The ''Lacnunga'' ('Remedies') is a collection of miscellaneous Anglo-Saxon medical texts and prayers, written mainly in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

and Latin. The title ''Lacnunga'', an Old English word meaning 'remedies', is not in the manuscript: it was given to the collection by its first editor, Oswald Cockayne, in the nineteenth century.

Alaric Hall Alaric Hall (born 1979) is a British philologist who is an associate professor of English and director of the Institute for Medieval Studies at the University of Leeds. He has, since 2009, been the editor of the academic journal '' Leeds Studies ...

, ''Elves in Anglo-Saxon England: Matters of Belief, Health, Gender, and Identity'', Anglo-Saxon Studies, 8 (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2007), p. 1. It is found, following other medical texts, in London,

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Harley MS 585, a codex probably compiled in England in the late tenth or early eleventh century. Many of its herbal remedies are also found, in variant form, in ''

Bald's Leechbook ''Bald's Leechbook'' (also known as ''Medicinale Anglicum'') is an Old English medical text probably compiled in the ninth century, possibly under the influence of Alfred the Great's educational reforms.Nokes, Richard Scott ‘The several compil ...

'', another Anglo-Saxon medical compendium. The ''Lacnunga'' contains many unique texts, including numerous

charms Charm may refer to: Social science * Charisma, a person or thing's pronounced ability to attract others * Superficial charm, flattery, telling people what they want to hear Science and technology * Charm quark, a type of elementary particle * Cha ...

, some of which provide rare glimpses into

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

popular religion and healing practices. Among the charms are several incantations in Old English alliterative verse, the most famous being those known as ''

For Delayed Birth The so-called "For Delayed Birth" is an Old English poetic medical text found in the manuscript London, British Library, Harley 585, ff. 185r-v, in a collection of medical texts known since the nineteenth century as ''Lacnunga'' (‘remedies’). T ...

'', the ''

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.Macleo ...

'' and ''

Wið færstice "Wið færstice" is an Old English medical text surviving in the collection known now as ''Lacnunga'' in the British Library. ''Wið fǣrstiċe'' means 'against a sudden/violent stabbing pain'; and according to Felix Grendon, whose collection of An ...

'' ('Against a sudden, stabbing pain'). There are also several charms in corrupt

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

. Among the Latin prayers, the longest is a redaction of the ''Lorica of Laidcenn'' (formerly often known as the ''Lorica of Gildas''). This seventh-century Irish poem, also preserved in other manuscripts, is a member of the '' lorica'' genre of protective prayers. This instance takes the form of an extended litany of body parts for which the speaker seeks the protection of Christ and a multitude of

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

from the assaults of

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...

. It is accompanied in this manuscript by an

interlinear gloss In linguistics and pedagogy, an interlinear gloss is a gloss (series of brief explanations, such as definitions or pronunciations) placed between lines, such as between a line of original text and its translation into another language. When gloss ...

in Old English, which probably derives from an exemplar in the

Mercian dialect Mercian was a dialect spoken in the Anglian kingdom of Mercia (roughly speaking the Midlands of England, an area in which four kingdoms had been united under one monarchy). Together with Northumbrian, it was one of the two Anglian dialects. Th ...

Editions, translations and facsimiles

*Cockayne, O. (ed.). 1864–66. ''Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England'', The Rolls Series, 35, 3 vols (London: Longman and others). First edition and translation of the text, but incomplete. *Doane, A. N. 1994. ''Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts in Microfiche Facsimile: Volume 1'', Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 136 (Binghamton, N.Y.: Medieval & Renaissance Texts and Studies). No. 265 is a facsimile of Harley 585. *Grattan, J. H. C. and C. Singer. 1952. ''Anglo-Saxon Magic and Medicine Illustrated Specially from the Semi-Pagan Text 'Lacnunga, Publications of the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, new series 3 (London: Oxford University Press). Edition and translation. *Herren, M. W. 1987. ''The Hisperica Famina: II. Related Poems: A Critical Edition with English Translation and Philological Commentary'' (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies). Includes an edition of the ''Lorica of Laidcenn'' from all manuscripts. *Pettit, Edward. 2001. ''Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers from British Library MS Harley 585: The ‘Lacnunga’'', 2 vols. (Lewiston and Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press). Latest edition, with translation, detailed introduction, commentary and appendices, and full bibliography (supplemented by the editor's website

.

ink broken Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicker ...

*Pollington, S. 2000. "Leechcraft: Early English Charms, Plantlore, and Healing" (Hockwold-cum-Wilton, Norfolk: Anglo-Saxon Books). Edition and translation, along with other Old English medical texts.
Digitisation of the manuscript at the British Library website

References

{{Authority control Anglo-Saxon paganism 10th-century manuscripts 11th-century manuscripts Old English literature Old English medicine Medical manuals Occult texts Harleian Collection