TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

SACRIFICE. 45
Procopius de bello Goth. 2, 15 of the Thulites, i.e. Scandinavians :
Ovovcrt, $6 6vSe\e%e(7TaTa lepeia irdvra Kal evayi&vcri,. ra>v e
I<JI lepeiwv G$ rb Ka\\icrTov av6 pa)7T 6 ? eaTLV, ovirep cuv Sopid-
\COTOV TrOiriO~aLVTO 7T p CO T O V. TOVTOV jap TO) "Ap6L OvOVCTlV,
eVel 6ebv CLVTOV von itpvai peyio-rov elvcu. Ibid. 2, 14, of the
Heruli : TTO\VV TIVCL vofJbl^ovTes 6ewv opCkov, oD? Srj KOI
dv0 PCDTTWV Qvaiais Ckdcnteo-Qai ocriov aural? eSo/cet elvat. Ibid.
2, 25, of the already converted Franks at their passage of the Po :
eTTika^o/jievoi 8e r?}? ol iralSas <ye(f>vpas
<f>pdry<yoi,
re KOI y vv ac
ted $ T&V ToTdc&v, ovsTrep evTCLvOd evpov I e p e v o v T Kal avrcov
TO, aco/jLara 9 rbv irora/jibv d/c pod iv la r ov TT o\e pov eppiir-
TOVV. ol fidpftapo!, jap OVTOL, Xpio-riavol 76701/0x6?, ra 7ro\\a TT}?
TraXata? 0^77? $v\do-o-ovcri,, Qvcriais re ^wfievoi
Kal a\\a oi>%
ocria iepevovres, ravrrj re ra? pavreias
Sidonius Apollinaris 8, 6 of the Saxons: mos est remeaturis
decimnm quemque captorum per aequales et cruciarias poenas,
plus ob hoc tristi quod superstitioso ritu necare. Capitul. de partib.
Saxon. 9 : si quis hominem diabolo sacrificaverit et in hostiam, more
paganorum, daemonibus obtulerit. Lex Frisionum, additio sap. tit.
42 : qui fanum effregerit . . . immolatur diis, quorum templa
violavit ; the law affected only the Frisians trans Laubachi/ who
remained heathens longer.
What Strabo relates of the Cimbri, and
Dietmar of the Northmen, will be cited later. Epist. Bonif. 25 (ed.
Wiirdtw.) : hoc quoque inter alia crimina agi in partibus illis
dixisti, quod quidam ex fidelibus ad immolandum paganis sua
venundent mancipia ; masters were allowed to sell slaves, and
Christians sold them to heathens for sacrifice. The captive prince
Graecus Avar de (a) Suevis pecudis more litatus (ch. XIII, the
goddess Zisa). 1 For evidences of human sacrifice among the Norse,
see Mliller s sagabibl. 2, 560. 3, 93. As a rule, the victims were
captive enemies, purchased slaves or great criminals ; the sacrifice
of women and children by the Franks on crossing a river reminds
2
of the Greek $ia{3arrjpia ; the first fruits of war, the first prisoner
1 Adam of Bremen de situ Daniae cap. 24, of the Lithuanians : draconcs
adorant cum volucribus, quibus etiam vivos litant homines, quos a mercatoribus
emunt, diligenter omnino probates, ne maculam in corpore habeant.
2 Hence in our own folk-tales, the first to cross the bridge, the first to
enter the new building or the country, pays with his life, which meant, falls a
sacrifice. Jornandes cap. 25, of the Huns : ad Scythiam properant, et quantoscunque
prius in ingressu Scytharum habuere, litavere Vidoriae.