''Segen'' is a German word translating to "blessing, benediction; charm; prayer; spell, incantation". It is in origin a loan from Latin ''signum'' ''sīgnāre'' "to make a sign", viz. the

Sign of the Cross Making the sign of the cross (), also known as blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is both a prayer and a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. It is a very significant prayer because Christians are acknowledging ...

used to confer a Christian

blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with doctrines of grace, grace, Sacred, holiness, spiritual Redemption (theology), redemption, or Will of God, divine will. Etymology and Germani ...

, The term is attested as

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

''seganōn'' from as early as c. AD 800, resulting in a modern ''segnen'' "to bless". The noun ''Segen'' "blessing" was derived from the verb at an early time, attested in the 9th century as ''segan''.

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

had the corresponding ''sægnan'', which survives as the dialectal (esp. Scottish) ''sain'' (popularized by Scott, '' Heart of Mid-Lothian'' "God sain us"). The concept of ''Segen'', understood magically, was very productive in the

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

folk religion Folk religion, traditional religion, or vernacular religion comprises, according to religious studies and folkloristics, various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized religion. ...

and

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

German-speaking Europe This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the Germanosphere () in Europe, German-speaking minority languag ...

, studied in great detail by the German philologists and folklorists of the 19th century. The medieval church used the ''Segen'' (the sign of the cross with a spoken formula) liberally, intended as an act with protective effect, putting the person or thing blessed under the protection of God. Nor was the action reserved for priests or clerics, but any Christian was permitted to make the sign of the cross and invoke the protection of God. Thus the ''Segen'' came to be seen as the inverse of the

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

(''Fluch''), magical acts with the power to either protect or harm. The concept of ''Segen'' thus became the continuant of the incantation formulas of the pre-Christian period (the only surviving samples of which are the

Merseburg Incantations The Merseburg charms, Merseburg spells, or Merseburg incantations () are two medieval magic spells, charms or incantations, written in Old High German. They are the only known examples of Germanic pagan belief preserved in the language. They were ...

). Use of such formulas was partly encouraged by the Church, as they did superficially involve an expression of piety by the invocation of God, Christ or the Virgin Mary, but at the same time their magical use was viewed with scepticism and was sometimes repressed. By the time of the Early Modern witch-hunts, the term ''segen'' had become ambiguous, and depending on context could refer to a harmless farewell, to a pious invocation of God, or to a Satanic or superstitious spell (''pro incantamento et adjuratione magica'' Stieler 1669; e.g. ''

Wolfssegen In Bavarian folklore of the Early Modern period, a ''Wolfssegen'' (; also ''Wolfsegen, Wolf-Segen'') was an apotropaic charm against wolves; conversely, a ''Wolfbann'' (''Wolf-Bann'') was a malevolent spell causing a wolf attack. The ''Wolfss ...

'' "contra lupos").Manifestation Techniques
/ref> This early modern usage survives in dialectal variation throughout the rural parts of German-speaking Europe. For

German-speaking Switzerland The German-speaking part of Switzerland ( ; ; ; ) comprises about 65 percent of Switzerland (North Western Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Central Switzerland, most of the Swiss Plateau and the greater part of the Swiss Alps). The variety ...

, the ''

Schweizerisches Idiotikon ''Schweizerisches Idiotikon'' ("the Swiss idioticon", also known as ''Wörterbuch der schweizerdeutschen Sprache'' "Dictionary of the Swiss German language") is an ongoing, major project of lexicography of the Swiss German dialects. Publication beg ...

'
7,444 "Sëgeⁿ"
records some two dozen compounds in ''-sëgeⁿ'', in some of which ''Segen'' takes the meaning "prayer" and in others "spell, charm". A notable concept in Swiss folklore is the ''Alpsegen'' (''Alpe(n)sëgeⁿ, Alpsëgeⁿ''

, a folk religious custom in Alpine Switzerland where every night a prayer must be sung over each

Alpine pasture Alpine transhumance is transhumance as practiced in the Alps, that is, a seasonal droving of grazing livestock between the valleys in winter and the high mountain pastures in summer (German language, German ' from the term for "seasonal mount ...

. This combined the function of an apotropaic charm with a practical aspect of communicating between remote pastures; if the ''Alpsegen'' was not heard from a neighbouring site, it would be a sign that a misfortune or accident had befallen and the neighbours would come to aid.

References

{{reflist Folk Christianity Magical thinking German folklore Austrian folklore Swiss folklore