Clinical Drug Therapy Rationales for Nursing

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00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page i

Clinical Drug Therapy

RATIONALES FOR NURSING PRACTICE
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page ii
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page iii

Clinical Drug Therapy

RATIONALES FOR NURSING PRACTICE

Anne Collins Abrams, RN, MSN

Associate Professor, Emeritus
Department of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing
College of Health Sciences
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, Kentucky
Chapters 1-6, 13-15, 34-42, 57, 58, 63-65

Carol Barnett Lammon, RN, PhD

Associate Professor
Capstone College of Nursing
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Chapters 7-10, 12, 16-20, 26, 29-33, 56, 59-62

Sandra Smith Pennington, RN, PhD

Professor, Emeritus
Department of Nursing
Berea College
Berea, Kentucky;
Academic Dean and Graduate Program Director, RN to MSN Program
Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions
Provo, Utah
Chapters 11, 21-25, 27, 28, 43-55

Consultant
Tracey L. Goldsmith, PharmD
Independent Legal and Healthcare Consultant
Magnolia, Texas
EDITION

9
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page iv

Acquisitions Editor: Hilarie Surrena

Managing Editor: Michelle Clarke
Senior Production Editor: Marian A. Bellus
Director of Nursing Production: Helen Ewan
Senior Managing Editor / Production: Erika Kors
Art Director, Design: Joan Wendt
Art Director, Illustration: Brett MacNaughton
Manufacturing Coordinator: Karin Duffield
Indexer: Michael Ferreira
Compositor: Spearhead

Ninth Edition

Copyright © 2009 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Copyright © 2007, 2004, 2001 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Copyright © 1998 by Lippincott-Raven Publishers. Copyright
© 1995, 1991, 1987, 1983 by J. B. Lippincott Company. All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of this
book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including as photocopies or scanned-in or other
electronic copies, or utilized by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the copyright
owner, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Materials appearing in this book prepared by individ-
uals as part of their official duties as U.S. government employees are not covered by the above-mentioned copyright. To
request permission, please contact Lippincott Williams & Wilkins at 530 Walnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19106, via email at
[email protected] or via website at lww.com (products and services).

987654321

Printed in China

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Abrams, Anne Collins.

Clinical drug therapy: rationales for nursing practice/Anne Collins Abrams, Carol Barnett Lammon, Sandra Smith
Pennington; consultant, Tracey L. Goldsmith.—9th ed.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7817-7769-8
1. Chemotherapy. 2. Drugs. 3. Nursing. I. Lammon, Carol Barnett. II. Pennington, Sandra Smith. III. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Pharmaceutical Preparations—Nurses’ Instruction. 2. Drug Therapy—Nurses’ Instruction. QV 55 A161c 2009]
RM262.A27 2009
615.5
8—dc22
2008032208
Care has been taken to confirm the accuracy of the information presented and to describe generally accepted practices.
However, the authors, editors, and publisher are not responsible for errors or omissions or for any consequences from application
of the information in this book and make no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the currency, completeness, or accu-
racy of the contents of the publication. Application of this information in a particular situation remains the professional respon-
sibility of the practitioner; the clinical treatments described and recommended may not be considered absolute and universal
recommendations.
The authors, editors, and publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are
in accordance with the current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research,
changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader
is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any change in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precau-
tions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new or infrequently employed drug.
Some drugs and medical devices presented in this publication have Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for lim-
ited use in restricted research settings. It is the responsibility of the health care provider to ascertain the FDA status of each drug
or device planned for use in his or her clinical practice.
LWW.com
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page v

Contributors

Susan J. Appel, Ph.D., APRN, ACNP, FNP, BC, CCRN Mary Annette Wright, RN, MSN, CRNP
Associate Professor Instructor
University of Alabama at Birmingham University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham, Alabama
Chapter 26 Chapter 26

Jennifer Binggeli, PharmD, MBA Patricia B. Wolff, MSN, ACNS-BC, AOCNS

Clinical Nurse Specialist
Clinical Pharmacist
Medical Oncology
St. Petersburg, Florida
South Texas Veterans Health Care System
Chapters 29-33 Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital
Division
Kathleen E. Jenks, BSN, MSEd, RN San Antonio, Texas
Associate Professor Chapter 42
Mercy College of Northwest Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Applying Your Knowledge Features

Marthe Moseley, PhD, RN, CCRN, CCNS

Clinical Nurse Specialist for Critical Care
South Texas Veterans Health Care System
Audie Murphy Hospital
San Antonio, Texas.
Chapters 49 and 51

v
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page vi
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page vii

Reviewers

Susan Alix, RN, MS Susan Ellis-Hermansen, RN, MS

Nursing Faculty Instructor Instructor and Director of Learning Resource Center
School of Nursing University of Maine
Worcester State College Orono, Maine
Worcester, Massachusetts
Brenda L. Haile, RN, DrPH, ACRN
Debby Antonella, MSN, RN Associate Professor
Professor College of Nursing
College of Nursing Texas Woman’s University College of Nursing Houston
University of Southern Nevada Campus
Las Vegas, Nevada Houston, Texas

April Bigelow, MS, ANP-BC Nancy Hartel, MS, RN, CNE

Assistant Professor Associate Professor
Eastern Michigan University St. Joseph’s College of Nursing
School of Nursing Syracuse, New York
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Karen Hecomovich, MS, RN, BC
Jean Forsha Byrd, RN, MSN, CNE Nursing Faculty
Assistant Professor Arapahoe Community College.
Community College of Philadelphia Littleton, Colorado
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Kevin D. Hite, RN, MSN
Patricia W. Campbell, RN, MSN Assistant Professor of Nursing
Nursing Faculty Fairmont State University
Carolinas College of Health Sciences Fairmont, West Virginia
Charlotte, North Carolina
Jaime Huffman RN, MSN
Wendy Clark, RN, MSN Instructor of Nursing
Assistant Professor of Nursing Saginaw Valley State University
University of Saint Francis University Center, Michigan
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Immaculata Igbo, MS, PhD
John F. Conklin, MSN, RN Associate Professor
Nursing Department Chair Prairie View A&M University
Assistant Professor of Nursing Houston, Texas
State University of New York Canton
Michalene A. King, RN, BSN, MSEd, MSN, OhD
Ellen Cram, PhD, RN Assistant Professor
Associate Professor, Clinical College of Nursing
College of Nursing University of Akron
University of Iowa Akron, Ohio
Iowa City, Iowa

Angela J. Daniel, MSN, MBA, RN Kathie L Kochanowsky, MSN, RN, ANP-C

PhD Candidate School of Nursing Nurse practitioner
Emory University SpineCare Consultants
Atlanta, Georgia Humble, Texas

Jennifer Duhon, RN, MS Judy LaBonte M.S.N., APRN, FNP, BC

Assistant Professor of Nursing Assistant Professor
Illinois Central College Baptist College of Health Sciences
East Peoria, Illinois Memphis, Tennessee

vii
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page viii

viii ■ Reviewers

Melissa Lambert, MSN, RN Sharon Ronaldson, RN, BSN, MEd, PhD

Assistant Professor of Nursing Nursing Instructor
St. Mary’s Center for Education Langara College
Huntington, West Virginia Vancouver, BC, Canada

John J. Leddy, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) Helene Seibert, RN, MS

Assistant Professor Nursing Education Faculty
Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine Southwestern Illinois College
University of Ottawa Belleville, Illinois
Ottawa, ON Canada
Patty Shanaberger, RN, MSN, FNP-C
Adrianne D. Linton, PhD, RN Associate Professor
Chair and Professor, Department of Chronic Nursing Care School of Nursing
School of Nursing Professorship in Aging El Paso Community College
University of Texas at San Antonio HSC School of Nursing El Paso, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
Cordia A. Starling, RN, EdD
Janet G. Marshall, PhD, RN Professor/Dean, School of Nursing
Associate Professor Dalton State College
Florida A&M University School of Nursing Dalton, Georgia
Tallahassee, Florida
Lori Stephens, MN, RN
Kim H McAlister, MSN, RN Nursing Faculty
Instructor, Clinical Skagit Valley College Nursing Department
Department of Chronic Nursing Care Mount Vernon, Washington
UTHSCSA School of Nursing
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Judith Swanson, RN, MSN
San Antonio, Texas Assistant Professor of Nursing
Minot State University
Linda McIntosh Liptok, RN, MSN, APRN-BC Minot, North Dakota
Assistant Professor
Kent State University Tuscarawas Linda M. Tenofsky, PhD, RN, ANP-BC
New Philadelphia, Ohio Professor/Coordinator Traditional Baccalaureate Program
Department of Nursing
Edna R. Michel-Moyer, CRNP, CS Curry College
Professor of Nursing Milton, Massachusetts
The Community College of Baltimore County
Catonsville, Maryland Charlotte Thayer Wood, PhD
Professor
Jane Mighton, RN, BSN, MSN Mississippi College
Nursing Instructor, Term 4 School of Nursing
Langara College Clinton, Mississippi
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada Melinda Wang, MSN, WHNP-BC, RN
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Luke H. Mortensen, PhD, FAHA Roane State Community College
Assistant Dean & Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology Harriman, Tennessee
Des Moines University
Des Moines, Iowa Thomas Worms, MSN, RN
Professor of Nursing
Diane E. Mosqueda, RNc, MSN, FNP-C Truman College
Nursing Faculty Chicago, Illinois
Houston Community College
Houston, Texas
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page ix

Preface

Purpose Organizational Framework

The basic precepts underlying previous editions of Clinical The content of Clinical Drug Therapy is organized into ten
Drug Therapy also guided the writing of this ninth edition. The sections, primarily by therapeutic drug groups and their effects
overall purpose is to promote safe, effective, and rational drug on particular body systems. This approach helps students make
therapy by logical connections between major drug groups and the condi-
tions for which they are used. It also provides a foundation for
■ Providing information that accurately reflects current prac-
learning about new drugs, most of which fit into known groups.
tices in drug therapy
The first section contains the basic information required
■ Facilitating the acquisition, comprehension, and applica- to learn, understand, and apply drug knowledge. The chapters
tion of knowledge related to drug therapy. Application in this section include information about drug names, classifi-
requires knowledge about the drug and the patient receiv- cations, prototypes, costs, laws and standards, schedules of con-
ing it. trolled substances, drug approval processes, and learning
■ Identifying knowledge and skills the nurse can use to strategies (Chapter 1); cellular physiology, drug transport,
smooth the interface between a drug and the patient receiv- pharmacokinetic processes, the receptor theory of drug action,
ing it types of drug interactions, and factors that influence drug
effects on body tissues (Chapter 2); dosage forms and routes
and methods of accurate drug administration (Chapter 3); and
Goals and Responsibilities guidelines for using the nursing process in drug therapy and
of Nursing Care Related to general principles of drug therapy (Chapter 4).
Most drug sections include an initial chapter that reviews
Drug Therapy the physiology of a body system, followed by several chapters
that discuss drug groups used to treat disorders of that body sys-
■ Preventing the need for drug therapy, when possible, by pro- tem. The seven physiology review chapters are designed to
moting health and preventing conditions that require drug facilitate understanding of drug effects on a body system. These
therapy include the central nervous system; the autonomic nervous sys-
■ Using appropriate and effective nonpharmacologic inter- tem; and the endocrine, hematopoietic and immune, respira-
ventions instead of, or in conjunction with, drug therapy tory, cardiovascular, and digestive systems. Other chapters
when indicated. When used with drug therapy, such inter- within each section emphasize therapeutic classes of drugs and
ventions may promote lower drug dosage, less frequent prototypical or commonly used individual drugs, those used to
administration, and fewer adverse effects. treat common disorders, and those likely to be encountered in
■
clinical nursing practice. Drug chapter content includes a
Enhancing therapeutic effects by administering drugs accu-
description of a condition (or conditions) for which a drug
rately and considering patient characteristics that influence
group is used; a general description of a drug group, including
responses to drug therapy
mechanism(s) of action, indications for use, and contraindica-
■ Preventing or minimizing adverse drug effects by knowing tions; and descriptions and tables of individual drugs, with rec-
the major adverse effects associated with particular drugs, ommended dosage ranges and routes of administration.
identifying and monitoring patients with characteristics Additional clinically relevant information is presented
that may increase their risks of experiencing adverse effects, under the headings of Nursing Process, Principles of Ther-
and actively monitoring for the occurrence of adverse apy, and Nursing Actions.
effects. When adverse effects occur, early recognition allows Nursing Process sections emphasize the importance of
interventions to minimize their severity. Because all drugs the nursing process in drug therapy, including assessment of the
may cause adverse effects, nurses must maintain a high patient’s condition in relation to the drug group, nursing diag-
index of suspicion that signs and symptoms, especially new noses, expected outcomes, needed interventions, and evalua-
ones, may be drug induced. tion of the patient’s progress toward expected outcomes.
■ Teaching patients and caregivers about the role and impor- Patient Teaching Guidelines are displayed separately from
tance of their medications in treating particular illnesses, other interventions to emphasize their importance and for easy
accurate administration of medications, nonpharmacologic student reference.
treatments to use with or instead of pharmacologic treat- Principles of Therapy sections present guidelines for
ments, and when to contact a health care provider maximizing benefits and minimizing adverse effects of drug

ix
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page x

x ■ Preface

therapy in various circumstances and populations, including scenario, which builds throughout the chapter. Case-based
middle-aged and older adults, children and adolescents, and questions test students’ critical thinking, and special “How
patients with impaired kidney or liver function. General prin- Do You Avoid This Medication Error?” questions promote
ciples are included in Chapter 4; specific principles related to safe and accurate drug administration. The answers to these
drug groups are included in the chapters where those drug questions can be found at the end of the book.
groups are discussed. This approach, rather than separate chap- ■ Key Terms. Terms that are key to understanding each chap-
ters on pediatric and geriatric pharmacology, for example, was ter’s content.
chosen because knowledge about a drug is required before that
■ Key Concepts. These concepts provide the most salient
knowledge can be applied to a specific population with dis-
content for the student and appear at the end of each
tinctive characteristics and needs in relation to drug therapy.
chapter.
Each drug chapter includes a Nursing Actions display
■ Glossary. Contains definitions of all of the key terms.
that provides specific nursing responsibilities related to drug
administration and patient observation.
Other drug sections include products used to treat infec-
tious, ophthalmic, and dermatologic disorders plus drugs used Special Features
during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and lactation.
■ Readability. Since the first edition of Clinical Drug Ther-
apy, many students and faculty have commented about the
New to This Edition book’s clear presentation style.
■ Organizational Framework. The book’s organizational
This thoroughly updated edition includes new content and fea- framework allows it to be used effectively as both a textbook
tures: and as a reference. Used as a textbook, students can read
■ Updated Drug Information. Many new drugs have been chapters in their entirety to learn the characteristics of
added: some are additions to well-known drug groups; oth- major drug classes, their prototypical drugs or commonly
ers represent advances in the drug therapy of some disease used representatives, their uses and effects in prevention or
processes. In addition, continuing trends in drug dosage for- treatment of disease processes, and their implications for
mulations are reflected in the increased numbers of fixed- nursing practice. Used as a reference book, students can
dose combination drug products, long-acting preparations readily review selected topics for classroom use or clinical
(i.e., 24 hours or longer), and dermatologic (skin patch) application. Facilitating such uses are a consistent format
products. and frequent headings that allow readers to identify topics
at a glance.
■ Major Revision of Many Chapters. Chapter revisions
■ Chapter Objectives. Learning objectives at the beginning
reflect current practices in drug therapy, integrate new
drugs, and explain the major characteristics of new drug of each chapter focus students’ attention on important
groups. The revisions also reflect a concerted effort to chapter content.
emphasize commonly-used drugs that are likely to be ■ Drugs at a Glance Tables. These tables highlight and sum-
encountered in clinical practice. To this end, approximately marize pertinent drug information, including drug names,
140 drugs were deleted from the chapters. dosage ranges, and other related facts.
■ Evidence-based Practice Displays. In a landmark report, ■ Boxed Displays. These include information to promote
Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the understanding of drug therapy for selected conditions.
21st Century (2001), the Institute of Medicine urged health ■ Herbal and Dietary Supplements. Commonly used prod-
care providers to base care on the best scientific evidence ucts are introduced in Chapter 4 and included in selected
available. In this revision, care has been taken to promote later chapters. Safety aspects are emphasized.
evidence-based practice in pharmacotherapeutics in the
■ Patient Teaching Guidelines. This feature is designed to
text as well as in the evidence-based practice displays.
meet several goals. One is to highlight the importance of
■ Black Box Warnings. A Black Box Warning appearing on teaching patients and caregivers how to manage drug ther-
the package insert or drug label for a prescription drug iden- apy at home, where most medications are taken. This is
tifies a drug with a significant risk of serious or life threat- done by separating teaching from other nursing interven-
ening adverse effects. It is the strongest warning required by tions. Another goal is to promote active and knowledgeable
the Food and Drug Administration. Throughout this revi- patient participation in drug therapy regimens, which helps
sion, BLACK BOX WARNINGS are identified, alerting to maximize therapeutic effects and minimize adverse
the nurse to the risk of serious adverse effects. effects. In addition, written guidelines allow patients and
■ Applying Your Knowledge. These threaded case studies caregivers to have a source of reference when questions
provide real-world examples and lend significance to con- arise in the home setting. A third goal is to make patient
ceptual content. Each drug chapter opens with a patient teaching easier and less time consuming. Using the guide-
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page xi

Preface ■ xi

lines as a foundation, the nurse can simply add or delete and characteristics and uses of major drug groups and can be
information according to a patient’s individual needs. To completed independently or by small groups as in-class learn-
assist both the nurse and patient further, the guidelines con- ing activities. Applying Your Knowledge scenarios promote
tain minimal medical jargon. appropriate data collection, critical analysis of both drug- and
■ Principles of Therapy. This unique section describes patient-related data, and application of the data in patient
important drug- and patient-related characteristics that care. Practicing for NCLEX, which provides NCLEX-style
need to be considered in drug therapy regimens. Such con- review questions to help students apply and retain the key
siderations can greatly increase safety and therapeutic information from each chapter.
effects, and all health care providers associated with drug The companion Web site, http://thepoint.lww.com, pro-
therapy should be aware of them. Most chapters contain vides online updates for faculty and students, links to newly
principles with the headings of Use in Children, Use in approved drugs, and more.
Older Adults, Use in Patients with Renal Impairment, The free Student Resource CD-ROM is an invaluable
Use in Patients with Hepatic Impairment, and Use in learning tool that provides 3-D animated demonstrations of
Home Care to denote differences related to age, develop- pharmacology concepts, medication administration video, and
mental level, pathophysiology, and setting. Some chapters monographs of the most commonly prescribed drugs.
include principles related to these headings as well: Genetic
and Ethnic Considerations, Use in Critical Illness, and Resources for Instructors:
Management of Drug Toxicity or Drug Withdrawal. A set of tools to assist you in teaching your course is avail-
■ Nursing Actions Displays. These displays emphasize nurs- able on thePoint at http://thepoint.lww.com. ThePoint is a
ing interventions during drug therapy within the following web-based system that allows you to manage your course and
categories: Administer accurately, Observe for therapeutic content and provides every resource instructors need in one
effects, Observe for adverse effects, and Observe for drug easy-to-use site.
interactions. The inclusion of rationales for interventions If, as an instructor, you want help structuring your lessons…
provides a strong knowledge base and scientific foundation We’ve provided Guided Lecture Notes that are built on the
for clinical practice and critical thinking. learning objectives of each chapter. They consist of
■ Review and Application Exercises. Located at the end of brief talking points and suggestions for how to present the
each chapter, these exercises include two types of questions. material in the chapter and are supported by PowerPoint slides,
Short Answer questions encourage students to rehearse which condense the material into bulleted lists, figures, and
clinical application strategies in a nonclinical, nonstressful, tables.
nondistracting environment. They also promote self-testing If you need suggestions, aside from straight lecturing, for
in chapter content and can be used to promote classroom engaging your students in the material…
discussion. NCLEX-style questions help students prepare We’ve provided Assignments for each chapter. These cover
for the licensing examination. Answers and rationales for group assignments, written assignments, clinical assignments,
these exercises can be found on the Instructor’s Resource and web-based assignments, so that you can capture the diverse
CD-ROM. learning styles of your students and be sure they approach the
■ Appendices. These include the International System of material from a variety of perspectives.
Units, therapeutic serum drug concentrations for selected If you want to encourage your students to read the
drugs, anesthetics, and drugs for erectile dysfunction. assigned chapter thoroughly before coming to class…
■ Extensive Index. Listings of generic and trade names of We’ve provided Pre-Lecture Quizzes (and answers), which are
drugs, nursing process, and other topics provide rapid access simple multiple-choice and true/false quizzes designed to test
to desired information. whether the student has read and grasped the material before
the lecture or other classroom activities begin.
If you’d like your students to start applying what they’ve
Teaching–Learning Package learned….
We’ve provided Discussion Topics and suggested answers to get
Nursing students must develop skills in critical thinking, infor- students talking constructively about how their nursing knowl-
mation processing, decision making, collaboration, and prob- edge works in real-world scenarios. As an added bonus, these
lem solving. How can a nurse educator assist students to discussions can take place online, adding a valuable techno-
develop these skills in relation to drug therapy? The ancillary logic component to your teaching. We’ve also provided Case
package assists both students and teachers in this development. Studies and suggested answers, which encourage students to
The Study Guide engages students’ interest and active apply their new knowledge to the types of patient cases they’ll
participation by providing a variety of learning exercises and likely encounter in practice.
opportunities to practice cognitive skills. Assessing Your If you’re concerned about preparing your students for the
Understanding promotes the learning of concepts, principles, NCLEX exams…
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page xii

xii ■ Preface

We’ve provided a Test Generator and a set of Student Review and publisher hope these resources are truly helpful in easing
Questions, both of which include unique questions for each the day-to-day rigors of teaching pharmacology and invite
chapter. These questions are presented in traditional and in comments from instructors regarding the materials.
alternate-form NCLEX style, so students will become familiar
with the format of the exams. Anne Collins Abrams, RN, MSN
These varied materials allow each instructor to choose or Carol Barnett Lammon, RN, PhD
adapt them relevant to his or her circumstances. The authors Sandra Smith Pennington, RN, PhD
00Abrams(F)-FM 8/28/08 3:33 PM Page xiii

How to Use Clinical Drug Therapy

Drugs at a Glance tables give students

characteristics as well as routes and
dosage ranges in an easy-to-read format.
Prototype drugs are highlighted in the
tables and in the text.

Learning Objectives let students know what

they’re going to learn in each and every
chapter.

Applying Your Knowledge features help

students apply concepts to patient care. Most
chapters open with a patient scenario, which
is then carried through the chapter. Applying
Your Knowledge questions require students to
take the content they have learned and apply
it to the patient in the case study, and special
“How Do You Avoid This Medication Error?”
questions reinforce safe drug administration.
Answers are provided at the end of the book,
allowing students to monitor their progress.

Nursing Process material helps students think about drug therapy

in terms of the nursing process.

Patient Teaching Guidelines give

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Influence of tree- On the second of July some of the Wends
spirits on cattle used to set up an oak-tree in the middle of
among the Wends, the village with an iron cock fastened to its
Esthonians, and
Circassians. top; then they danced round it, and drove
the cattle round it to make them thrive.[226]
Some of the Esthonians believe in a mischievous spirit called Metsik,
who lives in the forest and has the weal of the cattle in his hands.
Every year a new image of him is prepared. On an appointed day all
the villagers assemble and make a straw man, dress him in clothes,
and take him to the common pasture-land of the village. Here the
figure is fastened to a high tree, round which the people dance
noisily. On almost every day of the year prayer and sacrifice are
offered to him that he may protect the cattle. Sometimes the image
of Metsik is made of a corn-sheaf and fastened to a tall tree in the
wood. The people perform strange antics before it to induce Metsik
to guard the corn and the cattle.[227] The Circassians regard the
pear-tree as the protector of cattle. So they cut down a young pear-
tree in the forest, branch it, and carry it home, where it is adored as
a divinity. Almost every house has one such pear-tree. In autumn,
on the day of the festival, the tree is carried into the house with
great ceremony to the sound of music and amid the joyous cries of
all the inmates, who compliment it on its fortunate arrival. It is
covered with candles, and a cheese is fastened to its top. Round
about it they eat, drink, and sing. Then they bid the tree good-bye
and take it back to the courtyard, where it remains for the rest of
the year, set up against the wall, without receiving any mark of
respect.[228]
Tree-spirits grant In the Tuhoe tribe of Maoris “the power of
offspring or an easy making women fruitful is ascribed to trees.
delivery to women. These trees are associated with the navel-
strings of definite mythical ancestors, as indeed the navel-strings of
all children used to be hung upon them down to quite recent times.
A barren woman had to embrace such a tree with her arms, and she
received a male or a female child according as she embraced the
east or the west side.”[229] The common European custom of placing
a green bush on May Day before or on the house of a beloved
maiden probably originated in the belief of the fertilising power of
the tree-spirit.[230] In some parts of Bavaria such bushes are set up
also at the houses of newly-married pairs, and the practice is only
omitted if the wife is near her confinement; for in that case they say
that the husband has “set up a May-bush for himself.”[231] Among the
South Slavonians a barren woman, who desires to have a child,
places a new chemise upon a fruitful tree on the eve of St. George’s
Day. Next morning before sunrise she examines the garment, and if
she finds that some living creature has crept on it, she hopes that
her wish will be fulfilled within the year. Then she puts on the
chemise, confident that she will be as fruitful as the tree on which
the garment has passed the night.[232] Among the Kara-Kirghiz
barren women roll themselves on the ground under a solitary apple-
tree, in order to obtain offspring.[233] Some of the hill-tribes of India
have a custom of marrying the bride and bridegroom to two trees
before they are married to each other. For example, among the
Mundas the bride touches with red lead a mahwá-tree, clasps it in
her arms, and is tied to it; and the bridegroom goes through a like
ceremony with a mango-tree.[234] The intention of the custom may
perhaps be to communicate to the newly-wedded pair the vigorous
reproductive power of the trees.[235] Lastly, the power of granting to
women an easy delivery at child-birth is ascribed to trees both in
Sweden and Africa. In some districts of Sweden there was formerly a
bårdträd or guardian-tree (lime, ash, or elm) in the neighbourhood
of every farm. No one would pluck a single leaf of the sacred tree,
any injury to which was punished by ill-luck or sickness. Pregnant
women used to clasp the tree in their arms in order to ensure an
easy delivery.[236] In some negro tribes of the Congo region pregnant
women make themselves garments out of the bark of a certain
sacred tree, because they believe that this tree delivers them from
the dangers that attend child-bearing.[237] The story that Leto
clasped a palm-tree and an olive-tree or two laurel-trees, when she
was about to give birth to the divine twins Apollo and Artemis,
perhaps points to a similar Greek belief in the efficacy of certain
trees to facilitate delivery.[238]
 CHAPTER X
RELICS OF TREE-WORSHIP IN MODERN EUROPE

May-trees in From the foregoing review of the beneficent

Europe. qualities commonly ascribed to tree-spirits,
it is easy to understand why customs like the May-tree or May-pole
have prevailed so widely and figured so prominently in the popular
festivals of European peasants. In spring or early summer or even
on Midsummer Day, it was and still is in many parts of Europe the
custom to go out to the woods, cut down a tree and bring it into the
village, where it is set up amid general rejoicings; or the people cut
branches in the woods, and fasten them on every house. The
intention of these customs is to bring home to the village, and to
each house, the blessings which the tree-spirit has in its power to
bestow. Hence the custom in some places of planting a May-tree
before every house, or of carrying the village May-tree from door to
door, that every household may receive its share of the blessing. Out
of the mass of evidence on this subject a few examples may be
selected.
May-trees and May- Sir Henry Piers, in his Description of
bushes in England. Westmeath, writing in 1682 says: “On May-
eve, every family sets up before their door a green bush, strewed
over with yellow flowers, which the meadows yield plentifully. In
countries where timber is plentiful, they erect tall slender trees,
which stand high, and they continue almost the whole year; so as a
stranger would go nigh to imagine that they were all signs of ale-
sellers, and that all houses were ale-houses.”[239] In
Northamptonshire a young tree ten or twelve feet high used to be
planted before each house on May Day so as to appear growing;
flowers were thrown over it and strewn about the door.[240] “Among
ancient customs still retained by the Cornish, may be reckoned that
of decking their doors and porches on the first of May with green
boughs of sycamore and hawthorn, and of planting trees, or rather
stumps of trees, before their houses.”[241] In the north of England it
May garlands in was formerly the custom for young people
England. to rise a little after midnight on the morning
of the first of May, and go out with music and the blowing of horns
into the woods, where they broke branches and adorned them with
nosegays and crowns of flowers. This done, they returned about
sunrise and fastened the flower-decked branches over the doors and
windows of their houses.[242] At Abingdon in Berkshire young people
formerly went about in groups on May morning, singing a carol of
which the following are two of the verses:—

“We’ve been rambling all the night,

And sometime of this day;
And now returning back again,
We bring a garland gay.

A garland gay we bring you here;

And at your door we stand;
It is a sprout well budded out,
The work of our Lord’s hand.”[243]

At the towns of Saffron Walden and Debden in Essex on the first of

May little girls go about in parties from door to door singing a song
almost identical with the above and carrying garlands; a doll dressed
in white is usually placed in the middle of each garland.[244] Similar
customs have been and indeed are still observed in various parts of
England. The garlands are generally in the form of hoops
intersecting each other at right angles. Thus on May morning the
girls of the neighbouring villages used to flock into Northampton
bringing their garlands, which they exhibited from house to house.
The skeleton of the garland was formed of two hoops of osier or
hazel crossing each other at right angles, and so twined with flowers
and ribbons that no part of them could be seen. In the centre of the
garlands were placed gaily dressed dolls, one, two, or three in
number according to the size of the garland. The whole was fixed to
a staff about five feet long, by which it was carried. In shewing their
garlands the children chanted some simple ditties and received in
return pennies, which furnished forth a feast on their return to their
homes. A merry dance round the garland concluded the festivity.[245]
At Uttoxeter groups of children carry garlands of flowers about the
town on May Day. “The garlands consist of two hoops, one passing
through the other, which give the appearance of four half-circles,
and they are decorated with flowers and evergreens, and
surmounted with a bunch of flowers as a sort of crown, and in the
centre of the hoops is a pendant orange and flowers.” One or more
of the children carry a little pole or stick upright with a bunch of
flowers fastened to the top. They are themselves decorated with
flowers and ribbons, and receive pence from the houses which they
visit.[246] At Watford in Hertfordshire, groups of children, almost
entirely girls, go about the streets from door to door on May Day
singing some verses, of which two agree almost verbally with those
which, as we have seen, are sung at Abingdon in Berkshire. They
are dressed in white, and adorned with gay ribbons and sashes of
many hues. “Two of the girls carry between them on a stick what
they call ‘the garland,’ which in its simplest form, is made of two
circular hoops, intersecting each other at right angles; a more
elaborate form has, in addition, smaller semicircles inserted in the
four angles formed by the meeting of the hoops at the top of ‘the
garland.’ These hoops are covered with any wild-flowers in season,
and are further ornamented with ribbons. The ‘garland’ in shape
reminds me of the ‘Christmas’ which used to form the centre of the
Christmas decorations in Yorkshire some few years ago, except that
the latter had a bunch of mistletoe inside the hoops.”[247] A similar
custom was observed at Bampton-in-the-Bush in Oxfordshire down
to about the middle of the nineteenth century. The garland consisted
of two crossed hoops covered with moss, flowers, and ribbons. Two
girls, known as the Lady and her Maid, bore the garland between
them on a stick; and a boy called the Lord, who carried a stick
dressed with ribbons and flowers, collected contributions from the
spectators. From time to time the Lady sang a few lines and was
then kissed by the Lord.[248] At Sevenoaks in Kent the children carry
boughs and garlands from door to door on May Day. The boughs
consist of sticks carried upright with bunches of leaves and wild-
flowers fastened to the top. The garlands are formed of two hoops
interlaced cross-wise and covered with blue and yellow flowers from
the woods and hedges. Sometimes the garlands are fastened to the
end of a stick carried perpendicularly, sometimes they hang from the
middle of a stick borne horizontally by two children.[249] In the
streets of Cambridge little girls regularly make their appearance
every May Day with female dolls enclosed in hoops, which are
covered with ribbons and flowers. These they shew to passers-by,
inviting them to remember the May Lady by paying a small sum to
her bearers.[250] At Salisbury girls go through the streets on May Day
in pairs, carrying between them on a stick a circular garland or hoop
adorned with flowers and bows; they visit the shops asking for
money. A similar custom is observed at Wilton a few miles from
Salisbury.[251] At Cawthorne in Yorkshire “on the first of May the
school-children came with hoops to beg for artificial flowers; these
my mother’s maid used to sew on to the hoops, which with ribbons
and other decorations, were used in decking out a tall May-pole
planted in the village.”[252] It appears that a hoop wreathed with
rowan and marsh marigold, and bearing suspended within it two
balls, is still carried on May Day by villagers in some parts of Ireland.
The balls, which are sometimes covered with gold and silver paper,
are said to have originally represented the sun and moon.[253]
May customs in In some villages of the Vosges Mountains
France, Germany, on the first Sunday of May young girls go in
and Greece. bands from house to house, singing a song
in praise of May, in which mention is made of the “bread and meal
that come in May.” If money is given them, they fasten a green
bough to the door; if it is refused, they wish the family many
children and no bread to feed them.[254] In the French department of
Mayenne, boys who bore the name of Maillotins used to go about
from farm to farm on the first of May singing carols, for which they
received money or a drink; they planted a small tree or a branch of a
tree.[255] Among the Germans of Moravia on the third Sunday before
Easter, which goes by the name of Laetare Sunday, it is customary in
some places for young girls to carry a small fir-tree about from door
to door, while they sing songs, for which they receive presents. The
tree is tricked out with many-coloured ribbons, and sometimes with
flowers and dyed egg-shells, and its branches are twined together so
as to form what is called a crown.[256] In Corfu the children go about
singing May songs on the first of May. The boys carry small
cypresses adorned with ribbons, flowers, and the fruits of the
season. They receive a glass of wine at each house. The girls carry
nosegays. One of them is dressed up like an angel, with gilt wings,
and scatters flowers.[257]
Whitsuntide On the Thursday before Whitsunday the
customs in Russia. Russian villagers “go out into the woods,
sing songs, weave garlands, and cut down a young birch-tree, which
they dress up in woman’s clothes, or adorn with many-coloured
shreds and ribbons. After that comes a feast, at the end of which
they take the dressed-up birch-tree, carry it home to their village
with joyful dance and song, and set it up in one of the houses,
where it remains as an honoured guest till Whitsunday. On the two
intervening days they pay visits to the house where their ‘guest’ is;
but on the third day, Whitsunday, they take her to a stream and fling
her into its waters,” throwing their garlands after her. “All over
Russia every village and every town is turned, a little before
Whitsunday, into a sort of garden. Everywhere along the streets the
young birch-trees stand in rows, every house and every room is
adorned with boughs, even the engines upon the railway are for the
time decked with green leaves.”[258] In this Russian custom the
dressing of the birch in woman’s clothes shews how clearly the tree
is personified; and the throwing it into a stream is most probably a
rain-charm. In some villages of Altmark it was formerly the custom
for serving-men, grooms, and cowherds to go from farm to farm at
Whitsuntide distributing crowns made of birch branches and flowers
to the farmers; these crowns were hung up in the houses and left till
the following year.[259]
May-trees in In the neighbourhood of Zabern in Alsace
Germany and bands of people go about carrying May-
Sweden. trees. Amongst them is a man dressed in a
white shirt, with his face blackened; in front of him is carried a large
May-tree, but each member of the band also carries a smaller one.
One of the company bears a huge basket in which he collects eggs,
bacon, and so forth.[260] In some parts of Sweden on the eve of May
Day lads go about carrying each a bunch of fresh-gathered birch
twigs, wholly or partially in leaf. With the village fiddler at their head,
they make the round of the houses singing May songs; the burden
of their songs is a prayer for fine weather, a plentiful harvest, and
worldly and spiritual blessings. One of them carries a basket in which
he collects gifts of eggs and the like. If they are well received they
stick a leafy twig in the roof over the cottage door.[261]
Midsummer trees But in Sweden midsummer is the season
and poles in when these ceremonies are chiefly
Sweden. observed. On the Eve of St. John (the
twenty-third of June) the houses are thoroughly cleansed and
garnished with green boughs and flowers. Young fir-trees are raised
at the doorway and elsewhere about the homestead; and very often
small umbrageous arbours are constructed in the garden. In
Stockholm on this day a leaf-market is held at which thousands of
May-poles (Maj Stănger), from six inches to twelve feet high,
decorated with leaves, flowers, slips of coloured paper, gilt egg-
shells strung on reeds, and so on, are exposed for sale. Bonfires are
lit on the hills, and the people dance round them and jump over
them. But the chief event of the day is setting up the May-pole. This
consists of a straight and tall spruce-pine tree, stripped of its
branches. “At times hoops and at others pieces of wood, placed
cross-wise, are attached to it at intervals; whilst at others it is
provided with bows, representing, so to say, a man with his arms
akimbo. From top to bottom not only the ‘Maj Stăng’ (May-pole)
itself, but the hoops, bows, etc., are ornamented with leaves,
flowers, slips of various cloth, gilt egg-shells, etc.; and on the top of
it is a large vane, or it may be a flag.” The raising of the May-pole,
the decoration of which is done by the village maidens, is an affair of
much ceremony; the people flock to it from all quarters, and dance
round it in a great ring.[262] Midsummer customs of the same sort
used to be observed in some parts of Germany. Thus in the towns of
the Upper Harz Mountains tall fir-trees, with the bark peeled off their
lower trunks, were set up in open places and decked with flowers
and eggs, which were painted yellow and red. Round these trees the
young folk danced by day and the old folk in the evening. Many
people disguised themselves, and dramatic representations were
given, amongst others mock executions, at which the sufferer’s hat
was knocked off instead of his head. At the village of Lerbach in
these fir-clad mountains children would gather together on
Midsummer Day, each with a tiny fir-tree, which they made to
revolve from left to right in the direction of the sun, while they sang
“The maiden turned herself about,” or “Oh, thou dear Summertime!
Oh, thou dear Summertime!”[263] In some parts of Bohemia also a
May-pole or midsummer-tree is erected on St. John’s Eve. The lads
fetch a tall fir or pine from the wood and set it up on a height,
where the girls deck it with nosegays, garlands, and red ribbons. It
is afterwards burned.[264]
Village May-poles in It would be needless to illustrate at length
England. the custom, which has prevailed in various
parts of Europe, such as England, France, and Germany, of setting
up a village May-tree or May-pole on May Day.[265] A few examples
will suffice. The puritanical writer Phillip Stubbes in his Anatomie of
Abuses, first published at London in 1583, has described with
manifest disgust how they used to bring in the May-pole in the days
of good Queen Bess. His description affords us a vivid glimpse of
merry England in the olden time. “Against May, Whitsonday, or other
time, all the yung men and maides, olde men and wives, run
gadding over night to the woods, groves, hils, and mountains, where
they spend all the night in plesant pastimes; and in the morning
they return, bringing with them birch and branches of trees, to deck
their assemblies withall. And no mervaile, for there is a great Lord
present amongst them, as superintendent and Lord over their
pastimes and sportes, namely, Sathan, prince of hel. But the chiefest
jewel they bring from thence is their May-pole, which they bring
Bringing in the home with great veneration, as thus. They
May-pole. have twentie or fortie yoke of oxen, every
oxe having a sweet nose-gay of flouers placed on the tip of his
hornes, and these oxen drawe home this May-pole (this stinkyng
ydol, rather), which is covered all over with floures and hearbs,
bound round about with strings, from the top to the bottome, and
sometime painted with variable colours, with two or three hundred
men, women and children following it with great devotion. And thus
beeing reared up, with handkercheefs and flags hovering on the top,
they straw the ground rounde about, binde green boughes about it,
set up sommer haules, bowers, and arbors hard by it. And then fall
they to daunce about it, like as the heathen people did at the
dedication of the Idols, whereof this is a perfect pattern, or rather
the thing itself. I have heard it credibly reported (and that viva voce)
by men of great gravitie and reputation, that of fortie, threescore, or
a hundred maides going to the wood over night, there have scaresly
the third part of them returned home againe undefiled.”[266] Of the
Cornish people their historian Borlase says: “From towns they make
excursions, on May eve, into the country, cut down a tall elm, bring
it into town with rejoicings, and having fitted a straight taper pole to
the end of it, and painted it, erect it in the most publick part, and
upon holidays and festivals dress it with garlands of flowers, or
ensigns and streamers.”[267] In Northumberland, down apparently to
near the end of the eighteenth century, young people of both sexes
used to go out early on May morning to gather the flowering thorn
and the dew off the grass, which they brought home with music and
acclamations; then, having dressed a pole on the green with
garlands, they danced about it. The dew was considered as a great
cosmetic, and preserved the face from wrinkles, blotches, and the
traces of old age. A syllabub made of warm milk from the cow,
sweet cakes, and wine was prepared for the feast; and a kind of
divination, to discover who should be wedded first, was practised by
dropping a marriage-ring into the syllabub and fishing for it with a
ladle.[268] At Padstow in Cornwall, when shipbuilding was a thriving
industry of the port, the shipwrights used to erect a tall May-pole at
the top of Cross Street in the middle of a cross inlaid with stone. The
pole was gaily decorated with spring flowers and so forth. But the
custom has long been abandoned. A great feature of the celebration
of May Day at Padstow used to be the Hobby Horse, that is, a man
wearing a ferocious mask, who went dancing and singing before the
chief houses, accompanied by a great flower-bedecked crowd of
men and women, while the men fired pistols loaded with powder in
all directions.[269]
Village May-trees In Swabia on the first of May a tall fir-tree
and May-poles in used to be fetched into the village, where it
Germany. was decked with ribbons and set up; then
the people danced round it merrily to music. The tree stood on the
village green the whole year through, until a fresh tree was brought
in next May Day.[270] In Saxony “people were not content with
bringing the summer symbolically (as king or queen) into the village;
they brought the fresh green itself from the woods even into the
houses: that is the May or Whitsuntide trees, which are mentioned in
documents from the thirteenth century onwards. The fetching in of
the May-tree was also a festival. The people went out into the woods
to seek the May (majum quaerere), brought young trees, especially
firs and birches, to the village and set them up before the doors of
the houses or of the cattle-stalls or in the rooms. Young fellows
erected such May-trees, as we have already said, before the
chambers of their sweethearts. Besides these household Mays, a
great May-tree or May-pole, which had also been brought in solemn
procession to the village, was set up in the middle of the village or in
the market-place of the town. It had been chosen by the whole
community, who watched over it most carefully. Generally the tree
was stripped of its branches and leaves, nothing but the crown being
left, on which were displayed, in addition to many-coloured ribbons
and cloths, a variety of victuals such as sausages, cakes, and eggs.
The young folk exerted themselves to obtain these prizes. In the
greasy poles which are still to be seen at our fairs we have a relic of
these old May-poles. Not uncommonly there was a race on foot or
on horseback to the May-tree—a Whitsuntide pastime which in
course of time has been divested of its goal and survives as a
popular custom to this day in many parts of Germany. In the great
towns of our land the custom has developed into sport, for our
spring races are in their origin nothing but the old German horse-
races, in which the victor received a prize (generally a red cloth)
from the hand of a maiden, while the last rider was greeted with
jeers and gibes by the assembled community.”[271] The custom of the
May-tree is observed by the Wends of Saxony, as well as by the
Germans. The young men of the village choose the slimmest and
tallest tree in the wood, peel it and set it up on the village green. Its
leafy top is decked with cloths and ribbons presented by the girls.
Here it stands, towering high above the roofs, till Ascension Day, or
in many places till Whitsuntide. When it is being taken down, the
young folk dance round it, and the youth who catches and breaks off
the leafy crown of the falling tree is the hero of the day. Holding the
green boughs aloft he is carried shoulder-high, with music and
joyous shouts, to the ale-house, where the dance is resumed.[272] At
May-poles and May- Bordeaux on the first of May the boys of
trees in France. each street used to erect in it a May-pole,
which they adorned with garlands and a great crown; and every
evening during the whole of the month the young people of both
sexes danced singing about the pole.[273] Down to the present day
May-trees decked with flowers and ribbons are set up on May Day in
every village and hamlet of gay Provence. Under them the young
folk make merry and the old folk rest.[274] The Red Karens of Upper
May-poles among Burma hold a festival in April, at which the
the Karens of chief ceremony is the erection of a post on
Burma. ground set apart for the purpose in or near
each village. A new post is set up every year; the old ones are left
standing, but are not renewed if they fall or decay. Omens are first
drawn from chicken bones as to which tree will be the best to fell for
the post, which day will be the luckiest, and so on. A pole some
twenty or thirty feet long is then hewn from the tree and
ornamented with a rudely carved capital. On the lucky day all the
villagers assemble and drag the pole to the chosen spot. When it has
been set up, the people dance “a rude sort of May-pole dance” to
the music of drums and gongs. Much pork is eaten and much liquor
drunk on this festive occasion.[275]
Permanent May- In all these cases, apparently, the custom is
poles. or was to bring in a new May-tree each
year. However, in England the village May-pole seems as a rule, at
least in later times, to have been permanent, not renewed annually.
[276]
Villages of Upper Bavaria renew their May-pole once every three,
four, or five years. It is a fir-tree fetched from the forest, and amid
all the wreaths, flags, and inscriptions with which it is bedecked, an
essential part is the bunch of dark green foliage left at the top “as a
memento that in it we have to do, not with a dead pole, but with a
living tree from the greenwood.”[277] We can hardly doubt that
originally the practice everywhere was to set up a new May-tree
every year. As the object of the custom was to bring in the
fructifying spirit of vegetation, newly awakened in spring, the end
would have been defeated if, instead of a living tree, green and
sappy, an old withered one had been erected year after year or
allowed to stand permanently. When, however, the meaning of the
custom had been forgotten, and the May-tree was regarded simply
as a centre for holiday merry-making, people saw no reason for
felling a fresh tree every year, and preferred to let the same tree
stand permanently, only decking it with fresh flowers on May Day.
But even when the May-pole had thus become a fixture, the need of
giving it the appearance of being a green tree, not a dead pole, was
sometimes felt. Thus at Weverham in Cheshire “are two May-poles,
which are decorated on this day (May Day) with all due attention to
the ancient solemnity; the sides are hung with garlands, and the top
terminated by a birch or other tall slender tree with its leaves on;
the bark being peeled, and the stem spliced to the pole, so as to
give the appearance of one tree from the summit.”[278] Thus the
renewal of the May-tree is like the renewal of the Harvest-May;[279]
each is intended to secure a fresh portion of the fertilising spirit of
vegetation, and to preserve it throughout the year. But whereas the
efficacy of the Harvest-May is restricted to promoting the growth of
the crops, that of the May-tree or May-branch extends also, as we
The May-tree burnt have seen, to women and cattle. Lastly, it is
at the end of the worth noting that the old May-tree is
year. sometimes burned at the end of the year.
Thus in the district of Prague young people break pieces of the
public May-tree and place them behind the holy pictures in their
rooms, where they remain till next May Day, and are then burned on
the hearth.[280] In Würtemberg the bushes which are set up on the
houses on Palm Sunday are sometimes left there for a year and then
burnt.[281] The eiresione (the Harvest-May of Greece) was perhaps
burnt at the end of the year.[282]

Tree-spirit detached So much for the tree-spirit conceived as

from the tree and incorporate or immanent in the tree. We
represented in have now to shew that the tree-spirit is
human form.
often conceived and represented as
detached from the tree and clothed in human form, and even as
embodied in living men or women. The evidence for this
anthropomorphic representation of the tree-spirit is largely to be
found in the popular customs of European peasantry. These will be
described presently, but before examining them we may notice an
Esthonian folk-tale which illustrates the same train of thought very
Esthonian story of a clearly. Once upon a time, so runs the tale,
tree-elf. a young peasant was busy raking the hay in
a meadow, when on the rim of the horizon a heavy thunder-cloud
loomed black and angry, warning him to make haste with his work
before the storm should break. He finished in time, and was wending
his way homeward, when under a tree he espied a stranger fast
asleep. “He will be drenched to the skin,” thought the good-natured
young fellow to himself, “if I allow him to sleep on.” So he stepped
up to the sleeper and shaking him forcibly roused him from his
slumber. The stranger started up, and at sight of the thunder-cloud,
which now darkened the sky, he blenched, fumbled in his pockets,
and finding nothing in them wherewith to reward the friendly swain,
he said, “This time I am your debtor. But the time will come when I
shall be able to repay your kindness. Remember what I tell you. You
will enlist. You will be parted from your friends for years, and one
day a feeling of homesickness will come over you in a foreign land.
Then look up, and you will see a crooked birch-tree a few steps from
you. Go to it, knock thrice on the trunk, and ask, ‘Is the Crooked
One at home?’ The rest will follow.” With these words the stranger
hastened away and was out of sight in a moment. The peasant also
went his way, and soon forgot all about the matter. Well, time went
by and part of the stranger’s prophecy came true. For the peasant
turned soldier and served in a cavalry regiment for years. One day,
when he was quartered with his regiment in the north of Finland, it
fell to his turn to tend the horses while his comrades were roistering
in the tavern. Suddenly a great yearning for home, such as he had
never known before, came over the lonely trooper; tears started to
his eyes, and dear visions of his native land crowded on his soul.
Then he bethought him of the sleeping stranger in the wood, and
the whole scene came back to him as fresh as if it had happened
yesterday. He looked up, and there, strange to tell, he was aware of
a crooked birch-tree right in front of him. More in jest than in
earnest he went up to it and did as the stranger had bidden him.
Hardly had the words, “Is the Crooked One at home?” passed his
lips when the stranger himself stood before him and said, “I am glad
you have come. I feared you had forgotten me. You wish to be at
home, do you not?” The trooper said yes, he did. Then the Crooked
One cried into the tree, “Young folks, which of you is the fleetest?” A
voice from the birch replied, “Father, I can run as fast as a moor-hen
flies.” “Well, I need a fleeter messenger to-day.” A second voice
answered, “I can run like the wind.” “I need a swifter envoy,” said
the father. Then a third voice cried, “I can run like the thought of
man.” “You are after my own heart. Fill a bag full of gold and take it
with my friend and benefactor to his home.” Then he caught the
soldier by the hat, crying, “The hat to the man, and the man to the
house!” The same moment the soldier felt his hat fly from his head.
When he looked about for it, lo! he was at home in the old familiar
parlour wearing his old peasant clothes, and the great sack of
money stood beside him. Yet on parade and at the roll-call he was
never missed. When the man who told this story was asked, “Who
could the stranger be?” he answered, “Who but a tree-elf?”[283]
Tree-spirit There is an instructive class of cases in
represented which the tree-spirit is represented
simultaneously in simultaneously in vegetable form and in
vegetable and
human form. human form, which are set side by side as
if for the express purpose of explaining
each other. In these cases the human representative of the tree-
spirit is sometimes a doll or puppet, sometimes a living person; but
whether a puppet or a person, it is placed beside a tree or bough; so
that together the person or puppet, and the tree or bough, form a
sort of bilingual inscription, the one being, so to speak, a translation
of the other. Here, therefore, there is no room left for doubt that the
spirit of the tree is actually represented in human form. Thus in
Bohemia, on the fourth Sunday in Lent, young people throw a
puppet called Death into the water; then the girls go into the wood,
cut down a young tree, and fasten to it a puppet dressed in white
clothes to look like a woman; with this tree and puppet they go from
house to house collecting gratuities and singing songs with the
refrain:—

“We carry Death out of the village,

We bring Summer into the village.”[284]

Here, as we shall see later on, the “Summer” is the spirit of

vegetation returning or reviving in spring. In some parts of our own
country children go about asking for pence with some small
imitations of May-poles, and with a finely-dressed doll which they
call the Lady of the May.[285] In these cases the tree and the puppet
are obviously regarded as equivalent.
The Little May At Thann, in Alsace, a girl called the Little
Rose. May Rose, dressed in white, carries a small
May-tree, which is gay with garlands and ribbons. Her companions
collect gifts from door to door, singing a song:—

“Little May Rose turn round three times,

Let us look at you round and round!
Rose of the May, come to the greenwood away,
We will be merry all.
So we go from the May to the roses.”

In the course of the song a wish is expressed that those who give
nothing may lose their fowls by the marten, that their vine may bear
no clusters, their tree no nuts, their field no corn; the produce of the
year is supposed to depend on the gifts offered to these May
singers.[286] Here and in the cases mentioned above, where children
go about with green boughs or garlands on May Day singing and
collecting money, the meaning is that with the spirit of vegetation
they bring plenty and good luck to the house, and they expect to be
paid for the service. In Russian Lithuania, on the first of May, they
used to set up a green tree before the village. Then the rustic swains
chose the prettiest girl, crowned her, swathed her in birch branches
and set her beside the May-tree, where they danced, sang, and
shouted “O May! O May!”[287] In Brie (Isle de France) a May-tree is
set up in the midst of the village; its top is crowned with flowers;
lower down it is twined with leaves and twigs, still lower with huge
green branches. The girls dance round it, and at the same time a lad
wrapt in leaves and called Father May is led about.[288] In the small
The Walber. towns of the Franken Wald mountains in
Northern Bavaria, on the second of May, a
Walber tree is erected before a tavern, and a man dances round it,
enveloped in straw from head to foot in such a way that the ears of
corn unite above his head to form a crown. He is called the Walber,
and used to be led in procession through the streets, which were
adorned with sprigs of birch.[289]
Green George in Amongst the Slavs of Carinthia, on St.
Carinthia. George’s Day (the twenty-third of April), the
young people deck with flowers and garlands a tree which has been
felled on the eve of the festival. The tree is then carried in
procession, accompanied with music and joyful acclamations, the
chief figure in the procession being the Green George, a young
fellow clad from head to foot in green birch branches. At the close of
the ceremonies the Green George, that is an effigy of him, is thrown
into the water. It is the aim of the lad who acts Green George to
step out of his leafy envelope and substitute the effigy so adroitly
that no one shall perceive the change. In many places, however, the
lad himself who plays the part of Green George is ducked in a river
or pond, with the express intention of thus ensuring rain to make
the fields and meadows green in summer. In some places the cattle
are crowned and driven from their stalls to the accompaniment of a
song:—

“Green George we bring,

Green George we accompany,
May he feed our herds well.
If not, to the water with him.”[290]

Here we see that the same powers of making rain and fostering the
cattle, which are ascribed to the tree-spirit regarded as incorporate
in the tree, are also attributed to the tree-spirit represented by a
living man.
Green George Among the gypsies of Transylvania and
among the gypsies. Roumania the festival of Green George is
the chief celebration of spring. Some of them keep it on Easter
Monday, others on St. George’s Day (the twenty-third of April). On
the eve of the festival a young willow tree is cut down, adorned with
garlands and leaves, and set up in the ground. Women with child
place one of their garments under the tree, and leave it there over
night; if next morning they find a leaf of the tree lying on the
garment, they know that their delivery will be easy. Sick and old
people go to the tree in the evening, spit on it thrice, and say, “You
will soon die, but let us live.” Next morning the gypsies gather about
the willow. The chief figure of the festival is Green George, a lad
who is concealed from top to toe in green leaves and blossoms. He
throws a few handfuls of grass to the beasts of the tribe, in order
that they may have no lack of fodder throughout the year. Then he
takes three iron nails, which have lain for three days and nights in
water, and knocks them into the willow; after which he pulls them
out and flings them into a running stream to propitiate the water-
spirits. Finally, a pretence is made of throwing Green George into the
water, but in fact it is only a puppet made of branches and leaves
which is ducked in the stream.[291] In this version of the custom the
powers of granting an easy delivery to women and of
communicating vital energy to the sick and old are clearly ascribed
to the willow; while Green George, the human double of the tree,
bestows food on the cattle, and further ensures the favour of the
water-spirits by putting them in indirect communication with the
tree.
Double An example of the double representation of
representation of the spirit of vegetation by a tree and a
the tree-spirit by living man is reported from Bengal. The
tree and man
among the Oraons. Oraons have a festival in spring while the
sál-trees are in blossom, because they think
that at this time the marriage of earth is celebrated and the sál
flowers are necessary for the ceremony. On an appointed day the
villagers go with their priest to the Sarna, the sacred grove, a
remnant of the old sál forest in which a goddess Sarna Burhi, or
woman of the grove, is supposed to dwell. She is thought to have
great influence on the rain; and the priest arriving with his party at
the grove sacrifices to her five fowls, of which a morsel is given to
each person present. Then they gather the sál flowers and return
laden with them to the village. Next day the priest visits every
house, carrying the flowers in a wide open basket. The women of
each house bring out water to wash his feet as he approaches, and
kneeling make him an obeisance. Then he dances with them and
places some of the sál flowers over the door of the house and in the
women’s hair. No sooner is this done than the women empty their
water-jugs over him, drenching him to the skin. A feast follows, and
the young people, with sál flowers in their hair, dance all night on
the village green.[292] Here, the equivalence of the flower-bearing
priest to the goddess of the flowering tree comes out plainly. For she
is supposed to influence the rain, and the drenching of the priest
with water is, doubtless, like the ducking of the Green George in
Carinthia and elsewhere, a rain-charm. Thus the priest, as if he were
the tree goddess herself, goes from door to door dispensing rain and
bestowing fruitfulness on each house, but especially on the women.
Double In some parts of India the harvest-goddess
representation of Gauri, the wife of Siva, is represented both
the harvest-goddess by an unmarried girl and by a bundle of the
Gauri by a bundle of
plants and an wild flowering balsam plant touch-me-not
unmarried girl. (Impatiens sp.), which is tied up in a
mummy-like figure with a woman’s mask,
dress, and ornaments. Before being removed from the soil to
represent the goddess the plants are worshipped. The girl is also
worshipped. Then the bundle of plants is carried and the girl who
personates the goddess walks through the rooms of the house, while
the supposed footprints of Gauri herself are imprinted on the floor
with red paste. On entering each room the human representative of
Gauri is asked, “Gauri, Gauri, whither have you come and what do
you see?” and the girl makes appropriate replies. Then she is given a
mouthful of sweets and the mistress of the house says, “Come with
golden feet and stay for ever.” The plant-formed effigy of Gauri is
afterwards worshipped as the goddess herself and receives offerings
of rice-cakes and pancakes. On the third day it is thrown into a river
or tank; then a handful of pebbles or sand is brought home from the
spot and thrown all over the house and the trees to bring good luck
to the house and to protect the trees from vermin. A remarkable
feature of the ceremonies is that the goddess Gauri is supposed to
be secretly followed by her husband Siva, who remains hidden under
the fold of her garment and is represented by a lôṭâ, covered by a
coco-nut and filled with rice, which is carefully measured. After the
image of Gauri has been thrown into the river or tank, the rice in the
lôṭâ representing Siva is carefully measured again, in order to see
whether the quantity has increased or decreased, and according to
the result an abundant or a scanty harvest is prognosticated.[293]
Hence it appears that the whole ritual aims at ensuring a plentiful
crop of rice. In this case the spirit of vegetation thus represented in
duplicate by a living girl and the effigy of a woman is a harvest
goddess, not a tree-spirit, but the principle is the same.
W. Mannhardt’s Without citing more examples to the same
summary of the effect, we may sum up the results of the
evidence. preceding pages in the words of
Mannhardt: “The customs quoted suffice to establish with certainty
the conclusion that in these spring processions the spirit of
vegetation is often represented both by the May-tree and in addition
by a man dressed in green leaves or flowers or by a girl similarly
adorned. It is the same spirit which animates the tree and is active
in the inferior plants and which we have recognised in the May-tree
and the Harvest-May. Quite consistently the spirit is also supposed to
manifest his presence in the first flower of spring and reveals himself
both in a girl representing a May-rose, and also, as giver of harvest,
in the person of the Walber. The procession with this representative
of the divinity was supposed to produce the same beneficial effects
on the fowls, the fruit-trees, and the crops as the presence of the
deity himself. In other words, the mummer was regarded not as an
image but as an actual representative of the spirit of vegetation;
hence the wish expressed by the attendants on the May-rose and
the May-tree that those who refuse them gifts of eggs, bacon, and
so forth, may have no share in the blessings which it is in the power
of the itinerant spirit to bestow. We may conclude that these
begging processions with May-trees or May-boughs from door to
door (‘bringing the May or the summer’) had everywhere originally a
serious and, so to speak, sacramental significance; people really
believed that the god of growth was present unseen in the bough;
by the procession he was brought to each house to bestow his
blessing. The names May, Father May, May Lady, Queen of the May,
by which the anthropomorphic spirit of vegetation is often denoted,
shew that the idea of the spirit of vegetation is blent with a
personification of the season at which his powers are most strikingly
manifested.”[294]
Tree-spirit or Thus far we have seen that the tree-spirit
vegetation-spirit or the spirit of vegetation in general is
represented by a represented either in vegetable form alone,
person alone.
as by a tree, bough, or flower; or in
vegetable and human form simultaneously, as by a tree, bough, or
flower in combination with a puppet or a living person. It remains to
shew that the representation of him by a tree, bough, or flower is
sometimes entirely dropped, while the representation of him by a
living person remains. In this case the representative character of
the person is generally marked by dressing him or her in leaves or
flowers; sometimes too it is indicated by the name he or she bears.
Green George in Thus in some parts of Russia on St.
Russia. George’s Day (the twenty-third of April) a
youth is dressed out, like our Jack-in-the-Green, with leaves and
flowers. The Slovenes call him the Green George. Holding a lighted
torch in one hand and a pie in the other, he goes out to the corn-
fields, followed by girls singing appropriate songs. A circle of
brushwood is then lighted, in the middle of which is set the pie. All
who take part in the ceremony then sit down around the fire and
divide the pie among them.[295] In this custom the Green George
dressed in leaves and flowers is plainly identical with the similarly
disguised Green George who is associated with a tree in the
Carinthian, Transylvanian, and Roumanian customs observed on the
Whitsuntide same day. Again, we saw that in Russia at
customs in Russia. Whitsuntide a birch-tree is dressed in
woman’s clothes and set up in the house. Clearly equivalent to this is
the custom observed on Whit-Monday by Russian girls in the district
of Pinsk. They choose the prettiest of their number, envelop her in a
mass of foliage taken from the birch-trees and maples, and carry her
about through the village. In a district of Little Russia they take
round a “poplar,” represented by a girl wearing bright flowers in her
hair.[296] At Whitsuntide in Holland poor women used to go about
begging with a little girl called Whitsuntide Flower (Pinxterbloem,
perhaps a kind of iris); she was decked with flowers and sat in a
waggon. In North Brabant she wears the flowers from which she
takes her name and a song is sung:—

“Whitsuntide Flower,
Turn yourself once round.”[297]

May customs in All over Provence on the first of May pretty

France. little girls are dressed in white, decked with
crowns and wreaths of roses, and set on seats or platforms strewn
with flowers in the streets, while their companions go about begging
coppers for the Mayos or Mayes, as they are called, from the
passers-by.[298] In some parts of the Ardennes on May Day a small
girl, clad in white and wearing a chaplet of flowers on her head,
used to go from house to house with her play-mates, collecting
contributions and singing that it was May, the month of May, the
pretty month of May, that the wheat was tall, the hawthorn in
bloom, and the lark carolling in the sky.[299]
The Little Leaf In Ruhla (Thüringen) as soon as the trees
Man. begin to grow green in spring, the children
assemble on a Sunday and go out into the woods, where they
choose one of their play-mates to be the Little Leaf Man. They break
branches from the trees and twine them about the child till only his
shoes peep out from the leafy mantle. Holes are made in it for him
to see through, and two of the children lead the Little Leaf Man that
he may not stumble or fall. Singing and dancing they take him from
house to house, asking for gifts of food such as eggs, cream,
sausages, and cakes. Lastly, they sprinkle the Leaf Man with water
and feast on the food they have collected.[300] At Röllshausen on the
Leaf-clad mummers Schwalm, in Hesse, when afternoon service
at Whitsuntide. is over on Whitsunday, the schoolboys and
schoolgirls go out into the wood and there clothe a boy from head to
foot in leaves so that nobody would know him. He is called the Little
Whitsuntide Man. A procession is then formed. Two boys lead their
leaf-clad playfellow; two others precede him with a basket; and two
girls with another basket bring up the rear. Thus they go from house
to house singing hymns or popular songs and collecting eggs and
cakes in the baskets. When they have feasted on these, they strip
their comrade of his verdant envelope on an open place in front of
the village.[301] In some parts of Rhenish Bavaria at Whitsuntide a
boy or lad is swathed in the yellow blossom of the broom, the dark
green twigs of the firs, and other foliage. Thus attired he is known
as the Quack and goes from door to door, whirling about in the
dance, while an appropriate song is chanted and his companions
levy contributions.[302] In the Fricktal, Switzerland, at Whitsuntide
boys go out into a wood and swathe one of their number in leafy
boughs. He is called the Whitsuntide-lout (Pfingstlümmel), and being
mounted on horseback with a green branch in his hand he is led
back into the village. At the village-well a halt is called and the leaf-
clad lout is dismounted and ducked in the trough. Thereby he
acquires the right of sprinkling water on everybody, and he exercises
the right specially on girls and street urchins. The urchins march
before him in bands begging him to give them a Whitsuntide
wetting.[303]
Jack-in-the-Green In England the best-known example of
in England. these leaf-clad mummers is the Jack-in-the-
Green, a chimney-sweeper who walks encased in a pyramidal
framework of wickerwork, which is covered with holly and ivy, and
surmounted by a crown of flowers and ribbons. Thus arrayed he
dances on May Day at the head of a troop of chimney-sweeps, who
collect pence.[304] The ceremony was witnessed at Cheltenham on
the second of May 1892, by Dr. W. H. D. Rouse, who has described
in detail the costume of the performers. They were all chimney-
sweeps of the town. Jack-in-the-Green or the Bush-carrier was
enclosed in a wooden framework on which leaves were fastened so
as to make a thick cone about six feet high, topped with a crown,
which consisted of two wooden hoops placed crosswise and covered
with flowers. The leafy envelope was unbroken except for a single
opening through which peered the face of the mummer. From time
to time in their progress through the streets the performers halted,
and three of them, dressed in red, blue, and yellow respectively,
tripped lightly round the leaf-covered man to the inspiring strains of
a fiddle and a tin whistle on which two of their comrades with
blackened faces discoursed sweet music. The leader of the
procession was a clown fantastically clad in a long white pinafore or
blouse with coloured fringes and frills, and wearing on his head a
beaver hat of the familiar pattern, the crown of which hung loose
and was adorned with ribbons and a bird or a bundle of feathers.
Large black rings surrounded his eyes, and a red dab over mouth
and chin lent a pleasing variety to his countenance. He contributed
to the public hilarity by flapping the yellow fringe of his blouse with
quaint gestures and occasionally fanning himself languidly. His
efforts were seconded by another performer, who wore a red fool’s
cap, all stuck with flowers, and a white pinafore enriched with black
human figures in front and a black gridiron-like pattern, crossed
diagonally by a red bar, at the back. Two boys in white pinafores,
with similar figures, or stars, on the breast, and a fish on the back,
completed the company. Formerly there used to be a man in
woman’s clothes, who personated the clown’s wife.[305] In some parts
also of France a young fellow is encased in a wicker framework
covered with leaves and is led about.[306] In Frickthal, in the Swiss
The Whitsuntide canton of Aargau, a similar frame of
Basket in basketwork is called the Whitsuntide
Switzerland. Basket. As soon as the trees begin to bud,
a spot is chosen in the wood, and here the village lads make the
frame with all secrecy, lest others should forestall them. Leafy
branches are twined round two hoops, one of which rests on the
shoulders of the wearer, the other encircles his calves; holes are
made for his eyes and mouth; and a large nosegay crowns the
whole. In this guise he appears suddenly in the village at the hour of
vespers, preceded by three boys blowing on horns made of willow
bark. The great object of his supporters is to set up the Whitsuntide
Basket on the village well, and to keep it and him there, despite the
efforts of the lads from neighbouring villages, who seek to carry off
the Whitsuntide Basket and set it up on their own well.[307] In the
The Lazy Man in neighbourhood of Ertingen (Würtemberg) a
Würtemberg. masker of the same sort, known as the
Lazy Man (Latzmann), goes about the village on Midsummer Day; he
is hidden under a great pyramidal or conical frame of wickerwork,
ten or twelve feet high, which is completely covered with sprigs of
fir. He has a bell which he rings as he goes, and he is attended by a
suite of persons dressed up in character—a footman, a colonel, a
butcher, an angel, the devil, the doctor, and so on. They march in
Indian file and halt before every house, where each of them speaks
in character, except the Lazy Man, who says nothing. With what they
get by begging from door to door they hold a feast.[308]
In the class of cases of which the foregoing are specimens it is
obvious that the leaf-clad person who is led about is equivalent to
the May-tree, May-bough, or May-doll, which is carried from house
to house by children begging. Both are representatives of the
beneficent spirit of vegetation, whose visit to the house is
recompensed by a present of money or food.
Leaf-clad Often the leaf-clad person who represents
representative of the spirit of vegetation is known as the king
vegetation or the queen; thus, for example, he or she
sometimes called a
King or Queen. is called the May King, Whitsuntide King,
Queen of May, and so on. These titles, as
Mannhardt observes, imply that the spirit incorporate in vegetation is
a ruler, whose creative power extends far and wide.[309]
May-Kings at In a village near Salzwedel a May-tree is set
Whitsuntide in up at Whitsuntide and the boys race to it;
Germany and he who reaches it first is king; a garland of
Bohemia.
flowers is put round his neck and in his
hand he carries a May-bush, with which, as the procession moves
along, he sweeps away the dew. At each house they sing a song,
wishing the inmates good luck, referring to the “black cow in the
stall milking white milk, black hen on the nest laying white eggs,”
and begging a gift of eggs, bacon, and so on.[310] At the village of
Ellgoth in Silesia a ceremony called the King’s Race is observed at
Whitsuntide. A pole with a cloth tied to it is set up in a meadow, and
the young men ride past it on horseback, each trying to snatch away
the cloth as he gallops by. The one who succeeds in carrying it off
and dipping it in the neighbouring Oder is proclaimed King.[311] Here
the pole is clearly a substitute for a May-tree. In some villages of
Brunswick at Whitsuntide a May King is completely enveloped in a
May-bush. In some parts of Thüringen also they have a May King at
Whitsuntide, but he is dressed up rather differently. A frame of wood
is made in which a man can stand; it is completely covered with
birch boughs and is surmounted by a crown of birch and flowers, in
which a bell is fastened. This frame is placed in the wood and the
May King gets into it. The rest go out and look for him, and when
they have found him they lead him back into the village to the
magistrate, the clergyman, and others, who have to guess who is in
the verdurous frame. If they guess wrong, the May King rings his
bell by shaking his head, and a forfeit of beer or the like must be
paid by the unsuccessful guesser.[312] At Wahrstedt in Brunswick the
boys at Whitsuntide choose by lot a king and a high-steward (füstje-
meier). The latter is completely concealed in a May-bush, wears a
wooden crown wreathed with flowers, and carries a wooden sword.
The king, on the other hand, is only distinguished by a nosegay in
his cap, and a reed, with a red ribbon tied to it, in his hand. They
beg for eggs from house to house, threatening that, where none are
given, none will be laid by the hens throughout the year. In this
custom the high-steward appears, for some reason, to have usurped
the insignia of the king.[313] At Hildesheim, in Hanover, five or six
young fellows go about on the afternoon of Whit-Monday cracking
long whips in measured time and collecting eggs from the houses.
The Leaf King. The chief person of the band is the Leaf
King, a lad swathed so completely in
birchen twigs that nothing of him can be seen but his feet. A huge
head-dress of birchen twigs adds to his apparent stature. In his
hand he carries a long crook, with which he tries to catch stray dogs
and children.[314] In some parts of Bohemia on Whit-Monday the
young fellows disguise themselves in tall caps of birch bark adorned
with flowers. One of them is dressed as a king and dragged on a
sledge to the village green, and if on the way they pass a pool the
sledge is always overturned into it. Arrived at the green they gather
round the king; the crier jumps on a stone or climbs up a tree and
recites lampoons about each house and its inmates. Afterwards the
disguises of bark are stripped off and they go about the village in
holiday attire, carrying a May-tree and begging. Cakes, eggs, and
corn are sometimes given them.[315] At Grossvargula, near
The Grass King. Langensalza, in the eighteenth century a
Grass King used to be led about in
procession at Whitsuntide. He was encased in a pyramid of poplar
branches, the top of which was adorned with a royal crown of
branches and flowers. He rode on horseback with the leafy pyramid
over him, so that its lower end touched the ground, and an opening
was left in it only for his face. Surrounded by a cavalcade of young
fellows, he rode in procession to the town hall, the parsonage, and
so on, where they all got a drink of beer. Then under the seven
lindens of the neighbouring Sommerberg, the Grass King was
stripped of his green casing; the crown was handed to the Mayor,
and the branches were stuck in the flax fields in order to make the
flax grow tall.[316] In this last trait the fertilising influence ascribed to
the representative of the tree-spirit comes out clearly. In the
neighbourhood of Pilsen (Bohemia) a conical hut of green branches,
without any door, is erected at Whitsuntide in the midst of the
village. To this hut rides a troop of village lads with a king at their
head. He wears a sword at his side and a sugar-loaf hat of rushes on
his head. In his train are a judge, a crier, and a personage called the
Frog-flayer or Hangman. This last is a sort of ragged merryandrew,
wearing a rusty old sword and bestriding a sorry hack. On reaching
the hut the crier dismounts and goes round it looking for a door.
Finding none, he says, “Ah, this is perhaps an enchanted castle; the
witches creep through the leaves and need no door.” At last he
draws his sword and hews his way into the hut, where there is a
chair, on which he seats himself and proceeds to criticise in rhyme
the girls, farmers, and farm-servants of the neighbourhood. When
this is over, the Frog-flayer steps forward and, after exhibiting a cage
with frogs in it, sets up a gallows on which he hangs the frogs in a
row.[317] In the neighbourhood of Plas the ceremony differs in some
points. The king and his soldiers are completely clad in bark,
adorned with flowers and ribbons; they all carry swords and ride
horses, which are gay with green branches and flowers. While the
village dames and girls are being criticised at the arbour, a frog is
secretly pinched and poked by the crier till it quacks. Sentence of
death is passed on the frog by the king; the hangman beheads it
and flings the bleeding body among the spectators. Lastly, the king
is driven from the hut and pursued by the soldiers.[318] The pinching
and beheading of the frog are doubtless, as Mannhardt observes,[319]
a rain-charm. We have seen that some Indians of the Orinoco beat
frogs for the express purpose of producing rain, and that killing a
frog is a European rain-charm.[320]
May-Queens and Often the spirit of vegetation in spring is
Whitsuntide represented by a queen instead of a king.
Queens. In the neighbourhood of Libchowic
(Bohemia), on the fourth Sunday in Lent, girls dressed in white and
wearing the first spring flowers, as violets and daisies, in their hair,
lead about the village a girl who is called the Queen and is crowned
with flowers. During the procession, which is conducted with great
solemnity, none of the girls may stand still, but must keep whirling
round continually and singing. In every house the Queen announces
the arrival of spring and wishes the inmates good luck and blessings,
for which she receives presents.[321] In German Hungary the girls
choose the prettiest girl to be their Whitsuntide Queen, fasten a
towering wreath on her brow, and carry her singing through the
streets. At every house they stop, sing old ballads, and receive
presents.[322] In the south-east of Ireland on May Day the prettiest
girl used to be chosen Queen of the district for twelve months. She
was crowned with wild flowers; feasting, dancing, and rustic sports
followed, and were closed by a grand procession in the evening.
During her year of office she presided over rural gatherings of young
people at dances and merry-makings. If she married before next
May Day, her authority was at an end, but her successor was not
elected till that day came round.[323] The May Queen is common in
France[324] and familiar in England. Thus at the adjoining villages of
The May Queen in Cherrington and Stourton in south
Warwickshire. Warwickshire, the Queen of May is still
represented on May Day by a small girl dressed in white and wearing
a wreath of flowers on her head. An older girl wheels the Queen in
what is called a mail-cart, that is, a child’s perambulator on two
wheels. Another girl carries a money-box. Four boys bear the May-
pole, a conical framework formed of a high tripod with a central
shaft. The whole structure is encased in a series of five hoops, which
rise one above the other, diminishing in size from bottom to top with
the tapering of the cone. The hoops, as well as the tripod and the
central shaft, are all covered with whatever flowers happen to be in
bloom, such as marsh-marigolds, primroses, or blue-bells. To the top
of the central shaft is fastened a bunch of the flower called crown-
imperial, if it is in season. The lowest hoop is crossed by two bars at
right angles to each other, and the projecting ends of the bars serve
as handles, by which the four boys carry the May-pole. Each of the
bearers has a garland of flowers slung over his shoulder. Thus the
children go from house to house, singing their songs and receiving
money, which goes to provide a treat for them in the afternoon.[325]
Spirit of vegetation Again the spirit of vegetation is sometimes
represented represented by a king and queen, a lord
simultaneously by a and lady, or a bridegroom and bride. Here
King and Queen or
a Bridegroom and again the parallelism holds between the
Bride. anthropomorphic and the vegetable
representation of the tree-spirit, for we
have seen above that trees are sometimes married to each other.[326]
At Halford in south Warwickshire the children go from house to
Whitsuntide King house on May Day, walking two and two in
and Queen. procession and headed by a King and
Queen. Two boys carry a May-pole some six or seven feet high,
which is covered with flowers and greenery. Fastened to it near the
top are two cross-bars at right angles to each other. These are also
decked with flowers, and from the ends of the bars hang hoops
similarly adorned. At the houses the children sing May songs and
receive money, which is used to provide tea for them at the school-
house in the afternoon.[327] In a Bohemian village near Königgrätz on
Whit-Monday the children play the king’s game, at which a king and
queen march about under a canopy, the queen wearing a garland,
and the youngest girl carrying two wreaths on a plate behind them.
They are attended by boys and girls called groomsmen and
bridesmaids, and they go from house to house collecting gifts.[328] A
regular feature in the popular celebration of Whitsuntide in Silesia
used to be, and to some extent still is, the contest for the kingship.
This contest took various forms, but the mark or goal was generally
the May-tree or May-pole. Sometimes the youth who succeeded in
climbing the smooth pole and bringing down the prize was
proclaimed the Whitsuntide King and his sweetheart the Whitsuntide
Bride. Afterwards the king, carrying the May-bush, repaired with the
rest of the company to the ale-house, where a dance and a feast
ended the merry-making. Often the young farmers and labourers
raced on horseback to the May-pole, which was adorned with
flowers, ribbons, and a crown. He who first reached the pole was the
Whitsuntide King, and the rest had to obey his orders for that day.
The worst rider became the clown. At the May-tree all dismounted
and hoisted the king on their shoulders. He nimbly swarmed up the
pole and brought down the May-bush and the crown, which had
been fastened to the top. Meantime the clown hurried to the ale-
house and proceeded to bolt thirty rolls of bread and to swig four
quart bottles of brandy with the utmost possible despatch. He was
followed by the king, who bore the May-bush and crown at the head
of the company. If on their arrival the clown had already disposed of
the rolls and the brandy, and greeted the king with a speech and a
glass of beer, his score was paid by the king; otherwise he had to
settle it himself. After church time the stately procession wound
through the village. At the head of it rode the king, decked with
flowers and carrying the May-bush. Next came the clown with his
clothes turned inside out, a great flaxen beard on his chin, and the
Whitsuntide crown on his head. Two riders disguised as guards
followed. The procession drew up before every farmyard; the two
guards dismounted, shut the clown into the house, and claimed a
contribution from the housewife to buy soap with which to wash the
clown’s beard. Custom allowed them to carry off any victuals which
were not under lock and key. Last of all they came to the house in
which the king’s sweetheart lived. She was greeted as Whitsuntide
Queen and received suitable presents—to wit, a many-coloured
sash, a cloth, and an apron. The king got as a prize, a vest, a
neckcloth, and so forth, and had the right of setting up the May-
bush or Whitsuntide-tree before his master’s yard, where it remained
as an honourable token till the same day next year. Finally the
procession took its way to the tavern, where the king and queen
opened the dance. Sometimes the Whitsuntide King and Queen
succeeded to office in a different way. A man of straw, as large as
King and Queen of life and crowned with a red cap, was
May. conveyed in a cart, between two men
armed and disguised as guards, to a place where a mock court was
waiting to try him. A great crowd followed the cart. After a formal
trial the straw man was condemned to death and fastened to a stake
on the execution ground. The young men with bandaged eyes tried
to stab him with a spear. He who succeeded became king and his
sweetheart queen. The straw man was known as the Goliath.[329]
Near Grenoble, in France, a king and queen are chosen on the first
of May and are set on a throne for all to see.[330] At Headington, near
Oxford, children used to carry garlands from door to door on May
Day. Each garland was borne by two girls, and they were followed by
a lord and lady—a boy and girl linked together by a white
handkerchief, of which each held an end, and dressed with ribbons,
sashes, and flowers. At each door they sang a verse:—

“Gentlemen and ladies,

We wish you happy May;
We come to shew you a garland,
Because it is May-day.”
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