Chapter 23

Night is represented as swift, overtaking, taking unawares, qoh nux, Il. 10, 394, for does not she drive a chariot? She falls or sinks from heaven, 'la nuit tombe, nuit tombante, a la tombée de la nuit;' she bricht ein (breaks or bursts in, down), whereas day bricht an (on, forth); she gathers all at once, she surprises. In Matth. 14, 15, where the Vulg. has 'hora jam praeteriit,' Luther Germanizes it into 'die nacht fällt daher' (on, apace); and O. Germ. already used the verbs ana gân, fallan in this sense: âband unsih ana geit, ther dag ist sînes sindes, O. v. 10, 8. in ane gâenda naht, N. Bth. 31. der âbent bergunde ane gân, Mar. 171. schiere viel dô diu naht an, Roth. 2653. dô diu naht ane gie, Er. 3108. unz daz der âbent ane gie, Flore 3468. Ls. 1, 314. Wigal. 1927. 6693. als der âbent ane gêt, Wigal. 4763. biz daz der âbent ane lac, Ls. 1, 243. diu naht diu gât mich an, Wolfd. 1174. diu naht gêt uns vaste zuo, Livl. chron. 5078. In the same way sígen (sink): dô der âbent zuo seic, Diut. 3, 68. alsô iz zuo deme âbande seic 3, 70. nû seig ouch der âbent zuo, Frauend. 95, 20. diu naht begunde zuo sîgen, Rab. 102. begunde sîgen an, 367. dô diu naht zuo seic, Dietr. 62b. diu naht sîget an, Ecke 106. der âbent seic ie nâher, Gudr. 878, 1. ze tal diu sunne was genigen, und der âbent zuo gesigen, Diut. 351, diu naht begunde sîgen an, Mor. 1620. 3963. (25) diu tageweide diu wil hin (the day's delight it will away), der âbent sîget vaste zuo, Amgb. 2ª. der tach is ouch an uns gewant, uns sîget der âvent in die hant, Ssp. pref. 193. in der sinkenden naht, Cornel. releg., Magd. 1605, F. 5ª. in sinklichter nacht, Schoch stud. D. 4ª. And we still say 'till sinking night.' (26) Much the same are: nû der âbent, diu naht zuo geflôz (came flowing up), Troj. 13676. 10499. AS. 'æfen com sigeltorht swungen,' Andr. 1246.---But this setting in, gathering, falling can also come softly, secretly, like a thief: diu naht begunde slîchen an (creep on), Dietr. 68b. nû was diu naht geslichen gar über daz gevilde (fields), Christoph. 413. do nû diu naht her sleich, und diu vinster in begreif (darkness caught him) 376: sô thiu naht bifêng, Hel. 129, 16. dô begreif in die nacht, Flörsheim chron. in Münch 3, 188. wie mich die nacht begrif, Simplic. 1, 18. hett mich die nacht schon begriffen, Götz v. Berl. p. m. 164. In MHG. we find predicated of night 'ez benemen,' to carry off (the light ? the victory ?): unz inz diu naht benam, Gudr. 879, 1. ne hete iz in diu naht benomen, Diut. 3, 81 (conf. Gramm. 4, 334). Hroswitha says, in Fides et spes: 'dies abiit, nox incumbit.'

Clearly in many of these expressions Night is regarded as a hostile, evil power, in contrast to the kindly character of Day, who in tranquil ease climbs slowly up above the mountains; hence night is as leisurely about ending, as she is quick in setting in: 'diu naht gemechlich ende nam,' slowly the night took ending, Frauend. 206, 21. 'Night is no man's friend' says the proverb, as though she were a demon (see Suppl.).

Between Day and Night there is perennial strife. Night does not rule till day has given up the contest: 'unz der tac liez sînen strît,' Parz. 423, 15. 'der tac nam ein ende, diu naht den sige gewan,' the victory won, Wolfd. 2025. 'dô der tac verquam, und diu naht daz lieht nam,' En. 7866. 'Nû begunde ouch strûchen der tac, daz sîn schîn vil nâch gelac, unt daz man durch diu wolken sach, des man der naht ze boten jach, manegen stern der balde gienc, wand er der naht herberge vienc. Nâch der naht baniere kom sie selbe schiere.' (27) In this pleasing description the stars of evening precede the Night herself, as pioneers and standard-bearing heralds, just as the morning star was messenger of Day. (28)

On p. 742 we had a sunrise taken from the Titurel; a description of failing day, which immediately precedes, deserves to stand here too:

Dô diu naht zuo slîchen

durch nieman wolte lâzen,

und ir der tac entwîchen

muoste, er fuor sâ wester hin die strâzen,

alsô daz man die erd in sach verslinden,

unz er ir möht empfliehen,

dô kund' er sich von ôrient ûf winden. (29)
Earth devours the departing day (see Suppl.).

I find the older poets dwelling more on the sense of gloominess: nux orfnaih the dusky, in Homer. 'thô warth âband cuman, naht mid neflu,' Hel. 170, 25. 'die finstere ragende macht,' gloomy lowring (jutting), Schreckensgast, Ingolst. 1590, p. 114. 'die eitele und finstere nacht,' Kornmann's Mons Ven. 329. 'nipende niht,' Beow. 1088. 1291, conf. genip (caligo). 'scaduhelm,' Beow. 1293. 'nihthelm geswearc deorc ofer dryhtguman' 3576. 'nihthelm tô glâd,' Andr. 123. El. 78: to her, as a goddess, is ascribed, quite in the spirit of our olden time, a terrible and fearful helmet, like a cloak-of-darkness, 'niht helmade' (put on her helmet) we are told in Andr. 1306. Still finer perhaps is that 'eye of black night,' kelainhj vuktoj omma in Aeschylus (Pers. 428) for thick darkness as opposed to the bright eye of night, the moon, p. 702 (see Suppl.). (30)

The poetic images I have here collected remove all doubt as to Day and Night having been in the remotest antiquity both alive and divine. But the sentiment must very early have lost some of its hold over the Teutons, from the time they laid aside that name for day, which of itself bespoke his kinship with the gods.

Reckoning by nights instead of days does indeed rest on the observance of lunar time (p. 708), but may have another reason too, the same that prompted men to count winters and not summers. The heathens used to fix their holy festivals for, or prolong them into, the night, especially those of the summer and winter solstices, as we see by the Midsummer and Christmas fires; the fires of Easter and May also bear witness to festal nights. The Anglo-Saxons kept a hœrfestniht (ON. haustnôtt, haustgrîma [[autumn night]]), the Scandinavians a hökunôtt (F. Magn. Lex. 1021). Beda in his De temp. rat. cap. 13 has preserved a notable piece of information, though its full meaning is beyond our ken: 'Incipiebant annum (antiqui Anglorum populi) ab octavo cal. Jan. die, ubi nunc natale Domini celebramus; et ipsam noctem, nunc nobis sacrosanctam, tunc gentili vocabulo modranecht (môdra niht), (31) i.e. matrum noctem appellabant ob causam, ut suspicamur, ceremoniarum quas in ea pervigiles agebant.' Who were these mothers?




ENDNOTES:

25. Both times 'segen' in text; if sigen an (vincere) were meant, we should expect the word day in the dative. [Back]

26. Goethe says sweetly: For Evening now the earth was rocking, And on the mountains hung the Night. [Back]

27. The Day 'gan founder then and fall, and much was shent his wonted sheen, till thro' the clouds might they be seen, whom couriers of the Night we call, full many a star that fleetly fares, and harbourage for her prepares. Next her banners, soon Night herself came on. [Back]

28. Lucifer interea praeco scandebat Olympo, Walthar. 1188. Lucifer ducebat diem, Aen. 2, 801. Evening is called in Sanskr. rajanîmukha, night's mouth, which reminds one of 'Hella's mouth;' so is morning ahamukha, day's mouth. Bopp's gloss. 27ª. 284b. [Back]

29. Then Night came creeping on, for no man would she stay, and Day must needs be gone, retreating down the western way; the earth devouring him thou see'st, until that he might from her flee, then could he hoist him up from east. [Back]

30. Images now familiar to us, about quenching the lamps of day, I have not met with in the old poets; but the night burns her tapers too. Shaksp. describes the end of night by 'night's candles are burnt,' Rom. & J. 3, 5. [Back]

31. Afzelius 1, 4. 13 has no right to speak of a modernatt, which is not founded on Norse docs., but simply borrowed from Beda. [Can 'môdre niht' have meant 'muntere nacht,' wakeful night ? conf. 'pervigiles.'] [Back]