Binding Words: Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages

MAGIC IN MAGIC IN HISTORY HISTORY MAGICMAGIC ININ HISTORYHISTORY BINDING “Binding Words covers a wide territory, temporally and geographically, to show how amulets are embedded in the fabric of medieval European society as both physical and cultural artifacts. The book avoids artificial distinc- tions between magic and religion, prayer and charm, to show how an amulet can be simultaneously devotional and protective. This contextualized approach is a significant contribution to the field.” —Karen Jolly, University of Hawai’i at Manoa In the Middle Ages, textual amulets—short texts written on parchment or paper and worn on the body—were thought to protect the bearer against enemies, to heal afflictions caused by demonic invasions, and to bring the wearer good fortune. In Binding Words, Don C. Skemer provides the first W book-length study of this once-common means of harnessing the magical power of words. ORDS Textual amulets were a unique source of empowerment, promising the BINDINGBINDING believer safe passage through a precarious world by means of an ever- changing mix of Scriptural quotations, divine names, common prayers, and liturgical formulas. Although theologians and canon lawyers frequently derided textual amulets as ignorant superstition, many literate clergy played a central role in producing and disseminating them. The texts were, in turn, embraced by a broad cross section of Western Europe. Saints and parish in the Middle Ages priests, physicians and village healers, landowners and peasants alike T WORDS extual Amulets WORDS believed in their efficacy. TTextualextual AmuletsAmulets inin thethe MiddleMiddle AgesAges Skemer offers careful analysis of several dozen surviving textual amulets, along with other contemporary medieval source material. In the process, Binding Words enriches our understanding of popular religion and magic in everyday medieval life. Don C. Skemer is Curator of Manuscripts in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Princeton University’s Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library. magic in history series isbn 0-271-02723-1 9 0 0 0 0 the pennsylvania state university press PENN University Park, Pennsylvania | www.psupress.org 9 7 8 0 2 7 1 0 2 7 2 3 4 STATE don c. skemer PRESS 00front.qxd 12/12/2005 11:45 AM Page i Binding Words 00front.qxd 12/12/2005 11:45 AM Page ii 00front.qxd 12/12/2005 11:45 AM Page iii Binding Words Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages Don C. Skemer The Pennsylvania State University Press University Park, Pennsylvania 00front.qxd 12/12/2005 11:45 AM Page iv Disclaimer: Some images in the original version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Skemer, Don C. Binding words : textual amulets in the Middle Ages / Don C. Skemer. p. cm. — (Magic in history) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-271-02722-3 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 0-271-02723-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Amulets—Europe, Western—History—To 1500. 2. Writing—Europe, Western—History—To 1500. I. Title. II. Series. BF1561.S55 2006 133.4´4—dc22 2005020687 Copyright © 2006 The Pennsylvania State University All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA 16802-1003 The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses. It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University Press to use acid-free paper. Publications on uncoated stock satisfy the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Material, ANSI Z39.48–1992. 00front.qxd 12/12/2005 11:45 AM Page v Contents list of illustrations vi acknowledgments vii introduction 1 1 christian doctrine and practice 21 2 the magical efficacy of words 75 3 methods of production and use 125 4 general protection and specific benefits 171 5 textual amulets for women 235 conclusion 279 appendix 1: Canterbury Amulet, mid-thirteenth century (Canterbury Cathedral Library, Additional MS 23) 285 appendix 2: French or Burgundian Amulet Roll, early Wfteenth century (private collection) 305 appendix 3: Italian Amulet, late Wfteenth century (Princeton University Library, John Hinsdale Scheide Collection, no. 7923). 309 select bibliography 311 index 323 00front.qxd 12/12/2005 11:45 AM Page vi Illustrations 1 Cuir ciselé case for M1092, The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York 159 2 Chartula of St. Francis of Assisi (verso), Sacro Convento, Assisi 173 3 MS 736, nos. 2–3, Biblioteca Universitaria, Pisa 179 4 Wolley Charters no. IV: 68 (verso), British Library, London 187 5 Additional MS 23 (recto), Canterbury Cathedral Library 200 6 Additional MS 23 (verso), Canterbury Cathedral Library 201 7 Additional MS 15505 (fol. 22r), British Library, London 215 8 John Hinsdale Scheide Collection, no. 7923, Princeton University Library 218 9 PML 16529, The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York 230 10 Princeton MS 138.44 (amulet and wrapper), Princeton University Library 248 11 French or Burgundian Amulet Roll, private collection 252 12 Ushaw College MS 29 (detail), Durham, England 265 00front.qxd 12/12/2005 11:45 AM Page vii Acknowledgments More than a decade ago, I became interested in textual amulets after stumbling upon a singularly unprepossessing Wfteenth-century manuscript, a parchment sheet Wlled with handwritten quasi-liturgical formulas and misquoted scripture, in the John Hinsdale Scheide Collection of Documents (Princeton University Library). Over time, I came to see that this manuscript had similarities in text, format, and function to magical papyri and lamellae used as amulets in the ancient world. The chance survival of a Western medieval amulet in a document collection seemed to offer physical evidence of a largely unexplored medieval phenomenon of writing that had received little scholarly attention. My circui- tous research path began with an early focus on ephemeral writing formats, an understanding of which could shed light on the history of the book. But I came to realize that textual amulets had to be understood not only as a little-known dimension of medieval literacy and written culture but also as a ritual practice that most people would label magic. The subject of textual amulets in the Mid- dle Ages seemed worthy of monographic treatment, provided that a sufWcient number of amulets survived and could be found in libraries, museums, and private collections, and that these examples could be contextualized through the use of contemporary sources. Many people, particularly members of the Princeton University community, offered good counsel and encouragement. I am especially grateful to Professors Peter Brown, Anthony T. Grafton, James H. Marrow, and D. Vance Smith for reading my manuscript at different stages and offering valuable comments, crit- icism, corrections, and bibliographic additions that made Binding Words a bet- ter book. So, too, did Professor Armando Petrucci (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa), Peter Stallybrass (University of Pennsylvania), and The Pennsylvania State University Press’s two meticulous and insightful readers, Claire Fanger and Karin L. Jolly (University of Hawaii). I would like to acknowledge Professor Bryce D. Lyon (my mentor) and Professor William C. Jordan for their encouragement, and the late Professor Karl D. Uitti for help with reading Old French. My Princeton University Library colleagues John L. Logan, Sidney Tibbetts, and James W. Weinberger gave me the beneWt of their expertise in various areas, as did Colum P. Hourihane (Index of Christian Art) on questions of iconography. My book also beneWted from readers’ comments on my articles published in 00front.qxd 12/12/2005 11:45 AM Page viii viii acknowledgments Scrittura e Civiltà and Scriptorium, and in response to my conference papers and other presentations on textual amulets at Princeton University (“The Apoc- alypse in Word and Image” and “The Magic of Things”), and to papers that I gave at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the History of Materials Texts and at the Early Book Society annual meeting at the University of Durham. My friend Professor James L. W. West III of The Pennsylvania State Univer- sity Wrst suggested that I submit the book to the Press. Peter J. Potter, editor-in- chief of the Press, made many valuable contributions to the organization and readability of the book, as did Andrew Lewis, who copyedited my manuscript. The cover image and black-and-white plates are reproduced with permission of the British Library, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral, Ushaw College (Durham, England), The Pierpont Morgan Library, Biblioteca Universi- taria di Pisa (“su concessione del Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali”), and the Princeton University Library. My Princeton colleagues John Blazejewski, Theodore Stanley, Robert Milevski, and AnnaLee Pauls assisted with photogra- phy and digital imaging. Finally, I want to thank my wife, Peggy (who carefully proofread several drafts of the book), and sons, Philip and Andrew, for their interest, support, and forbearance of demands on my time during years of research and writing. 00front.qxd 12/12/2005 11:45 AM Page 1 Introduction his book traces the history of textual amulets in the Middle Ages, especially in Western Europe from the thirteenth to the Wfteenth centuries. TTextual amulets, as the term is employed in this book, were generally brief apotropaic texts, handwritten or mechanically printed on separate sheets, rolls,

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