Chapter 3

The following expressions I regard as more definite (see Supple.). Ulph. in Rom. 11, 16 renders aparch, the offering of firstfruits at a sacrifice, delibatio, by ufarskafts [[over-shavings (?)]], which I derive not from skapan [[to shape, make]], but from skaban ([[to]] shave) radere, since aparcai were the first clippings of hair off the victim's forehead, Odyss. 14, 422. 3, 446. If we explain it from skapan [[to shape, make]], this word must have passed from its meaning of creare into that of facere, immolare.---The Goth. vitôd [[law]] is lex, the OHG. wizôt [[law, sacrament, eucharist]] (Graff 1, 1112. Fundrg. 1, 398) both lex and eucharistia, the Fris. vitat [[host, holy water]] invariably the latter alone; just as zakón in Serv. has both meanings [but in Russ. only that of lex].---Ulph. translates qusia by Goth. hunsl [[sacrifice ("housel")]], Matt 9, 13. Mk. 9, 49. Lu. 2, 24; then again latreian prosferein in John 16, 2 by hunsla saljan [[to offer sacrifice]], where the reference is expressly to killing. And qusiasthrion is called hunslastaðs [[altar ("houselstead")]], Matt. 5, 23-4. Lu. 1, 11. But the corresponding AS hûsel [[sacrifice]], Engl. housel, allows of being applied to a Christian sacrament, and denotes the eucharist, hûselgong [[housel-gang, partaking of the Eucharist]] the partaking of it, hûselfæt [[housel-vat]] the sacred vessel of sacrifice; conf. Cædm. 260, 5 hûselfatu hâlegu [[holy housel-vats]] for the sacred vessels of Jerusalem. Likewise the ON. hûsl [[Eucharist, to administer or receive the Eucharist]] in the Norw. and Swed. laws is used in a christian, never in a heathen sense. No hunsal is found in OHG.; neither can I guess the root of the word.----Twice, however, Ulph. renders qusia by sáuðs [[sacrifice]], pl. sáudeis, Mk. 12, 33. Rom. 12, 1. I suppose he thought of the sacrifice as that of an animal slaughtered and boiled; the root seems to be siuðan to seethe, and the ON. has sauðr a ram, probably because its flesh is boiled. (22) In Eph. 5, 2 we have 'hunsl jah sáuð' [[housel and sacrifice]] side by side, for prosforan kai qusian, and in Skeir. 37, 8 gasaljands sik hunsl jah sáuð [[giving oneself housel and sacrifice]].---The OHG. zëpar is also a sacrifice in the sense of hostia, victima, Hymn. 10, 2. 12, 2. 21, 5. Gl. Hrab. 965 Diut. 240 272 (see Suppl.). We could match it with a Goth. tibr, if we might venture on such an emendation of the unique áibr dwron, Matt. 5, 23 (conf. Gramm. 1, 63). My conjecture that our German ungeziefer (vermin), formerly ungeziber, (23) and the O. Fr. atoivre also belong to this root, has good reasons in its favour. To this day in Franconia and Thuringia, ziefer, geziefer (insects) not only designate poultry, but sometimes include even goats and swine (Reinwald henneb. id. 1, 49. 2, 52, conf. Schm. 4, 228). What seems to make against my view is, that the A.S. tiber [[offering, sacrifice]] cannot even be restricted to animals at all, Cædm. 90, 29. 108, 5. 172, 31. 175, 3. 204, 6. 301, 1. sigetiber [[victory-offering]], 203, 12. sigortifer [[victor-offering]], Cod. exon. 257, 30; on the contrary, in 60, 9 it is Cain's offering of grain that is called tiber [[offering]], in distinction from Abel's gield [[yield]]; and in Ælfr. gl. 62 we find wîntifer [[wine-offering]], libatio. But this might be a later confusion; or our ungeziefer [[vermin]] may have extended to weeds, and consequently zëpar [[offering]] itself would include anything fit for sacrifice in plants and trees. (24) Meanwhile there is also to be considered the ON. tafn [[sacrifice]], victima and esca ferarum.---Lastly, I will mention a term peculiar to the ON. language, and certainly heathen: fôrn [[gift, offering]], fem. victima, hostia, fôrna, immolare, or instead of it fôrnfæra, conf. Fornm. sög. 1, 97 2, 76. this fôrna at the same time, according to Biörn, meaning elevare, tollere. AS. fôrn [[pig (?)]] porcus, porcaster (?). If the ô did not hinder, we could identify it with the adj. forn vetus, forn sorcerer, fornæskia sorcery, and the OHG. furnie [[ancient, old, aged]] antiquus, priscus, canus (Graff 3, 628); and in particular, use the same glosses for the illustration of baccha pluostar [[sacrificer]]. Forn would then be the term applied by the christians to heathen sacrifices of the former olden time, and that would easily glide into sorcery, nay there would be an actual kinship conceivable between zëpar [[sacrifice]] and zoupar (zanber, magic), and so an additional link between the notions of sacrifice and sorcery, knowing as we do that the verbs garawan [[to ready, prepare]], wîhan [[to consecrate]] and perhaps zouwan [[to dispatch, finish]] [AS. gearwian to prepare, Goth. veihan to consecrate, and taujan to bring about] are applicable to both, though our OHG, karo karawi [[victim, sacrifice]] victima, Graff 4, 241 (Germ. gar [[done, ready]], AS. gearw [[ready]], yare) expresses no more than what is made ready, made holy, consecrated. (25) We shall besides have to separate more exactly the ideas vow and sacrifice, Mid. Lat. votum and census, closely as they border on one another: the vow is, as it were, a private sacrifice.

Here then our ancient language had a variety of words at its command, and it may be supposed that they stood for different things; but the difficulty is, to unravel what the differences in the matter were.

Sacrifice rested on the supposition that human food is agreeable to the gods, that intercourse takes place between gods and men. The god is invited to eat his share of the sacrifice, and he really enjoys it. Not till later is a separate divine food placed before him (see Suppl.). The motive of sacrifices was everywhere the same: either to render thanks to the gods for their kindnesses, or to appease their anger; the gods were to be kept gracious, or to be made gracious again. Hence the two main kinds of sacrifice: thank-offerings and sin-offerings. (26) When a meal was eaten, a head of game killed, the enemy conquered (see Suppl.), a firstling of the cattle born, or grain harvested, the gift-bestowing god had a first right to a part of the food, drink, produce, the spoils of war or of the chase (the same idea on which tithes to the church were afterwards grounded). If on the contrary a famine, a failure of crops, a pestilence had set in among a people, they hastened to present propitiatory gifts (see Suppl.). These sin-offerings have by their nature an occasional and fitful character, while those performed to the propitious deity readily pass into periodically recurring festivals. There is a third species of sacrifice, by which one seeks to know the issue of an enterprise, and to secure the aid of the god to who it is presented (see Suppl.). Divination however could also be practised without sacrifices. Besides these three, there were special sacrifices for particular occasions, such as coronations, births, weddings and funerals, which were also for the most part coupled with solemn banquets.

As the gods show favour more than anger, and as men are oftener cheerful than oppressed by their sins and errors, thank-offerings were the earliest and commonest, sin-offerings the more rare and impressive. Whatever in the world of plants can be laid before the gods is gay, innocent, but also less imposing and effective than an animal sacrifice. The streaming blood, the life spilt out seems to have a stronger binding and atoning power. Animal sacrifices are natural to the warrior, the hunter, the herdsman, while the husbandman will offer up grain and flowers.



ENDNOTES:

23. Titur. 5198, ungezibere stands for monster; but what can ungezibele mean in Lanz. 5028 vor grôzem ungezibele? nibele?  (back)

24. Cædm. 9, 2: þa seo tid gewât ofer tiber sceacan middangeardes. This passage, whose meaning Thorpe himself did not rightly seize, I understand thus: As time passed over (God's) gift of this earth. The inf. sceacan (elabi) depends on gewât; so in Judith anal. 140, 5: gewiton on fleám sceacan, began to flee; and still more freq. gewiton gangan.  (back)

25. The Skr. kratu sacrifice, or accord. to Benfey 2, 307 process, comes from kri facere, and in Latin, facere (agnis, vitula, Virg. ecl. 3, 77) and operari were used of the sacred act of sacrifice; so in Grk, rezein = erdein, Bæot. reddein of offering the hecatomb, and erdein is ergein, our wirken, work, epirrezein Od. 17, 211. quein, rezein, dran, Athenæus 5, 403, as drai for quein, so drasij = qusia. The Catholic priest also uses conficere, perficere for consecrare (Cæsar. heisterbac. 9, 27); compare the 'aliquid plus novi facere' in Burcard of Worms 10, 16 and p. 193. The Lat. agere signified the slaughtering of the victim.  (back)

26. Sühn-opfer, strictly, conciliatory offerings; but as these were generally identical with Sünd-opfer, sin-offerings, I have used the latter expression, as short and familiar.---TRANS.  (back)