Nerthus

Nerthus
Composed by Sam Barker
Performed by
Tom Crowley - Violin
Daire Wallace - Piano
I - The Sacred Isle/Sacred Cart/Divine Presence 00:00
II - The Clamour of Arms 02:39
III - Nerthus Riding Her Cart Through the Streets 03:37
IV - The Sacred Lake/Cleansing of the Cart/Drowning of the Slaves 06:25
The Langobardi, by contrast, are distinguished by the fewness of their numbers. Ringed round as they are by many mighty peoples, they find safety not in obsequiousness but in battle and its perils. After them come the Reudingi, Aviones, Anglii, Varini, Eudoses, Suarini and Nuitones, behind their ramparts of rivers and woods. There is nothing noteworthy about these peoples individually, but they are distinguished by a common worship of Nerthus, or Mother Earth. They believe that she interests herself in human affairs and rides among their peoples. In an island of the Ocean stands a sacred grove, and in the grove a consecrated cart, draped with cloth, which none but the priest may touch. The priest perceives the presence of the goddess in this holy of holies and attends her, in deepest reverence, as her cart is drawn by heifers. Then follow days of rejoicing and merry- making in every place that she designs to visit and be entertained. No one goes to war, no one takes up arms; every object of iron is locked away; then, and only then, are peace and quiet known and loved, until the priest again restores the goddess to her temple, when she has had her fill of human company. After that the cart, the cloth and, if you care to believe it, the goddess herself are washed clean in a secluded lake. This service is performed by slaves who are immediately afterwards drowned in the lake. Thus mystery begets terror and pious reluctance to ask what the sight can be that only those doomed to die may see.
Roman historian Tacitus in chapter 40 of his ethnography Germania, Translation; Mattingly 2009: 53-54
Recorded by
Terry O’Brien
At MTU CSM Recording Studio
Mixed and Mastered by
Sam Barker and Terry O’Brien
Produced by
Sam Barker
Video by
Marcin Lewandowski @soundofphotography.com
With the Support of
MTU Cork School of Music
And
Tipperary County Council