TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

KAHANA. HELLIA. 311
futation]. The discovery from legend or elsewhere of a harmony
between myths may raise our 1
guesses into demonstrations.
12. EAHANA (RAN). HELLIA (HEL).
My survey of the gods closed with Oegir and Loki ; and the
akin to these shall be the last mentioned here. -
goddesses
To correspond to the OK Gefjon the Old Saxons had, as far as
we know, not a female but a male being, Gelan, Geofon (sea, p. 239).
With four giant oxen, according to Sn. 1, Gefjon ploughs Zealand
out of the Swedish soil, and a lake arises, whose inward bend exactly
fits the projecting coast of Zealand. She is described as a virgin,
and all maidens who die virgins wait upon her, Sn. 36. Her name
is called upon when oaths are taken : sver ek viS Gefjon, F. Magn.
lex. 386 (see SuppL). Gefn, a name of Freyja (Sn. 37 and Viga-
glumss. cap. 27) reminds one of Gefjon.
Ran was the wife of the seagod Oegir, they had nine daughters
who are cited by name in the Edda, and called Ednar (or Oegis)
dcetr. 2 Men who are drowned fall to the share of Ran, which of
itself attests her divinity : fara til Rdnar is to get drowned at sea,
Fornald. sog. 2, 78 ; and sitja at Rdnar to be drowned, Fornm. sog.
6, 376. Those who were drowned she drew to her in a net, and
1
It seems almost as if the MHG. poets recognised a female personage fr6
Fuoge or Gefuoge (fitness), similar in plastic power to the masc. Wish, a per
sonified compages or dp/xoi/ta. Lachmann directs me to instances in point. Er.
7534-40 :
(conf. Iwein, p. 400)
So hete des meisters sin So had the master s thought
turned out this riding-gear
gepriievet clitz gereite
mit grozer wisheite with ;
great wisdom ;
er gap dem helfenbeine he gave the ivory
und da bi dem gesteine
and withal the jewelry
sin gevellige stat,
each its proper place,
als in diu Gevuoge bat. as him dame Fitness bade.
(Conf. Er. 1246 : als in min ware sclmlde bat). Parz. 121, 11 :
Wer in den zwein landen wirt,
Whoso in the two lands thrives,
Gefuoge ein wunder an im birt Fitness a wonder in him bears ;
;
he is a miraculous birth of Fitness, her child, her darling. Conversely, Walther
64, 38 :
Fro Unfuoge, ir habt gesiget.
And 65, 25 :
Dame Unfitness, thou hast triumphed.
Swer Ungefuoge swigen hieze Whoso bade Indecorum hush,
und sie abe den biirgen stieze ! and hurled her from her strongholds.
It is true, the prefixes ge-, un-, argue a later and colder allegory. And the
weak fern, form (ace. in -en) would be preferable, OHG. Fuoga, gen. Fuogun,
as in N. cap. 135 hifuogun, sotigenam (see SuppL).
2 Sami. 79b 144a 153b 180. Sn. 124-9. 185. Eyrbygg. saga p. 274, and in
dex sub v. Ran. Egilssaga p. 616.