Chapter V: The Interpretation of the Fire-Festivals (3)

273 Charles Beauquier, _Les mois en Franche-Comté_ (Paris, 1900), pp. 33
sq. In Bresse the custom was similar. See _La Bresse Louhannaise,
Bulletin Mensuel, Organe de la Société d’Agriculture et
d’Horticulture de l’Arrondissement de Louhans_, Mars, 1906, pp. 111
_sq._; E. Cortet, _op. cit._ p. 100. The usual name for the bonfires
is _chevannes_ or _schvannes_; but in some places they are called
_foulères_, _foualères_, _failles_, or _bourdifailles_ (Ch.
Beauquier, _op. cit._ p. 34). But the Sunday is called the Sunday of
the _brandons_, _bures_, _bordes_, or _boidès_, according to the
place. The _brandons_ are the torches which are carried about the
streets and the fields; the bonfires, as we have seen, bear another
name. A curious custom, observed on the same Sunday in
Franche-Comté, requires that couples married within the year should
distribute boiled peas to all the young folks of both sexes who
demand them at the door. The lads and lasses go about from house to
house, making the customary request; in some places they wear masks
or are otherwise disguised. See Ch. Beauquier, _op. cit._ pp. 31-33.

M93 Bonfires on the first Sunday of Lent in Auvergne. The Granno invoked
at these bonfires may be the old Celtic god Grannus, who was
identified with Apollo.

274 Curiously enough, while the singular is _granno-mio_, the plural is
_grannas-mias_.

275 Dr. Pommerol, “La fête des Brandons et le dieu Gaulois Grannus,”
_Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris_, v.
Série, ii. (1901) pp. 427-429.

_ 276 Op. cit._ pp. 428 _sq._

277 H. Dessau, _Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae_, vol. ii. Pars i.
(Berlin, 1902) pp. 216 _sq._, Nos. 4646-4652.

278 (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London, 1888), pp. 22-25.

M94 French custom of carrying lighted torches (_brandons_) about the
orchards and fields to fertilize them on the first Sunday of Lent.

279 Émile Hublard, _Fêtes du Temps Jadis, les Feux du Carême_ (Mons,
1899), p. 38, quoting Dom Grenier, _Histoire de la Province de
Picardie_.

280 É. Hublard, _op. cit._ p. 39, quoting Dom Grenier.

281 M. Desgranges, “Usages du Canton de Bonneval,” _Mémoires de la
Société Royale des Antiquaires de France_, i. (Paris, 1817) pp.
236-238; Felix Chapiseau, _Le folk-lore de la Beauce et du Perche_
(Paris, 1902), i. 315 _sq._

282 John Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London,
1882-1883), i. 100.

283 E. Cortet, _Essai sur les fêtes religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. 99
_sq._; _La Bresse Louhannaise_, Mars, 1906, p. 111.

284 A. de Nore, _Coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de France_
(Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 283 sq. A similar, though not
identical, custom prevailed at Valenciennes (_ibid._ p. 338).

285 A. de Nore, _op. cit._ p. 302.

286 Désiré Monnier, _Traditions populaires comparées_ (Paris, 1854), pp.
191 _sq._

287 Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et légendes du centre de la France_
(Paris, 1875), i. 35 _sqq._

288 Jules Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau,
1887), ii. 131 _sq._ For more evidence of customs of this sort
observed in various parts of France on the first Sunday in Lent, see
Madame Clément, _Histoire des Fêtes civiles et religieuses, etc., du
Département du Nord_2 (Cambrai, 1836), pp. 351 _sqq._; Émile
Hublard, _Fêtes du Temps Jadis, les Feux du Carême_ (Mons, 1899),
pp. 33 _sqq._

M95 Bonfires on the first Sunday of Lent in Germany and Austria.
“Burning the witch.” Burning discs thrown into the air. Burning
wheels rolled down hill.

289 J. H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Sagen, Lieder, Sprüchwörter und Räthsel
des Eifler Volkes_ (Trèves, 1856-1858), i. 21-25; N. Hocker, in
_Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) p.
90; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer
Nachbarstämme_ (Berlin, 1875), p. 501.

290 N. Hocker, _op. cit._ pp. 89 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _l.c._

291 F. J. Vonbun, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Chur, 1862), p.
20; W. Mannhardt, _l.c._

292 Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_
(Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 380 _sqq._; Anton Birlinger, _Volksthümliches
aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. 56 _sqq._, 66
_sqq._; _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_
(Munich, 1860-1867), ii. 2, pp. 838 _sq._; F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur
deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), i. 211, § 232; W.
Mannhardt, _l.c._ One of the popular German names for the first
Sunday in Lent is White Sunday, which is not to be confused with the
first Sunday after Easter, which also goes by the name of White
Sunday (E. Meier, _op. cit._ p. 380; A. Birlinger, _op. cit._ ii.
56).

293 H. Gaidoz, “Le dieu gaulois du soleil et le symbolisme de la roue,”
_Revue Archéologique_, iii. série, iv. (1884) pp. 139 _sq._

294 August Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_
(Vienna, 1878), p. 189; F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen
Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), ii. 207; W. Mannhardt, _Der
Baumkultus_, pp. 500 _sq_.

295 W. Kolbe, _Hessiche Volks-Sitten und Gebräuche_2 (Marburg, 1888), p.
36.

296 Adalbert Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_2
(Gütersloh, 1886), p. 86, quoting Hocker, _Des Mosellandes
Geschichten, Sagen und Legenden_ (Trier, 1852), pp. 415 _sqq._
Compare W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 501; and below, pp. 163
_sq._ Thus it appears that the ceremony of rolling the fiery wheel
down hill was observed twice a year at Konz, once on the first
Sunday in Lent, and once at Midsummer.

M96 Bonfires on the first Sunday in Lent in Switzerland. Burning discs
thrown into the air.

297 H. Herzog, _Schweizerische Volksfeste, Sitten und Gebräuche_ (Aarau,
1884), pp. 214-216; E. Hoffmann-Krayer, “Fruchtbarkeitsriten im
schweizerischen Volksbrauch,” _Schweizerisches Archiv für
Volkskunde_, xi. (1907) pp. 247-249; _id._, _Feste und Bräuche des
Schweizervolkes_ (Zurich, 1913), pp. 135 _sq._

M97 Connexion of these bonfires with the custom of “carrying out Death.”
Effigies burnt on Shrove Tuesday.

298 Theodor Vernaleken, _Mythen und Bräuche des Volkes in Oesterreich_
(Vienna, 1859), pp. 293 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p.
498. See _The Dying God_, p. 250.

299 J. H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Sagen, Lieder, Sprüchwörter und Räthsel
des Eifler Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i. 20; W. Mannhardt, _Der
Baumkultus_, p. 499.

300 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_
(Oldenburg, 1867), ii. 39, § 306; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p.
498.

301 W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 499.

302 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 498 _sq._

303 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 499.

304 Christian Schneller, _Märchen und Sagen aus Wälschtirol_ (Innsbruck,
1867), pp. 234 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 499 _sq._

M98 Fire-festivals on Easter Eve. Custom in Catholic countries of
kindling a holy new fire at the church on Easter Saturday;
marvellous properties ascribed to the embers of the fire. The
burning of Judas.

305 John Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London,
1882-1883), i. 157 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, pp.
502-505; Karl Freiherr von Leoprechting, _Aus dem Lechrain_ (Munich,
1855), pp. 172 _sq._; Anton Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus
Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1861-1862), i. 472 _sq._; Montanus,
_Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher Volksglaube_
(Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 26; F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen
Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), ii. 241 _sq._; Ernst Meier,
_Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ (Stuttgart,
1852), pp. 139 _sq._; _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des
Königreichs Bayern_ (Munich, 1860-1867), i. 371; A. Wuttke, _Der
deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), pp. 68 _sq._, § 81; Ignaz
V. Zingerle, _Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_2
(Innsbruck, 1871), p. 149, §§ 1286-1289; W. Kolbe, _Hessische
Volks-Sitten und Gebräuche_2 (Marburg, 1888), pp. 44 _sqq._; _County
Folk-lore, Printed Extracts, Leicestershire and Rutland_, collected
by C. J. Billson (London, 1895), pp. 75 _sq._; A. Tiraboschi, “Usi
pasquali nel Bergamasco,” _Archivio per lo Studio delle Tradizione
Popolari_, i. (1892) pp. 442 _sq._ The ecclesiastical custom of
lighting the Paschal or Easter candle is very fully described by Mr.
H. J. Feasey, _Ancient English Holy Week Ceremonial_ (London, 1897),
pp. 179 _sqq._ These candles were sometimes of prodigious size; in
the cathedrals of Norwich and Durham, for example, they reached
almost to the roof, from which they had to be lighted. Often they
went by the name of the Judas Light or the Judas Candle; and
sometimes small waxen figures of Judas were hung on them. See H. J.
Feasey, _op. cit._ pp. 193, 213 _sqq._ As to the ritual of the new
fire at St. Peter’s in Rome, see R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_
(London and Edinburgh, 1886), i. 421; and as to the early history of
the rite in the Catholic church, see Mgr. L. Duchesne, _Origines du
Culte Chrétien_3 (Paris, 1903), pp. 250-257.

M99 Easter fires in Bavaria and the Abruzzi.

_ 306 Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_ (Munich,
1860-1867), i. 1002 _sq._

307 Gennaro Finamore, _Credenze, Usi e Costumi Abruzzesi_ (Palermo,
1890), pp. 122 _sq._

M100 Water as well as fire consecrated in the Abruzzi on Easter Saturday.
Water consecrated in Calabria on Easter Saturday. Water and fire
consecrated on Easter Saturday among the Germans of Bohemia. Easter
rites of fire and water at Hildesheim.

308 G. Finamore, _op. cit._ pp. 123 _sq._

309 Vincenzo Dorsa, _La Tradizione Greco-Latina negli Usi e nelle
Credenze Popolari della Calabria Citeriore_ (Cosenza, 1884), pp. 48
_sq._

310 Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch, und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_
(Prague, 1905), pp. 62 _sq._

311 K. Seifart, _Sagen, Märchen, Schwänke und Gebräuche aus Stadt und
Stift Hildesheim_2 (Hildesheim, 1889), pp. 177 sq., 179 _sq._

M101 New fire at Easter in Carinthia. Consecration of fire and water by
the Catholic Church at Easter.

312 M. Lexer, “Volksüberlieferungen aus dem Lesachthal in Kärnten,”
_Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iii. (1855)
p. 31.

_ 313 The Popish Kingdome or reigne of Antichrist, written in Latin verse
by Thomas Naogeorgus and Englyshed by Barnabe Googe, 1570_, edited
by R. C. Hope (London, 1880), p. 52, _recto_. The title of the
original poem was _Regnum Papisticum_. The author, Thomas Kirchmeyer
(Naogeorgus, as he called himself), died in 1577. The book is a
satire on the abuses and superstitions of the Catholic Church. Only
one perfect copy of Googe’s translation is known to exist: it is in
the University Library at Cambridge. See Mr. R. C. Hope’s
introduction to his reprint of this rare work, pp. xv. _sq._ The
words, “Then Clappers ceasse, and belles are set againe at
libertée,” refer to the custom in Catholic countries of silencing
the church bells for two days from noon on Maundy Thursday to noon
on Easter Saturday and substituting for their music the harsh
clatter of wooden rattles. See R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_
(London and Edinburgh, 1886), i. 412 _sq._ According to another
account the church bells are silent from midnight on the Wednesday
preceding Maundy Thursday till matins on Easter Day. See W. Smith
and S. Cheetham, _Dictionary of Christian Antiquities_ (London,
1875-1880), ii. 1161, referring to _Ordo Roman_. i. _u.s._

314 R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_ (London and Edinburgh, 1886), i.
421.

M102 The new fire on Easter Saturday at Florence.

315 Miss Jessie L. Weston, “The _Scoppio del Carro_ at Florence,”
_Folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) pp. 182-184; “Lo Scoppio del Carro,”
_Resurrezione, Numero Unico del Sabato Santo_ (Florence, April,
1906), p. 1 (giving a picture of the car with its pyramid of
fire-works). The latter paper was kindly sent to me from Florence by
my friend Professor W. J. Lewis. I have also received a letter on
the subject from Signor Carlo Placci, dated 4 (or 7) September,
1905, 1 Via Alfieri, Firenze.

M103 The new fire and the burning of Judas on Easter Saturday in Mexico.

316 Frederick Starr, “Holy Week in Mexico,” _The Journal of American
Folk-lore_, xii. (1899) pp. 164 _sq._; C. Boyson Taylor, “Easter in
Many Lands,” _Everybody’s Magazine_, New York, 1903, p. 293. I have
to thank Mr. S. S. Cohen, of 1525 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, for
sending me a cutting from the latter magazine.

M104 The burning of Judas at Easter in South America.

317 K. von den Steinen, _Unter den Naturvölkern Zentral-Brasiliens_
(Berlin, 1894), pp. 458 _sq._; E. Montet, “Religion et Superstition
dans l’Amérique du Sud,” _Revue de l’Histoire des Religions_, xxxii.
(1895) p. 145.

318 J. J. von Tschudi, _Peru, Reiseskizzen aus den Jahren 1838-1842_
(St. Gallen, 1846), ii. 189 _sq._

319 H. Candelier, _Rio-Hacha et les Indiens Goajires_ (Paris, 1893), p.
85.

M105 The new fire on Easter Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
at Jerusalem.

320 Henry Maundrell, “A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem at Easter, A.D.
1697,” in Bohn’s _Early Travellers in Palestine_ (London, 1848), pp.
462-465; Mgr. Auvergne, in _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, x.
(1837) pp. 23 _sq._; A. P. Stanley, _Sinai and Palestine_, Second
Edition (London, 1856), pp. 460-465; E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fêtes
Religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. 137-139; A. W. Kinglake, _Eothen_,
chapter xvi. pp. 158-163 (Temple Classics edition); Father X.
Abougit, S.J., “Le feu du Saint-Sépulcre,” _Les Missions
Catholiques_, viii. (1876) pp. 518 _sq._; Rev. C. T. Wilson,
_Peasant Life in the Holy Land_ (London, 1906), pp. 45 _sq._; P.
Saint-yves, “Le Renouvellement du Feu Sacré,” _Revue des Traditions
Populaires_, xxvii. (1912) pp. 449 _sqq._ The distribution of the
new fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the subject of a
picture by Holman Hunt. From some printed notes on the picture, with
which Mrs. Holman Hunt was so kind as to furnish me, it appears that
the new fire is carried by horsemen to Bethlehem and Jaffa, and that
a Russian ship conveys it from Jaffa to Odessa, whence it is
distributed all over the country.

321 Father X. Abougit, S.J., “Le feu du Saint-Sépulcre,” _Les Missions
Catholiques_, viii. (1876) pp. 165-168.

M106 The new fire and the burning of Judas on Easter Saturday in Greece.

322 I have described the ceremony as I witnessed it at Athens, on April
13th, 1890. Compare _Folk-lore_, i. (1890) p. 275. Having been
honoured, like other strangers, with a place on the platform, I did
not myself detect Lucifer at work among the multitude below; I
merely suspected his insidious presence.

323 W. H. D. Rouse, “Folk-lore from the Southern Sporades,” _Folk-lore_,
x. (1899) p. 178.

324 Mrs. A. E. Gardner was so kind as to send me a photograph of a
Theban Judas dangling from a gallows and partially enveloped in
smoke. The photograph was taken at Thebes during the Easter
celebration of 1891.

325 G. F. Abbott, _Macedonian Folk-lore_ (Cambridge, 1903) p. 37.

M107 The new fire at Candlemas in Armenia.

326 Cirbied, “Mémoire sur le gouvernment et sur la religion des anciens
Arméniens,” _Mémoires publiées par la Société Royaledes Antiquaires
de France_, ii. (1820) pp. 285-287; Manuk Abeghian, _Der armenische
Volksglaube_ (Leipsic, 1899), pp. 72-74. The ceremony is said to be
merely a continuation of an old heathen festival which was held at
the beginning of spring in honour of the fire-god Mihr. A bonfire
was made in a public place, and lamps kindled at it were kept
burning throughout the year in each of the fire-god’s temples.

M108 The new fire and the burning of Judas at Easter are probably relics
of paganism.

_ 327 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 32, ii. 243; _Spirits
of the Corn and of the Wild_, ii. 65, 74, 75, 78, 136.

M109 The new fire at the summer solstice among the Incas of Peru. The new
fire among the Indians of Mexico and New Mexico. The new fire among
the Esquimaux.

328 Garcilasso de la Vega, _Royal Commentaries of the Yncas_, translated
by (Sir) Clements R. Markham (Hakluyt Society, London, 1869-1871),
vol. ii. pp. 155-163. Compare Juan de Velasco, “Histoire du Royaume
de Quito,” in H. Ternaux-Compans’s _Voyages, Relations et Mémoires
originaux pour servir à l’Histoire de la Découverte de l’Amérique_,
xviii. (Paris, 1840) p. 140.

329 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle
Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), bk.
ii. chapters 18 and 37, pp. 76, 161; Brasseur de Bourbourg,
_Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de
l’Amérique-Centrale_ (Paris, 1857-1859), iii. 136.

330 Mrs. Matilda Coxe Stevenson, “The Zuñi Indians,” _Twenty-third
Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_ (Washington,
1904), pp. 108-141, 148-162, especially pp. 108, 109, 114 _sq._, 120
_sq._, 130 _sq._, 132, 148 _sq._, 157 _sq._ I have already described
these ceremonies in _Totemism and Exogamy_, iii. 237 _sq._ Among the
Hopi (Moqui) Indians of Walpi, another pueblo village of this
region, new fire is ceremonially kindled by friction in November.
See Jesse Walter Fewkes, “The Tusayan New Fire Ceremony,”
_Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History_, xxvi.
422-458; _id._, “The Group of Tusayan Ceremonials called
_Katcinas_,” _Fifteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_
(Washington, 1897), p. 263; _id._, “Hopi _Katcinas_,” _Twenty-first
Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_ (Washington,
1903), p. 24.

331 Henry R. Schoolcraft, _Notes on the Iroquois_ (Albany, 1847), p.
137. Schoolcraft did not know the date of the ceremony, but he
conjectured that it fell at the end of the Iroquois year, which was
a lunar year of twelve or thirteen months. He says: “That the close
of the lunar series should have been the period of putting out the
fire, and the beginning of the next, the time of relumination, from
new fire, is so consonant to analogy in the tropical tribes, as to
be probable” (_op. cit._ p. 138).

332 C. F. Hall, _Life with the Esquimaux_ (London, 1864), ii. 323.

333 Franz Boas, “The Eskimo of Baffin Land and Hudson Bay,” _Bulletin of
the American Museum of Natural History_, xv. Part i. (New York,
1901) p. 151.

M110 The new fire in Wadai, among the Swahili, and in other parts of
Africa.

334 G. Nachtigal, _Sahărâ und Sûdân_, iii. (Leipsic, 1889) p. 251.

335 Major C. Percival, “Tropical Africa, on the Border Line of Mohamedan
Civilization,” _The Geographical Journal_, xlii. (1913) pp. 253
_sq._

336 Adrien Germain, “Note sur Zanzibar et la côte orientale de
l’Afrique,” _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_ (Paris), v. Série
xvi. (1868) p. 557; _Les Missions Catholiques_, iii. (1870) p. 270;
Charles New, _Life, Wanderings, and Labours in Eastern Africa_
(London, 1873), p. 65; Jerome Becker, _La Vie en Afrique_ (Paris and
Brussels, 1887), ii. 36; O. Baumann, _Usambara und seine
Nachbargebiete_ (Berlin, 1891), pp. 55 _sq._; C. Velten, _Sitten und
Gebräuche der Suaheli_ (Göttingen, 1903), pp. 342-344.

337 Duarte Barbosa, _Description of the Coasts of East Africa and
Malabar_ (Hakluyt Society, London, 1866), p. 8; _id._, in _Records
of South-Eastern Africa_, collected by G. McCall Theal, vol. i.
(1898) p. 96; Damião de Goes, “Chronicle of the Most Fortunate King
Dom Emanuel,” in _Records of South-Eastern Africa_, collected by G.
McCall Theal, vol. iii. (1899) pp. 130 _sq._ The name Benametapa
(more correctly _monomotapa_) appears to have been the regular title
of the paramount chief, which the Portuguese took to be the name of
the country. The people over whom he ruled seem to have been the
Bantu tribe of the Makalanga in the neighbourhood of Sofala. See G.
McCall Theal, _Records of South-Eastern Africa_, vii. (1901) pp.
481-484. It is to their custom of annually extinguishing and
relighting the fire that Montaigne refers in his essay (i. 22, vol.
i. p. 140 of Charpentier’s edition), though he mentions no names.

338 Sir H. H. Johnson, _British Central Africa_ (London, 1897), pp. 426,
439.

M111 The new fire among the Todas of Southern India and among the Nagas
of North-Eastern India.

339 W. H. R. Rivers, _The Todas_ (London, 1906), pp. 290-292.

340 Lieut. R. Stewart, “Notes on Northern Cachar,” _Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal_, xxiv. (1855) p. 612.

341 A. Bastian, _Die Völker des östlichen Asien_, ii. (Leipsic, 1866)
pp. 49 _sq._; Shway Yoe, _The Burman_ (London, 1882), ii. 325 _sq._

M112 The new fire in China and Japan.

342 G. Schlegel, _Uranographie Chinoise_ (The Hague and Leyden, 1875),
pp. 139-143; C. Puini, “Il fuoco nella tradizione degli antichi
Cinesi,” _Giornale della Società Asiatica Italiana_, i. (1887) pp.
20-23; J. J. M. de Groot, _Les Fêtes annuellement célébrées à Émoui
(Amoy)_ (Paris, 1886), i. 208 _sqq._ The notion that fire can be
worn out with age meets us also in Brahman ritual. See the
_Satapatha Brahmana_, translated by Julius Eggeling, Part i.
(Oxford, 1882) p. 230 (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xii.).

343 W. G. Aston, _Shinto, The Way of the Gods_ (London, 1905), pp. 258
_sq._, compare p. 193. The wands in question are sticks whittled
near the top into a mass of adherent shavings; they go by the name
of _kedzurikake_ (“part-shaved”), and resemble the sacred _inao_ of
the Aino. See W. G. Aston, _op. cit._ p. 191; and as to the _inao_,
see _Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, ii. 185, with note 2.

M113 The new fire in ancient Greece and Rome.

344 Ovid, _Fasti_, iii. 82; Homer, _Iliad_, i. 590, _sqq._

345 Philostratus, _Heroica_, xx. 24.

346 Ovid, _Fasti_, iii. 143 _sq._; Macrobius, _Saturn._ i. 12. 6.

347 Festus, ed. C. O. Müller (Leipsic, 1839), p. 106, _s.v._ “Ignis.”
Plutarch describes a method of rekindling the sacred fire by means
of the sun’s rays reflected from a hollow mirror (_Numa_, 9); but he
seems to be referring to a Greek rather than to the Roman custom.
The rule of celibacy imposed on the Vestals, whose duty it was to
relight the sacred fire as well as to preserve it when it was once
made, is perhaps explained by a superstition current among French
peasants that if a girl can blow up a smouldering candle into a
flame she is a virgin, but that if she fails to do so, she is not.
See Jules Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau,
1883-1887), ii. 27; B. Souché, _Croyances, Présages et Traditions
diverses_ (Niort, 1880), p. 12. At least it seems more likely that
the rule sprang from a superstition of this sort than from a simple
calculation of expediency, as I formerly suggested (_Journal of
Philology_, xiv. (1885) p. 158). Compare _The Magic Art and the
Evolution of Kings_, ii. 234 _sqq._

M114 The new fire at Hallow E’en among the old Celts of Ireland. The new
fire on September 1st among the Russian peasants.

348 Geoffrey Keating, D.D., _The History of Ireland, translated from the
original Gaelic, and copiously annotated_, by John O’Mahony (New
York, 1857), p. 300, with the translator’s note. Compare (Sir) John
Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London, 1888), pp. 514 _sq._

349 W. R. S. Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_, Second Edition
(London, 1872), pp. 254 _sq._

M115 Thus the ceremony of the new fire in the Eastern and Western Church
is probably a relic of an old heathen rite.
M116 The pagan character of the Easter fire appears from the
superstitions associated with it, such as the belief that the fire
fertilizes the fields and protects houses from conflagration and
sickness.

350 A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche_
(Leipsic, 1848), p. 373; A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus
Westfalen_ (Leipsic, 1859), ii. 134 _sqq._; _id._, _Märkische Sagen
und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), pp. 312 _sq._; J. D. H. Temme, _Die
Volkssagen der Altmark_ (Berlin, 1839), pp. 75 _sq._; K. Lynker,
_Deutsche Sagen und Sitten in hessischen Gauen_2 (Cassel and
Göttingen, 1860), p. 240; H. Pröhle, _Harzbilder_ (Leipsic, 1855),
p. 63; R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), pp.
240-242; W. Kolbe, _Hessische Volks-Sitten und Gebräuche_ (Marburg,
1888), pp. 44-47; F. A. Reimann, _Deutsche Volksfeste_ (Weimar,
1839), p. 37; “Sitten und Gebräuche in Duderstadt,” _Zeitschrift für
deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, ii. (1855) p. 107; K. Seifart,
_Sagen, Märchen, Schwänke und Gebräuche aus Stadt und Stift
Hildesheim_2 (Hildesheim, 1889), pp. 177, 180; O. Hartung, “Zur
Volkskunde aus Anhalt,” _Zeitschrift des Vereins für Volkskunde_,
vii. (1897) p. 76.

M117 The Easter fires in Münsterland, Oldenburg, the Harz Mountains, and
the Altmark.

351 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_
(Oldenburg, 1867), ii. pp. 43 _sq._, § 313; W. Mannhardt, _Der
Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstämme_ (Berlin, 1875), pp.
505 _sq._

352 L. Strackerjan, _op. cit._ ii. p. 43, § 313.

353 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 (Berlin, 1875-1878), i. 512; W.
Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstämme_,
pp. 506 _sq._

354 H. Pröhle, _Harzbilder_ (Leipsic, 1855), p. 63; _id._, in
_Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) p.
79; A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, Märchen und
Gebräuche_ (Leipsic, 1848), p. 373; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_,
p. 507.

355 A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), pp. 312
_sq._; W. Mannhardt, _l.c._

356 W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 508. Compare J. W. Wolf,
_Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Göttingen, 1852-1857), i. 74;
J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 512. The two latter writers
only state that before the fires were kindled it was customary to
hunt squirrels in the woods.

357 A. Kuhn, _l.c._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 508.

M118 The Easter fires in Bavaria. The burning of Judas. Burning the
Easter Man.

_ 358 Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_ (Munich,
1860-1867), iii. 956.

359 See above, pp. 116 _sq._, 119.

360 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855),
i. pp. 211 _sq._, § 233; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, pp. 507
_sq._

_ 361 Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_, iii. 357.

362 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855),
i. pp. 212 _sq._, § 236.

363 F. Panzer, _op. cit._ ii. pp. 78 _sq._, §§ 114, 115. The customs
observed at these places and at Althenneberg are described together
by W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 505.

364 A. Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau,
1861-1862), ii. p. 82, § 106; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p.
508.

M119 The Easter fires in Baden. “Thunder poles.”

365 Elard Hugo Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), pp. 97
_sq._

_ 366 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 349 _sqq._ See
further below, vol. ii. pp. 298 _sqq._

M120 Easter fires in Holland and Sweden. The burning of Judas in Bohemia.

367 J. W. Wolf, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_, i. 75 _sq._; W.
Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 506.

368 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), p. 228.

369 W. Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_ (Vienna
and Olmütz, 1893), pp. 321, 397 _sq._ In Wagstadt, a town of
Austrian Silesia, a boy in a red waistcoat used to play the part of
Judas on the Wednesday before Good Friday. He was chased from before
the church door by the other school children, who pursued him
through the streets with shouts and the noise of rattles and
clappers till they reached a certain suburb, where they always
caught and beat him because he had betrayed the Redeemer. See Anton
Peter, _Volksthümliches aus österreichisch-Schlesien_ (Troppau,
1865-1867), ii. 282 _sq._; Paul Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und
Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 77 _sq._

M121 The Beltane fires on the first of May in the Highlands of Scotland. Description of the Beltane fires by John Ramsay of Ochtertyre in the eighteenth century. M122 Need-fire. M123 Need-fire kindled by the friction of oak wood. M124 The Beltane cake and the Beltane carline (_cailleach_). M125 Local differences in the Beltane cakes. M126 Evidence of two fires at Beltane.

_ 370 Scotland and Scotsmen in the Eighteenth Century_, from the MSS. of
John Ramsay, Esq., of Ochtertyre, edited by Alexander Allardyce
(Edinburgh and London, 1888), ii. 439-445. As to the _tein-eigin_ or
need-fire, see below, pp. 269 _sqq._ The etymology of the word
Beltane is uncertain; the popular derivation of the first part from
the Phoenician Baal is absurd. See, for example, John Graham
Dalyell, _The Darker Superstitions of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1834),
pp. 176 _sq._: “The recognition of the pagan divinity Baal, or Bel,
the Sun, is discovered through innumerable etymological sources. In
the records of Scottish history, down to the sixteenth or
seventeenth centuries, multiplied prohibitions were issued from the
fountains of ecclesiastical ordinances, against kindling
_Bailfires_, of which the origin cannot be mistaken. The festival of
this divinity was commemorated in Scotland until the latest date.”
Modern scholars are not agreed as to the derivation of the name
Beltane. See Rev. John Gregorson Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second
Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), pp.
268 _sq._; J. A. MacCulloch, _The Religion of the Ancient Celts_
(Edinburgh, 1911), p. 264.

M127 Beltane fires and cakes in the parish of Callander.

371 “_Bal-tein_ signifies the _fire of Baal_. _Baal_ or _Ball_ is the
only word in Gaelic for _a globe_. This festival was probably in
honour of the sun, whose return, in his apparent annual course, they
celebrated, on account of his having such a visible influence, by
his genial warmth, on the productions of the earth. That the
Caledonians paid a superstitious respect to the sun, as was the
practice among many other nations, is evident, not only by the
sacrifice at Baltein, but upon many other occasions. When a
Highlander goes to bathe, or to drink waters out of a consecrated
fountain, he must always approach by going round the place, _from
east to west on the south side_, in imitation of the apparent
diurnal motion of the sun. When the dead are laid in the earth, the
grave is approached by going round in the same manner. The bride is
conducted to her future spouse, in the presence of the minister, and
the glass goes round a company, in the course of the sun. This is
called, in Gaelic, going round the right, or the _lucky way_. The
opposite course is the wrong, or the _unlucky_ way. And if a
person’s meat or drink were to affect the wind-pipe, or come against
his breath, they instantly cry out _deisheal!_ which is an
ejaculation praying that it may go by the right way” (Rev. J.
Robertson, in Sir John Sinclair’s _Statistical Account of Scotland_,
xi. 621 note). Compare J. G. Campbell, _Superstitions of the
Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1900), pp. 229 _sq._:
“_The Right-hand Turn_ (_Deiseal_).—This was the most important of
all the observances. The rule is ‘_Deiseal_ (_i.e._ the right-hand
turn) for everything,’ and consists in doing all things with a
motion corresponding to the course of the sun, or from left to
right. This is the manner in which screw-nails are driven, and is
common with many for no reason but its convenience. Old men in the
Highlands were very particular about it. The coffin was taken
_deiseal_ about the grave, when about to be lowered; boats were
turned to sea according to it, and drams are given to the present
day to a company. When putting a straw rope on a house or
corn-stack, if the assistant went _tuaitheal_ (_i.e._ against the
course of the sun), the old man was ready to come down and thrash
him. On coming to a house the visitor should go round it _deiseal_
to secure luck in the object of his visit. After milking a cow the
dairy-maid should strike it _deiseal_ with the shackle, saying ‘out
and home’ (_mach ’us dachaigh_). This secures its safe return. The
word is from _deas_, right-hand, and _iul_, direction, and of itself
contains no allusion to the sun.” Compare M. Martin, “Description of
the Western Islands of Scotland,” in J. Pinkerton’s _Voyages and
Travels_, iii. 612 _sq._: “There was an ancient custom in the island
of Lewis, to make a fiery circle about the houses, corn, cattle,
etc., belonging to each particular family: a man carried fire in his
right hand, and went round, and it was called _dessil_, from the
right hand, which in the ancient language is called _dess_.... There
is another way of the _dessil_, or carrying fire round about women
before they are churched, after child-bearing; and it is used
likewise about children until they are christened; both which are
performed in the morning and at night. This is only practised now by
some of the ancient midwives: I enquired their reason for this
custom, which I told them was altogether unlawful; this disobliged
them mightily, insomuch that they would give me no satisfaction. But
others, that were of a more agreeable temper, told me that
fire-round was an effectual means to preserve both the mother and
the infant from the power of evil spirits, who are ready at such
times to do mischief, and sometimes carry away the infant; and when
they get them once in their possession, return them poor meagre
skeletons; and these infants are said to have voracious appetites,
constantly craving for meat. In this case it was usual with those
who believed that their children were thus taken away, to dig a
grave in the fields upon quarter-day, and there to lay the fairy
skeleton till next morning; at which time the parents went to the
place, where they doubted not to find their own child instead of
this skeleton. Some of the poorer sort of people in these islands
retain the custom of performing these rounds sun-ways about the
persons of their benefactors three times, when they bless them, and
wish good success to all their enterprizes. Some are very careful
when they set out to sea that the boat be first rowed about
sun-ways; and if this be neglected, they are afraid their voyage may
prove unfortunate.” Probably the superstition was based entirely on
the supposed luckiness of the right hand, which accordingly, in
making a circuit round an object, is kept towards the centre. As to
a supposed worship of the sun among the Scottish Highlanders,
compare J. G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the
Highlands and Islands of Scotland_, p. 304: “Both the sun (_a
Ghrian_) and moon (_a Ghealach_) are feminine in Gaelic, and the
names are simply descriptive of their appearance. There is no trace
of a Sun-God or Moon-Goddess.” As to the etymology of Beltane, see
above, p. 149 note.

372 Rev. James Robertson (Parish Minister of Callander), in Sir John
Sinclair’s _Statistical Account of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1791-1799),
xi. 620 _sq._

M128 Pennant’s description of the Beltane fires and cakes in Perthshire.

373 Pennant’s “Tour in Scotland,” in John Pinkerton’s _Voyages and
Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), iii. 49.

M129 Beltane cakes and fires in the parishes of Logierait and
Kirkmichael. Omens drawn from the cakes.

374 Rev. Dr. Thomas Bisset, in Sir John Sinclair’s _Statistical Account
of Scotland_, v. 84.

375 Rev. Allan Stewart, in Sir John Sinclair’s _Statistical Account of
Scotland_, xv. 517 note.

376 Rev. Walter Gregor, “Notes on Beltane Cakes,” _Folk-lore_, vi.
(1895) pp. 2 _sq._ The Beltane cakes with the nine knobs on them
remind us of the cakes with twelve knobs which the Athenians offered
to Cronus and other deities (see _The Scapegoat_, p. 351). The King
of the Bean on Twelfth Night was chosen by means of a cake, which
was broken in as many pieces as there were persons present, and the
person who received the piece containing a bean or a coin became
king. See J. Boemus, _Mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium_ (Lyons,
1541), p. 222; John Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_
(London, 1882-1883), i. 22 _sq._; _The Scapegoat_, pp. 313 _sqq._

M130 Beltane fires in the north-east of Scotland to burn the witches.
Burning the witches. The Beltane cake.

377 Shaw, in Pennant’s “Tour in Scotland,” printed in J. Pinkerton’s
_Voyages and Travels_, iii. 136. The part of Scotland to which
Shaw’s description applies is what he calls the province or country
of Murray, extending from the river Spey on the east to the river
Beauly on the west, and south-west to Loch Lochy.

378 Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of
Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 167.

M131 Beltane cakes and fires in the Hebrides.

379 A. Goodrich-Freer, “More Folk-lore from the Hebrides,” _Folk-lore_,
xiii. (1902) p. 41. The St. Michael’s cake (_Strùthan na h’eill
Micheil_), referred to in the text, is described as “the size of a
quern” in circumference. “It is kneaded simply with water, and
marked across like a scone, dividing it into four equal parts, and
then placed in front of the fire resting on a quern. It is not
polished with dry meal as is usual in making a cake, but when it is
cooked a thin coating of eggs (four in number), mixed with
buttermilk, is spread first on one side, then on the other, and it
is put before the fire again. An earlier shape, still in use, which
tradition associates with the female sex, is that of a triangle with
the corners cut off. A _strùthan_ or _strùdhan_ (the word seems to
be used for no other kind of cake) is made for each member of the
household, including servants and herds. When harvest is late, an
early patch of corn is mown on purpose for the _strùthan_” (A.
Goodrich-Freer, _op. cit._ pp. 44 _sq._).

M132 Beltane fires and cakes in Wales.

380 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London,
1909), pp. 22-24.

M133 Welsh belief that passage over or between the fires ensured good
crops.

381 Jonathan Ceredig Davies, _Folk-lore of West and Mid-Wales_
(Aberystwyth, 1911), p. 76.

M134 Beltane fires in the Isle of Man to burn the witches. Beltane fires
in Nottinghamshire.

382 Joseph Train, _An Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of
Man_ (Douglas, Isle of Man, 1845), i. 314 _sq._

383 (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, 1901),
i. 309; _id._, “The Coligny Calendar,” _Proceedings of the British
Academy, 1909-1910_, pp. 261 _sq._ See further _The Magic Art and
the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 53 _sq._

384 Professor Frank Granger, “Early Man,” in _The Victoria History of
the County of Nottingham_, edited by William Page, i. (London, 1906)
pp. 186 _sq._

M135 Beltane fires in Ireland.

385 (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, 1901),
i. 310; _id._, “Manx Folk-lore and Superstitions,” _Folk-lore_, ii.
(1891) pp. 303 _sq._

386 P. W. Joyce, _A Social History of Ancient Ireland_ (London, 1903),
i. 290 _sq._, referring to Kuno Meyer, _Hibernia Minora_, p. 49 and
_Glossary_, 23.

387 J. B. Bury, _The Life of St. Patrick_ (London, 1905), pp. 104 _sqq._

388 Above, p. 147.

389 Geoffrey Keating, D.D., _The History of Ireland_, translated by John
O’Mahony (New York, 1857), pp. 300 _sq._

390 (Sir) John Rhys, “Manx Folk-lore and Superstition,” _Folk-lore_, ii.
(1891) p. 303; _id._, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford,
1901), i. 309. Compare P. W. Joyce, _A Social History of Ancient
Ireland_ (London, 1903), i. 291: “The custom of driving cattle
through fires against disease on the eve of the 1st of May, and on
the eve of the 24th June (St. John’s Day), continued in Ireland, as
well as in the Scottish Highlands, to a period within living
memory.” In a footnote Mr. Joyce refers to Carmichael, _Carmina
Gadelica_, ii. 340, for Scotland, and adds, “I saw it done in
Ireland.”

M136 Fires on the Eve of May Day in Sweden. Fires on the Eve of May Day
in Austria and Saxony for the purpose of burning the witches.

391 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), pp. 233 _sq._

392 Reinsberg - Düringsfeld, _Fest-Kalender aus Böhmen_ (Prague, N.D.),
pp. 211 _sq._; Br. Jelínek, “Materialien zur Vorgeschichte und
Volkskunde Böhmens,” _Mittheilungen der anthropologischen
Gesellschaft in Wien_, xxi. (1891) p. 13; Alois John, _Sitte,
Brauch, und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ (Prague, 1905), p.
71.

393 J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte
Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 373. The
superstitions relating to witches at this season are legion. For
instance, in Saxony and Thuringia any one who labours under a
physical blemish can easily rid himself of it by transferring it to
the witches on Walpurgis Night. He has only to go out to a
cross-road, make three crosses on the blemish, and say, “In the name
of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” Thus the blemish,
whatever it may be, is left behind him at the cross-road, and when
the witches sweep by on their way to the Brocken, they must take it
with them, and it sticks to them henceforth. Moreover, three crosses
chalked up on the doors of houses and cattle-stalls on Walpurgis
Night will effectually prevent any of the infernal crew from
entering and doing harm to man or beast. See E. Sommer, _Sagen,
Märchen und Gebräuche aus Sachsen und Thüringen_ (Halle, 1846), pp.
148 _sq._; _Die gestriegelte Rockenphilosophie_ (Chemnitz, 1759), p.
116.

394 See _The Scapegoat_, pp. 158 _sqq._

M137 The great season for fire-festivals in Europe is the summer
solstice, Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day, which the church has
dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The bonfires, the torches, and
the burning wheels of the festival.

395 As to the Midsummer Festival of Europe in general see the evidence
collected in the “Specimen Calendarii Gentilis,” appended to the
_Edda Rhythmica seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta_, Pars iii.
(Copenhagen, 1828) pp. 1086-1097.

396 John Mitchell Kemble, _The Saxons in England_, New Edition (London,
1876), i. 361 _sq._, quoting “an ancient MS. written in England, and
now in the Harleian Collection, No. 2345, fol. 50.” The passage is
quoted in part by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_
(London, 1882-1883), i. 298 _sq._, by R. T. Hampson, _Medii Aevi
Kalendarium_ (London, 1841), i. 300, and by W. Mannhardt, _Der
Baumkultus_, p. 509. The same explanations of the Midsummer fires
and of the custom of trundling a burning wheel on Midsummer Eve are
given also by John Beleth, a writer of the twelfth century. See his
_Rationale Divinorum Officiorum_ (appended to the _Rationale
Divinorum Officiorum_ of G. [W.] Durandus, Lyons, 1584), p. 556
_recto_: “_Solent porro hoc tempore_ [the Eve of St. John the
Baptist] _ex veteri consuetudine mortuorum animalium ossa comburi,
quod hujusmodi habet originem. Sunt enim animalia, quae dracones
appellamus.... Haec inquam animalia in aere volant, in aquis natant,
in terra ambulant. Sed quando in aere ad libidinem concitantur (quod
fere fit) saepe ipsum sperma vel in puteos, vel in aquas fluviales
ejiciunt ex quo lethalis sequitur annus. Adversus haec ergo
hujusmodi inventum est remedium, ut videlicet rogus ex ossibus
construeretur, et ita fumus hujusmodi animalia fugaret. Et quia
istud maxime hoc tempore fiebat, idemetiam modo ab omnibus
observatur.... Consuetum item est hac vigilia ardentes deferri
faculas quod Johannes fuerit ardens lucerna, et qui vias Domini
praeparaverit. Sed quod etiam rota vertatur hinc esse putant quia in
eum circulum tunc Sol descenderit ultra quem progredi nequit, a quo
cogitur paulatim descendere._” The substance of the passage is
repeated in other words by G. Durandus (Wilh. Durantis), a writer of
the thirteenth century, in his _Rationale Divinorum Officiorum_,
lib. vii. cap. 14 (p. 442 _verso_, ed. Lyons, 1584). Compare J.
Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 516.

With the notion that the air is poisoned at midsummer we may compare
the popular belief that it is similarly infected at an eclipse. Thus
among the Esquimaux on the Lower Yukon river in Alaska “it is
believed that a subtle essence or unclean influence descends to the
earth during an eclipse, and if any of it is caught in utensils of
any kind it will produce sickness. As a result, immediately on the
commencement of an eclipse, every woman turns bottom side up all her
pots, wooden buckets, and dishes” (E. W. Nelson, “The Eskimo about
Bering Strait,” _Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American
Ethnology_, Part i. (Washington, 1899) p. 431). Similar notions and
practices prevail among the peasantry of southern Germany. Thus the
Swabian peasants think that during an eclipse of the sun poison
falls on the earth; hence at such a time they will not sow, mow,
gather fruit or eat it, they bring the cattle into the stalls, and
refrain from business of every kind. If the eclipse lasts long, the
people get very anxious, set a burning candle on the mantel-shelf of
the stove, and pray to be delivered from the danger. See Anton
Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau,
1861-1862), i. 189. Similarly Bavarian peasants imagine that water
is poisoned during a solar eclipse (F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur
deutschen Mythologie_, ii. 297); and Thuringian bumpkins cover up
the wells and bring the cattle home from pasture during an eclipse
either of the sun or of the moon; an eclipse is particularly
poisonous when it happens to fall on a Wednesday. See August
Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna,
1878), p. 287. As eclipses are commonly supposed by the ignorant to
be caused by a monster attacking the sun or moon (E. B. Tylor,
_Primitive Culture_,2 London, 1873, i. 328 _sqq._), we may surmise,
on the analogy of the explanation given of the Midsummer fires, that
the unclean influence which is thought to descend on the earth at
such times is popularly attributed to seed discharged by the monster
or possibly by the sun or moon then in conjunction with each other.

M138 Th. Kirchmeyer’s description of the Midsummer festival.

_ 397 The Popish Kingdome or reigne of Antichrist, written in Latin verse
by Thomas Naogeorgus and Englyshed by Barnabe Googe, 1570_, edited
by R. C. Hope (London, 1880), p. 54 _verso_. As to this work see
above, p. 125 note 1.

M139 The Midsummer fires in Germany. The celebration at Konz on the
Moselle: the rolling of a burning wheel down hill.

398 J. Boemus, _Mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium_ (Lyons, 1541), pp.
225 _sq._

399 Tessier, “Sur la fête annuelle de la roue flamboyante de la
Saint-Jean, à Basse-Kontz, arrondissement de Thionville,” _Mémoires
et dissertations publiés par la Société Royale des Antiquaires de
France_, v. (1823) pp. 379-393. Tessier witnessed the ceremony, 23rd
June 1822 (not 1823, as is sometimes stated). His account has been
reproduced more or less fully by J. Grimm (_Deutsche Mythologie_,4
i. 515 _sq._), W. Mannhardt (_Der Baumkultus_, pp. 510 _sq._), and
H. Gaidoz (“Le dieu gaulois du Soleil et le symbolisme de la Roue,”
_Revue Archéologique_, iii. Série, iv. (1884) pp. 24 _sq._).

M140 The Midsummer fires in Bavaria. Cattle driven through the fire. The
new fire. Omens of the harvest drawn from the fires. Burning discs
thrown into the air.

_ 400 Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_ (Munich,
1860-1867), i. 373 _sq._; compare _id._, iii. 327 _sq._ As to the
burning discs at the spring festivals, see above, pp. 116 _sq._,
119, 143.

_ 401 Op. cit._ ii. 260 _sq._, iii. 936, 956, iv. 2. p. 360.

_ 402 Op. cit._ ii. 260.

_ 403 Op. cit._ iv. 1. p. 242. We have seen (p. 163) that in the
sixteenth century these customs and beliefs were common in Germany.
It is also a German superstition that a house which contains a brand
from the midsummer bonfire will not be struck by lightning (J. W.
Wolf, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_, i. p. 217, § 185).

404 J. Boemus, _Mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium_ (Lyons, 1541), p.
226.

M141 The Midsummer fires in Swabia. Omens drawn from the leaps over the
fires. Burning wheels rolled down hill. Burning the Angel-Man at
Rottenburg.

405 Karl Freiherr von Leoprechting, _Aus dem Lechrain_ (Munich, 1855),
pp. 181 _sqq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 510.

406 A. Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau,
1861-1862), ii. pp. 96 _sqq._, § 128, pp. 103 _sq._, § 129; _id._,
_Aus Schwaben_ (Wiesbaden, 1874), ii. 116-120; E. Meier, _Deutsche
Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ (Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 423
_sqq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 510.

407 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855),
i. pp. 215 _sq._, § 242; _id._, ii. 549.

408 A. Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau,
1861-1862), ii. 99-101.

M142 The Midsummer fires in Baden. Omens drawn from leaps over the fires.
Burning discs thrown into the air. Midsummer fires in Alsace,
Lorraine, the Eifel, the Harz districts and Thuringia. Burning
barrel swung round a pole.

409 Elard Hugo Mayer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), pp. 103
_sq._, 225 _sq._

410 W. von Schulenberg, in _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für
Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, Jahrgang 1897_, pp. 494
_sq._ (bound up with _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xxix. 1897).

411 H. Gaidoz, “Le dieu Gaulois du Soleil et le symbolisme de la Roue,”
_Revue Archéologique_, iii. Série, iv. (1884) pp. 29 _sq._

412 Bruno Stehle, “Volksglauben, Sitten und Gebräuche in Lothringen,”
_Globus_, lix. (1891) pp. 378 _sq._; “Die Sommerwendfeier im St.
Amarinthale,” _Der Urquell_, N.F., i. (1897) pp. 181 _sqq._

413 J. H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Sagen, Lieder, Sprüchwörter und Räthsel
des Eifler Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i. 40 _sq._ According to one
writer, the garlands are composed of St. John’s wort (Montanus, _Die
deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher Volksglaube_,
Iserlohn, N.D., p. 33). As to the use of St. John’s wort at
Midsummer, see below, vol. ii. pp. 54 _sqq._

414 A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche_
(Leipsic, 1848), p. 390.

M143 Midsummer fires kindled by the friction of wood in Germany and
Switzerland. Driving away demons and witches.

415 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher
Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), pp. 33 _sq._

416 C. L. Rochholz, _Deutscher Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), ii.
144 _sqq._

M144 Midsummer fires in Silesia. Scaring away the witches.

417 Philo vom Walde, _Schlesien in Sage und Brauch_ (Berlin, N.D.), p.
124; Paul Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch, und Volksglaube in Schlesien_
(Leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 136 _sq._

M145 The Midsummer fires in Denmark and Norway. Keeping off the witches.
The Midsummer fires in Sweden.

418 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 517 _sq._

419 From information supplied by Mr. Sigurd K. Heiberg, engineer, of
Bergen, Norway, who in his boyhood regularly collected fuel for the
fires. I have to thank Miss Anderson, of Barskimming, Mauchline,
Ayrshire, for kindly procuring the information for me from Mr.
Heiberg.

The Blocksberg, where German as well as Norwegian witches gather for
their great Sabbaths on the Eve of May Day (Walpurgis Night) and
Midsummer Eve, is commonly identified with the Brocken, the highest
peak of the Harz mountains. But in Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and
probably elsewhere, villages have their own local Blocksberg, which
is generally a hill or open place in the neighbourhood; a number of
places in Pomerania go by the name of the Blocksberg. See J. Grimm,
_Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 878 _sq._; Ulrich Jahn, _Hexenwesen und
Zauberei in Pommern_ (Breslau, 1886), pp. 4 _sq._; _id._,
_Volkssagen aus Pommern und Rügen_ (Stettin, 1886), p. 329.

420 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), pp. 259, 265.

421 L. Lloyd, _op. cit._ pp. 261 _sq._ These springs are called
“sacrificial fonts” (_Offer källor_) and are “so named because in
heathen times the limbs of the slaughtered victim, whether man or
beast, were here washed prior to immolation” (L. Lloyd, _op. cit._
p. 261).

M146 The Midsummer fires in Switzerland and Austria. Effigies burnt in
the fires. Burning wheels rolled down hill.

422 E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Bräuche des Schweizervolkes_ (Zurich,
1913), p. 164.

423 Ignaz V. Zingerle, _Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler
Volkes_2 (Innsbruck, 1871), ii. p. 159, § 1354.

424 I. V. Zingerle, _op. cit._ p. 159, §§ 1353, 1355, 1356; W.
Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 513.

425 W. Mannhardt, _l.c._

426 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855),
i. p. 210, § 231.

427 Theodor Vernaleken, _Mythen und Bräuche des Volkes in Oesterreich_
(Vienna, 1859), pp. 307 _sq._

M147 Midsummer fires in Bohemia. Wreaths thrown across the fire. Uses
made of the singed wreaths. Burning wheels rolled down hill. Embers
of the fire stuck in fields, gardens, and houses as a talisman
against lightning and conflagration. Use of mugwort. Cattle
protected against witchcraft.

428 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 519; Theodor Vernaleken,
_Mythen und Bräuche des Volkes in Oesterreich_ (Vienna, 1859), p.
308; Joseph Virgil Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen
und Mähren_ (Prague and Leipsic, 1864), p. 80, § 636;
Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Fest-Kalender aus Böhmen_ (Prague, N.D.),
pp. 306-311; Br. Jelínek, “Materialien zur Vorgeschichte und
Volkskunde Böhmens,” _Mittheilungen der anthropologischen
Gesellschaft in Wien_, xxi. (1891) p. 13; Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch
und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ (Prague, 1905), pp. 84-86.

M148 The Midsummer fires in Moravia, Austrian Silesia, and the district
of Cracow. Fire kindled by the friction of wood.

429 Willibald Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_
(Vienna and Olmutz, 1893), pp. 263-265.

430 Anton Peter, _Volksthümliches aus Österreichisch-Schlesien_
(Troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 287.

431 Th. Vernaleken, _Mythen und Bräuche des Volkes in Oesterreich_
(Vienna, 1859), pp. 308 _sq._

M149 The Midsummer fires among the Slavs of Russia. Cattle protected
against witchcraft. The fires lighted by the friction of wood.

_ 432 The Dying God_, p. 262. Compare M. Kowalewsky, in _Folk-lore_, i.
(1890) p. 467.

433 W. R. S. Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_, Second Edition
(London, 1872), p. 240.

434 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 519; W. R. S. Ralston, _Songs
of the Russian People_ (London, 1872), pp. 240, 391.

435 W. R. S. Ralston, _op. cit._ p. 240.

436 W. R. S. Ralston, _l.c._

M150 The Midsummer fires in Prussia and Lithuania thought to protect
against witchcraft, thunder, hail, and cattle disease. The fire
kindled by the friction of wood.

437 W. J. A. von Tettau und J. D. H. Temme, _Die Volkssagen
Ostpreussens, Litthauens und Westpreussens_ (Berlin, 1837), p. 277.

438 M. Töppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_2 (Danzig, 1867), p. 71.

439 F. S. Krauss, “Altslavische Feuergewinnung,” _Globus_, lix. (1891)
p. 318.

M151 The Midsummer fires among the Letts of Russia. Midsummer Day in
ancient Rome.

440 J. G. Kohl, Die _deutsch-russischen Ostseeprovinzen_ (Dresden and
Leipsic, 1841), i. 178-180, ii. 24 _sq._ Ligho was an old heathen
deity, whose joyous festival used to fall in spring.

441 Ovid, _Fasti_, vi. 775 _sqq._

M152 The Midsummer fires among the South Slavs.

442 Friederich S. Krauss, _Sitte und Brauch der Südslaven_ (Vienna,
1885), pp. 176 _sq._

443 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 519.

M153 The Midsummer fires among the Magyars of Hungary.

444 H. von Wlislocki, _Volksglaube und religiöser Brauch der Magyar_
(Münster i. W., 1893), pp. 40-44.