In former times
it was always possible that the Manxman numbered among his cattle one or
more cows which were not what they appeared to be to a casual eye.
These were 'sea-cows' or grey seals, which had assumed the shape
of ordinary cows and come ashore for a lengthy period. They were
luck-bringing visitors to the herd, for they promoted fertility and
insured health and vigour in the calves, much as the supernumerary goat
did.
'Seal' is a word still used occasionally I am told, as
an adjective with the meaning of 'lucky', especially in farmyard
matters.
(source: A Second Manx Scrapbook by W W Gill, 1932; artwork http://bit.ly/19seYFu)
The practice of
letting a goat accompany flocks and herds at pasture was favoured in
the Isle of Man. It is said to be followed still on a few farms.
The goat's presence was believed to have a beneficial effect on the general health of cows and sheep and especially to promote their fertility and successful calving and lambing.
As it is wiser than the beasts, it knew before they did when bad weather was coming and led them to shelter.
(source: A Second Manx Scrapbook by W W Gill, 1932; artwork 'Goat on cow's back' by 3greendogs http://bit.ly/1aS6CF3)
The Rune
Poems are three poems that list the letters of runic alphabets while
providing an explanatory poetic stanza for each letter. Three different
poems have been preserved: the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, the Norwegian Rune Poem, and the Icelandic Rune Poem.
The Icelandic and Norwegian poems list 16 Younger Futhark runes, while
the Anglo Saxon Rune Poem lists 26 Anglo-Saxon runes. Each poem differs
in poetic verse, but they contain numerous parallels between one
another. Further, the poems provide references to figures from Norse
paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism, the latter included alongside
Christian references.
The Rune
Poems are three poems that list the letters of runic alphabets while
providing an explanatory poetic stanza for each letter. Three different
poems have been preserved: the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, the Norwegian Rune Poem, and the Icelandic Rune Poem.
The Icelandic and Norwegian poems list 16 Younger Futhark runes, while
the Anglo Saxon Rune Poem lists 26 Anglo-Saxon runes. Each poem differs
in poetic verse, but they contain numerous parallels between one
another. Further, the poems provide references to figures from Norse
paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism, the latter included alongside
Christian references.
The Chi-Rho is one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by
some Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two (capital)
letters 'chi' and 'rho' (ΧΡ) of the Greek word "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ"
= Christ, in such a way to produce the monogram. Although not
technically a Christian cross, the Chi-Rho invokes the crucifixion of
Jesus, as well as symbolizing his status as the Christ.
The
Chi-Rho symbol was also used by pagan Greek scribes to mark, in the
margin, a particularly valuable or relevant passage; the combined
letters Chi and Rho standing for chrēston, meaning "good."
This
Irneit cross-slab on the Isle of Man has a clearly cut hexafoil pattern
within circles, below which are two well cut crosses with small arcs
curving from the expanded upper arm, representing the Chi-Ro. The
inscription within the circle, in debased Roman characters, records a
Celtic bishop, Irneit. The Chi remains, but some of the rest of the
inscription is damaged. It is also abbreviated, but reads as follows
with the omitted words in brackets:
(Ihu) Xp (Ist) I Irneit
S(Anctus) P(res)B(iter)I Ep(Isco)p(atu)s Dei Insula >< Apb
(Hat)Que. Meaning in the name of Jesus Christ, Irneit, holy priest,
God's Bishop in the Island and Abbot.
Below the circle are two
linear, but formal crosses. At the sides of these crosses are
inscriptions reading downwards as follows:
In Ih((s)u
Xp(ist)i/nomine; meaning, In the name of Jesus Christ and Crux
xp(ist)i/imagenem,; meaning, The image of the cross of Christ (I have
made in Christ's name an image of the Cross of Christ). These
translations show a connection between the early Manx church with
Britain and Gaul.
It is late 7th or 8th century.
(source: The Art of the Manx Crosses (1977), Manx Museum & National Trust; Isle of Man Guide http://bit.ly/1e1Y9yT and wiki http://bit.ly/15T8QRy)
"When trees in calm air move, then speak the dead."
We know that Odin was the god of both wind and storm and war. To him
the temple in Upsala was erected and the great treasures were kept
there. Every nine years the people celebrated
here a great festival in his honour, when human and animal sacrifices
were made to him. It lasted nine days and the victims consisted of 99
men, 99 horses, 99 cocks and 99 hawks. With their blood Odin was
propitiated. The grove and the trees on which the slaughteied bodies
were suspended were held sacred and it was death to him who disturbed
its precincts.
The above proverb takes us back to these old
Norse pagan rites and before the introduction of Christianity had rooted
out these dire customs. The sacrifices were principally made to
propitiate him in times of war, or to appease him.
It was believed that when the wind and storm played in the trees, that the god clamoured for fresh victims.
We see then, how very old our Manx proverb is. The Manx executioner was
the 'fer chroghee' or 'crogheyder', and the old fashioned way to deal
with the condemned was to hang him up on the tree, just as the pagan
Norse priesthood did with their human and other victims in the sacred
grove of Upsala and elsewhere.
(source: artwork, The Hanging Tree by 'somecoolusername'; text from Manx Notes & Queries, 1904, http://bit.ly/10bsmW)
Small
fragment of cross-slab of the lte 10th century, illutrating splendid
Norse animal ornament, showing the forepart of a boar.*
Note the representation of bristles and the characteristic spiral where limb joins body.*
It may be a representation of Sæhrímnir, the creature killed and eaten
every night by the Æsir and Einherjar. The cook of the gods, Andhrímnir,
is responsible for the slaughter of Sæhrímnir and its preparation in
the cauldron Eldhrímnir. After Sæhrímnir is eaten, the beast is brought
back to life again to provide sustenance for the following day.
"In Eldrhimnir Andhrímnir cooks
Sæhrímnir’s seething flesh -
The best of food, but few men know
On what fare the warriors feast."
*(source: The Art of the Manx Crosses (1977), Manx Museum & National Trust)
ODIN AT RAGNARÖK
Face 1 - Outstanding 10th century cross-slab, though incomplete.
Graphic scene from Ragnarök, the last great battle of Norse pagan
mythology.
Odin - recognised by his raven on his shoulder
and wielding his famous spear Gungnir - is devoured by the Fenris
wolf. The wolf itself is later slain, in common with everything else.
"And every living thing shall suffer death...and the Powers shall perish".
CHRIST REIGNS
Face 2 - The opposite face of this cross-slab
shows a belted figure bearing a book and a cross, trampling on a
serpent. Alongside is a fish (an early symbol of Christianity). This
carving seems placed in significant juxtaposition to the scene of the end of the world of the pagan gods.
Christ now reigns, Odin is dead.
(source: The Art of the Manx Crosses (1977), Manx Museum & National Trust)
 |
| Face 1 |
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| Face 2 |
Saint Maughold
(Maccaldus, Machaoi, Macc Cuill) of Man is venerated as the patron saint
of the Isle of Man. His feast day is April 25.
In the 'Martyrology of Donegal' we find “Machud Episcopus” under date November 15th, and
in the 'Scottish Calendar of Saints,' “Machutus,” bishop and confessor,
November 15, A.D. 565. The Irish “Machud” was Latinized into “Machutus”
and “Magholdus,” and the modern form “Maughold” is simply the Latin
form “Machaldus” shorn of its suffix. The intrusive ‘l’ in the second
Latin form may be a phonetic development caused by the shifting of the
stress from the first syllable to the penultimate of the Latin form.
There were two days on the Manx Calendar dedicated to St. Maughold.
August 11th was known as “Laa'l Maghald toshee,” “Maughold's first
feast-day”; and November 15th as “Laa'l Maghald geuree”, “Maughold's
winter feast-day”; on both of which days fairs were held at Kirk
Maughold. It is difficult to assign any reason for the fact that two
days were dedicated to St. Maughold in Man, but similar instances are
found elsewhere.
St. Maughold, the sixth Bishop of Man, was an
Irish Prince, who had formerly been the chief of banditti
(brigand/freebooter), and having been converted and baptized by St,
Patrick, he resolved to avoid temptation by abandoning the world.
He embarked in a wicker boat, which drifted before the north wind
towards the Isle of Man, where he was cast ashore at the headland still
known by his name. He afterwards retired to a cave in the mountains,
where, by the austerity of his manners and fervent piety, he became so
eminent that he was unanimously chosen Bishop of Man by the natives,
A.D. 498.
I'LL tell you the legend as well as, I can,
Of St. Maughold, a pious old Bishop of Man.
This man (like his father)
Was profligate, rather
At least he had been
In an earlier scene,
If his sins we could fish up,
Before he was bishop;
He led his poor wife,
It is said, a sad life,
Would cheat her and beat her,
And often ill-treat her;
Nay, threaten to kick her,
When he was in liquor,
Though now a saint, yet he
Was once of banditti
The captain or leader, as fierce as could be,
In that island which Moore calls the " Gem of the sea."
And wherever he went,
He on, plunder was bent,
But after a few years began to repent;
So they sent him afloat
In a flat leather boat,
In very rough weather,
His hands tied together,
With bolts on his feet,
And no victuals to eat;
So he sang (while on waves he continued to ride)
I'm afloat, I'm afloat, on the fierce rolling tide.
At length he was thrown
On an island unknown;
Or at least very few,
At that period knew,
That where the boat ran,
Was the Island of Man;
And St Patrick (the Saint),
Pick'd him up rather faint.
Yet this man became - and believe it who can
A worthy respectable Bishop of Man.
Ay, and such was his fame,
That he got a great name,
When St. Bridget, an Irish nun, came to visit him,
And then lost her heart, say some folks (as a quiz at him),
And soon took the veil,
When she saw him so pale,
With fasting so much of late,
His follies to expiate,
So thus he became ay, believe it who can
worthy respectable Bishop of Man.
And in Mona's fair Isle,
This saint lived for a while,
Where there's now a famed well,
Which contains, as they tell,
A very fine spring, which the Manx (spite of dirt) use,
On account of its famous medicinal virtues.
But then, don't you see?
That its efficacy,
To Man's sons and daughters
Who drank of these waters,
Was chiefly enhanced (though they tasted like paint)
By drinking them off in the chair of the saint -
Not a modem stuffed chair,
But a hard one and bare,
Which no one now, to sit in would care,
Where the saint, with hair shirt,
And all covered with dirt,
Would repent his misdeeds,
And count over his beads.
So I've given the tale, as well told as I can,
In verse, of St. Maughold, the Bishop of Man.
(source: http://bit.ly/12oCIYZ; Place-names of the Isle of Man by JJ Knee, 1925; A Manx Notebook http://bit.ly/12ckpqe; photo http://bit.ly/147oMUj)
“Sacred wells are recognised around the world, in nearly every culture
and in every age. Long associated with feminine, divine power they are
also seen as places of healing, magick, wisdom and sources to the Other World.
Some believe that these wells were originally created to bring the Moon
and its powers to the Earth, at least in its reflection.
Water from these holy wells was believed to have the intrinsic value of fertility and life and thereby love and sexuality.
In many cultures, and for untold centuries, it has been believed that
Holy wells are inhabited, or at least guarded, by nymphs and faeries.
Holy wells are also contradictory. Traditions have held that they are
life giving: they grant wishes, they heal, they foretell the future but
also that they take life, apply curses and serve as residences for lost
souls and supernatural mischief-makers.”
~ by Gary R Varner from his book ‘Sacred Wells: A Study in the History, Meaning, and Mythology of Holy Wells and Waters’
“One thing is clear: a holy well is not always a well. That is it is
not always a stone-lined tank, sometimes with a structure built above
it, which is what the word ‘well’ means to most people.
A
holy well is almost never a deep draw-well: in fact it is almost
invariably a surface spring, which on occasion may degenerate into a
muddy hole in the ground. Sometimes it may be a pond, a pool or even a
small lake. Sometimes it may be water that has collected inside a tree
stump; or inside a bullaun (basin stone).
Unusual locations
include seashore wells which are periodically covered by the tide, or
coastal wells high on cliffs, or in sea-caves; wells close to rivers or
streams which are inundated during flooding; wells in bogs and on
mountain-tops; and wells inside churches.
Holy wells are by
no means always easy to access and pilgrims would sometimes have to be
daring and/or persistent to actually reach the well which was their
goal.”
~ by Janet Bond from her book ‘Curses and Cures, Ritual & Cult at Holy Wells’
---------------------------------
Both these books are available on Amazon and very good resources for anyone intersted in Wells/Springs.
• Gary R Varner - ‘Sacred Wells: A Study in the History, Meaning, and Mythology of Holy Wells and Waters’ Amazon UK http://amzn.to/1684B4m Amazon.com http://amzn.to/15I9HnU
• Janet Bond - ‘Curses and Cures, Ritual & Cult at Holy Wells’ Amazon UK http://amzn.to/12ihNXl
(artwork: http://bit.ly/139oFQQ)
This parish is
dedicated to two saints, St. Cairpre of Coleraine and St. Columba, and
this dual dedication has persisted to the present day, the parish
bearing the name of Cairbre or Cairpre, and the parish church Columba.
Under the attraction of final ‘k’ in ‘kirk’, Kirk Carbery has become
Kirk Arbory. In the 13th century the bishops of Mann and the Isles owned
the parish church of Arbory and a great deal of land surrounding it,
which by the beginning of the 16th century had shrunk to one twelfth.
A fair was formerly held in the parish on 'Laa’l Colum Killey,’ ‘St.
Columba’s Day,’ (O.S., June 9 N.S., June 20); this was later transferred
to St. Barnabas’ Day, (O. S. June 11; N. S. June 22). There was also a
fair held in Ballabeg, in this parish, on ‘Laa’l Simon,’ ‘St. Simon’s
Day,’ Oct. 28th, and it is quite possible that this fair was originally
dedicated to the patronal saint Cairbre, whose dedication date was Oct.
11th.
The parish of Kirk Arbory extends about 6 miles in length
from north to south, and two miles in breadth from east to west. The
area of Kirk Arbory is 4477.238 acres. The parish church is situated on
the main road, in the village of Ballabeg. Kirk Arbory has not such an
extensive coast line as Kirk Christ and Kirk Malew, and numerically its
place names suffer in comparison. The greater part of these are
post-Scandinavian, but the name Colby indicates Norse settlement, and it
is probable that many Norse names have been displaced by Gaelic ones.
It was in this parish where the famous Periwinkle Fair was held on
Shrove Tuesday, the principal commodities offered for sale being
periwinkles and ginger-bread.
Near Ballabeg may be seen an old chapel which belonged to a monastery of Franciscans founded in 1373.
In Manx the parish is called ‘Skyll Chairbre’ or ‘Skyll Colum Killey’.
Earliest records of the parish name:
1153 - Bull of Pope Eugenius III. Terra Sancti Carebrie.
1231 - Bull of Pope Gregory IX. Terra Sti. Columbæ herbery vocatem.
1291 - Rotuli Scotiæ (19 Ed. I) Ecciesia Sancti Carber.
1511 - Man. Roll. Parochia Sti. Columbæ.
1595 - Durham, Kirk Kerebery.
1648 - Blundell, Kirk Arbery, Harberey or Kirberry.
1703 - Man. Roll., Kirk Arbory.
1723 - Dioc. Comm. Book, Ecclesia Paroch. Sti. Columbi.
1728 - Dioc. Comm. Book, Kirk Arbory.
(source: The Place-Names of the Isle of Man by JJ Kneen, 1925; artwork Saint Columcille by Rowan Lewgalon http://bit.ly/12L6RfL)
• axe = blood-ember
• battle = spear-din
• blood = slaughter-dew
• blood = battle-sweat
• blood = wound-sea
• chieftain or king = breaker of rings (alludes to a ruler breaking the
golden rings upon his arm and using them to reward his followers)
• death = sleep of the sword
• death = flame-farewelled
• fire = bane of wood
• wife = girl of the houses
• gold = serpent's lair (serpents and dragons were reputed to lie upon gold in their nests
• honour = mind's worth
• kill enemies = feed the eagle (killing enemies left food for the eagles)
• mistletoe = Baldur's bane (the kenning derives from the story in
which all plants and creatures swore never to harm Baldur save
mistletoe, which, when it was overlooked, Loki used to bring about
Baldur's death by tricking Hodur)
• Odin = Hanged god (Odin hung on
the Tree of Knowledge for nine days in order to gain wisdom). Odin has
around 200 names some of which are kennings.
• raven = swan of blood (ravens ate the dead at battlefields)
• the sea = whale-road
• ship = sea-steed
• sky = Ymir’s skull
• the sun = sky-candle
• the sun = sky's jewel
• sword = blood-worm
• sword = wound-hoe
• Thor = slayer of giants, basher of trolls
• war = weather of weapons
• warrior = feeder of ravens
• wind = breaker of trees
• wolf = Gunnr's horse (Gunnr is a valkyrie)
• wrist = wolf's-joint
(source: artwork 'When I was a Viking my Friend he was the Raven' by Rick Lilley http://bit.ly/135tV8b; text http://bit.ly/11bu6Sw)
The Manx people in former times held a belief, of which a memory still
lingers, that once in several years the rising sun flashed on the world a
momentary ray or tincture of his light which was charged with a special potency.
If a glimpse could be caught of this portent it conferred on the lucky
beholder some benefit in the nature of Second Sight or divinatory power,
or occult knowledge of some kind. As it was necessary that the sun
should be seen in the very act of rising, it may be supposed that it was
coming up out of the sea, and I take the belief to have resulted from
the acquaintance of a race of fishermen and herdsmen with the natural
phenomenon generally called ‘THE GREEN RAY’ or ‘THE GREEN FLASH.’
I addressed an inquiry to the newspaper about this aspect of the
matter. My letter elicited one response only but it furnished the
desired details:
SIR, - I should like to corroborate the
statement of your correspondent Mr Gill in your issue of 30th August,
that something like ‘the Green Flash’ appears occasionally in Manx
folk-lore. The old Manx name for it is SOILSHEY-BIO or LIVING LIGHT,
and I have gathered the impression without having been actually told so,
that it was thought to be an emanation of the sun’s life in much the
same way as the ‘living image’ or apparition of a living person, is
believed to be an emanation of the personality or will.
The
SOILSHEY-BIO is, however, sometimes taken as a warning sign. In several
fragments taken down by me from Manx fisherfolk, the ‘flash’ was seen
at sunrise on the morning preceding a wreck of one or more boats,
sometimes by a relative of men actually lost and in other cases by the
men themselves who took the warning and withdrew from the fated
enterprise.
Perhaps the real significance of this danger-signal
aspect of the SOILSHEY-BIO may be a belief that it conferred upon the
watcher a kind of second-sight, enabling him or her to apprehend coming
events. At any rate, the ‘flash’ certainly also had its beneficial side
in popular belief, and in this aspect it was made use of by the old
charmers or witch-doctors who flourished in the Island until recently.
It was believed by them that if this strange ray fell upon certain
medicinal herbs and they were gathered immediately afterwards, they
acquired an almost miraculous power.
I had this belief directly
from a very old man who was, I should think, about the last survivor of
the charmers, and who claimed to be able to cure ‘all diseases of body
or mind in man, woman or child,’ provided that the sufferer came to him
in good time and that he did not ‘see the sign of death’ on him or her.
This man also told me that if any person could find what he called ‘the
herb of life’ at the moment when it was touched by the SOILSHEY-BIO
death would never touch him or anyone to whom he gave a portion of the
herb to eat.
Yours faithfully,
MONA DOUGLAS
Isle of Man
(source: A Second Manx Scrapbook by W. Walter Gill, 1932; artwork http://bit.ly/13WXGI8)
