Part 40

HELIACAL, relating to the sun ([Greek: helios]), a term applied in the ancient astronomy to the first rising of a star which could be seen after it emerged from the rays of the sun, or the last setting that could be seen before it was lost from sight by proximity to the sun.

HELIAND. The 9th-century poem on the Gospel history, to which its first editor, J. A. Schmeller, gave the appropriate name of _Heliand_ (the word used in the text for "Saviour," answering to the O. Eng. _haelend_ and the Ger. _Heiland_), is, with the fragments of a version of the story of Genesis believed to be by the same author, all that remains of the poetical literature of the old Saxons, i.e. the Saxons who continued in their original home. It contained when entire about 6000 lines, and portions of it are preserved in four MSS. The Cotton MS. in the British Museum, written probably late in the 10th century, is nearly complete, ending in the middle of the story of the journey to Emmaus. The Munich MS., formerly at Bamberg, begins at line 85, and has many lacunae, but continues the history down to the last verse of St Luke's Gospel, ending, however, in the middle of a sentence. A MS. discovered at Prague in 1881 contains lines 958-1106, and another, in the Vatican library, discovered by K. Zangemeister in 1894, contains lines 1279-1358. The poem is based, not directly on the New Testament, but on the pseudo-Tatian's harmony of the Gospels, and it shows acquaintance with the commentaries of Alcuin, Baeda and Hrabanus Maurus.

The questions relating to the _Heliand_ cannot be adequately discussed without considering also the poem on the history of Genesis, which, on the grounds of similarity in style and vocabulary, and for other reasons afterwards to be mentioned, may with some confidence be referred to the same author. A part of this poem, as is mentioned in the article CAEDMON, is extant only in an Old English translation. The portions that have been preserved in the original language are contained in the same Vatican MS. that includes the fragment of the _Heliand_ referred to above. In the one language or the other, there are in existence the following three fragments: (1) The passage which appears as lines 235-851 in the so-called "Caedmon's _Genesis_," on the revolt of the angels and the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve. Of this the part corresponding to lines 790-820 exists also in the original Old Saxon. (2) The story of Cain and Abel, in 124 lines. (3) The account of the destruction of Sodom, in 187 lines. The main source of the _Genesis_ is the Bible, but Professor E. Sievers has shown that considerable use was made of the two Latin poems by Alcimus Avitus, _De initio mundi_ and _De peccato originali_.

The two poems give evidence of genius and trained skill, though the poet was no doubt hampered by the necessity of not deviating too widely from the sacred originals. Within the limits imposed by the nature of his task, his treatment of his sources is remarkably free, the details unsuited for poetic handling being passed over, or, in some instances, boldly altered. In many passages his work gives the impression of being not so much an imitation of the ancient Germanic epic, as a genuine example of it, though concerned with the deeds of other heroes than those of Germanic tradition. In the _Heliand_ the Saviour and His Apostles are conceived as a king and his faithful warriors, and the use of the traditional epic phrases appears to be not, as with Cynewulf or the author of _Andreas_, a mere following of accepted models, but the spontaneous mode of expression of one accustomed to sing of heroic themes. The _Genesis_ fragments have less of the heroic tone, except in the splendid passage describing the rebellion of Satan and his host. It is noteworthy that the poet, like Milton, sees in Satan no mere personification of evil, but the fallen archangel, whose awful guilt could not obliterate all traces of his native majesty. Somewhat curiously, but very naturally, Enoch the son of Cain is confused with the Enoch who was translated to heaven--an error which the author of the Old English _Genesis_ avoids, though (according to the existing text) he confounds the names of Enoch and Enos.

Such external evidence as exists bearing on the origin of the _Heliand_ and the companion poem is contained in a Latin document printed by Flacius Illyricus in 1562. This is in two parts; the one in prose, entitled (perhaps only by Flacius himself) "_Praefatio ad librum antiquum in lingua Saxonica conscriptum_"; the other in verse, headed "_Versus de poeta et Interpreta hujus codicis_." The Praefatio begins by stating that the emperor Ludwig the Pious, desirous that his subjects should possess the word of God in their own tongue, commanded a certain Saxon, who was esteemed among his countrymen as an eminent poet, to translate poetically into the German language the Old and New Testaments. The poet willingly obeyed, all the more because he had previously received a divine command to undertake the task. He rendered into verse all the most important parts of the Bible with admirable skill, dividing his work into _vitteas_, a term which, the writer says, may be rendered by "_lectiones_" or "_sententias_." The Praefatio goes on to say that it was reported that the poet, till then knowing nothing of the art of poetry, had been admonished in a dream to turn into verse the precepts of the divine law, which he did with so much skill that his work surpasses in beauty all other German poetry (_ut cuncta Theudisca poemata suo vincat decore_). The _Versus_ practically reproduce in outline Baeda's account of Caedmon's dream, without mentioning the dream, but describing the poet as a herdsman, and adding that his poems, beginning with the creation, relate the history of the five ages of the world down to the coming of Christ.

The suspicion of some earlier scholars that the _Praefatio_ and the _Versus_ might be a modern forgery is refuted by the occurrence of the word _vitteas_, which is the Old Saxon _fittea_, corresponding to the Old English _fitt_, which means a "canto" of a poem. It is impossible that a scholar of the 16th century could have been acquainted with this word, and internal evidence shows clearly that both the prose and the verse are of early origin. The _Versus_, considered in themselves, might very well be supposed to relate to Caedmon; but the mention of the five ages of the world in the concluding lines is obviously due to recollection of the opening of the _Heliand_ (lines 46-47). It is therefore certain that the _Versus_, as well as the _Praefatio_, attribute to the author of the _Heliand_ a poetic rendering of the Old Testament. Their testimony, if accepted, confirms the ascription to him of the Genesis fragments, which is further supported by the fact that they occur in the same MS. with a portion of the _Heliand_. As the _Praefatio_ speaks of the emperor Ludwig in the present tense, the former part of it at least was probably written in his reign, i.e. not later than A.D. 840. The general opinion of scholars is that the latter part, which represents the poet as having received his vocation in a dream, is by a later hand, and that the sentences in the earlier part which refer to the dream are interpolations by this second author. The date of these additions, and of the _Versus_, is of no importance, as their statements are incredible. That the author of the _Heliand_ was, so to speak, another Caedmon--an unlearned man who turned into poetry what was read to him from the sacred writings--is impossible, because in many passages the text of the sources is so closely followed that it is clear that the poet wrote with the Latin books before him. On the other hand, there is no reason for rejecting the almost contemporary testimony of the first part of the _Praefatio_ that the author of the _Heliand_ had won renown as a poet before he undertook his great task at the emperor's command. It is certainly not impossible that a Christian Saxon, sufficiently educated to read Latin easily, may have chosen to follow the calling of a _scop_ or minstrel[1] instead of entering the priesthood or the cloister; and if such a person existed, it would be natural that he should be selected by the emperor to execute his design. As has been said above, the tone of many portions of the _Heliand_ is that of a man who was no mere imitator of the ancient epic, but who had himself been accustomed to sing of heroic themes.

The commentary on the gospel of Matthew by Hrabanus Maurus was finished about 821, which is therefore the superior limit of date for the composition of the _Heliand_. It is usually maintained that this work was written before the Old Testament poems. The arguments for this view are that the _Heliand_ contains no allusion to any foregoing poetical treatment of the antecedent history, and that the Genesis fragments exhibit a higher degree of poetic skill. This reasoning does not appear conclusive, and if it be set aside, the limit of date for the beginning of the work is carried back to A.D. 814, the year of the accession of Ludwig.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The first complete edition of the _Heliand_ was published by J. A. Schmeller in 1830; the second volume, containing the glossary and grammar, appeared in 1840. The standard edition is that of E. Sievers (1877), in which the texts of the Cotton and Munich MSS. are printed side by side. It is not provided with a glossary, but contains an elaborate and most valuable analysis of the diction, synonymy and syntactical features of the poem. Other useful editions are those of M. Heyne (3rd ed., 1903), O. Behaghel (1882) and P. Piper (1897, containing also the Genesis fragments). The fragments of the _Heliand_ and the _Genesis_ contained in the Vatican MS. were edited in 1894 by K. Zangemeister and W. Braune under the title _Bruchstucke der altsachsischen Bibeldichtung_. Among the works treating of the authorship, sources and place of origin of the poems, the most important are the following: E. Windisch, _Der Heliand und seine Quellen_ (1868); E. Sievers, _Der Heliand und die angelsachsische Genesis_ (1875); R. Kogel, _Deutsche Literaturgeschichte_, Bd. i. (1894) and _Die altsachsische Genesis_ (1895); R. Kogel and W. Bruckner, "Althoch- und altniederdeutsche Literatur," in Paul's _Grundriss der germanischen Philologie_, Bd. ii. (2nd ed., 1901), which contains references to many other works; Hermann Collitz, _Zum Dialekte des Heliand_ (1901). (H. Br.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] The term _Volkssanger_, commonly used in German discussions of this question, is misleading; the audience for heroic poetry was not "the people" in the modern sense, but the nobles.

HELICON, a mountain range, of Boeotia in ancient Greece, celebrated in classical literature as the favourite haunt of the Muses, is situated between Lake Copais and the Gulf of Corinth. On the fertile eastern slopes stood a temple and grove sacred to the Muses, and adorned with beautiful statues, which, taken by Constantine the Great to beautify his new city, were consumed there by a fire in A.D. 404. Hard by were the famous fountains, Aganippe and Hippocrene, the latter fabled to have gushed from the earth at the tread of the winged horse Pegasus, whose favourite browsing place was there. At the neighbouring Ascra dwelt the poet Hesiod, a fact which probably enhanced the poetic fame of the region. Pausanias, who describes Helicon in his ninth book, asserts that it was the most fertile mountain in Greece, and that neither poisonous plant nor serpent was to be found on it, while many of its herbs possessed a miraculous healing virtue. The highest summit, the present Palaeovouni (old hill), rises to the height of about 5000 ft. Modern travellers, aided by ancient remains and inscriptions, and guided by the local descriptions of Pausanias, have succeeded in identifying many of the ancient classical spots, and the French excavators have discovered the temple of the Muses and a theatre.

See also Clarke, _Travels in Various Countries_ (vol. vii., 1818); Dodwell, _Classical and Topographical Tour through Greece_ (1818); W. M. Leake, _Travels in Northern Greece_ (vol. ii., 1835); J. G. Frazer's edition of _Pausanias_, v. 150.

HELICON (Fr. _helicon, bombardon circulaire_; Ger. _Helikon_), the circular form of the B[flat] contrabass tuba used in military bands, worn round the body, with the enormous bell resting on the left shoulder and towering above the head of the performer. The pitch of the helicon is an octave below that of the euphonium. The idea of winding the long tube of the contrabass tuba and of wearing it round the shoulders was suggested by the ancient Roman buccina and cornu, represented in mosaics and on the sculptured reliefs surrounding Trajan's Column. The buccina and cornu[1] differed in the diameter of their respective bores, the former having the narrow, almost cylindrical bore and harmonic series of the trumpet and trombone, whereas the cornu, having a bore in the form of a wide cone, was the prototype of the bugle and tubas.

FOOTNOTE:

[1] For illustrations of the cornu see the altar of Julius Victor ex Collegio, reproduced in Bartoli, Pict. Ant. p. 76; Bellori, _Pict. antiq. crypt. rom._ p. 76, pl. viii.; in Daremberg and Saglio, _Dict. des antiq. grecques et romaines_, under "Cornu," the buccina and cornu have not been distinguished.

HELIGOLAND (Ger. _Helgoland_), an island of Germany, in the North Sea, lying off the mouths of the Elbe and the Weser, 28 m. from the nearest point in the mainland. Pop. (1900) 2307. From 1807 to 1890 a British possession, it was ceded in 1890 to Germany, and since 1892 has formed part of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein. It consists of two islets, the smaller, the Dunen-Insel, a quarter of a mile E. of the main, or Rock Island, connected until 1720, when it was severed by a violent irruption of the sea, with the other by a neck of land, and the main, or Rock Island. The latter is nearly triangular in shape and is surrounded by steep red cliffs, the only beach being the sandy spit near the south-east point, where the landing-stage is situated. The rocks composing the cliffs are worn into caves, and around the island are many fantastic arches and columns. The impression made by the red cliffs, fringed by a white beach and supporting the green Oberland, is commonly believed to have suggested the national colours, red, white and green, or, as the old Frisian rhyme goes:--

"Gron is dat Land, Rood is de Kant, Witt is de Sand, Dat is de Flagg vun't hillige Land."

The lower town of Unterland, on the spit, and the upper town, or Oberland, situated on the cliff above, are connected by a wooden stair and a lift. There is a powerful lighthouse, and since its cession by Great Britain to Germany, the main island has been strongly fortified, the old English batteries being replaced by armoured turrets mounting guns of heavy calibre. Inside the Dunen-Insel the largest ships can ride safely at anchor, and take in coal and other supplies. The greatest length of the main island, which slopes somewhat from west to east, is just a mile, and the greatest breadth less than a third of a mile, its average height 198 ft., and the highest point, crowned by the church, with a conspicuous spire, 216 ft. The Dunen-Insel is a sand-bank protected by groines. It is only about 200 ft. above the sea at its highest point, but the drifting sands make the height rather variable. The sea-bathing establishment is situated here; a shelving beach of white sand presenting excellent facilities for bathing. Most of the houses are built of brick, but some are of wood. There are a theatre, a Kurhaus, and a number of hotels and restaurants. In 1892 a biological institute, with a marine museum and aquarium (1900) attached, was opened.

During the summer some 20,000 people visit the island for sea-bathing. German is the official language, though among themselves the natives speak a dialect of Frisian, barely intelligible to the other islands of the group. There is regular communication with Bremen and Hamburg.

The winters are stormy. May and the early part of June are wet and foggy, so that few visitors arrive before the middle of the latter month.

The generally accepted derivation of Heligoland (or Helgoland) from _Heiligeland_, i.e. "Holy Land," seems doubtful. According to northern mythology, Forseti, a son of Balder and Nanna, the god of justice, had a temple on the island, which was subsequently destroyed by St Ludger. This legend may have given rise to the derivation "Holy Land." The more probable etymology, however, is that of Hallaglun, or Halligland, i.e. "land of banks, which cover and uncover." Here Hertha, according to tradition, had her great temple, and hither came from the mainland the Angles to worship at her shrine. Here also lived King Radbod, a pagan, and on this isle St Willibrord in the 7th century first preached Christianity; and for its ownership, before and after that date, many sea-rovers have fought. Finally it became a fief of the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein, though often hypothecated for loans advanced to these princes by the free city of Hamburg. The island was a Danish possession in 1807, when the English seized and held it until it was formally ceded to them in 1814. In the picturesque old church there are still traces of a painted Dannebrog.

In 1890 the island was ceded to Germany, and in 1892 it was incorporated with Prussia, when it was provided that natives born before the year 1880 should be allowed to elect either for British or German nationality, and until 1901 no additional import duties were imposed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Von der Decken, _Philosophisch-historisch-geographische Untersuchungen uber die Insel Helgoland, oder Heiligeland, und ihre Bewohner_ (Hanover, 1826); Wiebel, _Die Insel Helgoland, Untersuchungen uber deren Grosse in Vorzeit und Gegenwart vom Standpunkte der Geschichte und Geologie_ (Hamburg, 1848); J. M. Lappenberg, _Uber den ehemaligen Umfang und die alte Geschichte Helgolands_ (Hamburg, 1831); F. Otker, _Helgoland. Schilderungen und Erorterungen_ (Berlin, 1855); E. Hallier, _Helgoland, Nordseestudien_ (Hamburg, 1893); A. W. F. Moller, _Rechtsgeschichte der Insel Helgoland_ (Weimar, 1904); W. G. Black, _Heligoland and the Islands of the North Sea_ (Glasgow, 1888); E. Lindermann, _Die Nordseeinsel Helgoland in topographischer, geschichtlicher, sanitarer Beziehung_ (Berlin, 1889); and Tittel, _Die naturlichen Veranderungen Helgolands_ (Leipzig, 1894).

HELIOCENTRIC, i.e. referred to the centre of the sun ([Greek: helios]) as an origin, a term designating especially co-ordinates or heavenly bodies referred to that origin.

HELIODORUS, of Emesa in Syria, Greek writer of romance. According to his own statement his father's name was Theodosius, and he belonged to a family of priests of the sun. He was the author of the _Aethiopica_, the oldest and best of the Greek romances that have come down to us. It was first brought to light in modern times in a MS. from the library of Matthias Corvinus, found at the sack of Buda (Ofen) in 1526, and printed at Basel in 1534. Other codices have since been discovered. The title is taken from the fact that the action of the beginning and end of the story takes place in Aethiopia. The daughter of Persine, wife of Hydaspes, king of Aethiopia, was born white through the effect of the sight of a marble statue upon the queen during pregnancy. Fearing an accusation of adultery, the mother gives the babe to the care of Sisimithras, a gymnosophist, who carries her to Egypt and places her in charge of Charicles, a Pythian priest. The child is taken to Delphi, and made a priestess of Apollo under the name of Chariclea. Theagenes, a noble Thessalian, comes to Delphi and the two fall in love with each other. He carries off the priestess with the help of Calasiris, an Egyptian, employed by Persine to seek for her daughter. Then follow many perils from sea-rovers and others, but the chief personages ultimately meet at Meroe at the very moment when Chariclea is about to be sacrificed to the gods by her own father. Her birth is made known, and the lovers are happily married. The rapid succession of events, the variety of the characters, the graphic descriptions of manners and of natural scenery, the simplicity and elegance of the style, give the _Aethiopica_ great charm. As a whole it offends less against good taste and morality than others of the same class. Homer and Euripides were the favourite authors of Heliodorus, who in his turn was imitated by French, Italian and Spanish writers. The early life of Clorinda in Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_ (canto xii. 21 sqq.) is almost identical with that of Chariclea; Racine meditated a drama on the same subject; and it formed the model of the _Persiles y Sigismunda_ of Cervantes. According to the ecclesiastical historian Socrates (_Hist. eccles._ v. 22), the author of the _Aethiopica_ was a certain Heliodorus, bishop of Tricca in Thessaly. It is supposed that the work was written in his early years before he became a Christian, and that, when confronted with the alternative of disowning it or resigning his bishopric, he preferred resignation. But it is now generally agreed that the real author was a sophist of the 3rd century A.D.

The best editions are: A. Coraes (1804), G. A. Hirschig (1856); see also M. Oeftering, _H. und seine Bedeutung fur die Literatur_, with full bibliographies (1901); J. C. Dunlop, _History of Prose Fiction_ (1888); and especially E. Rohde, _Der griechische Roman_ (1900). There are translations in almost all European languages: in English, in Bohn's _Classical Library_ and the "Tudor" series (v., 1895, containing the old translation by T. Underdowne, 1587, with introduction by C. Whibley); in French by Amyot and Zevort.