Page:The Nibelungenlied - tr. Shumway - 1909.pdf/384

326 Siegelind (M. H. G. Sigelint) is the correct name of Siegfried’s mother, as the alliteration shows. The Early Norse version has Hjördis, which has come from the Helgi saga.

Xanten (M.H.G. Santen from the Latin ad sanctos) is at present a town in the Rhenish Prussian district of Düsseldorf. It does not now lie on the Rhine, but did in the Middle Ages.

sword-thanes (M.H. G. swertdegene) were the young squires who were to be made knights. It was the custom for a youthful prince to receive the accolade with a number of others.

midsummer festival. The M. H. G. sunewende means literally the ‘sun’s turning,’ i. e., the summer solstice. This was one of the great Germanic festivals, which the church later turned into St. John’s Eve. The bonfires still burnt in Germany on this day are survivals of the old heathen custom.

hurtling translates here M. H. G. bûhurt, a word borrowed from the French to denote a knightly sport in which many knights clashed together. Hurtling was used in older English in the same significance.

palace (M. H. G. palas, Lat. palatium) is a large building standing alone and largely used as a reception hall.

truncheons (M. H. G. trunzûne, O. F. tronçon), ‘lance splinters,’ ‘fragments of spears.’

to-shivered, ‘broken to pieces,’ in imitation of the older English to-beat, to-break, etc.

spangles (M. H. G. spangen), strips of metal radiating from the raised centre of the shield and often set, as here, with precious stones.

guest translates here the M. H. G. gest, a word which may mean either ‘guest’ or ‘stranger,’ and it is often difficult, as here, to tell to which meaning the preference should be given.

eleven translates the M. H. G. selbe zwelfte, which means one of twelve. The accounts are, however, contradictory, as a few lines below mention is made of twelve companions of Siegfried.

vair (O. F. vair, Lat. varius), ‘variegated,’ like the fur of the squirrel.

known. It was a mark of the experienced warrior, that he was acquainted with the customs and dress of