WAYLAND. X. 567 than shut out in the outer cold beyond its padlocked gates.1 But CHAP. more particularly the devil was a being who under pressure of hunger might be drawn into acting against his own interest; in other words, he might be outwitted, and this character of a poor or stupid devil is almost the only one exhibited in Teutonic legends. In fact, as Professor Max Müller remarks, the Germans, when they had been "indoctrinated with the idea of a real devil, the Semitic Satan or Diabolus, treated him in the most good-humoured manner;" and it has been well said that "no greater proof can be given of the small hold which the Christian Devil has taken of the Norse mind, than the heathen aspect under which he constantly appears, and the ludicrous way in which he is always outwitted."* While that name Wayland But this freedom was never taken with Satan. remained unchanged in the language of theology, the word devil the Smith. passed into an immense number of forms, the Gothic tieval, diuval, diufal, the Icelandic djöfull, Swedish djevful, all of them, together with the Italian, French, and Spanish forms carrying back the word Sáßolos to the same root which furnished the Latin Divus, Djovis, and the Sanskrit deva. To this devil were applied familiarly those epithets which are bestowed in the Vedic hymns on the antagonist of Indra. Like Vritra, he is often spoken of simply as the fiend or the enemy (8 Tovηpós); more often he is described as the old devil or serpent, the ealda deofol of Cadmon, the old Nick, old Davy, and old Harry (Ahriman) of common English speech at the present day. Like Pani, he is Vâlant, the cheat or seducer, who appears in a female form as Valandinne.' But to the Germans the fall of the devil from heaven suggested the idea that, like Hephaistos, he must have been lamed by the descent, and hence we have the lame devil, or devil 1 The Master Smith, in the heathenish story so entitled, entraps the devil into a purse, as the Fisherman entraps the Jin in the Arabian Tale, and the devil is so scared that when the Smith presents himself at the gate of hell, he gives orders to have the nine padlocks carefully locked. Sir G. Dasent remarks that the Smith makes trial of hell in the first instance, for, "having behaved ill to the ruler" of heaven, and "actually quarrelled with the master" of hell, he was naturally anxious to know whether he would be received by either. -Ibid. cii. 2 It has been said of Southey that he could never think of the devil without laughing. This is but saying that he had the genuine humour of our Teutonic ancestors. His version of the legend of Eleëmon may be compared Dasent, Norse Tales, introd. ciii. Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, 939. For the belief of the gipsy hordes regarding the heaven-god and the earthmother see Tylor, Primitive Culture. 5 This name, one of a vast number of forms through which the root of the Greek xw, to swim, has passed, denotes simply a water-spirit, the nicor of the Beowulf, the nix or nixy of German fairy tales. The devil is here regarded as dwelling in the water, and thus the name explains the sailor's phrase "Davy's locker."-Grimm, D. M. 456. • Nib. 1334 7 lb. 1686; Grimm, D. M. 943. BOOK upon two sticks, who represents the limping Hephaistos not only in his gait but in his office. Like him, the Valant is a smith, and the name, which has assumed elsewhere the forms Faland, Phaland, Foland, Valland, passes into the English form Wayland, and gives us the Wayland Smith whom Tresilian confronts in Scott's novel of Kenilworth. Like the robbers who steal Indra's cattle, he is also the dark, murky, or black being, the Graumann or Greyman of German folk-lore. Like the Fauns and other mythical beings of Greek and Latin mythology, he has a body which is either wholly or in part that of a beast. Sometimes he leaves behind him the print of a horse's hoof, and the English demon Grant, another form probably of Grendel, showed itself in the form of a foal. The devil of the witches was a black buck or goat; that of the fathers of the Christian Church was a devouring wolf. Like Ahi, again, and Pythôn and Echidna, he is not only the old serpent or dragon but the hell-worm, and the walfish or leviathan (a name in which we see again the Vala or deceiver). Like Baalzebub, he assumes the form of a fly, as Psychê may denote either a good or an evil spirit. As the hammer which crushes the world, and inflicts the penalty of sin on the sinner, he plays the part of the Aloadai and Thor Miölnir. As the guardian of the under world, he is the hellward and the hell-shepherd or host. His gloomy abode lies towards the north, whether as the gloomy Ovelgunne, which has furnished a name for many places in Germany,the Hekelfelde, Heklufiall, or hag's fell,-or the nobiskroech, nobiskrug, which answers to the gate beyond which the lost souls leave hope behind them. The same process, which converted the kindly Holda into the malignant Unholda, attributed to the devil occupations borrowed from those of the Teutonic Odin and the Greek Orion. But it is no longer the mighty hunter following his prey on 1 Grimm, D. M. 945. In Sir W. Scott's romance, Wayland is a mere impostor who avails himself of a popular superstition to keep up an air of mystery about himself and his work: but the character to which he makes pretence belongs to the genuine Teutonic legend. 2 Grimm, D. M. 945. This black demon is the Slavish Tschernibog (Zernibog), who is represented as the enemy of Bjelbog, the white god,- -a dualism which Grimm regards as of late growth, D. M. 936. 3 Grimm, D. M. 946. Grimm, ib. 946-7. The buck was specially sacred to Donar or Thor; but it is possible that this transformation, like that of Lykâôn and Arkas, was suggested by an equivocal name; and the buck may be only a kindred form to the Slavish Bog, which reappears among us in the form of Puck, Bogy, and Bug. 5 Grimm, ib. 948. With these Grimm couples the hell-hound and black raven, the former answering to the Hellenic Kerberos. He also compares the Old German warg, a wolf, with the Polish wrog, the Bohemian wrah, the Slovinian vrag, an evil-docr. Grimm, ib. 950. Ib. 954. This word nobis is formed from the Greek &ßvaros, through the Italian form nabisso for in abysso-a change similar to that which converted ἐς κύνας βάλλειν into σκύβαλα. POLYPHÊMOS. 569 X. the asphodel meadow, or the god traversing his domain in stately CHAP. procession. The brave and good who had followed the midnight journeys of Wuotan give place to the wretched throng of evil-doers who are hurried along in the devil's train, or in that of some human being, who for his pre-eminent wickedness is made to take the devil's place. In Denmark the hunter is King Waldemar, in Germany Dietrich of Bern, in France King Hugh or Charles V.; in England. it is Herne the Hunter of Windsor, and the one-handed Boughton or Lady Skipwith of Warwickshire tradition. Other myths were subjected to the same process of degradation. The kindly Dêmêtêr becomes the devil's mother, grandmother, or sister, who still shows something of her ancient character in the part which she plays towards those who throw themselves on her protection. Thus she shields Thor and Tyr in the house of Hymir, as the giant's mother shelters Jack in the nursery story. In the lay of Beowulf Grendel's mother is less complying, and avenges on the hero the death of her son. The binding of the devil, like that of Prometheus and Ahriman, is implied in the phrase "the devil is loose," the sequel being " the devil is dead." 3 of the One legend of the devil's death furnishes some singular points of The death comparison with the myth of Polyphêmos, although it seems rash to blinded infer any direct derivation of the story from the Odyssey. devil asks a man who is moulding buttons what he may be doing; 1 Dasent, Norse Tales, introd. lxxxiv. Grimm, D. M. 900, 958. In other legends it is Herodias, who, confounded with her daughter, is made to dance on for ever; or Satia, Bertha, Abundia (names denoting kindliness, brightness, or plenty), who, with Frigga, and Freya, Artemis and Diana, are degraded into leaders of midnight troops. * Here Dionysos is lowered to the same level with Orion or Wuotan, Grimm, D. M. 961. The devil, of course, has his children, "devil's brood," "devil's imps." Grimm remarks that Teufelskind is synonymous with Donnerskind, and that here again we are confronted with old mythical expressions. Thunder is red-bearded, and the devil therefore has a beard of that colour, and the thunder-bolts are his followers. Many expressions common to England and Germany come from the same source. The compassionate phrase "der arme Teufel" was formerly "der arme Donner;" and the expletives "Hagel" "Donner-wetter" and "unser Herr-Gott" point to the time when The Devil. the heathen Donar was lord of the 3 For a list of the Adeva or oppos- BOOK and when the man answers that he is moulding eyes, asks him further 1 Grimm, D. M. 963-980. It is unnecessary to trace in detail all the fancies and notions on the subject of the devil and his works which Grimm has gathered together; but it may be fairly said that scarcely a single point mentioned by him is without its value, as throwing light on popular forms of thought and expression. The blinded devil reappears in Grimm's story of the Robber and his Sons, which reproduces the narrative of the Odyssey. Here the robber is the only one who is not devoured by the Giant, and he blinds his enemy while pretending to heal his eyes. In the sequel, instead of clinging to the ram's fleece he clings to the rafters of the ceiling, and afterwards wraps himself in a ram's skin, and so escapes between the giant's legs. But as soon as he gets out of the cave, he cannot resist the temptation of turning round, like Odysseus, to mock at his enemy. The giant, saying that so clever a man ought not go unrewarded, holds out to him a ring which, when placed on his finger, makes him cry out, Here I am, here I am." But although he is guided by the sound, the giant stumbles sadly in his blindness, and the robber at last makes his escape by biting off his finger and so getting rid of the ring. 66 The blinded Kyklops forms the subject of the third voyage of Sindbad ; but the myth has gained nothing by being dressed out in Arabian garb. He is the Urisk of the Western Fairy Tale.Keightley, Fairy Mythology, 396. The Lap story runs as follows: "There was a Karelian who had been taken by a giant and was kept in a castle. The giant had only one eye, but he had flocks and herds. The night came and the giant fell asleep. The Karelian put out his eye. The giant, who now could no longer see, sat at the door, and felt everything that went out. He had a great many sheep in the courtyard. The Karelian got under the belly of one of them and escaped."-Latham, Nationalities of Europe, i. 227. For some other versions of the myth, see Sayce, Introduction to the Science of Language, ii. 264. Mr. Sayce, giving a list, perhaps not urgently called for, of all recent works on mythology and language, has been pleased to mention this work, in the original edition, as a book to be read with caution. The remark applies to many attempts made by pioneers in a new path; but it would not be easy for unprejudiced readers to discern any material difference between my conclusions and those of Mr. Sayce, or in the modes of presenting the evidence of those conclusions, in his pages or in mine. The only difference is one of time, the Mythology of the Aryan Nations having preceded the Introduction to the Science of Language by ten years. The remarkable agree ment of Mr. Sayce with many of my conclusions which have been most disputed, might perhaps have furnished a reason for some acknowledgement of the work which I had done. My own obligations to Professor Max Muller I had acknowledged, wherever I had the opportunity, gladly and gratefully. For myself, I confess that I am but a learner; and I confess not less willingly that in some of my conclusions ten or twelve years ago I was mistaken, and that in some I was altogether wrong. I was especially wrong in restricting within exceedingly narrow limits the influence of Semitic upon Greek thought; but I hope it may be found that this fault has been now amended. I may plead, however, that a very large amount of evidence, now brought together, was then not available, and that I was attempting a task of wider range than I think had been attempted by those who had gone before me. If I could at that time have had the benefit of Mr. Brown's researches, my treatment of the myths of Dionysos, Orion, Aphrodite, and other mythical beings, might have been less inadequate. I hope that at the least the account given of them may be neither partial nor distorted. THE DEATH OF THE BLINDED DEVIL. X. 571 is Issi (“himself"). When the lead is melted, the devil opens his CHAP. eyes wide to receive the deadly stream. As soon as he is blinded he starts up in agony, bearing away the bench to which he had been bound, and when some workpeople in the fields ask him who had thus treated him, his answer is "Issi teggi" (Self did it). With a laugh they bid him lie on the bed which he has made; "selbst gethan, selbst habe." The devil died of his new eyes, and was never seen again. |