342 HORSE-SHOES AND HORSE-SHOEING. 



this mysterious blacksmith is of Northern origin. In 

 Scandinavian mythology, the Volundar-Koi^a recounts the 

 tragic adventures of Volundr, who was the Daedalus of 

 the North, and one of its mythical heroes. The same 

 high authority shows that the root of the word, which is 

 Anglo-Saxon, is IVeakmd, TVelond, or fVeland, in German 

 If^ielant, and is the VeUnt of the Vilkina-Saga, is derived 

 from the Norse Vel^ skill, art, craft, or cunning, and the 

 old German IVielan, Anglo-Saxon IVelan, to fabricate, 

 the participle of which would be JVielant and IVeland. 

 The word, therefore, according to Mr Mallet, denotes a 

 skilful artificer, in which sense it is still employed by the 

 people of Iceland, who say ' Hann er volundr a jcirn,' 

 ' He is a famous smith or workman in iron ; ' and a 

 labyrinth with them is a Wayland house. 



' It is in the Icelandic Sagas,' remarks Depping and 

 Michel,' ' that Veland is the subject of long romantic 

 fictions, and the story regarding him forms one of the 

 oldest fragments of this poetical literature. It has been 

 attempted to trace the romance to a historical period,- — 

 to the reign of King Nidung, who appears to have lived 

 in Sweden in the 6th century of our era, and who is 

 reported to have been the protector of the smith. But 

 there is nothing historical in this, and if on the one hand 

 such has been claimed for it, on the other hand it is as 

 likely to belong to Scandinavian mythology.' 



We must not forget that the Teutonic word ' Welsh,' 

 ' Wilisc,' or ' Waelisc,' was the term for stranger or 

 foreigner, and that France was called by the old andT^ 

 mediaeval Germans ' Das Welsche lant ; ' while the 

 ' Le Forgeron Veland. Paris, 1833 



