Horse Blessings and Worm Exorcism, or: Overcoming Contingency in the Early Middle Ages. From Pagan Germanic Magic Spells to Christian Apotropaic Micronarratives.

Abstract

Old High German incantations, blessings and spells can be considered the roots of vernacular literature and at the same time pursue apotropaic ambitions. With their performative instructions and motivic topoi, they oscillate between magic, medicine and religion. Using the example of a number of prominent horse blessings and worm exorcisms, the series of motifs and communities of tradition that emerge from time to time are presented and analysed as ›temporal communities‹. The codicological findings provide an insight into the cultural and praxeological contexts in which the sayings are passed on so that they can unfold their effect and contribute to overcoming contingency.