The in 1960 appeared work "Gooise legenden" from Henk de Weerd (uitgeverij C. de Boer jr., Hilversum) is a collection of 23 stories, some short tales and descriptions of domestic remedies.
Some of this stories have a heathen background.
Much of the information used by the writer in creating this book, was provided by a certain miss C. Elze-van Staveren, "daughter of a real Erfgooier" ("Yard-trower").
She on her turn learned a lot of knowledge from her father, and a wandering shepherd who was known as "Old Roel".
Some interesting stories from the book shall be briefly described here.
The story "Willebrordus' arrival" tells how the inhabitants of Nardinckland (the old name of the Gooi) abandoned their old gods and converted to Christianity.
"In their village (Laren) they cut down huge trees which were dedicated to Freia and Thor.
Their wood was used for the construction of their first church.
On the sacrificial hill, where the seven deadroads came together, they destroyed the earlier altars of which the heavy granite coverstones had to serve as an altartable for the new Godhouse."
"The other day the villagers went in complete order to the sand dunes around the village, until they reached Nerdinck, where the trees of Hertha stood and where lawsuits had always been held.
With great cheering the lime-trees were cut down and burned!"
Nerdinck is the old name for the city of Naarden.
It is derived from Ner/Nerthus (also known as Hertha, the Germanic goddess of the fertility of the Earth) - thinc (or dinc, the old Dutch word for lawsuit and court (modern Dutch="geding" and "gerecht")), thus the courtplace of Ner.
"The punishment of the One-eyed" situated in the city of Huizen, and tells about the revenge Wodan and one of his sons take for the disgraceful way in which an inn-keeper had treated his elderly father.
The son of Wodan has a red beard.
The writer concludes that this is Braga (also known as Bragi, god of poetry), but it can not be ruled out that he is Donar.
After having humiliated him for a long time, the inn-keeper chases his fater out of the inn into the cold.
The old homeless man prefers to die in the snow instead of burdening others with his problems, and looks for the lonelyness of the moor.
Suddenly two horsemen approached him.
One of them missed an eye, the other had a dark-red beard.
The riders are looking for an inn and ask the old man to lead them there.
The three men arrive at the inn of the son, who treats the horsemen with the greatest respect, but as always treats his father with contempt.
This displeases the riders and the one-eyed becomes angry with the innkeeper.
He swears that he never mistreated his father and that he would otherwise die this night.
"In the morning the selfish innkeeper and his relentless wife were found dead in their bed.
Nobody cried, except the old bended father.
Friendly people took him under their roof.
This comforted him.
A few days later the scared villagers saw how the inn went up in flames.
Nobody dared to approach, because two strange, broad-shouldered men were blocking the entrance to the fiercely burning building."
(Note from Ansuharijaz: between Huizen and Blaricum near the Huizerhoogt is de Woensberg, (Wodansberg) a hill that may have once been dedicated to the god Wodan.)
The story "Hille for the sum" tells about a daughter named Hille who is gambled away ("for the sum") by her gambling-addicted father.
Just like the old man in the last story she leaves the village, and she also meets the two gods Wodan and Braga.
When Hille complains about the way her father treated her Wodan becomes furious, and curses the city of Laren:
"Thèn Wodan spoke, while his voice trembled in anger:
"A curse over you, Laer!
Curse over you, disastrous village, which barters and sells its own children!
Never will you reach wealth and adulthood.
Your wings will be paralysed.
For my blessing shall rest on another village, which has yet to be built, a village which will be named "Hille-voor-de-som" (Hille-for-the-sum), named after the exclamation of he, who brought disgrace over his only daughter!
Thàt village will mature, yes the biggest and wealthiest of Nardinckland."
After the curse of Wodan, Braga speaks:
"Poor Laer... poor Laer... I can't stop the curse of the mighty Wodan, my father.
But thìs grants you Braga, the god of singers and fairy tale-speakers: in your houses will once live big artists... Só shall it be!"
Hille is taken care of by Hilfert ("Helper"), a young and strong farmer.
They married and got many offspring.
Around their farm grew the later city of Hilversum.
The name is also explained as "Hilfert's heim" (Hilfert's home).
The stories "The work of Ner and Wer" and "The revenge of Aegir" are actually connected.
The first one is about the friendly Giants Ner en Wer who use their strenght to found cities and villages in Nardinckland.
Ner is here equalled to the goddess of the fertility of the Earth: Nerthus.
Just like some other mythological primaeval beings Nerthus could be hermaphroditus, or a divine couple.
To celebrate the completion of their last city of Naarden (besides a corruption of Nerwer also explainable as Ner Ding (Ner's þing/court), see "Willebrordus arrival") they held a big party.
However, they had forgotten to invite Aegir, the god of the sea.
As described in "The revenge of Aegir" he revenges this injustice:
"In wild joy he jumped the damaged dikes.
And hungry he devoured what was left of the defenceless city.
Only when the whole of Naarden had disappeared beneath the waves - only when the heavy churchbells had been salvaged as a rich loot in the deep waterpalace, was Aegir's revenge satisfied!"
At Joel (Jól) every year he celebrates his victory by sounding the clocks.
Although the story "The blossoming lime-tree" has a Christian leaning and is thus not interesting to describe here, it is noteworthy that a hill in Hilversum is named where once stood three high trees that were dedicated to Frigga.
Under this trees lawsuits used to be held in earlier times.
On that spot near the 's Gravelandse weg (a road in the city of Hilversum) is now a village, named "Lindenheuvel" (Lime-tree-hill).
In the story "The cow on the tower" is told how a church was built on a heathen sanctuary.
This story also has a Christian character, and thus I shall not go further into it.
"The singing mermaid" is the last one, which is about a mermaid who is caught by two fishermen from the city of Muiden.
Mermaids and -men are the children of Aegir and Ran.
They may not be seen by human eyes, or hear bells ring, because they otherwise get a soul and become unhappy and mortal.
This fate happened to the captured mermaid.
She was held captive, because the people thought that it would attract many people who wanted to see her.
From the sea a messenger of Aegir and Ran saw what happened on the land, and informed them.
Out of anger they created a terrible hurricane, which lasted for days.
The inhabitants of Muiden finally made the connection between the storm and the mermaid, and decided to throw her back into the harbour.
After this the hurricane stopped.
To revenge herself for her fate the mermaid came back to the surface once again and sang:
"Muden sal Muden bliven,
Muden sal noit becliven.
Een grooter wasdom blift alleen
An Y en Amstelstadt verpand."
"Muiden shall stay Muiden,
Muiden shall never grow.
A bigger growth shall only be granted
To the river Y and Amstel-city." (Amsterdam)
In the city-weapon of Muiden are a mermaid and merman, who refer to this history.
