Widsith
Widsith is a major poetry of 144 lines in Old English . It is only recorded in the Exeter Book , which was compiled in the 10th century. The dating of the poetry itself is the subject of discussion and varies between the 6th and 9th centuries depending on where you stand.
From today's literary scholarship , Widsith is regarded as the most important poem that ties in with memory poetry. At the same time it is considered a prize song , as it sings the praises of the royal ring donors ( sponsors ) and at the same time praises the poets and singers, the Scopes . For the most part, the work consists of an overview of the people, kings and peoples of the heroic age . With the exception of the introduction, the end and a few interspersed comments, the poem is divided into three 'catalogs', þulas in Old English ( Old Norse þula , compare e.g. Rígsþula ). The first þula , the King's Catalog , provides a list of the various kings of that time, along the lines of '(King's name) ruled over (tribal name)'. The second þula , the catalog of peoples, lists the names of the tribes that the narrator allegedly visited, along the lines of 'I was with the (tribal name), and with the (other tribal name).' In the third and final þula , the catalog of heroes, we find out the names of the Nordic heroes that he allegedly sought out, following the pattern 'I sought out (hero's name) and (hero's name) and (hero's name).' This could seem monotonous if it were not repeatedly interrupted by the poet adding details that he considered important or noteworthy about a name. The quality of the poet who sees this as a form of orally transmitted story, with not connect the name of place or time, but the alliteration , is especially evident in the very successful conclusion praising the wandering life of the minstrels, the content with their fate and are proud of their skills.
This poem is the first to mention the Vikings by name (on lines 47, 59 and 80).
| Lines 45-49: | |
| Hroþwulf ond Hroðgar heoldon lengest | Hrothwulf and Hrothgar held the longest |
| sibbe ætsomne suhtorfædran, | Peace with each other, uncle and nephew, |
| siþþan hy forwræcon wicinga cynn | since they threw back the Viking clan |
| ond Ingeldes ord forbigdan, | and Ingeld had bowed to the spearhead, |
| forheowan aet Heorote Heaðobeardna þrym. | beaten by Heorot of the Heathobearner power. |
There has been a lot of discussion about who the "Heathobearner" were, who are equated with the Vikings here. This story is passed down in Beowulf as well as by Saxo Grammaticus and in the saga about Rolf Krake and was a leitmotif in Danish heroic poetry. The "Heathobearner" are only mentioned in the Beowulf , otherwise they are unknown.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lotte, Hedeager: Knowledge production reconsidered. Iron Age myth and materiality: an archeology of Scandinavia, AD 400-1000. Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York 2011, pp. 177-190.
literature
- Raymond Wilson Chambers : Widsith. A Study in Old English Heroic Legend. Cambridge 1912.
- Klaus Dietz : Widsith. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 33, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2006, ISBN 3-11-018388-9 , pp. 573-577.
- Francis B. Gummere: The Oldest English Epic: Beowulf, Finnsburg, Waldere, Deor, Widsith, and the German Hildebrand, Translated in the Original Metres with Introduction and Notes. The Macmillan Company, New York 1923, pp. 188-200.
- Leonard Neidorf: The Dating of 'Widsith' and the Study of Germanic Antiquity. In: Neophilologus 97. 2013, pp. 165–83.
