Note 24 — Chapter X · The Mother-goddess of China and Japan

Various versions of the Man in the Moon myth are given by S. Baring-Gould,24 who draws attention to a curious seal “appended to a deed preserved in the Record office, dated the 9th year of Edward the Third (1335)”. It shows the “Man in the Moon” carrying his sticks and accompanied by his dog. Two stars are added. The inscription on the seal is, “Te Waltere docebo cur spinas phebo gero (I will teach thee, Walter, why I carry thorns in the moon)”. The deed is one of conveyance of property from a man whose Christian name was Walter.