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Nine Herbs Charm
The "Nine Herbs Charm" is an Old English charm recorded in the tenth-century CEGordon (1962:92–93). Anglo-Saxon medical compilation known as ''Lacnunga'', which survives on the manuscript, Harley MS 585, in the British Library, at London.Macleod (2006:127). The charm involves the preparation of nine plants. The numbers nine and three, significant in Germanic paganism and later Germanic folklore, are mentioned frequently within the charm. The poem contains references to Christian and English Pagan elements, including a mention of the major Germanic god Woden. According to R. K. Gordon, the poem is "clearly an old heathen thing which has been subjected to Christian censorship." Malcolm Laurence Cameron states that chanting the poem aloud results in a "marvellously incantatory effect".Cameron (1993:144). Poem contents Plants The charm refers to at least nine plants. Scholars have proposed various translations for the plant names, including the following: * ''Mucgwyrt'' Mugwor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglo-Saxon Literature
Old English literature refers to poetry and prose written in Old English in early medieval England, from the 7th century to the decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066, a period often termed Anglo-Saxon England. The 7th-century work ''Cædmon's Hymn'' is often considered as the oldest surviving poem in English, as it appears in an 8th-century copy of Bede's text, the ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People''. Poetry written in the mid 12th century represents some of the latest post-Norman examples of Old English. Adherence to the grammatical rules of Old English is largely inconsistent in 12th-century work, and by the 13th century the grammar and syntax of Old English had almost completely deteriorated, giving way to the much larger Middle English corpus of literature. In descending order of quantity, Old English literature consists of: sermons and saints' lives; biblical translations; translated Latin works of the early Church Fathers; chronicles and narrative history ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thymus Vulgaris
''Thymus vulgaris'' (common thyme, German thyme, garden thyme or just thyme) is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to southern Europe from the western Mediterranean to southern Italy. Growing to tall by wide, it is a bushy, woody-based evergreen subshrub with small, highly aromatic, grey-green leaves and clusters of purple or pink flowers in early summer. It is useful in the garden as groundcover, where it can be short-lived, but is easily propagated from cuttings. It is also the main source of thyme as an ingredient in cooking and as an herbal medicine. It is slightly spicier than oregano and sweeter than sage. The Latin specific epithet ''vulgaris'' means “common” in the sense of “widespread”. Cultivars Numerous cultivars and hybrids have been developed for ornamental purposes. Nomenclature can be very confusing. French, German and English varieties vary by leaf shape and colour and essential oils. The many cultivars include ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boydell Press
Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, editions, and translations of material related to the Arthurian legend. There are also series that publish studies in medieval German and French literature, Spanish theatre, early English texts, in other subjects. Depending on the subject, its books are assigned to one of several imprints in Woodbridge, Cambridge (UK), or Rochester, New York, location of its principal North American office. Imprints include Boydell & Brewer, D.S. Brewer, Camden House, the Hispanic series Tamesis Books ("Tamesis" is the Latin version of the River Thames, which flows through London), the University of Rochester Press, James Currey, and York Medieval Press. The company was co-founded by historians Richard Barber and Derek Brewer in 1978, merging the two companies B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merseburg Incantations
The Merseburg charms or Merseburg incantations (german: die Merseburger Zaubersprüche) are two medieval magic spells, charms or incantations, written in Old High German. They are the only known examples of Germanic pagan belief preserved in the language. They were discovered in 1841 by Georg Waitz, who found them in a theological manuscript from Fulda, written in the 9th century, although there remains some speculation about the date of the charms themselves. The manuscript (Cod. 136 f. 85a) is stored in the library of the cathedral chapter of Merseburg, hence the name. History The Merseburg charms are the only known surviving relics of pre-Christian, pagan poetry in Old High German literature. The charms were recorded in the 10th century by a cleric, possibly in the abbey of Fulda, on a blank page of a liturgical book, which later passed to the library at Merseburg. The charms have thus been transmitted in Caroline minuscule on the flyleaf of a Latin sacramentary. The spells ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mímir
Mímir or Mim is a figure in Norse mythology, renowned for his knowledge and wisdom, who is beheaded during the Æsir–Vanir War. Afterward, the god Odin carries around Mímir's head and it recites secret knowledge and counsel to him. Mímir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson of Iceland, and in euhemerized form as one of the Æsir in ''Heimskringla'', also written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. Mímir's name appears in the names of the well Mímisbrunnr, and the names Mímameiðr and Hoddmímis holt, which scholars generally consider to be names for Yggdrasil. Scholars have proposed that Bestla may be Mímir's sister, and therefore Mímir would be Odin's maternal uncle. Etymology The proper names ''Mímir'' and ''Mim'' present difficulties for historical linguists. However, the most generally accepted etymology among philologists is that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hávamál
''Hávamál'' ( ; Old Norse: ,Unnormalised spelling in the :Title: Final stanza: ../ref> classical pron. , Modern Icelandic pron. , ‘Words of he High One) is presented as a single poem in the Icelandic , a collection of Old Norse poems from the Viking age. The poem, itself a combination of numerous shorter poems, is largely gnomic, presenting advice for living, proper conduct and wisdom. It is considered an important source of Old Norse philosophy. The verses are attributed to Odin; the implicit attribution to Odin facilitated the accretion of various mythological material also dealing with the same deity. For the most part composed in the metre , a metre associated with wisdom verse, is both practical and philosophical in content. Following the gnomic " proper" comes the , an account of how Odin won the runes, and the , a list of magic chants or spells.Larrington, Carolyne. (Trans.) (1999) ''The Poetic Edda'', p. 14. Oxford World's Classics Name The Old Norse name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galdr
A (plural ') or (plural ) refers to a spell or incantation in Old Norse and Old English respectively; these were usually performed in combination with certain rites.The article ''Galder'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1992) Etymology non, galdr and ang, ġealdor or ' are derived from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic ''*galdraz'', meaning a song or incantation. The terms are also related by the removal of an Indo-European ''-tro'' suffix to the verbs non, gala and ang, galan, both derived from Proto-Germanic ''*galaną'', meaning to sing or cast a spell. In Old High German the ' suffix produced ' instead. The German forms were Old High German ' and MHG ' "song, enchantment" (Konrad von Ammenhausen ''Schachzabelbuch'' 167b), surviving in (obsolete or dialectal) Modern German ' (witchcraft) and ' (witch). From these terms are descended words such as the Icelandic verb ' "to sing, call out, yell", enm, galder "magic" and as a component of ''nightingale'' (from '), rela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rune
Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised purposes thereafter. In addition to representing a sound value (a phoneme), runes can be used to represent the concepts after which they are named (ideographs). Scholars refer to instances of the latter as ('concept runes'). The Scandinavian variants are also known as ''futhark'' or ''fuþark'' (derived from their first six letters of the script: ''Feoh, F'', ''Ur (rune), U'', ''Thurisaz, Þ'', ''Ansuz (rune), A'', ''Raido, R'', and ''Kaunan, K''); the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon variant is ''Anglo-Saxon runes, futhorc'' or ' (due to sound-changes undergone in Old English by the names of those six letters). Runology is the academic study of the runic alphabets, runic inscriptions, runestones, and their history. Runology f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exeter Book
The Exeter Book, also known as the Codex Exoniensis or Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, is a large codex of Old English poetry, believed to have been produced in the late tenth century AD. It is one of the four major manuscripts of Old English poetry, along with the Vercelli Book in Vercelli, Italy, the Nowell Codex in the British Library, and the Junius manuscript in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The book was donated to what is now the Exeter Cathedral library by Leofric, the first bishop of Exeter, in 1072. It is believed originally to have contained 130 or 131 leaves, of which the first 7 or 8 have been replaced with other leaves; the original first 8 leaves are lost. The Exeter Book is the largest and perhaps oldest known manuscript of Old English literature, containing about a sixth of the Old English poetry that has come down to us. In 2016, UNESCO recognized the book as "the foundation volume of English literature, one of the world's principal cultural artefa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maxims (Old English Poems)
The titles "Maxims I" (sometimes referred to as three separate poems, "Maxims I, A, B and C") and "Maxims II" refer to pieces of Old English gnomic poetry. The poem "Maxims I" can be found in the Exeter Book and "Maxims II" is located in a lesser known manuscript, London, British Library, Cotton Tiberius B i. "Maxims I" and "Maxims II" are classified as wisdom poetry, being both influenced by wisdom literature, such as the Psalms and Proverbs of the Old Testament scriptures. Although they are separate poems of diverse contents, they have been given a shared name because the themes throughout each poem are similar. "Maxims I" "Maxims I" can be found on folio 88b of the Exeter Book, beginning 'Frige mec froþum'. It may be divided into three sections or three separate poems, "Maxims I A, B, and C": with B starting 'Forst sceal feosan' on fol. 90a, and C beginning 'Ræd sceal mon secgan...' at fol. 91a.Chambers, Forster, Flower, fols. 88b-91a. The author(s) of this poem is unknown. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the Runes, runic alphabet, and depicts him as the husband of the goddess Frigg. In wider Germanic mythology and paganism, the god was also known in Old English as ', in Old Saxon as , in Old Dutch as ''Wuodan'', in Old Frisian as ''Wêda'', and in Old High German as , all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic theonym *''Wōðanaz'', meaning 'lord of frenzy', or 'leader of the possessed'. Odin appears as a prominent god throughout the recorded history of Northern Europe, from the Roman occupation of regions of Germania (from BCE) through movement of peoples during the Migration Period (4th to 6th centuries CE) and the Viking Age (8th to 11th centuries CE). In the modern pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
