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HEATA. 885
(Gramm. 3, 441), as it was often apostrophized (Klage 847.
Wigal. 6514), and like Norse heroes, or like fire, was called bani
(occisor, e.g. Hialmars bani, Fornald. sog. 1, 522), as its hilt and
point were the haunt of snake and adder (p. 687-8) ; agreeable to
all this is a deification of the sword of war (p. 203-4), and for this
would be found available not the lifeless neuter (
swert/ but the
masc. hairus, heru, cheru/ p. 203, to which correspond the divine
names EOT, and Salisnot :
"Apr]s from this divine progenitor s name
proceeded the national names of Cheruscans, Saxons, conf. Suar-
dones, with Sweordweras, in Cod. exon. 322, 13. In contrast
with the sword, which ennobles men, stands female decoration,
from which our language drew similar designations ; and it is a
significant thing that, as one of the highest gods borrowed lustre
from the sword, so did the fairest of goddesses from her necklace,
she after whom all ladies are called freyja (pp. 299. 306). In
our oldest laws the sword 1 was an essential part of the f
her-
gewate/ war-equipment, and the necklace of the frauen-gerade/
woman s outfit (RA. 567 seq.) ; now, as we find in the Lex Angl.
et Werin. 7, 3 the expression ornamenta muliebria quod rJiedo
dicunt/ it becomes a question, whether a totally
different ex
planation of the AS. goddess Rlieda from that attempted on
p. 289 be not the right one. Ostara, Eastre, was goddess of the
growing light of spring, and Hrede might be goddess
of female
beauty, another name for Frouwa, Freyja, or a personification of
the necklace ;
2 the root might be the same as in the OHG. hrat,
A.S. hraed, ON. hraSr (velox, celer), as the notions of swiftness
and sweetness often meet. We must not overlook another word
used for the above gerade : radeleve (RA. 567), OHG. rado-
1 And with it a horse and ship, the most precious of movable goods in antiquity.
Mearas and maftmas are coupled together in AS. poems ; out of ma Sm was
developed the notion of the Goth. mai>ms, a costly gift, while the MHG. meiden
retained the literal meaning of horse ; the formula schiff und geschirr. ship and
harness, which afterwards meant the land- ship (waggon) and its rigging, may
originally have signified the sea-ship, which ON. and AS. poets in varying phrase
denominate sea-horse, Andr. and El. xxxiv.-v. ; even in the French Simplic.
3, 46 I find to put the wooden water-horse to his paces = to sail. This borders
closely on the notion of demonic sea-horses (p. 490).
2 The personifications Hamar and Heru as weapons of the highest gods, and
their counterpart the feminine spindle and necklace, support each other (conf.
p. 204). The hammer was left to grow diabolic (ch. XXXIII) and superstitious
(XXXVII), but the men would not allow their sword to be dishonoured. The In
dians personified and apostrophized the sacrificial knife (Gotting. anz. 1831, p.
1762).