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{73}
In the wine-producing regions of Germany Martinmas was the day for the
first drinking of the new wine, and the feasting in general on his day
gave the saint the reputation of a guzzler and a glutton; it even became
customary to speak of a person who had squandered his substance in
riotous living as a _Martinsmann_.{74} As we have seen survivals of
sacrifice in the Martinmas slaughter, so we may regard the _Martinsminne_
or toast as originating in a sacrifice of liquor.{75} In the Boehmerwald
it is believed that wine taken at Martinmas brings strength and beauty,
and the lads and girls gather in the inns to drink, while a common German
proverb runs:--
"Heb an Martini,
Trink Wein per circulum anni."[91]{76}
Here, by the way, is a faint suggestion that Martinmas is regarded as the
beginning of the year; as such it certainly appears in a number of legal
customs, English, French, and German, which existed in the Middle Ages
and in some cases in quite recent times. It was often at Martinmas that
leases ended, rents had to be paid, and farm-servants changed their
places.{77}
There is a survival, perhaps, of a cereal sacrifice or sacrament in the
so-called "Martin's horns," horseshoe pastries given at Martinmas in many
parts of Germany.


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