Wudga
Encyclopedia
Wudga or Vidrik "Vidga" Verlandsson ( + Viðga or Videke + Verlandsson, Vallandsson, or Villandsson) is a hero in several early Germanic legends
and later Scandinavia
n ballad
s.
In Legends about Theodoric the Great
, he was of Dietrich von Bern's warriors. In one of the ballads, he won particular fame in his duel with Langben Rese/Risker.
During the Middle Ages, he became the son of Wayland Smith and Böðvildr
, and this entitled him to carry a hammer and pliers in his coat of arms. Later the origin of his name "Wayland's son" was forgotten, but the fame of the character prevailed. During the 16th and the 17th centuries, this led to the idea that his name "Villandsson" referred to Villand Hundred in Skåne, and the hundred duly began to use his coat of arms as its own. Wudga wielded the sword Mimung, forged by his father, as was the helm he wore. His mount was the stallion Schimming, one of the finest horses of its age.
, a king of the Ostrogoths.
According to Jordanes
, Vidigoia was Gothorum fortissimus and defeated the Sarmatians
with a ruse for which he became the subject of epic songs among the Goths. Wudga's treachery may derive from Tufa who deserted Theodoric to join Odoacer
, whereas Wudga's greatest treason, which was surrendering Ravenna
, appears to be based on a merger with king Witiges
. This king gave away Ravenna in 540 to a minor force led by Belisarius
and the surrender was held to be a disgrace by his fellow Goths.
, lines 123-130, where he appears together with his friend Hama
:
, Wudga (Widia) is mentioned together with his father Wayland in a praise of Mimmung, Waldere
's sword that Weyland had made.
to explain how Wayland Smith became the father of Viðga.
Viðga was only twelve years old when he decided to become a warrior. He was already strong and good at fighting with arms. His father gave Viðga weapons of his own manufacture, and most importantly his own sword Mimung and his horse Skemming.
Searching for the famous warrior Thiðrek (Dietrich von Bern), Viðga met Hildebrand
, Heimir
and earl Hornbogi, but at first Hildibrand believed that Viðga was a dwarf. Viðga and Hildebrand became such good friends that they entered sworn brotherhood, but when they met Hildebrand secretly switched Viðga's sword with an ordinary one.
When Viðga finally met Þiðrek, the latter challenged Viðga to fight a duel with him, and Hildebrand failed with his attempts to make peace between the two. At first the two heroes jousted with lances during which Viðga's lance shattered on Þiðrek's shield. Viðga then cut off Þiðrek's lance and they continued on foot with their swords.
Finally Viðga's fake Mimung shattered on Þiðrek's sword and Þiðrek was about to give the unarmed Viðga his coup de grâce. Then Hildebrand returned the true Mimung to Viðga and Viðga got the upper hand in the duel. Eventually, Þiðrek had neither shield nor a functioning helmet, and Þiðrek's father Þetmar tried to stop the duel. Viðga was however furious with his opponent who had wanted to kill him and refused to stop the fight. It was only when a mighty stroke with the sword shattered Þiðrek's helmet and Hildebrand intervened that the fight ended. From that moment, Viðga became one of Þiðrek's companions.
There was a war between Sweden's (Vilkinaland) king Osantrix and Attila who had conquered Hunaland
from Osantrix and taken his daughter. Eventually Attila had to call on Þiðrek and his warriors who helped Attila defeat Osantrix. As the Swedes withdrew, Osantrix' duke Hertnid took Viðga prisoner and Osantrix put him in a dungeon. Viðga was then rescued by his friends Vildifer, who was disguised as a bear, and the minstrel Isung.
During his fight with Sigurd
, Þiðrek borrowed Viðga's sword Mimung, and when Sigurd realised whose sword he was fighting against, he surrendered to Þiðrek.
Germanic folklore
Germanic folklore is recorded folklore of the Germanic speaking peoples. It is often used as a starting point for the reconstruction of a Common Germanic mythology:*Dutch folklore*English folklore*German folklore*Scandinavian folklore...
and later Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s.
In Legends about Theodoric the Great
Legends about Theodoric the Great
The Gothic King Theodoric the Great was remembered in Germanic legend as Dietrich von Bern . Dietrich figures in a number of surviving works, and it must be assumed that these draw on long-standing oral tradition...
, he was of Dietrich von Bern's warriors. In one of the ballads, he won particular fame in his duel with Langben Rese/Risker.
During the Middle Ages, he became the son of Wayland Smith and Böðvildr
Böðvildr
Böðvildr, Beadohilde, Bodil was the princess of an evil king Níðuðr/Niðhad/Niðung who appears in Germanic legends, such as Deor, Völundarkviða and Þiðrekssaga...
, and this entitled him to carry a hammer and pliers in his coat of arms. Later the origin of his name "Wayland's son" was forgotten, but the fame of the character prevailed. During the 16th and the 17th centuries, this led to the idea that his name "Villandsson" referred to Villand Hundred in Skåne, and the hundred duly began to use his coat of arms as its own. Wudga wielded the sword Mimung, forged by his father, as was the helm he wore. His mount was the stallion Schimming, one of the finest horses of its age.
Historical background
Wudga probably has a historic basis in either the Gothic national hero Vidigoia, or in WitigesWitiges
Witiges or Vitiges was King of the Ostrogoths in Italy from 536 to 540.He succeeded to the throne of Italy in the early stages of the Gothic War, as Belisarius had quickly captured Sicily the previous year and was currently in southern Italy at the head of the forces of Justinian I, the Eastern...
, a king of the Ostrogoths.
According to Jordanes
Jordanes
Jordanes, also written Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th century Roman bureaucrat, who turned his hand to history later in life....
, Vidigoia was Gothorum fortissimus and defeated the Sarmatians
Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD....
with a ruse for which he became the subject of epic songs among the Goths. Wudga's treachery may derive from Tufa who deserted Theodoric to join Odoacer
Odoacer
Flavius Odoacer , also known as Flavius Odovacer, was the first King of Italy. His reign is commonly seen as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire. Though the real power in Italy was in his hands, he represented himself as the client of Julius Nepos and, after Nepos' death in 480, of the...
, whereas Wudga's greatest treason, which was surrendering Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, appears to be based on a merger with king Witiges
Witiges
Witiges or Vitiges was King of the Ostrogoths in Italy from 536 to 540.He succeeded to the throne of Italy in the early stages of the Gothic War, as Belisarius had quickly captured Sicily the previous year and was currently in southern Italy at the head of the forces of Justinian I, the Eastern...
. This king gave away Ravenna in 540 to a minor force led by Belisarius
Belisarius
Flavius Belisarius was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously....
and the surrender was held to be a disgrace by his fellow Goths.
Widsith
One of the earliest appearances of Wudga is in the poem WidsithWidsith
Widsith is an Old English poem of 144 lines that appears to date from the 9th century, drawing on earlier oral traditions of Anglo-Saxon tale singing. The only text of the fragment is copied in the Exeter Book, a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the late 10th century containing...
, lines 123-130, where he appears together with his friend Hama
Heimir
Háma , Heimir , or Heime was a legendary Germanic hero who often appears together with his friend Wudga. He appears in the Anglo-Saxon poems Beowulf and Widsith, in the Scandinavian Þiðrekssaga and in German epics such as Alpharts Tod.-Origins:Since Wudga is based on a Gothic hero named Vidigoia,...
:
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Waldere
In the Anglo-Saxon fragment known as WaldereWaldere
Waldere or Waldhere is the conventional title given to two Old English fragments from a lost epic poem, discovered in 1860 by E. C. Werlauff, Librarian, in the Danish Royal Library at Copenhagen, where it is still preserved. The parchment pages had been reused as stiffening in the binding of an...
, Wudga (Widia) is mentioned together with his father Wayland in a praise of Mimmung, Waldere
Walter of Aquitaine
Walter of Aquitaine is a legendary king of the Visigoths. He figures in several epic poems and narratives in medieval languages:* Waldere, an Old English fragment* Waltharius, a Latin epic written by the monk Ekkehard I of St Gall...
's sword that Weyland had made.
|
Theodoric the Great Theodoric the Great was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , regent of the Visigoths , and a viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire... thought to Widia's self |
Þiðrekssaga
Before treating the adventures of Viðga (Wudga) and Heimir (Hama), the Þiðrekssaga introduces the Velents þáttr smiðsVelents þáttr smiðs
Velents þáttr smiðs is the name given to the part of the Þiðrekssaga af Bern that deals with Wayland Smith ....
to explain how Wayland Smith became the father of Viðga.
Viðga was only twelve years old when he decided to become a warrior. He was already strong and good at fighting with arms. His father gave Viðga weapons of his own manufacture, and most importantly his own sword Mimung and his horse Skemming.
Searching for the famous warrior Thiðrek (Dietrich von Bern), Viðga met Hildebrand
Hildebrand
Hildebrand is a character from Germanic legend. Hildebrand is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is Hiltibrant and in Old Norse Hildibrandr. The word hild means "battle" and brand means "sword"...
, Heimir
Heimir
Háma , Heimir , or Heime was a legendary Germanic hero who often appears together with his friend Wudga. He appears in the Anglo-Saxon poems Beowulf and Widsith, in the Scandinavian Þiðrekssaga and in German epics such as Alpharts Tod.-Origins:Since Wudga is based on a Gothic hero named Vidigoia,...
and earl Hornbogi, but at first Hildibrand believed that Viðga was a dwarf. Viðga and Hildebrand became such good friends that they entered sworn brotherhood, but when they met Hildebrand secretly switched Viðga's sword with an ordinary one.
When Viðga finally met Þiðrek, the latter challenged Viðga to fight a duel with him, and Hildebrand failed with his attempts to make peace between the two. At first the two heroes jousted with lances during which Viðga's lance shattered on Þiðrek's shield. Viðga then cut off Þiðrek's lance and they continued on foot with their swords.
Finally Viðga's fake Mimung shattered on Þiðrek's sword and Þiðrek was about to give the unarmed Viðga his coup de grâce. Then Hildebrand returned the true Mimung to Viðga and Viðga got the upper hand in the duel. Eventually, Þiðrek had neither shield nor a functioning helmet, and Þiðrek's father Þetmar tried to stop the duel. Viðga was however furious with his opponent who had wanted to kill him and refused to stop the fight. It was only when a mighty stroke with the sword shattered Þiðrek's helmet and Hildebrand intervened that the fight ended. From that moment, Viðga became one of Þiðrek's companions.
There was a war between Sweden's (Vilkinaland) king Osantrix and Attila who had conquered Hunaland
Hunaland
Hunaland and its people are mentioned several times in the Poetic Edda, and in the Fornaldarsagas.Its origins are partly the old Frankish kingdom and partly in the Huns....
from Osantrix and taken his daughter. Eventually Attila had to call on Þiðrek and his warriors who helped Attila defeat Osantrix. As the Swedes withdrew, Osantrix' duke Hertnid took Viðga prisoner and Osantrix put him in a dungeon. Viðga was then rescued by his friends Vildifer, who was disguised as a bear, and the minstrel Isung.
During his fight with Sigurd
Sigurd
Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr) is a legendary hero of...
, Þiðrek borrowed Viðga's sword Mimung, and when Sigurd realised whose sword he was fighting against, he surrendered to Þiðrek.