The Charm of the Road

The Havamal is part of the Poetic Edda, an important source for Norse mythology. In it is found the story of the 18 charms or spells that Odin learned during his period of suffering. These charms were constructed in a magical way, and the knowledge of them were fundamental to the cult of Odin.

As time passed and Christianity began to reinterpret and rename the ancient pagan customs, people no longer called to mind the old ways, but if Odin were able to walk about the world in our times, he might recognized many pagan symbols for what they were.

Odin's 18 Charms

JJ Hissey published The Open Road in 1910. It is a travelogue of one of Hissey's motorcar trips as he visited many historic sites in England and Wales.

The places Hissey visits tell the reader a lot about sites of historic or asthetic value in his time. These sites were very old in 1910. Many people may not remember them now or think about their connection to an older way of life before Hissey's time.

Front Cover

The design accompanying the text is more or less triangular.

Notice the symbol in the middle.

The spine of the book The Open Road by James John Hissey

The picture on the spine has two or three birds flying and what appears to be a wooden cross-like configuration, maybe located at a crossroads, three things, no four.

You could imagine that it is a directional sign, although there is no writing on it. The "legs" of the sign are a tripod. There are four directional "arms".

Gibbeting

One of the places Hissey visited was Iron Acton Church in South Gloucestershire, England. There he describes a "well preserved preaching cross". He also includes a black and white photograph and says:

"From this it will be seen that it has lost its cross on the top, and that much of its carved ornaments are gone" (Hisssey, 321).

He had previously noted that:

"I have only seen such a thing once before, and that is in the ruins of the Black Friars' monastery in Hereford (Hissey, 321).

"Decayed Preaching-Cross In Iron Acton Churchyard"

It has lost its cross and much of its charm.

A Wikipedia article mentions the preaching cross:

"19th-century engraving of Parish church of St James the less. The preaching cross, of which then only the base survived, erected by Sir Robert Poyntz, is shown in the churchyard, centre."

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Acton)

This same Wikipedia article also shows the coat of arms of the Poyntz family "...shown on a field of oak leaves, a reference to the etymology of the ancient settlement of Acton ("Oak-town")".

The oak tree was sacred to the Druids, the pre-Christian rivals. It may only be an accidental gesture, but the charm of the cross has somehow been knocked off the top.

Reprinted editions of The Charm of the Road can be purchased online. Referring to the 1910 edition, an excerpt is included that explains the secret of Dick Whittington's cat:

"1910 edition. Excerpt: ...in the middle of the fourteenth century, and was the son of a knight of good property. He went to London not as a poor boy, but provided with funds, to learn to be a merchant, and his renowned cat was his ship, cat being the name then given to a small timber craft with which Whittington made his first venture in trading."

(http://www.amazon.com/The-charm-road-England-Wales/dp/1236645952)

Riders to The Sea, Biblical Implications

Wordshed