LL-L "Mythology" (was "Names") 2002.02.20 (07) [E]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 20.FEB.2002 (07) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: "Marco Evenhuis" <evenhuis at zeelandnet.nl>
Subject: LL-L "Names" 2002.02.20 (05) [E]

Ron wrote about the isle of Helgoland:

> If the name originally really meant "Holy Land," then the question would
be
> why this is so.  Was it that the inhabitants simply considered their home
> island so blessed (with an abundance of fish and lobster surrounding it
until
> the early 20th century) that they considered it sacred, or did the island
once
> play a specific spiritual role?  If the latter were the case, I would
suspect
> pre-Christian beliefs to be involved (much like in the case of the Baltic
Sea
> island of Rugia/Rügen once having served as a spirtual center for the
Slavic
> Pomeranians).

A bit off the topic, but just to inform you: legend has it that my own
(former) isle of Walcheren was once considered to be a 'holy island' too.
There are a couple of sources for that, eg 'Zeeuwsch Sagenboek' by J. and M.
Sinnighe (Zutphen, 1933) and H. M. Kesteloo's 'Domburg en zijn geschiedenis'
(Middelburg, 1890). Even the name Walcheren (pronounced Walher in the local
dialect) was said to derive from 'walhalla'. (These are all folk tales of
course; the name Walcheren actually comes from the indo-euopean root
'welc-', meaning humid, flooded or wet. So Walcheren -Walicrum or Walacra in
the 9th and 10th century- has the same meaning as Vlaanderen/Flanders: those
who live in or near flooded or wet lands.)
Furthermore, the people of Walcheren, especially the inhabitants of the
western most village Westkapelle, were believed to have been ordered by the
Gods to transport the souls of the dead to an unknown island in the east
(sometimes England is mentioned). The people of Westkapelle were wakened at
night and ordered to go to the beach where they found strange looking boats,
overloaded with a invisible load. They sailed to the east and at the shore
of this unknown island, the names of the dead were called by a voice and the
boats got lighter and lighter. When the voice finally silenced, the
fishermen sailed back to Westkapelle.
Could there have been a similar believe among the North-Frisians? Could Helg
oland have been their 'island in the east'?

regards,

Marco

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