He laughs like a boor who has found a horse-shoe.—_Dutch
proverb._
Throughout Germany the belief obtains that a horse-shoe found on the
road, and nailed on the threshold of a house with the points directed
outward, is a mighty protection not only against hags and fiends, but
also against fire and lightning; but, _reversed_, it brings misfortune.
In eastern Pennsylvania, however, even in recent times, the horse-shoe
is often placed with the prongs pointing inward, so that the luck may be
spilled into the house. The horse-shoe retains its potency as a charm
on the sea as well as on land, and it has long been a practice among
sailors to nail this favorite amulet against the mast of a vessel,
whether fishing-boat or large sea-going craft, as a protection against
the Evil One. The shoe of a “wraith-horse,” the mythical offspring of
a water-stallion, is especially esteemed by Scotch mariners for this
purpose.[199]
In Bohemia only exists the superstition exactly opposite to that
elsewhere prevalent, namely, that whoever picks up a horse-shoe
thereby _ipso facto_ picks up ill-luck for himself,—a notable example
in folk-lore of the exception which proves the rule. The Bohemians,
however, believe a nailed-up horse-shoe to be a cure for lunacy.[200]
As a general rule, the degree of luck pertaining to a horse-shoe found by
chance has been thought to depend on the number of nails remaining in it:
the more nails the more luck.[201]
In Northumberland the holes free of nails are carefully counted, as these
indicate, presumably in years, how soon the finder of the shoe may expect
to be married.[202] The peasants of northern Portugal prefer mule-shoes
having an uneven number of nail-holes, as counteractives of the evil
influences of the dreaded, omnipresent witches known as the _Bruxas_.[203]
In Derbyshire it is customary to drive a horse-shoe, prongs upward,
between two flagstones near the door of a dwelling.[204] This position is
sometimes explained by saying that, so placed, the luck cannot spill out.
In a short poem called “The Lucky Horse-Shoe,” by James T. Fields, an
amusing account is given of a farmer who picked up an old horse-shoe
from the road, and nailed it upon the door of his barn with the prongs
downward. But, far from bringing him luck, Fortune thereafter frowned
upon him; his hay crop failed, a drought blighted his vegetables, and his
hens refused to lay.
The good farmer, discouraged and perplexed, confided his woes to the
sympathetic ear of an aged wayfarer who chanced to pass by, relating how
misfortunes had pursued him since he had fastened up the old horse-shoe.
The stranger asked to see the shoe;
The farmer brought it into view;
But when the old man raised his head,
He laughed outright and quickly said:
“No wonder skies upon you frown,
You’ve nailed the horse-shoe upside down;
Just turn it round, and soon you’ll see
How you and Fortune will agree.”
The farmer profited by the friendly suggestion and reversed his
luck-token, whereupon the capricious goddess fairly beamed upon him.
His barn was soon filled with hay, his storehouses were packed with the
kindly fruits of the earth, while his wife presented him with twins.
Farmers may well take heed _how_ they nail up horse-shoes over the doors
of their barns. To obtain the best results, it would seem advisable to
place a pair of these useful articles on each farm building, one with the
points upward, the other reversed; for in this way they may not only hope
to win Fortune’s smiles, but also to keep all witches and unfriendly
spirits at a respectful distance.
In an interesting story for children in “St. Nicholas,” April, 1897,
by Rudolph F. Bunner, entitled “The Horse-Shoe of Luck,” the writer
introduces Luck in the character and garb of a wandering clown or
jester, mounted upon a white horse. This jovial traveler seeks a night’s
lodging at a wayside farmhouse, and when he has almost reached its
hospitable door, his steed casts a shoe, which the farmer hastens to
pick up and carefully hangs on a hook above the door. Luck proved to be
a most amusing fellow, and after supper he entertained the children of
the household in a royal manner, showing them, among other things, how
to drop china and glass without breaking them, and how to tumble down
stairs without getting hurt. So the evening passed merrily enough, and
all retired for the night in a happy frame of mind. Early in the morning
the farmer was awakened by the splash of raindrops upon his face, and,
hastily arising, he discovered that the roof had sprung a leak, and
that his guest had unceremoniously departed. Nettled by such conduct,
the farmer and his family hastened in pursuit of the fleeing stranger,
guided by the hoof-prints of his white horse; and when they had overtaken
him, the farmer reproached his late guest for having left his house so
abruptly. Whereupon Luck replied: “I left you, not because you could not
even nail my horse-shoe over your door, but hung it upside down, so the
luck ran out at the ends, but because of your own mistake. You trusted to
me; you trusted to Luck. Ah ha!”
In the northernmost districts of Scotland exists a belief that if the
first shoe put on the foot of a stallion be hung on the byre door, no
harm will come near the cows; and in the same region, if a horse-shoe be
placed between the houses of quarrelsome neighbors, neither incurs any
risk of evil as a result of the other’s ill-wishes.[205]
As a means of warding off impending sickness from cattle, and in order
that they may thrive during the summer, the Transylvanian peasants place
broken horse-shoes in the animals’ drinking-troughs on St. John’s Day,
June 24.
In Lincolnshire, not many years ago, there prevailed a custom of
“charming” ash-trees by burying horse-shoes under them. Twigs from a tree
thus magically endowed were believed to be efficacious in curing cattle
over which a shrewmouse had run, or which had been exposed to the glance
of an evil eye. To effect a cure in such cases, it was only necessary to
gently stroke the affected animal with one of these twigs.[206]
Some years ago, a Golspie fisherman who owned a small boat was favored
with an extraordinary run of luck in his fishing, and as a result of his
good fortune was enabled to buy a larger vessel, selling the old one
to a neighbor. From that time, however, his lucky star seemed to wane,
and good “catches” were infrequent. Casting about in his mind for the
reason of this, he bethought him of a stallion’s shoe which was fastened
inside his former boat, and which had been given him by a “wise person.”
But both boat and horse-shoe were now in the hands of his neighbor, who
maintained with reason that the lucky token was now _his_ property,
as he had purchased “the boat and its gear.” And ever thereafter the
disconsolate fisherman attributed his lack of success in that season to
his own folly in having parted with the stallion’s shoe.[207]
The horse-shoe figures often in traditions of the sea as a protection
to sailors. When the ghostly ship of the Flying Dutchman meets another
vessel, some of its uncanny crew approach the latter in a boat and beg
them to take charge of a packet of letters.
These letters must be nailed to the mast, else some misfortune will
overtake the ship; especially if there be no Bible on board, nor any
horse-shoe fastened to the foremast.
In the month of September, 1825, lightning struck a brigantine which lay
at anchor in the Bay of Armiso, in the Adriatic. A sailor was killed
by the bolt, and tradition says that on one of his hips was seen the
perfect representation of a horse-shoe, a counterpart of one nailed to
the vessel’s foremast in accordance with the custom in vogue on the
Mediterranean.[208]
The same custom is common in German inland waters, as, for example, on
the river craft which ply on the Elbe below Hamburg, and on those which
navigate the Trave, at Lubec. On the latter vessels horse-shoes are
usually fastened to the stern-post, instead of to the mast.
In a German work, entitled “Seespuk,” by P. G. Heims, page 138, the
writer remarks that, among seafaring people, the old pagan emblem,
the horse-shoe, whose talismanic origin is so closely associated with
horse-sacrifice and the use of horse-flesh as food among the heathen
nations of the North, is even now the most powerful safeguard aboard ship
against lightning and the powers of evil.
There are comparatively few small vessels laden with wood, fruit,
vegetables, or other merchandise, sailing between Baltic Sea ports, upon
whose foremast, or elsewhere upon deck, horse-shoes are not nailed.
Indeed, continues the same writer, this symbol has a notable significance
in German art as well, a fact attributable less to its graceful curving
shape than to the deeply rooted superstitions, relics of barbaric times,
which yet cling to it.
Whether we regard the horse-shoe as a symbol of Wodan, the chief deity of
the northern nations, as deriving magical power from its half-moon shape,
as a product of supernatural skill in dealing with iron and fire, or as
appertaining to the favorite sacrificial animal of antiquity, the pagan
source of its superstitious use is equally evident.
The horse-shoe, whether as an amulet or as a sign of good luck, has
nothing to do with the Christian religion. In either case it is a
wholly superstitious symbol, and savors of paganism; it is in fact an
inheritance from our heathen ancestors, a barbaric token, unworthy even
to be named in connection with the sacred cross. Yet throughout many
centuries it has captivated the popular fancy, and its emblematic use
appears to be as firmly established to-day as ever in many parts of the
world.
It is popularly believed that the chance finding of a horse-shoe greatly
enhances its magical power; and it is claimed, moreover, by some writers,
to be an axiom in folk-lore that talismanic objects thrust upon one’s
notice, as it were, are direct gifts from the goddess Fortune, and hence
possessed of a special value for the finder. Such a notion is as clearly
of pagan origin as the custom of bowing to the new moon, or of fixing
representations of horses’ heads upon the gables of houses in order to
terrify wandering spirits of evil.
In “Curiosities of Popular Customs,” by William S. Walsh (p. 665, 1898),
it is stated that the Northern peoples were wont to offer sacrifices to
Wodan after the harvest, and that the little cakes still baked on St.
Martin’s Day, November 11, throughout Germany, are shaped like a horn or
horse-shoe, which was a token of the pagan god. Although not susceptible
of proof, it seems highly probable that we have here another relic of
idolatry. It is a point worthy of note, moreover, that Wodan was not only
an all-powerful deity, corresponding to the Greek Zeus and Roman Jupiter,
but that he was also a great magician, and hence quite naturally the
horse-shoe, as one of his symbols, inherits magical attributes.
In Tuscany a horse-shoe when found is placed in a small red bag with some
hay, which the Tuscans consider also a luck-bringing article, and the
twofold charm is kept in its owner’s bed.[209]
Dr. Robert James, an English physician of the eighteenth century, and
the inventor of a well-known fever-powder, ascribed his success in
acquiring a fortune to his good luck in having once found a horse-shoe
on Westminster Bridge. The sincerity of his faith was attested by the
adoption of the horse-shoe as his family crest.
Brand quotes from John Bell’s MS. “Discourse on Witchcraft” (1705) as
follows:—
Guard against devilish charms for Men or Beasts. There are many
sorceries practiced in our day, against which I would on this
occasion bear my testimony, and do therefore seriously ask you,
what is it you mean by your observation of Times and Seasons as
lucky or unlucky? What mean you by your many Spells, Verses,
Words, so often repeated, said fasting or going backward? How
mean you to have success by carrying about with you certain
Herbs, Plants, and branches of Trees? Why is it that, fearing
certain events, you do use such superstitious means to prevent
them, by laying bits of Timber at Doors, carrying a Bible
merely for a Charm, without any farther use of it? What intend
ye by opposing Witchcraft to Witchcraft, in such sort that,
when ye suppose one to be bewitched, ye endeavour his Relief
by Burnings, Bottles, Horse-shoes, and such like magical
ceremonies?
In some Roman Catholic countries the priests are wont to brand cows
and pigs on the forehead with the mark of a horse-shoe, to insure them
against disease.[210] It was, moreover, an old Scotch superstition, or
_freet_, to pass a horse-shoe thrice beneath the belly and over the back
of a cow that was considered elf-shot.[211]
Among the Wendish inhabitants of the _Spreewald_, in North Germany, the
lucky finder of a horse-shoe is careful not to tell any neighbor of his
good fortune, but proceeds at once to fasten the shoe over the door of
his house, or on the threshold, with three nails, and by three blows of a
hammer, so that evil spirits may not enter.
We have seen that a horse-shoe picked up on the road is often prized as
no mean acquisition by the finder thereof. It may not be out of place
to give here a literal translation of a spell for the protection of a
horse’s hoof when a shoe has been lost. The original appeared in Mone’s
“Anzeiger” in 1834, and is written in the dialect known as “Middle High
German,” which was in vogue from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries:—
When a horse has lost one of its iron shoes, take a bread-knife
and incise the hoof at the edge from one heel to the other,
and lay the knife crosswise on the sole and say: “I command
thee, hoof and horn, that thou breakest as little as God the
Lord broke his Word, when he created heaven and earth.” And
thou shalt say these words three hours in succession, and five
_Paternosters_ and five _Ave Marias_ to the praise of the
Virgin. Then the horse will not walk lame until thou happenest
to reach a smithy.
The Germans have a saying in regard to a young girl who has been led
astray,—“She has lost a horse-shoe.” This saying has been associated with
the shoe as a symbol of marriage, an idea found both in the northern and
Indian mythologies. But the phrase has been also thought to refer to
the horse-shoe shaped _gloria_ which crowns the head of the Virgin, the
horse-shoe thus becoming the symbol of maidenly chastity.[212] Again, it
has been suggested, in reference to the same phrase, that the horse-shoe
is a symbol of the V (or first letter of the word _Virgo_), which is used
in church records to designate the unmarried state, just as the word
“spinster” is used in legal documents.
The ancient Irish were wont to hang up in their houses the feet and legs
of their deceased steeds, setting an especial value upon the hoofs;[213]
and with the Chinese of to-day a horse’s hoof hung up indoors is
supposed to have the same protective influence over a dwelling that a
horse-shoe has elsewhere. In southwestern Germany it is still a common
practice to nail a hoof over the stable-door; and in the Netherlands a
horse’s foot placed in a stable is thought to keep the horses from being
bewitched.[214]
Burton, in his “Anatomy of Melancholy,” admits a belief in the virtues of
a ring made from the hoof of the right foot of an ass, when carried about
as an amulet.
Occasionally, though rarely, the horse-shoe is thought to have been
employed by the witches themselves in furtherance of their mischievous
designs.
In the “Revue des traditions populaires,” vol. ii. 1887, an anecdote is
related of a veteran Polish cavalryman who had served under Napoleon I.
While bivouacking with a detachment of lancers in a village of eastern
Prussia, he and several others lodged in the house of an old peasant
woman, and their horses were accommodated in her barn. It was shortly
noticed that the animals appeared depressed and refused the hay and
grain provided for them, whereupon the soldiers concluded that they were
under some spell and began a search for the cause. They soon found an
old horse-shoe with three nails remaining in it, and one of these was
quickly driven out with a hammer. Instantly the horses began to snort
and exhibited signs of restlessness. On the removal of the second nail
they held up their heads proudly, and when the third nail was hammered
out they fell upon their provender and devoured it voraciously. The
cavalrymen were now convinced that their horses had been the victims of
some deviltry at the hands of their hostess, whom they believed to be
a sorceress. Before their departure, therefore, they gave her a good
beating with their sabre scabbards to teach her not to practice her
nefarious arts upon the horses of honest people.