FOOTNOTES:

Now carry we Death out of the village,The new Summer into the village,Welcome, dear Summer,Green little corn.

Now carry we Death out of the village,

The new Summer into the village,

Welcome, dear Summer,

Green little corn.

Fig.168.—FromThe Everyday Book(Hone, W.).

In other parts of Bohemia—and the curious reader will find several Bohemias on the Ordnance maps of England—the song varies; it is not Summer that comes back but Life:—

We have carried away Death,And brought back Life.[322]

We have carried away Death,

And brought back Life.[322]

At the feast of the Ascension in Transylvania, the image of Death is clothed gaudily in the dress of a girl: having wound throughout the village supported by two girls the image is stripped of its finery and flung into the river; the dress, however, is assumed by one of the girls and the procession returns singing a hymn. “Thus,” says Miss Harrison, “it is clear that the girl is a sort of resuscitated Death.” In other words, like the May Queen she symbolised the Virgin or Fairy Queen—Vera or Una, the Spirit, Sprout, or Spirit of the Universe, the Fair Ovary of Everything who is represented on the summit of the Christmas Tree: in Latinvirgomeans not only a virgin but also a sprig or sprout.

FOOTNOTES:[255]Fairy Mythology, p. 298.[256]Courtney, Miss,Cornish Feasts and Folklore, p. 129.[257]Hope, R. C.,Sacred Wells.[258]Demonology and Witchcraft.[259]At the time of writing the Servians say they are putting their trust in “Bog and Britannia”.[260]This is an official etymology. It is the one and only poetic idea admitted into Skeat’s Dictionary.[261]Cf.Johnson, W.,Folk Memory, p. 159.[262]Pliny relates Varro’s description as follows: “King Porsenna was buried beneath the city of Clusium, in a place where he left a monument of himself in rectangular stone. Each side was 300 feet long and 50 feet high, and within the basement he made an inextricable labyrinth, into which if anyone ventured without a clue, there he must remain, for he never could find the way out again. Above this base stood five pyramids, one in the centre and four at the angles, each of them 75 feet in circumference at the base, and 150 feet high, tapering to the top so as to be covered by a cupola of bronze. From this there hung by chains a peal of bells, which, when agitated by the wind, sounded to a great distance. Above this cupola rose four other pyramids, each 100 feet high, and above these again, another story of five pyramids, which towered to a height so marvellous and improbable, that Varro hesitates to affirm their altitude.” And in this he was wise, for he had already said more upon the subject than was credible. However, any one who has seen the tomb of Aruns, the son of Porsenna, near the gate of Albano, will be struck with the similarity of style, which, comparing small things with great, existed between the monuments of father and son. Those who have never been in Italy may like to know that this tomb of Aruns is said to have been built by Porsenna, for the young Prince who fell there in battle with the Latins, and with the Greeks from Cuma, and it is certainly the work of Etruscan masons. Five pyramids rise from a base of 55 sq. feet, and the centre one contains a small chamber, in which was found, about fifty years since, an urn full of ashes.—Gray, Mrs. Hamilton,Sepulchres of Etruria, p. 450.[263]Taylor, R.,Te Ika A Maui, orNew Zealand and its Inhabitants, p. 352.[264]Cf.Stow,London.[265]Evans, Sir Arthur, quoted inCrete of Pre-hellenic Europe, p. 32.[266]BonwickIrish Druids and Old Irish Religion, p. 230.[267]Anwyl, E.[268]It is not unlikely that the Goss and Cass families of to-day are the descendants of the British tribe referred to by the Romans as the Cassi.[269]The Welsh for alban or alpin is elphin.[270]Urlin, Miss Ethel M.,Festivals, Holy Days, and Saints’ Days, p. 192.[271]Ibid., p. 196.[272]Cf.Hone, W.,Everyday Book, vol. i., col. 1340.[273]Cf.Hone, W.,Everyday Book, vol. i., col. 1340.[274]xli. 19.[275]Faiths and Folklore, i., 332.[276]Celtic Britain, p. 211. Sir John frequently changed his mind.[277]Barddas, p. 416.[278]The Phrygian Cap was symbolic.[279]Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe, p. xxxii.[280]Mykenæ, p. 179.[281]Rude Stone Monuments, p. 207.[282]Baldwin, J. G.,Prehistoric Nations, p. 162.[283]Keightley,Fairy Mythology, p. 317.[284]Hazlitt, W. Carew,Faiths and Folklore, ii., 608.[285]Rhys, Sir J.,Celtic Britain, p. 271.[286]The Celtic Angus is translatedexcellent virtue.[287]Cf.Baring-Gould, Rev. S.,Curious Myths, pp. 266-316.[288]Orphic Hymn, lv., 5, 10, and 11.[289]Courtney, Miss M. L.,Cornish Feasts and Folklore, p. 136.[290]From prehistoric times this ensign seems to have been known as “the Jack,” and the immutability of the fabulous element was evidenced anew during the present year when on 23rd April the Admiral on shore wirelessed to the Zeebrugge raiding force: “England and St. George”. To this was returned the reply: “We’ll give a twist to the dragon’s tail”.[291]Since writing I find this surmise to be well founded. At the present moment there is a Persian cannon (A.D.1547) captured at Bagdad, now on exhibition in London. It bears an inscription to the effect:—“‘Succour is from God, and victory is at hand.’The Commander of Victory and Help, the Shah,Desiring to blot out all trace of the Turks,Ordered Dglev to make this gun.Wherever it goes it burns up lives,It spits forth flames like a dragon.It sets the world of the Turks on fire.”[292]Wise, T. A.,History of Paganism in Caledonia, p. 114.[293]Irish Mytho. Cycle, p. 229.[294]The Norwegian forneighiskneggya, the Danish,gnegge.[295]There is no evidence to support the supposition that Eppillus may have been an English king.[296]An omniscienteaglewas associated withAchill(Ireland).[297]Ancient Coins of the Romans Relating to Britain, p. 197.[298]Faiths and Folklore, vol. i., p. 329.[299]Faiths and Folklore, vol. i., p. 329.[300]Madeley, E.,The Science of Correspondence, p. 194.[301]Dalston in Cumberland is assumed to have been a town in the dale ordale’s town. But surely “towns” were never thus anonymous?[302]P. 299.[303]Compare also Shadwell in East London, “said to be St. Chad’s Well”.[304]Mitton, G. E.,Hackney, p. 11.[305]Cf.Westropp, T. J.,Proceedings of Royal Irish Academy, vol. xxxiv., Sec. C., Nos. 3 and 4.[306]Walters, J. Cuming,The Lost Land of King Arthur, p. 219.[307]One of these has been slightly diverted by the exigencies of the railway station.[308]Macalister, R. A. S.,Temair Breg: A Study of the Remains and Traditions of Tara, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, sec. C., Nos. 10 and 11, p. 284.[309]Picard,Ceremonies of Idolatrous People, vol. iv., p. 291.[310]Weekley, E.,Romance of Names, p. 224.[311]Survey of London(Everyman’s Library), p. 416.[312]The Peck family may have been inn-keepers or dealers in peck or fodder, but more probably, like the Bucks and the Boggs, they may trace their descent much farther.[313]Seeinfra, p. 689.[314]Akerman, J. Y.,Ancient Coins, p. 17.[315]There is a river Slee or Slea in Lincolnshire.[316]Travels in the East(Bohn’s Library), p. 384.[317]Larwood & Hotten,The History of Signboards, p. 285.[318]It is simply futile to refer the wordinnto “within, indoors” (see Skeat).[319]Celtic Britain, p. 66. It is therefore feasible that Wrens Park, by Mildmay Park, Hackney, was primarilyreinesPark.[320]Prehistoric Britain, p. 247.[321]Mykenæ, p. 293.[322]Ancient Art and Ritual, pp. 70 and 71.

[255]Fairy Mythology, p. 298.

[256]Courtney, Miss,Cornish Feasts and Folklore, p. 129.

[257]Hope, R. C.,Sacred Wells.

[258]Demonology and Witchcraft.

[259]At the time of writing the Servians say they are putting their trust in “Bog and Britannia”.

[260]This is an official etymology. It is the one and only poetic idea admitted into Skeat’s Dictionary.

[261]Cf.Johnson, W.,Folk Memory, p. 159.

[262]Pliny relates Varro’s description as follows: “King Porsenna was buried beneath the city of Clusium, in a place where he left a monument of himself in rectangular stone. Each side was 300 feet long and 50 feet high, and within the basement he made an inextricable labyrinth, into which if anyone ventured without a clue, there he must remain, for he never could find the way out again. Above this base stood five pyramids, one in the centre and four at the angles, each of them 75 feet in circumference at the base, and 150 feet high, tapering to the top so as to be covered by a cupola of bronze. From this there hung by chains a peal of bells, which, when agitated by the wind, sounded to a great distance. Above this cupola rose four other pyramids, each 100 feet high, and above these again, another story of five pyramids, which towered to a height so marvellous and improbable, that Varro hesitates to affirm their altitude.” And in this he was wise, for he had already said more upon the subject than was credible. However, any one who has seen the tomb of Aruns, the son of Porsenna, near the gate of Albano, will be struck with the similarity of style, which, comparing small things with great, existed between the monuments of father and son. Those who have never been in Italy may like to know that this tomb of Aruns is said to have been built by Porsenna, for the young Prince who fell there in battle with the Latins, and with the Greeks from Cuma, and it is certainly the work of Etruscan masons. Five pyramids rise from a base of 55 sq. feet, and the centre one contains a small chamber, in which was found, about fifty years since, an urn full of ashes.—Gray, Mrs. Hamilton,Sepulchres of Etruria, p. 450.

[263]Taylor, R.,Te Ika A Maui, orNew Zealand and its Inhabitants, p. 352.

[264]Cf.Stow,London.

[265]Evans, Sir Arthur, quoted inCrete of Pre-hellenic Europe, p. 32.

[266]BonwickIrish Druids and Old Irish Religion, p. 230.

[267]Anwyl, E.

[268]It is not unlikely that the Goss and Cass families of to-day are the descendants of the British tribe referred to by the Romans as the Cassi.

[269]The Welsh for alban or alpin is elphin.

[270]Urlin, Miss Ethel M.,Festivals, Holy Days, and Saints’ Days, p. 192.

[271]Ibid., p. 196.

[272]Cf.Hone, W.,Everyday Book, vol. i., col. 1340.

[273]Cf.Hone, W.,Everyday Book, vol. i., col. 1340.

[274]xli. 19.

[275]Faiths and Folklore, i., 332.

[276]Celtic Britain, p. 211. Sir John frequently changed his mind.

[277]Barddas, p. 416.

[278]The Phrygian Cap was symbolic.

[279]Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe, p. xxxii.

[280]Mykenæ, p. 179.

[281]Rude Stone Monuments, p. 207.

[282]Baldwin, J. G.,Prehistoric Nations, p. 162.

[283]Keightley,Fairy Mythology, p. 317.

[284]Hazlitt, W. Carew,Faiths and Folklore, ii., 608.

[285]Rhys, Sir J.,Celtic Britain, p. 271.

[286]The Celtic Angus is translatedexcellent virtue.

[287]Cf.Baring-Gould, Rev. S.,Curious Myths, pp. 266-316.

[288]Orphic Hymn, lv., 5, 10, and 11.

[289]Courtney, Miss M. L.,Cornish Feasts and Folklore, p. 136.

[290]From prehistoric times this ensign seems to have been known as “the Jack,” and the immutability of the fabulous element was evidenced anew during the present year when on 23rd April the Admiral on shore wirelessed to the Zeebrugge raiding force: “England and St. George”. To this was returned the reply: “We’ll give a twist to the dragon’s tail”.

[291]Since writing I find this surmise to be well founded. At the present moment there is a Persian cannon (A.D.1547) captured at Bagdad, now on exhibition in London. It bears an inscription to the effect:—“‘Succour is from God, and victory is at hand.’The Commander of Victory and Help, the Shah,Desiring to blot out all trace of the Turks,Ordered Dglev to make this gun.Wherever it goes it burns up lives,It spits forth flames like a dragon.It sets the world of the Turks on fire.”

“‘Succour is from God, and victory is at hand.’The Commander of Victory and Help, the Shah,Desiring to blot out all trace of the Turks,Ordered Dglev to make this gun.Wherever it goes it burns up lives,It spits forth flames like a dragon.It sets the world of the Turks on fire.”

“‘Succour is from God, and victory is at hand.’

The Commander of Victory and Help, the Shah,

Desiring to blot out all trace of the Turks,

Ordered Dglev to make this gun.

Wherever it goes it burns up lives,

It spits forth flames like a dragon.

It sets the world of the Turks on fire.”

[292]Wise, T. A.,History of Paganism in Caledonia, p. 114.

[293]Irish Mytho. Cycle, p. 229.

[294]The Norwegian forneighiskneggya, the Danish,gnegge.

[295]There is no evidence to support the supposition that Eppillus may have been an English king.

[296]An omniscienteaglewas associated withAchill(Ireland).

[297]Ancient Coins of the Romans Relating to Britain, p. 197.

[298]Faiths and Folklore, vol. i., p. 329.

[299]Faiths and Folklore, vol. i., p. 329.

[300]Madeley, E.,The Science of Correspondence, p. 194.

[301]Dalston in Cumberland is assumed to have been a town in the dale ordale’s town. But surely “towns” were never thus anonymous?

[302]P. 299.

[303]Compare also Shadwell in East London, “said to be St. Chad’s Well”.

[304]Mitton, G. E.,Hackney, p. 11.

[305]Cf.Westropp, T. J.,Proceedings of Royal Irish Academy, vol. xxxiv., Sec. C., Nos. 3 and 4.

[306]Walters, J. Cuming,The Lost Land of King Arthur, p. 219.

[307]One of these has been slightly diverted by the exigencies of the railway station.

[308]Macalister, R. A. S.,Temair Breg: A Study of the Remains and Traditions of Tara, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, sec. C., Nos. 10 and 11, p. 284.

[309]Picard,Ceremonies of Idolatrous People, vol. iv., p. 291.

[310]Weekley, E.,Romance of Names, p. 224.

[311]Survey of London(Everyman’s Library), p. 416.

[312]The Peck family may have been inn-keepers or dealers in peck or fodder, but more probably, like the Bucks and the Boggs, they may trace their descent much farther.

[313]Seeinfra, p. 689.

[314]Akerman, J. Y.,Ancient Coins, p. 17.

[315]There is a river Slee or Slea in Lincolnshire.

[316]Travels in the East(Bohn’s Library), p. 384.

[317]Larwood & Hotten,The History of Signboards, p. 285.

[318]It is simply futile to refer the wordinnto “within, indoors” (see Skeat).

[319]Celtic Britain, p. 66. It is therefore feasible that Wrens Park, by Mildmay Park, Hackney, was primarilyreinesPark.

[320]Prehistoric Britain, p. 247.

[321]Mykenæ, p. 293.

[322]Ancient Art and Ritual, pp. 70 and 71.

“O queen, whom Jove hath willedTo found this new-born city, here to reign,And stubborn tribes with justice to refrain,We, Troy’s poor fugitives, implore thy grace,Storm-tost and wandering over every main,—Forbid the flames our vessels to deface,Mark our afflicted plight, and spare a pious race.“We come not hither with the sword to rendYour Libyan homes, and shoreward drive the prey.Nay, no such violence our thoughts intend.”—Virgil,Æneid, I., lxix., 57.

“O queen, whom Jove hath willed

To found this new-born city, here to reign,

And stubborn tribes with justice to refrain,

We, Troy’s poor fugitives, implore thy grace,

Storm-tost and wandering over every main,—

Forbid the flames our vessels to deface,

Mark our afflicted plight, and spare a pious race.

“We come not hither with the sword to rendYour Libyan homes, and shoreward drive the prey.Nay, no such violence our thoughts intend.”—Virgil,Æneid, I., lxix., 57.

“We come not hither with the sword to rend

Your Libyan homes, and shoreward drive the prey.

Nay, no such violence our thoughts intend.”

—Virgil,Æneid, I., lxix., 57.

The old Welsh poets commemorate what they term Three National Pillars of the Island of Britain, to wit: “First—Hu, the vast of size, first brought the nation of the Cymry to the Isle of Britain; and from the summer land called Deffrobani they came (namely, the place where Constantinople now is), and through Mor Tawch, the placid or pacific sea, they came up to the Isle of Britain and Armorica, where they remained. Second—Prydain, son of Aedd the Great, first erected a government and a kingdom over Ynys Prydain, and previous to that time there was but little gentleness and ordinance, save a superiority of oppression. Third—Dyfnwal Moelmud—and he was the first that made a discrimination of mutual rights and statute law, and customs, and privileges of land and nation,and on account of these things were they called the three pillars of the Cymry.”[323]

The Kymbri of Cambria claim themselves to be of the same race as the Kimmeroi, from whom the Crimea takes its name, also that Cumberland is likewise a land of the Cumbers. The authorities now usually explain the term Kymbri as meaningfellow countrymen, and when occurring in place-names such as Kemper, Quimper, Comber, Kember, Cymner, etc., it is invariably expounded to meanconfluence: the word would thus seem to have had imposed upon it precisely the same meaning assynagogue,i.e., a coming together or congregation, and it remains to inquire why this was so.

TheKymbri were also known asCynbro, and the interchangeability ofkymandkinis seemingly universal: theKhanof Tartary was synonymously theChamof Tartary; ourCambridge is still academicallyCantabrigia, acompact is acontract, and the identity betweencumandconmight be demonstrated by innumerable instances. This being so, it is highly likely that the Kymbri were followers ofKing Bri, otherwise King Aubrey, of the Iberii or Iberian race. In Celticaberorebyr—as atAberdeen,Aberystwith, etc.—meant a place of confluence of streams, burns, or brooks; andaberseems thus to have been synonymous withcamber.

Ireland, orIbernia, as it figures in old maps, nowHibernia, traces its title to a certain Heber, and until the time of Henry VII., when the custom was prohibited, the Hibernians used to rush into battle with perfervid cries ofAber![324]It is a recognised peculiarity of the Gaelic language tostress the first of any two syllables, whereas in Welsh the accent falls invariably upon the second: given therefore one and the same word “Aubrey,” a Welshman should theoretically pronounce it ‘Brey, and an Irishman Aubr’; that is precisely what seems to have happened, whence there is a probability that the Heber and “St. Ibar” of Hibernia and the Bri of Cambria are references to one and the same immigrants.

Having “cambred” Heber with Bri, or Bru, and finding them both assigned traditionally to the Ægean, it is permissible to read the preliminary vowels of Heber or Huber, as the Greekeu, and to assume that Aubrey was the soft, gentle, pleasing, and propitious Brey.Britain is the WelshPrydain, Hu was pronounced He, and it is thus not improbable thatPrywas originallyPere He, or Father Hu, and that the traditions of Hu and Bru referred originally to the same race.

Hyper, the Greek forupper, is radically the same word as Iupiter orIu pere, and if it be true that the Frenchpereis a phonetically decayed form ofpater, then again, ‘Pry or ‘Bru may be regarded as a corrosion of Iupiter.

Hu the Mighty, the National Pillar or ded, who has survived as the “I’ll beHe” of children’s games, was indubitably the Jupiter of Great Britain, and he was probably the “Hooper” of Hooper’s Blind, or Blind Man’s Buff. According to the Triads, Hu obtained his dominion over Britain not by war or bloodshed, but by justice and peace: he instructed his people in the art of agriculture; divided them into federated tribes as a first step towards civil government, and laid the foundations of literature and history by the institution of Bardism.[325]In Celtic,barrameant a Court of Justice, in which sense it has survived in London, at Lothburyand Aldermanbury. The pious Trojans claimed “the stubborn tribes with justice to refrain,” and it is possible thatbarrithe Cornish fordivideor separate also owes its origin to Bri orpere He, who was the first to divide them into federated tribes. Among the Iberiansberrimeant acity, and this word is no doubt akin to ourborough.

In Hibernia, the Land of Heber, Aubrey or Oberon, it is said that every parish has its green and thorn, where the little people are believed to hold their merry meetings, and to dance in frolic rounds.[326]Aparish, Greekparoika, is an orderly division, and as often as not the civic centre was a fairy stone: according to Sir Laurence Gomme, who made a special study of the primitive communities, when and where a village was established a stone was ceremoniously set up, and to thispierrethe headman of the village made an offering once a year.[327]

Situated in Fore Street, Totnes, there stands to-day the so-called Brutus Stone, from which the Mayor of Totnes still reads official proclamations. At Brightlingsea we have noted the existence of aBroadmoot: there is aBradstone in Devon, a Bradeston in Norfolk, and elsewhere these Brude or Brutus stones were evidently known asprestones. The innumerable “Prestons” of this country were originally, I am convinced, not as is supposed “Priests Towns,” butPre Stones i.e., Perry or Fairy Stones. King James in his book onDemonologyspells fairy—Phairy; in Kent the cirrhus cloudlets of a summer day are termed the “Perry Dancers,” and thephairiesofBritain probably differed but slightly, if at all, from theperii orperis ofPersia.[328]

Among the Greeks every town and village had its so-called “Luck,” or protecting Goddess who specially controlled its fortunes, and by Pindar this Presiding Care is entitledpherepolis,i.e., the peri or phairy of the city.

The various Purleys and Purtons of England are assigned by the authorities toperua pear, and supposed to have been pear-tree meadows or pear-tree hills, but I question whether pear-growing was ever the national industry that the persistent prevalence ofperuin place-names would thus imply.

Around thepre-stonesof each village our forerunners indubitably used topray, and in the memoirs of a certain St. Sampson we have an interesting account of an interrupted Pray-meeting—“Now it came to pass, on a certain day as he journeyed through a certain district which they call Tricurius (the hundred of Trigg), he heard, on his left hand to be exact, men worshipping (at) a certain shrine, after the custom of the Bacchantes, by means of a play in honour of an image. Thereupon he beckoned to his brothers that they should stand still and be silent while he himself, quietly descending from his chariot to the ground, and standing upon his feet and observing those who worshipped the idol, saw in front of them, resting on the summit of a certain hill an abominable image. On this hill I myself have been, and have adored, and withmy hand have traced the sign of the cross which St. Sampson, with his own hand, carved by means of an iron instrument on astanding stone. When St. Sampson saw it (the image), selecting two only of the brothers to be with him, he hastened quickly towards them, their chief, Guedianus, standing at their head, and gently admonished them that they ought not to forsake the one God who created all things and worship an idol. And when they pleaded as an excuse that it was not wrong to keep the festival of their progenitors in a play, some being furious, some mocking, but some being of saner mind strongly urging him to go away, straightway the power of God was made clearly manifest. For a certain boy driving horses at full speed fell from a swift horse to the ground, and twisting his head under him as he fell headlong, remained, just as he was flung, little else than a lifeless corpse.” The “corpse” was seemingly but a severe stun, for an hour or so later, St. Sampson by the power of prayer successfully restored the patient to life, in view of which miracle Guedianus and all his tribe prostrated themselves at St. Sampson’s feet, and “utterly destroyed the idol”.[329]

The idol here mentioned if not itself a standing stone, was admittedly associated with one, and happily many of these Aubrey or Bryanstones are still standing. One of the most celebrated antiquities of Cornwall is the so-namedmen scryfaor “inscribed rock,” and the inscription running from top to bottom reads—RIALOBRAN CUNOVAL FIL.

Fig.169—FromSymbolism of the East and West. (Aynsley, Mrs. Murray.)

As history knows nothing of any “Rialobran, son of Cunoval,” one may suggest that Rialobran was theRyallorRoyal Obran,ObreonorOberon, thebrenor Prince of Phairyland who figures so largely in the Romance ofmediæval Europe. The Rialobran stone of Cornwall may be connoted with the ceremonialperron du roystill standing in the Channel Islands, and with the numerousBrownystones of Scotland. In Cornwall the phairybrowniesseem to have been as familiar as in Scotland[330]: in the Hebrides—and as the Saint of this neighbourhood is St. Bride, the word Hebrides may perhaps be renderedeu Bride—every family of any importance once possessed a most obliginghousehold Browny. Martin, writing in the eighteenth century, says: “A spirit by the country people called Browny was frequently seen in all the most considerable families in these Isles and North of Scotland in the shape of a tall man, but within these twenty or thirty years past he is seen but rarely.” As the cromlechs of Brittany are termedpoukelaysor “puck stones,” it is possible that thedolmensortolmensof there and elsewhere were associated with the fairytall man. Still speaking of the Hebrides Martin goes on to say: “Below the chapels there is a flat thin stone called Brownie’s stone, upon which the ancient inhabitants offered a cow’s milk every Sunday, but this custom is now quite abolished”. The official interpretation of dolmen isdaulortable stone, but it is quite likely that the wordtolmenis capable of more than one correct explanation.

The Cornish Rialobran was in all probability originally the same as the local St. Perran or St. Piran, whose sanctuary was marked by the parish of Lanbronor Lamborne. There is a Cornish circle known as Perran Round and the celebrated Saint who figures as, Perran, Piran, Bron, and Borne,[331]is probably the same as Perun the Slav Jupiter. From a stone held in the hand of Perun’s image the sacred fire used annually to be struck and endeavours have been made to equate this Western Jupiter with the Indian Varuna. That there was a large Perran family is obvious from the statement that “till within the last fifty years the registers of the parish from the earliest period bear the Christian name of ‘Perran,’ which was transmitted from father to son; but now the custom has ceased”.[332]Thus possibly St. Perran was not only the original of themodern Perrin family, but also of the far larger Byrons and Brownes. Further inquiry will probably permit the equation of Rialobran or St. Bron or Borne with St. Bruno, and as Oberon figures in the traditions of Kensington it is possible that the Bryanstone Square in that district, into which leads Brawn Street, marks the site of another Brownie or Rialobran stone. This Bryanstone district was the home of the Byron family, and the surname Brinsmead implies the existence here or elsewhere a Brin’s mead or meadow.

The Brownies are occasionally known as “knockers,” whence the “knocking stone” which still stands in Brahan Wood, Dingwall, might no doubt be rightly entitled a Brahan, Bryan, or Brownie Stone.[333]

Legend at Kensington—in which neighbourhood is not only Bryanstone Square but also on the summit of Campden Hill an Aubrey Walk—relates that Kenna, the fairy princess of Kensington Gardens, was beloved by Albion the Son of Oberon; hence we may probably relate young Kenna with Morgana the Fay, orbig Gana, the alleged Mother of Oberon.[334]Mediæval tales represent the radiant Oberon not only as splendid, as a meteor, and as a raiser of storms, but likewise as the childlike God of Love and beauteous as an angel newly born.

At once the storm is fled; serenely mildHeav’n smiles around, bright rays the sky adornWhile beauteous as an angel newly bornBeams in the roseate day spring, glow’dthe childA lily stalk his graceful limbs, sustain’dRound his smooth neck an ivory horn was chain’dYet lovely as he was on all aroundStrange horror stole, for stern the fairy frown’d.[335]

At once the storm is fled; serenely mild

Heav’n smiles around, bright rays the sky adorn

While beauteous as an angel newly born

Beams in the roseate day spring, glow’dthe child

A lily stalk his graceful limbs, sustain’d

Round his smooth neck an ivory horn was chain’d

Yet lovely as he was on all around

Strange horror stole, for stern the fairy frown’d.[335]

It is not unlikely that the Princess Kenna was Kennewor the Crescent Moon, and the consociation at Kensington of Kenna with Oberon, permits not only the connotation of Oberon with his Fay mother Morgana, but also permits the supposition that Cuneval, the parent of Rialobran, was eitherCune strongorvaliant. It is obvious that the most valiant and most valorous would inevitably become rulers, whence perhaps why in Celticbrenbecame a generic term forprince: the wordsbrenandprinceare radically the same, and stand in the same relation to one another as St. Bron to his variant St. Piran.

Oberon or Obreon, the leader of the Brownies, Elves, or Alpes, may I think be further traced in Cornwall at Carn Galva, for this Carn of Galva,MightyElf or Alva, was, it is said, once the seat of a benignant giant named Holiburn. The existence of Alva or Ellie-stones is implied by the fairly common surnames Alvastone, Allistone, and Ellistone, and it is probable that Livingstone was originally the same name as Elphinstone.

From the Aubry, Obrean, Peron stones, or Brownlows were probably promulgated the celebratedBrehonlaws:[336]as is well known the primitive Prince or Baron sat or stood in the centre of hisbarrow,burra, orbury, and ranged around him each at his particular stone stood the subordinatepeers,brehons(lawyers), andbaronsof the realm. Apeermeans an equal, and it is therefore quite likely that thePrestons of Britain mark circles where the village peers held their parish or parochial meetings.

With the English Preston the Rev. J. B. Johnston connotes Presteign, and he adds: “In Welsh Presteign is Llanandras, or Church of St. Andrews”.[337]This illuminating fact enables us to connect the Perry stones with the cross of St. Andrew orAncient Troy, and as Troy was an offshoot of Khandia we may reasonably accept Crete as the starting-point of Aubrey’s worldwide tours. That Candia was the home of the gentle magna mater is implied by the ubiquitous dove: in Hibernia the name Caindea is translated as being Gaelic forgentle goddess, and we shall later connect this lady with “Kate Kennedy,” whose festival is still commemorated at St. Andrews.

To the East of Cape Khondhro in Crete, and directly opposite the town of Candia or Herakleion, lies the islet of Dhia: in Celticdia,dieu, orduwmeant God,[338]and as inCelticHughmeantmind, we may translatedieuas having primarily impliedgood Hu, the good Mind orBrain. In a personal sense the Brain is the Lord of Wits, whence perhaps whyObreon—as Keightley spells Oberon—was said to be the Emperor of Fairyland, attended by a court and special courtiers, among whom are mentionedPerriwiggen,Perriwinkle, and Puck.

At the south-eastern extremity of Dhia is a colossal spike, peak, orpier, entitled Cape Apiri, and we may connote Apiri with the Iberian town named Ipareo. The coinage of Ipareo pourtrays “a sphinx walking to the left,” at other times it depicted the Trinacria or walking legs of Sicily and the Isle of Man. The Three Legs of Sicily were represented with the face of Apollo, as the hub orbogel, and the ancient name of Sicily wasHypereia. On the Feast Day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Sicilians or Hypereians hold what they still term the “Festival of theBara”. An immense machine of about 50 feet high is constructed, designing to represent heaven; and in the midst is placed a young female personating the Virgin, with an image of Jesus on her right hand; roundthe Virgin twelve little children turn vertically, representing so many seraphim, and below them twelve more children turn horizontally, as cherubim; lower down in the machine a sun turns vertically, with a child at the extremity of each of the four principal radii of his circle, who ascend and descend with his rotation, yet always in an erect posture; and still lower, reaching within about 7 feet of the ground, are placed twelve boys who turn horizontally without intermission around the principal figure, designing thereby to exhibit the twelve apostles, who were collected from all corners of the earth, to be present at the decease of the Virgin, and witness her miraculous assumption. This huge machine is drawn about the principal streets by sturdy monks, and it is regarded as a particular favour to any family to admit their children in this divine exhibition, although the poor infants themselves do not seem long to enjoy the honours they receive as seraphim, cherubim, and apostles; the constant twirling they receive in the air making some of them fall asleep, many of them sick, and others more grievously ill.[339]

Not only this Hypereian Feast but the machine itself is termed theBara, whence it is evident that, like St. Michael,Aubreyor Aber the Confluence, was regarded as the Camber, Synagogue, Yule or Holy Whole, and the fact that the Sicilian Bara is held upon the day of St. Alipius indicates some intimate connection with St. Alf or Alpi. The Walking Sphinx of the Iparean coins is identified by M. Lenormant as the Phœnician deity Aion, and according to Akerman the type was doubtless chosen in compliment to Albinus, who was born at Hadrumetum, a town notfar from Carthage.[340]What was the precise connection between this Aion and Albinus I am unaware.

Among the coins of Iberia some bear the inscriptionsIliberi,Ilibereken, andIliberineken, which accord with Pliny’s reference to the Iliberi or Liberini. Liber was the Latin title of the God of Plenty, whenceliberal,liberty,labour, etc., and seemingly theElibersor Liberins deified these virtues as attributes of the Holy Aubrey or the Holy Brain-King.

Fig.170.—Iberian. From Akerman.

Directly opposite Albania, the country of theEpirotes—known anciently asEpirus—isCantabriaat the heel of Italy, and we meet again with the Cantabares in Iberia where they occupied Cantabria which comprised Alava. It may be noted in passing that in Epirus the olive was a supersacred tree: according to Miss Harrison—some of whose words I have italicised—this Moria, or Fate Tree, was thevery lifeof Athens; thelifeof theolivewhich fed her and lighted her was thevery lifeof the city. When the Persian host sacked the Acropolis they burnt the holy olive, and it seemed that all was over. But next day it put forth a new shoot and the people knew that the city’s life stilllived. Sophocles sang of the glory of the wondrouslife-treeof Athens:—

The untended, the self-planted, self-defended from the foe,Sea-grey, children-nurturing olive tree that here delights to grow,None may take nor touch nor harm it, headstrong youth nor age grown boldFor the round of Morian Zeus has been its watcher from of old;He beholds it, and, Athene, thy own sea-grey eyes behold.

The untended, the self-planted, self-defended from the foe,

Sea-grey, children-nurturing olive tree that here delights to grow,

None may take nor touch nor harm it, headstrong youth nor age grown bold

For the round of Morian Zeus has been its watcher from of old;

He beholds it, and, Athene, thy own sea-grey eyes behold.

FromEpirusone is attracted to the riverIberusorEbrowhich is bounded by thePyrenees, and had the town ofHiberatowards its mouth. Of the Iberian people in general Dr. Lardner states: “They are represented as tenacious of freedom, but those who inhabited the coasts were probably still more so of gain”. I am at a loss to know why this offensive suggestion is gratuitously put forward, as the Iberians are said to have been remarkably slender and active and to have held corpulency in much abhorrence.[341]Of the Spanish Cantabres we are told that the consciousness of their strength gave them an air of calm dignity and a decision in their purposes not found in any other people of the Peninsula. “Their loud wailings at funerals, and many other of their customs strongly resemble those of the Irish.”[342]

Pereandparentare radically the same word, and that the Iberians reverenced theirperesis obvious from the fact thatparricideswere conducted beyond the bounds of the Kingdom and there slain; their very bones being considered too polluted to repose in their native soil.[343]

Lardner refers to the unbending resolution, persevering energy, and native grandeur of the Cantabrians, but he contemptuously rejects Strabo’s “precious information” that some of the Spanish tribes had for 6000 years possessed writing, metrical poems, and even laws. In view of thesuperior number of Druidical remains which are found in certain parts of Spain it is not improbable that the Barduti of Iberia corresponded with the Bards or Boreadæ of Britain.

There are many references in the classics to certain so-called Hyperboreans, in particular the oft-quoted passage from Diodorus of Sicily or Hypereia: “Hecataeus and some other ancient writers report that there is an island about the bigness of Sicily, situated in the ocean, opposite to the northern coast of Celtica (Gaul), inhabited by a people called Hyperboreans, because they are ‘beyond the north wind’. The climate is excellent, and the soil is fertile, yielding double crops. The inhabitants are great worshippers of Apollo, to whom they sing many, many hymns. To this god they have consecrated a large territory, in the midst of which they have a magnificent round temple, replenished with the richest offerings. Their very city is dedicated to him, and is full of musicians and players on various instruments, who every day celebrate his benefits and perfections.”

Claims to being the original Hyperborea have been put in by scholars from time to time on behalf of Stonehenge, the Hebrides, Hibernia, Scythia, Tartary, and Muscovy, “stretching quite to Scandinavia or Sweden and Norway”: the locality is still unsettled and will probably remain so, for there is some reason to suppose that the Hyperboreans were a sect or order akin perhaps to the Albigenses, Cathari, Bridge Builders, Comacine Masters, Templars, and other Gnostic organizations of the Dark Ages.

The chief Primary Bard of the West was entitled Taliesin, which Welsh scholars translate intoRadiant Brow: thebrowis the seat of thebrain, and the twowords stand to each other in the same relation as Aubrey to Auberon.

Commenting upon the Elphinbairn, illustrated in Fig. 162, Akerman observes that it is supposed to illustrate the Gaulish myth of the Druid Abaris to whom Apollo is said to have given an arrow on which he travelled magically through the air. It is an historic fact that a physical Abaris visited Athens where he created a most favourable impression; it is likewise a fact that Irish literature possesses the account of a person called Abhras, which perfectly agrees with the description of the Hyperborean Abaris of Diodorus and Himerius. The classic Abaris went to Greece to whip up subscriptions for a temple: the Irish Abhras is said to have gone to distant parts in quest of knowledge, returning by way of Scotland where he remained seven years and founded a new system of religion. In Irish Abar means “God the first Cause,” and as in Irelandcad(which is ourgood) meantholy, the magic word Abracadabra may be reasonably resolved intoAbra, Good Abra. As already mentioned the Irish criedAber!when rushing into battle, and the word was no doubt used likewise at peaceful feasts and festivals. The inference would thus seem that the title of Abaris was assumed by the chief Druid or High Priest who personified during his tenure of office the archetypal Abaris. It is well known that the priest or king enacted in his own person the mysteries of the faith; and it is not improbable that chief Guedianus, whose sacred play was so rudely disturbed by St. Sampson, was personifying at the time theGood Janusor Genius.

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