Part 16 (1/2)
”It is very possible that the cattle were stolen by people landing from the sea,” said Hardy.
”Probably,” said the Pastor. ”There is another story of a Havmand's body being washed up by the sea, close to the church, and it was buried in the churchyard. But the sea every year washed away so much of the sandy coast that the people were afraid the church would be washed away; so they dug up the Havmand, and found him sitting at the bottom of the grave, sucking one of his toes. They carried him down to the sea, for which he thanked them, and said that now the sea should ever cast up as much sand as it washed away, and both the church and churchyard should never suffer from the encroachments of the sea.”
”A story with more apparent improbability than usual. But the impression appears to exist that these supernatural beings could never really die. Is it not so?” inquired Hardy.
”It would appear so,” replied the Pastor; ”but in the case of Trolds or Underjordiske, their deaths are occasionally referred to in the traditions about them.”
”But are there no legends of mermaids?” said Hardy.
”Many,” replied the Pastor. ”The Danish word is 'Havfru,' or sea-woman. On the Jutland coast a mermaid or Havfru was accustomed to drive her cattle up from the sea, so that they could graze in the fields ash.o.r.e. This the Bnder did not like. They, therefore, one night, surrounded the cattle, and secured both them and the Havfru in an enclosure, and refused to let them go until they had been paid for the gra.s.s the sea cattle had consumed from their fields. As she had no money, they demanded that she should give them the belt that she wore round her waist, which appeared to be covered with precious stones. To ransom herself and cattle, she at length consented, and the Bnder received the belt; but as she went to the sea-sh.o.r.e she said to the biggest bull of her herd, 'Root up,' and the bull rooted the earth up that was over the sand in their meadows, and the consequence was the wind blew the sand so that it buried the church. The Bnder, therefore, had small joy of the belt, particularly when they found it was only common rushes.”
”There is a ballad,” said Hardy, ”that I met with in Norway of Count Magnus and the Havfru. She promised him a sword, a horse, and a s.h.i.+p of miraculous powers; but he was true to his earthly love.”
”The people often sing it here,” said the Pastor, ”and a good ballad it is. It is, however, well known in England. There was a common belief that there were cattle in the sea, and it is related that a man once saw a red cow constantly in the evening feeding on his standing corn. He asked his neighbours' a.s.sistance, and they secured it. It had five calves whilst in the man's possession, and each of them cow calves; but they gave him so much trouble from their unruly nature that he beat them frequently. One day he did so by the seaside, when a voice from the sea called the cattle, who all rushed into the sea.
”There is a very common story of a fisherman, on the west coast of Jutland, seeing a Havmand riding on a billow of the sea, but s.h.i.+vering with the cold, as he had only one stocking on. The fisherman took off one of his stockings and gave it to the Havmand. Some time after, he was on the sea fis.h.i.+ng, when the Havmand appeared, and sang--
'Hr du Mand som Hosen gav.
Tag dit Skib og drag til Land, Det dundrer under Norge.'
'Listen, you man, who gave the stocking.
Take your s.h.i.+p and make for land, It thunders under Norway.'
The fisherman obeyed, and a great storm ensued, and many people perished at sea.”
”It is common to observe that where the natural disposition of the people is a kindly one, there exists in their legends instances of a similar character, where a kindness is recollected and rewarded,” said Hardy.
”It occurs often,” said Pastor Lindal, ”in the legends of the Underjordiske.”
”Hans Christian Andersen has a story about the elder tree, but it is not very clear what position the fairy of the elder tree bears in tradition,” said Hardy.
”There is supposed to exist in the elder tree a supernatural being, a gnome or fairy, called the Hyldemer, or fairy of the elder tree,”
replied the Pastor. ”She is said to revenge all injury to the tree; and of a man who cut an elder bush down, it is related that he died shortly after. At dusk, the Hyldemer peeps in through the window at the children, when they are alone. It is also said that she sucks their b.r.e.a.s.t.s at night, and that this can be only averted by the juice of an onion.”
”Is there any distinct legend of the Hyldemer?” asked Hardy.
”Not that I know of,” replied the Pastor. ”There is a saying that a child cannot sleep if its cradle is made of elder tree, but there is no story with any incidents, that I am aware of. A cradle of elder tree is not likely to be often made.”
”The legend of the were-wolf is very general in all Europe,” said Hardy. ”Does the tradition exist with you?”
”It is called the Varulv with us,” replied the Pastor. ”It is said to be a man, who changes into the form of a wolf, and is known by a tuft of hair between the shoulders. When he wishes to change himself from the human form to a wolf, he repeats three times, 'I was, I am,' and immediately his clothes fall off, like a snake changing its skin. It is said that if a woman creeps under the caul of a foal, extended on four sticks, that her children will be born without the usual pains of childbirth, but that the boys will be Varulve, and the daughters Marer, or mares. The superst.i.tion about the latter, I will tell you presently. The man, however, is freed by some other person telling him he is a Varulv. In the other traditions on the subject elsewhere, the Varulv is supposed to attack women near their confinement; and it is related that a man, who was a Varulv, was at work in the fields with his wife, when suddenly a wolf appeared, and attacked her. She struck at it with her ap.r.o.n, which the wolf tore to pieces. Then the man reappeared, with a torn piece of the ap.r.o.n in his mouth. 'You are a Varulv,' said the woman; and the man said, 'I was, but now you have told me so I am free.' This is the Jutland legend of the were-wolf.”
”What is that of the Marer, or mares?” asked Hardy.
”Marer is the plural of Mare,” replied the Pastor. ”It is a woman, who, like the Varulv, changes to the form of a mare. It is the nightmare, which, as we all know, is dreadful enough. A woman who is a Mare (the final e is p.r.o.nounced as a) is known by the hair growing together on her eyebrows. It is a very old superst.i.tion. It occurs in Snorro's 'Heimskringla,' where King Vauland complains of a Mare having ridden him in his sleep. There are several stories based on the superst.i.tion. A Bondekarl--that is, a farm servant--was ridden every night by a Mare, although he had stopped up every hole to prevent her; but at last he discovered that she came through a hole in an oak post, which he stopped with a wooden pin, as soon as he knew she was in the room. As the day dawned, she a.s.sumed her human form, having no power otherwise. The man married her, and they lived together very happily.
One day, the man asked his wife if she knew how she came into the house, and showed her the little wooden pin, which yet stood in the oak post. His wife peeped through the hole, and as she stood and looked, she suddenly became so small that she could go through the hole. She disappeared and never returned. There is also a story of a certain Queen of Denmark, who was very fond of horses, but she liked one horse far beyond the others. The groom observed that this horse was always tired in the morning, with the appearance of its having been ridden all night. He at length suspected that it was ridden by a Mare. He, therefore, one night took a bucket of water and threw it over the horse, when, lo! the queen sat on the horse's back.”
”The superst.i.tion is evidently an ancient one,” said Hardy. ”There is no doubt that people had the nightmare very badly in old times, from their habits of life and sudden and violent changes taking place in their circ.u.mstances.”