for instance and doubtless Eormenric, were heathens, others such as Theodric were certainly Christians. The change of faith is not a motive which plays any part in the stories themselves.

Whatever weight we may be disposed to attach to these observations, it should be noted that they do not seem to apply to every case. Thus we shall see in the course of the next chapter that Danish characters figure more prominently than those of any other nation, not only in Scandinavian but also in English records, throughout the period ending with HrÓlfr Kraki. Yet the Danes took no part, collectively at least, in the movements against the Roman Empire, nor did Christianity penetrate to them before the ninth century. It is worth remarking therefore that stories relating to Denmark stop where they do, and that for centuries after the time of HrÓlfr we can scarcely give the name of a single Danish prince.

In the following chapters it will be convenient to speak of the period which we have been discussing simply as the Heroic Age. The term 'heroic poetry,' as a translation of Heldendichtung or Heltedigtning, may of course be applied in a sense to such works as HÁkonarmÁl or the poem on the battle of Maldon, just as well as to Beowulf or the Hildebrandslied. But no ambiguity will arise if we limit the term 'heroic' here to what may be called the 'Teutonic' Heroic Age (das germanische Heldenalter), i.e. to the period embraced by the common poetry and traditions of the various Teutonic peoples.