
"Wið fǣrstice" is an
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
medical text surviving in the collection known now as ''
Lacnunga'' in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
. ''Wið fǣrstiċe'' means 'against a sudden/violent stabbing pain'; and according to Felix Grendon, whose collection of Anglo-Saxon charms appeared in the Journal of American Folklore in 1908, “the charm is intended to cure a sudden twinge or stitch, possibly rheumatism that can be due to being shot by witches, elves, and other spirits that fly through the air.” Scholars have often sought to identify this as
rheumatism, but other possibilities should not be excluded. The remedy describes how to make a salve, but its main interest lies in the unique
charm which follows. This describes how the ''færstice'' has been caused by the projectiles of 'mighty women' (''ða mihtigan wif''), whom the healer will combat. The charm also mentions
elves
An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''.
In medieval Germanic-speakin ...
, believed responsible for
elfshot, and provides the only attestation outside personal names of the Old English form of the name of the old
Germanic gods, known as the
Æsir
Æsir (Old Norse; singular: ) or ēse (Old English; singular: ) are deities, gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and Nordic mythology, mythology, the precise meaning of the term "" is debated, as it can refer either to the gods i ...
in Norse mythology.
As with many old Anglo-Saxon charms, it is presumed that physical gestures were intended to accompany the recitation of the text. In this case, the "Wið færstice" is intended to be accompanied by boiling
feverfew,
red dead-nettle grown in grain, and
plantain, then boiling it all in a bowl of
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...
. A knife is dipped into the potion and then rubbed against the source of pain. Despite the popular use of these herbs in forms of remedial healing, the use of these plants may have been more symbolic than practical. Many old Anglo-Saxon charms draw upon the symbolism of both pagan traditions as well as ancient Christian traditions, and the use of plants in the texts were likely related to these religious references.
Content
The first seventeen lines of the "Wið færstice" have been referred to as its "epic introduction".
Howell D. Chickering Junior expressed the view that there "probably is no epic or mythic narrative" behind this introductory section, instead arguing that it should be seen as "a dramatic verbal performance". As edited and translated by
Alaric Hall, the text runs:
Date
The age of "Wið færstice" has been hard to judge.
Considering all of the available evidence, Medieval literature specialist Alaric Hall deemed it probable that the charm was a "cultural artefact" from the late tenth century.
Interpretation
Early examinations of the Anglo-Saxon poetic charms were largely focused on determining which elements within them derived from the
pre-Christian belief systems of the Anglo-Saxons. Accordingly, attention was paid to "Wið færstice", which was deemed to be "one of the three or four charms apparently richest in pagan references." With the exception of the closing benediction, the charm lacks any obvious Christian references, with Jolly accordingly believing that from modern understandings of Christianity, it would seem "overwhelmingly ''not'' Christian". She however cautioned against viewing it as either non-Christian on the one hand, or as pagan on the other. She highlighted that the presumed pagan elements within it all reflected "areligious folklore, transferable from one religious tradition to another", while it was produced by people living in Late Anglo-Saxon England who would have considered themselves to be Christian and who felt no need to highly Christianise it.
Medical perspective
It is not known what medical symptom the Old English term ''færstice'' refers to in this charm. Several scholars to have studied the charm, such as
Godfrid Storms and Howell D. Chickering Jr., expressed the view that it referred to
rheumatism.
Although noting that prior interpretations of the charm had suggested that the ''færstice'' referred to
rheumatism or
lumbago
Low back pain or lumbago is a common disorder involving the muscles, nerves, and bones of the back, in between the lower edge of the ribs and the lower fold of the buttocks. Pain can vary from a dull constant ache to a sudden sharp feeling. ...
, the Anglo-Saxonist
Stephen Pollington opined that there were "no compelling reasons" to accept either explanation, instead expressing the view that it should be regarded as a reference to "any sharp, unexpected pain".
Supernatural elements
Hall was of the view that "Wið færstice" "constructs a strong distinction between in-group (the patient and healer) and harmful out-group (the supernatural beings)."
Hall expressed the view that the poem "provides a key to interpreting the cultural significance of ''ælfe'' in medieval texts".
Given his argument that in "earlier Anglo-Saxon beliefs", ''ælfe'' were "probably primarily or only male", he considered it interesting that in this charm they are cited alongside the female ''hægtessan''.
Parallels and analogues
Hall identified an earlier parallel in
Aldhelm's poetic ''
Carmen de virginitate'', specifically the passage in lines 2635–42 in which he describes
Allecto, one of the ''
Furiae'' of
Classical mythology
Classical mythology, also known as Greco-Roman mythology or Greek and Roman mythology, is the collective body and study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans. Mythology, along with philosophy and political thought, is one of the m ...
. In this passage, Allecto is described as bringing "iron-tipped spears to battle, which would cause jagged wounds to holy souls". Hall noted that this use of iron-tipped spears could not have been adopted straight from Classical sources, where Allecto and the Furies cause harm using snakes rather than spears. Rather, he compared the use of the Furies' spears to the spears of the ''hægtesse'' in "Wið færstice", bolstering this connection by noting that in the eighth century
Third Cleopatra Glossary, the Latin word ''furiarum'' is given the Old English gloss of ''hægtessa''.
Hall also argued that there was a "remarkable parallel" between "Wið færstice" and the accounts of magical practices provided by
Isobel Gowdie, a Scottish woman accused of witchcraft in 1662, during her confessions. Gowdie claimed that she rode through the air on straw with her fellow witches, firing "elf-arrows" at her victims; these had been acquired from the
Devil
A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
, who had been aided in their creation by "Elf-boyes". Hall stated that this exhibited a general similarity to the account provided in "Wið færstice". He also thought there were parallels between the two accounts in terms of their use of smiths; in both, one smith (the Devil in Gowdie's account) is part of a wider group of smiths.
While acknowledging "the great gap of time" – lasting around seven centuries – between the two accounts, Hall noted that "charm-texts and related traditions" could be transmitted across this gap of time, citing the
Second Merseburg Charm as an example.
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
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Further reading
* Hall, Alaric, 'The Meanings of ''Elf'' and Elves in Medieval England' (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Glasgow, 2004), pp. 10–12
* Pettit, E. (2001). ''Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers from British Library MS Harley 585: The ‘Lacnunga’'', 2 vols., Lewiston and Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press.
* The Broadview Anthology of British Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. 1.'' Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2009. 40-42. Print
* Cameron, M. L. “Anglo-Saxon Medicine and Magic.” Anglo-Saxon England. 1988. 191-215.
* Cameron, M.L. "Anglo-Saxon Medicine." Cambridge University Press. 1993.
* McGillivray, Murray. “Metrical Charm 4: To Stop a Stabbing Pain (“For a Sudden Stitch”).” Online Corpus of Old English Poetry. 12/12/07.
Editions
* Foys, Martin ''et al.'
''Old English Poetry in Facsimile Project''(Center for the History of Print and Digital Culture, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2019-); digital facsimile edition and Modern English translation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wid Faerstice
Anglo-Saxon metrical charms
Old English medicine
Elves