We come now to the vexed question as to whether the Nibelungenlied is mythical or historical in origin.  This question has been approached by certain scholars who, because of their lack of mythological knowledge, have rendered themselves ridiculous in attempting elucidations on a purely historical basis.  An entirely mythological origin is not here pleaded for the Nibelungenlied, but it should surely be recognized, even by the historian who is without mythological training, that no story of any antiquity exists which does not contain a substantial substratum of mythical circumstance.  So speedy is the crystallization of myth around the nucleus of historical fact, and so tenacious is its hold, that to disentangle it from the factors of reality is a task of the most extreme difficulty, requiring careful handling by scholars who possess a wide and accurate knowledge of mythological processes.  Even to-day, when students of history have recovered from the first shock of the intrusion into their domain of the mythologist and the folklorist, so much remains to be effected in the disentanglement of what is believed to be absolute historical fact from the mythical growths which surround it that, were they conscious of the labour which yet remains in this respect, even the most advanced of our present-day historians would stand aghast at the task which awaits their successors.

In the Nibelungenlied we have a case in point.  What the exact mythological elements contained in it represent it would indeed be difficult to say.  Students of the Muellerian school have seen in Siegfried a sun-god, who awakens Brunhild, a nature goddess.  This aspect is not without its likelihood, for in one passage Brunhild tells how Odin thrust into her side a thorn—­evidently the sharp sting of icy winter—­and how the spell rendered her unconscious until awakened by Siegfried.  There are many other mythological factors in the story, and either a diurnal or seasonal myth may be indicated by it.  But it would require a separate volume to set forth the arguments in favour of a partial mythological origin of the Nibelungenlied.  One point is to be especially observed—­a point which we have not so far seen noted in a controversy where it would have seemed that every special circumstance had been laboured to the full—­and that is that, besides mythological matter entering into the original scheme of the Nibelungenlied, a very considerable mass of mythical matter has crystallized around it since it was cast into its first form.  This will be obvious to any folklorist of experience who will take the trouble to compare the Scandinavian and German versions.

The Historical Theory