Famous Men of the Middle Ages | Page 5

Henry the Second and His Sons (1154-1216) 185 XXII Louis
IX (1226-1270). . . . . . . . . . . 198 XXIII Robert Bruce
(1306-1329). . . . . . . . . 206 XXIV Marco Polo (1254-1324). . . . . . . . . .
213 XXV Edward the Black Prince (1330-1376) . . . 219 XXVI
William Tell and Arnold von Winkelried (1300-1386) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
226 XXVII Tamerlane (1333-1405) . . . . . . . . . . 234 XXVIII Henry V
(1413-1422) . . . . . . . . . . . 239 XXIX Joan of Arc
(1412-1431) . . . . . . . . . 247 XXX Gutenberg (1400-1468) . . . . . . . . . .
257 XXXI Warwick the King-Maker (1428-1471). . . . 263

Introduction

The Gods of the Teutons In the little volume called The Famous Men
of Rome you have read about the great empire which the Romans
established. Now we come to a time when the power of Rome was
broken and tribes of barbarians who lived north of the Danube and the

Rhine took possession of lands that had been part of the Roman Empire.
These tribes were the Goths, Vandals, Huns, Franks and Anglo-Saxons.
From them have come the greatest nations of modern times. All except
the Huns belonged to the same race and are known as Teutons. They
were war-like, savage and cruel. They spoke the same
language--though in different dialects--and worshiped the same gods.
Like the old Greeks and Romans they had many gods.
Woden, who was also called Odin, was the greatest of all. His name
means "mighty warrior," and he was king of all the gods. He rode
through the air mounted on Sleipnir, an eightfooted horse fleeter than
the eagle. When the tempest roared the Teutons said it was the snorting
of Sleipnir. When their ships came safely into port they said it was
Woden's breath that had filled their sails and wafted their vessels over
the blue waters.
Thor, a son of Woden, ranked next to him among the gods. He rode
through the air in a chariot drawn by goats. The Germans called him
Donar and Thunar, words which are like our word thunder. From this
we can see that he was the thunder god. In his hand he carried a
wonderful hammer which always came back to his hand when he threw
it. Its head was so bright that as it flew through the air it made the
lightning. When it struck the vast ice mountains they reeled and
splintered into fragments, and thus Thor's hammer made thunder.
Another great god of our ancestors was Tiew. He was a son of Woden
and was the god of battle. He was armed with a sword which flashed
like lightning when he brandished it. A savage chief named Attila
routed the armies of the Romans and so terrified all the world that he
was called "The Scourge of God." His people believed that he gained
his victories because he had the sword of Tiew, which a herdsman
chanced to find where the god had allowed it to fall. The Teutons
prayed to Tiew when they went into battle.
Frija (free' ya) was the wife of Woden and the queen of the gods. She
ruled the bright clouds that gleam in the summer sky, and caused them
to pour their showers on meadow and forest and mountain.

Four of the days of the week are named after these gods. Tuesday
means the day of Tiew; Wednesday, the day of Woden; Thursday, the
day of Thor; and Friday, the day of Frija.
Frija's son was Baldur; who was the favorite of all the gods. Only Loki,
the spirit of evil, hated him. Baldur's face was as bright as sunshine. His
hair gleamed like burnished gold. Wherever he went night was turned
into day.
One morning when he looked toward earth from his father Woden's
palace black clouds covered the sky, but he saw a splendid rainbow
reaching down from the clouds to the earth. Baldur walked upon this
rainbow from the home of the gods to the dwellings of men. The
rainbow was a bridge upon which the gods used to come to earth.
When Baldur stepped from the rainbow-bridge to the earth he saw a
king's daughter so beautiful that he fell in love with her.
But an earthly prince had also fallen in love with her. So he and Baldur
fought for her hand. Baldur was a god and hence was very much
stronger than the prince. But some of Baldur's magic food was given to
the prince and it made him