TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

ISCIO. IRMINO. 351
Tacitus have prevailed even among the Ehine Germans ;
I have never
yet heard of an OHG. Artinga, Ertinga, nor of an ON. Addingar,
Eddingar. According to this conjecture, ingenious anyhow and
worth examining further, the ancestral hero would be called Istio
Izdio, Izdvio, OHGL Erto, ON. Eddi, with which the celebrated
term edda proavia would agree, its Gothic form being izdd, OHG.
ertil Izdo, Izdio proavus would seem in itself an apt name for the
founder of a race. The fluctuation between i and a would be common
to both interpretations, Iscaevones = Askinga .and Istaevones=
Artinga .
The third son of Mannus will occupy us even longer than his
brothers. Ermino s posterity completes the cycle of the three main
races of Germany : Ingaevones, Iscaevones, Herminones. The order
in which they stand seems immaterial, in Tacitus it merely follows
their geographical position ; the initial vowel common to them
leads us to suppose an alliterative juxtaposition of the ancestral
heroes in German songs. The aspirate given by the Eomans to
Herminones, as to Hermunduri, is strictly no part of the German
word, but is also very commonly retained by Latin writers of the
Mid. Ages in proper names compounded with Irmin. In the name
of the historical Arminius Tacitus leaves it out.
As with Inguio and Iscio, we must assign to the hero s name
the otherwise demonstrable weak form Irmino} Ermino, Goth.
Airmana : it is supported by the derivative Herminones, and even
by the corruptions Hisicion, Armenon, Negno in Nennius (see
Suppl.). Possibly the strong-formed Irman, Irmin, Armin may
even be a separate root. But what occurs far more frequently than
the simple word, is a host of compounds with irman-, irmin-, not
only proper names, but other expressions concrete and abstract :
Goth. Ermanaricus (Airmanareiks), OHG. Irmanrih, AS. Eormenric,
ON. lormunrekr, where the u agrees with that in the national
name Hermundurus ;
OHG. Irmandegan, Irmandeo, Irmanperaht,
Irmanfrit, Irminolt, Irmandrut, Irmaiigart, Irmansuint, &c. Atten
tion is claimed by the names of certain animals and plants : the
ON. lormungandr is a snake, and lormunrekr a bull, the AS.
Eormenwyrt and Eormenleaf is said to be a mallow, which I also
1 Pertz 1, 200. 300. 2, 290. 463. 481 ; the abbas Irmino of Claries the
Great s time is known well enough now ; and a female name larmin is met
with in deeds.