1. Within recent years two horse-shoes were to be seen on the door of the
parish church of Haccombe in Derbyshire. A romantic legend associated
with these horse-shoes is the theme of a ballad supposed to have been
written by a master of Exeter Grammar School in the early part of the
nineteenth century. The ballad graphically describes a race for a wager
between a certain Earl of Totnes, mounted on a Derbyshire roan, and one
Sir Arthur Champernowne, on a fleet Barbary courser. The race was won by
the earl, who thereupon rode straight to the door of Haccombe Church,
And there he fell on his knees and prayed,
And many an _Ave Maria_ said;
Bread and money he gave to the poor,
And he nailed the roan’s shoes to the chapel door.[227]
2. In the traditionary lore of the Harz Mountains there is a weird tale
of four horse-shoes, which for ages were to be seen on the door of a
church in the suburbs of Klettenburg.
Once upon a time, so runs the story, a great drinking-match was held
on a Sunday morning at Elrich. The prize was a golden chain, and many
knights assembled from near and far. The carousal lasted for some hours,
until Count Ernest of Klettenburg, the only one who could still keep
on his feet, exultantly claimed the golden chain, which he hung about
his neck. Then, mounting his horse, he rode homeward, and while nearing
Klettenburg he heard the strains of even-song in a church dedicated to
St. Nicholas. Urging on his steed, he rode madly through the open door
straight to the altar. Then, so runs the legend, the horse’s four shoes
fell off, and horse and rider sank down together out of sight. In memory
of this wonderful event, the four horse-shoes were placed on the door
of the church, and for many years were regarded with awe by the simple
countryfolk.[228]
3. In the construction of the Church of St. Stephen, at Tangermünde,
in Prussian Saxony, a brick edifice of the fourteenth century, the
members of two guilds, those of the blacksmiths and shoemakers, were of
especial assistance; and in remembrance of this, a horse-shoe and an
iron shoe-sole were built into the outer wall of the church. The former
indicates that up to its level the blacksmiths had built the walls, and
the latter shows that all the work above the horse-shoe was done by the
shoemakers; such, at least, is the popular explanation, which may well be
received _cum grano salis_.
4. In the parish church of Schwarzenstein, in east Prussia, hang two
horse-shoes as reminders of the following tradition: In the village of
Eichmedien, one mile from Rastenburg, lived formerly as tavern-keeper
a woman, who had earned an unenviable notoriety by her practice of
charging double the proper fees for board and lodging. Late one night,
when several of her guests accused her of being a cheat, she asseverated
her honesty by holding up her hand, and saying in the form of an oath:
“If my score is not correct, may the Devil now jump on my back.” The
Evil One took the woman promptly at her word, transformed her into a
mare, and rode her out of the village, laughing scornfully. At headlong
speed he rode to a blacksmith’s shop in Schwarzenstein, and demanded
that his mare be shod at once. The blacksmith, routed out of his
sleep, excused himself, pleading the lateness of the hour and the fact
that there was no fire in his forge. The Devil insisted, however, and
promised liberal payment if the work were done quickly. The blacksmith
yielded at length, but had not proceeded far in shaping the shoes when
the mare began to speak. “My cousin, don’t you know me?” she said; “I
am the tavern-keeper.” Upon this the blacksmith was so horrified that
neither threats nor entreaties could prevail to make him proceed with
the shoeing, and before he had finished the third shoe a cock crowed,
and immediately the spell was broken and the woman reassumed her own
form. And to point the moral of this legend, and as a warning to cheats,
the two horse-shoes which the smith had completed were nailed up in the
village church at Schwarzenstein.
5. According to an old tradition, the Lapp king, Olaf Skötkonung
(995-1030), wishing to become a Christian, asked his royal contemporary,
Ethelred II. of England, to send him a teacher. In response to this
request Bishop Siegfried and three missionaries came to Sweden, and,
landing on the southwestern coast, encamped the first night at Wexio, on
Lake Sodre. Here the bishop saw in a vision a great company of angels,
and thereupon determined to build a church at that place. The pagan
inhabitants, however, were hostile to the undertaking, and seized the
three missionaries, Winaman, Unaman, and Sunaman, whom they beheaded, and
caused their heads to be thrown into the water.
One night soon after this sad event Siegfried was walking along the
shore of the lake, sighing and praying, when he espied three luminous
objects approaching on the water, borne onward by the waves, and soon
he recognized them as the heads of his friends. And, behold, the first
head said, “The dead shall be avenged.” And a voice from the second head
exclaimed, “When?” Then replied the third head in solemn tones, “On
their children and children’s children.” This prophecy was not, however,
fulfilled to the letter, for through Siegfried’s intercession Olaf
consented to spare the lives of the murderers, on condition that they
should build a Christian church in Wexio; and this church, which still
exists, has on its coat-of-arms, or seal, the representation of three
severed heads, in memory of the occurrence and its legend. In this church
hung formerly a shoe of Wodan’s famous steed Sleipnir, as a souvenir of
the following tradition: When the church bells rang for the first time
to summon the people to mass, Wodan came riding over the mountains, and,
when nearing Wexio, Sleipnir, in a sudden fright, struck a rock with one
of his feet, and the impress of the powerful blow remains in the rock to
this day. But the shoe fell off and was placed in the church.[229]
6. Many years ago, so runs an old legend, a man obtained employment at a
farm in Norway, where, unknown to him, the mistress was a witch. Although
the man had plenty of good wholesome food, he did not thrive upon it, but
became thinner each day. Being troubled at this, he sought the counsel
of a wise man, from whom he learned the true character of his mistress.
He learned, moreover, that she had been in the habit of transforming him
into a horse at night while he slept, and riding him to Troms Church, a
fact which fully accounted for his leanness.
The wise man also gave him a magical ointment, with which to rub his
head at bedtime, and by virtue of which, on awaking the next morning, he
found himself standing by Troms Church with a bridle in his hand, while
behind him were a number of horses bound together by their tails. Soon he
perceived his mistress coming out of the church, and when she was near
enough to him he threw the bridle over her head, and instantly she was
transformed into a handsome mare, which he mounted and rode homeward.
On his way, however, he stopped at a farrier’s and had the animal shod
with four new shoes, and on reaching home he told his master that he had
bought a fine mare, that would be an excellent mate for one which he
already had. His master bought the mare at a good price, but when he took
the bridle off she disappeared, and in her place stood the mistress witch
with new horse-shoes on her hands and feet. Thereupon the man related the
wonderful tale of his experiences, and in consequence thereof the wife
was turned out of doors, and never got rid of the horse-shoes.[230]
7. Once upon a time a gentleman of rank was driving with four horses
along the highway which runs between the towns of Tübingen and Hirschau,
in Würtemberg, and when opposite a roadside chapel he scoffed at a
picture of the Madonna which adorned it. Immediately his horses came to a
standstill, nor could he make them proceed, in spite of vigorous urging.
At length, in this dilemma, a priest was called, who imposed as a penance
the removal of a shoe from the right fore-foot of each horse, and after
this had been done the gentleman was enabled to continue his journey. And
in commemoration of this miracle one of the horse-shoes was nailed upon
the chapel-door, where it was still to be seen in recent years.[231]
8. One Sunday morning a swarthy rider on a black horse rode at full speed
through the village of Nabburg, in Bavaria, directly to the blacksmith’s
shop, to have his horse shod. “Will you not rest on a Sunday?” demanded
the smith. “My steed and I journey to and fro, and care nothing for the
Christian Sunday,” replied the horseman; “therefore shoe my horse in the
Devil’s name, and I counsel thee speak no pious word meanwhile, for no
devout person has yet obtained the mastery over this spirited animal.”
With these words he sprang to the ground and stroked his horse’s flowing
mane. The smith, though ill at ease, began the work, and the horse was
as quiet as if under a spell, much to the astonishment of his master,
who could scarce believe his eyes. Three shoes were quickly set, and the
smith called to his assistant, “Now, then, in God’s name, hand me the
last shoe!” Instantly the fiery steed reared and struck out wildly,
casting a shoe with such force against the wall that it remains to this
day embedded there. But the horse and his rider were seen no more.[232]
9. In a wall on an estate called Ludwigstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, is
to be seen a large stone bearing the imprint of a horse-shoe, wherewith
is associated the following tale: One morning many years ago a horseman
was riding along the road when the church prayer-bell rang, whereupon he
swore an oath and said, “May the Devil take me if I am not again on this
very spot this evening when the bell again sounds.” And indeed he kept
his word, but at the stroke of the evening bell his horse slipped upon
the stone and broke a leg, and the mark of a shoe is still to be seen
there.
10. The Horse-Shoe imprint in the cemetery of the Church of Our Lady
at Munster. During the building of this beautiful Gothic church in the
fourteenth century, the Devil observed its shapely proportions with
increasing displeasure, and bethought himself of various schemes to
hinder the work’s progress. Finally he decided on trying to bewitch the
architect’s senses. Accordingly he braided his hair, arrayed himself in
gay female attire, bedecked with costly jewels, and appeared before the
architect, whom he sought to ensnare with soft words and gifts. But the
latter was not thus to be deceived. Leaning upon his measuring-rod, he
listened unmoved to the beguiling conversation of the pretended belle,
and rejected with scorn the gold and precious stones which she brought
him. Thereupon the Devil became enraged, stamped upon the ground with
vehemence, and disappeared, leaving behind him an evil smell; and the
mark of one of the iron horse-shoes, wherewith he was shod, was deeply
imprinted on a stone in the cemetery, and, according to popular report,
is still to be found there.
The impressions on stone of figures of horse-shoes, of which there are
numerous examples in northern Europe, are regarded by some archæologists
as sacred symbols of the pagans or relics of the cult of Wodan, and as
showing the sites of ancient altars and burial places; while others
maintain that these figures were originally intended as boundary
marks. Numerous traditions associate them with battles fought in these
localities, and in the popular fancy they are imagined to indicate the
favorite haunts of witches, the meeting-places where they held their
revels, the horse-shoe mark being an imprint of the Devil’s foot. These
weird rendezvous were usually on the tops of mountains or hills, and
are still known as Witches’ Dance-Places in different parts of Europe,
especially in Germany.
XX. RECAPITULATION OF THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF THE HORSE-SHOE
SUPERSTITION
In the preceding pages an attempt has been made to furnish plausible
reasons for the horse-shoe’s universal popularity both as an amulet and
as a token of good luck. It is evident, however, that this superstition
cannot be referred to any one particular starting-point. Just as the
sources of a river may be manifold, consisting of numerous springs and
tributaries, so, too, the belief in the horse-shoe’s magical virtues is
of complex origin, and can be traced to diverse beginnings.
It may be profitable, therefore, briefly to enumerate the different
theories which have been advanced:—
1. At the _rite of the Passover_, the blood sprinkled upon the lintel
and door-posts formed the chief points of an arch. Hence the value of
arch-shaped talismans.
2. The magical virtue of the horse-shoe against witches and fiends has
been attributed to its _bifurcated form_, and to its resemblance to the
_lunar crescent_. Charms of similar shape are known to have been in use
among the ancient Chaldeans and Egyptians.
3. _Iron_ and _steel_, metals having traditional power against
evil-disposed fairies and goblins.
4. The _serpentine shape_. Serpent-worship was nearly universal among
primitive peoples, and amuletic symbols of this form were in use in the
days of ancient Rome.
5. The so-called _horse-shoe arch_ as typifying a beneficent, protecting
power.
6. The ancient conception of the earth as having the shape of a _round
boat turned upside down_ and corresponding to the Egyptian _Put-sign_.
7. _The Horse._ This animal was worshiped among the early Germanic
tribes, and an English myth accredits to it luck-bringing qualities.