Hunting the spurious Eostre Hare

[cavalorn]

It's that time of year again: daffodils are coming up, the sun is re-establishing itself as a welcome and warming presence instead of some dimly remembered thing of olden time, and people who don't know any better are circulating that bloody story about Eostre's Hare. Again.

I've blogged extensively about Eostre in the past and don't intend to

Comments

[sushidog]

To add to your timeline; 1722, publication of Satyrae Medicae XX, which includes a chapter on Easter customs, and mentions the Easter Hare as being a quaint little custom in Westphalia, the Palatinate and Alsace; adults leave painted eggs in amongst the trees and plants and tell the kids they were left by the Osterhase, the children search for them, everyone is much delighted. No mention of any Goddesses, and it's very much a local tradition.

[cavalorn]

What makes me laugh (in the hearty, manic kind of way that terrifies the locals) is that some folk would have you believe that while all of this speculation was going on, there was also a rich vein of oral tradition in which Eostre absolutely DID have a magic hare that gave out eggs in Spring, no question; and although the folklorists somehow missed it completely, it landed in the fortunate laps of modern neopagans COMPLETELY INTACT.

[sushidog]

Well you see, ideas, like bacteria and quirky genetic traits, can lie dormant for centuries, only to re-emerge when the time is right.

But yes, it does seem weird; the evil Catholic Church, despite being a nation of book-keepers who wrote reams about reams about everything they ever did, decided to persecute the pagans very very quietly, and somehow managed to destroy all evidence that paganism had ever existed _and_ that they'd ever persecuted them, with total success except for the remaining secret pagans who carried on business as normal in total secret, and who then all re-emerged in the 19th century, suddenly willing to divulge all their secrets to anyone who asked.
Sounds likely to me!

[_rck_]

Here is the Google Books link:

http://books.google.at/books/about/D_Georgii_Franck_de_Franckenau_Satyrae_m.html?id=ZUXvizTXw-UC

The discussion is in Satyra XIX (19), starting on page 396 (413 of the PDF file). Notice that Franckenau is just quoting other custom reports, for example from among the Rus, which he takes from Olearis' Persian Travel Descriptions, etc. So there are earlier time points to be mined here, just Franckenau's quoting style makes that difficult to do so quickly.

[wehmuth]

Will you be debunking Eostre as a dawn goddess next year?

[cavalorn]

No, for the simple reason that she may well have been one.

[sushidog]

Is there better evidence for that than for the hares?

[anivair]

To be honest it makes me laugh that people who are decidedly pagan hate all this factual information. It is clear (100%) that the hare association (and most of the other easter crap) was never tied to this goddess (if she was a goddess) in the ancient past. Fine.

What is funny is that people think that this has some impact on their current worship. As if adding data to a deity's portfolio is not as old a practice as religion. Gods change over time. Always have. So to modern pagans, I usually say, "No, there's no historical reference for this at all ... but do it if you want. if there's really an Eostre, I doubt she minds. If it works for you, go with it. Just stop pretending that you've continued on a millenia old tradition. Admit that it's a new thing and be okay with that.

[christeos_pir]

The schoolboy in me is still chuckling over the "Hare-pie Bank."

[valkyriekaren]

I suspect some gentle ribbing of a naive gentleman-folklorist by earthy country folk.

[cavalorn]

Would you believe it's a real place, and these are real customs? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle-kicking

[morbid_curious]

I would believe it's a real place. But then, I've visited the strange land of Kentucky, where they have real place names like Big Bone Lick and Goblin Knob. (Not to mention the ill-fated Golgotha Fun Park.)

[anivair]

Hey, Cav, are you on G+? I reposted this there and credited you and all, but I'd like to link you if i can.

[cavalorn]

I am indeed: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116880425636765535817/posts

[anivair]

Thought that was you, just wanted to check.

[inulro]

Despite the last thing in the world I need being more books, I've just added that to my wish list!