The Mythological Structure in the Epic and Saga

Tian+Lei++Zhang+Yuan

Abstract：

Georges Dumézil was the most outstanding scholar of the 20th century in the field of comparative mythology. Using the research gains and methods from sociology， anthropology， studies of history and religion， the “new comparative mythology” developed by Georges Dumézil broke through the etymological tradition of comparative mythology. Based on the comparative study of myths， epics， folktales， institutions and rituals of the ancient IndoEuropean peoples， he attempted to reveal an approach for understanding “the general structure of the ideology” of IndoEuropean civilization. The book， From Myth to Fiction： the Saga of Hadingus， published in 1970， clearly presented his mature methodology for the research of comparative mythology， and his trifunctional hypothesis.

1.The objective of new comparative mythology： exploring the general structure of ideology

Along with a gradual confirmation of the genetic relatedness of the ancient IndoEuropean languages in comparative philology in the 19th century， a comparative philology， attempting to prove the commonality in the myth and religion of the ancient IndoEuropean people through an etymological exploration on the names of deities in IndoEuropean languages， was initiated.

However due to the influence of Max Müller s theory of naturalism， the 19th century comparative mythology always simply traced the primary source of myths back to humans worship of sun. Therefore， any investigation on relatedness and commonality was very simplistic and crude. Although Dumézil， at the beginning of his academic career， was influenced by the famous philologist Antoine Meillet， and had received relatively systematic linguistic training， he turned his attention to comparative mythology. Under the influence of Marcel Mauss and Marcel Granet， Dumézil tried to compare the types of characters， behavior and function in myths， while at the same time， investigating rituals， institutions and customs. Then， he transformed the study of comparative mythology from philological conjecture into empirical survey of sociology.

In 1938， at the invitation of Marcel Granet， he gave a lecture which related to the prehistory of priests in the LEcole des Hautes Etudes en Science Social （EHESS）. In this lecture， he systematically illustrated the theory of the trifunctional hypothesis in IndoEuropean society for the first time. Generally speaking， the trifunctional hypothesis indicates that there is a similar structure between the three major castes in Indian society， namely， the Brahman， Kshatriya and Vaisya and the three main deities in the religious system of early Rome， namely， Jupiter， Mars and Quirinus. In the view of Dumézil， the three functions are actually a unique ideology hidden behind society， myth， mythology and symbolic symbols of the trifunctional hyphothesis， which displays in all aspects social divisions， ideology and behavior of the IndoEuropean people.

After 1938， Dumézil published a series of books to clarify the presentation of the trifunctional hypothesis in IndoEuropean people， such as ancient Romans， Germanic people， Celts and Nordic people， etc. As Dumezils most important book in his later period， From Myth to Fiction emphasizes that the trifunctional hypothesis is an ideology embedded deeply in IndoEuropean culture. It is not only reflected in myth， but also in “real” history.

2.The meaning of the fictionalized myth： the structure of saga in the myth

As a popular literary form in Northern Europe in the medieval era， Dumézil demonstrates saga as a fictionalized mythology. In his socalled history book， such as Gesta Danorum， Saxo Grammaticus narrates the story of Hadingus， and describes him as the third king of Danish Skjldungar Dynasty. Later historians believe that the Hadingus in Saxo Gramaticus narrative is Hastingus， the Danish king of the 9th century. Dumézil disproved this idea. He points out certain parallels between Hadingus and Njord. By doing so， he suggests seeking the traces of Hadingus in the myth rather than in the history.

Dumézil denies the viewpoint which considers that the saga of Hadingus and the myth of Njord were independently developed from the theme of a same story. He stresses that the myth of Njord was formed by accident from a series of story themes， while Saxo and his material providers are familiar with these story themes， so they simply borrowed related parts of them to rewrite the story of Njord into the saga of Hadingus.

To explore which theme or content of the myth has been transplanted into the epic or fiction through a comparative analysis on the similarities and differences between saga and myth is the core problem treated in the book From Myth to Fiction. The Aesir and Vanir are two main clans of deities of Scandinavian mythology. The former is under the leadership of Odin and Tyr， and they are known for their magic， knowledge and braveness. The latter is under the leadership of Njord and Freyr， and are associated with fertility， fortune， and sensual pleasures. They reach an agreementafter a long war between them， andi.e. the Vanir enter the group of Aesir. Once the relationship between Odin of Aesir and Njord of Vanoir in the myth is made clear， it is not difficult to see that the Saga of Hadingus is adapted from the theme of the myth.

Based on the contrast between the characteristics of the dominating figures and the logic of the narrative between myth and saga， Dumézil points out that the Saga of Hadingus maintained the basic structure of the myth of Njord. Thus， it can be seen that a unified ideology of the ancient IndoEuropeanspeaking peoples had been formed in early times， and it is represented logically through myth， which made the myth become a narrative with social meaning.

3.The destiny of the third functional god： the two lives of Hadingus

Since the theory of the trifunctional hypothesis was proposed in 1938， Dumézil had specifically written on the first and second functions in his following research， but not on the third function. In the view of Dumézil， the third function is actually a “box with various bits and pieces”. Therefore， understanding the characteristics of the third function must connect with the first and second functions.The book From Myth to Fiction， not only roughly described the speciality of the third functional gods， but also illustrated how the third function， as a constituent， is “brought into” the whole society.

When narrating the biography of Hardingus， Saxo had two digressions which seemed to be extraneous in The Saga of Hadingus. However， in Dumézils view， the two digressions are crucial， supplementary narrative to the theme of functional tripartition. The first mythological digression is about the distinction of three different kinds of magicians， inserted into the saga after the narrative of the birth of Hadingus is completed. Actually， distinguishing the three kinds of magicians reflects Aesir and Vanir. When dealing with the material， Saxo maintained the logic of the early myth in a certain way， and here， the relationship， dichotomy and hierarchy of the magic in Aesir and Vanir reflects the method for combining the third function of IndoEuropean society.

Another digression is about Othinus， godhead of all Europe， and Mithothyn， a usurper. In the myth， the Vanir and Aesir engaged in a severe， but indecisive conflict that lasted until a pact was made between them. But in the saga， as an individual， Hadingus could not assume the battle between two groups， or object to the oneeyed old man who protected him. Accordingly， Saxo recomposed the battle from the myth. Then， at the beginning of when the oneeyed old man comes onto the stage， Saxo narrated the digression about the godhead Othinus and Mithothyn， throwing Hadingus off.

Based on the discussions in From Myth and Fiction and Myth and Epic—Biography of Georges Dumézil， we can draw the following conclusions about the character of the third functional gods：

1） The gods who have a fertility function are the gods of wealth， thus， linking the prosperity of individual， family and society； 2） In order to control the natural conditions which guarantee the flourishing of living beings， they always marry local specific gods； 3） As the gods which breed life， the third function gods not only contain the magic of reproduction， but they also are fascinated by sensual pleasures and healthy， beautiful bodies， all of which are conditions for promoting reproduction and population growth； 4） The third function gods always have a close relationship with mankind. Moreover， they have the super power to control natural elements； 5） The third function gods usually appear in pairs， such as twins， or father and son； 6） The third function gods are unlike the first function gods whose tendency is toward being “one”. They tend to multiplicity， to fragmented specialization； and， 7） Just as Aesir absorbed Vanir， the third function gods are the ones who will be absorbed once the whole society is formed.

4.Some final discussions

Dumézil considered that comparative mythology should explore something deeper than spirit and ideology， such as the ideology of IndoEuropean people used to conceive ideal whole society. However， his academic idea hasnt received proper attention. “Dumézil did not use Max Müllers philological （i.e.， etymological） method， but a historical one. He compared historically related socioreligious phenomena （i.e. institutions， mythologies， and theologies of a number of peoples descended from the same ethnic， linguistic， and cultural matrix）， and eventually he proved that their similarities point to an original system and not to a casual survival of heterogeneous elements.”（Mircea Eliade， Foreword， in Georges Dumézi， Archaic Roman Religion ； translated by Philip Krapp. Baltimore and London： The Johns Hopkins University Press，1996，P. Xii）

There is no doubt that the book clearly reveals the relationship between myth and epic. And， more importantly， Dumézil perfected his study about the structure of three functions （trifunational hypothesis） of IndoEuropean society. Dumézil established some possible prototypes from those facts which could be observed， rather than conducting an exploratory mental exercise. In his opinion， the trifunctional hypothesis was a kind of Weltanschauung， and was the way to conceive of the ideal society for IndoEuropean people.

Key Words：comparative mythology； trifunctional hypothesis， Georges Dumézil； saga epic； IndoEuropean civilization

References：

C. Scott Littleto. The New Comparative Mythology： An Anthropological Assessment of the Theories of Georges Dumézil. California： University of California Press，1974.

Didier Eribon. shenhua yu shishi—qiaozhi·dumei qier zhuan（Myth and Epic—Biography of Georges Dumézil）. Meng Hua transl. Beijing：beijing daxue chubanshe，2006.

Georges Dumézil.cong shenhua dao xiaoshuo：hadinggusi de sajia（From Myth to Fiction： The Saga of Hadingus）. Shi Kangqiang transl. Beijing：beijing daxue chubanshe，2012.

Georges Dumézil. MitraVaruna，Derek Coltman transl. New York： Zone Books，1988.

Mircea Eliade. Foreword， in Georges Dumézi， Archaic Roman Religion， Philip Krapp transl.Baltimore and London：The Johns Hopkins University Press，1996.