THE COMPANIONAGE.
244
A
Even their* roj'al palaces were
strong iron holdfast is called a Dent de Louvc, a wolf's tooth.
The ancient palace of the Louvre in Paris
called Litpara, wolves' lairs, and later Louvres}
still retains the name.
And within the present century a festival strongly suggesting the
was annually held
Lupercalia,
The hero was
at Jumieges.
elected
by
Companions, and
his
On
the morning of the 23d of June, the eve of St John the
At a certain
Baptist, he was conducted round the place in procession, attended mass, etc.
moment he gave, by running a-muck and striking every one with his fists, a signal for the
called the Loupvert, green wolf.
commencement
maidens joined in the
a banquet.^
Young men and
of coarse amusements, in which all the troop took part.
If this
revels,
which continued throughout the ensuing day, and ended with
of the Lupercalia, the transposition of its date from the
was a survival
feast of St Valentine to that of St
John
is
curious and perhaps significant.
also
Migne^
mentions the games of Saint Loup as amongst the most important and ancient of France.
Saint Loup was a Burgundian saint and bishop of Sens, and took the part of the Burgundians
Clavel and Heckethorn both derive the name of
against Clothair in the seventh century.*
"
In the mysteries of Isis the candidate
wolf from the mysteries of Isis. Heckethorn says
Hence a wolf and a candidate in these
was made to wear the mask of a wolf's head.
:
'
mysteries were synonymous. Macrobius, in his Saturnalia,' says that the ancients perceived
a relationship between the sun, the great symbol of these mysteries, and a wolf, for, as the
and
flocks of sheep
cattle disperse at the sight of the wolf, so the flocks of stars disappear
And
at the approach of the sun's light.
There
is
"
is
a family of fellow crafts that
a far cry
"
derive their
means both the sun and a
name from
that idea."
^
But
wolf.
as
it
The name alone of the
something nearer home may content us.
but we are met with the fact that no mention of masks is found
suggestive,
to Egypt,
is
Lupercal games
connected therewith.
A French writer has, however,
in the following words
naked
in Greek, Ai'kos
still
"
:
endeavoured to get over this circumstance
is to be seen on a chalcedony in the collection of Stosch, a
with a sort of large girdle of the skin of some animal around his
There
figure, erect, clothed
a robust man, who having a thyrsus reclining against his shoulder, is in the act of using
hands to put on a mask. The figure doubtless represents one of the Luperci, or priests of
both
The rites of the festivals of Pan did not differ much
Pan, who ran naked in the streets, etc.
loins
;
from those of Bacchus
were
;
these were celebrated
perhaps also distinguished
by
by plays
in the theatre
the festivals of Pan
;
mask would
spectacular performances, to M'hich the
allude.
we do not
read th