Grant that this farm be protected against any foe,
This land delivered from every evil curse, 65
From spells and seed-poisons sown by witches.
Now I pray to the Lord, who created this land,
Who shaped this world, that no unholy, conjuring
Witch-woman and no devious, crafty witch-man
May have the power to unmake these mighty words, 70
Unseal this song, undo this charm.
Then let the plow be driven out and the first furrow cut, and say:
Hail, blessed earth, mother of men—
Be whole and hearty, fertile and fulfilling.
Grow bountiful and flourish in God’s embrace, 75
Bearing fruit and grain for the benefit of men.
Then take each kind of flour and have a loaf baked into bread about the size of the inside of your hand, knead it with milk and holy water, and lay it under the first furrow, saying:
Field full of food for all of mankind, 80
Brightly blooming, may you be blessed
In the holy name of the Lord, who created
Heaven and earth, sky and land,
The fields of the earth that we inhabit.
Our heavenly God, who shaped this ground, 85
Grant us abundance, the gift of growing,
Firm fruit and grain to feed and sustain us.
Then say three times, “Crescite, in nomine Patris sit benedicti” [Grow in the name of the Father and may you be blessed], and also “Amen” and the Pater Noster three times. 90
2. NINE HERBS CHARM
This is a charm that celebrates the powers of nine different herbs in curing a variety of illnesses and infections. According to Jolly, “These nine herbs were effective against various kinds of invisible, malicious ills, such as poison, worms, and ‘flying venoms,’ possibly airborne infections” (127). There is a potency in each plant that must be energized or brought to life by the magical words of the charmer. The exact herbs referred to in the OE text have been much debated. I have used the identifications made by Cameron (145–47). The sequence of lines in the middle section of the charm (lines 35–45 in the translation) is also much debated. I have followed the suggestions and readings of Gratton and Singer (153) and Storms (188–89), which are slightly different than those of Dobbie (1942, 119–20), in order to place the last two herbs together with the first seven before the Woden section. In the last section of the poem, Woden comes to the aid of the charmer with the nine herbs. Storms says, “He takes nine glory-twigs, by which are meant nine runes, that is nine twigs with the initial letters in runes of the plants representing the power inherent in them, and using them as weapons he smites the serpent with them” (195). The serpent probably represents both the danger of being bitten by a venomous snake and also various poisonous ills and infections. It might also represent general evil in a culturally melded conflict between Woden and the devil.
Nine Herbs Charm
Remember, Mugwort, what you meant to disclose,
What you revealed and established at Regenmeld.
You are Una, the one, the oldest of herbs,
With might against three and might against thirty,
Might against poison and might against infection, 5
Might against the loathsome who roam the land.
And you, powerful Plantain, mother of herbs,
Open from the east, so mighty within—
Over you have ridden chariots and queens,
Brides and children, carts and snorting bulls. 10
All of this hard stepping you have withstood,
Resisted and repelled. May you now withstand
Venom and infection, and all the wandering ills,
Those hateful ones who roam the land.
This herb is Lamb’s Cress—it grew on stone; 15
It withstands poison and pushes back pain.
It’s a valiant warrior against all venom,
Treats all toxins, braves all banes.
This is the herb that strove with the serpent,
Battled the worm; it has power against poison 20
And power against secret, slithering infections,
And power against the loathsome who roam the land.
And now, Attorlothe the venom-hater,
Attack these foes, the fiercer poisons,
As you are subtle, and the subtler poisons, 25
As you are strong, till you cure them both.
Remember, Chamomile, what you revealed
And what you accomplished at Alorford—
That no one’s life would end with infection
Or some unknown, evil, airborne illness, 30
If they had Chamomile or Mayweed as a meal.
This is the herb that is known as Nettle,
That the seal sent over the ridges of the sea
To heal the horror of other strong venoms.
It stands against pain and pushes back poison; 35
It has power against three and power against thirty,
Against the fiend’s fist or its sudden attack,
Against the wily witchcraft of evil creatures.
Then Crabapple and poison struggled so
That the venomous one had to leave the house. 40
Chervil and Fennel are two mighty herbs
Created by the Lord, holy and wise,
As he hung in heaven; he established each,
Set them up and sent them to the seven worlds
As a remedy and cure for the rich and poor. 45
These nine herbs have power against nine poisons.
A worm came crawling but killed nothing.
A serpent came stealing but stung no one.
Then Woden grabbed the nine glory-twigs
And struck the adder so it burst into nine pieces. 50
These nine herbs hold power over nine demons—
Against nine hell-fliers, nine dark spells,
Against nine poisons, against nine infections,
Against the red venom, against the reeking venom,
Against the white venom, against the purple venom, 55
Against the yellow venom, against the green venom,
Against the dark poison, against the blue poison,
Against the brown poison, against the crimson poison,
Against worm-blister, against water-blister,
Against thorn-blister, against thistle-blister, 60
Against ice-blister, against poison-blister—
Should any powerful poison, any vicious venom,
Come flying in from the east or the north,
From the west or the south, over the world of men.
Christ stood over all the old illnesses, 65
All the evil and malevolent creatures.
Now I alone know the running waters,
The healing streams where the nine adders
Are held watching for the nine herbs.
Let the herbs spring up from their roots, 70
Their roots spring up from the earth.
Let the saltwater seas relax and roll,
As I breathe and blow this poison out,
As I suck and spit this venom out.
Take mugwort and plantain which open to the east, along with lamb’s 75 cress, attorlothe, chamomile, nettle, crabapple, chevril, fennel, and old soap. Grind the herbs into powder, then mix them with the soap and the pulp of the apple. Make a paste of water and ashes. Take the fennel and boil it in the paste, and bathe it with an egg mixture when you apply it both before and after. Sing the charm over each of the herbs 80 three times before you prepare them and also over the apple; then sing the charm into the patient’s mouth, into both of his ears, and sing the same charm also on the wound before you apply the salve.
3. CHARM AGAINST A DWARF (FEVER)
This charm is probably meant for someone suffering from a disease with a high fever since such fevers are often associated with dwarves’ evil power in OE medical lite
rature. Cameron says that “dweorh has almost always been translated as ‘dwarf,’ which may be its primitive meaning, but there is ample evidence in other Old English medical texts that it also means ‘fever,’ apparently fever accompanied by delirium or convulsive seizures” (152). Gratton and Singer (163) explain that the seven names mentioned in the charm’s introduction are the Seven Sleepers of Epheus, Christians who fled from the Emperor Decius (249–51) and who hid in a cave, only to be walled up and left for dead. The tradition has it that many years later, when the Roman Empire had converted to Christianity, the cave was opened and the sleepers awoke. Storms notes that the Seven Sleepers are often used against fevers in the charms.
Charm Against a Dwarf (Fever)
Against a dwarf (fever), you should take seven little wafers like the ones used in the sacrament and write these names on each of the wafers: Maximianus, Malcus, Johannes, Martinianus, Dionysius, Constantinus, and Serafion. Then you must sing the charm mentioned below, first into the left ear, then into the right ear, then on top of the patient’s 5 head. Then let a maiden go up to the patient and hang this (the waferbag) around his neck. Do this for three days and then he will be well.
Here came a spider-creature crawling in;
His web was a harness held in his hand.
Stalking, he said that you were his steed. 10
Then he threw his net around your neck,
Reining you in. Then they both began
To rise from the land, spring from the earth.
As they leapt up, their limbs grew cool.
Then the spider-dwarf’s sister jumped in, 15
Ending it all by swearing these oaths:
No hurt should come to harm the sick,
No pain to the patient who receives this cure,
No harm to the one who sings this charm.
Amen. Let it be done. 20
4. CHARM FOR A SUDDEN STITCH
This is a charm against something called færstice, some sort of “sudden sharp, terrifying pain.” The word is found only in this charm. Cameron says that it is “probable that færstice meant any sudden pain anywhere in the body, such as a muscular cramp, a joint pain (which might be rheumatism), a ‘stitch in the side’ from overexertion or even an angina pain or lumbago” (141), and that “there is good evidence that many ailments which appear suddenly were once thought to be caused by elves or witches shooting arrows at the sufferer” (142). Jolly notes that the charm “invokes ancient stories of powerful heroes and spiritual battles, particularly the image of the militant Æsir, but portrays the pagan pantheon as malicious aggressors defeated by superior power” (140). The charm uses magical words to undo the power of those enemies who shoot pain-darts into the body of the sufferer. The reference to the blade at the end of the charm may mean that some sort of surgery was being performed while the charm was being chanted.
Charm for a Sudden Stitch
Boil feverfew and plantain and the red nettle that grows in the grain—boil in butter, saying:
Loud, they were loud, riding over the mound,
Fierce and resolute, riding over the land.
Find a shield for their evil and save yourself. 5
Get out, little spear, if you are in here.
I stood under linden, under a light-shield,
When the mighty women stole strength
And sent screaming spears against my skin.
I will send them back an answering spear, 10
An arrow flying back at their savage front.
Get out, little spear, if you are in here.
A smith sat shaping a little knife,
Forging a blade, a wounding iron.
Get out, little spear, if you are in here. 15
Six smiths sat, shaping slaughter-spears.
Get out, little spear. Don’t stay in here.
If there is any iron stitch in here,
The work of witches, let it melt in here.
If you were shot in skin or shot in flesh, 20
Or shot in blood or shot in bone,
Or shot in limb, may your life be unscathed.
If you were shot by Æsir or shot by elves,
Or shot by hags, I will help you now.
Take this for Æsir-shot, this for elf-shot, 25
This for hag-shot—this will help and heal.
Fly out, fly away, to the woods or hills.
Be whole, be healthy. May the Lord help you.
Take this knife now and wash it in water.
5. CHARM FOR LOSS OF PROPERTY OR CATTLE
This charm is meant to be spoken after one’s property has been stolen. Hollis says that this type of charm “consist[s] of instructions for a performance (involving words and actions), which are to be carried out by the owner of ceap (valuables, particularly livestock) as soon as a theft is known to have occurred” (144). Lines 8–16 have alternating lines of OE and Latin (the Latin lines are those in italics), and this may indicate that such charms “were developed and used by priests who ministered to the laity” (161).
Charm for Loss of Property or Cattle
When someone tells you that your cattle or goods are lost or stolen, then before you do anything else, you should say:
Bethlehem is the town where Christ was born—
Its name is known all over middle-earth;
So let this deed also be openly known 5
By the might of the holy cross of Christ.
Amen.
Then pray three times to the east and say three times:
Crux Christi ab oriente reducað
[Let the cross of Christ bring it back from the east]. 10
Then pray three times to the west and say three times:
Crux Christi ab occidente reducat
[Let the cross of Christ bring it back from the west].
Then pray three times to the south and say three times:
Crux Christi ab austro reducat 15
[Let the cross of Christ bring it back from the south].
Then pray three times to the north and say three times:
Crux Christi ab aquilone reducað;
Crux Christi abscondita est et inuenta est
[Let the cross of Christ bring it back from the north; 20
The cross of Christ was hidden and is found].
The Jews crucified Christ, the cruelest of crimes.
Then they hid what they could not conceal.
So may this deed be uncovered and made clear
Through the power of the holy cross of Christ. 25
Amen.
6. CHARM FOR BIRTHING DIFFICULTIES
This is a charm against a variety of birthing difficulties. It contains a number of symbolic actions intended to protect the mother from the forces that led to the death of a previous baby. Storms notes that “the woman’s stepping across the grave signifies that she is victorious, that she is stronger than death” (199). When she becomes pregnant again, she repeats the stepping-over gesture of power, this time over her husband in bed, who is hopefully the bringer of a new life and not another death. When she feels the child moving in her womb, the woman must go to church to thank Christ for the living child and invoke his power for sustaining the child. Then she must put away her fear and grief associated with the death of the former child by taking some dirt from the grave of that child, wrapping it in black wool, and selling it off. This symbolically rids her of the old evil. Then to ensure that she has sufficient milk for the child, she must sip milk from a cow of a single color (representing no mixed motives or forces?), spit it into running water, and drink from the stream. This magically ensures that her milk will flow as forcefully as the stream. Finally, she must celebrate the strength of the baby that will be nourished by her milk and affirm her desire to bear the baby successfully and take it home. When she returns from the stream, she must go to a house different from the one where she departed, representing a new kind of birth experience from the previous deadly one, and there she must enjoy a celebratory feast to
strengthen her body for the baby.
Charm for Birthing Difficulties
A woman who has trouble with birthing should go to a dead person’s grave and step over it three times and say three times:
Here is my help against the harmful late birth,
Here is my help against the painful slow birth,
Here is my help against the hateful lame birth. 5
And when the woman is pregnant and she goes to bed with her lord and husband, she should say:
Up I go, lifting my lap. I step over you
With a living child, not with a dying child,
With a full-born child, not with a doomed child. 10
And when the mother feels that the child is alive within her, she should go to church, and when she comes before the altar, she should say:
I have said by Christ that it is made manifest.
The woman who cannot bring her child to term should take part of the grave of her own deceased child, wrap it up in black wool and sell it 15 to merchants, saying:
I sell it to you, you should buy it from me—
This dark wool, the seeds of sorrow, the grains of grief.
The woman who cannot bring her child to term must take the milk of a cow of one color in her hand, sip a little milk in her mouth, and then 20 go to running water and spit the milk into it. Then with the same hand she should take a mouthful of that water and swallow it, saying:
Everywhere I have carried my strong son,
Strong because of this mighty mouthful.
Let me have my will and have this baby— 25
This is the child I will have and take home.
When she goes to the stream, she must not turn around or look back.
When she leaves the stream, she must not turn around or look back.
When she comes back, she should go into a different house from the one where she departed, and there eat some food. 30
7. CHARM FOR THE WATER-ELF-DISEASE
This charm for wæter-ælf-adl, “water-elf-disease,” like a number of others for elf-diseases in the OE medical texts, seems to deal with skin eruptions of some sort. Cameron says that it “appears to have designated cutaneous eruptions of various kinds … a skin ailment having a watery manifestation” (154). Storms believes the disease in question here is chicken pox since “its symptoms are a burning feeling on the affected spots, and when the sores burst a liquid runs out and infects other parts of the body,” and argues that the “way in which chicken-pox appear and disappear may well have given rise to the belief that a mischievous elf was playing his tricks” (160). Cameron suggests measles as another possible disease in which the eyes become oversensitive to light (155).
The Complete Old English Poems Page 118
