[50] Teutonic Mythology, Stallybrass’s translation, ii. 796.
[51] Quoted by Hazlitt under Palm Sunday.
[52] Herbal for the Bible, p. 207.
CHAPTER XXI
HOLY WELLS AND STREAMS
I have thought it most important to look up this subject with a view of seeing whether any clues were available which could help us to associate the introduction of the well ceremonials with the worshippers of the May or of the Solstitial year. For shortness I will call the ceremonial “baptism,” not necessarily baptism in the modern sense, but as implying the use of water for purifying or other religious purpose.
That baptism was pre-Christian is shown by John the Baptist using the Jordan for this purpose before Christ’s ministration began. (Matt. 3. 6.)
There is a tremendous literature[53] dealing with the folklore of holy wells and streams. The number of holy wells and streams in Britain is legion; there are 3,000 in Ireland alone, and the first thing which strikes us in a casual study of the folklore is the close association of the wells with sacred trees. Almost equally distinctly we gather that both were situated near holy stones, and that the worship included ceremonials connected with all three.
The folklore dealing with holy wells and well-worship is so various that it will be useful for our present purpose to classify the portions we need under the following headings.
1. Well-worship outcome of pre-Christian days and customs.