400 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [book i
strangely mingled, Wierd being placed in actual ap-
position with God,
swa he hyra ma wolde
nβfne him witig God,
Wyrd forstode,
ɔ ðæs mannes mod1.
“ As he would more of them had not wise God,
Wierd forstood him, and the man’s courage.” How
very heathen the whole would be, were we only
to conceive the word God an interpolation, which
is highly probable; nefne him witig—Wyrd for-
stode2 ! The following examples will show the use
of Wyrd:—“ hine Wyrd fornam,”—him Wierd ra-
vished away3: just as in other passages we have gu⅛>
fornam4, Wig ealle fornam5, swylt fornam6, dea⅞>
fornam7. “ Wyrd ungemete neah8,”— Wierd was im-
measurably near him ; as in the Oldsaxon passages
above cited, and as Dea¾ ungemete neah 9. 4∙ Ac une
sceal weor⅞>an æt wealle, swa une Wyrd geteoü,
métod manna gehwæs10,”—it shall befal us as Wierd
decideth, the lord of every man. “ Swa him Wyrd
ne gescraf11,”—Wierd did not appoint. “Ealle Wyrd
1 Beow. 1. 2104. 2 Ibid. 1. 2411.
3 Ibid. 1.2240. 4 Ibid. 1. 2154.
5 Ibid. 1. 2872. c Ibid. 1. 4234, 4468.
7 Ibid. 1. 4836. 8 Ibid. 1 5453.
8 Ibid. 1. 5048.
10 This is a most remarkable passage, for VVyrd is distinctly called
Metod, a word generally appropriated to God ; but I am disposed to
think that Metten, another word for Fate, was uppermost in the poet's
mind,—perhaps found in some heathen copy of the poem. “ Da graman
mettena,” saeυae pa∣∙cae. Boet. p. 161. (Bawl.)
11 Beow. 1. 5145.
CH. XH-J
HEATHENDOM. WYRD.
401
forsweôp1,”—Wierd has swept away. “ U's seo
wyrd scytSel8, heard and hetegrim2,”—us doth Wierd
pursue, hard and grim in hate.
These examples will suffice to show how tho-
roughly personal the conception of Wierd remained ;
and in this respect there is no difference whatever
between the practice in Beowulf and in the more
professedly Christian poems of the Exeter and
Vercelli codices, or Cædmon. But one peculiarity
remains to be noticed, which connects our Wierd
in the most striking manner with the heathen god-
desses generally, and the Scandinavian Nornir par-
ticularly. We have seen that Wierd opposes, that
she stands close to the doomed warrior, that she
ravishes him away, that she sweeps away the power
of men, that she decides or appoints the event,
that she is hard and cruel and pursues her victims.
But she also weaves, weaves the web of destiny, as
we can say even to this day without violence. It
is necessary to give examples of this expression :
“ Me ‰t wyrd gewæf3,”—Wierd wove that for
me; similar to which is, “Ac him dryhten forgeaf
Wigspeda gewiofu4,”—but the Lord gaʌe him
the weft of victory ; where undoubtedly an ear-
lier weaving Wyrd was thought of. “ Donne seo
J>rag cyme¾, wefen wyrd-stafum5,”—when the time
cometh, woven with Wierdstaves, or letters, pro-
bably runes. There is a remarkable passage in the
same collection6, “ Wyrmas mec ne awæfon, Wyrda
ɪ Beow. 1. δ624.
2 Cod. Vercel. Anal. 1. 3121.
, Beow. 1. 1386.
tl Ibid. p. 417.
3 Cod. Exon. p. ∙3δ∙5.
5 Cod. Exon. p. 183
VOL. I.