This is the third (and last!) message.
Ingegerd Holand
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-----Original Message-----
From: Ingegerd Holand <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 18. november 1998 14:34
Subject: Re: Holy wells and springs
>Dear List,
>Thanks for the many interesting and thought-provoking answers I have had to
>my queries! They have certainly made me more sceptical of the authenticity
>of particular so-called *pagan* holy wells and springs, but not of the
>concept itself, judging from the apparent eagerness with which the early
>church *exploited* it. By the way, doesn't Christianity itself incorporate
>and build upon a number of so-called *pagan* concepts from Middle and Near
>Eastern mythology, which at an earlier stage also influenced the pagan
>religions of Europe? In other words, didn't Christianity *arrive* in
Europe
>already carrying a lot of mythological themes and symbols which would have
>been
>familiar to the *pagans*, and vice versa?
>That aside, most answers to my original queries have also gone to the list,
>where you will all have seen them, but someone off-list also mentioned the
>importance of the ascribed medicinal/healing properties of springs, and
>someone else wondered about the utilization of brine springs versus
>freshwater springs. As this (saltwater springs) is not a feature I am
>familiar with from my home country, I wondered if anyone knows of examples
>of such springs being regarded as holy as well, or was their importance
>purely *financial*? I assume they didn't make very good drinking water, so
>at least that function could be disregarded in their case.
>
>Ingegerd
>
>
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