TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

WALACHURIUN. 425
obligation of virginity, 1 which again reminds one of the Amazons.
At all events, when OSinn was angry with Sigrdrifa for letting his
favourite fall in battle, 2 he decreed that now she should be given in
marriage, qva5 hana giptaz scyldo/ Seem. 194a . Hla5gu5r, Hervor
and Olrun had been carried off by the men forcibly and against
their will (see Suppl.). 3 All these female names are descriptive.
Qlr&n was discussed on p. 404. Hladguftr is literally bellona
stragis ; Hervor, like the kindred Gunnvor, alludes to hosts and
battles, the adj. alvitr to the gift of prophecy, and svanlivit to the
swan-shape. Saxo Gram. 22-3 names another Svanhvita, who has
likewise much of the valkyr, is a seer of spirits, and presents a
sword to Regner to seal their covenant. As for Slagfi&r (see p. 380),
I prefer to explain it not as Slagfinnr, though he is called a son of
the Finnakonungr, but as Slagfio&r = alatus, pennatus, which goes
better with Svanhvit his lover, and is supported by the OHG.
word slagifedara, penna.
How little we are entitled to separate the norns and valkyrs
totally from one another, is taught by the tale of these three
maidens also. Not to mention the prevalence among valkyrs as
well as norns of the number three and sisterly companionship, nor
Hervor s having the epithet alvitr (omniscia), which better fits a
norn than a valkyr ; it is said of all three, that they sat on the
sea-beach spinning costly flax, nay, of the same all- witting one
(who is repeatedly called dnga, as Skuld is in other places), that
she was about to orlog drygja, to dree a weird, Saem. 133 a 134 a .
1
Pompon. Mela 3, 8 : Oraculi numinis Gallic! antistites, perpetua
virginitate sanctae, numero novem esse traduntur. Gallicenas vocant, putantque
ingeniis singularibus praeditas maria ac ventos concitare, seque in quae velint
animalia vertere, sanare quae apud alios insanabilia sunt, scire ventura et
praedicare, sed non nisi deditas navigantibus, et in id tantum ut se consulerent
profectas [1. profectis ?] . The similarity of these nine sooth-telling gallicenae
is unmistakable. Some read Galli Cenas, others Barrigenas, conf. Tzsehucke,
Not. crit. pp. 159163.
2 N.B. against OSin s will, who could therefore be outwitted : destiny stood
above the god.
3 On p. 406 we saw wise-women represented as acquainted with writing,
and as actually writing it ; will be for similar reasons that valkyrs embroider
* and paint. The Vols. saga cap. 24 says of :
Brynhild him sat i einni skemmu
sinar, hun kunni rneira hagleik enn aSrar konur, hun lagSi sinn
vi<5 meyjar
borSa meS gulli, ok saumaSi a ]?au stormerki, er SigiirSr hafSi . giort And in
this chamber SigurS .comes tojier. I place beside this the opening lines of a
Swedish : song
Sven Farling han rider till jungfruns gard,
som stickade pa silket det hvita.
And this hero is identical with Sigurd".