TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

64 WORSHIP.
Beside prayers and sacrifices, one essential feature of the
heathen cultus remains to be brought out : the solemn carrying
about of divine images. The divinity was not to remain rooted to
one spot, but at various times to bestow its presence on the entire
compass of the land (see ch. XIV). So Nerthus rode in state (invehebatur
populis), and Berecyrithia (ch. XIII), so Fro travelled out
in spring, so the sacred ship, the sacred plough was carried round
(ch. XIII Isis). The figure of the unknown Gothic god rode in its
waggon (ch. VI). Fetching-in the Summer or May, carrying-out
Winter and Death, are founded on a similar view. Holda, Berhta
and the like beings all make their circuit at stated seasons, to the
heathen s joy and the Christian s terror ; even the march of
Wuotan s host may be so interpreted (conf. ch. XXXI. Frau
Gauden). When Fro had ceased to appear, Dietrich with the ber
.(boar) and Dietrich Bern still showed themselves (ch. X. XXXI),
or the sonargoltr (atonement-boar) was conveyed to the heroes
banquet (ch. X), and the boar led round the benches (p. 51).
Among public legal observances, the progress of a newly elected
king along the highways, the solemn lustration of roads, the beating
of bounds, at which in olden times gods images and priests can
hardly have been wanting, are all the same kind of thing. After
the conversion, the church permanently sanctioned such processions,
except that the Madonna and saints images were carried, particu
larly when drought, bad crops, pestilence or war had set in, so as to
sacred
bring back rain (ch. XX), fertility of soil, healing and victory ;
images were even carried to help in putting out a fire. The Indicul.
paganiar. XXVIII tells de simulacra quod per campos portant, on
which Eccard 1, 437 gives an important passage from the manuscript
Vita Marcsvidis : (not Maresvidis) statuimus ut annuatim secunda
feria pentecostes patronum ecclesiae in parochiis vestris longo
cwibitu circumferentes et domos vestras lustrantes, et pro gentilitio
amlarvali in lacrymis et varia devotione vos ipsos mactetis et ad
refectionem pauperum eleemosynam comportetis, et in hac curti
pernoctantes super reliquias vigiliis et cantibus solennisetis, ut
praedicto mane determinaturn a vobis anibitum pia lustratione com-
plentes ad monasterium cum honore debito reportetis. Confido
autem de patroni hujus misericordia, quod sic db ca gyrade tcrrae
scmina ulcrius provcniant, et variae aeris inclementiae cessent. The
Roman ambarvalia were purifications of fields, and sacrifices were