Lastly, the term “Aroint thee” (“Macbeth,” i. 3), used by the first witch, occurs again in “King Lear” (iii. 4), “Aroint thee, witch, aroint thee.” That aroint is equivalent to “away,” “begone,” seems to be agreed, though its etymology is uncertain.[73] “Rynt thee” is used by milkmaids in Cheshire to a cow, when she has been milked, to bid her get out of the way. Ray, in his “Collection of North Country Words” (1768, p. 52), gives “Rynt ye, by your leave, stand handsomely, as rynt you witch, quoth Bessie Locket to her mother. Proverb, Chesh.” Some connect it with the adverb “aroume,” meaning “abroad,” found in Chaucer’s “House of Fame” (book ii. stanza 32):
“That I a-roume was in the field.”
Other derivations are from the Latin averrunco: the Italian rogna, a cutaneous disease, etc.
How thoroughly Shakespeare was acquainted with the system of witchcraft is evident from the preceding pages, in which we have noticed his allusions to most of the prominent forms of this species of superstition. Many other items of witch-lore, however, are referred to by him, mention of which is made in succeeding chapters.[74]
FOOTNOTES:
[46] “Superstitions of Witchcraft,” 1865, p. 220.
[47] “Shakspere Primer,” 1877, p. 63.
[48] “Rationalism in Europe,” 1870, vol. i. p. 106.
[49] “Demonology and Witchcraft,” 1881, pp. 192, 193.
[50] “Shakespeare,” 1864, vol ii. p. 161.