Textual magic: charms and written amulets in medieval England
"Katherine Storm Hindley explores words at their most powerful: words that people expected would physically change the world. Medieval Europeans often resorted to the use of spoken or written charms to ensure health or fend off danger. Here Hindley draws on an unprecedented archive, based on he...
| Subtitles: | Charms and written amulets in medieval England |
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| Main Author: | |
| Corporate Author: | |
| Format: | Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| WorldCat: | WorldCat |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Chicago London
The University of Chicago Press
[2023]
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| In: | Year: 2023 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
England
/ Middle English language
/ Incantation
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| Further subjects: | B
Magic (England)
History To 1500
B English literature Middle English, 1100-1500 History and criticism B Anglo-Norman literature History and criticism B English literature Old English, ca. 450-1100 History and criticism B Latin literature, Medieval and modern (England) History and criticism B Charms (England) History To 1500 |
| Online Access: |
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Aggregator) |
| Summary: | "Katherine Storm Hindley explores words at their most powerful: words that people expected would physically change the world. Medieval Europeans often resorted to the use of spoken or written charms to ensure health or fend off danger. Here Hindley draws on an unprecedented archive, based on her own extensive research, and the result is an original sampling of more than a thousand charms from medieval England, more than twice the number gathered, transcribed, and edited in previous studies, including many texts still unknown to specialists on this topic. Focusing on charms from the so-called fallow period (1100-1350) of English history, and on previously unremarked texts in Latin, Anglo-Norman, French, and English, Hindley addresses important questions about how people thought about language, belief, and power, while also injecting a bit of fun into the mix. She describes 700 years of the dynamic, shifting cultural landscape, where multiple languages, invented alphabets, and modes of transmission gained and lost their protective and healing power. Where previous scholarship has bemoaned a lack of continuity in the English charm tradition, Hindley finds surprising links between languages and eras, all without losing sight of the extraordinary variety of the medieval charm tradition: a continuous, deeply rooted part of the English Middle Ages. Textual Magic will be important reading for historians and manuscript studies scholars, and for students from various disciplines in medieval English culture wanting to learn about the many weird and wonderful types and uses of charms during this period. And Hindley's new findings will appeal to a wide number of specialists, including those in literary and religious studies, the medical humanities, and the history of magic. The book should also find a wider general audience, always eager to read about magic and charms"-- |
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| Item Description: | Literaturverzeichnis: Seite [267]-287 |
| Physical Description: | 299 Seiten, Illustrationen, 24 cm |
| ISBN: | 0226825337 |