L.
Frisch, it is shown to belong to the family of words which signify a _heap_
or _hilly protuberance_.
We should have been prepared to find the word in East Anglia; but from
Herrick's use of it, and others, it must have formerly been prevalent in
the West of England also. It has nothing to do with _Hock-tide_, which is
the _Hoch-zeit_ of the Germans, and is merely [Transcriber's note:
illegible] _feast_ or _highday_ of which a very satisfactory account
will be found in Mr. Hampson's "Glossary" annexed to his _Medii Aevi
Kalendarium_. An interesting account of the _Hoch-zeit_ of the Germans
of Lower Saxony occurs where we should little expect it, in the
_Sprichwoerter_ of Master Egenolf, printed at Francfort in 1548, 4to.;
and may perhaps serve to illustrate some of our obsolete rural customs:--
"We Germans keep carnival (all the time between Epiphany and
Ash-Wednesday) St. Bernard's and St. Martin's days, Whitsuntide
and Easter, as times, above all other periods of the year, when
we should eat, drink, and be merry. St. Burchard's day, on account
of the fermentation of the new must. St. Martin's, probably on
account of the fermentation of the new wine: then we roast fat
geese, and all the world enjoy themselves.
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