A third description is quoted by Grimm which comes to us from Martin. "The forced fire, or fire of necessity, which they used as an antidote against the plague or murrain in cattle; and it was performed thus: all the fires in the parish were extinguished, and then eighty-one (9 x 9) married men, being thought the necessary number for effecting this design, took two great planks of wood, and nine of 'em were employed by turns, who by their repeated efforts rubbed one of the planks against the other until the heat thereof produced fire; and from this forced fire each family is supplied with new fire, which is no sooner kindled than a pot full of water is quickly set on it, and afterwards sprinkled upon the people infected with the plague, or upon the cattle that have the murrain. And this they all say they find successful by experience: it was practiced on the mainland opposite to the south of Skye, within these thirty years." (377)

The need-fire is a practice that is still practiced in some parts of Germany in the modern era. Grimm tells that the common folk still distinguish between fire and the need fire which is started by rubbing two pieces of wood together. He states that fire started through friction is the surest mark of Northern tradition. (378)

One of the main uses of the need-fire was the health of domestic animals. Many times after the need-fire was started cattle and horses were driven between two fires started from it. Swine were also drove between the fires to keep disease from cropping up. In Kuhn's Märkische sagen is described another need-fire tradition. "Before sunrise two stakes of dry wood are dug into the ground amid solemn silence, and hempen ropes that go round them are pulled back and forwards till the wood catches fire; the fire is fed with leaves and twigs, and the sick animals (swine in this case) are driven through. In some places the fire is produced by the friction of an old cartwheel. (379)

One more description of a need-fire I would like to, here, quote. "In many villages of Lower Saxony, especially in the mountains, it is common, as a precaution against cattle plague, to get up the so-called wild fire, through which first the pigs, then the cows, lastly the geese are driven. The established procedure in the matter is this. The farmers and all the parish assemble, each inhabitant receives notice to extinguish every bit of fire in his house, so that not a spark is left alight in the whole village. Then old and young walk to a hollow way, usually towards evening, the women carrying linen, the men wood and tow. Two oaken stakes are driven into the ground a foot and a half apart, each having a hole on the inner side, into which fits a cross-bar as thick as an arm. The holes are stuffed with linen, then the cross-bar is forced in as tight as possible, the heads of the stakes being held together with cords. About the smooth round cross-bar is coiled a rope, whose long ends, left hanging on both sides are seized by a number of men; these make the cross-bar revolve rapidly this way and that, till the friction sets the linen in the holes on fire. The sparks are caught on tow or oakum, and whirled round in the air till they burst into a clear blaze, which is then communicated to straw, and from the straw to a bed of brushwood arranged in cross layers in the hollow way. When this wood has well burnt and nearly done blazing, the people hurry off to the herds waiting behind, and drive them perforce, one after the other, through the glowing embers. As soon as all the cattle are through, the young folks throw themselves pell-mell upon the ashes and coals, sprinkling and blackening one another; those who are most blackened and besmudged march into the village behind the cattle as conquerors, and will not wash for a long time after. If after long rubbing the linen will not catch, they feel sure there is still fire somewhere in the village, and that the element refuses to reveal itself through friction: then follows a strict searching of houses, any fire they may light upon is extinguished, and the master of the house rebuked or chastised. But that the wild fire should be evoked by friction is indispensable, it cannot be struck out of flint and steel. Some localities perform the ceremony, not yearly as a preventive of murrain, but only upon its actually breaking out." (380) This example is like the other examples in all its major features.

The need-fire seemed to take place at different times depending on what area you were in. Some areas held it at or around the spring equinox while others held it at midsummer. The Danes and Scandinavia hold midsummer fires. Grimm gives an account of a tradition performed on Whitsun morning. On that morning some stablemen were seen to make a need-fire and boil their cabbage over it. They believe that by eating it, they would be protected from fever in the coming year. On June 20th 1653 the Nürnberg town council issued the following order: "Whereas experience heretofore hath shown, that after the old heathen use, on John's day in every year, in the country, as well in towns as villages, money and wood hath been gathered by young folk, and thereupon the so-called sonnenwendt or zimmet fire kindled, and thereat winebibbing, dancing about the said fire, leaping over the same, with burning of sundry herbs and flowers, and setting of brands from the said fire in the fields, and in many other ways all manner of superstitious work carried on---Therefore the Hon. Council of Nürnberg town neither can nor ought to forbear to do away with all such unbecoming superstition, paganism, and peril of fire on this coming day of St. John (Neuer lit. anz. 1807, p. 318)." St. John's Day was the Christian adaptation of Midsummer. Although the need-fire was resorted to in times of an outbreak of murrain, it was also done at set times of the year as a preventative measure, especially at Midsummer. (381)

Although the need-fire was normally started either at times of disease or during Midsummer as a preventative measure the need-fire was also a part of the major feasts. The need-fire was considered most holy so it is easy to see why it would have been used at the major feasts and most likely at any rite that was holy in manner. Indeed the need-fire seems to have been common all over Europe. (382)

Just as the need-fire was especially important during Midsummer so was there were fires lighted at the opposite point in the year, at Yule. This was the burning of the yule log. At Marseille it was a large oaken log which was sprinkled with wine and oil and it was the master of the house who would light the log. In Dapuphiné they called it chalendal and lighted it on Christnas eve and sprinkled it with wine. It was considered holy and it was allowed to burn in peace. The English called it yule-log and the Scandinvians called it julblok. (383) Part of the yule-log was saved for the following year where it would be used to start the new yule-log fire. (384)

There is also a Candlemas tradition that, according to Grimm, most surely has its roots in a Northern tradition. Candlemas is held at Midwinter. In this tradition the head of the household would gather all her servants in a half-circle in front of the oven door and all bent down on one knee. They then would take one bite of cake and drink to the fire's health. The remainder of the cake and drink was cast into the fire. (385)

Before moving on to discussing the Landvættir I would like to relate some of the miscellaneous traditions concerned with fire. A Norwegian custom holds that so long as a child is un-baptized the fire must not be allowed to go out. The fire used for a magic bath was not to be heated with common flint and steel fire. The instructions for making the fire were again much like the wild-fire (need-fire). "Go to an apple tree which the lightning hath stricken, let a saw be made thee of his wood, therewith shalt thou saw upon a wooden threshold that much people passeth over, till it be kindled. Then make firewood of birch-fungus, and kindle it at this fire, with which thou shalt heat the bath, and on thy life see it go not out" In the Midsummer fire it was traditional to throw into the fire, herbs of all kinds and to leap through it. When tossing in the herbs the person throwing them in would say, "May all my troubles go off in the fire and smoke!" The jumping over the fire during Midsummer seems to have been a very wide-spread practice and most certainly has its roots in Northern tradition. At Nürnberg they jump over the fires and in doing so have good health for the coming year. On St John's Day (Midsummer) they leaped over the fire and drank mead over it. (386)

A very important part of the life, both holy and mundane, of Northern Europeans were the landvættir (guardian land-spirits). (387) As the landvættir were such an integral part of the religious practices of the Northern Europeans, I think it would be good to, here, examine them in detail before continuing on. The belief in the landvættir was almost universal among Northern Europeans. (388) The dwelt in trees, stones, groves, houses, wells, and rivers. (389) All of nature, even rocks, were thought to have living spirits connected with them. (390)

The way of the North was closely linked to the land. Unlike the Christians who saw nature as something to be conquered and controlled Northfolk saw that nature was something holy, something which should be cooperated with. If man honored the land spirits and treated them with respect the crops would come in fuller, the domestic animals would be healthy and reproduce. On the other hand, to anger the land spirits was to bring certain disaster. (391) The gods might be turned to for the larger more important matters, but it was the landvættir that were turned to often for the practical every day needs. Their favor was often sought. (392)

The line between the honoring of ancestors and the guardian land spirits seems sometimes to be a little blurry but it seems that over-all the two were separate. The ancestors were always honored as can be seen from the fact that one of the fullar, the minni-full, was dedicated to ancestors and/or friends. Even though offerings were made to the grave mounds of previous kings for prosperity of the land this is still different from the concept of landvættir.