IMC 2009: Sessions
Session 701: Reassessing Early Medieval Charms
Tuesday 14 July 2009, 14.15-15.45
| Sponsor: | National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, University of Sheffield |
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| Organiser: | Alaric Hall, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki |
| Moderator/Chair: | Jonathan Roper, School of English, University of Leeds |
| Paper 701-a | Antiquarian Charms?: Charm Traditions and the Uses of the Past (Language: English) Index terms: Anthropology, Folk Studies, Language and Literature - German, Medicine |
| Paper 701-b | Charms and their Manuscript Context: Legal Practice (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Law, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Medicine |
| Paper 701-c | The Early 20th-Century Construction of the Anglo-Saxon Charm, and the Anglo-Saxon Construction of the Early 20th Century (Language: English) Index terms: Anthropology, Language and Literature - Old English, Medicine, Mentalities |
| Abstract | Phil Shaw's paper explores the ways in which charms such as the Merseburg Charms utilise images of the past, considering how far a sense of the past has a role to play in the shaping of charm traditions in use, and in the development of written records of such traditions. Alaric Hall's, in turn, considers the early 20th-century reception of Anglo-Saxon charms, and how these were linked to those of the early 20th-century present. Rachel Fisher explores a family of theft charms, examining examples recorded in legal manuscripts and considering the significance of manuscript context in understanding how the charms were used. She compares the charms to other texts, including charters. |