Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 10.djvu/347

 ii s. x. OCT. si, i9i4.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

341

LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31,

CONTENTS.-NO. 253.

NOTES : The " Greeks" of the Rhine and the " Creacas " of ' Widsith,' 341 Sir Thomas Browne and his Books, 342 Illustrations of Casanova, 344 All Saints' Day Observ- ance in Leon ' L'Independance Beige,' 345 Birmingham, " the toyshop of Europe "Arthur Johnston Bibliography

Musicians, Minstrels, and Players, 346 " Fubb's Yacht " Tavern, Greenwich The Royal Exchange, 347.

QUERIES : Joseph Ritson 'Thepphania,' 347 Use of Military Titles Notes of Debates in the Irish Parliament Elkanah Settle : Raymond of Hackney Ozias Hum- phry : Miniatures "Private Hotels" Place-Names: Sbrape, Thrunge, 348 Major John Quayle "The English Attila" Old Etonians Floral Emblems of Countries Thorn ts Coulson Peter Henham Adelaide Procter Author and Correct Version Wanted Major John Andn'-, 349 Lamb's ' Mr. H ' W. Belch, Printer, 350.

REPLIES : Papers of John Wilkes Richard of Ciren- cesber Jemima Nicholas, 350" Accidents will occur in the best-regulated families " Gelria : a Place- Name, 351 H. T. Coghlan Robert Waller, 35J " Sparrowgrass " Old Charing Cross Poem Wanted : ' The Reveille,' 353 The Author of ' Paddiana 'Clocks and Clockinakers-r- St. Angus Language and Physiognomy The Patron Saint of Pilgrims Foundation Sacrifice, 354 Foreign Tavern Signs T. Arrowsmitb, Artist, 355 "I am the only running footman" Authors Wanted Harford of Plymouth, " Traitor " Old Etonians The National Colour of Wales' The Fight at Dame Europa's School '

Early Railway Travelling Bombay as a Surname Meilallic Legends 'The Salogne,' 356 Sir John Lade Epaulets Sir John Gilbert, 357 " ffrancis " Groom of the Stole, 358.

NOTES ON BOOKS : 'The Story of Bethlehem Hospital' - ' Book-Auction Records ' ' Bucks, Berks, and Oxon Archaeological Journal ' ' Quarterly Review ' ' Edin- burgh Review.'

Notices to Correspondents.

THE " GREEKS " OF THE RHINE AND THE CREACAS OF 'WIDSITH.'

ONE among the many obfuscated problems presented by ' Widsith ' is concerned with the significance of the folk-name CREACE, which occurs in 11. 20 and 76 therein. This form is found also in the version of Orosius made by King Alfred. The fact last men- tioned was overlooked by Mr. R. W. Cham- bers in his Introduction to ' Widsith,' p. 166, and he attributed what he calls " the odd form ea " in " Creacum " to an error of the copyist of the Exeter Book. In his com- mentary (p. 192) Mr. Chambers cites three explanations of G becoming C. The theo- ries are in conflict with each other, how- ever, and neither the abnormal initial tennis nor the disquieting diphthong has ever been explained away. Notwithstanding their survival, it is universally assumed by critics of the German school that the O.E.

Creacum in ' Widsith ' equals Qrcecis. It is quite impossible, however, for O.E. Creac-, Germanic *Crauc-, to represent Latin Graec-. What is it, then, that it does represent ?

The elucidation of our difficulties lies, first, in certain mediaeval writers who col- lected historical memoranda about the city of the Treveri ; secondly, in ' Widsith ' itself ; and, thirdly, in the fact that one of King Alfred's collaborators was an Old Saxon.

I. The passages which have led me to what I believe to be the truth are as follows :

" Igitur omnipotens Deus tres plsgas maxime gladium gentilium uenire permisit super regnum christianorum et super ciuitatem Treuirorum tribus vicibus : prima autem plaga erat GR.2BCO- RUM sub imperatore Constante filius Constant! ni [f350] ; secunda Wandali et Alemanni [A.D. 407] ; tertia Hunorum [A.D. 451]." Vide Codices S. Matbise et S. Gisleni, Hillar, ' Vindicatio Historiae Treuerorum,' pp. 57, 159.

"Post quern [sc. S. Paulinura Treverensem episcopum (t358)] Bonosius ; delude Brittonius .... Hprum temporibus GBBCI cum rnagna manu Treberim invasere et csedibus et rapinis et in- cendiis graviter attrivere." Vide ' Gesta Tre- verorum,' ed. G. Waitz, ' M.G.H.,' SS., torn, viii., 1848, p. 154.

It is obvious that the authorities quoted were of the opinion that there was a tribe of " Greeks " in the fourth century who lived on or near the Middle Rhine. Now, what Germanic folk-name could have suggested Grceci to these authors ? The answer is : the O.E. stem " Creac- " postulates O.H.G. tified " Chroc-us," the latinized name of an Alemanic king who, according to Gregory of Tours (f597), invaded the Gauls in the third century of our era. " Chroc-," with Chr for Cr, is Upper German in dialect i.e., it is Suevic and Alemanic. Consequently, the O.E. Creac-, pi. Creace, postulates Ale- manic *Chrouc-, pi. *Chroici. In the Middle High German period du, the normal umlaut of ou, was often written oi. I believe that it is this form *Croici, or the two historians quoted above.
 * Crouc-, and with that stem may be iden-
 * Chroici, which suggested Fpaoco/, Greed, to

II. Widsith groups the Baningas, the Burgundians, and the Creacas together in 11. 20 and 21, and in that order. This grouping points in the direction in which we ought to look. In the seventh-century tract ' De Origine Langobardorum ' we are told that the Langobards left Mauringa, and passed through Anthaib, Bainaib, and Burgundaib on their way to Italy. These are Gothic forms for the most part. Mauringa