[136] Probably a reminiscence of some hermit who had chosen a snowy region in the North for his retreat.
[137] A similar miraculous provision by the agency of some animal occurs in the legends of several of the Irish hermits. In Wolfram’s Parzifal, the Grail appears as a ‘stone which yields all manner of food and drink, the power of which is sustained by a dove, who every week lays a Host upon it.’—Nutt, Studies, etc., p. 25.
[138] Vita S. Columbæ, I. xiv.
[139] Iomram Churraig h-Ua g-Corra, ed. and trans, by Mr. W. Stokes, in Rev. Celt., xiv. 22 sqq., from the Book of Fermoy, a MS. of the fourteenth century. The tale, in its present form, is later than that of Maelduin, though Professor Zimmer considers that the original was written early in the eighth century, the present being probably ‘a thirteenth-century rifacimento, save the opening portion, which he (Zimmer) thus looks upon as being the earliest fragment of this genre of story-telling.’—Nutt, Voyage of Bran, i. 162. Mr. Stokes, however, regards the extant version as a work of the eleventh century, loc. cit.
[140] Here, again, the harp in the hands of a modern minstrel re-echoes the ancient tune:
‘And, as I watch the line of light, that plays
Along the smooth wave, tow’rd the burning west,
I long to tread that golden path of rays,
And think ’twould lead to some bright isle of rest.’—Moore.
[141] A similar belief existed in the old Latin religion. Outside the city gates of every town there used to be a pit, the ‘Mundus,’ which was regarded as the receptacle of the souls of the dead. It was covered with a flagstone, which was lifted on three days in the year, occurring in August, October, and November, to give the imprisoned souls a holiday. Cp. the belief, once prevalent all over Europe, and still existing in many parts, that on All Souls’ Eve the spirits would go through their towns in procession, and visit their former homes.