Original scientific paper
THE KELTIC TRACES IN THE TRADITION OF ST. MARTIN AND THEIR REFLECTION IN CROATIAN TERRITORIES
Antonija Zaradija Kiš
orcid.org/0000-0002-2013-9398
; Intitute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
St. Martin has a significant place within the context of studying the traditions and cults of
the early Christian saints in the Croatian territories. The strong west European Martinmas
tradition has been created on the pre-Christian Keltic grounds whose traces can be found
not merely in the temporal characteristics of this festivity, but also in some of the customs
preserved until today, especially in Ireland and France. The St. Martin's Day (or Martinmas,
11th November) corresponds with the great Keltic New Year's festivity Samain,
characterized by the spiritual contact with the realm of the dead. St. Martin has thus taken
an important place between the winter and the summer annual cycle, which is also evident
from the iconographic images of the famous legend of the soldier and the pauper. The west
European features of the saints, which often insist on sacrifice and bloodshed, have not
reached the Croatian territories in these forms. On the contrary, their influence has been
interpreted as the characteristic wine customs associated with the St. Martin, which in a
way present the Croatian features of the Martinmas festivity. It could be to a great extent
ascribed to the military knight mediaeval heritage that marked the northwestern part of
Croatia and through which the pre-Christian sacrifice elements were substituted and
transmitted to the Croatian territories.
Keywords
The Kelts; Samain; St. Martin; veil; sward; horse; tradition
Hrčak ID:
33390
URI
Publication date:
4.12.2000.
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