ASHIEPATTLE: OR HANS SEEKS HIS LUCK 57 



every kin -alderman or clan-father has developed into 

 one. Smaakonge are to be found in every valley, 

 and to cross the belt of forest which separates one 

 Genossenschaft from a second is to enter a new 

 kingdom. 1 



The mother-goddess is still of great influence, but 

 her cult is being undermined ; and her priestess, the 

 Hexe or witch, is coming to possess an ill more fre- 

 quently than a good name. The power to dispose of 

 the women, and of the inheritance which goes with 

 them, is used by the king as a means of obtaining 

 outside assistance in times of danger. Such internal 

 troubles are almost invariably used by the Hexen 

 to further their own ends, or to assist their own 

 favourites. 



(c) A purely patriarchal period, in which descent 

 through the male line has been finally established. The 

 mother -goddess has become a mere legendary being 

 who haunts wells or woods ; the Hexen and the old 

 sex -festivals have obtained a very evil repute. We 

 have reached a time in which sagas and hero-stories 

 replace Mdrclien, and women are of small import in the 

 management of the commune. 



If we wish to ascertain in which of these periods a 

 Mdrchen has arisen, we can apply three tests, one or 

 other of which will usually suffice : 



(i.) What is the general weight given to the opinion 

 and advice of women ? 



(ii.) Is the Hexe friendly or hostile to men ? 



1 A king will often possess several kingdoms. Thus in Die vier kunstreichen 

 Briider a king gives away four half-kingdoms, and presumably still retains some 

 for himself and for his daughter. 



