TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

PERAHTA, BEKCHTE. 281
more ancient tradition of a reine Pedauque, regina pede aucae
whose figure stands carved in stone on old churches. 1
It is appar
ently a swan-maiden s foot, which as a mark of her higher nature
she cannot lay aside (any more than Huldra her tail, or the devil
his horse hoof) and at the same time the ;
spinning-woman s splay
foot that worked the treadle, and that of the trampling dame
Stempe or Trempe. If we had older and minuter descriptions of
frau Berhta in Germany, perhaps this foot would also be
mentioned in them (see SuppL).
It still remains for us to explain her precise connexion with a
particular day of the year. It is either on Dec. 25 (dies natalis),
or
twelve days after Christmas, on Jan. 6, when the star appeared to
the Three Kings (magi), that the Christian church celebrates the
feast of the manifestation of Christ under the name of epipkania
(v. Ducange, sub v.), lethphania or theophania (0. Fr. tiephaine,
tiphagne). In an OHG. gloss (Emm. 39-4), theophania is rendered
giperahta naht, the bright night of the heavenly vision that
appeared to the shepherds in the field. 2 Documents of the Mid.
Ages give dates in the dative case: perchtentag, perhtennaht
(for OHG. zi demo perahtin taga,
zi deru Perahtun naht) ; again,
*
an der berechtnaht, M. Beham (Mone, anz. 4, 451) ;
ze perhnahten,
MB. 8, 540 (an. 1302); imze an den ahtodin tac nah der
Perhtage, till the eighth day after the Perht s (fern.) day, Fundgr.
110, 22 ; von dem nehsten Berhtag, MB. 9, 138 (an. 1317) ; an
dem Prehentag, MB. 7, 256 (an. 1349); these and other contracted
forms are cited with references in Scheffer s Ilaltaus p. 75, and
Schm. 1, 194. 3 Now from this there might very easily grow up a
personification, Perchtentzc, Perchtennaht, the bright day becoming
Bright s, i.e,, dame Bright s, day. (Conrad of Dankrotsheim, p. 123,
puts his milde Belite down a week earlier, on Dec. 30.) 4
Two hypotheses present themselves. Either the entire fabulous
existence of a Perhta first arose accidentally and by misunderstand
ing, out of such personification ; or the analogy of the bright day
was tacked on to a previously existing Perhta. Now it is true we
1 AM. w. 3, 47-8 ; Paris too connects this Pedauque with Berte, iii. iv.
198 ; reine Pedauque, Michelet hist, de France 1, 496-8. 2, 152.
a Luke 2, 0. 0. i. 12, 3. 4. Hel. 12, 8. Maria 182.
3 The OHG. jfcrmtaepaza8cev6 (Graff 5, 360) is Good Friday, and
distinct from Prehentag, Perchtentag.
4 Dec. 28 is Innocents , 29 St. Thomas s, 31 St. Silvester s.