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Germanic and Celtic Heroic Traditions 37
been entered upon. The Cheruscans had been swept
away by the storms of the migrations and out of the chaos
there arose that remarkable and vigorous people, the
Franks, destined to become the rulers of Western
Europe.s" The Siegfried tale, that had survived these
disasters, had become a Frankish tale. The figure of
Brunhild came to the fore and after a while the connection
with the catastrophe of the Burgundians created the
puzzling and fascinating tale we all know.
The motifs common to the Irish tradition and the
Germanic epic all belong to the Siegfried story. They
are, moreover, part and parcel of the adventures of his
youth. These must have been added in a later period,
for the original Cheruscan tale had no interest in them.
They belong consequently to the Frankish stage of the
development of the Siegfried legend, more specifically to
the countries of the Lower Rhine, those very regions where
the equally romantic tale of the Knight of the Swan had
its home. But it is also here that Celts and Teutons
maintained for several centuries very close relations, not
only of a military, but also of a peaceful character. Here,
one might be inclined to suggest, we may expect a
symbiosis, favourable for the exchange of literary motifs
too. In this case, we should not endeavour to explain
the analogies between the Irish and German traditions by
accepting secondary influences, but we ought to keep in
mind the fact that the evolution of the Siegfried story took
place in a region where from the oldest times onwards
elements of Celtic civilization were firmly rooted in the
minds of the people.
Having formulated this conclusion in a paper, written
about ten years ago,27 I must confess that I myself was
almost terrified by its boldness. No one had thought of
20 On the character of the migrations and the origins of the Franks see my
paper 'Volkerwanderung und Wikingerzeit' in Archaeologia Austriaca XXIX
(r961), 6-17.
27 See my paper 'Uber keltisch-germanische Beziehungen auf dem Gebiete
der Heldensage', Paul und Braunes Beitrage LXXV (1953), 229-247.