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838 SOULS.
between the hosts of heaven and hell be
(tussle for the soul)
traceable to Christian tradition. The Ep. of Jude v. 9 does tell
of archangel Michael and the devils striving for the body of
Moses/ and the champion Michael at all events seems borrowed
thence. But jealousy and strife over the partition of souls may
be supposed an idea already present to the heathen mind, as the
Norse OSinn, Thorr and Freyja appropriated their several por
tions of the slain. At pp. 60 and 305 we identified Freyja with
Gertrude : some say the soul, on quitting the body, is the first
night with St. Gerdraut, the next with St. Michael, the third in
such place
as it has earned/ Superst. F, 24. Now as Antichrist
in the great world-fight is slain by Michael (p. 811), while Surtr
has for adversaries OSinn and Thorr : Gerdrut and Michael
may fairly be translated back into Frowa and Wuotan (or
Donar) . So at p. 198 a mons sancti Michaelis was found
applicable to Wuotan or Zio (see Suppl.).
An Irish fairytale makes the spirits of the Silent Folk maintain
a violent contest for three nights at the cross-roads, as to which
churchyard a human corpse shall be buried in, Ir. elfenm. p. 68.
So that elves and dwarfs, as they steal live children and maidens,
for our bodies
(p. 386-8), would seem also to have a hankering
and souls. The souls of the drowned the water-nix keeps in his
house (p. 496).
All this leads up to a more exact study of the notions about
Death.
Moyses ,
i The passage is supposed to be founded on a lost book named Avdj3atns
couf. Grotius ad S. Judae ep. 9, and Fabricii Cod. pseudepigr. V. T. p. 839.