Halfdan And Hamal Foster-brothers The Amalians Fight In Behalf Of Halfdan's Son Hadding
: THE MYTH CONCERNING THE EARLIEST PERIOD AND THE EMIGRATIONS FROM THE NORTH.: Teutonic Mythology
The mythic progenitor of the Amalians, Hamall, has already been
mentioned above as the foster-brother of the Teutonic patriarch, Halfdan
(Helge Hundingsbane). According to Norse tradition, Hamal's father,
Hagall, had been Halfdan's foster-father (Helge Hund., ii.), and thus
the devoted friend of Borgar. There being so close a relation between
the progenitors of these great hero-families of Teutonic mythology, it
is hig
part in the first great world war, since all the Teutonic tribes, and
consequently surely their first families of mythic origin, took part in
it. In the ancient records of the North, we discover a trace which
indicates that the Amalians actually did fight on that side where we
should expect to find them, that is, on Hadding's, and that Hamal
himself was the field-commander of his foster-brother. The trace is
found in the phrase fylkja Hamalt, occurring in several places (Sig.
Faf., ii. 23; Har. Hardr., ch. 2; Fornalds. Saga, ii. 40; Fornm., xi.
304). The phrase can only be explained in one way, "arranged the
battle-array as Hamall first did it." To Hamal has also been ascribed
the origin of the custom of fastening the shields close together along
the ship's railing, which appears from the following lines in Harald
Hardrade's Saga, 63:
Hamalt syndiz mer hoemlur
hildings vinir skilda.
We also learn in our Norse records that fylkja Hamalt, "to draw up in
line of battle as Hamal did," means the same as svinfylkja, that is,
to arrange the battalions in the form of a wedge.[29] Now Saxo relates
(Hist., 52) that Hadding's army was the first to draw the forces up in
this manner, and that an old man (Odin) whom he has taken on board on a
sea-journey had taught and advised him to do this.[30] Several centuries
later Odin, according to Saxo, taught this art to Harald Hildetand. But
the mythology has not made Odin teach it twice. The repetition has its
reason in the fact that Harald Hildetand, in one of the records
accessible to Saxo, was a son of Halfdan Borgarson (Hist., 361;
according to other records a son of Borgar himself--Hist., 337), and
consequently a son of Hadding's father, the consequence of which is that
features of Hadding's saga have been incorporated into the saga produced
in a later time concerning the saga-hero Harald Hildetand. Thereby the
Bravalla battle has obtained so universal and gigantic a character.
It has been turned into an arbitrarily written version of the battle
which ended in Hadding's defeat. Swedes, Goths, Norsemen, Curians, and
Esthonians here fight on that side which, in the original model of the
battle, was represented by the hosts of Svipdag and Gudhorm; Danes (few
in number, according to Saxo), Saxons (according to Saxo, the main part
of the army), Livonians, and Slavs fight on the other side. The fleets
and armies are immense on both sides. Shield-maids (amazons) occupy the
position which in the original was held by the giantesses Hardgrep,
Fenja, and Menja. In the saga description produced in Christian times
the Bravalla battle is a ghost of the myth concerning the first great
war. Therefore the names of several of the heroes who take part in the
battle are an echo from the myth concerning the Teutonic patriarchs and
the great war. There appear Borgar and Behrgar the wise (Borgar),
Haddir (Hadding), Ruthar (Hrutr-Heimdal, see No. 28a), Od
(Odr, a surname of Freyja's, husband, Svipdag, see Nos. 96-98, 100,
101), Brahi (Brache, Asa-Bragr, see No. 102), Gram (Halfdan),
and Ingi (Yngve), all of which names we recognise from the patriarch
saga, but which, in the manner in which they are presented in the new
saga, show how arbitrarily the mythic records were treated at that time.
The myth has rightly described the wedge-shaped arrangement of the
troops as an ancient custom among the Teutons. Tacitus (Germ., 6) says
that the Teutons arranged their forces in the form of a wedge (acies
per cuneos componitur), and Caesar suggests the same (De Bell.
Gall., i. 52: Germani celeriter ex consuetudine sua phalange
facta...). Thus our knowledge of this custom as Teutonic extends back
to the time before the birth of Christ. Possibly it was then already
centuries old. The Aryan-Asiatic kinsmen of the Teutons had knowledge of
it, and the Hindooic law-book, called Manus', ascribes to it divine
sanctity and divine origin. On the geographical line which unites
Teutondom with Asia it was also in vogue. According to AElianus (De
instr. ac., 18), the wedge-shaped array of battle was known to the
Scythians and Thracians.
The statement that Harald Hildetand, son of Halfdan Borgarson, learned
this arrangement of the forces from Odin many centuries after he had
taught the art to Hadding, does not disprove, but on the contrary
confirms, the theory that Hadding, son of Halfdan Borgarson, was not
only the first but also the only one who received this instruction from
the Asa-father. And as we now have side by side the two statements, that
Odin gave Hadding this means of victory, and that Hamal was the first
one who arranged his forces in the shape of a wedge, then it is all the
more necessary to assume that these statements belong together, and that
Hamal was Hadding's general, especially as we have already seen that
Hadding's and Hamal's families were united by the sacred ties which
connect foster-father with foster-son and foster-brother with
foster-brother.
[Footnote 29: Compare the passage, Eirikr konungr fylkti sva lidi sinu,
at rani (the swine-snout) var a framan a fylkinganni, ok lukt allt utan
med skjaldbjorg, (Fornm., xi. 304), with the passage quoted in this
connection: hildingr fylkti Hamalt lidi miklu.]
[Footnote 30: The saga of Sigurd Fafnersbane, which absorbed materials
from all older sagas, has also incorporated this episode. On a
sea-journey Sigurd takes on board a man who calls himself Hnikarr (a
name of Odin). He advises him to "fylkja Hamalt" (Sig. Fafn., ii.
16-23).]
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