FROM GODDESS TO KING
A History of Ancient Europe from the
OERA LINDA BOOK
By Anthony Radford
CHAPTER 5
FASTA, THE FIRST EARTH MOTHER
| The Temple of Vesta in Rome |
Fasta became the first of a very long line of earth mothers in the twenty-second century BC. She established the rules for the Matriarchal Age, how society would be organized and defended in the post-deluvial organization of Europe. Each district was to build a citadel in its principal town, housing the maidens that would protect the "constitution" of the nation by preserving and expanding the art of writing. They were home to the `seven virgins of the week’ who would also maintain the sacred lamp, lit from the one at Texland. This lamp became a symbol of legitimacy and power that featured prominently in the struggles with the Magy, the leader of the people of Finda, the mother of the yellow race, or that group of them that was forever moving westward. This tells us that they counted the week as seven days.
Fasta established the observance of a weekly day of worship to celebrate Frya and cautioned against working on that day. "Frya" or the Norse spelling "Frigg" has given us "Friday" and it is supposed that this became the day of rest although rest was not necessarily intended. There is reference to the seventh day being Sunday because the sun was symbolic of Wr-Alda, their term for God. In any case Sunday has become the "Lord’s Day"; probably because the early Christians found it easier to adopt existing customs than trying to change them. Throughout the Book their is constant reference to the number seven from the `Seven Islands of Frya’ to the `Seven Virgins of...’ making it a special number for them and even today seven has a charm about it.
Fasta also instigated the custom of inscribing the new laws on the walls of the citadels, thus making them permanent laws. The following passage was taken from the walls at a much later date in the sixth century BC and represents the words of Fasta. Note how a system of electing officials and choosing or voting for, not so much representatives, but task performers is instituted. These people did not have slaves and public tasks still had to be done. Trade by sea was considered more important and a more honorable profession than working the land even though what they traded in, originated as a direct result of working the local land. Remember that these laws date from the twenty-second century BC.
This Has Fasta Spoken:
All the regulations which have existed a century, that is, a hundred years, may by the advice of the Earth Mother, with the consent of the community, be inscribed upon the walls of the citadel, and when inscribed on the walls they become laws, and it is our duty to respect them all. If by force or necessity any regulations should be imposed upon us at variance with our laws and customs, we must always return to our own again. That is Frya’s will, and must be that of all her children.
Fasta said, "Anything that any man commences, whatever it may be, on the day appointed for Frya’s worship shall eternally fail," for time has proved that she was right; and it is become a law that no man shall, except from absolute necessity, keep that day otherwise than as a joyful feast.
Following that description of the mechanics of the Executive, Supreme Court and Constitutional Law for local and national government we have a section entitled "Universal Law" in which social rights concerning marriage, property, and the market are spelled out. These sections have been reproduced in full in the Appendix. The land was to be held in common with private use for each family during their lifetime only. Normally these rights could not be made hereditary. There was common ground for grazing and wood-cutting but any ostentatious show of private property usage was frowned upon. The community was encouraged to help one another in providing a house for a newly married couple for example, just as such cooperation was part of our own pioneering days.
The market provided tax revenue but the moneylenders and vendors with poor quality merchandise were to be expelled on discovery. The system is effectively the same today but we do it with inheritance taxes, zoning regulations, building permits and disability disbursements. Nobody owns their land today anymore than they did then. Only the intervening two thousand years of privatization based on might as right can be called free-held, a meaning that is now very different from that meant by the application of Fasta’s laws. She meant to develop a sense of obligation to one’s community instead of the booty of individualism that followed.
Fasta’s laws over the next few earth mothers grew to be the code of Europe and were inscribed on every citadel. The final grouping of this section follows but has a curious introduction because the homeland of the Finda people is also called Aldland . We are told that the seafarers shortened the word "ald" to "at" meaning of course "old", so that it is not unreasonable for each mobile group to have a homeland. Among the Pacific Islanders, the name Hawaiki refers to the old land for many different islands. It has made the work of historical anthropologists more difficult.
This section was instituted as a war manual for the defense of the country. There are strict rules to prevent a king from succeeding himself or his children from doing so. A king could not bear arms although he was the general of a campaign. His contribution was to be his wisdom in council, not his personal skill at arms. This meaning of the word "king" is so different from what it subsequently became at the end of the Age of Aries XE " Age of Aries" when hereditary offices became the norm that it shows the fears they had even at that time. The fact that they were able to hang on to a remnant of these precautions for nearly two thousand years is remarkable. Even today subjects like nepotism and venality have a strong negative connotation for the free world but, in ancient times, that did not stop them from practicing propaganda even though they feared its influence on their own community. It is not explicitly stated here but these sentiments became identified with racial discrimination based on hair color although they were not above teaching representatives of their enemies the advantages of their own society as they perceived them.
In early times almost all the Finns lived together in their native land, which was called Aldland, and is now submerged. They were thus far away, and we had no wars. When they were driven here, and appeared as robbers, then arose the necessity of defending ourselves, and we had armies, kings and wars.
For all this there were established regulations, and out of the regulations came fixed laws.
Here Follow The Laws Which Were Thus Established:
Every Frisian must resist the assailants with such weapons as he can procure, invent, and use.
When a boy is twelve years old he must devote one day in seven to learning how to use his weapons.
As soon as he is perfect in the use of them they are to be given to him, and he is to be admitted as a warrior.
After serving as a warrior three years, he may become a citizen, and may have a vote in the election of the headman.
When he has been seven years as a voter then he may have a vote for the chief or king, and may be himself elected.
Every year he must be re-elected.
Except the king, all other officials are re-eligible who act according to Frya’s laws.
No king may be in office more than three years, in order that the office may not be permanent.
After an interval of seven years he may be elected again.
If the king is killed by the enemy, his nearest relative may be a candidate to succeed him.
If he dies a natural death, or if his period of service has expired, he shall not be succeeded by any blood relation nearer than the fourth degree.
Those who fight with arms are not men of counsel, therefore no king must bear arms. His wisdom must be his weapon, and the love of his warriors his shield.
These Are The Rights of the Mothers and the Kings:
If war breaks out, the Mother sends her messengers to the king, who sends messengers to the Grevetmen to call the citizens to arms.
The Grevetmen call all the citizens together and decide how many men shall be sent.
All the resolutions must immediately be sent to the Mother by messengers and witnesses.
The Mother considers all the resolutions and decides upon them, and with this the king as well as the people must be satisfied.
When in the field, the king consults only his superior officers, but three citizens of the mother must be present, without any voice. These citizens must send daily reports to the Mother, that they may be sure nothing is done contrary to the counsels of Frya.
If the king wishes to do anything which his council opposed, he may not persist in it.
If an enemy appears unexpectedly, then the king’s orders must be obeyed.
If the king is not present, the next to him takes command, and so on in succession according to rank.
If there is no leader present, one must be chosen.
If there is no time to choose, any one may come forward who feels himself capable of leading.
If a king has conquered a dangerous enemy, his successors may take his name after their own. The king may, if he wishes, choose an open piece of ground for a house and ground; the ground shall be seven hundred steps to the boundary in all directions from the house.
His youngest son may inherit this, and that son’s youngest son after him; then it shall return to the community.
Here Are The Rules Established For The Security of all Frisians:
Whenever new laws are made or new regulations established, they must be for the common good, and not for individual advantage.
Whenever in time of war either ship or houses are destroyed, either by the enemy or as a matter of precautions, a general levy shall be assessed on the people to make it good again, so that no one may neglect the general welfare to preserve his own interest.
At the conclusion of a war, if any men are so severely wounded as to be unable to work, they shall be maintained at the public expense, and shall have the best seats at festivals, in order that the young may learn to honor them.
If there are widows and orphans, they shall likewise be maintained at the public expense; and the sons may inscribe the names of their fathers on their shields for the honor of their families.
If any who have been taken prisoners should return, they must be kept separate from the camp, because they may have obtained their liberty by making treacherous promises, and thus they may avoid keeping their promises without forfeiting their honor.
If any enemies be taken prisoners, they must be sent to the interior of the country, that they may learn our free customs.
If they are afterwards set free, it must be done with kindness by the maidens, in order that we may make them comrades and friends, instead of haters and enemies.
The following section was copied from the walls in the sixth century BC. It tells of Fasta about 2140 BC on the occasion of opening a new citadel at Medesblik by lighting the lamp, during which Frya XE " Frya" spoke to Fasta and the tradition of recording their history was begun.
The Earth Mother lived in Texland at Fryasburgt where Fasta XE " Fasta", the first of her line, originally built her citadel of stone; subsequent citadels were mostly built of wood. Only the tiny island namesake of Texel remains today, the southern most of the Frisian Islands and the Fly river; was it the northern mouth of the Rhine in those times as they do mention `the southern mouth of the Rhine’? The modern Vlie River is not a major river but it does have namesakes in the towns of Flyessen and Vlieland. Modern Holland has changed its coastline much even without the events of cataclysmic earthquakes. It is unlikely any stone works built on mud would have survived but if they did then they would have been used for subsequent constructions.
We are given a description of these works around a citadel when the book gets to Apollonia, a burgtmaid after the last Earth Mother but for now here is told a story that was 1500 years old at the time it was put into the book.
This was inscribed upon the walls of Fryasburgt in Texland as well as at Stavia and Medesblik:
It was Frya’s day, and seven times seven years had elapsed since Fasta was appointed Earth Mother by the desire of Frya. The citadel of Medesblik was ready, and a Burgtmaid was chosen. Fasta was about to light her new lamp, and when she had done so in the presence of all the people, Frya called from her watch-star, so that every one could hear it: "Fasta, take your style and write the things, that I may not speak." Fasta did as she was bid and thus we became Frya’s children, and our earliest history began.
The following tale is an example of the attitude instilled in their communities to cooperate and share. It was not compulsory to be a communal citizen as at that time of low population, open lands and forest anyone could set himself up away from the rest. Some must have done so because we have children’s stories of individuals living in the forest, often scary ones but the teaching was that Wr-Alda would not help you if you turn your back on your neighbor.
The burgtmaidens acted as social and religious councilors as well as legal arbitrators. They recognized that a trained woman could use her special aptitudes, that may be more valuable than those of a man, to serve the various communities even as they recognized a man’s special abilities for such callings such as defense and commerce.
This is Written on Parchment - (Skrivfilt"), Speech and Answer to Other Maidens as an Example:
An unsociable, avaricious man came to complain to Troost, who was the Maiden of Stavia. He said that a thunderstorm had destroyed his house. He had prayed to Wr-Alda, but Wr-Alda had given him no help.
"Are you a true Frisian?" Troost asked.
"From father to forefather." replied the man.
Then she said, "I will sow something in your conscience, in confidence that it will take root, grow, and bear fruit."
She continued, "When Frya was born, our mother stood naked and bare, unprotected from the rays of the sun. She could ask no one, and there was no one who could give her any help. Then Wr-Alda wrought in her conscience inclination and love, anxiety and fright. She looked around her, and her inclination chose the best. She sought a hiding place under the sheltering lime trees, but the rain came, and the difficulty was that she got wet. She had seen how the water ran down the pendant leaves; so she made a roof of leaves fastened with sticks, but the wind blew the rain under it. She observed that the stem would afford protection. She then built a wall of sods, first on one side, and then all round. The wind grew stronger and blew away the roof, but she made no complaint upon it. Having found how hard it is to toil alone, she showed her children how and why she had done it. They acted and thought as she did. This is the way in which we became possessed of houses and porches, a street, and lime trees to protect us from the rays of the sun. At last we have built a citadel, and all the rest. If your house is not strong enough, then you must try and make another."
"My house was strong enough," he said, "but the flood and the wind destroyed it."
"Where did your house stand?" Troost asked.
"On the bank of the Rhine." he answered.
"Did it not stand on a knoll?" Troost asked.
"No," said the man, "my house stood alone on the bank. I built it alone, but I could not alone make a hillock."
"I knew it," Troost answered, "the maidens told me. All your life you have avoided your neighbors, fearing that you might have to give or do something for them; but one cannot get on in the world in that way, for Wr-Alda, who is kind, turns away from the niggardly. Fasta has advised us, and it is engraved in stone all over the doors. If you are selfish, distrustful towards your neighbors, teach your neighbors, help your neighbors, and they will return the same to you. If this advice is not good enough for you, I can give you no better." The man blushed for shame, and slunk away.