Chapter 3

On the form and manner of heathen prayer we lack information; I merely conjecture that it was accompanied by a looking up to heaven, bending of the body (of which bidjan gave a hint), folding of hands, bowing of knees, uncovering of the head. These gestures grow out of a crude childlike notion of antiquity, that the human supplicant presents and submits himself to the mighty god, his conqueror, as a defenceless victim (see Suppl.). Precari deos cælumque suspicere is attested by Tacitus himself, Germ. 10. Genuflectere is in Gothic knussjan [[to kneel]], the supplicare of the Roman was flexo corpore adorare. Falling down and bowing were customs of the christians too; thus in Hel. 47, 6. 48, 16. 144, 24 we have: te bedu hnîgan [[to bow down to pray]]. 58, 12: te drohtine hnígan [[to bow to the drightin]]. 176, 8: te bedu fallan [[to fall to pray]]. 145, 3: gihnêg an kniobeda [[bowed in knee-prayer]]. In the Sôlarlioð is the remarkable expression: henni ec laut, to her (the sun) I bowed, Sæm. 126; from lûta inclinare. falla â knê ok lûta, Vilk. saga cap. 6. nu strauk kongsdôttir sinn legg, ok mælti, ok sêr i loptið upp, (stroked her leg, and spoke, and looks up to the sky), Vilk. saga cap 61. So the saga of St. Olaf tells how the men bowed before the statue of Thor, lutu þvî skrimsli, Fornm. sög. 4, 247. fell til iardar fyrir lîkneski (fell to earth before the likeness). Fornm. sög. 2, 108. The Langobards are stated in the Dial. Gregorii M. 3, 28 to have adored submissis cervicibus a divinely honoured goat's head. In the Middle Ages people continued to bow to lifeless objects, by way of blessing them, such as a loved country, the road they had traversed, or the day (6). Latin writers of the time, as Lambert, express urgent entreaty by pedibus provolvi: the attitude was used not only to God, but to all whom one wished to honour: neig im ûf den fuoz [[bowed to him at the foot]] Morolt 41. hie viel sie ûf sinen vuoz [[he fell before her at her foot]], Iw. 8130. ouch nîge ich ir unz ûf den fuoz [[also I bow to her at the foot]], MS. 1, 155. valle für si (fall before her), und nîge ûf ir fuoz [[fall before her, and bow at her foot]], MS. 1, 54. buten sich (bowed) weinende ûf sînen vuoz [[bowed himself weeping at his foot]], Greg. 355. neig im nider ûf die hant[[bowed low to him at the hand]], Dietr. 55. These passages show that people fell before the feet, and at the feet, of him who was to be reverenced: wilt fallan te mínun fôtun, bedôs te mînun barma [[(thou) wilt fall to my feet, pray to my mercy]], Hel. 33, 7. sich bôt ze tal (bowed to the ground) gein sînen füezen nieder [[bowed himself to the ground below his feet]], Wh. 463, 2. (7) An O. Boh. song has: 'sie klanieti bohu,' to bow before God, Königinh. hs. 72; but the same has also the un-Teutonic 'se biti w celo prede bohy,' to beat one's brow before God. (8) Uncovering the head (see Suppl.) certainly was from of old a token of respect with our ancestors, which, like bowing, was shown to deity as well as to kings and chiefs. perhaps the priests, at least those of the Goths, formed an exception to this, as their name pileati is thus accounted for by Jornandes, quia opertis capitibus tiaris litabant, while the rest of the people stood uncovered. In a survival of heathenish harvest-customs we shall find this uncovering further established, ch. VII. In Nicolai Magni de Göw registrum superstitionum (of 1415) it is said: Insuper hodie inveniuntur homines, qui cum novilunium primo viderint flexis genibus adorant vel deposito caputio vel pileo, inclinato capite honorant alloquendo et suscipiendo.(9)   An AS. legend of Cuðberht relates how that saint was wont to go down to the sea at night, and standing up to his neck in the briny breakers, to sing his prayers, and afterwards to kneel down on the shingles, with palms stretched out to the firmament. (10) Lifting up and folding of the hands (see Suppl.) was also practised to a master, particularly to a feudal lord. In Ls. 3, 78 we have 'bat mit zertânen armen,' prayed with outspread arms. The Old Bavarian stapfsakên (denial of indebtedness) was accompanied by elevation of the hands, RA. 927 (see Suppl.). It is not impossible that the christian converts retained some heathen customs in praying. In a manuscript, probably of the 12th century, the prayers are to be accompanied by some curious actions: sô miz (measure) den ubir dín herza in modum crucis, unde von dem brustleffile zuo demo nabile, unde miz denne von eime rippe unz an daz andire, unde sprich alsus [[so measure thus over thy heart in the mode of the cross, and from the breast-spoon (sternum?) to the navel, and measure then from one rib unto the other, and speak thus]]. Again: sô miz denne die rehtun hant von deme lengistin vingire unz an daz resti (wrist), unde miz denne von deme dûmin zuo deme minnisten vingire [[measure thus the right hand from the longest finger unto the wrist, and measure then from the thumb to the smallest finger]]. One prayer was called 'der vane (flag) des almehtigin gotis' [[the flag of the almighty god]]; nine women are to read it nine Sundays, 'sô ez morginet [[as morning breaks]]; the ninth has to read the psalm Domini est terra, in such a posture 'daz ir líb niet ruore die erde, wan die ellebogin unde diu chnie,' that her body touch not the ground, except at the elbows and knees; the others are all to stand till the lighted candle has burnt out; Diut. 2, 292-3.

We cannot now attach any definite meaning to the Gothic aviliudôn [[to thank, give thanks]] eucaristein; it is formed from aviliud [[thanks]] carij, which resembles an O. Sax. alat, olat [[thanks]] gratiae; does it contain liuð [[song]] cantus, and was there moreover something heathenish about it? (See Suppl.). The old forms of prayer deserve more careful collecting; the Norse, which invoke the help of the gods, mostly contain the verb duga with the sense propitium esse: bið ec Ottari öll goð duga (I Ot. pray all, &c.), Sæm. 120. biðja þâ dîsir duga, Sæm. 195. Duga means to help, conf. Gramm. 4, 687. There is beauty in the ON. prayer: biðjom herjaföðr î hugom sitja [[I ask (the) Father of Hosts (Othinn) (who) in (my) heart sits]] (rogemus deum in animis sedere nostris), Sæm. 113, just as Christians pray the Holy Ghost to descend: in herzen unsén sâzi [[sit in our hearts]], O. iv. 5, 30 (see Suppl.).

Christians at prayer or confession looked toward the East, and lifted up their arms (Bingham lib. xi. cap. 7, ed. hal. 3, 273); and so we read in the Kristinbalkr of the old Gulathing law: 'ver skulum lúta austr, oc biðja til ens helga Krists ârs ok friðar,' we must bow east, and pray the holy Christ for plenty and peace (conf. Svntagma de baptismo p. 65); in the Waltharius 1159: contra orientalem prostratus corpore partem precatur; in AS. formulas: eástweard ic stande [[eastward I stand]]; and in Troj. 9298. 9642: kêret iuch gên ôrient [[turn you towards the Orient]]. The heathens, on the contrary, in praying and sacrificing, looked Northwards: horfa (turn) î norðr, Fornm. sög. 11, 134. leit (looked) î norðr, Sæm. 94. beten gegen mitternacht [[to pray towards midnight]], Keisersperg omeiss 49. And the North was looked upon by the christians as the unblessed heathen quarter, on which I have given details in RA. 808; it was unlucky to make a throw toward the north, RA. 57; in the Lombard boundary treaties the northern tract is styled 'nulla ora,' RA. 544. These opposite views must serve to explain a passage in the Roman de Renart, where the fox prays christianity, and the wolf heathenly, Reinh. fuchs p. xli. (11).



ENDNOTES:

7. Fial in sine fuazi [[fell before his feet]], O. III. 10, 27. an sîne füeze [[at his feet]], Karl 14. The Christians in the Mid. Ages called it venie fallen [[to fall kneeling (?)]]. Parz. 460, 10. Karl 104. Berth. 173. Ksrchr. 2958. 3055. Kneeling and kissing the ground, to obtain absolution: dâ er ût siner venie lac (lay) [[out there he lay (at) his kneeling-prayer]], Barl. 366, 21. den ariger maz mit der langen venie [[the evil fellow seemingly with the long kneeling-prayer]], Frib. Trist. 2095. venien suochen [[to seek with kneeling-prayer]], MS. 1, 23. Morolt. 28. Troj. 9300. terrae osculationibus, quas venias appellant, Pez. bibl. ascet. 8, 440. gie ze kirchen und banekte (prostrated ?) ze gote sîniu glider mit venien und gebet [[went to the church and prostrated to his god crying with kneeling and prayer]], Cod. koloez. 180.  (back)

8. The tchelo-bîtnaya, beating of the forehead in presenting a petition, was prohibited in Russia by Catherine II. Conf. pronis vultibus adorare, Helmold 1, 38.  (back)

9. What else I have collected about this practice, may be inserted here: elevato a capite pileo alloquitur seniorem, Dietm. Merseb. p. 824 (an. 1012). sublata eydare surgens inclinat honeste. Ruodlieb 2, 93. Odofredus in I. secundo loco digest. de postulando: Or signori, hic colligimus argumentum, quod aliquis quando veniet coram magistratu debet ei revereri, quod est contra Ferrarienses, qui, si essent coram Deo, non extraherent sibi capellum vel birretum de capite, nec flexis genibus postularent. Pilleus in capite est, Isengrimus 1139. oster la chape (in saluting), Mêon 4, 261. gelüpfet den huot [[(he) lifted the hat]], Ms H. 3, 330. sînen huot er abenam, hiemit êret er in also [[he took off his hat, whereby he honored him also]], Wigal. 1436. er zôch durch sîn hübscheit den huot gezogenlichen abe [[because of his courtliness, he pulled the hat off politely]], Troj. 1775. dô stuont er ûf geswinde gnuoe, ein schapel daz er ûf truoc von gimmen und von golde fin, daz nam er ab dem houpte sin [[there stood he up bold enough, a crown of gems and fine gold that he pulled off, that he took off of his head.]], Troj. 18635. er zucket im sîn keppalt [[he tugged his cap]], Ls. 3, 35. er was gereit. daz er von dem houbt den huot liez vliegen und sprach [[he was ready, that he let fly the hat from the head and spoke]], Kolocz. 101. Festus explains: lucem facere dicuntur Saturno sacrificantes, id est capita detegere; again: Saturno fit sacrificium capite aperto; conf. Macrob. Sat. 1, 8. Serv. in Virg. 3, 407.  (back)

10. Wæs gewunod þæt he wolde gân on niht tô sæ, and standan on þam sealtum brimme, oð his swuran, singende his gebedu, and siððan his eneowu on þam ceosle gebygde, astrehtum handbredum tô heofenlicum rodere [[(It) was customary that he would go at night to the sea, and stand in the salty waves, up to his neck, singing his prayers, and afterward bend his knees on the gravel, stretching forth hand-palms to the heavenly firmament]]; Thorpe's analecta, pp. 76-7. homil. 2. 138. [I have thought it but fair to rescue the saint from a perilous position in which the German had inadvertently placed him by making him "wade into the sea up to his neck, and kneel down to sing his prayers".---TRANS.]---In the O.Fr. jeu de saint Nicolas, Tervagant has to be approached on bare elbows and knees; Legrand fabl. 1, 343.  (back)

11. At the abrenuntiatio one had to face the sunset, with wrinkled brow (fronte caperata), expressing anger and hatred; but at the confession of faith, to face the sunrise, with eyes and hands raised to heaven; Bingham lib. xi. cap. 7. 9. 13. 14. Conf. Joh. Olavii synt. de baptismo, pp. 64-5.  (back)