Zeus : a study in ancient religion - Warburg Institute

52
The Irminsicl
Thuringian hero, who with his sword slays two kings, is, according
to some, hkewise a form of Tiu^' Now the Milky Way was known
Road of Iring^.' If,
as Iringesstrdza or Iringes wee, the * Street ' or '
therefore, I ring is rightly regarded as a form of Ziu, we have here
the Germanic parallel to Pindar's ' road
of Zeus^' That road led up
' to Kronos' tower.' But the counterpart of this mysterious destina-
tion is hardly to be found in Germanic myth. It might rather be
sought in the Celtic area ;
for a Welsh name of the Milky Way was
caer Gwydion, the 'castle of Gwydion*.' However that may be,
Iring is in legend closely associated with Irmenfried, king of the
Thuringians'' ; and Ii'viin, the 'Uplifted One'',' is commonly thought
to have been another name or surname of Ziu'^. It was probably as
letter :, .md in cod. Cotton. Tiberius D i8 (J. M. Kemble 'On Anglo-Saxon Runes'
in Arcliaiologia 1840 xxviii. 338 pi. 15, if., G. Stephens op. (it. i. 107 no. 24) is
called ziu But Mr B. Dickins, to whom I applied for a criticism of the whole hypothesis,
has shown convincingly that it rests on a complete misconception of the data. His
remarks, too important to be compressed into a footnote, will be found printed in the
Addenda ad loc.
^ J. Grimm Irmensirasze und Irinensatde Wien 1815 p. 21 ff., p. 41 { — Kleincre
Schriften Guiersloh 1890 viii. 479(7., 490), id. Tctitonic Mythology tvdjas. J. S. Stallybrass
London 1882 i. 358 ff., 1888 iv. 1389 f.
'^
J. Grimm Iriiienstrasze und Irmensdule Wien 1815 p. 22 ff. ( = KUinere Schriften
Giitersloh 1890 viii. 479 ff.), id. Teutonic Mythology trans. J. S. Stallybrass London 1882
i. 358 ff, 1888 iv. 1389, E. H. Meyer Germanische Mythologie Berlin 1891 p. 89,
K. MxsSXftViiCio^ Deutsche Altcrlutnsku>ide'&&x\\w 1900 i v. 117.
^ Stipra p. 36 f.
* W. Owen Pughe Geiriadtir Cenhedlaethol Cynu-aeg a Saesneg^ (A National Dictionary
of the Welsh Language, with English and Welsh Equivalents) enlarged by R. J. Pryse
Denbigh 1866 i. 297 'Caer gwydion—the gallaxy, so called from Gwydion ab Don, who,
having a knowledge of astronomy, was deemed a conjurer.' H. Gaidoz and E. Holland
in Melushie Paris 1884—85 ii. 153 n. i comment: ' Ce n(mi n'est pas populaire ; il ne se
trouve que dans certains dictionnaires, et il nous parait suspect.' But J. Grimm Teutonic
Mythology trans. J. S. Stallybrass London 1882 i. 150 n. 2 and 357 n. i saw no reason to
doubt it, and it is accepted by Sir J. Rhys Hibbert Lectures 1886^ London 1898 p. 240,
id. Celtic Folklore Welsh and Manx Oxford 1901 ii. 645, C. Squire The Mythology of the
British Islatids London 1905 pp. 253, 268, J. A. MacCulloch The Religion of the Ancient
Celts Edinburgh 191 1 p. 107.
^ See the references cited supra n. i.
6 My friend Prof. H. M. Chadwick points out to me (April 3, 1917) that Irmin is
presumably a participial formation resembling in both sound and sense -qptxivos (ai'/soj), the
' Uplifted One.' If so, Irmin was "Tipiaros.
7 E.g. W. Golther Handbuch der germanischeti Mythologie Leipzig 1895 p. 209 'Hit
Irmino ist ebenfalls Tiuz gemeint,' K. Miillenhoff Deutsche Alterturnskunde Berlin 1900
iv. 117 'die entscheidende und wichtigste stelle liber Irmin findet sich bei Widukind i,
12. sie ist von mir in der abhandlung tiber Tuisto und seine nachkommen in Schmidts
allg. zs. fiir gesch. 8 (1847), 242 ff. erlautert worden [reprinted in the Deutsche Alterturnskunde
iv. 519 ff.]. nach ihr und einigen andern zeugnissen ist Irmin beiname des alten
himmelsgottes Tiu, altn. Tyr, ags. in Tivesddg, ahd. Zio, mit anderm namen Er,'
R. M. Meyer Allger/uanische Eeligiousgeschichte Leipzig 1910 p. 192 'Irmin ist sicher
Tiu.' For a critical investigation of the evidence see R. Much 'Der germanische Him-