Verbal Medicines: The Curative Power of Prayer and Invocation in Early English Charms

by Leslie K. Arnovick

Religious texts played a central role in Early English, and this innovative book looks in particular at how medieval Christians used prayers and psalms in healing the sick. At first glance, the variety and multiplicity of utterances, prayers, exorcistic formulas, and other incantations found in a single charm may seem to be random and eclectic. However, this book shows that charms had distinct, logical linguistic characteristics, as well performative...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1009423142
• ISBN13: 9781009423144
• Release Date: June 2024
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 275 Pages