Roman and the Teuton | Page 7

introduces him first to his hearers as 'Theodoric, known in German
song as Dietrich of Bern.' He had spoken before of the Visi-Gothic
Theodoric, and of him he never speaks as Dietrich. Then, why should
he have adopted this High-German name for the great Theodoric, and
why should he speak of Attila too as Etzel?
One of the greatest of German historians, Johannes von Muller, does
the same. He always calls Theodoric, Dietrich of Bern; and though he
gives no reasons for it, his reasons can easily be guessed. Soon after
Theodoric's death, the influence of the German legends on history, and
of history on the German legends, became so great that it was
impossible for a time to disentangle two characters, originally totally
distinct, viz. Thjodrekr of the Edda, the Dietrich of the German poetry
on one side, and the King of the Goths, Theodoric, on the other. What
had long been said and sung about Thjodrekr and Dietrich was believed
to have happened to King Theodoric, while at the same time historical
and local elements in the life of Theodoric, residing at Verona, were
absorbed by the legends of Thjodrekr and Dietrich. The names of the
legendary hero and the historical king were probably identical, though
even that is not quite certain {p2}; but at all events, after Theodoric's

death, all the numerous dialectic varieties of the name, whether in High
or in Low-German, were understood by the people at large, both of the
hero and of the king.
Few names have had a larger number of alias'. They have been
carefully collected by Graff, Grimm, Forstemann, Pott, and others. I
here give the principal varieties of this name, as actually occurring in
MSS., and arranged according to the changes of the principal
consonants:-
(1) With Th-d: Theudoricus, Theudericus, [Greek text which cannot be
reproduced], Thiodiricus, Thiodericus, Thiodric, Thiodricus, Thiodrih,
Theodoricus, Theodericus, Theoderic, Theodrich, Thiadric, Thiadrich,
Thiedorik, Thiederic, Thiederik, Thiederich, Thiedorich, Thiedric,
Thiedrich, Thideric, Thiederich, Thidrich, Thodericus, Thiaedric,
Thieoderich, Thederich, Thedric.
(2) With T-d Teudericus, Teudricus, Tiodericus, Teodoricus,
Teodericus, Teodric, Teodrich, Tiadric, Tiedrik, Tiedrich, Tiedric,
Tidericus, Tiderich, Tederich.
(3) With D-d: [Greek text], Diodericus, Deoderich, Deodrich,
Diederich, Diderich.
(4) With Th-t: Thiotiricus, Thiotirih, Thiotiricus, Thiotrih, Theotoricus,
Theotericus, Theoterih, Theotrih, Theotrich, Thiatric, Thieterich,
Thietrih, Thietrich, Theatrih.
(5) With T-t: Teutrich, Teoterih, Teotrich, Teotrih, Tieterich, Teatrih,
Tiheiterich.
(6) With D-t: Dioterih, Diotericus, Diotricus, Deotrich, Deotrih,
Dieterih, Dieterich, Dietrich, Diterih, Ditricus.
(7) With Th-th: Theotherich, Theothirich.
(8) With T-th: deest.
(9) With D-th: Dietherich.
It is quite true that, strictly speaking, the forms with Th-d, are
Low-German, and those with D-t, High-German, but before we trust
ourselves to this division for historical purposes, we must remember
three facts: (1) that Proper Names frequently defy Grimm's Law; (2)
that in High-German MSS. much depends on the locality in which they
are written; (3) that High-German is not in the strict sense of the word a
corruption of Low-German, and, at all events, not, as Grimm supposed,
chronologically posterior to Low-German, but that the two are parallel

dialects, like Doric and Aeolic, the Low-German being represented by
the earliest literary documents, Gothic and Saxon, the High-German
asserting its literary presence later, not much before the eighth century,
but afterwards maintaining its literary and political supremacy from the
time of Charlemagne to the present day.
When Theodoric married Odeflede, the daughter of Childebert, and a
sister of Chlodwig, I have little doubt that, at the court of Chlodwig or
Clovis, his royal brother-in-law was spoken of in conversation as
Dioterih, although in official documents, and in the history of Gregory
of Tours, he appears under his classical name of Theodoricus, in
Jornandes Theodericus. Those who, with Grimm {p3}, admit a
transition of Low into High-German, and deny that the change of
Gothic Th into High-German D took place before the sixth or seventh
century, will find it difficult to account, in the first century, for the
name of Deudorix, a German captive, the nephew of Melo the
Sigambrian, mentioned by Strabo {p4}. In the oldest German poem in
which the name of Dietrich occurs, the song of Hildebrand and
Hadebrand, written down in the beginning of the ninth century {p5},
we find both forms, the Low-German Theotrih, and the High-German
Deotrih, used side by side.
Very soon, however, when High-German became the more prevalent
language in Germany, German historians knew both of the old
legendary hero and of the Ost-gothic king, by one and the same name,
the High- German Dietrich.
If therefore Johannes von Muller spoke of Theodoric of Verona as
Dietrich von Bern, he simply intended to carry on the historical
tradition. He meant to remind his readers of the popular name which
they all knew, and to tell them,--This Dietrich with whom you are all
acquainted from your childhood, this Dietrich of whom