ming.

Chief among the mythic tales that concern Saxo are the various portions
of the Swipdag-Myth, which Dr. Rydberg has been able to complete with
much success. They may be resumed briefly as follows:--

Swipdag, helped by the incantations of his dead mother, whom he had
raised from the dead to teach him spells of protection, sets forth on
his quests. He is the Odusseus of the Teutonic mythology. He desires to
avenge his father on Halfdan that slew him. To this end he must have a
weapon of might against Halfdan's club. The Moon-god tells him of the
blade Thiasse has forged. It has been stolen by Mimer, who has gone out
into the cold wilderness on the rim of the world. Swipdag achieves the
sword, and defeats and slays Halfdan. He now buys a wife, Menglad, of
her kinsmen the gods by the gift of the sword, which thus passes into
Frey's hands.

How he established a claim upon Frey, and who Menglad was, is explained
in Saxo's story of Eric, where the characters may be identified thus:--

Swipdag--Eric
Freya--Gunwara
Frey--Frode III
Niord--Fridlaf
Wuldor--Roller
Thor--Brac
Giants--The Greps
Giants--Coller.

Frey and Freya had been carried off by the giants, and Swipdag and his
faithful friend resolve to get them back for the Anses, who bewail their
absence. They journey to Monster-land, win back the lady, who ultimately
is to become the hero's wife, and return her to her kindred; but her
brother can only be rescued by his father Niord. It is by wit rather
than by force that Swipdag is successful here.

The third journey of Swipdag is undertaken on Frey's behalf; he goes
under the name of Scirner to woo giant Gymer's daughter Gerth for his
brother-in-law, buying her with the sword that he himself had paid to
Frey as his sister's bride-price. So the sword gets back to the giants
again.

Swipdag's dead foe Halfdan left two young "avengers", Hadding and
Guthorm, whom he seeks to slay. But Thor-Brache gives them in charge
of two giant brothers. Wainhead took care of Hadding, Hafle of Guthorm.
Swipdag made peace with Guthorm, in a way not fully explained to us, but
Hadding took up the blood-feud as soon as he was old enough.

Hadding was befriended by a woman, who took him to the Underworld--the
story is only half told in Saxo, unluckily--and by Woden, who took him
over-sea wrapt in his mantle as they rode Sleipner over the waves; but
here again Saxo either had not the whole s