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Frazer, James George, Sir, 1854-1941

"Balder the Beautiful, Volume I. A Study in Magic and Religion: the Golden Bough, Part VII., The Fire-Festivals of Europe and the Doctrine of the External Soul"


41 _sqq._; Walter K. Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and
Folk-lore_ (London, 1863), pp. 48 _sqq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus
der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstaemme_ (Berlin, 1875), pp. 518 _sqq._;
Charles Elton, _Origins of English History_ (London, 1882), pp. 293
_sqq._; Ulrich Jahn, _Die deutschen Opfergebraeuche bei Ackerbau und
Viehzucht_ (Breslau, 1884), pp. 26 _sqq._ Grimm would derive the name
_need-_fire (German, _niedfyr, nodfyr, nodfeur, nothfeur_) from _need_
(German, _noth_), "necessity," so that the phrase need-fire would mean
"a forced fire." This is the sense attached to it in Lindenbrog's
glossary on the capitularies, quoted by Grimm, _op. cit._ i. p. 502:
"_Eum ergo ignem_ nodfeur _et_ nodfyr, _quasi necessarium ignem vocant_"
C.L. Rochholz would connect _need_ with a verb _nieten_ "to churn," so
that need-fire would mean "churned fire." See C.L. Rochholz, _Deutscher
Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), ii. 149 _sq._ This interpretion is
confirmed by the name _ankenmilch bohren_, which is given to the
need-fire in some parts of Switzerland. See E. Hoffmann-Krayer,
"Fruchtbarkeitsriten im schweizerischen Volksbrauch," _Schweizerisches
Archiv fuer Volkskuende_, xi. (1907) p. 245.
[689] "_Illos sacrilegos ignes, quos_ niedfyr _vocant_," quoted by J.
Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 502; R. Andree, _Braunschweiger
Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), p. 312.
[690] _Indiculus Superstitionum et Paganiarum_, No.


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