Anglo-Saxon Charms

Against A Dwarf

You must take seven wafers, such as are used in worship, and write these names on each wafer: Maximianus, Malchus, Johannes, Martinianus, Dionisius, Constantinus, Serafion. Then again, you must sing the charm which is stated below, first into the left ear, then into the right ear, then over the man's head. And let a virgin go to him, and hang it on his neck, and do this for three days. He will soon be well.

Here came a spider wight a-walking in,

He had his harness in his hand.

Quoth that thou his blood-horse wert.

He puts his traces on thy neck.

They from the strand began to sail.

As soon as from the land they came,

They then began to cool.

The sister of the beast then came a-walking in

Then she ceased and swore these oaths:

That this should never scathe the sick,

Nor him who might this charm acquire,

Nor him who could this charm intone.

Amen, fiat.

v

Against Wens

Wen, wen, little wen,

Here you shall not build, nor any dwelling have,

But forth you must, even to the nearby hill,

Where a poor wretch, a brother you have;

He shall lay you a leaf at your head.

Under the wolf's foot, under the eagle's wing,

Under the eagle's claw - ever may you wither!

Shrivel as the coal upon the hearth!

Shrink as the muck in the stream,

And dwindle even as water in a pail!

May you become as little as a linseed grain,

And much smaller, likewise, than a hand-worm's hipbone!

And even so small may you become, that you become as nought.

v

For Elf-Disease*

  On Wednesday Night when the sun is set, go where you know that elecampane stands. Then sing the Benedicite and a Paternoster and a litany, and stick your knife into the herb; let it stick fast therein and go away. Go again thither, just as day and night divide. During this same daybreak go first to church and cross yourself and commend yourself to God. Then go in silence, and, though something of a fearful kind or a man should come upon you, say not a single word to it until you reach the herb you marked the night before. Then sing the Benedicite and a Paternoster and a litany, delve up the herb, letting the knife stick fast in it. As quickly as you can, go to church and place it with the knife under the altar; let it lie until the sun has risen. Afterwards wash it and make it and bishop's-wort and lichen offa crucifix into a drink; boil the drink three times in milk, pour holy water into it three times, sing over it a Paternoster and a Credo and a Gloria in excelsis Deo, and sing a litany over it; and also, with a sword, inscribe a cross round it on four sides, and after that let the patient drink the draught. He will soon be well.

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For The Water-Elf Disease

If a person has the water elf diseaase, his fingernails will be livid and his eyes tearful and he will look downwards. Do this for him by of medical treatment: take carline, hassock, the netherward part of iris, yew-berry, lupine, elecampane, a head of marshmallow, water-mint, dill, lily, betony, pennyroyal, horehound, dock, elder-wood, earthgall, wormwood, strawberry leaves, comfrey; steep them in ale, add holy water, sith this charm over it three times:-

"Round the wounds I have wreathed the best of healing amulets,

That the wounds may neither burn nor burst,

Nor grow worse nor putrefy,

Nor throb, nor be filthy wounds,

Nor cut in deeply; but let him keep the sacred water for himself,

Then it will pain you no more than it pains the land by the sea."

Sing this many times: "May Earth remove you with all her might and main." This charm may be sung on the wound.

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For Elf-Shot**

If a horse is elf-struck, take a knife of which a handle is horn from a tawny ox and on which are three brass nails. Then inscribe a cross on the horse's forehead until it bleed; next mark a cross on the animal's back and on each of it's limbs that you can hold on to. Then grasp the left ear, pierce it in silence. This you must do: take a stick, strike the horse on its back, then it will be well. And on the horn of the knife inscribe these words:-

"Benedicite omnia opera domini dominum."

Be the elf who he may, this will suffice as a cure for him.

From "Anglo-Saxon Charms"

Journal of American Folklore, Vol. XXII (1909)

Felix Grendon

*Some diseases, including nightmares, were often thought to be caused by an elf.

**If an animal ate an elf that was concealed in grass, the elf was thought to express it's displeasure by shooting arrows into the lining of the host's stomach.