The "Nine Herbs Charm" is an Old English charm recorded in the tenth-century CEGordon (1962:92–93). Anglo-Saxon medical compilation known as ''

Lacnunga The ''Lacnunga'' ('Remedies') is a collection of miscellaneous Anglo-Saxon medical texts and prayers, written mainly in Old English and Latin. The title ''Lacnunga'', an Old English word meaning 'remedies', is not in the manuscript: it was given t ...

'', which survives on the manuscript, Harley MS 585, in the British Library, at London.Macleod (2006:127). The charm involves the preparation of nine plants. The numbers nine and three, significant in Germanic paganism and later

Germanic folklore Proto-Germanic folklore is the folklore of the speakers of Proto-Germanic and includes topics such as the Germanic mythology, legendry, and folk beliefs of early Germanic culture. By way of the comparative method, Germanic philologists, a vari ...

, are mentioned frequently within the charm. The poem contains references to

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

and English Pagan elements, including a mention of the major Germanic god

Woden Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victor ...

. According to

R. K. Gordon Robert Kay Gordon (1887–1973) was an English scholar of medieval and early modern English literature and administrator at the University of Alberta in Canada. In 1913, having graduated from the Universities of University of Toronto and Oxfo ...

, the poem is "clearly an old heathen thing which has been subjected to Christian censorship." Malcolm Laurence Cameron states that chanting the poem aloud results in a "marvellously incantatory effect".Cameron (1993:144).

Poem contents

Plants

The charm refers to at least nine plants. Scholars have proposed various translations for the plant names, including the following: * ''Mucgwyrt'' Mugwort (''

Artemisia vulgaris ''Artemisia vulgaris'', the common mugwort, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is one of several species in the genus '' Artemisia'' commonly known as mugwort, although ''Artemisia vulgaris'' is the species most ...

'') * ''Wegbrade'' Plantain (''

Plantago ''Plantago'' is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, commonly called plantains or fleaworts. The common name plantain is shared with the unrelated cooking plantain. Most are herbaceous plants, though ...

'') * ''Stune'' Lamb's cress (''

Cardamine hirsuta ''Cardamine hirsuta'', commonly called hairy bittercress, is an annual or biennial species of plant in the family Brassicaceae, and is edible as a salad green. It is common in moist areas around the world. Description Depending on the climat ...

'') * ''Stiðe'' Nettle (''

Urtica ''Urtica'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae. Many species have stinging hairs and may be called nettles or stinging nettles, although the latter name applies particularly to '' Urtica dioica''. ''Urtica'' species are food ...

'') * ''Attorlaðe'' (identified as cockspur grass ('' Echinochloa crus-galli'') by R. K. Gordon; partially defined by others as betony ('' Stachys officinalis'') *''Mægðe'' Mayweed ('' Matricaria''), a genus which includes German camomile (''

Matricaria chamomilla ''Matricaria chamomilla'' (synonym: ''Matricaria recutita''), commonly known as chamomile (also spelled camomile), German chamomile, Hungarian chamomile (kamilla), wild chamomile, blue chamomile, or scented mayweed, is an annual plant of the com ...

'') * ''Wergulu'' Crab-apple (''

Malus ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native to the temperate zone ...

'') * ''Fille'' (identified as thyme ('' Thymus vulgaris'') by R. K. Gordon; defined by others as chervil ('' Anthriscus cerefolium'')) *''Finule'' Fennel (''

Foeniculum vulgare Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

'') At the end of the charm, prose instructions are given to take the above-mentioned plants, crush them to dust, and to mix them with old

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are us ...

and apple residue. Further instructions are given to make a paste from water and ashes, boil fennel into the paste, bathe it with beaten egg – both before and after the prepared salve is applied. Further, the charm directs the reader to sing the charm three times over each of the herbs as well as the apple before they are prepared, into the mouth of the wounded, both of their ears, and over the wound itself prior to the application of the salve.

Woden

The poem contains one of two clear Old English mentions of ''

'' in Old English poetry; the other is '' Maxims I'' of the '' Exeter Book''. The paragraph reads as follows: Suggestions have been made that this passage describes Woden coming to the assistance of the herbs through his use of nine twigs, each twig inscribed with the

runic Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

first-letter initial of a plant.Mayr-Harting (1991:27). In the charm, the parallels between Christ and Woden/Othinn (the Norse version of Woden) illustrate the mixing of paganism and Christianity in order to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. The significance of Othinn is that he gained knowledge of runes by hanging himself of Yggdrasil in self sacrifice. Christ gained his knowledge of the charm while hanging on the cross in his own act of self sacrifice. Here, the lines are blended between what is completely Christian or pagan.

Notes

References

*Cameron, Malcolm Laurence (1993). ''Anglo-Saxon Medicine''. Cambridge University Press. * Gordon, R. K. (1962). ''Anglo-Saxon Poetry''. Everyman's Library #794. M. Dent & Sons, LTD. *Macleod, Mindy; Mees, Bernard (2006).
Runic Amulets and Magic Objects
'.

Boydell Press Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, editio ...

. * Mayr-Harting, Henry (1991).
The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England
'. Penn State Press

Editions