Perchta
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Perchta (or Percht) was originally a goddess of vegetation and fertility from Continental Germanic mythology . She had many different names (and changed her sex) depending on the geographical region. In "southern Austria, in Carintia, among the Slovenes, 'Quantembermann' (the man of the four Ember days) or 'Kwaternik'; in Baden, in Swabia, in Switzerland, and with the Slovenes again, 'Frau Faste' (the lady of the Ember days) or similar names such as 'Posterli,' 'Quatemberca,'" and 'Fronfastenweiber' (Ginzburg 189, 190).
The goddess Perchta was also often considered another version of Holda, or Frau Holle.
In the folklore of Bavaria and Austria, Perchta was said to roam the countryside at midwinter, and to enter homes on Twelfth Night. She would know whether the children and young servants of the household had behaved well and worked hard all year. If they had, they might find a small silver coin next day, in a shoe or pail. If they had not, she would slit their bellies open, remove stomach and guts, and stuff the hole with straw and pebbles. She was particularly concerned to see that girls had spun the whole of their allotted portion of flax or wool during the year.
These traditions have been discussed by Lotte Motz in her article 'The Winter Goddess', Folklore 95 (1984).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Felix und Ulrich Müller - Percht und Krampus, Kramperl und Schiach-Perchten: Scientific text on the tradition of Krampus in the region of Salzburg - includes a lively discribtion of the fascination of being a Krampus - text written in 1997 and published in 1999
- Perchten in Austria
- Winter Goddess
[edit] Literature
- Müller, Felix / Müller, Ulrich: Percht und Krampus, Kramperl und Schiach-Perchten. In: Müller, Ulrich / Wunderlich, Werner (Hrsg.): Mittelalter-Mythen 2. Dämonen-Monster-Fabelwesen. St. Gallen 1999, S. 449 - 460
