About the creature indicated by this head there has been some diversity of opinion. It has been spoken of as the head of a serpent, of a fish, of a dolphin, and strangest of all, it has been called the head of a griffin. Of these notions the last is the one that has been oftenest repeated, and yet it is the most absurd. No doubt the griffin has been variously described, nevertheless it is generally agreed that the head52 of this fabulous4 animal is either that of an eagle or that of a lion.
Many years ago, as I happened, in company with Dr. Liddon, to be passing the entrance of the Ashmolean Museum—the old original building by the Sheldonian Theatre—I asked him whether he had ever seen the Alfred Jewel. He had not, and he manifested some alacrity5 and we went in. It was naturally my part to act the showman, and I did it with a will, which was quickened by an interested motive7. I set forth8 all my best exegesis9 of every part, except one—I left the animal’s head unnoticed. The old doubt about the nature of this head had been recently revived, and I lay in wait for testimony10 undesigned. I had the satisfaction of hearing my companion remark interrogatively, ‘That appears to be a boar’s head?’
Between the wild boar and the helmet there existed a close and recognized association, as is well attested11 by the Beowulf, which is our chief voice from the heroic age of Teutonic antiquity12. In the course of that poem there are no less than five passages in which this habitual13 association of ideas stands out prominently. The first53 passage is where Beowulf and his companions have reached the Danish coast and stepped ashore14 and parleyed with the coast-warden, and obtained his approval of their visit and his offer of guidance to Hrothgar’s Court. As they set forth on their march inland, the poet notices the play of the sunlight glancing from the boar-figures on their helmets:
301
301
Gewiton him ta fêran
Forth on the march they fared
—flota stille bad,
seomode on s??le,
wearing on her cable,
s?d-f?emed scip,
the wide-bosomed ship,
on ancre f?st.
at anchor fast.
Eoferlic scionon
Boar-figures shone
ofer hleor-bergan;
over the cheek-plates;
gehroden golde
as chequered with gold
fah and f?r-heard
ferh wearde heold.
The second passage occurs in the course of the Lay of Hn?f, which is inserted among the festivities that follow Beowulf’s success against54 Grendel, as being sung by the minstrel in Hrothgar’s hall. In the story of the Lay there is a fight, and that is followed by the burning of the dead, and here the poet notices the arms which are consumed with their owners. In the short quotation18 which follows, the coat of mail is called a sark, and the helmet is indicated by its crest19, which was a boar of hard iron plated with gold:
1111
1111
?t t?m ade w?s
At the place of the pile
êe-ges?ne
swat-fah syrce,
the sark blood-stained,
sw?n eal-gylden,
eofer ?ren-heard.
the boar of hard iron.
The third passage presents us with an incidental description of the terrors of a hand-to-hand fight between armed champions, and it pictures a trial of strength between the tough steel of the flashing sword and the hard iron of the boar on the helmet:
55
1286
1286
tonne heoru bunden
When the hafted halberd
hamere geturen,
hammer-toughened,
sweord swate fah,
the sword battle-spotted,
sw?n ofer helme
at the swine on the helmet
ecgum dyhtig
with urgent edge
andweard sc?ree.
The first success of Beowulf having left an avenger25 alive, it becomes necessary for the hero, in pursuance of his pledged war against the monster brood, to dive all-armed to the bottom of an awful mere22. In our fourth quotation he is seen arming himself and preparing to plunge26 into the abyss; the main pieces of his armour27 are described, and of his helmet it is said as follows:—
1449
1449
ac se hw?ta helm
hafelan werede,
his head to protect,
se te mere-grundas
mengan scolde,
56
sêcan sund-gebland
since geweoread,
befangen frea-wrasnum
swa hine fyrn-dagum
as in far-away days
worhte w?pna-smie,
by weapon-smith ’twas wrought,
wundrum teode
and wondrously34 dight,
besette sw?n-l?cum
t??t hine sieean n?
that on it ever since
brond nê beado-mêcas
no brand or blade of war
b?tan ne meahton.
had any power to bite.
These closing lines recall the remarkable36 passage of Tacitus, where he says that the ?stii (Esthonians) venerate37 the mother of the gods, and that they wear figures of the wild boar as the emblem38 of her cult39, and that this observance alone suffices without arms offensive or defensive40 to make her votary41 feel secure even in the midst of enemies[15].
The mother of the gods may be identified, or at least proximately equated42, with Frige, the consort43 of Woden, whose name survives in57 the sixth day of the week, Friday; Frige-d?g. A survival of her cult is seen in the festive44 ceremony of the Boar’s Head, which is kept up in Queen’s College, Oxford45, adding a mystic incident to the mirth of Christmas.
Caput apri defero,
Reddens laudes Domino.
The boar’s head in hand bring I,
With garlands gay and rosemary.
Our fifth example occurs in a passage eminently46 characteristic of the heroic age, when the institutions of monarchy47 rested upon the personal devotion of the thane to the king. This relation is one of great historical consequence; it was to grow into the later institution of knighthood; it had been matured by that immemorial tradition of sacred confidence and fidelity48 between the war-chief and his companion in arms, which is signalized by Tacitus in words familiar to the modern historian. The passage which I am about to quote exhibits this devotion in concrete act. Beowulf, the hero of the poem, has returned successful from his adventure, and he is fulfilling his first duty by rendering49 a58 report to Hygelac his king. His speech is closing with mention of rich guerdon he had received from the king whom he had delivered, namely, Hrothgar, son of Halfdan; and then he produces the noblest of these prizes as a dutiful offering to his lord. This scene constitutes a frame to our last instance of the boar-figure as the most signal feature in a warrior’s headgear:
2145
2145
“Swa se teod kyning
“So in fair customs lived
teawum lyfde;
the imperial king;
nealles ic tam leanum
nor of fitting guerdon I
forloren h?fde,
was aught forlorn,
m?gnes mêde—
of meed for service—
ac he me madmas geaf,
sunu Healfdenes,
did Halfdan’s son,
on minne sylfes d?m;
myself withal to please;
ta ic tê, beorn-cyning,
which I to thee, brave prince,
bringan wylle,
by choice do bring,
Gên is eall ?t tê
All my wealth proceeds
lissa gelong:
of thy good lordship:
59
ic l?t hafo
nor is my lot to have
heafod-maga,
nefne Hygelac tec!”
king Hygelac, but thee!”
Hêt ta in beran
Then bade he in to bear
eafor heafod-segn,
the wild-boar crest,
heaeo-steapne helm,
the helm in fight so high,
hare byrnan,
g?e-sweord geatolic—
the sword seigneurial—
gyd ?fter wr?c:
and he said withal:
“Mê tis hilde-sceorp
“To me this battle-harness
Hr?egar sealde,
Hrothgar gave,
snotra fengel...”
In the evidence above given we see indications that this traditional choice of the wild boar for a crest was of high antiquity, and had its origin in a religious sentiment, and our fourth passage (1449 ff.) certainly conveys the idea that the armourer who wrought at the furniture of the helmet did so with a mind still under the spell of the old persuasion56 that a mystic sanction clung to the figure of the wild60 boar, and qualified57 it for its time-honoured post as guardian58 of the warrior’s head.
In the Alfred Jewel the Boar’s Head appears to discharge a double function: one subservient59, as affording a base or pedestal to the frame of the sacred effigy60; the other servile, as a socket61 for the shaft62 whereby the elaborate and composite design is to be fixed63 in its destined64 place.
[15] ‘Matrem de?m venerantur. Insigne superstitionis formas aprorum gestant: id pro2 armis omnique tutela securum de? cultorem etiam inter6 hostes pr?stat.’ Germania,
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1 propounded | |
v.提出(问题、计划等)供考虑[讨论],提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2 pro | |
n.赞成,赞成的意见,赞成者 | |
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3 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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4 fabulous | |
adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的 | |
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5 alacrity | |
n.敏捷,轻快,乐意 | |
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6 inter | |
v.埋葬 | |
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7 motive | |
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 | |
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8 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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9 exegesis | |
n.注释,解释 | |
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10 testimony | |
n.证词;见证,证明 | |
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11 attested | |
adj.经检验证明无病的,经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 );证实;声称…属实;使宣誓 | |
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12 antiquity | |
n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
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13 habitual | |
adj.习惯性的;通常的,惯常的 | |
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14 ashore | |
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
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15 ward | |
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开 | |
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16 reposing | |
v.将(手臂等)靠在某人(某物)上( repose的现在分词 ) | |
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17 defiant | |
adj.无礼的,挑战的 | |
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18 quotation | |
n.引文,引语,语录;报价,牌价,行情 | |
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19 crest | |
n.顶点;饰章;羽冠;vt.达到顶点;vi.形成浪尖 | |
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20 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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21 gilded | |
a.镀金的,富有的 | |
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22 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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23 smites | |
v.猛打,重击,打击( smite的第三人称单数 ) | |
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24 importunate | |
adj.强求的;纠缠不休的 | |
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25 avenger | |
n. 复仇者 | |
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26 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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27 armour | |
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队 | |
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28 burnished | |
adj.抛光的,光亮的v.擦亮(金属等),磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 );被擦亮,磨光 | |
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29 murky | |
adj.黑暗的,朦胧的;adv.阴暗地,混浊地;n.阴暗;昏暗 | |
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30 merged | |
(使)混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 ); 相融; 融入; 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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31 swirl | |
v.(使)打漩,(使)涡卷;n.漩涡,螺旋形 | |
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32 sumptuous | |
adj.豪华的,奢侈的,华丽的 | |
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33 filigree | |
n.金银丝做的工艺品;v.用金银细丝饰品装饰;用华而不实的饰品装饰;adj.金银细丝工艺的 | |
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34 wondrously | |
adv.惊奇地,非常,极其 | |
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35 beset | |
v.镶嵌;困扰,包围 | |
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36 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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37 venerate | |
v.尊敬,崇敬,崇拜 | |
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38 emblem | |
n.象征,标志;徽章 | |
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39 cult | |
n.异教,邪教;时尚,狂热的崇拜 | |
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40 defensive | |
adj.防御的;防卫的;防守的 | |
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41 votary | |
n.崇拜者;爱好者;adj.誓约的,立誓任圣职的 | |
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42 equated | |
adj.换算的v.认为某事物(与另一事物)相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 );相当于;等于;把(一事物) 和(另一事物)等同看待 | |
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43 consort | |
v.相伴;结交 | |
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44 festive | |
adj.欢宴的,节日的 | |
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45 Oxford | |
n.牛津(英国城市) | |
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46 eminently | |
adv.突出地;显著地;不寻常地 | |
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47 monarchy | |
n.君主,最高统治者;君主政体,君主国 | |
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48 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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49 rendering | |
n.表现,描写 | |
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50 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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51 wan | |
(wide area network)广域网 | |
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52 homage | |
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬 | |
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53 kinsman | |
n.男亲属 | |
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54 hoary | |
adj.古老的;鬓发斑白的 | |
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55 sapient | |
adj.有见识的,有智慧的 | |
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56 persuasion | |
n.劝说;说服;持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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57 qualified | |
adj.合格的,有资格的,胜任的,有限制的 | |
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58 guardian | |
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者 | |
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59 subservient | |
adj.卑屈的,阿谀的 | |
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60 effigy | |
n.肖像 | |
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61 socket | |
n.窝,穴,孔,插座,插口 | |
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62 shaft | |
n.(工具的)柄,杆状物 | |
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63 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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64 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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