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Grimm's TM - Supplement Chap. 7 Sup.
WODAN. p. 131. ) The name of the highest god, whom the other gods serve
as children their father (Sn. 23), often occurs in OHG., like Herrgott much
later, as a man's name: Wotan, Schannat 312, Woatan 318, Wuotan 342. 386-9.
Langobardic glosses have Odan and Godan, Hpt Ztschr. 1, 557; conf. Godán 5,
1. 2. In the Abren. we find Woden; perh. Wedan too is OS. (Suppl. to 154); on
Wodan conf. Lisch Meckl. Jb. 20, 143. AS., beside Wôden, has Othan (Sup. to
5); Oðon, Sal. and Sat. 83; Eowðen (p. 161 n.). Nth Fris. Wede, Wedke, Müllenh.
167. Wedki taeri! Landesk. 4, 246. For Norse Oðinn, once Oddiner, conf. Munch
on Odd's Ol. Tr. 94. Audon, Yngl. c. 7, Does Audun in Norw. docs. stand for
Oðin? Oden in Östögtl. = hin onde, Almqvist 371a. In the Stockh. Adress-calender
för 1842, p. 142, are actually two men named Odin. Rask, Afh. 1, 377-8, takes
the Lett. Vidvut for the Vodan of the Vides (Lettons), while Vogt 1, 141 makes
Widewud, Waidewud a Prussian king. With Vut in the Grisons, conf. Vuodan in
the Valais, of whom M. C. Vulliemin relates in his La reine Berte et son temps,
Laus. 1843, p. 3: 'Un jour on avait vu Wuodan descrendre le Rhône, telle était
du moins la croyance populaire, l'épée nue dans une main, un globe d'or dans
l'autre, et criant rigou haiouassou (fleuve soulève toi) ! et le fleuve s'élevant
avait détruit une partie de la ville.' On my inquiring (through Troyon) if the
name in the story was really Wuodan, the answer was distinctly Yes, and the
town destroyed was Martigny. Carisch 182b has vutt idol, which some derive from
vultus, voult, face, or portrait, others from votum; conf. magliavutts (Sup.
to 35n.). p. 132. ) Wuotan from watan, like qeoj
from qeein, Sansk. vâdanas, Schleicher in Kuhn's Ztschr.
4, 399. He stands closely conn. with weather, OHG. wetar, aër, aether, and wind
(Sup. to 115); he is storm, byr, furia, wild hunter, uma, Ymir, Jumala, spirit;
he is also called Ofnir, Vafuðr, Vafþrûðnir. But why in Sæm. 3b does Oðinn give
önd, and Hoenir ôð, when surely Oðinn should give ôð? The Bav. wueteln is known
to H. Sachs: das es aufwudlet grün in grün (of herbs) v. 377d. wudelt das kraut
auf, v. 378c; conf. Wuotilgôz, Wôdelgeát, p. 367 n., and Wôden's relation to
Geát, p. 164-5. We can put him on a par with Zeus, Indra, Loptr: ahr,
on au tij onomaseie kai Dia, Meineke's Fragm. com. 4, 31. Æschylus in
Eum. 650 says of Zeus: ta d alla pant anw te kai katw strefwn
tiqhsin, ouden asqmainwn menei. Zeus merely touches, breathes upon Io,
and she conceives Epaphos (the touched), Æsch. Prom. 849-851. ex
epafhj kux epipnoiaj Dioj, Æsch. Suppl. 18. 45. efaptwr
312. qeiaij epipnoiaij pauetai 576. Ducange sub v.
Altanus has a peculiar gl. Aelfrici: Altanus Voden, quae vox saxonice Wodanum
seu Mercurium sonat (conf. p. 162 n.). In Wright 17b 'Altanus þoden,' otherw
þoden is turbo; altanus auster is a wind. On Woldan see Hpt Ztschr. 5, 494. p. 132. ) With Otfried's gotewuoto conf. a Schlettst. gl. of the
9th century: 'sub tyranno, under themo godowôden.'
Der wüeterîch, Servat. 2853. ein tobender w., Barl. 254, 21; conf. gwyth, p.
150 n. In the Eifel the wild host is called Wodes-heer, and a savage monster
of a man Wuodes-woor, Schmitz 1, 233. In the Wetterau band of robbers was one
Werner Wuttwuttwutt, Schwenker 574. Pfister 1, 157. 162. p. 133. ) It is not Svîðr, gen. Svinns, but Sviður ok Sviðrir,
gen. Sviðurs, in Sæm. 46b. Sn. 3. 24. 195. ----- Beside valfaðir, herfaðir (p.
817), Oðinn bears the names Herjann, Herteitr, Gunnarr, Lex. myth. 641a; conf.
Herjans dîs, Sæm. 213b. fleygði O. ok î folk umskaut 5a. valr lâ þar â sandi
vitinn enum eineygja Friggjar faðmbyggvi (ibi caesi in arena jacuere, dedicati
unoculo qui Friggae amplexibus delectatur), Sn. 1848, 236.
Non humile obscurumve genus, non funera plebis
Pluto rapit vilesque animas, sed fata potentum
Implicat, et claris complet Phlegethonta figuris, p. 134. ) With Paul the Deacon's account conf. the older setting
in the Prol. leg. Rotharis in Hpt Ztschr. 5, 1. There Wodan and Frea remind
you altogether of Oðinn and Frigg in the Grîmnismâl. O. is called Sigr-höfundr,
Egilss. 640, and his dwelling Sigtûnir, Yngl. 5. Sn. 15. p. 136. ) On name-giving, ON. nafn-festi, see GDS. 153-4. With
Hliðsciâlf conf. Valaskiâlf, p. 817n. Does OHG. Bughenscelp belong here? Cod.
Lauresh. no. 2597. The Gl. Sletst. 15, 7 have scelb fornice, also those in Hpt
Ztschr. 5, 196. scelp fornix, Graff 6, 479. biscilbit in clida, Diut. 1, 342;
and clida belongs to hlið, OHG. hlit, operculum. The Lex. myth. 434 explains
Hliðskiâlf as porta coeli tremens. p. 136-7 n. ) God's chair means also the rainbow (p. 733); God's
little chair, among the Lausitz Wends, the corpse-bird (p. 1134). The German
märchen of the Tailor who climbs the Lord's chair, of iron-booted Ferdinand,
of faithful John and strong Francis, who arrive at a heaven with many doors
(conf. Wolf's Deut. mär. u. sagen no. 5, KM. no. 3, 35, Müllenh. mär. no. xii.),
resemble the Greek notion of Zeus's throne and the several doors through which
he attends to the prayers, vows and offerings of men, Lucian's Icaromenippus,
c. 25-6. p. 138. ) Wunsch, wish, seems akin to Sansk. vângksh, vânch opto,
desidero, Bopp Gl. 315a. Pott 1, 235, which Bopp thinks identical with Welsh
gwanc, desire. Wish in O.Fr. is souhait (p. 951n.) and avel, pl. aviaux, Ren.
25131, 26828. plus bel lui nestuest souhaidier, Ogier 1, 140. Wunsch is god
of bliss and love, who wishes, wills and brings good to men. We still speak
of God as the giver of all good, all gifts, Kl. Schr. 2, 327-9. Wünschen is
to romance, exaggerate, imagine: sam ez gewünschet waere, Rab. 240. ob ieman
wünschen solde, Nib. 281, 3. 780, 1. und der nu w. solde, Ecke 202 (Hagen).
Also to wish into being, create, Wigal. 327. 887. 5772. so viel nur immer Gott
Vater w. kann, Zingerle 2, 64. mit wunsch, by divine power, Tit. 347; and conversely
verwünschen to annihilate. wünschen lernen, to learn conjuring, Müllenh. 395.
402. (Of wunsch as the Ideal, a page and a half of examples is here omitted.) p. 141. ) Wish personified appears most freq. in Hartmann, which
is the more remarkable, as he got no prompting from his French original. The
last line on p. 138:
der Wunsch het in gemeistert sô, Greg. 1097. Er. 2740.
beneet soit le maistre
qui tele la fist naistre;
man sagt daz nie kint gewan
ein lîp sô gar dem Wunsche glîch, Er. 330,
que tote i avoit mis s'entente
nature, qui faite l'avoit (conf. vv. 415. 425).
ich waene Got sînen vlîz
an si hâte geleit
von schoene und von saelekeit, Er. 338,
onques Dex ne sot faire miauz
le nes, la bouche, ne les iauz,
beschoenen mit Wunsches gewalte, Flore 6927.
ir lîp aller wolgestalt
gar in des Wunsches gewalt, Meleranz. 8768.
Wunsches gewalt hân, Berth. 239. 240.
hie Wunsches gewalt, hie liep âne leit
in immerwerender sicherheit, Heinr. Suso in Die ewige weisheit.
si hât an ir wunsch gewalt, Altsw. 98.
an im lît der wunschgewalt, Dietr. drach. 41b.
drîer wünsche gewalt, MS. 2, 145b (KM.-3- 3, 146-7).
geben mit alles wunsches gewalt, Pass. 298, 1.
aller wünsche gewalt, Uhl. volksl. 1, 21. p. 143 n. ) Even Wolfram in Wh. 15, 7 has 'des Wunsches zil';
and des Wunsches paradîs actually occurs in Barl. 52, 8 and in the Rudolf. Vilmar
p. 64. p. 143. ) Wish is the meting, moulding, casting, giving, creating
(p. 22, 104n. 139), figuring, imaging, thinking, faculty, hence also imagination,
idea, image, figure. There is about Wish something inward, uttered from within:
der Wunsch tihtet, Troj. 3096, ûz tiefer sinne grunde erwünschet mit dem munde
2960. Apart from the passage in the Iliad, carij answers
to wunsch, not only in Lucian's Pro Imag. c. 26 p. 52: komhn
taij carisin apeikase, but, as God imparts wishing, it is said of Hermes:
oj ra te pantwn anqrwpwn ergoisi carin kai kudoj opazei,
Od. 15, 319. Beside des Wunsches aue and heilwâc, we have also a wunschsee and
wunschbrunne, Pröhle's Unterharz. s., no. 345; a Wünschberg in Panzer's Beitr.
1, 116, Wenschenborch in Hpt Ztschr. 1, 258, Wunschilburg in Henricus Pauper
115, Wünschelburg a village near Glatz. 'Joannes Wunschelberg doctor vixit circa
an. 1400,' Flacius cat. test. verit. 782, in Zarncke's Univ. Leipzig 764 an.
1427, 888 an. 1438. A Wünschmichelbach, Baader's Sagen no. 345; a Wünschensuhl
near Marksuhl, Thuringia; a 'super Wünsche' and Wunscheidorf, Rauch 2, 198.
200. p. 143-4. ) Förstemann has no name Wunsc, Wunscio, which would
mean wisher, adopter, but Karajan quotes Wensco and Sigiwunh (for Sigiwunsc,
conf. Sigtýr), and Sigewnses-holz about Eichstadt (for Sigiwunsces-holz), MB.
31, 363, year 1080. ---- The Oskmeyjar are called nunnor Herjans, Oðins meyjar,
Sn. 212a. Oskopnir might be connected with it and explained as 'stragem, campum
electionis aperiens' from opna aperire, of which the Völs. saga c. 18 makes
uskaptr. Beside the Wûscfreá of Deira, a later one is mentioned by Beda 138,
19. 153, 5. p. 145. ) As Wuotan sends wind and weather, and stills the stormy
sea, it is said of the christian God: daz er uns alle tage dienet mit weter
ioch mit wint, Diemer 89, 18. In Parzival, Feirefiz ascribes it to Juno that
she daz weter fuocte, fitted 750, 5; dem Juno ie gap segels luft 757, 7; segelweter
fuogte 767, 3. ----- If yggr be terror, yggdrasill means the horse of dread,
the storm-courser, perhaps the rushing god himself, as we know that Oðinn bears
the surname Yggr, and is always figured as the rider in the air, the furious
hunter. In that case Yggdrasils askr (Pref. li.) is the stormful god's ash.
Oðinn is also Hrôptr, alte clamans, conf. OHG. hruoft, clamor, Graff 4, 1137:
Hrôptr glaðr, Hpt Ztschr. 3, 154; Hrôptatýr, p. 196. And the surname Farma-týr,
Farma-guð may not be out of place here, as deus vecturarum nauticarum, from
farmr, onus nauticum. Mefîngr, Sæm. 272a is perh. conn. with mafr, seamew. Other
by-names are Fengr, Sæm. 184a. Völs. saga c. 17, p. 157; Svâfnir, Sæm. 93a;
Fiölnir, Sæm. 10a. 46b. 184a. Völs. saga c. 17, p. 157 and conf. 136. 193. 200.
323. He is 'inn reginkunngi baldur î brynjo,' Sæm. 272b. p. 145. ) Similar expressions for dying are: AS. Dryhten sêcean,
Beow. 373. ON. kenna einom âttûnga brautir til Oðins landa, Sæm. 80b. far till
Oden, Geyer 1, 123; conf. gefa Oðni, Landn. 5, 10. The miser collecting treasures
is said in Sweden to tjena Oden, Geyer 1, 123. Kl. schr. 3, 197. p. 145n. ) The conception of Oðinn as an evil being is clear in
the ON. 'hvaða Oðins lâtum?' quid hoc mali est? shortened to 'hvaða lâtum,'
quid hoc rei est? Wormius mon. dan. p. 11; lât is amissio, mors; conf. our 'was
des teufels?' Fornm. sög. 3, 179 has 'ôfögnuðr sendr af Oðni,' mischief sent
from O.; Oðinndœll 11, 151 periculosus, insociabilis, difficilis, is interpr.
'illr viðfângs' 12, 430; Oðinndœla 6, 374 periculum, infortunium, interpr. 'vandraeði,
vandamâl, naudsyn' 12, 430. Dæll itself is mansuetus, affabilis. p. 147. ) Oðin's outward appearance is alluded to in many other
places; hinn eineygji Friggjar faðm-byggvir, Sn. 1848 p. 236. He is Hengikiaptr,
labeo, cui pendet maxilla, Sn. 146 (p. 1075 n.); Harbarðr, Flaxbeard, from hör,
linum; to Sigurðr appears the Longbeard, and helps him to choose Grani, Völs.
c. 13. GDS. 688-9. To Saxo's 'Othinus os pileo obnubens' answers his surname
Grîmnir larvatus, from grîma. As 'Grîmnir' he shows himself to men in the guise
of a beggar to try them, e.g. to Geirröðr; as 'Gestr blindi' to Heiðrekr, as
'Gângrâðr' to Vafþrûðnir. Compare the German märchen of the old Beggar woman,
KM. 150, whose clothes begin to burn, as Grîmni's did. In the case of Heiðrekr,
Gestr guesses riddles for another, as the miller or shepherd does for the abbot,
Schmidt 85-9. Again Oðinn appears as the one-eyed bôndi Hrani, and bestows gifts,
Hrolf Kr. saga c. 39. 46 (Fornald. s. 1, 77. 94). The Fornm. s. 5, 171-2 says:
'hann var stuttklaeddr, ok hafði sîdan hatt niðr fyrir andlitit, ok sâ ôgerla
âsjonu hans; skeggjaðr var hann;' conf. the blind (one-eyed?) Hatt, Sv. äfventyr
1, 363. GDS. 578. Swed. legend gives Oðinn a pointed hat, uddehatt, which agrees
with the peculiar shape of certain tombstones, wedge-shaped, like a man-trap.
But he is called hauga-drôttin, Vitterh. acad. handl. 14, 73. Now uddehatt is
usu. a dwarf's hood or cape of darkness; hence also he appears as 'lord of dwarfs.'
At the same time the hat is a wishing hat and Mercury's hat. He appears as an
old man, or as a hunter on high horse with three hounds which he gives away
to a youth; and a Småland story expressly names him Oden, Sv. folkv. 1, 212.
Gammal gråman gives advice, but may not stay beyond cock crow, Arvidsson, 3,
3. Similar is the one-eyed witch, Norske event. 141-2. ------ In Germany too
we can now find many traces of this divine apparition. A Graymantle, a Broadhat
often turns up in nursery tales, see Haltrich p. 10. 39. 44; an old man fetches
the children, p. 4. He appears as Old One-eye 45. 55, as Stone-goat 44, Wild-cat
63. God comes in the guise of an old beggar, stands godfather, and gives gifts,
KM. no. 26; or as a grey-bearded mannikin, Frommann's Munda. 4, 328; conf. the
old beggar woman, KM. no. 150; as One-eyed Flap-hat, Alsatia 1856 p. 131. A
grey smith heals, Hpt Ztschr. 1, 103. In St. Martin's cloak and hood Simrock
sees Wuotan's wishing cloak, Martinsl. xvii. << Previous Page Next Page >>
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