Page:The Nibelungenlied - tr. Shumway - 1909.pdf/382

324 Etzel is the German form for the historical Attila (Norse Atli). A discussion of his connection with the saga will be found in the introduction, p. xxxv.

Worms is the ancient Borbetomagus, which in the first century was the chief city of the German tribe of the Vangioni. In the fifth century it was the capital of the Burgundian kingdom, but was destroyed by the Huns. The Merovingians rebuilt it, and in the seventh century it became a bishopric where Charlemagne at times held his court. It was later noted as the meeting-place of many imperial diets. It remained a free city till 1801. In the Thidreksaga the name is corrupted into Wernize.

Uta (M. H.G. Uote). The name means ancestress, and is frequently used for the mother of heroes. The modern German form is Ute, but in order to insure its being pronounced with two syllables, the form Uta was chosen.

Dankrat (M. H. G. Dancrat) appears as the father only in the Nibelungenlied and poems dependent on it, e. g., the Klage and the Biterolf, elsewhere as Gibiche (Norse Giuki).

Hagen of Troneg. Troneg is probably a corrnption of the name of the Latin colony, colonia Trajana, on the Lower Rhine, which as early as the fifth century was written as Troja, giving rise to the legend that the Franks were descended from the ancient Trojans. Troja was then further corrupted to Tronje and Tronege. Hagen was therefore originally a Frank and had no connection with the Burgundian kings, as the lack of alliteration also goes to show. Boer thinks that not Siegfried but Hagen originally lived at Xanten (see note 3 to page 4), as this was often called Troja Francorum. When the Hagen story was connected with the Burgundians and Hagen became either their brother or their vassal, his home was transferred to Worms and Siegfried was located at Xanten, as he had no especial localization. Thus Siegfried is never called Siegfried of Troneg, as is Hagen. Other attempts to explain Troneg will be found in Piper, I, 48.

Dankwart is not an historical character nor one that belonged to the early form of the legend. He may have come from another saga, where he played the principal rôle as Droege (ZsfdA. 48, 499) thinks. Boer considers him to be Hagen’s double, invented to play a part that would naturally fall to Hagen’s share, were he not otherwise engaged at the moment. In