Angliad
NOTES
My intentions with this work have been to reconstruct, as far as possible, the
lost legendary history of the Anglo-Saxon people. All the groundwork was done
long ago, by scholars like HM Chadwick and RW Chambers, but to my knowledge
no one has transformed their superlative scholarship into a generally accessible
narrative.
I have used the genealogies of the Anglo-Saxon kings as a basic framework, fleshing
this out with information from later sources that preserve identifiable fragments
of the legendary history of the Anglo-Saxons. In the following notes I will
explain this in further detail.
-------------------------------------
1. SCEAF
Main Sources: The Chronicle of Æthelweard (Ed. A. Campbell),
Malmesbury: the Kings before the Norman Conquest (Ed. J Stevenson)
In most of the surviving Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies, Sceaf appears at the
point where they change from Biblical characters to heathen mythical heroes
and gods. Said to have been "in the Ark with Noah", this is usually
regarded as a later monastic reinterpretation of the original heathen myth.
More information is provided by writers such as the tenth century chronicler
Æthelweard, who speaks of the child Sceaf's arrival in a boat full of weapons,
and how he became ancestor of Woden's dynasty, and thus the later Anglo-Saxon
kings. The twelfth century writer William of Malmesbury adds that the boat lacked
oars and that Sceaf's head was resting on a sheaf of corn, hence the name (OE
sceaf = sheaf). His progeny are recorded by the genealogists.
-------------------------------------
2. WODEN
Main Sources: Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway
(University of Texas)
----------------: Edda (Everyman, 1996)
Little is known of the Anglo-Saxon myths concerning Woden. What remains corresponds
roughly with the fuller accounts of Norse myth, although not absolutely. The
god appears here as a magician in the Nine Herbs Charm, there as a maker of
idols in Maxims I B. He can also be found in the word Wednesday (Wodnesdæg),
and various placenames in England connected with his cult - Wednesbury, Wansdyke,
Wenslow. But the best-documented myth concerning the god recorded after the
Conversion identifies him as the ancestor of almost all the Anglo-Saxon royal
houses.
The original form of the myth is unknown. By the time it was recorded in Anglo-Saxon
England, Woden had clearly been euhemerised into an ancient king. It goes against
the Eddic mythology, where Odin's father and grandfather, Borr and Buri, represent
the full extent of the god's ancestry. Most serious historians use Woden's presence
in the genealogies to cast doubt on their veracity, and often regard them as
little more than propaganda. From a mythologist's point of view, however, they
are invaluable.
I have filled in the gaps with Snorri Sturluson's later account in his Heimskringla
and Edda, both of which show influence from Anglo-Saxon genealogy, although
there is little to suggest that he knew anymore about Old English myth than
we do. However, his versions are the oldest and fullest forms available. In
them Woden / Odin is presented as an ancient king, in accordance with contemporary
mores, but I have taken the liberty to 'restore' the tale to a more heathen
form.
-------------------------------------
3. BÆLDÆG
Main Sources: Saxo Grammaticus: History of the Danes (Ed. Oliver Elton)
Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway
(University of Texas)
In the genealogies, one of Woden's many sons is known as Bældæg. Many writers,
from Æthelweard onwards, have identified this son as the Norse god Baldr. I
have followed this, despite some reservations, but adapted the version in Saxo
Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum rather than Snorri's Atys-like account, under the
assumption that it preserves an earlier form. Also, with its Danish origin and
locale, it is perhaps closer to the story the Anglo-Saxons knew. Saxo's account
also fits better with the notion of the visit of Woden and his sons to the world
of Men, and the founding of the Woden-descended royal houses. But since its
anti-Baldr bias is not in keeping with my own approach to the tale, I have made
certain changes.
The story of the wooing of Hrind and the avenging of Bældæg / Baldr follows
directly on in Saxo, but the final episode in which Woden returns to the halls
of the gods is adapted from Heimskringla.
-------------------------------------
4. EARENDEL
Main Sources: Snorri Sturluson: Edda (Everyman, 1996),
Saxo Grammaticus: History of the Danes (Ed. Oliver Elton),
Orendel
Earendel is a very good example of the elusive and fragmentary nature of the
subject matter. A number of different accounts exist regarding characters with
forms of this name - Aurvandill in Iceland, Horwendill in Denmark, Orendel in
medieval Germany, Earendel in Anglo-Saxon England. Each account tallies in only
the vaguest of ways, but most scholars posit a single lost original for all
three.
In the Edda, Snorri preserves an account of how Thor rescued Aurvandill the
Brave from captivity among the giants and flung his frost-bitten toe into the
sky where became one of the brightest stars (identified by some with a Corona
Borealis, by others with the Morning Star); Saxo's Horwendillus is the original
of Old King Hamlet in Shakespeare's play, a heroic warrior-king noted for his
expeditions into the east (traditional location of giantland); the peerless
knight Orendel in German tradition sailed east on a crusade and passed through
many supernatural perils to rescue the most beautiful woman in the world, who
became his wife; and Earendel is mentioned by the poet Cynewulf in connection
with the morning star. All these names are etymolgically one and the same. This
mythical character, or medley of characters, inspired Tolkien to construct his
entire Lord of the Rings mythology (where he appears as Earendill).
I have used the basic story of Orendel with elements inspired by Snorri, rounding
off my version with Saxo's account of the homecoming of Horwendill and more
than a little artistic license. It is by no means a definitive reconstruction
of the ur-Earendel saga. But it does lead quite smoothly into the next tale.
-------------------------------------
5. AMLUTH
Main Sources: Saxo Grammaticus: History of the Danes (Ed. Oliver Elton),
Frisian rune-inscription from Westeremden
Amluth - the form recorded on a Frisian rune-stave from Westeremden, c.800 -
was known to Saxo as Amleth, and is more famous as Shakespeare's Hamlet. It
may come as a surprise to readers that the Dane appears as an Anglo-Saxon ancestor.
But bear with me.
The stories of Amleth and Uffo (see below) appear in Saxo's Danish History where
they are rulers in Denmark. Uffo has been positively identified as Offa I of
the Mercian genealogy, and it soon becomes apparent that a portion of Anglo-Saxon
legendary history has become detached and placed out of context in the legends
of Denmark. Amluth is said to be son of the præfectus of Jutland, from which
it can be assumed that he was a Jute. There is evidence (see Appendix C of Tolkien's
Finn and Hengest) that the Jutes had come under the rule of the Angles, apart
from a group who had fled to Frisia. Much of this can be reinforced by archaeological
evidence. Tolkien suggests that the Jutes were already tributary in Earendel's
time. I have altered this a little, and moved the conquest forward to the death
of Amluth. Other changes I have made include altering the nationality of Eormenthryth
(Saxo's Hermithruda) from Scottish to Pictish, since this is more in keeping
with the period of the story, which I presume to be some time in the fourth
century AD. It is tempting to suggest that the Amluth saga indicates some recollection
of the "barbarian conspiracy" of 367? Could the ruler of Britain who
is so friendly with a Jutish king be one of the Germanic soldiers recorded as
holding high posts in Britain at the time? Alan Bliss suggests Wihtlæg, Amluth's
killer, was born around 300 AD. In this case, could Amluth be linked with the
Saxons in Britain during the reign of Carausius? But this is no more than speculation.
-------------------------------------
6. OFFA
Main Source: Saxo Grammaticus: History of the Danes (Ed. Oliver Elton),
The identification of Saxo's hero Uffo with Offa of the Mercian genealogies
has been made by better scholars than I - H.M Chadwick (Origin of the English
Nation), R.W. Chambers (Beowulf, Widsith), J.R.R. Tolkien (Finn and Hengest)
et al. I have retold Saxo's story more or less verbatim, but in an Anglo-Saxon
context.
-------------------------------------
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