TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

NURSED BY ANIMALS. 391
The sivan s wing, the swan s coat, betokens another supernatural
quality which heroes share with the gods (p. 326), the power of
flying. As Wieland ties on his swan-wings, the Greek Perseus has
winged shoes, talaria, Ov. met. 4, 667. 729, and the Servian Eelia is
called kriliit (winged), being in possession of krilo and okrilie
(wing and wing-cover), Vuk 2, 88. 90. 100. A piece of the wing
remaining, or in women a swan s foot, will at times betray the
higher nature.
The superhuman quality of heroes shines out of their eyes
(luminum vibratus, oculorum micatus, Saxo Gram. 23) : ormr i
auga. The golden teeth of gods and heroes have been spoken of, p.
234. In the marchen sons are born with a star on the forehead,
Kinderm. 96. Straparola 4, 3 ; or a golden star falls on the fore
head, Pentam. 3, 10. The Dioscuri had a star or flame shining on
their heads and helmets : this may have reference to the rays
encircling the head (p. 323), or to constellations being set in the
sky. In some cases the heroic form is disfigured by animal
peculiarities, as Siegfried s by his horny skin, and others by a
scaly ; the marchen have heroes with hedgehog spikes. The legend
of the Merovings, imperfectly handed down to us, must be founded
on something of the kind. When Clodio the son of Faramund
with his queen went down to the shore, to cool themselves from
the sultry summer heat, there came up a monster (sea-hog ?) out of
the waves, which seized and overpowered the bathing queen. She
then bore a son of singular appearance, who was therefore named
Merovig, and his descendants, who inherited the peculiarity,
Theophanes expressly declares, that the Merovings
were called KpicrrdraL and rpf^opa^draL, because all the kings of
Merovings. 1
that house had bristles down the backbone (pd^s), like swine.
We still find in Eol. 273, 29, where it is true they are enumerated
among heathens,
di helde von Meres ;
vil gewis sit ir des,
daz niht kuoners mac sin :
an dem rucke tr agent si borsten sam swin.
The derivation of the name is altogether unknown. Can it possibly
have some connexion with the boar-worship of Fro, which may
1
Fredegar s epitome (Bouquet 2, 396), and Conradus Ursperg., Arg. 1609,
.p. 92. Per contra, Mullenhoff in Haupt s zeitschr. 6, 432.