Another example of Northamptonshire folk-lore which points to Wendish influence is that concerning Bogie. This name in reference to a ghost is common, but in this county the word was used in a somewhat more personal sense. ‘He caps Bogie’ was a proverbial expression, often amplified to ‘He caps Bogie, Bogie caps Redcap, and Redcap caps Nick.’[1] Boge is the Wendish equivalent for a god, and the word is common in Slavonic languages for a deity. Northamptonshire being within the later Danelaw, the old dialect, in common with that of the East Midland counties, points to a Danish influence. In these counties the Southern expressions ‘I be,’ ‘we be,’ etc., are not heard; but ‘I are’ for ‘I am,’ analogous to the Danish jeg er, is not uncommon. Sternberg says that ‘he are’ for ‘he is,’ analogous to the Danish han er, was used in north and east Northamptonshire.[2] When Sternberg wrote, the legend of the Wild Hunt had not quite died out in this county. In Pomerania and Mecklenburg, Wode (Woden) is said to be out hunting[3] when stormy winds blow through the woods, and formerly the wild huntsman was heard along the gloomy avenues of Whittlebury Forest.[4]
As mentioned in a previous chapter, the county of Buckingham shows traces of settlements by Northmen, Danes, and their allies, including Wends, in various parts of it. One of the historical facts bearing on this settlement is the Wendish connection of Cnut.[5] He was King of Vindland, as well as of Denmark, and Vindland was the name of Mecklenburg and Pomerania in the Old Norræna language. In the early part of the eleventh century, consequently, when England had a King who was also King of the Wends, it is certain that a considerable immigration of Danes and
