Chapter XIII: Farewell to Nemi (7)

Zemmur, the, of Morocco, their Midsummer custom, i. 215

Zerdusht and Isfendiyar, i. 104

Zeus and his sacred oak at Dodona, ii. 49 _sq._;
wood of white poplar used at Olympia in sacrificing to, 90 _n._ 1, 91
_n._ 7

—— and Danae, i. 74

—— and Hephaestus, i. 136

Zimbales, a province of the Philippines, superstition as to a parasitic
plant in, ii. 282 _n._ 1

Zoroaster, on the uncleanness of women
at menstruation, i. 95

Zoznegg, in Baden, Easter fires at, i. 145

Zulus, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 22, 30;
fumigate their gardens with medicated smoke, 337;
their custom of fumigating sick cattle, ii. 13;
their belief as to ancestral spirits incarnate in serpents, 211

Zülz, in Silesia, Midsummer fires at, i. 170

Zuñi Indians of New Mexico, their new fires at the solstices, i. 132
_sq._;
use of bull-roarers among the, ii. 230 _n._, 231

Zurich, effigies burnt at, i. 120

FOOTNOTES

M1 Bonfires at the Pongol festival in Southern India.

1 Ch. E. Gover, “The Pongol Festival in Southern India,” _Journal of
the Royal Asiatic Society_, N.S., v. (1870) pp. 96 _sq._

M2 Bonfires at the Holi festival in Northern India. The village priest
expected to pass through the fire. Leaping over the ashes of the
fire to get rid of disease.

2 W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_
(Westminster, 1896), ii. 314 _sqq._; Captain G. R. Hearn, “Passing
through the Fire at Phalon,” _Man_, v. (1905) pp. 154 _sq._ On the
custom of walking through fire, or rather over a furnace, see Andrew
Lang, _Modern Mythology_ (London, 1897), pp. 148-175; _id._, in
_Athenaeum_, 26th August and 14th October, 1899; _id._, in
_Folk-lore_, xii. (1901) pp. 452-455; _id._, in _Folk-lore_, xiv.
(1903) pp. 87-89. Mr. Lang was the first to call attention to the
wide prevalence of the rite in many parts of the world.

3 Pandit Janardan Joshi, in _North Indian Notes and Queries_, iii. pp.
92 _sq._, § 199 (September, 1893); W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and
Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), ii. 318 _sq._

4 E. T. Atkinson, “Notes on the History of Religion in the Himalayas
of the N.W. Provinces,” _Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal_,
liii. Part i. (Calcutta, 1884) p. 60. Compare W. Crooke, _Popular
Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), ii.
313 _sq._

M3 Vernal festival of fire in China. Ceremony to ensure an abundant
year. Walking through the fire. Ashes of the fire mixed with the
fodder of the cattle.

5 See above, vol. i. pp. 136 _sq._

6 G. Schlegel, _Uranographie Chinoise_ (The Hague and Leyden, 1875),
pp. 143 _sq._; _id._, “La fête de fouler le feu célébrée en Chine et
par les Chinois à Java,” _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_,
ix. (1896) pp. 193-195. Compare J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious
System of China_, vi. (Leyden, 1910) pp. 1292 _sq._ According to
Professor Schlegel, the connexion between this festival and the old
custom of solemnly extinguishing and relighting the fire in spring
is unquestionable.

M4 Passage of the image of the deity through the fire. Passage of
inspired men through the fire in India.

_ 7 The Dying God_, p. 262.

8 (Sir) H. H. Risley, _Tribes and Castes of Bengal, Ethnographic
Glossary_ (Calcutta, 1891-1892), i. 255 _sq._ Compare W. Crooke,
_Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster,
1896), i. 19; _id._, _Tribes and Castes of the North-Western
Provinces and Oudh_ (Calcutta, 1896), ii. 355. According to Sir
Herbert Risley, the trench filled with smouldering ashes is so
narrow (only a span and a quarter wide) “that very little dexterity
would enable a man to walk with his feet on either edge, so as not
to touch the smouldering ashes at the bottom.”

9 W. Crooke, _Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and
Oudh_, ii. 82.

10 M. J. Walhouse, “Passing through the Fire,” _Indian Antiquary_, vii.
(1878) pp. 126 _sq._ Compare J. A. Dubois, _Mœurs, Institutions et
Cérémonies des Peuples de l’Inde_ (Paris, 1825), ii. 373; E.
Thurston, _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_ (Madras, 1906), pp.
471-486; G. F. D’Penha, in _Indian Antiquary_, xxxi. (1902) p. 392;
“Fire-walking in Ganjam,” _Madras Government Museum Bulletin_, vol.
iv. No. 3 (Madras, 1903), pp. 214-216. At Akka timanhully, one of
the many villages which help to make up the town of Bangalore in
Southern India, one woman at least from every house is expected to
walk through the fire at the village festival. Captain J. S. F.
Mackenzie witnessed the ceremony in 1873. A trench, four feet long
by two feet wide, was filled with live embers. The priest walked
through it thrice, and the women afterwards passed through it in
batches. Capt. Mackenzie remarks: “From the description one reads of
walking through fire, I expected something sensational. Nothing
could be more tame than the ceremony we saw performed; in which
there never was nor ever could be the slightest danger to life. Some
young girl, whose soles were tender, might next morning find that
she had a blister, but this would be the extent of harm she could
receive.” See Captain J. S. F. Mackenzie, “The Village Feast,”
_Indian Antiquary_, iii. (1874) pp. 6-9. But to fall on the hot
embers might result in injuries which would prove fatal, and such an
accident is known to have occurred at a village in Bengal. See H. J.
Stokes, “Walking through Fire,” _Indian Antiquary_, ii. (1873) pp.
190 _sq._ At Afkanbour, five days’ march from Delhi, the Arab
traveller Ibn Batutah saw a troop of fakirs dancing and even rolling
on the glowing embers of a wood fire. See _Voyages d’Ibn Batoutah_
(Paris, 1853-1858), ii. 6 _sq._, iii. 439.

M5 Hindoo fire-festival in honour of Darma Rajah and Draupadi.
Worshippers walking through the fire.

11 Sonnerat, _Voyage aux Indes orientales et à la Chine_ (Paris, 1782),
i. 247 _sq._

_ 12 Madras Government Museum, Bulletin_, vol. iv. No. 1 (Madras, 1901),
pp. 55-59; E. Thurston, _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_
(Madras, 1906), pp. 471-474. One of the places where the
fire-festival in honour of Draupadi takes place annually is the
Allandur Temple, at St. Thomas’s Mount, near Madras. Compare
“Fire-walking Ceremony at the Dharmaraja Festival,” _The Quarterly
Journal of the Mythic Society_, vol. ii. No. 1 (October, 1910), pp.
29-32.

M6 Fire-festival of the Badagas in Southern India. Sacred fire made by
friction. Walking through the fire. Cattle driven over the hot
embers. The fire-walk preceded by a libation of milk and followed by
ploughing and sowing.

13 E. Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_ (Madras, 1909),
i. 98 _sq._; _id._, _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_ (Madras,
1906), pp. 476 _sq._

14 E. Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_ (Madras, 1909),
i. 100 _sq._

15 F. Metz, _The Tribes inhabiting the Neilgherry Hills_, Second
Edition (Mangalore, 1864), p. 55.

M7 The fire-walk in Japan.

16 “A Japanese Fire-walk,” _American Anthropologist_, New Series, v.
(1903) pp. 377-380. The ceremony has been described to me by two
eye-witnesses, Mr. Ernest Foxwell of St. John’s College, Cambridge,
and Miss E. P. Hughes, formerly Principal of the Teachers’ Training
College, Cambridge. Mr. Foxwell examined the feet of the performers
both before and after their passage through the fire and found no
hurt. The heat was so great that the sweat ran down him as he stood
near the bed of glowing charcoal. He cannot explain the immunity of
the performers. He informs me that the American writer Percival
Lowell walked in the fire and was burned so severely that he was
laid up in bed for three weeks; while on the other hand a Scotch
engineer named Hillhouse passed over the hot charcoal unscathed.
Several of Miss Hughes’s Japanese pupils also went through the
ordeal with impunity, but one of them burned a toe. Both before and
after walking through the fire the people dipped their feet in a
white stuff which Miss Hughes was told was salt. Compare W. G.
Aston, _Shinto_ (London, 1905), p. 348: “At the present day plunging
the hand into boiling water, walking barefoot over a bed of live
coals, and climbing a ladder formed of sword-blades set edge upwards
are practised, not by way of ordeal, but to excite the awe and
stimulate the piety of the ignorant spectators.”

M8 The fire-walk in Fiji, Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands, and Trinidad.

17 Basil Thomson, _South Sea Yarns_ (Edinburgh and London, 1894), pp.
195-207. Compare F. Arthur Jackson, “A Fijian Legend of the Origin
of the _Vilavilairevo_ or Fire Ceremony,” _Journal of the Polynesian
Society_, vol. iii. No. 2 (June, 1894), pp. 72-75; R. Fulton, “An
Account of the Fiji Fire-walking Ceremony, or _Vilavilairevo_, with
a probable explanation of the mystery,” _Transactions and
Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute_, xxxv. (1902) pp. 187-201;
Lieutenant Vernon H. Haggard, in _Folk-lore_, xiv. (1903) pp. 88
_sq._

18 S. P. Langley, “The Fire-walk Ceremony in Tahiti,” _Report of the
Smithsonian Institution for 1901_ (Washington, 1902), pp. 539-544;
_id._, in _Folk-lore_, xiv. (1901) pp. 446-452; “More about
Fire-walking,” _Journal of the Polynesian Society_, vol. x. No. 1
(March, 1901), pp. 53 _sq._ In his _Modern Mythology_ (pp. 162-165)
Andrew Lang quotes from _The Polynesian Society’s Journal_, vol. ii.
No. 2, pp. 105-108, an account of the fire-walk by Miss Tenira
Henry, which seems to refer to Raiatea, one of the Tahitian group of
islands.

_ 19 Annales de l’Association de la Propagation de la Foi_, lxix. (1897)
pp. 130-133. But in the ceremony here described the chief performer
was a native of Huahine, one of the Tahitian group of islands. The
wood burned in the furnace was hibiscus and native chestnut
(_Inocarpus edulis_). Before stepping on the hot stones the
principal performer beat the edge of the furnace twice or thrice
with _ti_ leaves (dracaena).

_ 20 Les Missions Catholiques_, x. (1878) pp. 141 _sq._; A. Lang,
_Modern Mythology_, p. 167, quoting Mr. Henry R. St. Clair.

M9 Hottentot custom of driving their sheep through fire and smoke.

21 Peter Kolben, _The Present State of the Cape of Good Hope_, Second
Edition (London, 1738), i. 129-133.

M10 Fire applied to sick cattle by the Nandi and Zulus.

22 A. C. Hollis, _The Nandi_ (Oxford, 1909), pp. 45 _sq._

23 Rev. Joseph Shooter, _The Kafirs of Natal_ (London, 1857), p. 35.

M11 Indians of Yucatan walk over hot embers in order to avert
calamities.

24 Diego de Landa, _Relation des choses de Yucatan_ (Paris, 1864), pp.
231, 233.

M12 The fire-walk in antiquity, at Castabala in Cappadocia and at Mount
Soracte near Rome.

25 Strabo, xii. 2. 7, p. 537. Compare _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second
Edition, pp. 89, 134 _sqq._

26 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ vii. 19; Virgil, _Aen._ xi. 784 _sqq._ with the
comment of Servius; Strabo, v. 2. 9, p. 226; Dionysius
Halicarnasensis, _Antiquit. Rom._ iii. 32. From a reference to the
custom in Silius Italicus (v. 175 _sqq._) it seems that the men
passed thrice through the furnace holding the entrails of the
sacrificial victims in their hands. The learned but sceptical Varro
attributed their immunity in the fire to a drug with which they took
care to anoint the soles of their feet before they planted them in
the furnace. See Varro, cited by Servius, on Virgil, _Aen._ xi. 787.
The whole subject has been treated by W. Mannhardt (_Antike Wald-
und Feldkulte_, Berlin, 1877, pp. 327 _sqq._), who compares the
rites of these “Soranian Wolves” with the ceremonies performed by
the brotherhood of the Green Wolf at Jumièges in Normandy. See
above, vol. i. pp. 185 _sq._

27 L. Preller (_Römische Mythologie_,3 i. 268), following G. Curtius,
would connect the first syllable of Soranus and Soracte with the
Latin _sol_, “sun.” However, this etymology appears to be at the
best very doubtful. My friend Prof. J. H. Moulton doubts whether
_Soranus_ can be connected with _sol_; he tells me that the
interchange of _l_ and _r_ is rare. He would rather connect
_Soracte_ with the Greek ὕραξ, “a shrew-mouse.” In that case Apollo
Soranus might be the equivalent of the Greek Apollo Smintheus, “the
Mouse Apollo.” Professor R. S. Conway also writes to me (11th
November 1902) that _Soranus_ and _Soracte_ “have nothing to do with
_sol_; _r_ and _l_ are not confused in Italic.”

28 Livy, xxvi. 11. About this time the Carthaginian army encamped only
three miles from Rome, and Hannibal in person, at the head of two
thousand cavalry, rode close up to the walls and leisurely
reconnoitered them. See Livy, xxvi. 10; Polybius, ix. 5-7.

M13 Little evidence to shew that the fire-walk is a sun-charm.

29 Above, p. 1.

30 Above, p. 15.

31 Above, pp. 13 _sq._

M14 On the other hand there is much to be said for the view that the
fire-walk is a form of purification, the flames being thought either
to burn up or repel the powers of evil. Custom of stepping over fire
for the purpose of getting rid of a ghost. Widows fumigated to free
them from their husbands’ ghosts.

32 Above, p. 8, compare p. 3.

33 J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_, i. (Leyden,
1892), p. 355; _id._ vi. (Leyden, 1910) p. 942.

34 Rev. J. H. Gray, _China_ (London, 1878), i. 287, 305; J. J. M. de
Groot, _op. cit._ i. 32, vi. 942.

35 J. J. M. de Groot, _op. cit._ i. 137, vi. 942.

36 J. G. Gmelin, _Reise durch Sibirien_ (Göttingen, 1751-1752), i. 333.

37 W. L. Priklonski, “Ueber das Schamenthum bei den Jakuten,” in A.
Bastian’s _Allerlei aus Volks- und Menschenkunde_ (Berlin, 1888), i.
219. Compare Vasilij Priklonski, “Todtengebräuche der Jakuten,”
_Globus_, lix. (1891) p. 85.

38 J. A. H. Louis, _The Gates of Thibet_ (Calcutta, 1894), p. 116.

39 E. Allegret, “Les Idées religieuses des Fañ (Afrique Occidentale),”
_Revue de l’Histoire des Religions_, l. (1904) p. 220.

40 A. B. Ellis, _The Ewe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West
Africa_ (London, 1890), p. 160.

M15 Hence it seems probable that the chief use of the fire in the
fire-festivals of Europe was to destroy or repel the witches, to
whose maleficent arts the people ascribed most of their troubles.

41 Above, pp. 162, 163, 211, 212, 214, 215, 217.

42 See the references above, vol. i. p. 342 note 2.

43 See the references above, vol. i. p. 342 note 3.

44 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 52 _sqq._, 127;
_The Scapegoat_, pp. 157 _sqq._ Compare R. Kühnau, _Schlesische
Sagen_ (Berlin, 1910-1913), iii. p. 69, No. 1428: “In the county of
Glatz the people believe that on Walpurgis Night (the Eve of May
Day) the witches under cover of the darkness seek to harm men in all
sorts of ways. To guard themselves against them the people set small
birch trees in front of the house-door on the previous day, and are
of opinion that the witches must count all the leaves on these
little trees before they can get into the house. While they are
still at this laborious task, the day dawns and the dreaded guests
must retire to their own realm”; _id._, iii. p. 39, No. 1394: “On
St. John’s Night (between the 23rd and 24th of June) the witches
again busily bestir themselves to force their way into the houses of
men and the stalls of cattle. People stick small twigs of oak in the
windows and doors of the houses and cattle-stalls to keep out the
witches. This is done in the neighbourhood of Patschkau and
generally in the districts of Frankenstein, Münsterberg, Grottkau,
and Neisse. In the same regions they hang garlands, composed of oak
leaves intertwined with flowers, at the windows. The garland must be
woven in the house itself and may not be carried over any threshold;
it must be hung out of the window on a nail, which is inserted
there.” Similar evidence might be multiplied almost indefinitely.

M16 The effigies burnt in the fires probably represent witches.
M17 Possibly some of the effigies burnt in the fires represent
tree-spirits or spirits of vegetation.

_ 45 The Golden Bough_, Second Edition (London, 1900), ii. 314-316.

_ 46 The Dying God_, pp. 249 _sqq._

47 Above, vol. i. p. 117, compare pp. 143, 144.

48 See above, vol. i. p. 120.

_ 49 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 56 _sqq._

50 Above, vol. i. pp. 120, 167.

51 Above, vol. i. pp. 115 _sq._, 116, 142, 173 _sq._, 185, 191, 192,
193, 209.

52 Above, vol. i. p. 120.

53 Above, vol. i. p. 116. But the effigy is called the Witch.

M18 Reasons for burning effigies of the spirit of vegetation or for
passing them through the fire.

54 The chapter has since been expanded into the four volumes of _The
Dying God_, _Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, and _The
Scapegoat_.

_ 55 The Dying God_, p. 262.

M19 The custom of passing images of gods or their living representatives
through the fires may be simply a form of purification.

56 Above, pp. 9, 10, 14.

57 Among the Klings of Southern India the ceremony of walking over a
bed of red-hot ashes is performed by a few chosen individuals, who
are prepared for the rite by a devil-doctor or medicine-man. The
eye-witness who describes the ceremony adds: “As I understood it,
they took on themselves and expiated the sins of the Kling community
for the past year.” See the letter of Stephen Ponder, quoted by
Andrew Lang, _Modern Mythology_ (London, 1897), p. 160.

M20 Yet at some of the fire-festivals the pretence of burning live
persons in the fires points to a former custom of human sacrifice.

_ 58 The Dying God_, pp. 205 _sqq._; _Spirits of the Corn and of the
Wild_, i. 216 _sqq._

59 Above, vol. i. p. 120.

60 Above, vol. i. p. 186.

61 Above, vol. i. p. 148.

62 Above, vol. i. p. 233.

63 Above, vol. i. p. 194.

64 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 524.

_ 65 Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_ (Munich,
1860-1867), iii. 956; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 524. In the
neighbourhood of Breitenbrunn the lad who collects fuel at this
season has his face blackened and is called “the Charcoal Man”
(_Bavaria_, etc., ii. 261).

66 A. Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau,
1861-1862), ii. 121 _sq._, § 146; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp.
524 _sq._

M21 In pagan Europe the water as well as the fire seems to have claimed
its human victim on Midsummer Day. Custom of throwing a man and a
tree into the water on St. John’s Day.

67 E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_
(Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 428 _sq._, §§ 120, 122; O. Freiherr von
Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Das festliche Jahr_ (Leipsic, 1863), p. 194;
J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte
Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 176; J. V.
Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ (Prague
and Leipsic, 1864), p. 49, § 311; W. J. A. Tettau und J. D. H.
Temme, _Die Volkssagen Ost-preussens, Litthauens und West-preussens_
(Berlin, 1837), pp. 277 _sq._; K. Haupt, _Sagenbuch der Lausitz_
(Leipsic, 1862-1863), i. 48; R. Eisel, _Sagenbuch des Voigtlandes_
(Gera, 1871), p. 31, Nr. 62.

68 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher
Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 34.

69 E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Bräuche des Schweizervolkes_ (Zurich,
1913), p. 163.

70 E. H. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), p. 507.

71 J. A. E. Köhler, _loc. cit._ Tacitus tells us that the image of the
goddess Nerthus, her vestments, and chariot were washed in a certain
lake, and that immediately afterwards the slaves who ministered to
the goddess were swallowed by the lake (_Germania_, 40). The
statement may perhaps be understood to mean that the slaves were
drowned as a sacrifice to the deity. Certainly we know from Tacitus
(_Germania_, 9 and 39) that the ancient Germans offered human
sacrifices.

M22 Loaves and flowers thrown into the water on St. John’s Day, perhaps
as substitutes for human beings.

72 E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_
(Stuttgart, 1852), p. 429, § 121.

73 O. Frh. von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Fest-Kalender aus Böhmen_
(Prague, N.D.), p. 311.

74 Karl Lynker, _Deutsche Sagen und Sitten in hessischen Gauen_2
(Cassel and Göttingen, 1860), pp. 253, 254, §§ 335, 336.

M23 Midsummer Day deemed unlucky and dangerous.

75 E. H. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), p. 506.

76 Giuseppe Pitrè, _Spettacoli e Feste Popolari Siciliane_ (Palermo,
1881), p. 313.

M24 In Europe people used to bathe on Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day,
because water was thought to acquire wonderful medicinal virtues at
that time.

77 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 489 _sq._, iii. 487; A. Wuttke,
_Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 77 § 92; O.
Freiherr von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Das festliche Jahr_ (Leipsic,
1863), p. 193; F. J. Vonbun, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_
(Chur, 1862), p. 133; P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube
in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 143 § 161; Karl Haupt,
_Sagenbuch der Lausitz_ (Leipsic, 1862-1863), i. 248, No. 303; F. J.
Wiedemann, _Aus dem inneren und äusseren Leben der Ehsten_ (St.
Petersburg, 1876), p. 415; L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_
(London, 1870), pp. 261 _sq._; Paul Sébillot, _Le Folk-lore de
France_ (Paris, 1904-1907), ii. 160 _sq._; T. F. Thiselton Dyer,
_British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), pp. 322 _sq._, 329 _sq._
For more evidence, see above, vol. i. pp. 193, 194, 205 _sq._, 208,
210, 216; _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 204 _sqq._

78 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels,
1861-1862), i. 420 _sq._; E. Monseur, _Le Folklore Wallon_
(Brussels, N.D.), p. 130; P. Sébillot, _Le Folk-lore de France_, ii.
374 _sq._

79 E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Bräuche des Schweizervolkes_ (Zurich,
1913), p. 163. See above, p. 27.

M25 Similar customs and beliefs as to water at Midsummer in Morocco.

80 E. Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xvi.
(1905) pp. 31 _sq._; _id._, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with
Agriculture, certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather in
Morocco_ (Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 84-86; E. Doutté, _Magie et
Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, 1908), pp. 567 _sq._ See
also above, vol. i. p. 216.

81 See above, vol. i. pp. 213-219.

82 E. Westermarck, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with Agriculture,
certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather in Morocco_
(Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 94 _sq._

83 This has been rightly pointed out by Dr. Edward Westermarck
(“Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) p. 46).

M26 Human sacrifices by fire among the ancient Gauls. Men and animals
enclosed in great wicker-work images and burnt alive.

84 Caesar, _Bell. Gall._ vi. 15; Strabo, iv. 4. 5, p. 198; Diodorus
Siculus, v. 32. See W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 525 _sqq._

85 Strabo, iv. 4. 4, p. 197: τὰς δὲ φονικὰς δίκας μάλιστα τούτοις
[_i.e._ the Druids] ἐπετέτραπτο δικάζειν, ὅταν τε φορὰ τούτων ᾖ,
φορὰν καὶ τῆς χώρας νομίζουσιν ὑπάρχειν. On this passage see W.
Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 529 _sqq._; and below, pp. 42 _sq._

M27 As the fertility of the land was supposed to depend on these
sacrifices, Mannhardt interpreted the victims as representatives of
tree-spirits or spirits of vegetation.

_ 86 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 80 _sqq._

M28 Wicker-work giants at popular festivals in modern Europe. The giant
at Douay on July the seventh. The giants at Dunkirk on Midsummer
Day.

87 Madame Clément, _Histoire des fêtes civiles et religieuses du
département du Nord_2 (Cambrai, 1836), pp. 193-200; A. de Nore,
_Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_, (Paris and
Lyons, 1846), pp. 323 _sq._; F. W. Fairholt, _Gog and Magog, the
Giants in Guildhall, their real and legendary History_ (London,
1859), pp. 78-87; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 523, note. It is
said that the giantess made her first appearance in 1665, and that
the children were not added to the show till the end of the
seventeenth century. In the eighteenth century the procession took
place on the third Sunday in June, which must always have been
within about a week of Midsummer Day (H. Gaidoz, “Le dieu gaulois du
soleil et le symbolisme de la roue,” _Revue Archéologique_, iii.
série iv. 32 _sq._).

_ 88 The Gentleman’s Magazine_, xxix. (1759), pp. 263-265; Madame
Clément, _Histoire des fêtes civiles et religieuses du département
du Nord_,2 pp. 169-175; A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions
des Provinces de France_, pp. 328-332. Compare John Milner, _The
History, Civil and Ecclesiastical, and Survey of the Antiquities of
Winchester_ (Winchester, N.D.), i. 8 _sq._ note 6; John Brand,
_Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), i. 325
_sq._; James Logan, _The Scottish Gael or Celtic Manners_, edited by
Rev. Alex. Stewart (Inverness, N.D.), ii. 358. According to the
writer in _The Gentleman’s Magazine_ the name of the procession was
the Cor-mass.

M29 Wicker-work giants in Brabant and Flanders.

89 Madame Clément, _Histoire des fêtes civiles et religieuses_, etc.,
_de la Belgique méridionale_, etc. (Avesnes, 1846), p. 252; Le Baron
de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, 1861-1862),
i. 123-126. We may conjecture that the Flemish _Reuze_, like the
_Reuss_ of Dunkirk, is only another form of the German _Riese_,
“giant.”

90 F. W. Fairholt, _Gog and Magog, the Giants in Guildhall, their real
and legendary History_ (London, 1859), pp. 64-78. For the loan of
this work and of the one cited in the next note I have to thank Mrs.
Wherry, of St. Peter’s Terrace, Cambridge.

91 E. Fourdin, “La foire d’Ath,” _Annales du Cercle Archéologique de
Mons_, ix. (Mons, 1869) pp. 7, 8, 12, 36 _sq._ The history of the
festival has been carefully investigated, with the help of documents
by M. Fourdin. According to him, the procession was religious in its
origin and took its rise from a pestilence which desolated Hainaut
in 1215 (_op. cit._ pp. 1 _sqq._). He thinks that the effigies of
giants were not introduced into the procession till between 1450 and
1460 (_op. cit._ p. 8).

M30 Midsummer giants in England.

92 George Puttenham, _The Arte of English Poesie_ (London, 1811,
reprint of the original edition of London, 1589), book iii. chapter
vi. p. 128. On the history of the English giants and their relation
to those of the continent, see F. W. Fairholt, _Gog and Magog, the
Giants in Guildhall, their real and legendary History_ (London,
1859).

93 Joseph Strutt, _The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England_,
New Edition, by W. Hone (London, 1834), pp. xliii.-xlv.; F. W.
Fairholt, _Gog and Magog, the Giants in Guildhall_ (London, 1859),
pp. 52-59.

94 F. W. Fairholt, _op. cit._ pp. 59-61.

95 F. W. Fairholt, _op. cit._ pp. 61-63.

M31 Wicker-work giants burnt at or near Midsummer.

96 Felix Liebrecht, _Des Gervasius von Tilbury Otia Imperialia_
(Hanover, 1856), pp. 212 _sq._; A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes, et
Traditions des Provinces de France_, pp. 354 _sq._; W. Mannhardt,
_Baumkultus_, p. 514.

97 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 514, 523.

M32 Animals burnt in the Midsummer bonfires. Serpents formerly burnt in
the Midsummer fire at Luchon. Cats formerly burnt in the Midsummer,
Easter, and Lenten bonfires.

_ 98 Athenaeum_, 24th July 1869, p. 115; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp.
515 _sq._ From a later account we learn that about the year 1890 the
custom of lighting a bonfire and dancing round it was still observed
at Bagnères de Luchon on Midsummer Eve, but the practice of burning
live serpents in it had been discontinued. The fire was kindled by a
priest. See _Folk-lore_, xii. (1901) pp. 315-317.

99 A. Breuil, “Du culte de St.-Jean Baptiste,” _Mémoires de la Société
des Antiquaires de Picardie_, viii. (1845) pp. 187 _sq._; Collin de
Plancy, _Dictionnaire Infernal_ (Paris, 1825-1826), iii. 40; A. de
Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_, pp.
355 _sq._; J. W. Wolf, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_
(Göttingen and Leipsic, 1852-1857), ii. 388; E. Cortet, _Essai sur
les Fêtes Religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. 213 _sq._; Laisnel de la
Salle, _Croyances et Légendes du Centre de la France_ (Paris, 1875),
i. 82; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 515.

100 Tessier, in _Mémoires et Dissertations publiés par la Société Royale
des Antiquaires de France_, v. (1823) p. 388; W. Mannhardt,
_Baumkultus_, p. 515.

101 Alexandre Bertrand, _La Religion des Gaulois_ (Paris, 1897), p. 407.

102 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 519; W. Mannhardt,
_Baumkultus_, p. 515.

103 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 515; Montanus, _Die deutschen
Volksfesten, Volksbräuche und deutscher Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn,
N.D.), p. 34.

104 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 515.

105 A. Meyrac, _Traditions, Coutumes, Légendes, et Contes des Ardenness_
(Charleville, 1890), p. 68.

106 Above, vol. i. p. 142.

M33 Thus the sacrificial rites of the ancient Gauls have their
counterparts in the popular festivals of modern Europe.
M34 The men, women, and animals burnt at these festivals were perhaps
thought to be witches or wizards in disguise.

107 Strabo, iv. 4. 5, p. 198, καὶ ἄλλα δὲ ἀνθρωποθυσιῶν εἴδη λέγεται;
καὶ γὰρ κατετόξευόν τινας καὶ ἀνεσταύρουν ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς καὶ
κατασκευάσαντες κολοσσὸν χόρτου καὶ ξύλων, ἐμβαλόντες εἰς τοῦτον
βοσκήματα καὶ θηρία παντοῖα καὶ ἀνθρώπους ὡλοκαύτουν.

108 Above, p. 39.

109 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London,
1909), pp. 214, 301 _sq._; Ulrich Jahn, _Hexenwesen und Zauberei in
Pommern_ (Breslau, 1886), p. 7; _id._, _Volkssagen aus Pommern und
Rügen_ (Stettin, 1886), p. 353, No. 446.

110 See above, vol. i. p. 315 _n._ 1.

111 The treatment of magic and witchcraft by the Christian Church is
described by W. E. H. Lecky, _History of the Rise and Influence of
the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe_, New Edition (London, 1882), i.
1 _sqq._ Four hundred witches were burned at one time in the great
square of Toulouse (W. E. H. Lecky, _op. cit._ ii. 38). Writing at
the beginning of the eighteenth century Addison observes: “Before I
leave Switzerland I cannot but observe, that the notion of
witchcraft reigns very much in this country. I have often been tired
with accounts of this nature from very sensible men, who are most of
them furnished with matters of fact which have happened, as they
pretend, within the compass of their own knowledge. It is certain
there have been many executions on this account, as in the canton of
Berne there were some put to death during my stay at Geneva. The
people are so universally infatuated with the notion, that if a cow
falls sick, it is ten to one but an old woman is clapt up in prison
for it, and if the poor creature chance to think herself a witch,
the whole country is for hanging her up without mercy.” See _The
Works of Joseph Addison_, with notes by R. Hurd, D.D. (London,
1811), vol. ii., “Remarks on several Parts of Italy,” p. 196.

112 Strabo, iv. 4. 4, p. 197. See the passage quoted above, p. 32, note
2.

M35 Mannhardt thought that the men and animals whom the Druids burned in
wickerwork images represented spirits of vegetation, and that the
burning of them was a charm to secure a supply of sunshine for the
crops.

113 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 532-534.

_ 114 Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, i. 270-305.

115 Some of the serpents worshipped by the old Prussians lived in hollow
oaks, and as oaks were sacred among the Prussians, the serpents may
possibly have been regarded as genii of the trees. See Simon Grunau,
_Preussischer Chronik_, herausgegeben von Dr. M. Perlbach, i.
(Leipsic, 1876) p. 89; Christophor Hartknoch, _Alt und Neues
Preussen_ (Frankfort and Leipsic, 1684), pp. 143, 163. Serpents
played an important part in the worship of Demeter, but we can
hardly assume that they were regarded as embodiments of the goddess.
See _Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, ii. 17 _sq._

116 For example, in China the spirits of plants are thought to assume
the form of snakes oftener than that of any other animal. Chinese
literature abounds with stories illustrative of such
transformations. See J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of
China_, iv. (Leyden, 1901) pp. 283-286. In Siam the spirit of the
_takhien_ tree is said to appear sometimes in the shape of a serpent
and sometimes in that of a woman. See Adolph Bastian, _Die Voelker
des Oestlichen Asien_, iii. (Jena, 1867) p. 251. The vipers that
haunted the balsam trees in Arabia were regarded by the Arabs as
sacred to the trees (Pausanias, ix. 28. 4); and once in Arabia, when
a wood hitherto untouched by man was burned down to make room for
the plough, certain white snakes flew out of it with loud
lamentations. No doubt they were supposed to be the dispossessed
spirits of the trees. See J. Wellhausen, _Reste Arabischen
Heidentums_2 (Berlin, 1897), pp. 108 _sq._

M36 It is a common belief in Europe that plants acquire certain magical,
but transient, virtues on Midsummer Eve. Magical plants culled on
Midsummer Eve (St. John’s Eve) or Midsummer Day (St. John’s Day) in
France. St. John’s herb.

117 J. L. M. Noguès, _Les mœurs d’autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_
(Saintes, 1891), p. 71. Amongst the superstitious practices
denounced by the French writer J. B. Thiers in the seventeenth
century was “the gathering of certain herbs between the Eve of St.
John and the Eve of St. Peter and keeping them in a bottle to heal
certain maladies.” See J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_
(Paris, 1679), p. 321.

118 A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_
(Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 150 _sq._

119 Jules Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau,
1883-1887), ii. 8, 244; Amélie Bosquet, _La Normandie romanesque et
merveilleuse_ (Paris and Rouen, 1845), p. 294.

120 De la Loubere, _Du Royaume de Siam_ (Amsterdam, 1691), i. 202. The
writer here mentions an Italian mode of divination practised on
Midsummer Eve. People washed their feet in wine and threw the wine
out of the window. After that, the first words they heard spoken by
passers-by were deemed oracular.

121 Aubin-Louis Millin, _Voyage dans les Départements du Midi de la
France_ (Paris, 1807-1811), iii. 344 _sq._

122 Alexandre Bertrand, _La Religion des Gaulois_ (Paris, 1897), p. 124.
In French the name of St. John’s herb (_herbe de la Saint-Jean_) is
usually given to _millepertius_, that is, St. John’s wort, which is
quite a different flower. See below, pp. 54 _sqq._ But “St. John’s
herb” may well be a general term which in different places is
applied to different plants.

123 Bruno Stehle, “Aberglauben, Sitten und Gebräuche in Lothringen,”
_Globus_, lix. (1891) p. 379.

124 L. F. Sauvé, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), pp. 168
_sq._

M37 Magical plants culled on Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day in the Tyrol
and Germany.

125 I. V. Zingerle, “Wald, Bäume, Kräuter,” _Zeitschrift für deutsche
Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) pp. 332 _sq._; _id._,
_Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_2 (Innsbruck,
1871), p. 158, §§ 1345, 1348.

126 Christian Schneller, _Märchen und Sagen aus Wälschtirol_ (Innsbruck,
1867), p. 237, § 24.

127 J. H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Bräuche, Lieder, Sprüchwörter und Räthsel
des Eifler Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i. 40.

128 J. H. Schmitz, _op. cit._ i. 42.

129 A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 330.

130 K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna,
1879-1880), ii. p. 287, § 1436.

131 W. von Schulenburg, _Wendische Volkssagen und Gebräuche aus dem
Spreewald_ (Leipsic, 1880), p. 254.

132 M. Prätorius, _Deliciae Prussicae_ (Berlin, 1871), pp. 24 _sq._
Kaupole is probably identical in name with Kupole or Kupalo, as to
whom see _The Dying God_, pp. 261 _sq._

M38 Magical plants culled on Midsummer Eve (St. John’s Eve) or Midsummer
Day in Austria and Russia.

133 Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_
(Prague, 1905), p. 86.

134 R. F. Kaindl, _Die Huzulen_ (Vienna, 1894), pp. 78, 90, 93, 105;
_id._, “Zauberglaube bei den Huzulen,” _Globus_, lxxvi. (1899) p.
256.

135 Dr. F. Tetzner, “Die Tschechen und Mährer in Schlesien,” _Globus_,
lxxviii. (1900) p. 340.

136 J. B. Holzmayer, “Osiliana,” _Verhandlungen der gelehrten Estnischen
Gesellschaft_, vii. Heft 2 (Dorpat, 1872), p. 62.

137 P. Einhorn, “Wiederlegunge der Abgötterey: der ander (_sic_) Theil,”
printed at Riga in 1627, and reprinted in _Scriptores rerum
Livonicarum_, ii. (Riga and Leipsic, 1848) pp. 651 _sq._

138 J. G. Kohl, _Die deutsch-russischen Ostseeprovinzen_ (Dresden and
Leipsic, 1841), ii. 26.

M39 Magical plants culled on St. John’s Eve or St. John’s Day among the
South Slavs, in Macedonia, and Bolivia.

139 A. Strausz, _Die Bulgaren_ (Leipsic, 1898), pp. 348, 386.

140 F. S. Krauss, _Volksglaube und religiöser Brauch der Südslaven_
(Münster i. W., 1890), p. 34.

141 G. F. Abbott, _Macedonian Folk-lore_ (Cambridge, 1903), pp. 54, 58.

142 H. A. Weddell, _Voyage dans le Nord de la Bolivie et dans les
parties voisines du Pérou_ (Paris and London, 1853), p. 181.

M40 Magical plants culled at Midsummer among the Mohammedans of Morocco.

143 W. Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xvi.
(1905) p. 35; _id._, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with
Agriculture, certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather in
Morocco_ (Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 88 _sq._

M41 Seven different sorts of magical plants gathered at Midsummer. Nine
different sorts of plants gathered at Midsummer. Dreams of love on
flowers at Midsummer Eve. Love’s watery mirror at Midsummer Eve.

144 J. Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau,
1883-1887), ii. 9.

145 K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna,
1879-1890), ii. 285.

146 J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte
Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 376.

147 O. Freiherr von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Fest-Kalender aus Böhmen_
(Prague, N.D.), p. 312.

148 Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _loc. cit._

149 M. Töppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_2 (Danzig, 1867), p. 72.

M42 Garlands of flowers of nine sorts gathered at Midsummer and used in
divination and medicine.

150 Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _loc. cit._

151 J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch_, etc., _im Voigtlande_, p. 376.

152 C. Lemke, _Volksthümliches in Ostpreussen_ (Mohrungen, 1884-1887),
i. 20.

153 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic,
1903-1906), i. 144 _sq._

154 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels,
1861-1862), i. 423.

155 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London,
1909), p. 252.

156 M. Töppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_,2 p. 72.

157 M. Töppen, _op. cit._ p. 71.

158 A. Wiedemann, _Aus dem inneren und äussern Leben der Ehsten_ (St.
Petersburg, 1876), pp. 362 _sq._

159 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), pp. 267 _sq._

160 Willibald Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_
(Vienna and Olmütz, 1893), p. 264.

161 W. von Schulenburg, _Wendisches Volksthum_ (Berlin, 1882), p. 145.

M43 St. John’s wort (_Hypericum perforatum_) gathered for magical
purposes at Midsummer. St. John’s blood on St. John’s Day.

162 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher
Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 145; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche
Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 100, § 134; I. V. Zingerle,
“Wald, Bäume, Kräuter,” _Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und
Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) p. 329; A. Schlossar, “Volksmeinung und
Volksaberglaube aus der deutschen Steiermark,” _Germania_, N.R.,
xxiv. (1891) p. 387; E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche
aus Schwaben_ (Stuttgart, 1852), p. 428; J. Brand, _Popular
Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), i. 307, 312; T.
F. Thiselton Dyer, _Folk-lore of Plants_ (London, 1889), pp. 62,
286; Rev. Hilderic Friend, _Flowers and Flower Lore_, Third Edition
(London, 1886), pp. 147, 149, 150, 540; G. Finamore, _Credenze, Usi
e Costumi Abruzzesi_ (Palermo, 1890), pp. 161 _sq._; G. Pitrè,
_Spettacoli e Feste Popolari Siciliane_ (Palermo, 1881), p. 309. One
authority lays down the rule that you should gather the plant
fasting and in silence (J. Brand, _op. cit._ p. 312). According to
Sowerby, the _Hypericum perforatum_ flowers in England about July
and August (_English Botany_, vol. v. London, 1796, p. 295). We
should remember, however, that in the old calendar Midsummer Day
fell twelve days later than at present. The reform of the calendar
probably put many old floral superstitions out of joint.

163 Bingley, _Tour round North Wales_ (1800), ii. 237, quoted by T. F.
Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), p. 320.
Compare Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_
(London, 1909), p. 251: “St. John’s, or Midsummer Day, was an
important festival. St. John’s wort, gathered at noon on that day,
was considered good for several complaints. The old saying went that
if anybody dug the devil’s bit at midnight on the eve of St. John,
the roots were then good for driving the devil and witches away.”
Apparently by “the devil’s bit” we are to understand St. John’s
wort.

164 J. L. M. Noguès, _Les mœurs d’autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_
(Saintes, 1891), pp. 71 _sq._

165 Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_
(Prague, 1905), p. 84. They call the plant “witch’s herb”
(_Hexenkraut_).

166 James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. v. (London, 1796), p. 295.

167 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher
Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 35.

168 T. F. Thiselton Dyer, _Folk-lore of Plants_ (London, 1889), p. 286;
K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_, ii. p.
291, § 1450_a_. The Germans of Bohemia ascribe wonderful virtues to
the red juice extracted from the yellow flowers of St. John’s wort
(W. Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_,
Vienna and Olmütz, 1893, p. 264).

169 K. Bartsch, _op. cit._ ii. p. 286, § 1433. The blood is also a
preservative against many diseases (_op. cit._ ii. p. 290, § 1444).

170 A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 387, §
105.

_ 171 Die gestriegelte Rockenphilosophie_5 (Chemnitz, 1759), pp. 246
_sq._; Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfesten, Volksbräuche und
deutscher Volksglaube_, p. 147.

172 Berthold Seeman, _Viti, An Account of a Government Mission to the
Vitian or Fijian Islands in the years 1860-61_ (Cambridge, 1862), p.
63.

M44 Mouse-ear hawkweed (_Hieracium pilosella_) gathered for magical
purposes at Midsummer.

173 James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xvi. (London, 1803) p. 1093.

174 K. Seifart, _Sagen, Märchen, Schwänke und Gebräuche aus Stadt und
Stift Hildesheim_2 (Hildesheim, 1889), p. 177, § 12.

175 C. L. Rochholz, _Deutscher Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), i. 9.

176 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_
(Prague and Leipsic, 1864), p. 98, § 681.

177 A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 100, §
134.

M45 Mountain arnica gathered for magical purposes at Midsummer.

178 J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte
Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 376. The belief
and practice are similar at Grün, near Asch, in Western Bohemia. See
Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_
(Prague, 1905), p. 84.

179 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855),
ii. 299; _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_,
iii. (Munich, 1865), p. 342; I. V. Zingerle, _Sitten, Bräuche und
Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_2 (Innsbruck, 1871), p. 160, § 1363.

M46 Mugwort (_Artemisia vulgaris_) gathered for magical purposes at
Midsummer. Mugwort in China and Japan.

180 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 1013; A. de Gubernatis,
_Mythologie des Plantes_ (Paris, 1878-1882), i. 189 _sq._; Rev.
Hilderic Friend, _Flowers and Flower Lore_, Third Edition (London,
1886), p. 75. In England mugwort is very common in waste ground,
hedges, and the borders of fields. It flowers throughout August and
later. The root is woody and perennial. The smooth stems, three or
four feet high, are erect, branched, and leafy, and marked by many
longitudinal purplish ribs. The pinnatified leaves alternate on the
stalk; they are smooth and dark green above, cottony and very white
below. The flowers are in simple leafy spikes or clusters; the
florets are purplish, furnished with five stamens and five
awl-shaped female flowers, which constitute the radius. The whole
plant has a weak aromatic scent and a slightly bitter flavour. Its
medical virtues are of no importance. See James Sowerby, _English
Botany_, xiv. (London, 1802) p. 978. Altogether it is not easy to
see why such an inconspicuous and insignificant flower should play
so large a part in popular superstition. Mugwort (_Artemisia
vulgaris_) is not to be confounded with wormwood (_Artemisia
absinthium_), which is quite a different flower in appearance,
though it belongs to the same genus. Wormwood is common in England,
flowering about August. The flowers are in clusters, each of them
broad, hemispherical, and drooping, with a buff-coloured disc. The
whole plant is of a pale whitish green and clothed with a short
silky down. It is remarkable for its intense bitterness united to a
peculiar strong aromatic odour. It is often used to keep insects
from clothes and furniture, and as a medicine is one of the most
active bitters. See James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xviii.
(London, 1804) p. 1230.

181 Breuil, “Du culte de St.-Jean-Baptiste,” _Mémoires de la Société des
Antiquaires de Picardie_, viii. (1845) p. 224, note 1, quoting the
curé of Manancourt, near Péronne.

182 L. Pineau, _Le folk-lore du Poitou_ (Paris, 1892), p. 499.

183 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_
(Prague and Leipsic, 1864), pp. 90 _sq._, §§ 635-637.

184 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, i. p. 249, § 283; J.
Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 1013; I. V. Zingerle, in
_Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) p.
331. and _ib._ iv. (1859) p. 42 (quoting a work of the seventeenth
century); F. J. Vonbun, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Chur,
1862), p. 133, note 1. See also above, vol. i. pp. 162, 163, 165,
174, 177.

185 A. de Gubernatis, _Mythologie der Plantes_ (Paris, 1878-1882), i.
190, quoting Du Cange.

186 A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_
(Paris and Lyons, 1846), p. 262.

187 Jules Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau,
1883-1886), ii. 8.

188 Joseph Train, _Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of
Man_ (Douglas, Isle of Man, 1845), ii. 120.

189 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels,
1861-1862), i. 422.

190 J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_, vi. (Leyden,
1910) p. 1079, compare p. 947.

191 J. J. M. de Groot, _op. cit._ vi. 947.

192 J. J. M. de Groot, _op. cit._ vi. 946 _sq._

193 Rev. John Batchelor, _The Ainu and their Folk-lore_ (London, 1901),
p. 318, compare pp. 315 _sq._, 329, 370, 372.

_ 194 Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iv. (1859) p.
42; Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste_, p. 141. The German name of
mugwort (_Beifuss_) is said to be derived from this superstition.

195 K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen, und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna,
1879-1880), ii. 290, § 1445.

196 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste_, p. 141.

197 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London,
1882-1883), i. 334 _sq._, quoting Lupton, Thomas Hill, and Paul
Barbette. A precisely similar belief is recorded with regard to
wormwood (_armoise_) by the French writer J. B. Thiers, who adds
that only small children and virgins could find the wonderful coal.
See J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_5 (Paris, 1741), i. 300.
In Annam people think that wormwood puts demons to flight; hence
they hang up bunches of its leaves in their houses at the New Year.
See Paul Giran, _Magie et Religion Annamites_ (Paris, 1912), p. 118,
compare pp. 185, 256.

198 C. Lemke, _Volksthümliches in Ostpreussen_ (Mohrungen, 1884-1887),
i. 21. As to mugwort (German _Beifuss_, French _armoise_), see
further A. de Gubernatis, _Mythologie des Plantes_, ii. 16 _sqq._;
J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 iii. 356 _sq._

M47 Orpine (_Sedum telephium_) used in divination at Midsummer.

199 James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xix. (London, 1804) p. 1319.

200 John Aubrey, _Remains of Gentilisme and Judaisme_ (London, 1881),
pp. 25 _sq._; J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_
(London, 1882-1883), i. 329 _sqq._; Rev. Hilderic Friend, _Flowers
and Flower Lore_, Third Edition (London, 1886), p. 136; D. H.
Moutray Read, “Hampshire Folk-lore,” _Folk-lore_, xxii. (1911) p.
325. Compare J. Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xix. (London, 1804),
p. 1319: “Like all succulent plants this is very tenacious of life,
and will keep growing long after it has been torn from its native
spot. The country people in Norfolk sometimes hang it up in their
cottages, judging by its vigour of the health of some absent
friend.” It seems that in England the course of love has sometimes
been divined by means of sprigs of red sage placed in a basin of
rose-water on Midsummer Eve (J. Brand, _op. cit._ i. 333).

201 M. Töppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_2 (Danzig, 1867), pp. 71 _sq._;
A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic,
1859), ii. 176, § 487; E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Bräuche des
Schweizervolkes_ (Zurich, 1913), p. 163. In Switzerland the species
employed for this purpose on Midsummer day is _Sedum reflexum_. The
custom is reported from the Emmenthal. In Germany a root of orpine,
dug up on St. John’s morning and hung between the shoulders, is
sometimes thought to be a cure for hemorrhoids (Montanus, _Die
deutschen Volksfeste_, p. 145). Perhaps the “oblong, tapering,
fleshy, white lumps” of the roots (J. Sowerby, _English Botany_,
vol. xix. London, 1804, p. 1319) are thought to bear some likeness
to the hemorrhoids, and to heal them on the principle that the
remedy should resemble the disease.

M48 Vervain gathered for magical purposes at Midsummer. Magical virtue
of four-leaved clover on Midsummer Eve.

202 See above, vol. i. pp. 162, 163, 165. In England vervain (_Verbena
officinalis_) grows not uncommonly by road sides, in dry sunny
pastures, and in waste places about villages. It flowers in July.
The flowers are small and sessile, the corolla of a very pale lilac
hue, its tube enclosing the four short curved stamens. The root of
the plant, worn by a string round the neck, is an old superstitious
medicine for scrofulous disorders. See James Sowerby, _English
Botany_, vol. xi. (London, 1800) p. 767.

203 Dr. Otero Acevado, in _Le Temps_, September 1898. See above, vol. i.
p. 208, note 1.

204 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels,
1861-1862), i. 422.

205 A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de
France_, p. 262; Amélie Bosquet, _La Normandie romanesque et
merveilleuse_, p. 294; J. Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_, i.
287, ii. 8. In Saintonge and Aunis the plant was gathered on
Midsummer Eve for the purpose of evoking or exorcising spirits (J.
L. M. Noguès, _Les mœurs d’autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_, p.
72).

206 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_,
p. 207, § 1437.

207 A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic,
1859), ii. 177, citing Chambers, _Edinburgh Journal_, 2nd July 1842.

208 I. V. Zingerle, _Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_2
(Innsbruck, 1871), p. 107, § 919.

209 Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et Légendes du Centre de la France_
(Paris, 1875), i. 288.

210 J. L. M. Noguès, _Les mœurs d’autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_,
pp. 71 _sq._

211 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_, i. 423.

M49 Camomile gathered for magical purposes at Midsummer.

212 W. Kolbe, _Hessische Volks-Sitten und Gebräuche_2 (Marburg, 1888),
p. 72; Sophus Bugge, _Studien über die Entstehung der nordischen
Götter- und Heldensagen_ (Munich, 1889), pp. 35, 295 _sq._; Fr.
Kauffmann, _Balder_ (Strasburg, 1902), pp. 45, 61. The flowers of
common camomile (_Anthemis nobilis_) are white with a yellow disk,
which in time becomes conical. The whole plant is intensely bitter,
with a peculiar but agreeable smell. As a medicine it is useful for
stomachic troubles. In England it does not generally grow wild. See
James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xiv. (London, 1802) p. 980.

213 A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic,
1859), ii. 177, § 488.

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

M50 Mullein (_Verbascum_) gathered for magical purposes at Midsummer.

215 A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna,
1878), p. 289, § 139.

216 W. J. A. von Tettau und J. D. H. Temme, _Volkssagen Ostpreussens,
Litthauens und Westpreussens_ (Berlin, 1837), p. 283.

217 James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. vii. (London, 1798), p. 487.
As to great mullein or high taper, see _id._, vol. viii. (London,
1799), p. 549.

218 Tettau und Temme, _loc. cit._ As to mullein at Midsummer, see also
above, vol. i. pp. 190, 191.

M51 Seeds of fir-cones, wild thyme, elder-flowers, and purple
loosestrife gathered for magical purposes at Midsummer.

219 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_,
p. 205, § 1426.

220 J. V. Grohmann, _op. cit._ p. 93, § 648.

221 J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte
Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 377.

222 Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_
(Prague, 1905), p. 84.

223 J. N. Ritter von Alpenburg, _Mythen und Sagen Tirols_ (Zurich,
1857), p. 397.

224 C. Russwurm, “Aberglaube aus Russland,” _Zeitschrift für deutsche
Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iv. (1859) pp. 153 _sq._ The purple
loosestrife is one of our most showy English wild plants. In July
and August it may be seen flowering on the banks of rivers, ponds,
and ditches. The separate flowers are in axillary whorls, which
together form a loose spike of a reddish variable purple. See James
Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xv. (London, 1802) p. 1061.

M52 Magical properties attributed to fern seed at Midsummer.