MYTHOLOGY

Article Idea: Epiphanes (deity)/Epiphany (pre-Christian)

Epiphanes was a lunar god, known to be worshipped in the area of Cephallania, through a reference from Clement of Alexandria, in Stromaties, III. The Epiphany festival was named after him.

Clement wrote that Epiphanes was "worshipped as a god with the most elaborate and lascivious rites by the Cephallenians, in the great temple of Samē, on the day of the new moon."^[1] Clement thought this a young man and the originator Monadic Gnosis. However it appears to be a pre-Christian lunar god, before becoming adapted as the name of a Christian festival.

Notes

^ Mead 1880:232-235

References

Mead, G.R.S. 1900. "Epiphanes, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, pp. 232-235, available online by The Gnostic Society Library.
Wace, Henry, and Smith, William, eds. 1880. "Epiphanes." A Dictionay of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines, Vol. 2, p. 147-148, available online.

Category:Lunar gods reli-stub MEast-myth-stub

Perchta

(rough translation German wikipedia) The Perchta becomes - when Butzebercht - also as old, safe-keeping loose width unit woman represented, who has a crippled (of spiders the turned out too largely or also duck or gänseförmigen) foot, like the old women in the fairy tale the three crank inside. The attributes overlap here with those the witch figure of the people faith. The male counterpart of the Butzebercht is the Butzemann. An iron Perchta provided with armament is rarer. In the christianisierten form the Perchta increasingly attributes are attached Maria. The Perchta well-known in this form also as a white woman is introduced now also as a guide of a crowd of innocent children. Their day is primarily 6 January (Epiphanias and/or three-king day). In addition, appearances are possible for Easter or at the beginning of the carnival. Perchta such as Hulda drive by air and must be calmed, which is possible with beer and cake with the Perchta particularly.

ehtnic info box that works (Dutch people) |related-c

Dutch mythology Work in progress...

The mythology of Netherlands and Dutch people, not altogether written down is recollected through historical accounts of missionaries and preserved in the etymology of place names and certain landmarks. Mainly Germanic tribes, they had following special beliefs and landmarks that show a strong legends of trees and forests as their home, while the flooding of the lowlands equated sea with (primordial chaos):

Legend of Wooden Shoes

Is modern mythology account and includes: Wodan - Mentioned as "God of Sun" in fairy tale. Wednesday is named after him. Their deity shared with other Germanic people Odin,

Holland Comes from words Holt Land which means "Land of Many Trees" or forests. Fairy Tale speaks of the land covered with many trees for many years and people lived in the trees for a thousandyears. Fairy tale speaks of the trees keeping the land firm otherwise it would melt or disappear under water and floods. The legend goes only once people acquired animals and crops did they come out of the forest and seek open lands and pasture lands.

Oak Tree Eyck name for Oak, popular last name in Netherlands comes from their word for the oak tree. Fairy tail speaks of Oak tree and forests covering the land and keeping the water out. The land was low and prone to flooding, hence when the trees were removed the "fairy tale" man named Eyck "Oak" worried the land would submerge under water again. The fairies came to promise him the trees would thus stand upside down to prevent the flooding.

Trintje mentioned as the name of a Tree Elf in one fairy tale, her name is a nickname for Katrina. She comes with Moss Maiden and helps translate the oak trees promise to humans to stand upside down (later the elfs or kabouter show mankind how to turn the trees into piles to drive into the ground and thus to make the land firm to build on, and not to sink into the water.)

Moss Maiden - a wood nymph, the object of legend of the Dutch Wild Hunt. Also mentioned in fairy story as an wood elf bringing messages from the oak trees. See article on dyrad.

==============

Sources In use Below this line: note - this text is from listed sources - do not copy verbatim!

Wild Hunt

(Wild Hunt legend:) Netherlands - Wodan, Gait met de hunties/hondjes (Gait with his dogs), Derk met de hunties/hondjes (Derk with his dogs), Derk met de beer (Derk with his boar), het Glujende peerd (the glowing horse), Ronnekemère, Henske met de hondjes/Hänske mit de hond (Henske with his dogs), Berend van Galen (Beerneken van Galen, Bèrndeken van Geulen, Bommen Berend or Beerneken, the bishop of Münster, Germany)

According to H.A. Guerber: "The object of this phantom hunt varied greatly, and was either [that of] a visionary boar or wild horse, white-breasted maidens who were caught and borne away bound only once in seven years, or the wood nymphs, called moss maidens, who were thought to represent the autumn leaves torn from the trees and whirled away by the wintry gale." Whatever the case, the Hunt was most often seen in the autumn and winter, when the winds blew the fiercest.

Sanctuaries in nature

http://www.geocities.com/reginheim/dutchlegendsfriesland.html

According to the Roman historian Tacitus the Germans worshipped their gods on holy places in nature.the laws to fight heathenism that were created after 775AD by Charlemagne, we can distinct between three types of holy places: · Hills, rocks and stones; · Flowing rivers, lakes, bogswamps and wells; · Forests and trees.

From Medieval sources, like the 9th century "Indiculus superstitionem" and The Netherlands still has quite an amount of sanctuaries that date back to heathen times. What now follows is a list of the different types of sanctuaries: ...

The "G" of "Goden" ("gods" in Dutch) in the second word has been changed from Woden via a sound-shift.

... ... Other heathen elements 10. Clockpits (Unsanctified clocks) In a lot of saga's "unsanctified clocks" play a part. That the stories about this clocks can have a heathen origin is proven by Saxo Grammaticus (~1150-1220), the historian of the Danes. He tells that clocks were used during heathen holidays in Uppsala. (Schuyf 1995: 64) 11. Churches that were built on heathen places 12. Nail-trees and rag-trees (as healing trees)

Places that can be linked to heathen customs in Friesland (Frisia)

Flowing rivers, lakes, bogswamps and wells

· On Helgoland, where Forseti (son of Balder) was worshipped, was a holy well, from which one was only allowed to collect water when he remained silent. (Halbertsma 1984)

· In the saga that describes the origins of Frisian law a god with a golden axe is mentioned. With this axe he steers a ship to shore, creates a well and founds the Frisian laws. This well was called Axenhowe. Some see this god as Forseti, others as Donar. The location is unknown. (De Vries 1957) ...

·... Forests and trees Many Germanic sanctuaries were positioned on open spaces in forsts, which sometimes had an enclosure. (Schuyf 1995) ... Some authors think that the wood of the Frisian wargoddes Baduhenna was the later town of Heilo. (Halbertsma 2000)

The connection of trees with fertility can be found back in the belief that babies hang in trees. This trees are often hollow. According to Waling Dykstra there was a legend in northern Frisia which tells that little children were taken from a hollow tree ("the tree of lady Holle"). This tree stood somewhere in the woods. (Dykstra 1895) In Roordahuizen, Achlum, Dronrijp, Langweer and IJsbrechtum the village lime-tree fulfilled this role. (Schuyf 1995)

Hills, rocks and stones In Bergum lies a big flat stone that is called the Poppestien. The name and function of the stone, delivering babies, is described in a 13th century charm. The belief that children come from stones only exists in the north of the Netherlands. Also from Leek, Rinsumageest, Oenkerk and Urk we know childrens-stones. (Schuyf 1995)

In Oudega lies the Blauwe Steen (Blue Stone), which has even been pointed out on a map from 1664. In the folktales the scratches on the stone are linked to swordslashes.

Mountains and hills also play a part in fertility. On the islands of Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog the children were thought to come from dunes. (Schuyf 1995)

Heathen clocks During the sanctification of the Saint-Odolf monastery in Stavoren (which is now drowned in the IJsselmeer) the people forgot to sanctify the clocks (churchbells). The devil caused the two clocks to fall in the water. One of them ended up in the Fluessen and the other one in the water near the Galama-dams. According to folklore fishermen can hear clocks ring on silent nights. This clocks could point to the presence of a heathen sanctuary near Stavoren. (Schuyf 1995) ... Literaturelist: Bos, J. M., Archeologie van Friesland, Stichting Matrijs, Utrecht, 1995 Derolez, R.L.M., De Godsdienst der Germanen, Roermond, 1959 Dykstra, W., Uit Friesland's Volksleven, Van Vroeger en Later, tweede deel, 1895 Halbertsma, H., Het heidendom waar Luidger onder de Friezen mee te maken kreeg, in: Sierksma, Kl. (red.), Liudger 742-809, Muiderberg 1984 Halbertsma, H., Frieslands Oudheid, Stichting Matrijs, Utrecht, 2000 Schuyf, J., Heidens Nederland, Zichtbare overblijfselen van een niet-christelijk verleden, Stichting Matrijs, Utrecht, 1995 Vries, J. de, Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte, band II, Berlin, 1957

Willibrord and Bonifatius:

http://www.geocities.com/reginheim/dutchlegendswilliboni.html

Primairy resources

Alcuin, Vita Willibrordi

Willibald, Vita Bonifatii

The "Veluwsche sagen":

ORIGINAL

In his book "Veluwsche sagen" (Arnhem: Gysbers and van Loon) Gustaaf van de Wall Perné (1877-1911) collected some very interesting stories. His interests for this goes back to his childhood…

"Born in the heart of the Veluwe, I heard lots of wonderful stories there as a child, which left a deep impression on me."

…and continued in his further life:

"Our land, especially in the eastern part with its vast forests and immense moorfields, is still full of old folkpoetry; but she is asleep. Let us hope, not for eternally."

In his attempt to wake her he decided to write down the sagas of the "Vale Ouwe" (=Veluwe), and consulted folkalmanacs from the province of Gelderland, books about history and folklore, and after that the oldest inhabitants of the Veluwe. The results were good, within a year the first print of his book was sold out.

In the first saga, titled "De groote en de kleine hul", (which is old-Dutch for "the big and the small hill") van de Wall Perné describes the creation of the hills in Elspeet en Uddel.

After Donar ("Thunar") smashed the oven of the giant of Uddel with a blow of his hammer, the giant went to his neighbour (the other giant) in Elspeet who lived on the Hardenberg to ask if he could bake his bread in his oven. The giant of Elspeet approved, and said that he should bring his bread the next morning, because then he was going to bake himself too. After they had collectively made fun of Donar, the giant of Uddel went to get firewood in exchange for the help, and they both ate the evening meal at the home of the giant of Elspeet.

"After the meal, while the wife was cleaning the cooking pot with an oakbush, the giants stayed together to talk and they drank lots of times on the succes of the baking. (of the bread) This is how they drank more mead then was necessery for the success of the baking and their good night sleep."

The giant of Uddel went home, and snored so hard that it could be heard "seven miles around". When he woke up, he noticed to his fright that he had overslept himself. He threw his wife out of the box bed and said that she quickly had to mould the bread. After that he sprinted with the bread right through the moor to Elspeet. While doing that his clogs (wooden shoes) became full of sand, which forced him to stop halfway to empty them. The sand from the clogs is still laying there today: the Grote- en de Kleine Hul. (Big- and Small Hill) The giant just arrived in time in Elspeet.

The second saga, "The creation of the Uddeler- and Bleeke lake", is described in spring in splendid metafores as the battle of Donar with giants and the Midgaardsnake. When Donar resists the wintergiants fiercely, they decide to commit to an alliance with the Midgaardsnake. Together they fight the god of thunder: the giants throw with hail, the snake climbs into the highest oak tree and blows her poison into the sky. When Donar goes into attack and rides through the air with his billy-goat wagon, the whole sky is ablaze and the rumbling of his hammer makes the earth tremble.

"Then Thunar lifted the never missing thunderhammer and smashed it with lightening speed down upon the wide opened snakehead, with such a force, that the giant monster was totally crushed and sank down and the hammer penetrated the trembling earth seven miles deep."

The Midgaardsnake was vanquished, but Donar had also signed his own fate with his ligthningfire. The poison of the snake began to scorch through and stunned the thundergod. With a heavy bang he crashed down. His steerless goats crashed down with wagon and all on the Donderberg ("Thunderhill") in Dieren. After this the earth sank into the sea, the seagod blowed his horn and a big dark ship came to collect the body of Donar.

After the earth became dry again two lakes remained which were as deep as the world: the Uddelermeer or "Lake of Uddel" (Uttiloch), and the Godenmeer (Godslake), also known asWitte- or Bleeke meer.(white- or pale lake)

According to van de Wall Perné Donar was worshipped at the Godenmeer (Godslake), although it is possible that the "G" replaced the "W", something that often occured under Christian influence. This would mean that the lake was dedicated to Wodan.

"…when Thunars hammer, which rose up out of its own from the depths, was found at the Uddelermeer, a holy offering place was founded there by the people who burned the woodpiles for the dead there."

The Uddelermeer, the grave of the Midgaardsnake, was threatened in its existence by the rank growing forest. In 1222 the following happened: "A bright flame came out of the pool and all of the firedemons squeezed out (…) High from the air roaring flames leaked, from the smothering smoke the ghost of the giant snake squeezed himself wriggling up and fled forth with the speed of an arrow."

The forest was burned down and what remained is the moor, where the lakes can still be found nowadays.

In contrast with the Christianized version of the story, in which is claimed that in the Bleeke meer a golden calf was sunk, this was in reality Donar.

The third saga is named "A little fairy tale of Pomphul". This story is about a romance between Froh (Freyr) and the doughter of Hymer, Gerda, in the valley of the Spreng (a spreng is a very small waterflow) near Pomphul. It is still said that the well of Pomphul was probably created by Wodan.

The story is so cloyingly sweet, that the undersigned sees himself forced to leave it further out of consideration.

The fourth piece, "the Witte juffer (old-Dutch for white woman) of Hoog Soeren", is a collection of stories about an ancient, hollow tree. The name, Jufferboom or Spinboom, (Ladytree of Spinningtree) comes from the Witte Juffer (also known as "wit wief") who was spinning in the tree. This story reminds a lot of the Nornes, who were spinning the threads of destiny under the world tree. Van de Wall Perné also mentions a well, in which is spoken about an Urthensula (column of Urth) on the Veluwe.

With exception of the sixt, the rest of the sagas don't contain any explicit references to heathen subjects, which doesn't mean that these aren't also of exceptional beauty. The sixt saga describes a phenomenon that may be considered truly heathen: the Wild Hunt. This procession of the dead marches, under the leadership of Wodan, in an extatic frenzy through the autumnnightly sky. As a closing of the piece, a passage that describes the Wilde Jacht (Wild Hunt) on the Veluwe, which is often the scene of it.

"Suddenly we heard a terrible roaring outside. The wind blew howling and moaning through the trees. The gray man became silent, while his old voice was dominated by the sounds outside. The shining of a little fire lighted up his old weathered face and his white hair. In his faithful eyes shined a soft glow. All three of us listened to the voices of the storm.

The first thunderblow hammered over the others. "That is the Wild Hunt," murmured the old one. Suddenly the weak glow of the little woodfire was overwhelmed by a heavy light and an odd sigh of the air went around us. It was followed by a crashing thunderblow. The small cabin shook. Something fell heavily on the creaking roof and in the fire, which was suddenly extinguished, which caused ashes and sparks to fly around us. Terrified with fear we sat speechless in the dark. I will never forget what we then heard; it will stay with me as a fearful dream full of terror. We heard branches being ripped off with a cracking sound and the ground beneath us trembled. How long we sat there like that, I don't know; it looked like an eternity. When things were calmed down and we silently went outside, we saw a centuries old oak close to the cabin that was hit by lighting. A heavy branch had been torn down and layed half over the cabin. The Wild Hunter (Wodan) was gone, but everywhere in the forest he left his traces. When the gray one and his son brought me to the road, stood high above us the silent, giant dome of the night, in which soft the holy stars glowed."

"Veluwsche sagen" is a terrific work, and very well worth buying for everyone who has a weak spot for the heathen history of the "Vale Ouwe".

==References

[Mead-1] Mead 1880:232-235

[1]