Oh, although the winter may be cold
the days short and the nights long
a bold summer is approaching
who from this misery will soon free us;
that much is clear from the new year!
Hadewijch* circa 1250
These few words from the medieval mystic Hadewijch sketch a picture
present in every old culture and mythology: the cycle of life where death and birth
follow one another. Depicted in every year's succession of seasons, from winter to spring, from summer to autumn.
Just as in the old Greek myth of Persephone, the daughter of earth mother Demetra; Every winter Persephone spends her days in the underworld and nature appears in marasmus. Every spring she ascends to the outer realms and earth mother is in bloom.
So justly expressed in the following instrumental track from the French band
Year of No Light:
* = Hadewijch was a female poet who lived in Brabant during 13th century AD. Her legacy is a collection of poems and writings crimsoned with love mysticism. An obscure figure, and for that even more appreciated. The translation of the small verse in the beginning of this post was kindly provided by Kor Bosch.
