Table Of ContentAnglo-Saxon Studies 32
‘CHARMS’, LITURGIES, AND SECRET RITES
IN EARLY MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
Anglo-Saxon Studies
ISSN 1475-2468
GENERAL EDITORS
John Hines
Catherine Cubitt
‘Anglo-Saxon Studies’ aims to provide a forum for the best scholarship on
the Anglo-Saxon peoples in the period from the end of Roman Britain to
the Norman Conquest, including comparative studies involving adjacent
populations and periods; both new research and major re-assessments of
central topics are welcomed.
Books in the series may be based in any one of the principal disciplines
of archaeology, art history, history, language and literature, and inter- or
multi-disciplinary studies are encouraged.
Proposals or enquiries may be sent directly to the editors or the pub-
lisher at the addresses given below; all submissions will receive prompt
and informed consideration.
Professor John Hines, School of History, Archaeology and Religion,
Cardiff University, John Percival Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff, Wales,
CF10 3EU, UK
Professor Catherine Cubitt, School of History, Faculty of Arts and
Humanities, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, NR4 7TJ, UK
Boydell & Brewer, PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, IP12 3DF, UK
Previously published volumes in the series are listed at the back of this book
‘CHARMS’, LITURGIES, AND SECRET RITES
IN EARLY MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
Ciaran Arthur
THE BOYDELL PRESS
© Ciaran Arthur 2018
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
The right of Ciaran Arthur to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published 2018
The Boydell Press, Woodbridge
ISBN 978-1-78327-313-3
The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620–2731, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy
of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Contents
Illustrations vi
Acknowledgements vii
Abbreviations viii
Introduction 1
Part I
1 Kill or Cure: Anglo-Saxon Understandings of Galdor 21
2 By the Power Vested in Me: Galdor in Authorised Rituals 65
Part II
3 Ite Missa Est: The Liturgical Nature of ‘Charms’ 101
4 Crops and Robbers: A Case Study of the Vitellius Psalter 134
Part III
5 In the Beginning Was the Letter: The Cosmological Power of
‘Gibberish’ 169
Conclusion 215
Bibliography 219
General Index 248
Index of Manuscripts 251
v
Illustrations
1. London, British Library, MS Cotton Vitellius E. xviii, fol. 15v 141
© The British Library Board
2. London, British Library, MS Cotton Vitellius E. xviii, fol. 16r 156
© The British Library Board
3. London, British Library, MS Cotton Vitellius E. xviii, fol. 16v 160
© The British Library Board
vi
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to several people for their unfailing encouragement over
the course of years in the writing of this book. My sister Dr Catherine
Arthur, to whom this book is dedicated, deserves special attention
for all of the support and sympathy we have shared with each other
through both fruitful and difficult stages of our studies together. I owe
most of my success to my parents for their many sacrifices over the
years. Within the academic community, I would like to thank Dr Helen
Gittos for her careful scrutiny of my work, and her persistent interest
in my research. Dr Sarah James has been very helpful in pushing
me to explore exciting possibilities, and I thank her for her endless
enthusiasm. I am also extremely grateful to Dr Stephen Kelly for his
ever critical interest and good humoured discussions that invigorate
my work ethic; he has gone beyond reasonable expectations to keep
supporting me long after I had ceased to be a student of his. I also owe
special thanks to Dr Ivan Herbison for his intellectual stimulation and
often mind-blowing insights; I am not likely to ever meet another intel-
lectual like him. I am also indebted to Ivan for proof-reading my Latin
translations, all remaining infelicities are my own. For their inspiring
discussions during the preparation of this book, I thank Professors
Karen Jolly, Katy Cubitt, Roy Liuzza, John Hines, Hugh Magennis,
James Carley, Sarah Hamilton, and Mary Clayton; and Doctors Alaric
Hall, Leonie Hicks, Rebecca Stephenson, Pádraic Moran, Tom Birkett,
Sinead O’Sullivan, Ryan Perry, Marilina Cesario, Frances McCormack,
Nicky Tsougarakis, Vicky Symons, Patricia McCann, and Craig
Wallace. Dr Mike Bintley should get special mention for his warm
friendship and generous encouragement over the years. I am also
greatly indebted to Aoife and the boys for their endless entertainment
during periods of isolated research. Finally, I would like to thank the
institutions that have provided invaluable assistance in the prepara-
tion of this book, particularly the AHRC, the British Library, Queen’s
University Belfast, and the Centre of Medieval and Early Modern
Studies at the University of Kent.
vii
Abbreviations
ANQ American Notes and Queries
ASE Anglo-Saxon England
ASPR Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records
BL British Library
CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum
EEMF Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile
EETS Early English Text Society
EHR English Historical Review
ES English Studies
HBS Henry Bradshaw Society
JEGP Journal of English and Germanic Philology
N&Q Notes and Queries
OE Old English
OEN Old English Newsletter
OHG Old High German
ON Old Norse
PL Patrologia Latina
PMLA Publications of the Modern Language Association
PQ Philological Quarterly
RES Review of English Studies
SP Studies in Philology
viii
