This medical charm was designed to reduce then get rid of wens, the Old English word for skin blemishes or cysts. Scholars agree as to the specific, or intended, aim of this charm but many believe that the dwarf in this instance might represent a disease involving a fever. Twelve “metrical charms" survived in the 10th to 11th century Old English collection of medical texts known as Lacnunga, they are:Īlso known as "For Unfruitful Land," this charm was designed to "heal" lands that have yielded poorly. The Nine Herbs Charm mentions both the Germanic god Woden and Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity. These nine "metrical charms” are a great resource of information about medieval medical theory and practice, religious and superstitious beliefs and how people understood sickness and health. Only last week I published an article on Ancient Origins about alchemical spagyrically enhanced medicines, which were regarded as being ”spiritually enhanced medicines.” In pre-alchemic England, however, we learn in The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Medieval Period, of a specific set of charms known as “Anglo-Saxon metrical charms.” These magically written instructions for “resolving situations and most often diseases” usually required the brewing of a potion, writing magic words or symbols on an object and repeating a certain set of words or incantations. Magic of the Ancients: Five Incredible Texts of Spells, Curses, and Incantationsġ0th century German manuscript with the Merseburg Incantations.The Ancient Art of Magic, Curses, and Supernatural Spells.Femme Fatale: Seduced by the Ancient Sex Crafts of History’s Most Alluring Women. More well-known are the " Nine Herbs Charms," which we will explore now. In northern Europe surviving examples of charms include the famous “Merseburg Incantations,” two medieval magic spells written in Old High German which were discovered in 1841 by Georg Waitz who found them in a 10th century manuscript. In ancient Egyptian culture, a number of references to magic spells exist, in particular the embalming and interring process of dead bodies involved the use of many documented spells, as listed in The Book of the Dead. Enchantments, on the other hand, also describe spells that deceive people, either by affecting their thoughts or with illusions, for example, enchantresses are frequently depicted in myths seducing farm boys and knights with magic words and songs convincing people that they had undergone some kind of magical transformation. In folklore, fairy tales, medieval literature and modern fantasy-fiction, and in most systems of magic, occultism, shamanism, and witchcraft, an incantation is specifically when a spell is “cast” or “bound” to a specific person, object or location, and generally alters its qualities. The English term was "galdr" (“spell”) which evolved into the terms "enchanter" and "enchantress", for those who used incantations to enchant. The 1997 Encyclopedia of Fantasy tells us that the term “incantation” appeared in English around 1300 AD and derives from the Latin word "incantare" meaning "to chant (a magical spell) upon," from in- "into, upon" and cantare "to sing”. In Norse mythology, using a magical incantation, ”Wodan Heals Balder's Horse" (1905) by Emil Doepler. This article looks at the ancient records of the northern nations of Scotland and England and features a selection of the most famous incantations from these magical Celtic Kingdoms where the spoken word and oral traditions were akin to community glue. Since men and woman have been capable of making vocal sounds, incantations have been floated on airwaves by enchanters, who whispering charms, spells in rituals, hymns and prayers, invoked curses, raised protection deities and summoned demons.
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