-., r.

'a

iri
,r'
-3r

lt

,: ,,:.

l
|:,, ;. i.:.

cletesMlr$
n

,i:,i

?,,.
, -ta ' l '

$$ggr:';f. *{r}

t.,:-..

wsletter
. . ; ;:",' ' :*1 .,' ,r't

i''"

c , }); )i- nh cf't - tl. rrior' {rl c_,|

Issue 6

Fall2000

Encounters with Amulets

Peter NIurra) Jones
fiings Collegc, Canbridge

encounte$ with wha! Iollows js a personal account ofone lesealcher's amulels.I havebeenworking with Lea Olsanon a studyofthe Middleham in Vi'dtor, 2000),a 15'r' centurypieceof Englishjewellery Jewel(to appear now on displayat the Yorkshire Museumin York. This jewel is a reliquary with images on both sides, setwilh a sapwom as a pendant, and adorned phire,and inscribed with wordsof power. It evidentlylunclioted as an amulelevenif it is the finestpicceofEnglish goldwo* of $e Middle Ages. md printed As a LibrarianI am usedto working with texls,manuscripls jn the objects, and attemptingto undcrsland books,but not with museum MiddlehamJewelI havefor the first dme beenfeeling my way into this otherworld. I rcceived a cluizzical look in the British MuseumwhenI asked in my innocence at the Depafimenl ofMedieval and Later Antiquitiesif they full of drawers had any amulels.For answerthc Kecpcrpulled out several ofextraordinary some of unknown make. and objects - all unprovenanced, are vdietv in appearance. For thc mostpartthe objectslabelledasamulets and withouta histoiy. the lost sheep of the museumworld, undocumented in museum collcclionsar-e wilhouta history, But if the survivingamulets ceflainlyhavetleir histonans. Amuletsareof amuleljcbeliefsandpractices course closelyboundup with the world of written charms,sincein so many andrerde$ cases thesechams give instructions as to how to make amulets, from Lea ol this Newsletter cantum to No.2, Spring 1996,for guidance TulanePhD Olsanon rccentliterature on charms.Suzanne E. Sheldon's rnd talismans disscrtatiolon 'Middle EnglisharldLatin charms,amu]cts, D.A.l. -A, 39.7 ( 1979),4233,assembles a from vemacular manuscripts' corpusofrclevanl textsand obiects. Amulet,or its Latin equivalent amuletum'isnot a medjevallermbutis flrst Ihinking authorities at a time whencritical and historical usedby renaissance

The commonest Christian aunulet in medievalEurope musthavebeenthe pilgrim badge.This wasmadeof tin-leadalloy,or poorqualilypewter, usually,thoughexamples survive madeof morenoblemetals. Theseoriginated on saleat pilg m shdnesall across Europe- the most famousprobably beingthosein Rome, at Compostela in Spain, the shrineofthe Magi at Cologne, and St Thomasof Canterbury - but there were hundreds of othersiteswhere badgescouldbe had.Thebadges fulfilled manyfunctions, from that The agnus dei in rhe shape of a disc of passport, or ordinarysouvenir of madeeveryseven yealsfrcm the a trip, to proof ofa pilgrimage paschal candle at St Peter'sin Rome completed, to decoration of a hat or wasalsoa sacmlised objectwhich clothing.Bu! because the badge had On the othersideof the fencetheofocussed powers. amuletic beenat leaslnotionallyin contact logians andecclesiastical authorities Wolfgang Bi.icknerdealswith the with the shrineof a saint,it benwefeeager to make sute that suspen- variousclasses of objectassociated efited from encounter with holy sionsand ligalurcswere not used by with the *gnusdei, from the relics. The badge might oftenrepreth wrong people for the wrcng sacralised wax disc itselfto ihe sentthe panicular relic associated reasons. Yet they were not opposed metalcontainers and secondary with the sbline.The badges in effecr to thc useof suspensions and ligacopiesof theagnus, in his chapter becamesecondrry relics,which just so long asthe turesoutright, 'Chdstlicher Amule[-Gebrauch der could work miracles. Eventhe string werer wasnot putting his or her tiiihen Neuzeit', in Frbmmigkeit: irom which a Ceurterbury souvenir trustin the efficacyofthe object, F orme (an ampullaof holy water)hadonce n, Gesc hichte, Verhahen, imageor inscriptionitself, but was ZerSrlJrr, ed. I Bauer(Deutsche been suspended wasfoundto be a ratherpetitioningGod oi the saints Kunstverlag, 1993) 89-134. Eccle relic of St Thomas Beckcrsuffifbr supporlwith their aid. ln fact siasticai siurction was given alsoto ciently poweful to work a mitacle thercwerem,uryecclesiastically objec$ with amulets for specific for its owner Pilgrimbadges might sanctioned suspensions protection and ligaagainst disease.As far be obtained specifically to lulfil tures.At oneend ofthe spectrum back asKing Edwardthe Confessor their role asamulets. TheFrench you havean objectlike the Englishkings,with the apprcval of King Charles V, whose healthwas MiddlehamJewelwhich wasused the church. werebelievedto have alwaysdelicate, obtained thrce as a repository for sacred relics, and blessed 'enseignes' theso-called cramprirgs to for ihe disease of the whoseimageryand inscriptionmake be givento the sick. In fact tbe fi$t kidneys,asrecorded in 1379-80. full useofChristian story and instance ofthe aings being used The protective role ofthe pilgrim lituryy. The powersinvoked by the specilicaliy in the cure ofepilepsy badgeis oftenimplicit in the design wearerprotected her ftom the perils or cmmp dateto the reign of Edward itself, the inscription on ir or the of sudden deathor disease.Other IL The custom continued into the depictionofthe saint,who is fre-

aboutamulets wasjust gettingunder way. Medievalsources talk of suspensions and ligaturcs,wom or boundon the person. Lynn Thomdike's A Fllstalt of Magic antl E\perime talScience,8 vols. (New York, 1923-58) is still the best introduction to the medievaland laterliterature on works expounding the usesand valuesof suspensions and ligatures.One of the most impoftantandinfluential freatises is the Phr-sicalLigatures of Qusta ibn Luqa,translated into Latin in the l2'r'century, and now editedwith a translation into English by Judith Wilcox andJobnM. Riddlc in Medieral Encaunters 1,1(1995)150. This work showshow Greek medicine madeuseof rcmedies that depended on the mutual influenceof mind andbody,and so provideda .ationale andunimpeachable authorily for the useof ligatures.

ponablereliquaryamulets might takethe form ofrings ratherthan pendants, like the Thamering in the Ashmolean Museum,Oxford,with its contrinerfbr a fragmentof the True Cross. So-called iconographic nngs, with images of the saints, or gold rosaries with imageson each bead,canbe found illustraled in R. W. Lightbown, Melliaeral European Ie )ellery(London1992). These objectsenabled the wearerto enlist the prctective powerof his chosen saintor sajnts.The most searching investigation of amuleticjewellery temainshowevelJoanEvans, Magical Jewek ofthe Middlc Ages analtheRendissanae, paiictiarl)- in Englund(London | 922, repr.New York 1976).

reign ofQueenMary Tudor. The tradition is described by Raymond Crawfurd, 'The blessing of cramp rings', in C. Singer, "lrrdicsin r?" Histor! of Stiew,l (1917), 165-88.

Socieras Magica N.Nsleibr

Sunns

2OlO.

quentlyshownin the act of inlerces sion.One insciption reads'All weakness urd painis removed:lhe healed man eats anddrinks,andevil pass and death away.'For othen we have10infer theamuleticpower by notins the ascribed to the badge usesto which it waspuL Pilg m badges to the door couldbe attached of a house, hungover the bed or on the wall, or incorporated in the bell of a churchor themarginof a manu script, once!he) werebrcught home.

caF Sexualamule6, a signilicanf cgory in their own right, aredeall articlein with in Malcolm Jones's andother the Rotterdamcatalogue, afticlesby the sameauthorin Foll1991).See lore 1Ol and 102(1990, alsoJ.B. Bedaux, 'Laatmiddeleeuwse sexuele amuletten. Ein sociobjologische benaderung', ir Annus qualriga A.M. mddi, ed. J.B.Bedaux, (Zutphen, 1989)16-30. Koldeweij

pagan,wereburiedas gmve-goods. guidefor EngThe comprehensive lish matcrialis Audrey L. Meaney, Anglo StLronanulets aal curing sranes(Oxford,B.A.R., l98l), but there are othergoodrcgionalsurEuropeat least. veys, for norlh-west therehavebe.en Moving easlwards studies of Byzmtine some impo ant amulet traditions.JeffreySpier, 'Medieval Byzantine maliicalamulets and their tradition' , Journalof the Warburg dnd Cout'tauld Insti' lutu.r56 (1993)is both a catalogue to onetmdiof amuletsbelonging tion (a rarething in itself) anda guide to the reseaich and literature. He gives references for instance to anicleson amu the many valuable lets by A.A.Barb which haveappearedin the same ioumal. The Grcekeast languagebanier between and Latin westdoesseemto have amuletic coincidedwilh separate traditionsduing the Middle Ages. Finally this personalexcursion into amulet territory must end with

like brooches Clothingaccessories fumed of or bucklesweresometimes Many museunrs havecollections pilgrim badges. la(geo. small. Two into amulelsby the additionof or area! lhe Museumof inscriptions, whetherinvocations ot the largesr scralched on them in London and in the van Beuningen chancters imitationof the powerfulwods collectionin Rotterdam : excellent on moreexpensivejewelcatalogues exislof both collections, inscribed lery. A useful suweyis G. Eganand namelyBriaDSpencer, Pilgnm F. P|tchard, Medieral Fin ls lion Sowenirs dnd SecularBadgc\ (London:The Slationery office, ErcaNations in London:3, Drcss A.M. Acces sories t. | | 50-c.I 4.t0 (London, 1998); J.H.E.van Beuningen, has H.M.S.O., 1991). Archaeology Koldewei.j, Hcilig en Ptofaan (Cothen, tl, 1993). muchto offer the student ofmediRottedamPapers of cou$e Both catalogues alsodraw attention eval amulels,particularly to secularbadges, and many ofthese for the early Middle Agcs. Many too mustbe rcgarded as amulets. kindsof amulet,bothchristiimand

Query
MarI K. Greer

Many people on fhe TarotDiscussionList (Tarotl) havebeen (or begun) readingbooks in the Magic in History seriesin our if continuingeffort to understand and how magic may havebeen relatedto early l5th c. Tarot. Early wood-block imageswere sometimes usedas charmsot holy relics. Early Tarotsoften have pin holes showingthat they were hunS on a wall (as were woodblock holy picturesprinted by the sameprintersot playing cards)and not just usedin card games.

prcfessor As a former college (literatureandwomen'sstudies) and author of a groupbiographycalled Womenol the Goldcn Dawn: Rebels and Priestesses, I have, with others,beenputting togelher a Timeline oJDirinatio, as relates to Tarot. I am indebted,for instance,to Professor Braekman's work on dice divination, which may be importantsince two dice have 21 possible combinations (the Trumps) and three rolls have 56 (small cards).Will anyone interestedin sharingrcsearch please contactme at taro@nccn.net.

Sdiehs Mlgira Netrnerer Summer 2!OU.

for the

May 3-6, zo0t't:''

:'

Magic I

Dr{ty MaCtc Visions: Magic

ga

a brief look af somesurveysof westernamuletictraditions. The best inhoduction is still that of L. Hansmannand L. KrissRelte\beck, Amuleft und Talisman (Munich, 1977),which has the bonus of a treasuryof excellent illusffations. JeanMarquesT.tlismanset RiviEre,Amulettes, dans les traditions Pantacles

ori entales et occide ntales (Parj.s, 1972)is still useful on medieval amulets. A thoughtful approachto the whole subjectis to be found in E. Boz6ky, 'From Mattet of Devotion to Am:u]ets.'MedieNal Folk lore 3 (1994). The prcblem of astrologicalamuletsis addressed by Bruno Delmas,'M6dailles astrologiques et talismaniques

dansle midi de la France(XlIlL XYI' siicle)' ,96" Congris national des Sociifts savdrts (Tou431-54,and louse,l9? l), vo1.2, the intellectualbackgroundis the subjectof NicolasWeill-Parot, 'Causalitastnle et'science des images' au Moyen Ag": El6ments de r6flexion', Revaed'Histoire des s 59 (1999),2O'7 -40. Science

NewslererSumm.r200tr. Seeh\ M0gico