" Saxo, it is true, makes Hild's father
a Jute, instead of her lover, and Snorri apparently agrees with him
in making Hedin Norwegian; but in the _Gudrun_ Hettel is Frisian or
Jutish. The Anglo-Saxon _Widsith_ mentions in one line Hagena, king of
the Holmrygas (a Norwegian province), and Heoden, king of the Glommas
(not identified), who may be the Hoegni and Hedin of this tale.
The Anglo-Saxon and German agree on another point where both differ
from the Norse. The Anglo-Saxon poem _Deor_ is supposed to be spoken
by a _scop_ or court poet who has been ousted from the favour of
his lord, a Heodening, by Heorrenda, another singer: "Once I was the
Heodenings' scop, dear to my lord: Deor was my name. Many a year I had
a good service and a gracious lord, until the song-skilled Hoerrenda
received the rights which the protector of men once granted me." Like
Heorrenda, Horant in the _Gudrun_ is a singer in the service of the
Heathnings. The Norse version keeps the name, and its connection with
the Heathnings, but gives Hjarrandi, as the hero's father, no active
part to play. In both points, arguing from the probable Frisian origin
of the story, the Anglo-Saxon and German are more likely to have the
correct form.
The legend is, like those of Walter and Hildigund, Helgi and Sigrun,
founded on the primary instincts of love and war. In the Norse
story of the Heathnings, however, the former element is almost
eliminated. It is from no love to Hedin that Hild accompanies him,
though Saxo would have it so.
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