Cambridge Archaeological and Ethnological Series THE HEROIC AGE [Illustration: MAP OF CENTRAL EUROPE illustrating the Heroic Age of the Teutonic Peoples Where the same name occurs both in capitals and italics the former denote a position occupied in the early part of the Heroic Age, while the latter mark a change or extension of territories.] THE HEROIC AGE BY H. MUNRO CHADWICK Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge Cambridge: at the University Press 1912 Reprinted 1967 Published by the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press Bentley House, 200 Euston Road, London, N.W. 1 American Branch: 32 East 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022 PUBLISHER'S NOTE Cambridge University Press Library Editions are reissues of out-of-print standard works from the Cambridge catalogue. The texts are unrevised and, apart from minor corrections, reproduce the latest published edition. First published 1912 Reprinted 1967 First printed in Great Britain at the University Printing House, Cambridge Reprinted in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 13-13081 PREFACE The type of poetry commonly known as heroic is one which makes its appearance in various nations and in various periods of history. No one can fail to observe that certain similar features are to be found in poems of this type which are widely separated from one another both in date and place of origin. In view of this fact it has seemed worth while to attempt a comparative study of two groups of such poems with the object of determining the nature of the resemblances between them and the causes to which they are due. Occasional illustrations have been taken from other groups of poems belonging to the same type. The first part of the book deals with the early heroic poetry and traditions of the Teutonic peoples, more especially with those stories which were the common property of various Teutonic peoples. It is pointed out that these stories all relate to a period with definite limits--a period for which a considerable amount of information is available from external sources. The subjects discussed include the distribution of the stories and the relationship between the various versions of them, the antiquity of the earliest poems and the conditions under which they were produced. Lastly, an attempt has been made to estimate the significance of the various elements, historical, mythical and fictitious, of which the stories are composed.