Aspects
of Anglo-Saxon Magic
Bill Griffiths
Magic
is something special, something unauthorised; an alternative perhaps;
even a deliberate cultivation of dark, evil powers. But for the Anglo-Saxon
age, the neat division between mainstream and occult, rational and superstitious,
Christian and pagan is not always easy to discern.
To maintain its authority (or its monopoly?) the Church drew a formal
line and outlawed a range of dubious practices (like divination, spells,
folk healing) while at the same time conducting very similar rituals itself,
and may even have adapted legends of elves to serve in a Christian explanation
of disease as a battle between good and evil, between Church and demons;
in other cases powerful ancestors came to serve as saints.
In pursuit of a better understanding of Anglo-Saxon magic, a wide range
of topics and texts are examined in this book, challenging (constructively,
it is hoped) our stereotyped images of the past and its beliefs. Texts
are printed in their original language (e.g. Old English, Icelandic, Latin)
with New English translations. Contents include:- twenty charms; the English,
Icelandic and Norwegian rune poems; texts on dreams, weather signs, unlucky
days, the solar system; and much more.
£16·95 ISBN 1-898281-33-5 250mm x 175mm 10"
x 7" hardback 256 pages
Leechcraft
Early English Charms, Plantlore and Healing
Stephen Pollington
An unequaled examination of every aspect of early
English healing, including the use of plants, amulets, charms, and prayer.
Other topics include: Anglo-Saxon witchcraft, shaminism, tree-lore, omens,
dreams, runes, gods, elves, dwarfs, and theories of magic.
The author has brought together a wide range of evidence for the English
healing tradition, and presented it in a clear and readable manner.
The three key Old English texts are reproduced in full, accompanied by
new translations.
- Bald's Third Leechbook
- Old English Herbarium
- Lacnunga
28
illustrations
£35·00 ISBN 1-898281-23-8
10" x 7" 254mm x 170mm hardback - 544 pages
Rune Cards
Brian Partridge & Tony Linsell
This boxed set of 30 cards contains some of the most beautiful and
descriptive black and white line drawings that I have ever seen on this
subject. Pagan News
I feel sure that these Rune Cards will quickly gain the recognition
and popularity they richly deserve. Here, one feels, is a package that
provides everything one needs to learn how to read the runes, devised
by an expert who obviously knows his subject thoroughly and whose enthusiasm
successfully inspired a talented artist to transcribe the message of the
rune into evocative images. Prediction Magazine
30 drawings by Brian Partridge - 96 page booklet by Tony Linsell
£9.95 - ISBN 1-898281-34-3
Rudiments of Runelore
Stephen Pollington
The purpose of this book is to provide both a comprehensive
introduction for those coming to the subject for the first time, and a
handy and inexpensive reference work for those with some knowledge of
the subject.
The Abecedarium Nordmannicum and the English, Norwegian and Icelandic
rune poems are included as are two rune riddles, extracts from the Cynewulf
poems and new work on the three Brandon runic inscriptions and the Norfolk
'Tiw' runes.
Headings include: The Origin of the Runes; Runes among the Germans; The
Germanic Rune Row and the Common Germanic Language; The English Runic
Tradition; The Scandinavian Runic Tradition; Runes and Pseudo-runes; The
Use of Runes; Bind Runes and Runic Cryptography.
£4·95 A5 ISBN 1-898281-16-5
Illustrations 96pages
Anglo-Saxon Runes
John. M. Kemble
Kemble's essay On Anglo-Saxon Runes first appeared
in the journal Archaeologia for 1840; it draws on the work of Wilhelm
Grimm, but breaks new ground for Anglo-Saxon studies in his survey of
the Ruthwell Cross and the Cynewulf poems. It is an expression both of
his own indomitable spirit and of the fascination and mystery of the Runes
themselves, making it an attractive introductions to the topic.
For this edition new notes have been supplied, which include translations
of Latin and Old English material quoted in the text, to make this key
work in the study of runes more accessible to the general reader.
£4·95 A5 ISBN 0-9516209-1-6 80
pages