Page:Origin and Growth of Religion (Rhys).djvu/633

Rh Swart was conquered and how Balder came back, suggests the question whether originally Balder was not made to finish the conflict by killing Swart. As it is, Balder appears on the scene in the most mysterious way; but it would not be safe to suppose that the Norse myth was exactly what the Celtic versions would suggest. In any case they come very near, for the latter mentions no feat of arms ascribed to Lleu except the crowning one of slaying Goronwy by a cast of his spear through the mass of rock behind which the latter sheltered himself. The Norse myth, by having such a passage, would both account for the disappearance of Swart and lead up to the supremacy of Balder, and that without greatly jarring with the usual treatment of the latter as one who was cared for by others, especially as the Norse myth represents his great father at the time dead. Note in passing that we appear to have a Greek equivalent in the birth of Apollo, his rapid growth, and his immediate despatch of the Pytho with the first arrow discharged from his bow. But to return to Lleu and Balder: the protection and guardianship of them by their respective fathers and friends is a very remarkable feature of both versions, carrying out the idea that the Solar Hero was the youthful son of the Culture God; and it is not without its interest to mention that, though this is usually much obscured on Irish ground, where the two characters are wont to be merged into that of the son, one of the most detailed accounts of the battle of Moytura gives distinct evidence that this treatment was the original one in Irish likewise. I allude to a British Museum manuscript, which, after giving the