TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

j Isenlart,
IRMANRIH. ETICHO. DIETRICH. 373
the legend on the origin of the Welfs has the proper names
Irmentrud, Wdf and Etico constantly recurring. Now,
welf is strictly catulus (huelf, whelp, OK hvelpr), and distinct from
wolf ;
natural history tells us of several strong courageous animals
that are brought into the world blind ; the Langobardic and
Swabian genealogies play upon dogs and wolves being exposed ;
and
as Odoacer, Otaclier (a thing that has never till now been accounted
for) is in some versions called Sipicho, ON". Bicki, and this means
dog (bitch), I suspect a similar meaning in Edica, Eticho, Ediulf,
Odacar, which probably affords a solution of the fable about the
blind Schwaben and Hessen : their lineage goes back to the blind
Welfs. In the genealogy Ediulf is described as brother to Ermen-
rich, in later sagas Bicki is counsellor to lormunrekr ;
the Hilde-
brandslied has but too little to say of Otacher. Then Vuldulf also
(perhaps Vuldr-ulf) will signify a glorious beaming wolf (see
Suppl.). As Siegfried eclipsed all other Welisungs, so did Dieterich
all the Amalungs ; and where the epos sets them one against the
other, each stands in his might, unconquered, unapproachable.
Dieterich s divine herohood comes out in more than one feature, e.g.,
his fiery breath, and his taking the place of Wuotan or Ero (p.
213-4) at the head of the wild host, as Dietrichbern or Bemhard.
The fiery breath brings him nearer to Donar, with whom he can be
compared in another point also : Dieterich is wounded in the
forehead by an arrow, and a piece of it is left inside him, for which
1
reason he is called the deathless not otherwise did the half of
j
Hrungnir s hein (stone wedge) remain in Thor s head, and as
Groa s magic could not loosen it, it sticks there still, and none shall
aim with the like stones, for it makes the piece in the god s forehead
stir (Sn. 109 111). 2
This horn-like stone was very likely shown
in images, and enhanced their godlike appearance.
The renowned race of the Billings or Billungs, whose mythic
roots and relations are no longer discoverable, was still flourishing
in North Germany in the 10-1 1th centuries. The first historically
certain Billing died in 967, and another, above a hundred years
older, is mentioned.3 The Cod. Exon. 320, 7 says : Billing weold
1 Simon Keza, chron. Hungaror. 1, 11. 12. Heinr. von Miiglein (in
Kovachich p. 8) conf. ; Deutsche heldensage p. 164.
2
Hence the : proverb seint losnar hein i hofSi Thors.
3 Wedekind s Hermann duke of Saxony, Liineb. 1817, p. 60. Conf. the
miles Billinc, comes Billingus in docs, of 961-8 in Hofers zeitschr. 2, 239. 344,
and the OHG. form Billungus in Zeuss, Trad, wizenb. pp. 274. 287. 305.