TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

124 GODS.
already in 0. v. 4, 9, prob. abbreviation of
sunnundages aband, feria
ante dominicam, for vespera solis cannot have been meant [conf.
Engl. Whitsun-eve] and ; occasionally, corresponding to the Komance
dies dominica, frontag, N. ps. 23.
MID. HIGH GERM. Would any one believe, that the names of
the days of the week are not easily to be picked out of the abun
dant remains of our MHG. literature ? It is true, sunnen tac
(suntac in Berth. 118) and maniac (Parz. 452, 16. mcentac 498, 22.
Amis 1648) 1 admit of no doubt. Neither do Donrestac (Donerstag,
Uolrich 73 a . Dunrestac, Berth. 128), spelt Duristag in a Semi-
Low Germ. urk. of 1300 in Hofer p. 57), and Dornstag in one of
1495, Useners femgerichten p. 131 ; nor Fritac (Parz. 448, 7. 470,
1. Walth. 36, 31. Berth. 134), Vriegtag, Uolrich 73 a
;
nor yet
samztac (Parz. 439, 2. Berth. 138), sunnen abent (Trist. 3880).
But uncertainty hangs about the third and fourth days. The
former, by a remarkable variation, was in Bavaria named Eritac,
Erdac (the true form not quite certain, eritag in Adelung s vat.
collected from
hss. 2, 189. ergetag in Berth. 122 ; see examples
urkunden, Schm. 1, 96-7), in Swabia on the contrary Ziestac, for
Ziewestac. Both of these forms, which have nothing to do with
each other, live to this day in the speech of the common people :
Bav. ierte, Austr. iarla, irita, Vicentino-Germ. eortd, ortd, Alem.
ziestag, zinstag, ziestig, zistiff, zienstig, zeinstig, zinstag. The insertion of
the liquid has corrupted the word, and brought in quite irrelevant
notions. In central Germany the form diestag, tiestag seems to
predominate (diestik in the Pthon), whence our dienstag (less cor
rectly dinstag, there is good reason for the ie) ; the spelling ding-
stag, as if from ding, thing, juclicium, is false ; dinstag
occurs in
Gaupps magdeb. recht p. 272. The fourth day I have never seen
named after the god, either in MHG. or in our modern dialects,
unless indeed the gwontig cited in the note can be justified as
standing for Gwuotenstag, Wuotenstag; everywhere that abstrac
tion midweek has carried all before it, but it has itself become
1
Zuemtig for Monday, Staid. 2, 470 ought perhaps to be zue mentig, ze
mantage ; yet 1, 490 he has guenti, giienti, Tobler 248b has gwontig,
guentig, and Zellwegers urk. l b 19 , guonti, for which Urk. no. 146
has an gutem tag, which seems to be supported by Haltaus
jahrzeitb. Or is only this particular Monday after Lent called sol In
the Cod. pal. 372, 103 (ann. 1382) we have giiotem tag. The resemblance
of this good day to the Westphalian Gudensdag (Woden s day) is purely
accidental.