1 1 8 Norway and the Norwegians 



foe of the Gothic race, Atila. And as the Goths were 

 undoubtedly much more nearly related to the Scandi- 

 navians than were any other of the German peoples, 

 this might account for the fact of the legend filtering 

 back to the north. 



Seeing that it did thus filter back, and that the 

 northern ballad-mongers must have been full of the 

 great deeds done by the Goths and other nations, cousins 

 of the Scandinavians, in the fourth and fifth centu- 

 ries, at the time Eome fell, we cannot but allow our- 

 selves to speculate how far the thought of these deeds, 

 the vague traditions of the riches and grandeur of the 

 Eoman empire, may have spurred the first Viking 

 adventurers forth on their journeys, and to their attacks 

 upon Christendom. And if we admit the possibility of 

 this, may not we guess further, that a vague tradition 

 of the kingdom of Eormanrik, the Goth, wdiich was 

 flourishing in the fourth century, may have enticed the 

 first Swedish travellers into Eussia in the early years 

 of the ninth century ? 



The mythologic poems, then, and the heroic or legend- 

 ary poems, form two divisions of the old northern verse. 

 There is a third division, which in bulk is greater than 

 either of the others — the cncoriiice or laudatory ballads 

 on living persons or persons just dead. These contain 

 the only historic element in the poetry of the north. 



It became the custom early in the history of the 

 Earls of Orkney, and of the Kings of Norway and 

 Sweden, for certain poets to attach themselves to the 

 courts of these rulers. Generally they were warriors, 

 too, who shared in the adventures of their masters, and 

 sang them afterwards. But I dare say the king took 



