Francine
Nothing wrong with your subjunctival surmise.
It reads well. In the absence of anything concrete
I agree that that is how the matter will have to stand.
However, I am still hoping for some evidence. The
most interesting links suggested so far have been by:
1. Robert Graves in The White Goddess:
i.e. *The ancient Irish are said to have
used a compound of yew-berry etc *
Unfortunately no date, no source.
and
2. Giraldus Cambrensis:
who *notes the existence of yews in Irish cemeteries in the
12th century.*
Useful but long post-dating the Danes or Teutons.
So we have no evidenced answer yet to Paul Spice's
question: *Were there yews in churchyards before
1000/1100?*
Notice that he is not limiting the question to British churchyards.
Any contribution would be welcome.
Ron Hornsby
Burton upon Stather
----- Original Message -----
From: Francine Nicholson <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, October 01, 1999 01:53
Subject: RE: Yew trees in Denmark
> > From: Ron Hornsby [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Thursday, September 30, 1999 8:35 PM
> > To: medieval-religion
> > Subject: Yew trees in Denmark
> >
> > People
> >
> > Regarding the religious roots of yew trees in English
> > churchyards we have been left hanging just when it was
> > getting really interesting. We have reached an impasse
> > on the question of whether Danish priests could have
> > brought over the yew. However, we have learned that yews
> > grow in southern but not northern Norway. By implication
> > then they grow in Denmark being further south.
> >
> Tell me if I missed something, but if yews were widespread in Irish
> and British areas before the arrival of the Danes, and they were
associated
> with burial places long before the Danes arrived, and Christian priests
> tended to take over Christian sites and turn them into the sites of
churches
> and churchyards--why is it not more likely that the yews were in
churchyards
> long before the Danes arrived?
>
> Francine Nicholson
>
>
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