Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 11, 1900.djvu/301

 The Ancient Teutonic Priesthood. 289

in time of peace. The king of the subject tribe usually disappears sooner or later, but under ordinary conditions the tribe seems to preserve its corporate existence — conse- quently also its assembly and a tribal priesthood. It may be observed that in the Roman age the monarchies of the southern and western Germans seem as a rule to have been short-lived.

On the whole therefore I am much inclined to accept this explanation, It would, of course, be easier to give a definite answer if we knew how the priests were chosen. Jordanes says that (in the case of the Goths) they were drawn from the nobility ; but, assuming that the same rule held good elsewhere, one would like to know whether the choice was still further limited, e.g.., to the community living in the immediate neighbourhood of the tribal sanctuary. There is a certain similarity, as has been shown above, between the position of the priests and that of the lawmen and spekingar of the North. Now among these the succes- sion seems in general to be hereditary. The Swedish spekingar (like the ancient kings) appear to have held their position in virtue of their descent from the god Fro. This is shown by a passage of Saxo (viii., p. 383 f.). Describing the constitution of Ringo's army at the battle of Bravalla, he proceeds : — " The bravest of the Swedes were these : Arwacki, Keclu, Croc agrestis, Guthfast, Gummi from Gyslamarchia ; these were of the household of the god Fro, and most faithful intermediaries of the deities {Jidisshni numinian arbitri). Ingi also and Oly, Aluuer and Folki, sons of Elric, embrace Ringo's service ; . . . . they also traced the origin of their race to the god Fro." Whatever may be the precise meaning of the phrase numinum arbitri, there can, I think, be little doubt that it is the spekingar or priest-councillors of Upsala, who are here referred to.i

' It is to be observed that Ringo {i.e. Sigurdr Hringr) did not belong to the old native dynasty. This dynasty, the Ynglingar or descendants of the god Fro, who seem to have borne a distinctly priestly character, must, according VOL. XI. U