/ A HANDBOOK OF WEATHER FOLK-LORE A HANDBOOK OF WEATHER FOLK-LORE A COLLECTION OF PROVERBIAL SAYINGS IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES RELATING TO THE WEATHER, WITH EXPLANATORY AND ILLUSTRATIVE NOTES BY THE REV. C. SWAINSON, M.A. VICAR OF HIGH HURST WOOD WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCLXXIII All Rights reserved PREFACE. IT is well known that certain days have been, in -various countries, considered as ominous of the ensuing weather. The popular sayings attached to them are of great antiquity, and therefore the alteration of the Calendar has affected them in a material still degree ; yet do the peasantry of the Continent consult re- their critical and if a ' Volks- ligiously days ; kalender' of Germany, Switzerland, or Bo- " hemia were to discontinue giving its Bauern-" " or Wetter-regelen," there is no doubt that its circulation would be sensibly diminished. So, too, in our own land, each district has its weather proverbs, some peculiar to itself, some, it may be, shared in common with the country folk of France, Germany, and Italy. It is to the superstitious side of weather lore that the reader is directed more particularly vi PREFACE. in the First Part of the work and it present ; may be remarked that special attention has been paid to the weather proverbs attached to the various Saints' days throughout the year. The Second Part contains sayings relating to the sun, moon, stars, and atmospheric in- fluences also generally ; many prognostics drawn from the habits of animals, birds, in- sects, &c. To compile a Handbook of this kind would have been impossible without the aid of pre- vious publications, a list of which is given below. The author is particularly indebted ' to Notes and Queries,' Brand, and Chambers, also to Professor Inwards' excellent book on this subject, and to Mr Denham's curious collection, which, however, contain but very few foreign proverbs. Many of the latter not, however, in their original language may be found in Baron von Reinsberg-Diiringsfeld's ' Das Wetter im Sprichwort' LIST OF WORKS CONSULTED. Almanacs : Poor of various dates the Robin's, ; Country ; The Shepherd's; and many French, Belgian, German, and Bohemian Volkskalenders. Book of Knowledge, N.D. BRAND'S Popular Antiquities ; Bohn's Edition : 3 vols. 1853. BUCELINI, Historic Universalis auctarium. Augustae, 1658. BUCHLERI (JOANN.), Gnomologia. Coloniae, 1662. CHAMBERS (R.), Book of Days. 2 vols. CHAMBERS (R.), Popular Rhymes of Scotland. Edinburgh, 1870. COLLINS QOHN), Dictionary of Spanish Proverbs. 1823. CORBLET (J.), Glossaire etymologique du patois Picard. Paris, 1851. COREMANS, L'annee de 1'ancienne Belgique. Bruxelles, 1843. PENHAM (M. A.), A collection of Proverbs and Popular Sayings relating to the Seasons, the Weather, &c. : printed for the Percy Society. 1846. DIGGES (L.), Prognosticacion Everlausting of ryght goode EfTecte. London, 1596. B. L. FORSTER (T.), Perennial Kalendar. London, 1824. HAMPSON (R. T.), Medii Aevi Kalendarium. 2 vols. London, 1841. Vlll LIST OF WORKS CONSULTED. HONE'S Works. 4 vols. London. HUSBANDMAN'S Practice, or Prognostication for ever. Lon- don, N.D. INWARDS (R.), Weather Lore. London, 1869. JAMIESON (Dr J.), Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language. 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1808. Kalendrier perpetuel aux bons Laboureurs et Almanach pour 1'an de grace, 1678. Rouen. KORTE (W.), Die Sprichworter der Deutschen. Leipzig, 1861. LE Roux DE LINCY, Le livre des Proverbes Fra^ais. Paris, 1842. LLOYD (L.), Diall of Daies. London, 1590. Notes and Queries. OIHENART (A.), Proverbes Basques. Bordeaux, 1847. PASQUALIGO (CRISTOFORO), Raccolta di Proverbi Veneti. Venezia, 1858. PLUQUET (F.), Contes populaires, &c., de 1'arrondissement de Bayeux. Rouen, 1834. Proverbes et dictons agricoles de France. Paris, 1872. RAY'S Proverbs. Bonn's Edition, 1870. REINSBERG-DURINGSFELD (BARON VON), Das Wetter im Sprichwort. Leipzig, 1864. ROSA (G.), Dialetti, costumi e tradizioni delle provincie di Bergamo e da Brescia. Bergamo, 1857. SAMARANI BONIFACIO, Prof., Proverbi Lombardi. Milano, 1870. Shepherd's Kalendar, or Countryman's Companion. Lon- don, N.D. WILSFORD (THOS.), Nature's Secrets. London, 1665. WORMU (OLAi), Fasti Danici. Hafniae, 1643. WURZBACH Die (C.), Sprichworter der Polen. Wien, 1852. CONTENTS. x CONTENTS. WEATHER AND AGRICULTURAL RULES RELATING TO DAYS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, . 167 PROVERBS RELATING TO THE DAYS OF THE WEEK, 169 PART II. PROVERBS RELATING . TO THE SUN, . -175 " " t MOON, . 182 M ii STARS AND METEORS, . 192 " M RAINBOW, . 194 " ii MISTS AND FOGS, . 198 " DEW, . .200 " M CLOUDS, . 2OO FROST, . .208 SNOW, . .209 " M RAIN, . .211 " " THUNDER AND LIGHTNING, 214 " I' WIND, . 218 PROGNOSTICS FROM . ANIMALS, . 228 " " BIRDS, .... 234 11 " FISH, .... 248 M ii REPTILES, ETC., . 250 it M INSECTS, ETC., . 253 M ii TREES, PLANTS, ETC., . 257 PLANTS FLOWERING ON VARIOUS SAINTS' DAYS, . 262 PROGNOSTICS FROM VARIOUS OBJECTS, . 264 GENERAL . PROGNOSTICS, . 26q PART I. A HANDBOOK OF WEATHER FOLK-LORE. 1 ' The Almanac-maker makes the Almanac, but God makes the weather." Danish Proverb. THE YEAR. A good year is always welcome. Iceland. The harvest depends more on the year than on the field. Denmark. Do not abuse the year till it has passed. Spain. Das vorige Jahr war immer besser. Zeit macht Heu. The Crops, Corn in good years is hay, in ill years straw is corn. After a famine in the stall Comes a famine in the hall. Another proverb to the same effect runs as follows, Dearth always begins in the horse-manger : 2 THE YEAR. " In to the "for in opposition rack," says Ray ; dry years when hay is dear, commonly corn is cheap : but when oats (or indeed any one grain) is dear, the rest are seldom cheap." Corn and horn go together. The French say, Quand les betes mangent, Les hommes jeunent, Drome. And, L'homme et le bceuf ne sont jamais bien ensemble. Acorns. Annee glanduleuse, Annee chancreuse. Annee de glands, Annee de cher temps. Haute Marne. So in Tuscany, Anno ghiandoso, Anno cancheroso. And about Milan, An de giand, An pesant per tiice quant, i.e., An acorn year is a bad year for everything. Beans. Annee de feves, Annde de misere. Lot et Garonne. Cherries. A cherry year, A merry year. Cockchafers. Annee hannetonneuse, Annee pommeuse. THE YEAR. Grande hannetonne'e, Petite vinee : Grande hannetonne'e, Grande pommee. Disc. Si 1'annee a produit beaucoup de hannetons, II y aura beaucoup de chataignes. Dordogne. Currants. Annee de groseilles, Annee de bouteilles. Nievre. Cry. Whoso hath but a mouth Will ne'er in England suffer drought. Drought never bred dearth in England. Annee seche n'appauvrit son maitre. Annee de secheresse A toujours fait richesse. Allier. Longue secheresse, lac de vin. Lot. Sonnjahr Wonnjahr. But, on the other hand, If there be neither snow nor rain Then will be dear all kinds 'of grain. And Annee seVrie Toujours peu reveche. Haute Loire. Frost. Annee de gelee, Annee de ble. Grass. An de fein, An de rein, i.e. (useless). Switzerland. 4 THE YEAR. Ano de erba, Ano de merda. Venetia. Beaucoup de foin, Beaucoup de rien. Haws. A haw year, A snaw year. Scotland. A haw year, A braw year. North of Ireland. Mushrooms. Anne'e champignonniere, Anne'e de misere.Ifaittes Pyrenees. Anno fungato, Anno tribolato. Tuscany. Nuts. A good nut year a good corn year. Anne'e de noisette, Annee de disette. Haute Marne. Pears. A pear year, A dear year. Plums. A plum year, A dumb to the silence of year, (referring death ? ) Kent. In the year when plums flourish, all else fails. Devon. THE YEAR. Radishes. Anne'e de raves, Anne'e de sante. Ardeche. Rain. Anne'e de pluie, Manque de fruits. Haute Loire. Some rain, some rest, Fine weather isn't always best. Rime. Anne'e de givre, Anne'e de fruits. Eure et Loire. Snow. A snow year, a rich year. Anne'e de neige, Annee de bien. Lozere. Annee neigeuse, Annee fructueuse. Anne'e neigeuse remplit le grenier : Annee sans neige appauvrit le meunier. Lozlre. Schnee Jahr reich Jahr. An nevbs, An friitubs. Milan. Annata di nivi, Annata di olivi. Venetia. Anno di neve, Anno di bene. Uberis ipsa frequens anni praenuncia nix est. 6 LEAP YEAR. Wind. Annee venteuse, Annee fruiteuse. Calvados. Local. Quando Guara tiene capa, y Moncayo chapiron, buen ano para Castilla y mejor para Aragon : i.e., When the mountains of Guara are tipped with snow, and those of Moncayo with fogs, they indicate that the year will be abundant. [See under Clouds. LEAP YEAR. Among the peasantry in Belgium there is a superstition that in Leap Year the young of no domestic animal will thrive, and that grafts and young shoots will never come to their full growth. Thus they have a proverb " In Leap Year the weather always changes on a Friday," an the exists in That being unlucky day ; and same prejudice North Italy, where they say, An bisesti, o la mama o '1 bambi : i.e., When a child is born in leap year, either it or its mother will die before the is over and year ; An bisest no pianta vit, ne met inest, A similar belief to that which has been mentioned as prevail- ing in Belgium. So, too, in Tuscany, Quando 1'anno vien bisesto, Non por bachi e non far nesto. And in France we find, Anne'e bissextile, Annee infertile. LEAP YEAR. 7 Quand 1'annado es de bize' (bissextile) Me'fia bous (mefiez vous) de 1'annado avan et de 1'annado apres. And, Vo me senonge Bissetre Cote d'Or : i.e., You wish me bad luck. " Bissetre, en bourguignon, s'est dit dans la signifi- cation de malheur, parceque la superstition a fait croire anciennement, et fait croire encore, qu'il y avait un mauvais sort attach d tant aux annees bissextile qu'aux jours intercalaires du bissexte de feVrier.