M178 The Midsummer fires in America.

550 K. von den Steinen, _Unter den Natur-Völkern Zentral-Brasiliens_

(Berlin, 1894), p. 561.

551 Alcide d’Orbigny, _Voyage dans l’Amérique Méridionale_, ii. (Paris

and Strasbourg, 1839-1843), p. 420; D. Forbes, “On the Aymara

Indians of Bolivia and Peru,” _Journal of the Ethnological Society

of London_, ii. (1870) p. 235.

M179 The Midsummer fires among the Mohammedans of Morocco and Algeria.

552 Edmond Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers,

1908), pp. 566 _sq._ For an older but briefer notice of the

Midsummer fires in North Africa, see Giuseppe Ferraro,

_Superstizioni, Usi e Proverbi Monferrini_ (Palermo, 1886), pp. 34

_sq._: “Also in Algeria, among the Mussalmans, and in Morocco, as

Alvise da Cadamosto reports in his _Relazione dei viaggi d’Africa_,

which may be read in Ramusio, people used to hold great festivities

on St. John’s Night; they kindled everywhere huge fires of straw

(the _Palilia_ of the Romans), in which they threw incense and

perfumes the whole night long in order to invoke the divine blessing

on the fruit-trees.” See also Budgett Meakin, _The Moors_ (London,

1902), p. 394: “The Berber festivals are mainly those of Islam,

though a few traces of their predecessors are observable. Of these

the most noteworthy is Midsummer or St. John’s Day, still celebrated

in a special manner, and styled _El ’Anṣarah_. In the Rîf it is

celebrated by the lighting of bonfires only, but in other parts

there is a special dish prepared of wheat, raisins, etc., resembling

the frumenty consumed at the New Year. It is worthy of remark that

the Old Style Gregorian calendar is maintained among them, with

corruptions of Latin names.”

553 Edward Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_,

xvi. (1905) pp. 28-30; _id._, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with

Agriculture, Certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather_

(Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 79-83.

M180 Beneficial effect ascribed to the smoke of the fires. Ill luck

supposed to be burnt in the Midsummer fires.

554 E. Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xvi.

(1905) pp. 30 _sq._; _id._, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with

Agriculture_, etc., pp. 83 _sq._

M181 The Midsummer festival in North Africa comprises rites concerned

with water as well as with fire.

555 Edmond Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers,

1908), pp. 567 _sq._

556 E. Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xvi.

(1905) pp. 31 _sq._; _id._, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with

Agriculture_, etc., pp. 84-86.

M182 The Midsummer festival in North Africa is probably older than

Mohammedanism. Some Mohammedans of North Africa kindle fires and

observe water ceremonies at their movable New Year. Water ceremonies

at New Year in Morocco.

557 See K. Vollers, in Dr. James Hastings’s _Encyclopaedia of Religion

and Ethics_, iii. (Edinburgh, 1910) _s.v._ “Calendar (Muslim),” pp.

126 _sq._ However, L. Ideler held that even before the time of

Mohammed the Arab year was lunar and vague, and that intercalation

was only employed in order to fix the pilgrimage month in autumn,

which, on account of the milder weather and the abundance of food,

is the best time for pilgrims to go to Mecca. See L. Ideler,

_Handbuch der mathematischen und techischen Chronologie_ (Berlin,

1825-1826), ii. 495 _sqq._

558 E. Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_, pp. 496, 509,

532, 543, 569. It is somewhat remarkable that the tenth, not the

first, day of the first month should be reckoned New Year’s Day.

559 E. Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xvi.

(1905) pp. 40-42.

M183 The rites of fire and water at Midsummer and New Year in Morocco

seem to be identical in character; the duplication of the festival

is probably due to a conflict between the solar calendar of the

Romans and the lunar calendar of the Arabs. The Midsummer festival

in Morocco seems to be of Berber origin.

560 E. Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers,

1908), pp. 541 _sq._

561 E. Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xvi.

(1905) p. 42; _id._, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with

Agriculture, Certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather in

Morocco_ (Helsingfors, 1913), p. 101.

562 E. Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xvi.

(1905), pp. 42 _sq._, 46 _sq._; _id._, _Ceremonies and Beliefs

connected with Agriculture, etc., in Morocco_, pp. 99 _sqq._

M184 Festivals of fire in August. Russian feast of Florus and Laurus on

August 18th. “Living fire” made by the friction of wood.

563 G. F. Abbott, _Macedonian Folk-lore_ (Cambridge, 1903), pp. 60 _sq._

564 “Narrative of the Adventures of four Russian Sailors, who were cast

in a storm upon the uncultivated island of East Spitzbergen,”

translated from the German of P. L. Le Roy, in John Pinkerton’s

_Voyages and Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), i. 603. This passage is

quoted from the original by (Sir) Edward B. Tylor, _Researches into

the Early History of Mankind_, Third Edition (London, 1878), pp. 259

_sq._

M185 Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin on the eighth of September at

Capri and Naples.

M186 The Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin may have replaced a pagan

festival.

565 See _The Scapegoat_, pp. 166 _sq._

M187 The coincidence of the Midsummer festival with the summer solstice

implies that the founders of the festival regulated their calendar

by observation of the sun.

M188 On the other hand the Celts divided their year, not by the

solstices, but by the beginning of summer (the first of May) and the

beginning of winter (the first of November). The division seems to

have been neither astronomical nor agricultural but pastoral, being

determined by the times when cattle are driven to and from their

summer pasture.

566 E. K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_ (Oxford, 1903), i. 110 _sqq._

567 In Eastern Europe to this day the great season for driving out the

cattle to pasture for the first time in spring is St. George’s Day,

the twenty-third of April, which is not far removed from May Day.

See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 324 _sqq._ As to

the bisection of the Celtic year, see the old authority quoted by P.

W. Joyce, _The Social History of Ancient Ireland_ (London, 1903),

ii. 390: “The whole year was [originally] divided into two

parts—Summer from 1st May to 1st November, and Winter from 1st

November to 1st May.” On this subject compare (Sir) John Rhys,

_Celtic Heathendom_ (London and Edinburgh, 1888), pp. 460, 514

_sqq._; _id._, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, 1901), i.

315 _sqq._; J. A. MacCulloch, in Dr. James Hastings’s _Encyclopaedia

of Religion and Ethics_, iii. (Edinburgh, 1910) p. 80.

568 See below, p. 225.

M189 The two great Celtic festivals, Beltane and Hallowe’en.

569 Above, pp. 146 _sqq._; _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_,

ii. 59 _sqq._

M190 Hallowe’en (the evening of October 31st) seems to have marked the

beginning of the Celtic year. The many forms of divination resorted

to at Hallowe’en are appropriate to the beginning of a New Year.

Hallowe’en also a festival of the dead.

570 (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Folk-lore, Manx and Welsh_ (Oxford, 1901),

i. 316, 317 _sq._; J. A. MacCulloch, in Dr. James Hastings’s

_Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics_, iii. (Edinburgh, 1910)

_s.v._ “Calendar,” p. 80, referring to Kelly, _English and Manx

Dictionary_ (Douglas, 1866), _s.v._ “Blein.” Hogmanay is the popular

Scotch name for the last day of the year. See Dr. J. Jamieson,

_Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, New Edition

(Paisley, 1879-1882), ii. 602 _sq._

571 (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_, i. 316 _sq._

572 Above, p. 139.

573 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 309-318. As I have

there pointed out, the Catholic Church succeeded in altering the

date of the festival by one day, but not in changing the character

of the festival. All Souls’ Day is now the second instead of the

first of November. But we can hardly doubt that the Saints, who have

taken possession of the first of November, wrested it from the Souls

of the Dead, the original proprietors. After all, the Saints are

only one particular class of the Souls of the Dead; so that the

change which the Church effected, no doubt for the purpose of

disguising the heathen character of the festival, is less great than

appears at first sight.

574 In Wales “it was firmly believed in former times that on All

Hallows’ Eve the spirit of a departed person was to be seen at

midnight on every cross-road and on every stile” (Marie Trevelyan,

_Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_, London, 1909, p. 254).

M191 Fairies and hobgoblins let loose at Hallowe’en. Dancing with the

fairies at Hallowe’en.

575 E. J. Guthrie, _Old Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow, 1885), p.

68.

576 A. Goodrich-Freer, “More Folk-lore from the Hebrides,” _Folk-lore_,

xiii. (1902) p. 53.

577 (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London and Edinburgh, 1888),

p. 516.

578 P. W. Joyce, _A Social History of Ancient Ireland_ (London, 1903),

i. 264 _sq._, ii. 556.

579 (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_, p. 516.

580 Rev. John Gregorson Campbell, _Superstitions of the Highlands and

Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1900), pp. 61 _sq._

581 Ch. Rogers, _Social Life in Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1884-1886), iii.

258-260.

M192 Guleesh and the revels of the fairies at Hallowe’en.

582 Douglas Hyde, _Beside the Fire, a Collection of Irish Gaelic Folk

Stories_ (London, 1890), pp. 104, 105, 121-128.

M193 Divination resorted to in Celtic countries at Hallowe’en.

583 P. W. Joyce, _Social History of Ancient Ireland_, i. 229.

584 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London,

1909), p. 254.

585 (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_, pp. 514 _sq._ In order to see

the apparitions all you had to do was to run thrice round the parish

church and then peep through the key-hole of the door. See Marie

Trevelyan, _op. cit._ p. 254; J. C. Davies, _Folk-lore of West and

Mid-Wales_ (Aberystwyth, 1911), p. 77.

586 Miss E. J. Guthrie, _Old Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow,

1885), p. 75.

M194 Hallowe’en bonfires in the Highlands of Scotland. John Ramsay’s

account of the Hallowe’en bonfires. Divination from stones at the

fire. Hallowe’en fires in the parishes of Callander and Logierait.

Divination from stones.

587 Rev. John Gregorson Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the

Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 282.

588 Thomas Pennant, “Tour in Scotland, and Voyage to the Hebrides in

1772,” in John Pinkerton’s _Voyages and Travels_, iii. (London,

1809) pp. 383 _sq._ In quoting the passage I have corrected what

seem to be two misprints.

589 John Ramsay, of Ochtertyre, _Scotland and Scotsmen in the Eighteenth

Century_, edited by Alexander Allardyce (Edinburgh and London,

1888), ii. 437 _sq._ This account was written in the eighteenth

century.

590 Rev. James Robertson, Parish minister of Callander, in Sir John

Sinclair’s _Statistical Account of Scotland_, xi. (Edinburgh, 1794),

pp. 621 _sq._

591 Rev. Dr. Thomas Bisset, in Sir John Sinclair’s _Statistical Account

of Scotland_, v. (Edinburgh, 1793) pp. 84 _sq._

M195 Hallowe’en fires on Loch Tay. Hallowe’en fires at Balquhidder.

592 Miss E. J. Guthrie, _Old Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow,

1885), p. 67.

593 James Napier, _Folk Lore, or Superstitious Beliefs in the West of

Scotland within this Century_ (Paisley, 1879), p. 179.

594 J. G. Frazer, “Folk-lore at Balquhidder,” _The Folk-lore Journal_,

vi. (1888) p. 270.

M196 Hallowe’en fires in Buchan to burn the witches. Processions with

torches at Hallowe’en in the Braemar Highlands.

595 Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of

Scotland_ (London, 1881), pp. 167 _sq._

596 Rev. A. Johnstone, as to the parish of Monquhitter, in Sir John

Sinclair’s _Statistical Account of Scotland_, xxi. (Edinburgh, 1799)

pp. 145 _sq._

597 A. Macdonald, “Some former Customs of the Royal Parish of Crathie,

Scotland,” _Folk-lore_, xviii. (1907) p. 85. The writer adds: “In

this way the ‘faulds’ were purged of evil spirits.” But it does not

appear whether this expresses the belief of the people or only the

interpretation of the writer.

M197 Divination at Hallowe’en in the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland.

The stolen kail. Sowing hemp seed. The clue of blue yarn. The

winnowing basket. The wet shirt. The thrown shoe.

598 Rev. John Gregorson Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the

Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), pp. 282 _sq._

599 Robert Burns, _Hallowe’en_, with the poet’s note; Rev. Walter

Gregor, _op. cit._ p. 84; Miss E. J. Guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 69; Rev.

J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 287.

600 R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. Walter Gregor, _l.c._; Miss E. J. Guthrie,

_op. cit._ pp. 70 _sq._; Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 286.

601 R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _l.c._; Miss E. J. Guthrie, _op.

cit._ p. 73; Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 285; A.

Goodrich-Freer, “More Folklore from the Hebrides,” _Folk-lore_,

xiii. (1902) pp. 54 _sq._

602 R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _op. cit._ p. 85; Miss E. J.

Guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 71; Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 285.

According to the last of these writers, the winnowing had to be done

in the devil’s name.

603 R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _l.c._; Miss E. J. Guthrie, _op.

cit._ p. 72; Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 286; A.

Goodrich-Freer, “More Folklore from the Hebrides,” _Folk-lore_,

xiii. (1902) p. 54.

604 Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 283.

M198 The white of eggs in water. The names on the chimney-piece. The nuts

in the fire. The milk and meal. The apples in the water. The three

plates.

605 Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ pp. 283 _sq._; A. Goodrich-Freer,

_l.c._

606 Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 284.

607 R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _op. cit._ p. 85; Miss E. J.

Guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 70; Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 284.

Where nuts were not to be had, peas were substituted.

608 Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 284.

609 Rev. J. G. Campbell, _l.c._ According to my recollection of

Hallowe’en customs observed in my boyhood at Helensburgh, in

Dumbartonshire, another way was to stir the floating apples and then

drop a fork on them as they bobbed about in the water. Success

consisted in pinning one of the apples with the fork.

610 R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _op. cit._ pp. 85 _sq._; Miss E. J

Guthrie, _op. cit._ pp. 72 _sq._; Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p.

287.

M199 The sliced apple. The white of egg in water. The salt cake or salt

herring.

611 R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _op. cit._ p. 85; Miss E. J.

Guthrie, _op. cit._ pp. 69 _sq._; Rev. J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p.

285. It is the last of these writers who gives what may be called

the Trinitarian form of the divination.

612 Miss E. J. Guthrie, _Old Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow,

1885), pp. 74 _sq._

613 A. Goodrich-Freer, “More Folk-lore from the Hebrides,” _Folk-lore_,

xiii. (1902) p. 55.

M200 Hallowe’en fires in Wales. Omens drawn from stones thrown into the

fire. Divination by stones in the ashes.

614 Pennant’s manuscript, quoted by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of

Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), i. 389 _sq._

615 Sir Richard Colt Hoare, _The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through

Wales __A.D.__ MCLXXXVIII. by Giraldus de Barri_ (London, 1806), ii.

315; J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, i. 390. The passage quoted in

the text occurs in one of Hoare’s notes on the Itinerary. The

dipping for apples, burning of nuts, and so forth, are mentioned

also by Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_

(London, 1909), pp. 253, 255.

616 (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London and Edinburgh, 1888),

pp. 515 _sq._ As to the Hallowe’en bonfires in Wales compare J. C.

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

77.

617 See above, p. 183.

618 See above, p. 231.

M201 Divination as to love and marriage at Hallowe’en in Wales.

619 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London,

1909), pp. 254 _sq._

M202 Divination at Hallowe’en in Ireland.

620 (General) Charles Vallancey, _Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis_, iii.

(Dublin, 1786), pp. 459-461.

M203 Divination at Hallowe’en in Queen’s County. Divination at Hallowe’en

in County Leitrim. Divination at Hallowe’en in County Roscommon.

621 Miss A. Watson, quoted by A. C. Haddon, “A Batch of Irish

Folk-lore,” _Folk-lore_, iv. (1893) pp. 361 _sq._

622 Leland L. Duncan, “Further Notes from County Leitrim,” _Folk-lore_,

v. (1894) pp. 195-197.

623 H. J. Byrne, “All Hallows Eve and other Festivals in Connaught,”

_Folk-lore_, xviii. (1907) pp. 437 _sq._

M204 Hallowe’en fires in the Isle of Man. Divination at Hallowe’en in the

Isle of Man.

624 Joseph Train, _Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of

Man_ (Douglas, Isle of Man, 1845), ii. 123; (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic

Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, 1901), i. 315 _sqq._

625 (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, 1901),

i. 318-321.

M205 Hallowe’en fires and divination in Lancashire. Candles lighted to

keep off the witches. Divination at Hallowe’en in Northumberland.

Hallowe’en fires in France.

626 John Harland and T. T. Wilkinson, _Lancashire Folk-lore_ (Manchester

and London, 1882), pp. 3 _sq._

627 J. Harland and T. T. Wilkinson, _op. cit._ p. 140.

628 Annie Milner, in William Hone’s _Year Book_ (London, preface dated

January, 1832), coll. 1276-1279 (letter dated June, 1831); R. T.

Hampson, _Medii Acvi Kalendarium_ (London, 1841), i. 365; T. F.

Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), p. 395.

_ 629 County Folk-lore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected by M. C.

Balfour (London, 1904), p. 78. Compare W. Henderson, _Notes on the

Folk-lore of the Northern Counties of England_ (London, 1879), pp.

96 _sq._

630 Baron Dupin, in _Mémoires publiées par la Société Royale des

Antiquaires de France_, iv. (1823) p. 108.

M206 A Midwinter festival of fire. Christmas the continuation of an old

heathen festival of the sun.

631 The evidence for the solar origin of Christmas is given in _Adonis,

Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp 254-256.

M207 The Yule log is the Midwinter counterpart of the Midsummer bonfire.

632 For the various names (Yu-batch, Yu-block, Yule-log, etc.) see

Francis Grose, _Provincial Glossary_, New Edition (London, 1811), p.

141; Joseph Wright, _The English Dialect Dictionary_ (London,

1898-1905), vi. 593, _s.v._ “Yule.”

633 “I am pretty confident that the Yule block will be found, in its

first use, to have been only a counterpart of the Midsummer fires,

made within doors because of the cold weather at this winter

solstice, as those in the hot season, at the summer one, are kindled

in the open air” (John Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great

Britain_, London, 1882-1883, i. 471). His opinion is approved by W.

Mannhardt (_Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstämme_, p.

236).

M208 The Yule log in Germany and Switzerland.

634 “_Et arborem in nativitate domini ad festivum ignem suum adducendam

esse dicebat_” (quoted by Jacob Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i.

522).

635 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher

Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 12. The Sieg and Lahn are two

rivers of Central Germany, between Siegen and Marburg.

636 J. H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Sagen, Lieder, Sprüchwörter und Räthsel

des Eifler Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i. 4.

637 Adalbert Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus Westfalen_

(Leipsic, 1859), ii. § 319, pp. 103 sq.

638 A. Kuhn, _op. cit._ ii. § 523, p. 187.

639 August Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_

(Vienna, 1878), p. 172.

640 E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Bräuche des Schweizervolkes_ (Zurich,

1913), pp. 108 _sq._

M209 The Yule log in Belgium.

641 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels,

1861-1862), ii. 326 _sq._ Compare J. W. Wolf, _Beiträge zur

deutschen Mythologie_ (Göttingen, 1852-1858), i. 117.

M210 The Yule log in France.

642 J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_5 (Paris, 1741), i. 302

_sq._; Eugène Cortet, _Essai sur les Fêtes Religieuses_ (Paris,

1867), pp. 266 _sq._

M211 French superstitions as to the Yule log.

643 J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_ (Paris, 1679), p 323.

M212 The Yule log at Marseilles and in Perigord. Virtues ascribed to the

charcoal and ashes of the burnt log. The Yule log in Berry.

644 Aubin-Louis Millin, _Voyage dans les Départements du Midi de la

France_ (Paris, 1807-1811), iii. 336 _sq._ The fire so kindled was

called _caco fuech_.

645 Alfred de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de

France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 151 _sq._ The three festivals

during which the Yule log is expected to burn are probably Christmas

Day (December 25th), St. Stephen’s Day (December 26th), and St. John

the Evangelist’s Day (December 27th). Compare J. L. M. Noguès, _Les

Mœurs d’autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ (Saintes, 1891), pp.

45-47. According to the latter writer, in Saintonge it was the

mistress of the house who blessed the Yule log, sprinkling salt and

holy water on it; in Poitou it was the eldest male who officiated.

The log was called the _cosse de Nô_.

646 Laisnel de Salle, _Croyances et Légendes du Centre de la France_

(Paris, 1875), i. 1-3.

M213 The Yule log in Normandy and Brittany.

647 Jules Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau,

1883-1887), ii. 291. The author speaks of the custom as still

practised in out-of-the-way villages at the time when he wrote. The

usage of preserving the remains of the Yule-log (called _tréfouet_)

in Normandy is mentioned also by Melle Amélie Bosquet, _La

Nortnandie Romanesque et Merveilleuse_ (Paris and Rouen, 1845), p.

294.

648 A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes, et Traditions des Provinces de

France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), p. 256.

649 Paul Sébillot, _Coutumes populaires de la Haute-Bretagne_ (Paris,

1886), pp. 217 sq.

M214 The Yule log in the Ardennes.

650 Albert Meyrac, _Traditions, Coutumes, Légendes et Contes des

Ardennes_ (Charleville, 1890), pp. 96 _sq._

651 See above, p. 251.

652 Lerouze, in _Mémoires de l’Academie Celtique_, iii. (1809) p. 441,

quoted by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London,

1882-1883), i. 469 note.

M215 The Yule log in the Vosges. The Yule log in Franche-Comté and

Burgundy.

653 L. F. Sauvé, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), pp. 370

_sq._

654 Charles Beauquier, _Les Mois en Franche-Comté_ (Paris, 1900), p.

183.

655 A. de Nore, Coutumes, _Mythes, et Traditions des Provinces de

France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 302 _sq._

M216 The Yule log and the Yule candle in England.

656 John Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London,

1882-1883), i. 467.

657 J. Brand, _op. cit._ i. 455; _The Denham Tracts_, edited by Dr.

James Hardy (London, 1892-1895), ii. 25 _sq._

658 Herrick, _Hesperides_, “Ceremonies for Christmasse”:

“_Come, bring with a noise,_

_ My merrie merrie boyes,_

_ The Christmas log to the firing; ..._

_ With the last yeeres brand_

_ Light the new block._”

And, again, in his verses, “Ceremonies for Candlemasse Day”:

“_Kindle the Christmas brand, and then_

_ Till sunne-set let it burne;_

_ Which quencht, then lay it up agen,_

_ Till Christmas next returne._

_ Part must be kept, wherewith to teend_

_ The Christmas log next yeare;_

_ And where ’tis safely kept, the fiend_

_ Can do no mischiefe there._”

See _The Works of Robert Herrick_ (Edinburgh, 1823), vol. ii. pp.

91, 124. From these latter verses it seems that the Yule log was

replaced on the fire on Candlemas (the second of February).

659 Miss C. S. Burne and Miss G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_

(London, 1883), p. 398 note 2. See also below, pp. 257, 258, as to

the Lincolnshire, Herefordshire, and Welsh practice.

M217 The Yule log in the North of England, in Lincolnshire, Warwickshire,

Shropshire, Herefordshire. The Yule log in Wales.

660 Francis Grose, _Provincial Glossary_, Second Edition (London, 1811),

pp. 141 _sq._; T. F. Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_

(London, 1876), p. 466.

_ 661 County Folk-lore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected by M. C.

Balfour and edited by Northcote W. Thomas (London, 1904), p. 79.

_ 662 County Folk-lore_, vol. ii. _North Riding of Yorkshire, York and

the Ainsty_, collected and edited by Mrs. Gutch (London, 1901), pp.

273, 274, 275 _sq._

_ 663 County Folk-lore_, vol. vi. _East Riding of Yorkshire_, collected

and edited by Mrs. Gutch (London, 1912), pp. 23, 118, compare p.

114.

664 John Aubrey, _Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme_ (London, 1881),

p. 5.

_ 665 County Folk-lore_, vol. v. _Lincolnshire_, collected by Mrs. Gutch

and Mabel Peacock (London, 1908), p. 219. Elsewhere in Lincolnshire

the Yule-log seems to have been called the Yule-clog (_op. cit._ pp.

215, 216).

666 Mrs. Samuel Chandler (Sarah Whateley), quoted in _The Folk-lore

Journal_, i. (1883), pp. 351 _sq._

667 Miss C. S. Burne and Miss G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_

(London, 1883), pp. 397 _sq._ One of the informants of these writers

says (_op. cit._ p. 399): “In 1845 I was at the Vessons farmhouse,

near the Eastbridge Coppice (at the northern end of the

Stiperstones). The floor was of flags, an unusual thing in this

part. Observing a sort of roadway through the kitchen, and the flags

much broken, I enquired what caused it, and was told it was from the

horses’ hoofs drawing in the ‘Christmas Brund.’ ”

668 Mrs. Ella Mary Leather, _The Folk-lore of Herefordshire_ (Hereford

and London, 1912), p. 109. Compare Miss C. S. Burne, “Herefordshire

Notes,” _The Folk-lore Journal_, iv. (1886) p. 167.

669 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London,

1909), p. 28.

M218 The Yule log in Servia. The cutting of the oak tree to form the Yule

log.

M219 Prayers to Colleda.

M220 The bringing in of the Yule log.

670 “In earlier ages, and even so late as towards the middle of the

nineteenth century, the Servian village organisation and the Servian

agriculture had yet another distinguishing feature. The dangers from

wild beasts in old time, the want of security for life and property

during the Turkish rule, or rather misrule, the natural difficulties

of the agriculture, more especially the lack in agricultural

labourers, induced the Servian peasants not to leave the parental

house but to remain together on the family’s property. In the same

yard, within the same fence, one could see around the ancestral

house a number of wooden huts which contained one or two rooms, and

were used as sleeping places for the sons, nephews and grandsons and

their wives. Men and women of three generations could be often seen

living in that way together, and working together the land which was

considered as common property of the whole family. This expanded

family, remaining with all its branches together, and, so to say,

under the same roof, working together, dividing the fruits of their

joint labours together, this family and an agricultural association

in one, was called _Zadrooga_ (The Association). This combination of

family and agricultural association has morally, economically,

socially, and politically rendered very important services to the

Servians. The headman or chief (called _Stareshina_) of such family

association is generally the oldest male member of the family. He is

the administrator of the common property and director of work. He is

the executive chairman of the association. Generally he does not

give any order without having consulted all the grown-up male

members of the _Zadrooga_” (Chedo Mijatovich, _Servia and the

Servians_, London, 1908, pp. 237 _sq._). As to the house-communities

of the South Slavs see further Og. M. Utiešenovič, _Die

Hauskommunionen der Südslaven_ (Vienna, 1859); F. Demelié, _Le Droit

Coutumier des Slaves Méridionaux_ (Paris, 1876), pp. 23 _sqq._; F.

S. Krauss, _Sitte und Brauch der Südslaven_ (Vienna, 1885), pp. 64

_sqq._ Since Servia, freed from Turkish oppression, has become a

well-regulated European state, with laws borrowed from the codes of

France and Germany, the old house-communities have been rapidly

disappearing (Chedo Mijatovich, _op. cit._ p. 240).

M221 The ceremony with the straw. The Yule candle.

M222 The roast pig. The drawing of the water.

M223 The Christmas visiter (_polaznik_).

671 Chedo Mijatovich, _Servia and the Servians_ (London, 1908), pp.

98-105.

M224 The Yule log among the Servians of Slavonia. The Christmas visiter

(_polazenik_).

672 Baron Rajacsich, _Das Leben, die Sitten und Gebräuche der im

Kaiserthume Oesterreich lebenden Südslaven_ (Vienna, 1873), pp.

122-128.

M225 The Yule log among the Servians of Dalmatia, Herzegovina, and

Montenegro. The Yule log in Albania.

673 Baron Rajacsich, _Das Leben, die Sitten und Gebräuche der im

Kaiserthume Oesterreich lebenden Südslaven_ (Vienna, 1873), pp.

129-131. The Yule log (_badnyak_) is also known in Bulgaria, where

the women place it on the hearth on Christmas Eve. See A. Strausz,

_Die Bulgaren_ (Leipsic, 1898), p. 361.

674 M. Edith Durham, _High Albania_ (London, 1909), p. 129.

675 R. F. Kaindl, _Die Huzulen_ (Vienna, 1894) p. 71.

M226 Belief that the Yule log protects against fire and lightning.

676 See above, pp. 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 258.

Similarly at Candlemas people lighted candles in the churches, then

took them home and kept them, and thought that by lighting them at

any time they could keep off thunder, storm, and tempest. See

Barnabe Googe, _The Popish Kingdom_ (reprinted London, 1880), p. 48

_verso_.

677 See above, pp. 248, 250, 251, 257, 258, 263.

678 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 356 _sqq._

679 See above, pp. 248, 249, 250, 251, 264.

M227 Public celebrations of the fire-festival at Midwinter. The bonfire

on Christmas Eve at Schweina in Thuringia.

680 August Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_

(Vienna, 1878), pp. 171 _sq._

M228 Bonfires on Christmas Eve in Normandy.

681 Jules Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau,

1883-1887), ii. 289 _sq._

M229 Bonfires on St. Thomas’s Day in the Isle of Man. The “Burning of the

Clavie” at Burghead on the last day of December. The old rampart at

Burghead.

682 Joseph Train, _Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of

Man_ (Douglas, Isle of Man, 1845), ii. 124, referring to Cregeen’s

_Manx Dictionary_, p. 67.

683 R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_ (London and Edinburgh, 1886), ii.

789-791, quoting _The Banffshire Journal_; Miss C. F. Gordon

Cumming, _In the Hebrides_ (London, 1883), p. 226; Miss E. J.

Guthrie, _Old Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow, 1885), pp.

223-225; Ch. Rogers, _Social Life in Scotland_ (Edinburgh,

1884-1886), iii. 244 _sq._; _The Folk-lore Journal_, vii. (1889) pp.

11-14, 46. Miss Gordon Cumming and Miss Guthrie say that the burning

of the Clavie took place upon Yule Night; but this seems to be a

mistake.

684 Caesar, _De bello Gallico_, vii. 23.

685 Hugh W. Young, F.S.A. Scot., _Notes on the Ramparts of Burghead as

revealed by recent Excavations_ (Edinburgh, 1892), pp. 3 _sqq._;

_Notes on further Excavations at Burghead_ (Edinburgh, 1893), pp. 7

_sqq._ These papers are reprinted from the _Proceedings of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland_, vols. xxv., xxvii. Mr. Young

concludes as follows: “It is proved that the fort at Burghead was

raised by a people skilled in engineering; who used square-headed

nails, axes and chisels of iron; who shot balista stones over 20

lbs. in weight; and whose daily food was the _bos longifrons_. A

people who made paved roads, and sunk artesian wells, and used Roman

beads and pins. The riddle of Burghead should not now be very

difficult to read” (_Notes on further Excavations at Burghead_, pp.

14 _sq._). For a loan of Mr. Young’s pamphlets I am indebted to the

kindness of Sheriff-Substitute David J. Mackenzie of Kilmarnock.

M230 Procession with burning tar-barrels on Christmas Eve (Old Style) at

Lerwick.

686 Robert Cowie, M.A., M.D., _Shetland, Descriptive and Historical_

(Aberdeen, 1871), pp. 127 _sq._; _County Folk-lore_, vol. iii.

_Orkney and Shetland Islands_, collected by G. F. Black and edited

by Northcote W. Thomas (London, 1903), pp. 203 _sq._ A similar

celebration, known as Up-helly-a’, takes place at Lerwick on the

29th of January, twenty-four days after Old Christmas. See _The

Scapegoat_, pp. 167-169. Perhaps the popular festival of Up-helly-a’

has absorbed some of the features of the Christmas Eve celebration.

M231 Persian festival of fire at the winter solstice.

687 Thomas Hyde, _Historia Religionis veterum Persarum_ (Oxford, 1700),

pp. 255-257.

M232 European festivals of fire in seasons of distress and calamity. The

need-fire.

688 On the need-fire see Jacob Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 501

_sqq._; J. W. Wolf, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Göttingen

and Leipsic, 1852-1857), i. 116 _sq._, ii. 378 _sqq._; Adalbert

Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_2 (Gütersloh,

1886), pp. 41 _sqq._; Walter K. Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European

Tradition and Folk-lore_ (London, 1863), pp. 48 _sqq._; W.

Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstämme_

(Berlin, 1875), pp. 518 _sqq._; Charles Elton, _Origins of English

History_ (London, 1882), pp. 293 _sqq._; Ulrich Jahn, _Die deutschen

Opfergebräuche bei Ackerbau und Viehzucht_ (Breslau, 1884), pp. 26

_sqq._ Grimm would derive the name _need_-fire (German, _niedfyr_,

_nodfyr_, _nodfeur_, _nothfeur_) from _need_ (German, _noth_),

“necessity,” so that the phrase need-fire would mean “a forced

fire.” This is the sense attached to it in Lindenbrog’s glossary on

the capitularies, quoted by Grimm, _op. cit._ i. p. 502: “_Eum ergo

ignem_ nodfeur _et nodfyr, quasi necessarium ignem vocant._” C. L.

Rochholz would connect _need_ with a verb _nieten_ “to churn,” so

that need-fire would mean “churned fire.” See C. L. Rochholz,

_Deutscher Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), ii. 149 _sq._ This

interpretation is confirmed by the name _ankenmilch bohren_, which

is given to the need-fire in some parts of Switzerland. See E.

Hoffmann-Krayer, “Fruchtbarkeitsriten im schweizerischen

Volksbrauch,” _Schweizerisches Archiv für Volkskunde_, xi. (1907) p.

245.

M233 The need-fire in the Middle Ages. The need-fire at Neustadt in 1598.

689 “_Illos sacrilegos ignes, quos_ niedfyr _vocant_,” quoted by J.

Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 502; R. Andree, _Braunschweiger

Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), p. 312.

_ 690 Indiculus Superstitionum et Paganiarum_, No. XV., “De _igne fricato

de ligno_ _i.e._ nodfyr.” A convenient edition of the _Indiculus_

has been published with a commentary by H. A. Saupe (Leipsic, 1891).

As to the date of the work, see the editor’s introduction, pp. 4

_sq._

691 Karl Lynker, _Deutsche Sagen und Sitten in hessischen Gauen_2

(Cassel and Göttingen, 1860), pp. 252 _sq._, quoting a letter of the

mayor (_Schultheiss_) of Neustadt to the mayor of Marburg dated 12th

December 1605.

692 Bartholomäus Carrichter, _Der Teutschen Speisskammer_ (Strasburg,

1614), Fol. pag. 17 and 18, quoted by C. L. Rochholz, _Deutscher

Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), ii. 148 _sq._

M234 Method of kindling the need-fire.

693 Joh. Reiskius, _Untersuchung des Notfeuers_ (Frankfort and Leipsic,

1696), p. 51, quoted by J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 502

sq.; R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), p.

313.

M235 The mode of kindling the need-fire about Hildesheim.

694 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 503 _sq._

695 J. Grimm, _op. cit._ i. 504.

M236 The mode of kindling the need-fire in the Mark.

696 Adalbert Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 369.

M237 The mode of kindling the need-fire in Mecklenburg.

697 Karl Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_

(Vienna, 1879-1880), ii. 149-151.

M238 The mode of kindling the need-fire in Hanover.

698 Carl und Theodor Colshorn, _Märchen und Sagen_ (Hanover, 1854), pp.

234-236, from the description of an eye-witness.

M239 The mode of kindling the need-fire in the Harz Mountains.

699 Heinrich Pröhle, _Harzbilder, Sitten und Gebräuche aus dem

Harzgebirge_ (Leipsic, 1855), pp. 74 _sq._ The date of this

need-fire is not given; probably it was about the middle of the

nineteenth century.

M240 The mode of kindling the need-fire in Brunswick.

700 R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), pp. 313

_sq._

701 R. Andree, _op. cit._ pp. 314 _sq._

702 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher

Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 127.

M241 The mode of kindling the need-fire in Silesia and Bohemia.

703 Paul Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_

(Leipsic, 1903-1906), ii. 204.

704 Anton Peter, _Volksthümliches aus Österreichisch - Schlesien_

(Troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 250.

705 Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_

(Prague, 1905), p. 209.

706 C. L. Rochholz, _Deutscher Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), ii.

149.

M242 The use of the need-fire in Switzerland.

707 E. Hoffmann-Krayer, “Fruchtbarkeitsriten im schweizerischen

Volksbrauch,” _Schweizerisches Archiv für Volkskunde_, xi. (1907)

pp. 244-246.

708 E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _op. cit._ p. 246.

M243 The mode of kindling the need-fire in Sweden and Norway. The

need-fire as a protection against witchcraft.

709 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 505.

710 “Old-time Survivals in remote Norwegian Dales,” _Folk-lore_, xx.

(1909) pp. 314, 322 _sq._ This record of Norwegian folk-lore is

translated from a little work _Sundalen og Öksendalens Beskrivelse_

written by Pastor Chr. Glükstad and published at Christiania “about

twenty years ago.”

M244 The need-fire among the Slavonic peoples.

711 Prof. Vl. Titelbach, “Das heilige Feuer bei den Balkanslaven,”

_Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, xiii. (1900) pp. 2 _sq._

We have seen (above, p. 220) that in Russia the need-fire is, or

used to be, annually kindled on the eighteenth of August. As to the

need fire in Bulgaria see also below, pp. 284 _sq._

712 F. S. Krauss, “Altslavische Feuergewinnung,” _Globus_, lix. (1891)

p. 318, quoting P. Ljiebenov, _Baba Ega_ (Trnovo, 1887), p. 44.

M245 The need-fire in Russia, Poland, and Slavonia..

713 F. S. Krauss, _op. cit._ p. 319, quoting _Wisla_, vol. iv. pp. 1,

244 _sqq._

714 F. S. Krauss, _op. cit._ p. 318, quoting Oskar Kolberg, in

_Mazowsze_, vol. iv. p. 138.

715 F. S. Krauss, “Slavische Feuerbohrer,” _Globus_, lix. (1891) p. 140.

The evidence quoted by Dr. Krauss is that of his father, who often

told of his experience to his son.

M246 The need-fire in Servia.

716 Prof. Vl. Titelbach, “Das heilige Feuer bei den Balkanslaven,”

_Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, xiii. (1900) p. 3.

717 See below, vol. ii. pp. 168 _sqq._

M247 The need-fire in Bulgaria.

718 Adolf Strausz, _Die Bulgaren_ (Leipsic, 1898), pp. 194-199.

M248 The need-fire in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

_ 719 Wissenschaftliche Mittheilungen aus Bosnien und der Hercegovina_,

redigirt von Moriz Hoernes, iii. (Vienna, 1895) pp. 574 _sq._

M249 The need-fire in England, in Yorkshire.

720 “_Pro fidei divinae integritate servanda recolat lector quod, cum

hoc anno in Laodonia pestis grassaretur in pecudes armenti, quam

vocant usitate Lungessouth, quidam bestiales, habitu claustrales non

animo, docebant idiotas patriae ignem confrictione de lignis educere

et simulachrum Priapi statuere, et per haec bestiis succurrere_,”

quoted by J. M. Kemble, _The Saxons in England_ (London, 1849), i.

358 _sq._; A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des

Güttertranks_2 (Gütersloh, 1886), p. 43; Ulrich Jahn, _Die deutschen

Opfergebräuche bei Ackerbau und Viehzucht_ (Breslau, 1884) p. 31.

721 W. G. M. Jones Barker, _The Three Days of Wensleydale_ (London,

1854), pp. 90 _sq._; _County Folk-lore_, vol. ii., _North Riding of

Yorkshire, York and the Ainsty_, collected and edited by Mrs. Gutch

(London, 1901), p. 181.

_ 722 The Denham Tracts, a Collection of Folklore by Michael Aislabie

Denham_, edited by Dr. James Hardy (London, 1892-1895), ii. 50.

723 Harry Speight, _Tramps and Drives in the Craven Highlands_ (London,

1895), p. 162. Compare, _id._, _The Craven and North-West Yorkshire

Highlands_ (London, 1892), pp. 206 _sq._

724 J. M. Kemble, _The Saxons in England_ (London, 1849), i. 361 note.

M250 The need-fire in Northumberland.

725 E. Mackenzie, _An Historical, Topographical and Descriptive View of

the County of Northumberland_, Second Edition (Newcastle, 1825), i.

218, quoted in _County Folk-lore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_,

collected by M. C. Balfour (London, 1904), p. 45. Compare J. T.

Brockett, _Glossary of North Country Words_, p. 147, quoted by Mrs.

M. C. Balfour, _l.c._: “_Need-fire_ ... an ignition produced by the

friction of two pieces of dried wood. The vulgar opinion is, that an

angel strikes a tree, and that the fire is thereby obtained.

Need-fire, I am told, is still employed in the case of cattle

infected with the murrain. They were formerly driven through the

smoke of a fire made of straw, etc.” The first edition of Brockett’s

_Glossary_ was published in 1825.

726 W. Henderson, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the Northern Counties of

England and the Borders_ (London, 1879), pp. 167 _sq._ Compare

_County Folk-lore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected by M. C.

Balfour (London, 1904), p. 45. Stamfordham is in Northumberland. The

vicar’s testimony seems to have referred to the first half of the

nineteenth century.

M251 Martin’s account of the need-fire in the Highlands of Scotland.

727 M. Martin, “Description of the Western Islands of Scotland,” in J.

Pinkerton’s _General Collection of Voyages and Travels_, iii.

(London, 1809), p. 611. The second edition of Martin’s book, which

Pinkerton reprints, was published at London in 1716. For John

Ramsay’s account of the need-fire, see above, pp. 147 _sq._

M252 The need-fire in the island of Mull. Sacrifice of a heifer.

728 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 506, referring to Miss Austin

as his authority.

729 As to the custom of sacrificing one of a plague-stricken herd or

flock for the purpose of saving the rest, see below, pp. 300 _sqq._

M253 The need-fire in Caithness.

730 John Jamieson, _Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language_,

New Edition, revised by J. Longmuir and D. Donaldson, iii. (Paisley,

1880) pp. 349 _sq._, referring to “Agr. Surv. Caithn., pp. 200,

201.”

M254 The need-fire in Caithness.

731 R. C. Maclagan, “Sacred Fire,” _Folk-lore_, ix. (1898) pp. 280 _sq._

As to the fire-drill see _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_,

ii. 207 _sqq._

M255 Another account of the need-fire in the Highlands.

732 W. Grant Stewart, _The Popular Superstitions and Festive Amusements

of the Highlanders of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1823), pp. 214-216;

Walter K. Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and

Folk-lore_ (London, 1863), pp. 53 _sq._

M256 Alexander Carmichael’s account of the need-fire in the Highlands of

Scotland during the nineteenth century.

M257 The need-fire in Arran.

M258 The need-fire in North Uist.

M259 The need-fire in Reay, Sutherland.

733 Alexander Carmichael, _Carmina Gadelica_ (Edinburgh, 1900), ii. 340

_sq._

M260 The Beltane fires a precaution against witchcraft.

734 See above, pp. 154, 156, 157, 159 _sq._

_ 735 Census of India, 1911_, vol. xiv. _Punjab_, Part i. _Report_, by

Pandit Harikishan Kaul (Lahore, 1912), p. 302. So in the north-east

of Scotland “those who were born with their feet first possessed

great power to heal all kinds of sprains, lumbago, and rheumatism,

either by rubbing the affected part, or by trampling on it. The

chief virtue lay in the feet. Those who came into the world in this

fashion often exercised their power to their own profit.” See Rev.

Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of

Scotland_ (London, 1881), pp. 45 _sq._

M261 The need-fire in Aberdeenshire.

736 Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of

Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 186. The fumigation of the byres with

juniper is a charm against witchcraft. See J. G. Campbell,

_Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of

Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 11. The “quarter-ill” is a disease of

cattle, which affects the animals only in one limb or quarter. “A

very gross superstition is observed by some people in Angus, as an

antidote against this ill. A piece is cut out of the thigh of one of

the cattle that has died of it. This they hang up within the

chimney, in order to preserve the rest of the cattle from being

infected. It is believed that as long as it hangs there, it will

prevent the disease from approaching the place. It is therefore

carefully preserved; and in case of the family removing, transported

to the new farm, as one of their valuable effects. It is handed down

from one generation to another” (J. Jamieson, _Etymological

Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, revised by J. Longmuir and D.

Donaldson, iii. 575, _s.v._ “Quarter-ill”). See further Rev. W.

Gregor, _op. cit._ pp. 186 _sq._: “The fore-legs of one of the

animals that had died were cut off a little above the knee, and hung

over the fire-place in the kitchen. It was thought sufficient by

some if they were placed over the door of the byre, in the ‘crap o’

the wa’.’ Sometimes the heart and part of the liver and lungs were

cut out, and hung over the fireplace instead of the fore-feet.

Boiling them was at times substituted for hanging them over the

hearth.” Compare W. Henderson, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the

Northern Counties of England and the Borders_ (London, 1879), p.

167: “A curious aid to the rearing of cattle came lately to the

knowledge of Mr. George Walker, a gentleman of the city of Durham.

During an excursion of a few miles into the country, he observed a

sort of rigging attached to the chimney of a farmhouse well known to

him, and asked what it meant. The good wife told him that they had

experienced great difficulty that year in rearing their calves; the

poor little creatures all died off, so they had taken the leg and

thigh of one of the dead calves, and hung it in a chimney by a rope,

since which they had not lost another calf.” In the light of facts

cited below (pp. 315 _sqq._) we may conjecture that the intention of

cutting off the legs or cutting out the heart, liver, and lungs of

the animals and hanging them up or boiling them, is by means of

homoeopathic magic to inflict corresponding injuries on the witch

who cast the fatal spell on the cattle.

M262 The need-fire in Perthshire.

_ 737 The Mirror_, 24th June, 1826, quoted by J. M. Kemble, _The Saxons

in England_ (London, 1849), i. 360 note 2.

M263 The need-fire in Ireland.

738 Leland L. Duncan, “Fairy Beliefs and other Folklore Notes from

County Leitrim,” _Folk-lore_, vii. (1896) pp. 181 _sq._

M264 The use of the need-fire a relic of a time when all fires were

kindled by the friction of wood.

739 (Sir) Edward B. Tylor, _Researches into the Early History of

Mankind_, Third Edition (London, 1878), pp. 237 _sqq._; _The Magic

Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 207 _sqq._

M265 The belief that the need-fire cannot kindle if any other fire

remains alight in the neighbourhood.

740 For some examples of such extinctions, see _The Magic Art and the

Evolution of Kings_, ii. 261 _sqq._, 267 _sq._; _Spirits of the Corn

and of the Wild_, i. 311, ii. 73 _sq._; and above, pp. 124 _sq._,

132-139. The reasons for extinguishing fires ceremonially appear to

vary with the occasion. Sometimes the motive seems to be a fear of

burning or at least singeing a ghost, who is hovering invisible in

the air; sometimes it is apparently an idea that a fire is old and

tired with burning so long, and that it must be relieved of the

fatiguing duty by a young and vigorous flame.

741 Above, pp. 147, 154. The same custom appears to have been observed

in Ireland. See above, p. 158.

M266 The need-fire among the Iroquois of North America.

742 J. N. B. Hewitt, “New Fire among the Iroquois,” _The American

Anthropologist_, ii. (1889) p. 319.

M267 The burnt sacrifice of a calf in England and Wales. Burnt sacrifice

of a pig in Scotland.

743 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 507.

744 See above, p. 290.

745 William Hone, _Every-day Book_ (London, preface dated 1827), i.

coll. 853 _sq._ (June 24th), quoting Hitchin’s _History of

Cornwall_.

746 Hunt, _Romances and Drolls of the West of England_, 1st series, p.

237, quoted by W. Henderson, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the Northern

Counties of England and the Borders_ (London, 1879), p. 149. Compare

J. G. Dalyell, _The Darker Superstitions of Scotland_ (Edinburgh,

1834), p. 184: “Here also may be found a solution of that recent

expedient so ignorantly practised in the neighbouring kingdom, where

one having lost many of his herd by witchcraft, as he concluded,

burnt a living calf to break the spell and preserve the remainder.”

747 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London,

1909), p. 23.

748 W. Henderson, _op. cit._ pp. 148 _sq._

749 Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of

Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 186.

750 R. N. Worth, _History of Devonshire_, Second Edition (London, 1886),

p. 339. The diabolical nature of the toad probably explains why

people in Herefordshire think that if you wear a toad’s heart

concealed about your person you can steal to your heart’s content

without being found out. A suspected thief was overheard boasting,

“They never catches _me_: and they never ooll neither. I allus wears

a toad’s heart round my neck, _I_ does.” See Mrs. Ella M. Leather,

in _Folk-lore_, xxiv. (1913) p. 238.

M268 The calf is burnt in order to break a spell which has been cast on

the herd.

751 Above, p. 301.

752 Robert Hunt, _Popular Romances of the West of England_, Third

Edition (London, 1881), p. 320. The writer does not say where this

took place; probably it was in Cornwall or Devonshire.

753 Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of

Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 184.

M269 Mode in which the burning of a bewitched animal is supposed to break

the spell.

_ 754 County Folk-lore, Printed Extracts, No. 2, Suffolk_, collected and

edited by the Lady Eveline Camilla Gurdon (London, 1893), pp. 190

_sq._, quoting _Some Materials for the History of Wherstead_ by F.

Barham Zincke (Ipswich, 1887), p. 168.

_ 755 County Folk-lore, Printed Extracts, No. 2, Suffolk_, p. 191,

referring to Murray’s _Handbook for Essex, Suffolk_, etc., p. 109.

M270 In burning the bewitched animal you burn the witch herself.

M271 Practice of burning cattle and sheep as sacrifices in the Isle of

Man.

756 (Sir) John Rhys, “Manx Folk-lore and Superstitions,” _Folk-lore_,

ii. (1891) pp. 300-302; repeated in his _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and

Manx_ (Oxford, 1901), i. 306 _sq._ Sir John Rhys does not doubt that

the old woman saw, as she said, a live sheep being burnt on old

May-day; but he doubts whether it was done as a sacrifice. He adds:

“I have failed to find anybody else in Andreas or Bride, or indeed

in the whole island, who will now confess to having ever heard of

the sheep sacrifice on old May-day.” However, the evidence I have

adduced of a custom of burnt sacrifice among English rustics tends

to confirm the old woman’s statement, that the burning of the live

sheep which she witnessed was not an act of wanton cruelty but a

sacrifice performed for the public good.

M272 By burning a bewitched animal you compel the witch to appear.

757 (Sir) John Rhys, “Manx Folk-lore and Superstitions,” _Folk-lore_,

ii. (1891) pp. 299 _sq._; _id._, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_

(Oxford, 1901), i. 304 _sq._ We have seen that by burning the blood

of a bewitched bullock a farmer expected to compel the witch to

appear. See above, p. 303.

M273 Magic sympathy between the witch and the bewitched animal.

M274 Parallel belief in magic sympathy between the animal shape of a

were-wolf and his or her ordinary human shape: by wounding the wolf

you simultaneously wound the man or woman.

758 Olaus Magnus, _Historia de Gentium Septentrionalium Conditionibus_,

lib xviii. cap. 47, p. 713 (ed. Bâle, 1567).

759 Collin de Plancy, _Dictionnaire Infernal_ (Paris, 1825-1826), iii.

473 _sq._, referring to Boguet.

760 Collin de Plancy, _op. cit._ iii. 473.

761 Felix Chapiseau, _Le Folk-lore de la Beauce et du Perche_ (Paris,

1902), i. 239 _sq._ The same story is told in Upper Brittany. See

Paul Sébillot, _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute-Bretagne_

(Paris, 1882), i. 292. It is a common belief that a man who has once

been transformed into a were-wolf must remain a were-wolf for seven

years unless blood is drawn from him in his animal shape, upon which

he at once recovers his human form and is delivered from the bondage

and misery of being a were-wolf. See F. Chapiseau, _op. cit._ i.

218-220; Amélie Bosquet, _La Normandie Romanesque et Merveilleuse_

(Paris and Rouen, 1845), p. 233. On belief in were-wolves in

general, see W. Hertz, _Der Werwolf_ (Stuttgart, 1862); J. Grimm,

_Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 915 _sqq._; (Sir) Edward B. Tylor,

_Primitive Culture_2 (London, 1873), i. 308 _sqq._; R. Andree,

_Ethnographische Parallelen und Vergleiche_ (Stuttgart, 1878), pp.

62-80. In North Germany it is believed that a man can turn himself

into a wolf by girding himself with a strap made out of a wolf’s

hide. Some say that the strap must have nine, others say twelve,

holes and a buckle; and that according to the number of the hole

through which the man inserts the tongue of the buckle will be the

length of time of his transformation. For example, if he puts the

tongue of the buckle through the first hole, he will be a wolf for

one hour; if he puts it through the second, he will be a wolf for

two days; and so on, up to the last hole, which entails a

transformation for a full year. But by putting off the girdle the

man can resume his human form. The time when were-wolves are most

about is the period of the Twelve Nights between Christmas and

Epiphany; hence cautious German farmers will not remove the dung

from the cattle-stalls at that season for fear of attracting the

were-wolves to the cattle. See Adalbert Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und

Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 375; Ulrich Jahn, _Volkssagen aus

Pommern und Rügen_ (Stettin, 1886), pp. 384, 386, Nos. 491, 495.

Down to the time of Elizabeth it was reported that in the county of

Tipperary certain men were annually turned into wolves. See W.

Camden, _Britain_, translated into English by Philemon Holland

(London, 1610), “Ireland,” p. 83.

M275 Were-wolves in China.

762 J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_, v. (Leyden,

1907) P. 548.

M276 Were-wolves among the Toradjas of Central Celebes. The were-wolf in

human shape.

763 A. C. Kruijt, “De weerwolf bij de Toradja’s van Midden-Celebes,”

_Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xli. (1899)

pp. 548-551, 557-560.

764 A. C. Kruijt, _op. cit._ pp. 552 _sq._

765 A. C. Kruijt, _op. cit._ pp. 553. For more evidence of the belief in

were-wolves, or rather in were-animals of various sorts,

particularly were-tigers, in the East Indies, see J. J. M. de Groot,

“De Weertijger in onze Kolonien en op het oostaziatische Vasteland,”

_Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van

Nederlandsch-Indië_, xlix. (1898) pp. 549-585; G. P. Rouffaer,

“Matjan Gadoengan,” _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van

Nederlandsch-Indië_, l. (1899) pp. 67-75; J. Knebel, “De Weertijger

op Midden-Java, den Javaan naverteld,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische

Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xli. (1899) pp. 568-587; L. M. F.

Plate, “Bijdrage tot de kennis van de lykanthropie bij de Sasaksche

bevolking in Oost-Lombok,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en

Volkenkunde_, liv. (1912) pp. 458-469; G. A. Wilken, “Het animisme

bij de volken van den Indischen Archipel,” _Verspreide Geschriften_

(The Hague, 1912), iii. 25-30.

M277 Were-wolves in the Egyptian Sudan.

766 Ernst Marno, _Reisen im Gebiete des blauen und weissen Nil_ (Vienna,

1874), pp. 239 _sq._

M278 The were-wolf story in Petronius.

767 Petronius, _Sat._ 61 _sq._ (pp. 40 _sq._, ed. Fr. Buecheler,3

Berlin, 1882). The Latin word for a were-wolf (_versipellis_) is

expressive: it means literally “skin-shifter,” and is equally

appropriate whatever the particular animal may be into which the

wizard transforms himself. It is to be regretted that we have no

such general term in English.

The bright moonlight which figures in some of these were-wolf

stories is perhaps not a mere embellishment of the tale but has its

own significance; for in some places it is believed that the

transformation of were-wolves into their bestial shape takes place

particularly at full moon. See A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et

Traditions des Provinces de France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 99,

157; J. L. M. Noguès, _Les Mœurs d’autrefois en Saintonge et en

Aunis_ (Saintes, 1891), p. 141.

M279 Witches like were-wolves can temporarily transform themselves into

animals.

768 J. G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and

Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 6: “In carrying out their

unhallowed cantrips, witches assumed various shapes. They became

gulls, cormorants, ravens, rats, mice, black sheep, swelling waves,

whales, and very frequently cats and hares.” To this list of animals

into which witches can turn themselves may be added horses, dogs,

wolves, foxes, pigs, owls, magpies, wild geese, ducks, serpents,

toads, lizards, flies, wasps, and butterflies. See A. Wuttke, _Der

deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 150 § 217; L.

Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_

(Oldenburg, 1867), i. 327 § 220; Ulrich Jahn, _Hexenwesen und

Zauberei in Pommern_ (Breslau, 1886), p. 7. In his _Topography of

Ireland_ (chap. 19), a work completed in 1187 A.D., Giraldus

Cambrensis records that “it has also been a frequent complaint, from

old times as well as in the present, that certain hags in Wales, as

well as in Ireland and Scotland, changed themselves into the shape

of hares, that, sucking teats under this counterfeit form, they

might stealthily rob other people’s milk.” See _The Historical Works

of Giraldus Cambrensis_, revised and edited by Thomas Wright

(London, 1887), p. 83.

_ 769 The Folk-lore Journal_, iv. (1886) p. 266; Collin de Plancy,

_Dictionnaire Infernal_ (Paris, 1825-1826), iii. 475; J. L. M.

Noguès, _Les Mœurs d’autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ (Saintes,

1891), p. 141. In Scotland the cut was known as “scoring above the

breath.” It consisted of two incisions made crosswise on the witch’s

forehead, and was “confided in all throughout Scotland as the most

powerful counter-charm.” See Sir Walter Scott, _Letters on

Demonology and Witchcraft_ (London, 1884), p. 272; J. G. Dalyell,

_The Darker Superstitions of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1834), pp. 531

_sq._; M. M. Banks, “Scoring a Witch above the Breath,” _Folk-lore_,

xxiii. (1912) p. 490.

770 J. L. M. Noguès, _l.c._; L. F. Sauvé, _Le Folk-lore des

Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), p. 187.

771 M. Abeghian, _Der armenische Volksglaube_ (Leipsic, 1899), p. 117.

The wolf-skin is supposed to fall down from heaven and to return to

heaven after seven years, if the were-wolf has not been delivered

from her unhappy state in the meantime by the burning of the skin.

772 J. G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and

Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 8; compare A. Wuttke, _Der

deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 150 § 217. Some think

that the sixpence should be crooked. See Rev. W. Gregor, _Notes on

the Folk-lore of the North-East of Scotland_ (London, 1881), pp. 71

_sq._, 128; _County Folk-lore_, vol. v. _Lincolnshire_, collected by

Mrs. Gutch and Mabel Peacock (London, 1908), p. 75.

773 J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 30.

M280 Wounds inflicted on an animal into which a witch has transformed

herself are inflicted on the witch herself.

774 J. G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 33.

775 (Sir) Edward B. Tylor, _Primitive Culture_2 (London, 1873), i. 314.

776 Joseph Glanvil, _Saducismus Triumphatus or Full and Plain Evidence

concerning Witches and Apparitions_ (London, 1681), Part ii. p. 205.

777 Rev. J. C. Atkinson, _Forty Years in a Moorland Parish_ (London,

1891), pp. 82-84.

_ 778 County Folk-lore_, vol. v. _Lincolnshire_, collected by Mrs. Gutch

and Mabel Peacock (London, 1908), pp. 79, 80.

779 Leland L. Duncan, “Folk-lore Gleanings from County Leitrim,”

_Folk-lore_, iv. (1893) pp. 183 _sq._

M281 Wounded witches in the Vosges.

780 L. F. Sauvé, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), p. 176.

781 L. F. Sauvé, _op. cit._ pp. 176 _sq._

M282 Wounded witches in Swabia.

782 Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_

(Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 184 _sq._, No. 203.

783 E. Meier, _op. cit._ pp. 191 _sq._, No. 215. A similar story of the

shoeing of a woman in the shape of a horse is reported from Silesia.

See R. Kühnau, _Schlesische Sagen_ (Berlin, 1910-1913), iii. pp. 27

_sq._, No. 1380.

M283 The miller’s wife and the two grey cats.

784 R. Kühnau, _Schlesische Sagen_ (Berlin, 1910-1913), iii. pp. 23

_sq._, No. 1375. Compare _id._, iii. pp. 28 _sq._, No. 1381.

M284 The analogy of were-wolves confirms the view that the reason for

burning bewitched animals is either to burn the witch or to compel

her to appear.

785 See for example L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem

Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. pp. 328, 329, 334, 339;

W. von Schulenburg, _Wendische Volkssagen und Gebräuche aus dem

Spreewald_ (Leipsic, 1880), pp. 164, 165 _sq._; H. Pröhle,

_Harzsagen_ (Leipsic, 1859), i. 100 _sq._ The belief in such things

is said to be universal among the ignorant and superstitious in

Germany. See A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin,

1869), p. 150, § 217. In Wales, also, “the possibility of injuring

or marking the witch in her assumed shape so deeply that the bruise

remained a mark on her in her natural form was a common belief” (J.

Ceredig Davies, _Folk-lore of West and Mid-Wales_, Aberystwyth,

1911, p. 243). For Welsh stories of this sort, see J. Ceredig

Davies, _l.c._; Rev. Elias Owen, _Welsh Folk-lore_ (Oswestry and

Wrexham, N.D., preface dated 1896), pp. 228 _sq._; M. Trevelyan,

_Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, 1909), p. 214.

786 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_

(Oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 361, § 239.

M285 There is the same reason for burning bewitched things.

787 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London,

1909), p. 210.

788 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_

(Oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 358, § 238.

789 L. Strackerjan, _op. cit._ i. p. 360, § 238e.

M286 Similarly by burning alive a person whose form a witch has assumed,

you compel the witch to disclose herself. The burning alive of a

supposed witch in Ireland in 1895.

790 “The ‘Witch-burning’ at Clonmell,” _Folk-lore_, vi. (1895) pp.

373-384. The account there printed is based on the reports of the

judicial proceedings before the magistrates and the judge, which

were published in _The Irish Times_ for March 26th, 27th, and 28th,

April 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 8th, and July 6th, 1895.

M287 Sometimes bewitched animals are buried alive instead of being

burned.

791 John Graham Dalyell, _The Darker Superstitions of Scotland_

(Edinburgh, 1834), p. 185. In this passage “quick” is used in the

old sense of “living,” as in the phrase “the quick and the dead.”

_Nois_ is “nose,” _hoill_ is “hole,” _quhilk_ (_whilk_) is “which,”

and _be_ is “by.”

792 J. G. Dalyell, _op. cit._ p. 186. _Bestiall_ = animals; _seik_ =

sick; _calling_ = driving; _guidis_ = cattle.

793 John Ramsay, of Ochtertyre, _Scotland and Scotsmen in the Eighteenth

Century_, edited by Alexander Allardyce (Edinburgh and London,

1888), ii. 446 _sq._ As to the custom of cutting off the leg of a

diseased animal and hanging it up in the house, see above, p. 296,

note 1.

794 (Sir) Arthur Mitchell, A.M., M.D., _On Various Superstitions in the

North-West Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1862), p.

12 (reprinted from the _Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of

Scotland_, vol. iv.).

M288 Calves killed and buried to save the rest of the herd.

_ 795 County Folk-lore_, vol. v. _Lincolnshire_, collected by Mrs. Gutch

and Mabel Peacock (London, 1908), p. 75, quoting Rev. R. M. Heanley,

“The Vikings: traces of their Folklore in Marshland,” a paper read

before the Viking Club, London, and printed in its _Saga-Book_, vol.

iii. Part i. Jan. 1902. The wicken-tree is the mountain-ash or rowan

tree, which is a very efficient, or at all events a very popular

protective against witchcraft. See _County Folk-lore_, vol. v.

_Lincolnshire_, pp. 26 _sq._, 98 _sq._; Mabel Peacock, “The Folklore

of Lincolnshire,” _Folk-lore_, xii. (1901) p. 175; J. G. Campbell,

_Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of

Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), pp. 11 _sq._; Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes

on the Folk-lore of the North-East of Scotland_ (London, 1881), p.

188. See further _The Scapegoat_, pp. 266 _sq._

M289 General resemblance of the European fire-festivals to each other.

796 Above, pp. 116 _sq._, 119, 143, 165, 166, 168 _sq._, 172.

797 Above, pp. 116, 117 _sq._, 119, 141, 143, 161, 162 _sq._, 163 _sq._,

166, 173, 191, 201.

M290 Two explanations suggested of the fire-festivals. According to W.

Mannhardt, they are charms to secure a supply of sunshine; according

to Dr. E. Westermarck they are purificatory, being intended to burn

and destroy all harmful influences.

798 W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstämme_

(Berlin, 1875), pp. 521 _sqq._

799 E. Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xvi.

(1905) pp. 44 _sqq._; _id._, _The Origin and Development of the

Moral Ideas_ (London, 1906-1908), i. 56; _id._, _Ceremonies and

Beliefs connected with Agriculture, certain Dates of the Solar Year,

and the Weather in Morocco_ (Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 93-102.

800 E. Mogk, “Sitten und Gebräuche im Kreislauf des Jahres,” in R.

Wuttke’s _Sächsische Volkskunde_2 (Dresden, 1901), pp. 310 _sq._

M291 The two explanations are perhaps not mutually exclusive.

_ 801 The Golden Bough_, Second Edition (London, 1900), iii. 312: “The

custom of leaping over the fire and driving cattle through it may be

intended, on the one hand, to secure for man and beast a share of

the vital energy of the sun, and, on the other hand, to purge them

of all evil influences; for to the primitive mind fire is the most

powerful of all purificatory agents”; and again, _id._ iii. 314: “It

is quite possible that in these customs the idea of the quickening

power of fire may be combined with the conception of it as a

purgative agent for the expulsion or destruction of evil beings,

such as witches and the vermin that destroy the fruits of the earth.

Certainly the fires are often interpreted in the latter way by the

persons who light them; and this purgative use of the element comes

out very prominently, as we have seen, in the general expulsion of

demons from towns and villages. But in the present class of cases

this aspect of fire may be secondary, if indeed it is more than a

later misinterpretation of the custom.”

M292 Theory that the fire-festivals are charms to ensure a supply of

sunshine.

_ 802 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 311 _sqq._

M293 Coincidence of two of the festivals with the solstices.

803 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 254 _sqq._

M294 Attempt of the Bushmen to warm up the fire of Sirius in midwinter by

kindling sticks.

804 Manilius, _Astronom._ v. 206 _sqq._:

“_Cum vero in vastos surget Nemeaeus hiatus,_

_ Exoriturque Canis, latratque Canicula flammas_

_ Et rabit igne suo geminatque incendia solis,_

_ Qua subdente facem terris radiosque movente_,” etc.

Pliny, _Naturalis Historia_, xviii. 269 _sq._: “_Exoritur dein post

triduum fere ubique confessum inter omnes sidus ingens quod canis

ortum vocamus, sole partem primam leonis ingresso. Hoc fit post

solstitium XXIII. die. Sentiunt id maria et terrae, multae vero et

ferae, ut suis locis diximus. Neque est minor ei veneratio quam

descriptis in deos stellis, accenditque solem et magnam aestus

obtinet causam._”

_ 805 Specimens of Bushman Folklore_, collected by the late W. H. I.

Bleek, Ph.D., and L. C. Lloyd (London, 1911), pp. 339, 341. In

quoting the passage I have omitted the brackets which the editors

print for the purpose of indicating the words which are implied, but

not expressed, in the original Bushman text.

806 “The sun is a little warm, when this star appears in winter”

(Editors of _Specimens of Bushman Folklore_).

807 “With the stick that he had held in the fire, moving it up and down

quickly” (Editors).

808 “They take one arm out of the kaross, thereby exposing one shoulder

blade to the sun” (Editors).

M295 The burning wheels and discs of the fire-festivals may be direct

imitations of the sun.

809 See above, pp. 161, 162 _sq._ On the wheel as an emblem of the sun,

see J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 585; A. Kuhn, _Die

Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_2 (Gütersloh, 1886), pp.

45 _sqq._; H. Gaidoz, “Le dieu gaulois du soleil et le symbolisme de

la roue,” _Revue Archéologique_, iii. Série, iv. (1884) pp. 14

_sqq._; William Simpson, _The Buddhist Praying Wheel_ (London,

1896), pp. 87 _sqq._ It is a popular Armenian idea that “the body of

the sun has the shape of the wheel of a water-mill; it revolves and

moves forward. As drops of water sputter from the mill-wheel, so

sunbeams shoot out from the spokes of the sun-wheel” (M. Abeghian,

_Der armenische Volksglaube_, Leipsic, 1899, p. 41). In the old

Mexican picture-books the usual representation of the sun is “a

wheel, often brilliant with many colours, the rays of which are so

many blood-stained tongues, by means of which the Sun receives his

nourishment” (E. J. Payne, _History of the New World called

America_, Oxford, 1892, i. 521).

810 Above, p. 169.

811 Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_

(Stuttgart, 1852), p. 225; F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen

Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), ii. 240; Anton Birlinger,

_Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1861-1862),

ii. 57, 97; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 510.

M296 The wheel sometimes used to kindle the fire by friction may also be

an imitation of the sun.

812 Compare J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 521; J. W. Wolf,

_Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Göttingen und Leipsic,

1852-1857), ii. 389; Adalbert Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und

des Göttertranks_2 (Gütersloh, 1886), pp. 41 _sq._, 47; W.

Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 521. Lindenbrog in his Glossary on the

Capitularies (quoted by J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 502)

expressly says: “The rustics in many parts of Germany, particularly

on the festival of St. John the Baptist, wrench a stake from a

fence, wind a rope round it, and pull it to and fro till it catches

fire. This fire they carefully feed with straw and dry sticks and

scatter the ashes over the vegetable gardens, foolishly and

superstitiously imagining that in this way the caterpillar can be

kept off. They call such a fire _nodfeur_ or _nodfyr_, that is to

say need-fire.”

813 Above, pp. 144 _sq._, 147 _sq._, 155, 169 _sq._, 175, 177, 179.

814 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 509; J. W. Wolf, _Beiträge zur

deutschen Mythologie_, i. 117; A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des

Feuers_,2 pp. 47 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 521; W. E.

Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and Folk-lore_

(London, 1863), p. 49.

815 A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_2

(Gütersloh, 1886), p. 47.

816 Above, p. 179.

817 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855),

ii. 240, § 443.

818 Above, p. 177.

M297 The influence which the fires are supposed to exert on the weather

and vegetation may be thought to be due to an increase of solar heat

produced by the fires.

819 Above, pp. 187 _sq._

820 Above, pp. 279 _sq._

821 Above, p. 188.

822 Above, p. 159.

823 Above, p. 116.

824 Above, p. 201.

825 L. Decle, _Three Years in Savage Africa_ (London, 1898), pp. 160

_sq._

826 Rev. J. Shooter, _The Kafirs of Natal and the Zulu Country_ (London,

1857), p. 18.

827 Above, pp. 140, 142.

828 Above, pp. 119, 165, 166, 173, 203.

829 Above, p. 140.

830 Above, p. 121.

831 Above, pp. 141, 170, 190, 203, 248, 250, 264.

832 Above, p. 251.

833 Above, pp. 119, 165, 166, 168, 173, 174.

834 Above, pp. 118, 163 _sq._

835 Above, p. 201.

M298 The effect which the bonfires are supposed to have in fertilizing

cattle and women may also be attributed to an increase of solar heat

produced by the fires.

836 Above, p. 203.

837 Above, p. 250.

838 Above, pp. 251, 262, 263, 264.

839 Above, p. 112.

840 Above, p. 141.

841 Above, p. 214.

842 Above, p. 204.

843 Above, p. 194.

844 Above, pp. 185, 189; compare p. 174.

845 Above, p. 166.

846 Above, pp. 249, 250.

847 Above, pp. 107, 109, 111, 119; compare pp. 116, 192, 193.

848 Above, p. 115.

849 Above, p. 180.

M299 The custom of carrying lighted torches about the country at the

festivals may be explained as an attempt to diffuse the sun’s heat.

850 Above, pp. 113, 142, 170, 233. The torches of Demeter, which figure

so largely in her myth and on her monuments, are perhaps to be

explained by this custom. See _Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_,

i. 57. W. Mannhardt thought (_Baumkultus_, p. 536) that the torches

in the modern European customs are imitations of lightning. At some

of their ceremonies the Indians of North-West America imitate

lightning by means of pitch-wood torches which are flashed through

the roof of the house. See J. G. Swan, quoted by Franz Boas, “The

Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl

Indians,” _Report of the United States National Museum for 1895_

(Washington, 1897), p. 639.

851 Above, p. 203.

852 Amélie Bosquet, _La Normandie Romanesque et Merveilleuse_ (Paris and

Rouen, 1845), pp. 295 _sq._; Jules Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage

Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 126-129. See _The

Scapegoat_, pp. 316 _sq._

853 Br. Jelínek, “Materialen zur Vorgeschichte und Volkskunde Böhmens,”

_Mittheilungen der anthropolog. Gesellschaft in Wien_, xxi. (1891)

p. 13 note.

854 Mrs. Bishop, _Korea and her Neighbours_ (London, 1898), ii. 56 _sq._

855 Above, pp. 190 _sq._

856 Above, pp. 178, 205, 206.

M300 Theory that the fires at the festivals are purificatory, being

intended to burn up all harmful things.

M301 The purificatory or destructive effect of the fires is often alleged

by the people who light them. The great evil against which the fire

at the festivals is directed appears to be witchcraft.

857 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 311 _sqq._

858 Above, pp. 108, 109, 116, 118 _sq._, 121, 148, 154, 156, 157, 159,

160, 170, 171, 174, 175, 176, 180, 183, 185, 188, 232 _sq._, 245,

252, 253, 280, 292, 293, 295, 297. For more evidence of the use of

fire to burn or expel witches on certain days of the year, see _The

Scapegoat_, pp. 158 _sqq._ Less often the fires are thought to burn

or repel evil spirits and vampyres. See above, pp. 146, 170, 172,

202, 252, 282, 285. Sometimes the purpose of the fires is to drive

away dragons (above, pp. 161, 195).

859 Above, pp. 107, 116, 118 _sq._, 159.

860 “In short, of all the ills incident to the life of man, none are so

formidable as witchcraft, before the combined influence of which, to

use the language of an honest man who had himself severely suffered

from its effects, the great laird of Grant himself could not stand

them if they should fairly yoke upon him” (W. Grant Stewart, _The

Popular Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders of

Scotland_, Edinburgh, 1823, pp. 202 _sq._). “Every misfortune and

calamity that took place in the parish, such as ill-health, the

death of friends, the loss of stock, and the failure of crops; yea

to such a length did they carry their superstition, that even the

inclemency of the seasons, were attributed to the influence of

certain old women who were supposed to be in league, and had

dealings with the Devil. These the common people thought had the

power and too often the inclination to injure their property, and

torment their persons” (_County Folk-lore_, vol. v. _Lincolnshire_,

collected by Mrs. Gutch and Mabel Peacock, London, 1908, p. 76).

“The county of Salop is no exception to the rule of superstition.

The late vicar of a parish on the Clee Hills, startled to find that

his parishioners still believed in witchcraft, once proposed to

preach a sermon against it, but he was dissuaded from doing so by

the parish schoolmaster, who assured him that the belief was so

deeply rooted in the people’s minds that he would be more likely to

alienate them from the Church than to weaken their faith in

witchcraft” (Miss C. F. Burne and Miss G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire

Folk-lore_, London, 1883, p. 145). “Wherever a man or any living

creature falls sick, or a misfortune of any kind happens, without

any natural cause being discoverable or rather lying on the surface,

there in all probability witchcraft is at work. The sudden stiffness

in the small of the back, which few people can account for at the

time, is therefore called a ‘witch-shot’ and is really ascribed to

witchcraft” (L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem

Herzogthum Oldenburg_, Oldenburg, 1867, i. p. 298, § 209). What Sir

Walter Scott said less than a hundred years ago is probably still

true: “The remains of the superstition sometimes occur; there can be

no doubt that the vulgar are still addicted to the custom of scoring

above the breath (as it is termed), and other counter-spells,

evincing that the belief in witchcraft is only asleep, and might in

remote corners be again awakened to deeds of blood” (_Letters on

Demonology and Witchcraft_, London, 1884, p. 272). Compare L.

Strackerjan, _op. cit._ i. p. 340, § 221: “The great power, the

malicious wickedness of the witches, cause them to be feared and

hated by everybody. The hatred goes so far that still at the present

day you may hear it said right out that it is a pity burning has

gone out of fashion, for the evil crew deserve nothing else. Perhaps

the hatred might find vent yet more openly, if the fear were not so

great.”

M302 Amongst the evils for which the fire-festivals are deemed remedies

the fore-most is cattle-disease, and cattle-disease is often

supposed to be an effect of witchcraft.

861 For some evidence, see _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_,

ii. 52-55, 330 _sqq._ It is a popular belief, universally diffused

in Germany, that cattle-plagues are caused by witches (A. Wuttke,

_Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_,2 Berlin, 1869, p. 149 § 216). The

Scotch Highlanders thought that a witch could destroy the whole of a

farmer’s live stock by hiding a small bag, stuffed with charms, in a

cleft of the stable or byre (W. Grant Stewart, _The Popular

Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders of

Scotland_, Edinburgh, 1823, pp. 201 _sq._).

_ 862 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 330 _sqq._

863 Above, pp. 282, 284 _sq._

M303 Again, the bonfires are thought to avert hail, thunder, lightning,

and other maladies, all of which are attributed to the maleficent

arts of witches.

864 Above, pp. 118, 121, 144, 145, 176.

865 Above, pp. 121, 122, 124, 140 _sq._, 145, 146, 174, 176, 183, 184,

187, 188, 190, 191, 192, 249, 250, 252, 253, 254, 258.

866 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 908 _sqq._; J. V. Grohmann,

_Aberglauben und. Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ (Prague and

Leipsic, 1864), p. 32 § 182; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche

Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), pp. 149 _sq._, § 216; J. Ceredig

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

230; Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen

Westböhmen_ (Prague, 1905), p. 202.

867 Above, pp. 108, 121, 140, 146, 165, 183, 188, 196, 250, 255, 256,

258.

868 Above, pp. 107, 195 _sq._

869 Above, pp. 162, 163, 166, 171, 174.

870 A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 351, §

395.

871 Above, pp. 165, 168, 189, compare 190.

872 A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 351, §

395; L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum

Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 298, § 209. See above, p. 343

note.

M304 The burning wheels rolled down hills and the burning discs and

brooms thrown into the air may be intended to burn the invisible

witches.

873 In the Ammerland, a district of Oldenburg, you may sometimes see an

old cart-wheel fixed over the principal door or on the gable of a

house; it serves as a charm against witchcraft and is especially

intended to protect the cattle as they are driven out and in. See L.

Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_

(Oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 357, § 236. Can this use of a wheel as a

talisman against witchcraft be derived from the practice of rolling

fiery wheels down hill for a similar purpose?

874 F. S. Krauss, _Volksglaube und religiöser Brauch der Südslaven_

(Münster i. W., 1890), pp. 118 _sq._

M305 On this view the fertility supposed to follow the use of fire

results indirectly from breaking the spells of witches.

875 In German such spells are called _Nestelknüpfen_; in French, _nouer

l’aiguilette_. See J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 897, 983;

A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 252 §

396; E. Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers,

1908), pp. 87 _sq._, 294 _sqq._; J.L.M. Noguès, _Les Mœurs

d’autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ (Saintes, 1891), pp. 171 _sq._

M306 On the whole the theory of the purificatory or destructive intention

of the fire-festivals seems the more probable.