Part iii. (Oxford, 1894) p. 108 (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol.

xli.).

646 D. Chwolsohn, _Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus_ (St. Petersburg, 1856), ii. 34.

M205 Beating people with instruments which possess and impart special virtues.

647 On the positive benefits supposed in certain cases to flow from a beating compare S. Reinach, “La flagellation rituelle,” _Cultes, Mythes et Religions_, i. (Paris, 1905) pp. 180 _sqq._; E. S. Hartland, _Primitive Paternity_ (London, 1909-1910), i. 102 _sqq._

648 Ch. Keysser, “Aus dem Leben der Kaileute,” in R. Neuhauss’s _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_, iii. (Berlin, 1911) p. 124.

649 Father Lambert, “Mœurs et Superstitions de la tribu Bélep,” _Les Missions Catholique_, xii. (1880) p. 273; _id._, _Mœurs et Superstitions des Néo-Calédoniens_ (Nouméa, 1900), p. 218.

650 F. J. de Santa-Anna Nery, _Folk-lore Brésilien_ (Paris, 1889), p. 253.

651 R. Temesváry, _Volksbräuche und Aberglauben in der Geburtshilfe und der Pflege des Neugeborenen in Ungarn_ (Leipsic, 1900), p. 8. Compare E. S. Hartland, _Primitive Paternity_ (London, 1909-1910), i. 106.

652 A. C. Kruyt, “Het koppensnellen der Toradja’s van Midden-Celebes, en zijne beteekenis,” _Verslagen en Mededeelingen der Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen_, Afdeeling Letterkunde, iv. Reeks, iii. (Amsterdam, 1899) p. 199.

653 E. Beardmore, “The Natives of Mowat, Daudai, New Guinea,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xix. (1890) p. 464.

M206 Custom in Morocco of beating people with the skins of sacrificed sheep or goats.

654 E. Westermarck, “The Popular Ritual of the Great Feast in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xxii. (1911) pp. 163-165.

655 See below, pp. 298, 302, 304.

656 E. Westermarck, _op. cit._ pp. 165 _sq._, 170, 178. The purificatory character of the rite is duly recognised by Dr. Westermarck (_op. cit._ p. 178).

M207 European custom of beating cattle with branches to make them healthy or drive away the witches from them. The rowan-tree as a protection against witchcraft.

657 J. G. v. Hahn, _Albanesische Studien_ (Jena, 1854), i. 155.

658 W. H. D. Rouse, “Folk-lore from the Southern Sporades,” _Folk-lore_, x. (1899) p. 179.

659 K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna, 1879-1880), ii. p. 258, § 1348.

660 J. F. L. Woeste, _Volksüberlieferungen in der Grafschaft Mark_ (Iserlohn, 1848), pp. 25 _sq._; A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_2 (Gütersloh, 1886), pp. 161 _sqq._ The ceremony takes its name of “quickening” from _Quieke_ or _Quickenbaum_, a German name for the rowan-tree. Quicken-tree is also an English name for the rowan.

_ 661 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 52 _sqq._

662 Rev. W. Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-east of Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 188.

663 A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 106, § 145.

664 J. F. L. Woeste, _Volksüberlieferungen in der Grafschaft Mark_ (Iserlohn, 1848), p. 26. Compare A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_2 (Gütersloh, 1886), p. 179.

M208 European custom of beating people with branches at Easter to do them good: “Easter Smacks.”

665 F. S. Krauss, _Kroatien und Slavonien_ (Vienna, 1889), p. 108.

666 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 257.

667 Th. Vernaleken, _Mythen und Bräuche des Volkes in Österreich_ (Vienna, 1859), pp. 300 _sq._; O. Freiherr von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Fest-Kalender aus Böhmen_ (Prague, preface dated 1861), pp. 163-167; A. Peter, _Volksthümliches aus Österreichisch-Schlesien_ (Troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 285; J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte Überlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), pp. 173 _sq._; M. Toeppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_2, (Danzig, 1867), pp. 69 _sq._; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 70, § 83; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_ (Berlin, 1875), pp. 258-263; W. Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_ (Vienna and Olmütz, 1893), pp. 322, 399 _sq._; Dr. F. Tetzner, “Die Tschechen und Mährer in Schlesien,” _Globus_, lxxviii. (1900) p. 340; P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), pp. 100 _sq._; Alois John, _Sitte, Brauche und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ (Prague, 1905), pp. 67 _sq._ Mannhardt’s whole discussion of what he calls “the Blow with the Rod of Life” (“_Der Schlag mit der Lebensrute_”) deserves to be studied. See his _Baumkultus_, pp. 251-303; and compare his treatment of the same theme, “Der Schlag mit dem Februum,” _Mythologische Forschungen_ (Strasburg, 1884), pp. 113-153. The custom of “Easter Smacks” can be traced back to the twelfth century, when the practice was for women to beat their husbands on Easter Monday and for husbands to retaliate on their wives on Easter Tuesday. See J. Belethus, _Rationale Divinorum Officiorum_, cap. 120, appended to G. Durandus’s _Rationale Divinorum Officiorum_ (Lyons, 1584), p. 546 recto: “_Notandum quoque est in plerisque regionibus secundo die post Pascha mulieres maritos suos verberare, ac vicissim viros eas tertio die quemadmodum licebat servis in Decembri dominos suos impune accusare._”

M209 European custom of beating people with branches in the Christmas holidays (Holy Innocents’ Day, etc.) to do them good.

668 Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ (Prague, 1905), pp. 5, 23 _sq._, 25, 28. Compare Th. Vernaleken, _Mythen und Bräuche des Volkes in Österreich_ (Vienna, 1859), pp. 301 _sq._

669 J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte Überlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 174; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 264 _sq._

670 August Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna, 1878), pp. 181 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 265. Compare G. Bilfinger, _Unterschungen über die Zeitrechnung der alten Germanen_, ii., _Das Germanische Julfest_ (Stuttgart, 1901), pp. 85 _sq._

M210 The intention of beating people with fresh green leaves is to renew their life and vigour. M211 Hence the custom of beating the human victims at the Thargelia with fig-branches and squills was probably a charm to increase their reproductive energies.

_ 671 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 24 sq. It is highly significant that the heathen of Harran celebrated the marriage festival of all the gods and goddesses in the very month (March) in which the artificial fertilization of the date-palm was effected (D. Chwolsohn, _Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus_, St. Petersburg, 1856, ii. 36, 251). The frequency with which the artificial fertilization of the palm-tree by a mythical winged figure is represented on Assyrian monuments furnishes strong evidence of the religious and economic importance of the ceremony.

M212 Hence the human victims at the Thargelia may have primarily represented spirits of vegetation. M213 Parallel between the human sacrifices at the Thargelia and the bloody ritual of the Arician Grove.

_ 672 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 40 _sqq._, ii. 376 _sqq._

M214 The custom of sacrificing human representatives of the gods among the Aztecs of Mexico.

673 J. de Acosta, _The Natural and Moral History of the Indies_ (London, Hakluyt Society, 1880), ii. 323. I have modernized the spelling of the old English translator, whose version was originally published in 1604. Acosta resided both in Peru and Mexico, and published his work at Seville in 1590. It was reprinted in a convenient form at Madrid in 1894. Compare A. de Herrera, _General History of the Vast Continent and Islands of America_, translated by Captain John Stevens (London, 1725-1726), iii. 207 _sq._

M215 Sacrifice of a man in the character of the great god Tezcatlipoca at the festival of Toxcatl in the fifth Aztec month.

674 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle-Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), pp. 61 _sq._: “_On appelait le cinquième moi_ toxcatl. _Au premier jour on faisait une grande fête en l’honneur du dieu appelé_ Titlacauan, _autrement dit_ Tezcatlipoca, _que l’on croyait être le dieu des dieux. C’était en son honneur que l’on tuait, le jour de sa fête, un jeune homme choisi.... Cette fête était la principale de toutes, comme qui dirait la Pâque, et, en réalité, elle se célébrait aux environs de la Pâque de résurrection, ou quelques jours après_.” Compare J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, lib. x. cap. 14, vol. ii. p. 256 (Madrid, 1723). As to Tezcatlipoca, the greatest of the Mexican gods, see J. G. Müller, _Geschichte der amerikanischen Urreligionen_ (Bâle, 1867), pp. 613 _sqq._; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, 1875-1876), iii. 199 _sqq._, 237 _sqq._; E. Seler, _Altmexikanische Studien_, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 125 _sqq._ (_Veröffentlichungen aus dem königlichen Museum für Völkerkunde_, vol. vi. Heft 2/4).

675 On the twenty-third of April according to the Spanish text of Sahagun’s work as translated in French by D. Jourdanet and R. Simeon (p. 52); the twenty-seventh of April according to the Aztec text of Sahagun’s work as translated into German by Professor E. Seler (_Altmexikanische Studien_, ii. 194).

676 J. de Acosta, _Natural and Moral History of the Indies_ (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880), ii. 378, 380; Diego Duran, _Historia de las Indias de Nueva España_ (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 99, 101; _Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l’Origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne selon leurs traditions_, publié par D. Charnay (Paris, 1903), pp. 159, 160 _sq._ According to Clavigero, the fifth Mexican month, in which the sacrifice of the human representative of Tezcatlipoca took place, began on the 17th of May (_History of Mexico_, translated by C. Cullen, London, 1807, i. 299); but this must be an error.

677 E. Seler, _Altmexikanische Studien_, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 117 note 1, 121-125, 153 _sq._, 166 _sq._ (_Veröffentlichungen aus dem königlichen Museum für Völkerkunde_, vol. vi. Heft 2/4).

678 J. de Acosta, _op. cit._ ii. 380; Diego Duran, _op. cit._ ii. 101; _Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l’Origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne selon leurs traditions_, publié par D. Charnay (Paris, 1903), p. 160; J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, lib. x. cap. 14, vol. ii. p. 257 (Madrid, 1723). I have modernized the spelling of Acosta’s old translator (Edward Grimston).

M216 The training and equipment of the human god. The manner of the sacrifice.

679 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet, et R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), pp. 61 _sq._, 96-99, 103; E. Seler, _Altmexikanische Studien_, ii. (Berlin, 1899), pp. 116-165, 194-209 (the latter passage contains the Aztec text of Sahagun’s account with a German translation); J. de Acosta, _The Natural and Moral History of the Indies_ (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880), pp. 350 _sq._; _Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l’Origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne selon leurs traditions_, publié par D. Charnay (Paris, 1903), pp. 157 _sqq._, 180 _sq._; Diego Duran, _Historia de las Indias de Nueva España_ (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 98-105; J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, lib. x. cap. 14, vol. ii. pp. 256 _sqq._ (Madrid, 1723); F. S. Clavigero, _History of Mexico_, translated by Charles Cullen, Second Edition (London, 1807), i. 300; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique-Centrale_ (Paris, 1857-1859), iii. 510-512; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, 1875-1876), iii. 319 _sq._ According to Torquemada the flesh of the human victim was eaten by the elders “as a sacred and divine flesh”; but this is not mentioned by the other authorities of the sixteenth century cited above. Elsewhere (_Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, ii. 92 _sq._) I cited this cannibal banquet as an example of a sacramental communion with the deity; but the silence of most early writers on the point makes it doubtful whether the custom has been correctly reported by Torquemada and later writers.

M217 Sacrifice of a man in the character of the great Mexican god Vitzilopochtli (Huitzilopochtli) in the month of May.

680 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), pp. 99-104; E. Seler, _Altmexikanische Studien_, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 159-165, 202-209; F. S. Clavigero, _History of Mexico_, translated by Ch. Cullen, Second Edition (London, 1807), i. 301-303; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique-Centrale_, iii. 512-516; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_, ii. 321-324. As to the dances of the maidens wearing garlands of maize, see also J. de Acosta, _Natural and Moral History of the Indies_ (London, 1880), ii. 380.

M218 Sacrifice of a man in the character of the great Mexican god Quetzalcoatl in the month of February.

681 J. de Acosta, _The Natural and Moral History of the Indies_ (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880), ii. 321; Diego Duran, _Historia de las Indias de Nueva España_ (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 118-120; _Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l’Origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne selon leurs traditions_, publié par D. Charnay (Paris, 1903), pp. 182 _sq._ Acosta’s description of the idol is abridged. As to the Mexican god Quetzalcoatl, worshipped especially by the people of Cholula, see J. G. Müller, _Geschichte der amerikanischen Urreligionen_ (Bâle, 1867), pp. 577 _sqq._; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, 1875-1876), iii. 248 _sqq._

682 J. de Acosta, _The Natural and Moral History of the Indies_ (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880), ii. 384-386. I have modernized the old translator’s spelling. The accounts of Duran and the anonymous author of the Ramirez manuscript agree verbally with that of Acosta. It is plain that Acosta and Duran drew on the same source, which may be the Ramirez manuscript. However, Duran is the only one of the three who gives the date of the festival (the third of February). See Diego Duran, _Historia de las Indias de Nueva España_ (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 120 _sq._; _Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l’Origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne selon leurs traditions_, publié par de Charnay (Paris, 1903), pp. 182 _sqq._ Compare A. de Herrera, _The General History of the Vast Continent and Islands of America_, translated by Captain John Stevens (London, 1725-1726), iii. 218 _sq._; J. G. Müller, _Geschichte der amerikanischen Urreligionen_ (Bâle, 1867), pp. 589 _sq._; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, 1875-1876), iii. 286.

M219 Sacrifice of a woman in the character of the Mexican Goddess of Salt in the month of June.

683 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), pp. 64, 115-117; J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_ (Madrid, 1723), lib. x. cap. 18, vol. ii. p. 268. Compare F. S. Clavigero, _History of Mexico_, translated by C. Cullen (London, 1807), i. 305; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations Civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique-Centrale_, iii. 517 _sq._; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_, ii. 325-327.

M220 Sacrifice of a woman in the character of the Mexican Goddess of the Young Maize about Mid-summer.

684 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), pp. 65 _sq._, 118-126; J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_ (Madrid, 1723), lib. x. cap. 19, vol. ii. pp. 269-271; E. J. Payne, _History of the New World called America_, i. (Oxford, 1892) pp. 421-423. Compare Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique-Centrale_, iii. 518-520; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_, ii. 326 _sq._ I have followed Torquemada (vol. ii. p. 269) and the French translators of Sahagun (p. 65, note 2) in deriving the name of Xilonen from _xilotl_ in the sense of “young cobs of maize.” But according to E. J. Payne, the word _xilotl_ means “hair,” and Xilonen is “Hairy Mother” (_Mater comata_) with reference to the hair-like fibres or tassels that shoot from the maize-cobs. See E. J. Payne, _op. cit._ i. 417. On either interpretation the goddess is a personification of the young maize. The goddess of the maize in general was called Cinteotl or Centeotl (Centeutl), a name which, according to Torquemada, is derived from _centli_, “maize-cob” (_Monarquia Indiana_, lib. vi. cap. 25, vol. ii. p. 52). But E. J. Payne, while he regards Cinteotl as the maize-goddess, explains her name differently. He says (_op. cit._ i. 416 _sq._): “The Totonacs worshipped the corn-spirit under names which were translated into Mexican as Tzinteotl (goddess of beginning or origin) and Tonacayohua (provider of our food). They considered her to be the wife of the sun, their supreme god. Theoretically subordinated to him, the maize-goddess was in practice the chief deity of the Totonacs: it was to her service that the principal warriors, quitting their wives and children, dedicated themselves in their old age.” Similarly Clavigero, who lived many years in Mexico and learned the Mexican language, explains Cinteotl (Tzinteotl) to mean “original goddess”; he adds that the Maize Goddess changed her name “according to the different states of the grain in the progress of its growth” (_History of Mexico_, translated by C. Cullen, i. 253 note p). Another name applied to the Maize Goddess Cinteotl was Chicomecohuatl or “Seven Snakes.” See J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, lib. x. cap. 13, vol. ii. p. 255; J. G. Müller, _Geschichte der amerikanischen Urreligionen_ (Bâle, 1867), pp. 491 _sqq._; E. Seler, _Altmexikanische Studien_, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 108 _sq._, 112. Some have held that Cinteotl was a Maize God rather than a Maize Goddess. See H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_, iii. 349 _sqq._

M221 Sacrifice of a woman in the character of the Mexican goddess “Our Mother” on Christmas Day.

685 The Mexican year of three hundred and sixty-five days was divided into eighteen months of twenty days each, with five supplementary days over. See J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, lib. x. cap. 36, vol. ii. p. 300 (Madrid, 1723); B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), p. lxvii.; F. S. Clavigero, _History of Mexico_, translated by C. Cullen (London, 1807), i. 290 _sq._

686 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), pp. 75, 158-160; J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, lib. x. cap. 29, vol. ii. pp. 284 _sq._ (Madrid, 1723). Compare F. S. Clavigero, _History of Mexico_, translated by C. Cullen (London, 1807), i. 312; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations Civilisées du Mexique et de l’ Amérique-Centrale_, iii. 535 _sq._; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_, ii. 337 _sq._

M222 Sacrifice of a woman in the character of the Mexican goddess the Mother of the Gods at the end of August or beginning of September. M223 The farewell to the market. The skin of the sacrificed woman flayed and worn by a man who personated the goddess.

687 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), pp. 18 _sq._, 68 _sq._, 133-139: J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_ (Madrid, 1723), lib. x. cap. 23, vol. ii. pp. 275 _sq._; Diego Duran, _Historia de las Indias de Nueva España_ (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 185-191. Compare Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique-Centrale_, iii. 523-525; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_, iii. 353-359; E. J. Payne, _History of the New World called America_, i. (Oxford, 1892), pp. 470 _sq._ A statue of basalt, about half the size of life, said to have come from Tezcuco, represents a man clothed in a human skin which he wears on his body, his arms, and his face; his own skin is painted bright red, the other skin a dirty white. See H. H. Bancroft, _op. cit._ iv. 522; Marquis de Nadaillac, _L’Amérique Préhistorique_ (Paris, 1883), p. 295, fig. 119. In the Art Museum (_Kunst-Museum_) at Bâle there is a statuette of the same sort. It is labelled: “_Xipe. Der in einer Menschenhaut gekleidete Gott. Gesch. v. H. Luk. Vischer (1828-1837)._” The figure is about eighteen inches high and appears to be made of a porous stone. It represents a man seated on his haunches with his feet crossed in front of him and his hands resting on his knees. His own skin, of which the legs, feet, hands, wrists, neck and part of the face are visible, is coloured a terra-cotta red. The rest of his body is covered by the representation of the skin of a human victim, of a greyish colour, quite distinct from that of the wearer, and this skin is also worn like a mask on his face. At his back the jacket of human skin only partially meets, displaying the wearer’s red skin under it for some distance; it is as if the skin of the human victim had been split up the back and then drawn together and fastened at the back of the wearer like an ill-fitting and imperfectly buttoned coat. The hands of the human victim are represented dangling at the wrists of the seated figure. I saw this remarkable statuette in the Museum at Bâle on July 25th, 1912, but I was not able to remove it from the case for closer examination. As to Xipe, the Mexican god clad in a human skin, whom the statuette represents, see below, pp. 296 _sqq._

M224 Young girl chosen to personate the Mexican Goddess of the Maize, Chicomecohuatl.

688 As to this name for the Maize Goddess, see above, p. 286, note 1.

M225 Adoration of the girl who personated the Goddess of the Maize. M226 The girl who personated the Goddess of the Maize carried in procession and worshipped with offerings of human blood. The human representative of the Maize Goddess put to death on a heap of corn and her skin flayed and worn by a priest.

689 Diego Duran, _Historia de las Indias de Nueva España_ (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 179-184. This remarkable festival appears not to be noticed by the other early Spanish writers such as Sahagun, Acosta, and Torquemada, who have given us detailed descriptions of the Mexican festivals. It might perhaps have been conjectured that Duran was here describing the similar festival of the Mother of the Gods (see above, pp. 288 _sqq._), which fell about the same time of the year. But the conjecture is excluded by the simple fact that Duran describes both festivals, the one immediately after the other, assigning as their dates the fifteenth and sixteenth of September respectively (_op. cit._ ii. 180, 185 _sq._). Almost nothing is known about Duran except that he was a Spanish monk, apparently a native of Mexico, who had weak health and died in 1588. His work remained in manuscript till it was edited at Mexico in 1867-1880 by José F. Ramirez. The original manuscript is preserved in the Natìonal Library at Madrid. The accounts contained in his history bear internal marks of authenticity and are in general supported by the independent testimony of the other early Spanish authorities.

M227 Identification of the human victim with the Goddess of Maize whom she personated.

_ 690 Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, i. 236 _sqq._

M228 The resurrection of the Maize Goddess set forth by the wearing of the skin of her human representative. M229 Xipe, the Flayed God, and the Mexican festival of the Flaying of Men. M230 The human shambles. The holy beggars clad in the skins of the flayed human victims. M231 Various Mexican gods personated by the men clad in the skins of the human victims.

691 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), pp. 37 _sq._, 58-60, 87-94, 584 _sq._; E. Seler, _Altmexikanische Studien_, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 76-100, 171-188 (the latter passage gives the Aztec text of Sahagun’s account with a German translation); Diego Duran, _Historia de las Indias de Nueva España_ (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 147-155; J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, lib. x. cap. 11, vol. ii. pp. 252 _sq._ (Madrid, 1723). Compare F. S. Clavigero, _History of Mexico_, translated by C. Cullen, Second Edition (London, 1807), i. 297 _sq._; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique-Centrale_ (Paris, 1857-1859), iii. 503 _sq._; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, 1875-1876), ii. 306 _sqq._ According to Torquemada, the prisoners were flayed alive, but this statement is not, so far as I know, supported by the other early Spanish authorities. It is Duran who gives the 20th of March as the date of the festival at which the captives were killed and skinned; but this is inconsistent with the evidence of Sahagun, according to whom the second Aztec month, in which the festival fell, ended with the 13th of March. See B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, p. 51.

M232 Men roasted alive as images of the Fire-god.

692 J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, lib. x. cap. 30, vol. ii. pp. 285 _sq._ (Mexico, 1723); B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), pp. 164 _sq._ The latter writer does not describe the mode in which the victims were sacrificed at this quadriennial festival; but he describes as in the text the annual sacrifice of victims in honour of the fire-god in the tenth month of the Mexican year (_op. cit._ pp. 67 _sq._, 129 _sqq._). Compare F. S. Clavigero, _History of Mexico_, translated by C. Cullen, Second Edition (London, 1807), i. 306 _sq._; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific States_, ii. 329 _sq._

M233 Women flayed in honour of the Fire-god and their skins worn by men who personated gods.

693 J. de Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, lib. x. cap. 30, vol. ii. p. 286 (Madrid, 1723). Compare F. S. Clavigero, _History of Mexico_, translated by C. Cullen, Second Edition (London, 1807), i. 283 _sq._; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique-Centrale_, iii. 539 _sq._

M234 The personation of a god by a man wearing the skin of a human victim is probably intended to represent and ensure the resurrection of the deity. The idea of resurrection from the dead is suggested by the observation of snakes and other creatures that cast their skins.

694 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon, pp. 37, 93; E. Seler, _Altmexikanische Studien_, ii. (Berlin. 1889) pp. 96, 185 (quoting the Aztec text of Sahagun).

695 R. Schomburgk, _Reisen in Britisch-Guiana_ (Leipsic, 1847-1848), ii. 319. I have already noticed this and the following stories of the origin of death in _The Belief in Immortality_, i. 69 _sqq._

696 R. Schomburgk, _op. cit._ ii. 320.

M235 Savage notion that men would have been immortal, if only they could have cast their skins like serpents and crabs.

697 A. Landes, “Contes et Légendes Annamites,” _Cochinchine française, Excursions et Reconnaissances_, No. 25 (Saigon, 1886), pp. 108 _sq._

698 H. Sundermann, “Die Insel Nias und die Mission daselbst,” _Allgemeine Missions-Zeitschrift_, xi. (1884) p. 451; _id._, _Die Insel Nias und die Mission daselbst_ (Barmen, 1905), p. 68; E. Modigliani, _Un Viaggio a Nias_ (Milan, 1890), p. 295; A. Fehr, _Der Niasser im Leben und Sterben_ (Barmen, 1901), p. 8.

699 P. Kleintitschen, _Die Küstenbewohner der Gazellehalbinsel_ (Hiltrup bei Münster, preface dated Christmas, 1906), p. 334.

700 R. H. Codrington, _The Melanesians_ (Oxford, 1891), pp. 260, 265; W. Gray, “Some Notes on the Tannese,” _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, vii. (1894) p. 232. The same story of the origin of death has been recorded in the Shortlands Islands and among the Kai of German New Guinea. See C. Ribbe, _Zwei Jahre unter den Kannibalen der Salomo-Inseln_ (Dresden-Blasowitz, 1903), p. 148; Ch. Keysser, “Aus dem Leben der Kaileute,” in R. Neuhauss’s _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_, iii. (Berlin, 1911) pp. 161 _sq._ It is also told with some variations by the natives of the Admiralty Islands. See Josef Meier, “Mythen und Sagen der Admiralitätsinsulaner,” _Anthropos_, iii. (1908) p. 193.

701 Miss A. Werner, “Two Galla Legends,” _Man_, xiii. (1913) pp. 90 _sq._

M236 Hence the Mexicans apparently thought that they could renew their own skins by putting on those of other people. M237 General conclusion: the custom of putting human beings to death in the character of gods has prevailed in many parts of the world.

_ 702 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 40 _sqq._, ii. 376 _sqq._

M238 Annual periods of license. The Roman Saturnalia.

703 Virgil, _Georg._ ii. 536-540, _Aen._ viii. 319-327, with the comments of Servius; Tibullus, i. 3. 35-48; Ovid, _Fasti_, i. 233 _sqq._; Lucian, _Saturnalia_, 7; Macrobius, _Saturn._ i. 7. 21-26; Justin, xliii. 1. 3-5; Aurelius Victor, _Origo gentis Romanae_, 3; Dionysius Halicarnasensis, _Antiquit. Rom._ i. 34. On Saturn and the Saturnalia see especially L. Preller, _Römische Mythologie_,3 ii. 10 _sqq._ Compare J. Marquardt, _Römische Staatsverwaltung_, iii.2 (Leipsic, 1885) pp. 586 _sqq._; W. Warde Fowler, _The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic_ (London, 1899), pp. 268-273; G. Wissowa, _Religion und Kultus der Römer_2 (Munich, 1912), pp. 204 _sqq._; _id._, in W. H. Roscher’s _Ausführliches Lexikon der griech. und röm. Mythologie_, iv. 427 _sqq._ A good account of the Saturnalia, based on the texts of the classical writers, is given by Dezobry (_Rome au siècle d’Auguste_,3 iii. 143 _sqq._). The name Saturn seems to be etymologically akin to _satus_ and _satio_, “a sowing” or “planting.” Compare Varro, _De lingua Latina_, v. 64, “_Ab satu est dictus Saturnus_”; Festus, _s.v._ “Opima spolia,” p. 186 ed. C. O. Müller: “_ipse [Saturnus] agrorum cultor habetur, nominatus a satu, tenensque falcem effingitur, quae est insigne agricolae_.” Compare Tertullian, _Ad Nationes_, ii. 12; Arnobius, _Adversus Nationes_, iv. 9; Augustine, _De civitate Dei_, vii. 2, 3, 13, 15, 18, 19. The god’s name appears in the form Saeturnus inscribed on an ancient bowl (H. Dessau, _Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae_, vol. ii. pars i. p. 2, No. 2966).

704 Dionysius Halicarnasensis, _Ant. Rom._ i. 38; Macrobius, _Saturn._ i. 7. 31; Lactantius, _Divin. Inst._ i. 21; Arnobius, _Adversus Nationes_, ii. 68.

705 For the general dissipation of the Saturnalia see Seneca, _Epist._ 18; for the seven days of the popular festival see Martial, xiv. 72. 2; Macrobius, _Sat._ i. 10. 2; Lucian, _Saturnalia_, 21.

M239 The license granted to slaves at the Saturnalia. The mock King of the Saturnalia.

706 Horace, _Sat._ ii. 7. 4 _sq._; Macrobius, _Saturn._ i. 7. 26; Justin, xliii. 1. 4; Plutarch, _Sulla_, 18; Lucian, _Saturnalia_, 5, 7; Porphyry, _De antro nympharum_, 23.

707 Macrobius, _Saturn._ i. 12. 7, i. 24. 23; Solinus, i. 35; Joannes Lydus, _De mensibus_, iii. 15; Athenaeus, xiv. 44, p. 639 B; Dio Cassius, lx. 19.

708 Seneca, _Epist._ 47. 14. Compare Porphyry, _De abstinentia_, ii. 23.

709 Tacitus, _Annals_, xiii. 15; Arrian, _Epicteti Dissert._ i. 25. 8; Lucian, _Saturnalia_, 4.

M240 Personation of Saturn at the Saturnalia by a soldier who afterwards suffered death. The sarcophagus of St. Dasius, the martyr on whom the lot fell to play the part of Saturn.

710 “Les Actes de S. Dasius,” _Analecta Bollandiana_, xvi. (1897) pp. 5-16. I have to thank Prof. Cumont for courteously sending me a copy of this important paper. The bearing of the new evidence on the Saturnalia has been further discussed by Messrs. Parmentier and Cumont (“Le roi des Saturnales,” _Revue de Philologie_, xxi. (1897) pp. 143-153).

711 The phrase of the Paris MS. is ambiguous (τοῖς ἀνωνύμοις καὶ μυσαροῖς εἰδώλοις προσεκόμιζεν ἑαυτὸν σπονδήν, ἀναιρούμενος ὑπὸ μαχαίρας); but the other two versions say plainly that the mock king perished by his own hand (μέλλοντα ἑαυτὸν ἐπισφάξαι τῷ βωμῷ τοῦ Κρόνου, Berlin MS.; ἑαυτὸν ἐπισφάξαι αὐτοχείρως τῷ Κρόνῳ, Milan MS.).

712 Franz Cumont, “Le tombeau de S. Dasius de Durostorum,” _Analecta Bollandiana_, xxvii. (Brussels, 1908) pp. 369-372. The inscription on the sarcophagus runs thus: Ἐνταῦθα κατακεῖται ὁ ἅγιος μάρτυς Δάσιος ἐνεχθεὶς ἀπὸ Δωροστόλου. The inscription on the altar runs thus: “_Vetere diruta nobiliorem FF. Karmelitani excalciati aram extruxerunt subter qua sanctorum martyrum Peregrini Flaviani Dasii corpora et infantium ab Herode necatorum ossa minus decenter antiquitus recondita honorificentius et populo spectanda reponi curaverunt die virgini et matri Theresiae sacro anno MDCCCIV._”

M241 The mock King of the Saturnalia may have been the degenerate successor of a series of temporary kings who personated Saturn at the Saturnalia and were put to death in the character of the god.

713 The opinion that at Rome a man used to be sacrificed at the Saturnalia cannot be regarded as in itself improbable, when we remember that down apparently to the establishment of Christianity a human victim was slaughtered every year at Rome in honour of Latian Jupiter. See Tertullian, _Apologeticus_, 9, _Contra Gnosticos Scorpiace_, 7; Minucius Felix, _Octavius_, 22 and 30; Lactantius, _Divin. Instit._ i. 21; Porphyry, _De abstinentia_, ii. 56. We may conjecture that at first the sacrifice took place on the top of the Alban Mountain, and was offered to Saturn, to whom, as we have seen, high places were sacred.

M242 The modern Carnival perhaps the equivalent of the ancient Saturnalia.

_ 714 The Dying God_, pp. 220 _sqq._

M243 The King of the Bean on Twelfth Night. Crosses made by the King of the Bean to protect the house against demons and witchcraft.

715 Joannes Boemus, _Mores, Leges, et Ritus Omnium Gentium_ (Lyons, 1541), p. 122; _The Popish Kingdome or reigne of Antichrist, written in Latin verse by Thomas Naogeorgus and Englyshed by Barnabe Googe, 1570_, edited by R. C. Hope (London, 1880), pp. 45 _sq._; E. Pasquier, _Recherches de la France_ (Paris, 1633), pp. 375 _sq._; R. Herrick, “Twelfth Night, or King and Queene,” _The Works of Robert Herrick_ (Edinburgh, 1823), ii. 171 _sq._; J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1883), i. 21 _sqq._; T. F. Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), pp. 24-28; R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_ (London and Edinburgh, 1886), i. 61 _sqq._; Desgranges, “Usages du Canton de Bonneval,” _Mémoires de la Société Royale des Antiquaires de France_, i. (Paris, 1817) pp. 233-236; L. Beaulieu, _Archéologie de la Lorraine_ (Paris, 1840-1843), i. 255 _sq._; Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, 1861-1862), i. 23 _sqq._; _id._, _Das festliche Jahr_ (Leipsic, 1863), pp. 20-23; E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fêtes religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. 29-50; J. H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Sagen, Lieder, Sprüchwörter und Räthsel des Eifler Volkes_ (Trèves, 1856-1858), i. 6; Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et Légendes du Centre de la France_ (Paris, 1875), i. 19-29; J. Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 125; L. Bonnemère, “Le Jour des Rois en Normandie,” _Revue des Traditions populaires_, ii. (1887) pp. 55 _sq._; P. Sébillot, “La Fête des Rois,” _Revue des Traditions populaires_, iii. (1888) pp. 7-12; A. Meyrac, _Traditions, Coutumes, Légendes et Contes des Ardennes_ (Charleville, 1890), pp. 74 _sq._; J. L. M. Noguès, _Les Mœurs d’autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ (Saintes, 1891), pp. 49 _sqq._; L. F. Sauvé, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), pp. 16 _sq._; Ch. Beauquier, _Les Mois en Franche-Comté_ (Paris, 1900), pp. 16 _sq._; F. Chapiseau, _Le Folk-lore de la Beauce et du Perche_ (Paris, 1902), i. 312-315; Anatole France, “Le roy boit,” _Annales Politiques et Littéraires_, 5 Janvier, 1902, pp. 4 _sq._; _La Bresse Louhannaise_, Janvier, 1906, pp. 42-46. The custom of making white crosses on the ceiling is reported for Germany and Switzerland, but apparently not for France. It is mentioned in the earliest of the works cited above, namely that of Joannes Boemus, whose description applies especially to Franconia (Franken).

716 This I learn from my friend M. Léon Chouville of Rouen and Cambridge. The custom is also kept up in Bresse (_La Bresse Louhannaise_, Janvier, 1906, pp. 44-46).

M244 Serious significance of the King of the Bean and Twelfth Night. Divination on Twelfth Night.

717 L. Beaulieu, _Archéologie de la Lorraine_ (Paris, 1840-1843), i. 256 note 1; E. Cortet, _Essai stir les Fêtes religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), p. 43.

718 L. F. Sauvé, _op. cit._ pp. 17 _sq._

719 Anatole France, “Le roy boit,” _Annales Politiques et Littéraires_, 5 Janvier, 1902, p. 5. In some parts of France divination was practised for this purpose on Christmas Day. Twelve grains of wheat, each representing a month of the year, were placed, one after the other, on a hot fire-shovel; if the grain bounced up from the shovel, wheat would be dear in the corresponding month, but it would be cheap if the grain remained still. See J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_ (Paris, 1679), p. 268. See further P. Sébillot, _Le Folk-lore de France_, iii. (Paris, 1906) pp. 510 _sq._

M245 Bonfires on the Eve of Twelfth Night. Fire applied to the fruit-trees on the Eve of Twelfth Night in Normandy and the Ardennes.

720 Ch. Beauquier, _Les Mois en Franche-Comté_ (Paris, 1900), p. 12.

721 J. Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 126-129. Compare Amélie Bosquet, _La Normandie Romanesque et Merveilleuse_ (Paris and Rouen, 1845), pp. 295 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_ (Berlin, 1875), pp. 536 _sqq._

722 A. Meyrac, _Traditions, Coutumes, Légendes et Contes des Ardennes_ (Charleville, 1890), pp. 75 _sq._

M246 Fires kindled on Twelfth Night or the Eve of Twelfth Night in England for the sake of the crops.

723 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_, New Edition (London, 1883), i. 33. In many parishes of Gloucestershire it used to be customary on Twelfth Day to light twelve small fires and one large one (J. Brand, _op. cit._ i. 28).

_ 724 The Gentleman’s Magazine_, vol. lxi., February, 1791, p. 116. The article is signed J. W. and dated “Hereford, Jan. 24.” The passage is quoted, correctly in substance, but with many verbal changes, by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_, i. 30 _sq._, and by (Mrs.) E. M. Leather, _The Folk-lore of Herefordshire_ (Hereford and London, 1912), p. 93.

M247 One of the fires on Twelfth Day said to be intended “to burn the old witch.” Parallel custom observed in Macedonia on the Eve of Twelfth Night.

725 (Mrs.) Ella Mary Leather, _The Folk-lore of Herefordshire_ (Hereford and London, 1912), pp. 93 _sq._

726 (Mrs.) E. M. Leather, _op. cit._ pp. 94 _sq._

727 See above, pp. 164 _sqq._

728 G. F. Abbott. _Macedonian Folk-lore_ (Cambridge, 1903), pp. 73-75.

729 This opinion is mentioned by (Mrs.) E. M. Leather, _The Folk-lore of Herefordshire_, p. 95.

M248 Other accounts of the fires on Twelfth Night in England and Ireland.

730 Thomas Pennant, “A Tour in Scotland, 1769,” in John Pinkerton’s _Voyages and Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), iii. 49.

731 Thomas Hyde, _Historia religionis veterum Persarum_ (Oxford, 1700), p. 257.

732 Sir Henry Piers, _Description of the County of Westmeath_, quoted by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1883), i. 25.

733 H. J. Byrne, “All Hallows Eve and other Festivals in Connaught,” _Folk-lore_, xviii. (1907) p. 439.

M249 Belief of the Germanic peoples that the weather for the twelve months of the year is determined by the weather of the Twelve Days.

734 C. S. Burne and G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_ (London, 1883), p. 408.

_ 735 The Popish Kingdome or reigne of Antichrist, written in Latin verse by Thomas Naogeorgus and Englyshed by Barnabe Googe, 1570_, edited by R. C. Hope (London, 1880), p. 46; E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ (Stuttgart, 1852), p. 473, § 237; A. Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1861-1862), i. 468, § 696; A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche_ (Leipsic, 1848), p. 411; A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic, 1859), ii. 115, § 354; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 61, § 74; Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 18; M. Toeppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_2 (Danzig, 1867), p. 61; L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), ii. 29, § 294; August Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna, 1878), p. 175; K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna, 1880), p. 250, § 1292; Christian Schneller, _Märchen und Sagen aus Wälschtirol_ (Innsbruck, 1867), p. 231; J. Haltrich, _Zur Volkskunde der Siebenbürger Sachsen_ (Vienna, 1885), p. 282; Willibald Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_ (Vienna and Olmutz, 1893), p. 317; Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ (Prague, 1905), p. 12; P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 16 _sq._

736 E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ (Stuttgart, 1852), p. 473, § 237; A. Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1861-1862), i. 468, § 696.

737 A. Birlinger, _op. cit._ i. 470.

738 F. J. Vonbun, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Chur, 1862), p. 131; A. Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_, i. 469; Chr. Schneller, _Märchen und Sagen aus Wälschtirol_ (Innsbruck, 1867), p. 231.

M250 Belief of the Celtic peoples that the weather for the twelve months of the year is determined by the weather of the Twelve Days.

739 Jules Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 20 _sq._

740 J. Loth, “Les douze jours supplémentaires (_gourdeziou_) des Bretons et les douze jours des Germains et des Indous,” _Revue Celtique_, xxiv. (1903) pp. 310 _sq._

741 J. G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 243.

742 Thomas Pennant, “A Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides in 1772,” in John Pinkerton’s _Voyages and Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), iii. 384.

M251 The Twelve Nights among the ancient Aryans of India.

_ 743 The Hymns of the Rigveda_, translated by R. T. H. Griffith (Benares, 1889-1892), book iv. hymn 33, vol. ii. pp. 150 _sqq._; H. Zimmer, _Altindisches Leben_ (Berlin, 1879), pp. 365-367; A. Hillebrandt, _Ritual-Litteratur, Vedische Opfer und Zauber_ (Strasburg, 1897), pp. 5 _sq._ However, the Ribhus are very obscure figures in Vedic mythology. Compare H. Oldenberg, _Die Religion des Veda_ (Berlin, 1894), pp. 235 _sq._; A. A. Macdonnell, _Vedic Mythology_ (Strasburg, 1897), pp. 131 _sqq._

M252 The Twelve Nights are probably an ancient intercalary period introduced to equate twelve lunar months to the solar year.

744 F. Max Müller, _Lectures on the Science of Language_, Sixth Edition (London, 1871), i. 6 _sqq._; O. Schrader, _Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde_ (Strasburg, 1901), p. 547; _id._, _Sprachvergleichung und Urgeschichte_3 (Jena, 1906-1907), ii. 228.

745 This explanation of the sacredness of the twelve days among the Indo-European peoples of the East and West is due to A. Weber. See O. Schrader, _Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde_ (Strasburg, 1901), pp. 391-394; _id._, _Sprachvergleichung und Urgeschichte_3 (Jena, 1906-1907), ii. 2. pp. 228-234. It is accepted by J. Loth (in _Revue Celtique_, xxiv. 1903, pp. 311 _sq._), Professor H. Hirt (_Die Indogermanen_, Strasburg, 1905-1907, ii. 537, 544), Professor J. H. Moulton (_Two Lectures on the Science of Language_, Cambridge, 1903, pp. 47 _sq._), and J. A. MacCulloch (in Dr. J. Hastings’s _Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics_, iii. 81 _sq._), but is rejected on what seem to me insufficient grounds by Professor O. Schrader (_ll.cc._).

_ 746 Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, i. 307 _sqq._

M253 The superstitions attaching to the Twelve Nights are not of Christian origin.

_ 747 Die gestriegelte Rockenphilosophie_ (Chemnitz, 1759), pp. 860, 861; _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_ (Munich, 1860-1867), i. 365; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 61; P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 15; A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ (Prague, 1905), p. 11. The phrase “the Twelve Nights” in the sense of “the Twelve Days and Nights” is doubtless derived from the ancient Aryan custom of counting by nights instead of by days and of regarding the period of the earth’s revolution on its axis as beginning with the night rather than with the day. See Caesar, _De bello Gallico_, vi. 18; Tacitus, _Germania_, 11; O. Schrader, _Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde_ (Strasburg, 1901), pp. 844 _sqq._; J. Loth, “L’Année celtique,” _Revue Celtique_, xxv. (1904) pp. 115 _sqq._ The Athenians reckoned a day from sunset to sunset, and the Romans reckoned it from midnight to midnight (Censorinus, _De die natali_, xxiii. 3).

748 A. Tille, _Die Geschichte der deutschen Weihnacht_ (Leipsic, preface dated 1893), pp. 3 _sq._, 281 _sqq._; O. Schrader, _Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde_ (Strasburg, 1901), p. 392.

749 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 15.

750 A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 61, § 74. As to the varying dates of the Twelve Nights see further E. Mogk, “Mythologie,” in H. Paul’s _Grundriss der germanischen Philologie_, iii.2 (Strasburg, 1900), p. 260.

751 See above, p. 324.

752 Thus A. Wuttke observes that by far the greater part of the superstitions attaching to the Twelve Nights are of purely heathen origin (_Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_,2 p. 61); and K. Weinhold similarly remarks that the superstitions in question cannot have originated in Christian dogmas, and that they point to the sacredness of the winter solstice among the heathen tribes of Germany (_Weinacht-Spiele und Lieder aus Süddeutschland und Schlesien_, Vienna, 1875, p. 4).

753 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 254 _sqq._; and for Easter in particular see my letter “Attis and Christ,” _The Athenaeum_, No. 4184, January 4th, 1908, pp. 19 _sq._; Franz Cumont, _Les Religions orientales dans le Paganisme romain_2 (Paris, 1909), pp. 106 _sq._, 333 _sq._

M254 An intercalary period a natural subject of superstition to primitive peoples. M255 The Three Kings of Twelfth Night.

754 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1883), i. 21 _sq._; E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fêtes religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. 32, 38, 39-42; Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, 1861-1862), i. 21 _sq._, 30 _sq._; _id._, _Fest-Kalender aus Böhmen_ (Prague, N.D.), p. 18; _id._, _Das festliche Jahr_ (Leipsic, 1863), pp. 23-26; _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_ (Munich, 1860-1867), ii. 262 _sq._; L. F. Sauvé, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), pp. 15-18; Ch. Beauquier, _Les Mois en Franche-Comté_ (Paris, 1900), pp. 13-15; _La Bresse Louhannaise_, Janvier, 1906, p. 42; P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 51; A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ (Prague, 1905), pp. 32-34; E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Bräuche des Schweizervolkes_ (Zürich, 1913), pp. 104, 121.

755 Matthew ii. 1-12.

756 Ch. Beauquier, _Les Mois en Franche-Comté_ (Paris, 1900), pp. 13-16.

757 L. F. Sauvé, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), pp. 15-17. Compare the old Roman cure for the falling sickness (above, p. 68).

758 O. Freiherr von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Fest-Kalender aus Böhmen_ (Prague, N.D.), pp. 17 _sq._

759 Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, 1861-1862), i. 22. The mere names of the three kings worn on the person were believed to be a cure for epilepsy. See J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_ (Paris, 1679), pp. 350 _sq._

760 R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_ (London and Edinburgh, 1886), i. 62, referring to Warton’s _History of English Poetry_.

M256 The Lord of Misrule in England. Reign of the Lord of Misrule during the Twelve Days. Lord of Misrule in the Temple.

761 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1883), i. 497 _sqq._; E. K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_ (Oxford, 1903), i. 403 _sqq._

762 John Stow, _A Survey of London, written in the year 1598_, edited by William J. Thoms (London, 1876), p. 37.

763 Sir Thomas Urquhart, _The Discovery of a most Exquisite Jewel, more precious than Diamonds inchased in Gold_ (Edinburgh, 1774), p. 146.

764 J. Brand, _op. cit._ i. 499.

765 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1883), i. 497 _sqq._ As to the Lords of Misrule in colleges and the Inns of Court see further E. K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_, i. 407 _sqq._

766 Sir Richard Steele, in _The Spectator_, Friday, 14th December 1711.

M257 Lord of Misrule at the English Court.

767 E. K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_, i. 405-407.

M258 The Festival of Fools in France.

768 L. J. B. Bérenger-Feraud, _Superstitions et Survivances_, iv. (Paris, 1896) pp. 4 _sq._, quoting Jacob, _Mœurs et Coutumes du Moyen-Age_. Compare E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fêtes religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. 50 _sqq._ In some places the festival was held on the octave of Epiphany. See E. K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_ (Oxford, 1903), i. 323.

769 E. Cortet, _op. cit._ p. 51; Papon, _Histoire Générale de la Provence_, iii. p. 212, quoted by L. J. B. Bérenger-Feraud, _op. cit._ iv. 9 _sq._; E. K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_ (Oxford, 1903), i. 293 _sq._, quoting a circular letter which was addressed by the Faculty of Theology at Paris to the bishops and chapters of France on March 12th, 1445. Many details as to the mode of celebrating the Festival of Fools in different parts of France are on record. See A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes, et Traditions des Provinces de France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 293-295; E. Cortet, _op. cit._ pp. 52 _sqq._; L. J. B. Bérenger-Feraud, _op. cit._ iv. 5 _sqq._; G. Bilfinger, _Untersuchungen über die Zeitrechnung der alten Germanen_, ii. _Das germanische Julfest_ (Stuttgart, 1901), pp. 72 _sq._; and especially E. K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_, i. 274 _sqq._

M259 Buffooneries in the churches at the Festival of Fools.

770 E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fêtes religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. 53-56; L. J. B. Bérenger-Feraud, _Superstitions et Survivances_, iv. 28-41; E. K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_ (Oxford, 1903), i. 330-334. While the Festival of Fools appears to have been most popular in France, it is known to have been celebrated also in Germany, Bohemia, and England. See E. K. Chambers, _op. cit._ i. 318 _sqq._ In his youth the Bohemian reformer John Huss took part in these mummeries. The revellers wore masks. “A clerk, grotesquely vested, was dubbed ‘bishop,’ set on an ass with his face to the tail, and led to mass in the church. He was regaled on a platter of broth and a bowl of beer, and Huss recalls the unseemly revel which took place. Torches were borne instead of candles, and the clergy turned their garments inside out and danced” (E. K. Chambers, _op. cit._ i. 320 _sq._).

M260 Festival of the Innocents and the Boy Bishop in France.

771 E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fêtes religieuses_, p. 58; E. K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_ (Oxford, 1903), i. 317 _sq._, 336 _sqq._ Compare L. J. B. Bérenger-Feraud, _Superstitions et Survivances_, iv. 25-28. From the evidence collected by the latter writer it appears that in some places the election of the Boy Bishop took place on other days than Childermas. At Alençon the election took place on the sixth of December; at Vienne, in Dauphiné, on the fifteenth, and at Soissons on St. Thomas’s Day (the twenty-first of December).

772 This I learn from my wife, who as a girl was educated in the convent.

M261 The Boy Bishop in England.

773 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1883), i. 421-431; E. K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_ (Oxford, 1903), i. 352 _sqq._; (Mrs.) Ella Mary Leather, _The Folk-lore of Herefordshire_ (Hereford and London, 1912), pp. 138 _sq._; _County Folk-lore_, II. _North Riding of Yorkshire, York and the Ainsty_, edited by Mrs. Gutch (London, 1901), pp. 352 _sq._

774 J. Brand, _op. cit._ i. 426.

M262 The customs and superstitions associated with the Twelve Days or Nights are probably relics of an old heathen festival of intercalation at midwinter. M263 Superstitions associated with intercalary periods among the Aztecs of Mexico and the Mayas of Yucatan.

775 As to the Aztec year see above, p. 287 note 1.

776 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), pp. 77, 283; E. Seler, “The Mexican Chronology,” in _Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin No. 28_ (Washington, 1904), p. 16 (where some extracts from the Aztec text of Sahagun are quoted and translated); J. de Acosta, _Natural and Moral History of the Indies_ (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880), ii. 392.

777 Diego de Landa, _Relation des Choses de Yucatan_ (Paris, 1864), pp. 204 _sq._, 276 _sq._

M264 The five supplementary days of the year in ancient Egypt.

778 Geminus, _Elementa Astronomiae_, viii. 18, p. 106, ed. C. Manitius (Leipsic, 1898).

779 G. Foucart, in Dr. J. Hastings’s _Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics_, iii. (1910) p. 93. Professor Ed. Meyer adduces astronomical and other grounds for thinking that the ancient Egyptian calendar, as we know it, began on the 19th of July, 4241 B.C., which accordingly he calls “the oldest sure date in the history of the world.” See Ed. Meyer, _Geschichte des Altertums_2, i. 2. (Stuttgart and Berlin, 1909), pp. 101 _sq._, § 197; and against this view C. F. Lehmann-Haupt, in the _English Historical Review_, April 1913, p. 348.

780 Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 12. Compare Diodorus Siculus, i. 13. 4 _sq._ As to Keb and Nut, the parents of Osiris, Isis, and the rest, see A. Erman, _Die ägyptische Religion_ (Berlin, 1905), p. 29. The Egyptian deities Keb, Nut, and Thoth are called by Plutarch by the Greek names of Cronus, Rhea, and Hermes. On account of these Greek names the myth was long thought to be of comparatively recent date; “but the Leyden Papyrus (i. 346) has shown that the legend existed in its essential features in the time of the Thebans, and the Texts of the Pyramids have carried it back to the very beginnings of Egyptian mythology” (G. Foucart, _l.c._). As five days are the seventy-second, not the seventieth, part of three hundred and sixty days, it was proposed by Wyttenbach to read τὸ ἑβδομηκοστὸν δεύτερον instead of τὸ ἑβδομηκοστὸν in Plutarch’s text. See D. Wyttenbachius, _Animadversiones in Plutarchi Moralia_ (Leipsic, 1820-1834), iii. 143 _sq._

M265 Early attempts of the Aryan peoples to correct the lunar year by intercalating a month at intervals of several years instead of intercalating twelve days in every year.

781 H. Zimmer, _Altindisches Leben_ (Berlin, 1879), pp. 365-370. Compare _The Hymns of the Rigveda_, translated by R. T. H. Griffith (Benares, 1889-1892), Book i. Hymn 164, stanza 48 (vol. i. p. 293),