1 6 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDIES 



upon their foe with all their might. But, brave as they were, the 

 lads were no match for such a warrior as Wittich, and one by one they 

 sank down dead at his feet. Scharphe was the first to fall, but not 

 before he had dealt Wittich a blow which struck fire from his helmet. 

 Orte then rushed upon Wittich to avenge his brother's death. But 

 he, too, was helpless against the strength of a man, and after a brave 

 fight for his life, was laid low by the sharp sword Mimung. 



As soon as Diether saw that both Orte and Scharphe were dead, 

 he rode at Wittich in a frenzy of rage, resolved either to give up his 

 own life or to avenge the death of his foster-brothers. He dealt 

 out blows thick and fast until even the war-tried Wittich was hard 

 pressed. But Wittich 's helmet, the work of Wieland, was harder 

 than any steel, and Diether's sword finally glanced and struck 

 the head of Wittich 's steed. Then, leaping to the ground, Wittich 

 threw away his shield, grasped his sword with both hands, and Diether 

 fell at last, his body cleft in twain by the mighty blow. 



The Boy as a Minor Character 



In one instance the boy appears in an important secondary role 

 as the helper in a great tragedy. Sinf jotli, 1 son 's son and daughter 's 

 son of King Volsung, was the instrument of his mother, Signy, in 

 carrying out her great work of vengeance. From his birth he was 

 trained for the task which was to mark him as a fit man for the world 

 of heroes. 



More often the boy is a merely passive character, sacrificed to a 

 feud in which he was too young to have had any part. To avenge 

 himself for the wrong done to him by Nipopr, the king, Vp'lundr, 2 

 the magic smith, murdered the young sons of Nipopr, and presented 

 him later with drinking-cups made of their skulls. Gudrun 3 cut off 

 the heads of her two sons, in order to avenge the death of her brothers 

 upon Attila, her husband. And Signy, 4 the greatest of the avenging 



■ Vplsunga Saga, C 7 S. 



• " Velundarkvipa, " Edda, p. ill. 



1 "Atlam^l," str. 75, Edda, p. 413; "Guprunarhv^," str. 5, Edda, p. 443. 



< Vplsunga Saga, C. 7 S. 



