Leechbook
III LXII - 4
If a man hath aelfsogotha, (heart
burn) his eyes are yellow,
where they should be red. If thou have
a will to
cure the man, observe his gestures,
and consider of what
sex he be; if it be a man and looketh
up, when thou
first seest him, and the countenance
be yellowish black,
thou mayst cure the man thoroughly if
he is not too
long in the disease; if it is a woman
and looketh
down, when thou first seest her, and
her countenance
is livid red, thou mayst also cure
that; if it has been
upon the man longer than a twelvemonth
and a day,
and the aspect be such as this, then
mayst thou amend
it for a while, and notwithstanding
mayst not entirely
cure it. Write this writing:
"Scriptum est, rex regum et
dominus dominantium Veronica, Veronica, . . הוהי
Αγιος, αγιος, αγιος,sanctus, sanctus,
sanctus, domilinus, deus sabaoth, amen, alleluiah”
Sing this over the drink and the
writing:
"Deus omnipotens, pater domini
nostri Iesu Christi, per impositionem hums
a scriptures expelle a famulo tuo, here insert the name,
omnem impetum castalidum de capite, de
capillis, de
cerebro, defronte, de lingua, de
sublingua, de gutture, de
a faucibus, de dentibus, de oculis, de
naribus, de auribus,
de manibus, de collo, de brachiis, de
corde, de anima,
de genibus, de coxis, de pedibus, de
compaginibus
omnium membrorum intus et foris.
Amen."
Then work up a drink thus; font water,
rue, sage, cassuck,
dragons, the netherward part of the
smooth waybroad,
feverfue, a head of dill, three cloves
of garlic, fennel,
wormwood, lovage, lupin, of all equal
quantities; write
a cross three times with the oil of
unction, and say,
“Pax tibi”. Then take the writing,
describe a cross
with it over the drink, and sing this
over it:
"Dominus omnipotens, pater domini
nostri Iesu Christi, per im-
positionem huius scripturse et per
gustum huius expelle
diabolum a famulo tuo;"
here insert the name, and the Credo,
and Paternoster. Wet the writing in the drink,
and write a cross with it on every limb,
and say:
“Signum crucis Christi conservet te in
vitam aeternam. Amen."
Translation
of the Latin/Hebrew/Greek
“It is written, king of kings and lord
of lords, Veronica, Veronica god saint, saint, saint holy, holy, holy, is the lord of the hosts
amen, alleluia”.
Sing this over the drink and the
writing:
“God Almighty, Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, by the imposition of writing, drive away from this thy servant,
here insert the name,
every attack of the nymph from the
head, the hair, of the brain, of the front of the tongue, of the under-tongue,
of the throat, of a throat, from the teeth, of the eyes, of the nose, about the
ears, out of the hands, from the neck, of the arms, out of the heart, of the
soul, the knees, the hips, the feet, the structure of all the members, within
and without. Amen”.
…..and sing this over it:
“Lord almighty, the father of our lord
Jesus Christ, by the imposition of this Scripture and the taste of this drive
your servant of the devil".
Here insert the name, and the Credo,
and Paternoster. Wet the writing in the drink,
and write a cross with it on every
limb, and say:
“The sign of the cross of Christ may
keep thee in life everlasting. Amen”.
Possible
Modifications to paganise the text
We can make simple changes e.g. font water to holy water,
the writing of a cross to that of a rune but some texts present more of a
challenge. Here is my attempt at the charm:
Write this writing:
“It is written, lord of lords, Drychten of Drychten, Wodan,
Wodan, Wodan, holy, holy, holy, is the lord of the Ese, so
mote it be”.
Sing this over the drink and the
writing:
Wodan, by the imposition of writing,
drive away from this thy servant, here
insert the name,
every attack of the scucca from the head, the hair, of the brain, of the front
of the tongue, of the under-tongue, of the throat, of a throat, from the teeth,
of the eyes, of the nose, about the ears, out of the hands, from the neck, of
the arms, out of the heart, of the soul, the knees, the hips, the feet, the
structure of all the members, within and without. So mote it be”.
Then work up a drink thus; holy water,
rue, sage, cassuck,
dragons, the netherward part of the
smooth waybroad,
feverfue, a head of dill, three cloves
of garlic, fennel,
wormwood, lovage, lupin, of all equal
quantities; write
three runes with the consecrated oil,
and say,
“peace to you”. Then take the writing,
describe a rune
with it over the drink, and sing this
over it:
“Almighty Drychten, by the imposition
of this galdor and its taste, banish your servant of the scucca".
Here
insert the name, and an invocation to Wodan (Wodan weoh! Wodan ure þu, þe eart on heofonum, Si þin nama gehalgod. Hwæt we nied, syle us
todæg, Gewurþe ðin willa! = Wodan make sacred, Our Wodan, that is in
heaven, your name is holy, what we need, give us today, be done your will).
Wet the writing in the drink and write a rune with it on
every limb, and say:
“May the power of this rune keep thee
in life”.
