Much would be lost had Iceland not been burst up from
the sea, not been discovered by the Northmen!"
TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY
In the mythology of Germany proper, the name of Odin appears as
Wotan; Freya and Frigga are regarded as one and the same divinity,
and the gods are in general represented as less warlike in
character than those in the Scandinavian myths. As a whole,
however, Teutonic mythology runs along almost identical lines with
that of the northern nations. The most notable divergence is due
to modifications of the legends by reason of the difference in
climatic conditions. The more advanced social condition of the
Germans is also apparent in their mythology.
THE NIBELUNGEN LIED
One of the oldest myths of the Teutonic race is found in the great
national epic of the Nibelungen Lied, which dates back to the
prehistoric era when Wotan, Frigga, Thor, Loki, and the other gods
and goddesses were worshipped in the German forests. The epic is
divided into two parts, the first of which tells how Siegfried,
the youngest of the kings of the Netherlands, went to Worms, to
ask in marriage the hand of Kriemhild, sister of Gunther, King of
Burgundy. While he was staying with Gunther, Siegfried helped the
Burgundian king to secure as his wife Brunhild, queen of Issland.
The latter had announced publicly that he only should be her
husband who could beat her in hurling a spear, throwing a huge
stone, and in leaping.
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