ABSTRACT

The present article explores the hypothesis that there is an intertextual relationship between Widsith and antecedent literary traditions pertaining to Woden. This hypothesis is shown to shed light on various features of Widsith, such as the speaker's extended lifespan, his propensity for wandering, his fondness for the transgressive king Eormanric, his visitation to other doomed kings such as Guðhere and Ælfwine, and his presence at the greatest battles in legendary history, where kinsmen battled each other at a counselor's instigation. It demonstrates that interpreting Widsith as an avatar of Woden, if not Woden himself, enables the excavation of layers of meaning that have hitherto remained buried within this difficult and obscure poem.

摘要

本文探讨了这样的假设，即威西斯与与沃登有关的先前文学传统之间存在互文关系。这一假设揭示了威德斯的各种特征，例如说话者的寿命延长、他的流浪倾向、他对违法的埃奥曼里克国王的喜爱、他对其他注定要失败的国王的探访，如古德赫尔和 Ælfwine，以及他在传奇历史上最伟大的战斗，在顾问的怂恿下，亲属们互相争斗。它表明，将 Widsith 解释为 Woden 的化身，即使不是 Woden 本人，也可以挖掘迄今为止埋藏在这首困难而晦涩的诗歌中的多层意义。