Britain and its Neighbours

Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

Dirk H. Steinforth, Charles C. Rozier, Dirk H. Steinforth, Charles C. Rozier

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367342654
• eBook ISBN: 9781000365375
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

Britain and its Neighbours explores instances and periods of cultural contact and exchanges between communities in Britain with those in other parts of Europe between c.500 and 1700.

Collectively, the twelve case studies highlight certain aspects of cultural contact and exchange and present neglected factors, previously overlooked evidence, and new methodological approaches. The discussions draw from a broad range of disciplines including archaeology, history, art history, iconography, literature, linguistics, and legal history in order to shine new light on a multi-faceted variety of expressions of the equally diverse and long-standing relations between Britain and its neighbours. Organised chronologically, the volume accentuates the consistency and continuity of social, cultural, and intellectual connections between Britain and Continental Europe in a period that spans over a millennium.

With its range of specialised topics, Britain and its Neighbours is a useful resource for undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars interested in cultural and intellectual studies and the history of Britain's long-standing connections to Europe.

1

WAYLAND THE SMITH AND THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS

Pagan-Christian ‘amalgamation’ on the Anglo-Saxon Franks Casket

Sigmund Oehrl

Abstract: On the front panel of the Anglo-Saxon ivory box ‘Franks Casket’, the cruel revenge of Wayland the smith and the Nativity of Jesus are depicted side by side. This juxtaposition seems to represent a contrast between the cruelty of paganism and the Christian faith. Other researchers, however, have argued that Wayland should be understood as a positive Christian symbol. This discussion will argue that the depiction of Wayland’s child murder together with the Nativity of Christ was inspired by the iconography of the Massacre of the Innocents, depicting Herod and the child murder next to the Magi and the Virgin with Child. If Wayland can be interpreted as an Anglo-Saxon pagan counterpart of King Herod the Great, then the Casket functions as a forum for the examination of pagan and Christian cultural amalgamation during the early Middle Ages.

The front side of Franks Casket – Wayland’s Revenge and the Adoration of the Magi

The famous, richly decorated walrus ivory casket was produced in the early eighth century in an ecclesiastical setting in north England, as a receptacle for jewellery, books, or relics. In 1857, it was bought by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks in Auzon, Département Haute-Loire, in France, who later gave it to the British Museum in London.¹ With its inscriptions and images combining different narrative traditions and showing strong influences of late antique and Frankish art, it is one of the most famous and fascinating testimonies of fruitful interrelations between the Anglo–Saxon World and the Continent during the early Middle Ages. The pictorial programme includes the story of Wayland the Smith and the Adoration of the Magi on the casket’s front side, runic inscriptions and images of the Roman foundation fathers Romulus and Remus on the left side, and Titus’ conquest of Jerusalem on the back. The lid depicts an archer defending a building and a figure on a throne within it against a superior contingent of enemy soldiers. The runic inscription Ægili denotes this warrior as Wayland’s brother, the master archer Egill, who features in Old Norse tradition.²

The right panel is kept in the Bargello, Florence, Italy. While several suggestions have been presented, its mysterious images (a horse–human hybrid and a warrior, a horse and a grave mound, three men/women in cloaks, among other motifs) have defied all attempts at interpretation.³ In fact, it remains unknown whether the images on the casket’s five panels are linked by a common iconographical programme.⁴ Nonetheless, in the case of the images of Wayland and the epiphany on the front, a deliberate juxtaposition can be assumed.

The front side of the casket (Fig. 1.1) is bordered by a runic inscription. In alliterative long lines, this recounts the fate of the stranded whale whose remains provided the material (hronæsban, ‘whale bone’) for the production of the casket.⁵ A vertical band divides the space in half: to the right, the adoration of the infant Jesus is shown. The Three Magi, bearing gifts and approaching from the left, are identified by a runic titulus (mægi, cf. Matthew 2:1: magi). Between the leading Magus and Mary with the Baby Jesus, a rosette representing the Star of Bethlehem can be seen. Below, a long-necked bird appears to lead the Magi to the throne of the Blessed Mother, which is a unique scene in Christian iconography. On the left side of the panel, on the outer edge of the field and opposite to Mary, a bearded man is shown, whose identity as a smith is shown by the tongs in his left hand and the anvil with two hammers in front of him. A semicircular object represents the furnace or forgestone. At the man’s feet, a headless, naked human figure is lying prone on the ground. The smith holds the severed head in his tongs. In his right hand, he grasps a cup, which one of two women opposite him appears to reach out for.

Figure 1.1 The front panel of Franks Casket (eighth century). (Photo: Estate of Karl Hauck, ZBSA, Schleswig).

There can be no doubt that this is a scene from the Wayland legend.⁶ In particular, this story is told in the Edda’s Vǫlundarqviða (probably tenth century) and in Þiðreks saga (mid-thirteenth century),⁷ and basically tells how master smith Wayland (Old Norse Vǫlundr; Old Norwegian Velent) is abducted, crippled, held captive by a king (Old Norse Níðuðr; Old Norwegian Níðungr), and forced to produce jewellery for the royal family. He takes revenge by beheading the king’s two sons. From their body parts, he fashions jewellery for the king and his family and drinking vessels from their skulls. After that, he impregnates the king’s daughter (Old Norse Bǫðvildr), after making her compliant with an alcoholic drink, according to Vǫlundarqviða. Before flying away (using a bird-like flying machine, Þiðreks saga relates, while the Edda remains silent about his means to fly), Wayland finally confronts the king with his revenge.

There is good evidence to suggest that Wayland’s story was known early to the Anglo-Saxons. The first two stanzas of the poem Deor (eighth or ninth centuries) tell of Wayland’s captivity at the hands of king Niðad and the king’s daughter’s sorrows about her unintentional pregnancy. Iconographical references⁸ to the Wayland story can be seen on the Gotlandic picture stones Ardre kyrka VIII⁹ and Alskog kyrka¹⁰ as well as the fragments of the stone cross of Leeds¹¹ in West Yorkshire. There is also the gilded bronze mount (part of a helmet?¹²) in the shape of a man with wings from Uppåkra,¹³ and the solidus from Schweinsdorf (Eastern Friesland, Germany), bearing the runic inscription wela(n)du (= ‘Wēland’).¹⁴

On Franks Casket, several figures relate to Wayland’s story: the woman standing opposite the smith would be the king’s daughter, being handed the stupefying drink by her tormentor. One of the beheaded princes can be seen on the ground, and the human head in the jaws of the smith’s tongs refers to the fabrication of the drinking vessels. The identification of the other two figures is unclear.¹⁵ The woman to the right of the princess has been interpreted variously as a maid accompanying her mistress to the smithy (as told by Þiðreks saga),¹⁶ the princess herself,¹⁷ a ‘beer maid’,¹⁸ or a supernatural ‘revenge helper’.¹⁹ The small male figure next to her, holding two of the four birds in the scene by their necks, cannot be identified. Wayland’s brother Egill may be shown here, collecting feathers for the flying machine,²⁰ or instead one of the young princes hunting birds,²¹ the theft of the ‘swan-shirts’ from the story’s prelude told in Vǫlundarkviða,²² or the forging of the sword Mimung.²³

How can Jesus be linked to Wayland?

Why would both Wayland’s story and the Adoration of the Magi be depicted on the front panel of the casket? Scholars agree that the direct juxtaposition of two fundamentally different subjects must be deliberate, and that the carver must have correlated the two motifs and tales. The most obvious link is in the birds in both parts of the picture: to the left, long-necked birds are being caught, and to the right, an identical animal leads the three Magi to Bethlehem. On both sides, the presentation of an object plays an important part: to the left, the ominous potion offered to the unsuspecting princess, and to the right, the reverential gifts of the three wise men for the God incarnate and saviour. The Magus in front, who is proffering a kind of cup, kneels in front of the Blessed Mother, and in a similar manner, Wayland’s legs are also slightly bent (and his head bowed as well), as if he too was offering the drink with a gesture of reverence.

It frequently has been suggested that this was a case of contrastive juxtaposition: Wayland, the child murderer from a pagan past, is vindictive and cruel, whereas the God of the Christians is merciful. The killing of the king’s children is contrasted with the adoration of the divine child by the Magi, the violation of the princess to the virgin birth of Christ. The pre-Christian principle of revenge is being contrasted with God’s love and grace. This juxtaposition points towards the overcoming of the Heroic by the new faith – an interpretation formulated by Schneider and convincingly presented by Haug.²⁴

Meanwhile, a new position appears to prevail, which considers the Wayland on Franks Casket as a positive and Christian figure and thus interprets the adoration by the Magi of the infant Jesus in a complementary instead of a contrastive way. This primarily is based on the Old English poem Deor.²⁵ In it, Wayland appears as a suffering victim, not as an offender, and there is no mention of any atrocities committed by him. Ellis Davidson takes the view that the image of Wayland on Franks Casket alludes to the birth of Wayland’s heroic son (Old English Widia, Old Norwegian Viðga, Middle High German Witege) with the king’s daughter. This son could be understood as a prefiguration of Christ.²⁶

Bradley not only includes Deor, but also the translation into Old English of Boethius’ De Consolatione Philosophia by Alfred the Great (†899) as well as Bede’s (†735) commentary on the Book of Kings.²⁷ In the commentary, it says that the smiths of Jerusalem were taken captive by the Babylonians, and Bede develops an allegorical significance of the smith in general who should be considered a wise master and guardian of Christian doctrine. Alfred mentions Wayland by name und uses him as an example for the position that nobody can be deprived of his God-given craftsmanship and strength. Webster points out that Wayland’s flight could be taken as a symbol of Christian salvation.²⁸ It also has been noted that on occasion in Old English and Old Norse literature, Christ is described as a smith or son of a smith.²⁹ There existed a positive image of Wayland known to the Christian Anglo-Saxons, which focused on his skills and wisdom, instead of on his acts of revenge.³⁰ According to Lang and Yorke, Wayland was even seen as an avenger worthy of veneration, because his acts of violence were in fact legitimate means in his quest for justice. The villain of the story was not Welund, but Niðad, who abducts the smith.³¹ Abels concludes:

The scenes on the front panel are more plausibly interpreted as complementary than adversarial [...]. The images of the revenge of Weland and the Adoration of the Magi […] represent two aspects of reciprocity, vendetta and gift giving, and two models of lordship, the good lordship of the Lord Christ contrasted with the bad lords...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of maps
• List of tables
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Britain and its neighbours: Contacts, exchanges, influences. An introduction
• 1 Wayland the Smith and the Massacre of the Innocents: Pagan–Christian ‘amalgamation’ on the Anglo–Saxon Franks Casket
• 2 The permeating presence of practices: Northwest English and Manx ecclesiastical sites with Viking-Age furnished burials and sculpture
• 3 Between Continental models, a Christian message, and a Scandinavian audience: Early examples of the image of ‘Christ trampling the Beasts’ in the British Isles
• 4 Silver threads – How Scandinavian Scotland connected with a wider economic world
• 5 The problem of Manx: Norse linguistic evidence for the survival of Manx Gaelic in the Scandinavian period
• 6 Legal custom and Lex Castrensis? – Using law and literature to navigate the North-Sea neighbourhood in the late Viking Age
• 7 Ring-fencing the gardinum? European romance to British reality of the thirteenth-century Caernarfon Castle garden and park?
• 8 Albany and the poets: John Stuart, Duke of Albany, and the transfer of ideas between Scotland and the Continent, 1509–1536
• 9 Anglo–Swiss relations in the seventeenth century: Religion, refuge, and relief
• 10 Fashioning an expanding English world: Commerce, curiosities, and coastal profiles from Edward Barlow’s 1668 voyage to Italian port cities
• 11 ‘England is not a kingdom located on the Moon’: Use and usefulness of English knowledge in early modern Swedish agricultural literature
• 12 An honoured guest: The 1764 journeys across Piedmont of Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany
• Further reading
• Index