‘Shun the poys’nous Yew, the which on Oeata grows,Like to the Firre, it causes bitter death,Unlesse besides they use pure wine that flowesFrom empty’d cups, thou drinke, when as thy breathBegins to fade, and passage of thy lifeGrows straight.’â€Virgil attributed the notoriously unwholesome qualities of the honey of Corsica to the bees feeding upon the Yew, and he warns bee-keepers to be careful that no Yew-trees grow near their hives. Owing to its being so frequently found in churchyards, a ghastly superstition has arisen respecting this sinister tree: it is said that it preys and invigorates itself upon the dead who lie beneath its sombre shade. Thus, in ‘In Memoriam,’ we read:—“Old Yew, which graspest at the stonesThat name the underlying dead,Thy fibres net the dreamless head,Thy roots are wrapt about the bones.â€Even in the principal use the Yew was put to, the tree maintained its connection with death, for from its wood man fashioned an instrument of warfare and destruction. Its great pliancy and toughness made it particularly suitable for bows, and for this purpose it was unrivalled. Virgil tells us that in his time “the Yews were bent into Ituræan bowsâ€; Chaucer speaks of “the Shooter Yew;†and Browne writes of“The warlike Yewgh by which more than the lanceThe strong-armed English spirits conquered France.â€Camden has recorded a grim legend in connection with the name of Halifax. It seems that a certain amorous clergyman fell in love with a pretty maid who refused his addresses. Maddened by her refusal he cut off her head, which being hung upon a Yew-tree till it was quite decayed, the tree was reputed as sacred, not only whilst the virgin’s head hung on it, but as long as the tree itself lasted: to which the people went in pilgrimage, plucking and bearing away branches of it as a holy relique, whilst there remained any of the trunk; persuading themselves that those small veins and filaments resembling hairs were the hairs of the virgin. But what is yet stranger, the resort to this place, then called Houton, a despicable village, occasioned the building of the now famous town of Halifax, in Yorkshire, the name of which imports “holy hair.â€â€”—In the cloister of Vreton, in Brittany, there grew a Yew-tree which was said to have sprung from the staff of St. Martin. Beneath it the Breton princes were accustomed to offer up a prayer before entering the church. This tree was regarded with thehighest reverence; no one ever plucked a leaf from its sombre boughs, and even the birds refrained from pecking the scarlet berries. A band of pirates, however, happening to visit the locality, two of them spied the tree, and forthwith climbed into its venerable boughs and proceeded to cut bow-staves for themselves: their audacity speedily brought about its own punishment, for they both fell and were killed on the spot.——Both in old Celtic and in Anglo-Saxon the Yew-tree was calledIw. By early English authors its name was variously spelt Yew, Yeugh, Ewgh, Ugh, and Ewe. In Switzerland, it is known as William Tell’s Tree.——Dream oracles state that there is but one signification to dreams concerning the Yew, viz., that it is the certain forerunner of the demise of an aged person, through which the dreamer will derive substantial benefits.YGGDRASILL.—The mythical Scandinavian World-tree, or Mundane Ash, is the greatest and best of all trees: beneath it the gods assemble in counsel; its branches spread over the whole world and reach above heaven; and its roots penetrate to the infernal regions. On its summit is perched an all-seeing eagle, with a hawk between his eyes. A squirrel continually carries news to him, while serpents coiled round the vast trunk endeavour to destroy him. Serpents, also, constantly gnaw the roots, from which come the fountains of wisdom and futurity. The Norns always keep a watch upon the Yggdrasill: they fix the lifetime of all men, and dispense destinies. Under the tree is hidden the horn which shall be sounded and rouse the world at the last great conflict.
‘Shun the poys’nous Yew, the which on Oeata grows,Like to the Firre, it causes bitter death,Unlesse besides they use pure wine that flowesFrom empty’d cups, thou drinke, when as thy breathBegins to fade, and passage of thy lifeGrows straight.’â€
‘Shun the poys’nous Yew, the which on Oeata grows,Like to the Firre, it causes bitter death,Unlesse besides they use pure wine that flowesFrom empty’d cups, thou drinke, when as thy breathBegins to fade, and passage of thy lifeGrows straight.’â€
‘Shun the poys’nous Yew, the which on Oeata grows,
Like to the Firre, it causes bitter death,
Unlesse besides they use pure wine that flowes
From empty’d cups, thou drinke, when as thy breath
Begins to fade, and passage of thy life
Grows straight.’â€
Virgil attributed the notoriously unwholesome qualities of the honey of Corsica to the bees feeding upon the Yew, and he warns bee-keepers to be careful that no Yew-trees grow near their hives. Owing to its being so frequently found in churchyards, a ghastly superstition has arisen respecting this sinister tree: it is said that it preys and invigorates itself upon the dead who lie beneath its sombre shade. Thus, in ‘In Memoriam,’ we read:—
“Old Yew, which graspest at the stonesThat name the underlying dead,Thy fibres net the dreamless head,Thy roots are wrapt about the bones.â€
“Old Yew, which graspest at the stonesThat name the underlying dead,Thy fibres net the dreamless head,Thy roots are wrapt about the bones.â€
“Old Yew, which graspest at the stones
That name the underlying dead,
Thy fibres net the dreamless head,
Thy roots are wrapt about the bones.â€
Even in the principal use the Yew was put to, the tree maintained its connection with death, for from its wood man fashioned an instrument of warfare and destruction. Its great pliancy and toughness made it particularly suitable for bows, and for this purpose it was unrivalled. Virgil tells us that in his time “the Yews were bent into Ituræan bowsâ€; Chaucer speaks of “the Shooter Yew;†and Browne writes of
“The warlike Yewgh by which more than the lanceThe strong-armed English spirits conquered France.â€
“The warlike Yewgh by which more than the lanceThe strong-armed English spirits conquered France.â€
“The warlike Yewgh by which more than the lance
The strong-armed English spirits conquered France.â€
Camden has recorded a grim legend in connection with the name of Halifax. It seems that a certain amorous clergyman fell in love with a pretty maid who refused his addresses. Maddened by her refusal he cut off her head, which being hung upon a Yew-tree till it was quite decayed, the tree was reputed as sacred, not only whilst the virgin’s head hung on it, but as long as the tree itself lasted: to which the people went in pilgrimage, plucking and bearing away branches of it as a holy relique, whilst there remained any of the trunk; persuading themselves that those small veins and filaments resembling hairs were the hairs of the virgin. But what is yet stranger, the resort to this place, then called Houton, a despicable village, occasioned the building of the now famous town of Halifax, in Yorkshire, the name of which imports “holy hair.â€â€”—In the cloister of Vreton, in Brittany, there grew a Yew-tree which was said to have sprung from the staff of St. Martin. Beneath it the Breton princes were accustomed to offer up a prayer before entering the church. This tree was regarded with thehighest reverence; no one ever plucked a leaf from its sombre boughs, and even the birds refrained from pecking the scarlet berries. A band of pirates, however, happening to visit the locality, two of them spied the tree, and forthwith climbed into its venerable boughs and proceeded to cut bow-staves for themselves: their audacity speedily brought about its own punishment, for they both fell and were killed on the spot.——Both in old Celtic and in Anglo-Saxon the Yew-tree was calledIw. By early English authors its name was variously spelt Yew, Yeugh, Ewgh, Ugh, and Ewe. In Switzerland, it is known as William Tell’s Tree.——Dream oracles state that there is but one signification to dreams concerning the Yew, viz., that it is the certain forerunner of the demise of an aged person, through which the dreamer will derive substantial benefits.
YGGDRASILL.—The mythical Scandinavian World-tree, or Mundane Ash, is the greatest and best of all trees: beneath it the gods assemble in counsel; its branches spread over the whole world and reach above heaven; and its roots penetrate to the infernal regions. On its summit is perched an all-seeing eagle, with a hawk between his eyes. A squirrel continually carries news to him, while serpents coiled round the vast trunk endeavour to destroy him. Serpents, also, constantly gnaw the roots, from which come the fountains of wisdom and futurity. The Norns always keep a watch upon the Yggdrasill: they fix the lifetime of all men, and dispense destinies. Under the tree is hidden the horn which shall be sounded and rouse the world at the last great conflict.