Ingegerd:
In Irish sources, there seems to be no distinction at all between spring
and well. After all, they mean essentially the same thing--the place where
water springs out, or wells out. And I think the distinction between
spring and stream is that the spring is the potentially holy spot--the
place where the water springs (or wells) out of the earth--and the stream
is run-off, but not holy.
Phyllis
>I have been most intrigued to see the discussion sparked off by my, as I
>thought, simple query about this subject! Thanks to all!
>Let me just add a couple of questions about terminology:
>Is there, and was there, a definite distinction between spring and well,
>i.e. is the one natural and the other man-made?
>And can a spring also be a stream?
>As so often when reading tales of mythology, I am left with a feeling that
>despite the use of different terms, we ought perhaps to think in terms of
>something more general, like 'water source' in this case.
>There also seems to be an assumption that holy wells and springs should
>contain drinkable water only, or?
>
>Dr. Ingegerd Holand
>e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Phyllis G. Jestice
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