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846 DEATH.
open violence too, he routs out, pursues and plunders, Nib. 2161,
3. 2163, 1; he f
bifalta sie/ felled them, 0. iii. 18, 34;
hat der Tot gevangen, clutched, Greg. 50 ; he jaget, hunts, Roth.
< mich
2750, bekrellet (claws?), Fundgr. 196, 20 ; and the Bible has the
same thing : in Ps. 91, 3 6 he comes out as a hunter with snares
and arrows. His messenger-staff has turned into a spear which
he hurls, an arrow which he discharges from the bow. Worth
noting are the Renn. 24508 : wirtdem des Todes sper gesandt;
<
and Freid. 177, 24 :
der Tot gat her, der widerseit uns an dem
sper, defies us at point of lance ; a reading which I prefer
to the
accepted one ane sper, without spear. OSinn has a spear
Gungnir (p. 147) whose thrust or throw was fatal. The Lith.
Smertis comes as a warrior with sword and pike, riding in a
chariot, i.e. in the form of a god. All this carries with it the
idea of Death having a regular fight and wrestle with man, whom
he overpowers and brings to the ground : mit dem Tode vehten/
fence with D., MS. 2, 82 b . der Tot wii mit mir ringen (wrestle)/
Stoufenb. 1126. do ranc er mit dem Tode/ Nib. 939, 2. also
der Tot hie mit ime rank/ Ecke 184 ; and we still speak of the
death agony, though without any thought of a personality. In
a Mod. Grk song a daring youth wrestles with Charos on smooth
marble from morn till midday ; at the hour of eve Death flings
him down. In another case Charos takes the shape of a black
swallow, and shoots his arrow into a maiden s heart. 1 A doubt
ful passage in Beow. 3484 we ought perhaps to refer to Death,
who is there called a destroyer that shoots with arrow-bow of
fire: bona, se ]?e of fianbogan fyrenum sceoteS; conf. the Serv.
krvnik, bloodshedder p. 21. Brun von Schonebeke makes Death
wield a scourge offour strings; and our MHG. poets lend him an
arrow and battle-axe :
(
des Todes strale het si gar versniten/
< cut them up, Tit. 3770. wa snidet des Todes larte, Wh. 3,
220 (Cod. cass.). The isernporte in a
Meister-song of the
14th cent. (Hagen s Mus. 2, 188) means surely isernbarte?
Here Death promises a thousand years grace, should his adversary
gain the victory (see Suppl.). 2
1 Wh. Miiller 2, 4. 6 ; conf. Tommaseo s Canti popolari 3, 301 seq.
2 Our poets too are no strangers to the idea of Death prosecuting at law his
claim upon a man : do begunde der Tot einen graven beclagen und mit gewalte
twingen ze notigen dingen, accuse a count and drive him to straits, Iw. 5625 seq.