Theories of etymology and origins Several different etymologies of the term Nibelung have been proposed; they are usually connected to a specific theory of the original nature of the name: referring originally to mythical beings, to the Franks, or to the Burgundians. Referring to mythical beings Andreas Heusler and many other scholars have derived the name Nibelung from the root *nebula-, meaning cloud, mist, or fog, or *nibila-, meaning low, deep, or dark (cf. Niflheim). This derivation frequently assumes that the name originally referred to mythological beings and means something to the effect of "beings of mist". Heusler reasoned that the name became attached to the various possessors of the Nibelungs' treasure and thereby passed from the mythical beings, to Siegfried, and then to the Burgundians in the Nibelungenlied. Stefan Schaffner proposes another theory: again assuming that Nibelung originally referred to mythical beings, instead derives the name from a root *nibla- or *nibula- meaning "being below", which Schaffner connects to Niflheim. Whatever the actual derivation of the name Nibelung, it is clear that it was interpreted as being connected to the word nebel (mist, fog), and that the form of the word was likely altered via this association. A clear example can be seen in the name of the dwarf Nybling from Das Lied vom Hürnen Seyfrid, which was translated into Czech as Mhaček, from Czech mha (mist). In the Nibelungenlied, the name of Nibelung's brother, Schilbung, has similarly been suggested to have a meaning "rock- or cave-man" or "frost-man", meaning that Nibelung's name may similarly have been interpreted as "mist-man". Referring to the Nibelungid branch of the Frankish Pippinid dynasty George Gillespie presents the theory that the name Nibelung originally applied to the Nibelungid cadet branch of the Pippinid dynasty of Frankish mayors of the palace, the later Carolingian emperors. The name is first recorded in 752 in Latin as Nibelungus or Nivelongus, referring to a nephew of Charles Martel. The name is also recorded as belonging to several other members of a cadet branch of the dynasty descending from Charles's brother Childebrand I; this cadet branch is known as the Nibelungids or Nibelungs. A reference to nebulones Franci (translated as "Nibelungian Franks") in the Waltharius is used as further evidence, though this translation of the epithet nebulones is disputed. Gillespie and C. W. von Sydow argue the name may derive from Nivelles in Walloon Brabant, where the Pippinids