In
Germanic mythology
Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism.
Origins
As the Germanic language ...
, Wayland the Smith ( ang, Wēland; , ;
Old Frisian
Old Frisian was a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries along the North Sea coast, roughly between the mouths of the Rhine and Weser rivers. The Frisian settlers on the coast of South Jutland (today's Northern Friesl ...
: Wela(n)du; german: Wieland der Schmied; goh, Wiolant; ''Galans'' (''Galant'') in
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
; gem-x-proto, Wēlandaz, italic=no from ', lit. "crafting one") is a master blacksmith originating in
Germanic heroic legend
Germanic heroic legend (german: germanische Heldensage) is the heroic literary tradition of the Germanic-speaking peoples, most of which originates or is set in the Migration Period (4th-6th centuries AD). Stories from this time period, to whic ...
, described by
Jessie Weston as "the weird and malicious craftsman, Weyland".
[Weston, J. (1929). 'Legendary Cycles of the Middle Age', in Tanner, J.R. (ed.), ''The Cambridge Medieval History'' Vol. VI, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, p. 841f.]
Wayland's story is most clearly told in the Old Norse sources ''
Völundarkviða
''Vǫlundarkviða'' (Old Norse: 'The lay of Völund'; modern Icelandic spelling: ''Völundarkviða'') is one of the mythological poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. The title is anglicized in various ways, including ''Völundarkvitha'', ''Völundarkvi ...
'' (a poem in the ''
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...
'') and ''
Þiðreks saga
''Þiðreks saga af Bern'' ('the saga of Þiðrekr of Bern', also ''Þiðrekssaga'', ''Þiðriks saga'', ''Niflunga saga'' or ''Vilkina saga'', with Anglicisations including ''Thidreksaga'') is an Old Norse chivalric saga centering the character ...
''.
In them, Wayland is a smith who is enslaved by a king. Wayland takes revenge by killing the king's sons and then escapes by crafting a winged cloak and flying away. A number of other visual and textual sources clearly allude to similar stories, most prominently the Old English poem ''
Deor
"Deor" (or "The Lament of Deor") is an Old English poem found on folio 100r–100v of the late-10th-century collection the Exeter Book. The poem consists of a reflection on misfortune by a poet whom the poem is usually thought to name Deor. The po ...
'' and the
Franks Casket
The Franks Casket (or the Auzon Casket) is a small Anglo-Saxon whale's bone (not "whalebone" in the sense of baleen) chest from the early 8th century, now in the British Museum. The casket is densely decorated with knife-cut narrative scenes in ...
.
Wayland is also mentioned in passing in a wide range of texts, such as the Old English ''
Waldere
"Waldere" or "Waldhere" is the conventional title given to two Old English fragments, of around 32 and 31 lines, from a lost epic poem, discovered in 1860 by E. C. Werlauff, Librarian, in the Danish Royal Library at Copenhagen, where it is still ...
'' and ''
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...
'', as the maker of weapons and armour. He is mentioned in the
German poems about Theoderic the Great as the father of
Witige
Witege, Witige or Wittich ( ang, Wudga, Widia; Gotho- lat, Vidigoia) or Vidrik "Vidga" Verlandsson ( + ''Viðga'' or ''Videke'' + ''Verlandsson'', ''Vallandsson'', or ''Villandsson'') is a character in several Germanic heroic legends, poems abou ...
.
He is also attributed to have made various swords for
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
and his
paladin
The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...
s, namely
Curtana
Curtana, also known as the Sword of Mercy, is a ceremonial sword used at the coronation of British kings and queens. One of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, its end is blunt and squared to symbolise mercy.
Description
The sword meas ...
,
Durendal
Durendal, also spelled Durandal, is the sword of Roland, a legendary paladin and partially historical officer of Charlemagne in French epic literature. It is also said to have belonged to young Charlemagne at one point, and, passing through Sarac ...
and
Joyeuse
Joyeuse (; fro, Joiuse; meaning "joyous, joyful") was, in medieval legend, the sword wielded by Charlemagne as his personal weapon. A sword identified as Joyeuse was used in French royal coronation ceremonies since the 13th century, and is now ...
.
Attestations
Earliest evidence
The oldest reference known to Wayland the Smith is possibly a gold
solidus
Solidus (Latin for "solid") may refer to:
* Solidus (coin), a Roman coin of nearly solid gold
* Solidus (punctuation), or slash, a punctuation mark
* Solidus (chemistry), the line on a phase diagram below which a substance is completely solid
* S ...
with a Frisian runic inscription ᚹᛖᛚᚩᛞᚢ wela
u 'wayland'. It is not certain whether the coin depicts the legendary smith or bears the name of a moneyer who happened to be called Wayland (perhaps because he had taken the name of the legendary smith as an epithet). The coin was found near
Schweindorf
Schweindorf is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia ...
, in the region
Ostfriesland
East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...
in north-west Germany, and is dated AD 575–625.
Scandinavian
Visual
Wayland's legend is depicted on
Ardre image stone VIII,
[ and probably on a tenth-century copper mount found in Uppåkra in 2011.][ A number of other possible visual representations exist in early medieval Scandinavia, but are harder to verify as they do not contain enough distinctive features corresponding to the story of Wayland found in textual sources.
]
''Völundarkviða''
According to ''Völundarkviða
''Vǫlundarkviða'' (Old Norse: 'The lay of Völund'; modern Icelandic spelling: ''Völundarkviða'') is one of the mythological poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. The title is anglicized in various ways, including ''Völundarkvitha'', ''Völundarkvi ...
'', the king of the Finns
Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland.
Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...
(the Old Norse term for the Saami people
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several America ...
) had three sons: Völundr (Wayland) and his two brothers Egil and Slagfiðr
In Norse mythology, Slagfiðr (Old Norse "beating- Finn")Orchard (1997:151). is one of a trio of brothers along with Völundr and Egil. In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Völundarkviða'', Slagfiðr is attested as the seven-year husband of the valkyr ...
. In one version of the myth, the three brothers lived with three Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...
s: Ölrún Alruna (Old Norse Ǫlrún, Old High German Ailrun, Modern German Alruna, Alraune) is a Germanic female personal name, from Proto Germanic ''*aliruna'' (or possibly ''*agilruna''), which is formed from ''runa'' "secret, rune" and a debated prefix tha ...
, Hervör alvitr In Norse mythology, Hervör alvitr (Old Norse, ''alvitr'' possibly meaning "all-wise" or "strange creature"Orchard (1997:83).) is a valkyrie. Hervör alvitr is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Völundarkviða'' as the sister of the valkyrie H ...
and Hlaðguðr svanhvít In Norse mythology, Hlaðguðr svanhvít (Old Norse ''Hlaðguðr'' " swan-white"Simek (2007:151).) is a valkyrie. Hlaðguðr svanhvít is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Völundarkviða'' as the sister of the valkyrie Hervör alvitr (both d ...
. After nine years, the Valkyries left their lovers. Egil and Slagfiðr followed, never to return. In another version, Völundr married the swan maiden
The swan maiden is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form. The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached. In folktales of this type, the male character spies the maiden, ...
Hervör, and they had a son, Heime, but Hervör later left Völundr. In both versions, his love left him with a ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
. In the former myth, he forged seven hundred duplicates of this ring.
Later, King Niðhad
King Niðhad, ''Níðuðr'' or ''Niðungr'' was a cruel king in Germanic legend.
He appears as Níðuðr in the Old Norse ''Völundarkviða'', as ''Niðung'' in the '' Þiðrekssaga'', and as ''Niðhad'' in the Anglo-Saxon poems ''Deor'' and ''W ...
captured Völundr in his sleep in Nerike and ordered him hamstrung and imprisoned on the island of Sævarstöð. There Völundr was forced to forge items for the king. Völundr's wife's ring was given to the king's daughter, Böðvildr
Böðvildr, Beadohild, Bodil or Badhild was a princess, the daughter of the evil king Níðuðr/Niðhad/Niðung who appears in Germanic legends, such as ''Deor'', ''Völundarkviða'' and '' Þiðrekssaga''. Initially, she appears to have been a t ...
. Niðhad wore Völundr's sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
.
In revenge, Völundr killed the king's sons when they visited him in secret, and fashioned goblets
A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning.
Re ...
from their skulls, jewels from their eyes, and a brooch
A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with vitreous enamel, ...
from their teeth. He sent the goblets to the king, the jewels to the queen and the brooch to the king's daughter. When Böðvild takes her ring to Völundr for mending, he tricks and seduces her, and gets her pregnant. Later, he flies to Niðhad's hall where he explains how he has murdered the king's sons, fashioned jewelry from their bodies and fathered a child with Böðvild. The crying king laments that his archers and horsemen can't reach Völundr, as the smith flies away never to be seen again. Niðhad summons his daughter, asking her if Völundr's story was true. The poem ends with Böðvild stating that she was unable to protect herself from Völundr as he was too strong for her.
=''Þiðreks saga''
=
The Scandinavian '' Thidrekssaga''/''Didrikssaga'' also includes a version of the story of Wayland ( non, Velent). This part of the saga is sometimes called ''Velents þáttr smiðs
''Velents þáttr smiðs'' is the name given to the part of the ''Þiðrekssaga af Bern'' saga that deals with Wayland the Smith (Velent, Wieland, Völundr).
Summary
Velent is the son of the Jötunn, giant Vaði from Sjaelland.''The Saga of Didr ...
''.
The events described at King Niðung's court (identifiable with Niðhad in the Eddic lay) broadly follow the version in the Poetic Edda (though in the saga his brother, Egil the archer, is present to help him to make his wings and to help Velent escape[). However, the rest of the story is different. It tells of how Wayland was the son of a giant named ]Wade
Wade, WADE, or Wades may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Wade, California, a former settlement
* Wade, Maine, a town
* Wade, Mississippi, a census-designated place
* Wade, North Carolina, a town
* Wade, Ohio, an unincorporated communi ...
( non, Vadi), and how he was taught to smith by two dwarfs. It also tells of how he came to be with King Nidung, crossing the sea in a hollow log, and how he forged the sword Mimung as part of a bet with the king's smith. And it also tells about the argument that led to Nidung's hamstringing of Wayland, and ultimately to Wayland's revenge: Nidung had promised to give Wayland his daughter in marriage and also half his kingdom, and then went back on this promise.
The saga elaborates on the flying contraption he builds using feathers collected by Egil; the contraption was called the ''flygil'' which suggests it was a pair of wings (german: [) in the original German version, but conceived of as a '']fjaðrhamr
Feather cloaks have been used by several cultures.
Hawaii
Elaborate feather cloaks called '' ʻahuʻula'' were created by early Hawaiians for the '' alii'' (royalty).
Feathers were also used in women's skirts called ''pāū''.
The ''iiwi' ...
'' (feather cloak) by the saga-writers. Wayland here also wears a blood-filled bladder as a prop, instructing Egil to aim his arrow at this bag, thus feigning injury and deceiving the king.[
The saga also tells of the birth of a son, Wideke ( non, Viðga), to Wayland and Nidung's daughter. While he was still in captivity, the couple have a conversation, and they vow each other's love; the smith also reveals he has fashioned a weapon ( non, vapn) and hidden it in the forge for his unborn son. He settles in his native Sjoland and eventually marries the princess with the blessing of her brother who became the next king after Niðung's death.
This son inherits the sword Mimung, and goes on to become one of Thidrek/Didrik's warriors.
]
Other
In Icelandic manuscripts from the fourteenth century onwards, the terms ''Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...
'' and ''Domus Daedali'' ('home of Daedalus
In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, an ...
') are rendered ''Vǫlundarhús'' ('house of Vǫlundr'). This shows that Völundr was seen as equivalent to, or even identical with, the classical hero Daedalus.
In '' Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar'', Völundr is the manufacturer of the magic sword
In mythology, legend or fiction, a magic sword is a sword with magical powers or other supernatural qualities. Renowned swords appear in the folklore of every nation that used swords.Josepha Sherman, ''Once upon a Galaxy'' p 113
In some tra ...
Gram
The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram.
Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...
(also named ''Balmung'' and ''Nothung'') and the magic ring
A magic ring is a mythical, folkloric or fictional piece of jewelry, usually a Ring (jewellery), finger ring, that is purported to have Magic (supernatural), supernatural properties or powers. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. M ...
that Þorsteinn retrieves.
English
Visual
The Franks Casket
The Franks Casket (or the Auzon Casket) is a small Anglo-Saxon whale's bone (not "whalebone" in the sense of baleen) chest from the early 8th century, now in the British Museum. The casket is densely decorated with knife-cut narrative scenes in ...
is one of a number of other early English references to Wayland, whose story was evidently well known and popular, although no extended version in Old English has survived. In the front panel of the Franks Casket, incongruously paired with an ''Adoration of the Magi
The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...
'', Wayland stands at the extreme left in the forge where he is held as a slave by King Niðhad
King Niðhad, ''Níðuðr'' or ''Niðungr'' was a cruel king in Germanic legend.
He appears as Níðuðr in the Old Norse ''Völundarkviða'', as ''Niðung'' in the '' Þiðrekssaga'', and as ''Niðhad'' in the Anglo-Saxon poems ''Deor'' and ''W ...
, who has had his hamstring
In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury.
In quadrupeds, ...
s cut to hobble him. Below the forge is the headless body of Niðhad's son, whom Wayland has killed, making a goblet from his skull; his head is probably the object held in the tongs in Wayland's hand. With his other hand Wayland offers the goblet to Böðvildr, Niðhad's daughter. Another female figure is shown in the centre; perhaps Wayland's helper, brother Egil, or Böðvildr again. To the right of the scene his brother) catches birds, which he then makes wings from with their feathers, so he is able to escape.
During the Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
in northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
, Wayland is depicted in his smithy, surrounded by his tools, at Halton, Lancashire
Halton-with-Aughton is a civil parish and electoral ward located east of Lancaster, England, on the north bank of the River Lune. The main settlement is the village of Halton, or Halton-on-Lune, in the west, and the parish stretches to the ham ...
, and fleeing from his royal captor by clinging to a flying bird, on crosses at Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, and at Sherburn-in-Elmet
Sherburn in Elmet (pronounced ) is a large village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, west of Selby and south of Tadcaster.
It was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974.
It is one o ...
and Bedale
Bedale ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north of Leeds, south-west of Middlesbrough and south-west of the county town of ...
, both in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
.
English local tradition placed Wayland's forge in a Neolithic long barrow mound known as Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy is an Early Neolithic chambered long barrow located near the village of Ashbury in the south-central English county of Oxfordshire. The barrow is believed to have been constructed about 3600 BC by pastoral communities shortly ...
, close to the Uffington White Horse
The Uffington White Horse is a prehistoric hill figure, long, formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk. The figure is situated on the upper slopes of White Horse Hill in the English civil parish of Uffington (in the cerem ...
in Oxfordshire. If a horse to be shod, or any broken tool, were left with a sixpenny piece at the entrance of the barrow the repairs would be executed.
Textual
The Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
poem ''Deor
"Deor" (or "The Lament of Deor") is an Old English poem found on folio 100r–100v of the late-10th-century collection the Exeter Book. The poem consists of a reflection on misfortune by a poet whom the poem is usually thought to name Deor. The po ...
'', which recounts the famous sufferings of various figures before turning to those of Deor, its author, begins with "Welund":
:Welund tasted misery among snakes.
:The stout-hearted hero endured troubles
:had sorrow and longing as his companions
:cruelty cold as winter - he often found woe
:Once Nithad laid restraints on him,
:supple sinew-bonds on the better man.
:That went by; so can this.
:To Beadohilde, her brothers' death was not
:so painful to her heart as her own problem
:which she had readily perceived
:that she was pregnant; nor could she ever
:foresee without fear how things would turn out.
:That went by, so can this.
Weland had fashioned the mail shirt worn by Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...
according to lines 450–455 of the epic poem
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
of the same name:
:No need then
:to lament for long or lay out my body.
:If the battle takes me, send back
:this breast-webbing that Weland fashioned
:and Hrethel Hrethel ( ang, Hrēðel; gem-x-proto, Hrōþilaz, italic=no) is a king of the Geats''.
Name
Hrethel's name appears with both the root vowel and and with both the consonant (i.e. the phoneme , pronounced in Old English) and (which would ordi ...
gave me, to Lord Hygelac
Hygelac ( ang, Hygelāc; non, Hugleikr; gem-x-proto, Hugilaikaz; la, Ch(l)ochilaicus or ''Hugilaicus''; died 521) was a king of the Geats according to the poem ''Beowulf''. It is Hygelac's presence in the poem which has allowed scholars to ...
.
:Fate
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.
Fate
Although often ...
goes ever as fate must.
:: (Heaney
Heaney is a surname of Irish origin. It is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic ''Ó hEignigh'', thought to be based on the Gaelic a personal name meaning "horseman". It was mistakenly thought to derive from Éan, Gaelic for Bird.
Versions of it are ...
trans.)
The reference in ''Waldere
"Waldere" or "Waldhere" is the conventional title given to two Old English fragments, of around 32 and 31 lines, from a lost epic poem, discovered in 1860 by E. C. Werlauff, Librarian, in the Danish Royal Library at Copenhagen, where it is still ...
'' is similar to that in Beowulf – the hero's sword was made by Weland[ Gordon, R. K. (1954)]
''Anglo-Saxon Poetry''
London: Dent, p. 65. This is a partial text of the ''Walder'' fragments in modern English. See the start of fragment A for Wayland. – while Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
in his translation of Boethius
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...
asks plaintively: "What now are the bones of Wayland, the goldsmith preeminently wise?"
Swords fashioned by Wayland are regular properties of medieval romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
. King Rhydderch Hael
Rhydderch Hael ( en, Rhydderch the Generous), Riderch I of Alt Clut, or Rhydderch of Strathclyde, (floruit, ''fl.'' 580 – c. 614) was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Britons (Celtic people), Brittonic kingdom in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" of Brita ...
gave one to Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
, and Rimenhild made a similar gift to Child Horn. English literature was also aware of the character Wade
Wade, WADE, or Wades may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Wade, California, a former settlement
* Wade, Maine, a town
* Wade, Mississippi, a census-designated place
* Wade, North Carolina, a town
* Wade, Ohio, an unincorporated communi ...
, whose name is similar to that of Vaði, the father of Wayland in ''Þiðreks saga''.
Continental Germanic
Wayland is known by the name ''Wieland'' in line 965 of the Latin epic ''Waltharius
''Waltharius'' is a Latin epic poem founded on German popular tradition relating the exploits of the Visigothic hero Walter of Aquitaine
Walter or Walther of Aquitaine is a king of the Visigoths in Germanic heroic legend.
Epic poetry
Walter ...
'', a literary composition based on Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
oral tradition, as the smith who made the poem's eponymous protagonist's armor:
Toponyms and folklore
Wayland is associated with Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy is an Early Neolithic chambered long barrow located near the village of Ashbury in the south-central English county of Oxfordshire. The barrow is believed to have been constructed about 3600 BC by pastoral communities shortly ...
, a burial mound
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
in the Berkshire Downs
The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in South east England split between the counties of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. They are part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The western parts of the downs ...
.[ This was named by the English, but the ]megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
ic mound significantly predates them. It is from this association that the folk belief came about that a horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
left there overnight with a small silver coin ( groat) would be shod
A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toen ...
by morning.
This belief is mentioned in the first episode of ''Puck of Pook's Hill
''Puck of Pook's Hill'' is a fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. It can count both as historical fantasy – since some of the stories told of ...
'' by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
, "Weland's Sword", which narrates the rise and fall of the god.[
]
In modern culture
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
includes Wayland Smith as a character in his novel ''Kenilworth'' set in 1575.
Both the Austrian composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
Siegmund von Hausegger
Siegmund von Hausegger (16 August 1872 – 10 October 1948) was an Austrian composer and conductor.
Early life
Siegmund was born in Graz, the son of Friedrich von Hausegger (1837-1899), a lawyer and writer on music. According to Siegmund's ow ...
(1904) and the Russian composer Leopold van der Pals (1913) used the Wayland saga as inspiration for symphonic poems.
Weland the smith is one of the characters in ''Puck of Pook's Hill
''Puck of Pook's Hill'' is a fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. It can count both as historical fantasy – since some of the stories told of ...
'', a fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
.
See also
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Völundarkviða - Heimskringla.no
{{Authority control
Characters in Norse mythology
English legendary characters
Germanic gods
Germanic legends
Legendary Norsemen
Smithing gods
Swordsmiths
Swan maidens