Widsith: C.U. English Honours Notes

Widsith- Old English                                                                    [Short Note]

“Widsith” i.e. ‘the far traveller’s historical importance lies in the fact that it is the earliest literary endeavour of the Teutons. It consists of nearly 150 lines of verse. It gives a catalogues of kings of whom there is no trace in history. So it may be said to serve as an index of the Germanic heroes. It gives certain hints as to the nature and the function of the Anglo-Saxon Ministral, The Scop. The core of the work finely reflects the heroic attitude to the bard’s function and gives us a fascinating glimpse of the Germanic world as it appeared to the imagination of the Anglo-Saxons. 

The text of this book is found in the Exeter Book. However this poem cannot be a true auto-biography. It is a view of Germanic history and geography as it appeared to a Northumbrian bard of the seventh century drawing on the traditions of his people. The most striking feature of “Widsith” is its catholicity; praise is meted out impartiality to Huns, Goths, Franks, Danes, Swedes, Angles, Wends, Saxons, Lang bards and many others. It also gave a bird’s eye view of the subject matter of Germanic heroic poetry and reminds us that heroes of that poetry were not regional or national but common to all Germania.