TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

WODAN. 147
HaJculabairands, now that hakuls for </>6Xoz/?7? is found in 2 Tim.
iv. 13. Swedish folk-tales picture Odin as bald-headed, Iduna 10,
231. In the ancient poetry he is Harbardr, Siffgrani, Sfc&skeggr,
all in allusion to his thick growth of hair and beard. The name
Eedbeard I have elsewhere understood of Thor, but in Fornald.
sog. 2, 239 257 the Grani and Raudgrani are expressly Oolnn (see
Suppl).
The Norse myth arms Oftinn with a wonderful spear (geir),
Gungnir by name, Ssem. 196. Sn. 72 ; which I put on a par with
the lance or sword of Mars, not the staff of Mercury. Sigmund s
sword breaks, when he hacks at Sinn s spear, Vols. saga cap. 11.
He lends this spear to heroes to win victories with, Ssem. 165. A
remarkable passage in the Fornm. sog. 5, 250 says : seldi honum
reyrspiota (gave him the reeden spear) 1 hond, ok baft hann skiota
honum yfir lift Styrbiarnar, ok J?at skyldi hann msela : 05in a yc5r
alia ! All the enemies over whom the spear he shoots shall fly, are
doomed to death, and the shooter obtains the victory. So too the
Eyrbyggja saga p.
228 :
J?a skaut Stein]?6rr spioti at fornom
sift til
heilla ser yfir flock Snorra ; where, it is true, nothing is said of the
spear launched over the enemy being the god s. Ssem. 5 a , of OSinn
himself : fleigbl ok i folk urn skaut (see Suppl.).
To the god of victory are attached two wolves and two ravens,
which, as combative courageous animals, follow the fight, and
pounce upon the fallen corpses, Andr. and El. xxvi. xxvii. The
wolves are named Geri and Freki, Sn. 42 ; and so late as in Hans
Sachs (i. 5, 499), we read in a schwank, that the Lord God has chosen
wolves for his hounds, that they are his cattle. The two ravens are
Huginn and Muninn, from hugr (animus, cogitatio) and munr
(mens) ; they are not only brave, but cunning and wise, they
sit on
the shoulders of OSinn, and whisper in his ear whatever they see
and hear, Seem. 42 b 88 a . Sn. 42. 56. 322. To the Greek Apollo too
x
the wolf and raven were sacred ; his messenger the raven informed
him when Koronis was unfaithful, and Aristeas accompanied him
as a raven, Herod. 4, 15 ;
Mithras the sun-god.
a raven is perched aloft on the mantle of
The Gospels represent the Holy Ghost as a
1 In Marc. Cap. 1, 11, the words: augurales vero alites ante curriim
3elio constiterunt/ are transl. by Notker 37 : to waren garo ze Apollinis reito
;ine wizegfogela, rabena unde albisze. To Oolnn hawks are sometimes given
nstead of ravens : Oftins haukar Sasm. 167 b .