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ABSTRACT
This paper presents a novel method to access lived religion and magical practices of a Medieval congregation via sermons combined with material culture. Previously, scholars have dismissed sermons as having low ‘truth value’ due to the copying inherent in the genre. In this paper, I first examine how one Danish sermon was adapted from a German model to fit a local context. This adaptation reveals specific local practices that the preacher thought were relevant to his congregation. Secondly, I demonstrate how several practices described in the sermons are mirrored in surviving non-normative material evidence such as amulets and incantations in manuscripts. This interdisciplinary combination of sermon studies, magic studies, archaeology, and medieval studies yields an as-yet-untapped source group. The paper concludes that 1) sermons can indeed be used as sources for magical practices and lived religion, and 2) they can be used as sources for practices that did not leave material evidence. Finally, discussions of the importance of material evidence in sermon studies and how magical practices were both locally anchored and part of an international network are broached.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
Data is available from the corresponding author, CD, upon reasonable request.
Notes
1. Riising, “Introduction,” 20–1.
2. Flint, The Rise of Magic, 3; Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, 46.
3. Ammerman, “Lived Religion as an Emerging Field,” 83.
4. Edden, “Devils, Sermon Stories, and the Problem of Popular Belief,” 214.
5. Gilchrist, Sacred Heritage, 110.
6. Mitchell, “Scandinavia,” 138–9.
7. Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages, 175.
8. Thayer, “Medieval Sermon Studies since ‘The Sermon’,” 27.
9. Voltmer, “Preaching on Witchcraft?” 193–215.
10. Filotas, Pagan Survivals, 57.
11. Ibid., 42–3, 360.
12. Mariani, “Roberto Caracciollo Da Lecce’s Sermons,” 18, 201.
13. Conti, Witchcraft, Superstition and Observant Franciscan Preachers, 87–8.
14. Ibid., 159.
15. Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,”: fol. 167 r:1; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 149.
16. Conti, Witchcraft, Superstition and Observant Franciscan Preachers, 166–7.
17. Filotas, Pagan Survivals, 61.
18. See the only two contributions to the field since 1969: Adams, Jonathan. “Preaching about an Absent Minority: Medieval Danish Sermons and Jews,” In The Jewish-Christian Encounter in Medieval Preaching, edited by Jonathan Adams and Jussi Hanska, 92–116. Routledge Research in Medieval Studies. Routledge, 2015; and Kjøller-Rasmussen, Jonas. “Nupcie facte sunt: Et transreformatorisk, kontekstualiserende studie af tre prædikener til anden søndag efter helligtrekonger.” Dansk Teologisk Tidsskrift 81, no. 2 (2018): 101–7.
19. Riising, Danmarks middelalderlige prædiken, 57.
20. Siggins, A Harvest of Medieval Preaching, 2–8.
21. Ibid., 12.
22. Riising, “Introduction,“ 20–1.
23. Murray, “Religion among the Poor,” 298–9.
24. Conti, Witchcraft, Superstition and Observant Franciscan Preachers, 93.
25. ‘O mulier mag[na] est fides tua’, in Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 164 v:1.
26. ‘Si vis ad vita[m] ingredi [ser]ua ma[n]data dei’, in Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 454 r:2.
27. Søvsø, “Om datering af Ribe runehjerneskallen,” 175.
28. Kallestrup, “Svoren til Ild og Brand,” 64.
29. Lindgaard, “Fri os fra Det Onde,”79–80.
30. Houlbrook and Armitage, “Introduction,” 4.
31. Imer, “Lumps of Lead,” 20–1.
32. Information kindly provided by Dr. Lisbeth Imer at the National Museum of Denmark.
33. Imer, “Lumps of Lead,” 19–20.
34. Forshaw, “Magical Material, and Material Survivals,” 363, 368.
35. Ibid., 366.
36. Imer, “Lumps of Lead,” 29.
37. Søndergaard, “Polyphony and Pragmatism in Scandinavian Spells,” 118.
38. Olsan, “Charms and Prayers in Medieval Medical Theory and Practice,” 362.
39. Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 455 r:1; Herolt, “Genera hominum sermon,” fol. 166 v:1; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 147.
40. Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 149; Herolt, “Genera hominum sermon,” fol. 167 r:1.
41. Filotas, Pagan Survivals, 244–6.
42. ‘Item qui fatu[m] tenent etiam grauiter peccant vt m[u]lti dicu[n]t q[ua]n[do] h[om]o male morit[ur] siue suspe[n]dit[ur] siue rotat[ur] et sic dealijs [quod] deus sic voluit [et] ordinauit et h[om]o tal[ia] ad hoc nat[us] sit [quod] t[a]lia pati debuit hoc dice[re] e[st] g[ra]ue p[ec]c[a]t[u]m [quod] e[st] loq[uitur] co[n]tra honore[m] dei [quod] de[us] no[n] vvlt n[on] bonum’.
43. ‘Item peccant contra primum preceptum sortilegi qui fatum tenent. Fatum in vulgari dicitur skebninghe, et graviter peccant qui fatum tenent dicendo, quando homo mala morte moritur, sive suspenditur, sive comburitur, tunc tales dicunt quod Deus sic voluit et ordinavit, et ad hoc natus est ille quod talia pati debuit. Hoc est contra honorem Dei loqui quia Deus non vult nisi bonum’.
44. Herolt, “Genera hominum sermon,” fol. 166 r:1; Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 454 v:2; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 147.
45. ‘Insuper nec est eis credendum [quod] dyabolus qui per eas loquit[ur] mendax est’, in Herolt, “Genera hominum sermon,” fol. 166 r:2; ‘Et insup[er] no[n] est eis credendu[m]. [Quod] dyabolus q[ui] per eas loq[ui]tur sc[ien]d[u]m dictu[m] [Christ]i in eua[n]gelio Joh. Viiij. Mendax est [et] pater eius’, in Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 454 v:2; ‘Nec est eis credendum, quia diabolus qui per eas loquitur, mendax est et pater ipsius mendacis’ in Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 147.
46. ‘Vicesimi su[n]t qui sciu[n]t nigromantia[m] [et] su[n]t illi q[ui] manu[m] ho[mini]s ab intra respitiu[n]t [et] ibi p[er] qua[n]da[m] cruce[m] in manu ex[iste]nte[m] cognosce[re] volu[n]t vt[rum] citi[us] mori debeat’.
47. ‘Item aliqui sunt qui sciunt cyromanciam, et sunt hii qui manum hominis ad intum inspiciunt et illic per quandam crucem in manu existentem cognoscere volunt utrum si mori debeant’.
48. Tørnsø, Djævletro og folkemagi, 83.
49. Catherine Rider defines ‘carminatrices’ as ‘women who use charms’ in Rider, “Danger, Stupidity, and Infidelity,” 193.
50. Herolt, “Genera hominum sermon,” fol. 168 v:1.
51. Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 454 v:2; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 146.
52. Tørnsø, Djævletro og folkemagi, 74–5.
53. Broedel, The Malleus Maleficarum and the Construction of Witchcraft, 176.
54. ‘Melius te calco quam te porto’.
55. Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 147; Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 455 r:1.
56. F. Ohrt, Danmarks Trylleformler, 208: ‘Jeg staar vvnder hyllden den bollde,/mig ryster den hæde och den kollde./Gud giffue, hun nu ryste dig saa lennge och mere,/indtill Jomfru Maria faar Sönner flere’. (my translation).
57. Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 147; Herolt, “Genera hominum sermon,” fol. 168 v:1.
58. Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 455 r:1; Herolt, “Genera hominum sermon,” fol. 167 v:1; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 147.
59. Macleod and Mees, Runic Amulets, 161.
60. Fiddyment et al. Girding the loins?, 4–5.
61. Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 148; Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 455 r:2.
62. Bailey, Fearful Spritis, Reasoned Follies, 10.
63. Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 455 r:2; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 148.
64. Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 147; Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 455 r:2: ‘[…] cum vulneribus Jhesu Christi se carminant intus’.
65. ‘Ite[m] qui sa[n]guine[m] carminisa[n]t cum homo crue[n]tat’, in Herolt, “Genera hominum sermon,” fol. 168 r:2; Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 455 r:2; ‘Item quidam carminant super vulneribus et vulneratis’, in Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 147.
66. ‘Contra fluxum sanguinis/Sta, sanguis in te sicut ihesus stetit in se/sta sanguis in tua sicut ihesus stetit in morte sua/Sta sanguis infixum sicut ihesus stetit in crucifixum &c’. in Kroon et al., A Danish Teacher’s Manual, 433.
67. ‘Wllnera quinque dei sint medicina mei’. in ibid., 121.
68. Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 168r2; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 150.
69. Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 148; Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 166 v:2.
70. Kallestrup, Agents of Witchcraft, 25, 77–8.
71. Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 149.
72. Søvsø, “Tro, håb og kærlighed,” 271.
73. Märcher, “En ny start i en krisetid,”361.
74. Søvsø, “Middelalderlige ringspænder,” 200–1.
75. ‘Q[uin]decimi su[n]t q[ui] l[ite]ras circa se ponu[n]t vel porta[n]t et tale[m] fide[m] adhibe[n]t illis l[ite]ris vel or[ati]onib[us] q[uo]d q[ua]n[do] inspitiu[n]t vel ora[n]t v[e]l circa se porta[n]t credu[n]t q[uo]d no[n] p[o]n[u]nt co[m]buri [ve]l submergi [ve]l vulnerai. Ite[m] q[uo]d no[n] p[o]n[u]nt co[m]buri [ve]l submergi [ve]l vulnerai. Ite[m] qui scribe[n] l[ite]ras con[tra] dolore]m] dentiu[m] v[e]l oculo[rum] v[e]l alia[rum] infirmitatu[m] om[ni]s peccant et similiter q[ui] doce[n]t. Item l[ite]ra quo d[icitu]r longitudo [Christi] reprobat[ur]. [Quod] in ea inscribu[n]tur no[m]i[n]a incognita et tenent quicu[m]q[ue] circa se portauerit [quod] no[n] potest comburi q[ui] o[mn]ia su[n]t sup[er]stitiosa’.
76. ‘Item sunt aliqui qui literas circa se portant et talem fidem adhibent illis literis vel oracionibus, quod quando inspiciunt, orant vel circa se portant, quod non possunt comburi vel submergi nec vulnerari nec interfici. Item qui scribunt literas contra dolorem dentium, oculorum aliarumque infirmitatum, peccant qui scribunt, portant vel docent. Item litera, que nominatur longitudo Christi, reprobatur quia in ea sunt nomina scripta non cognita. Et cum hoc quod quicunque circa se portaverit, non potest comburi vel submergi, et mulieres, que eam circa se habent, non possunt in partu periclitari, que omnia sunt supersticiosa’.
77. Skemer, Binding Words, 143.
78. Lugli, The Making of Measure, 148.
79. Skemer, Binding Words, 63–4.
80. For illustrative Danish examples, see Imer, “Lumps of Lead,” 21–7.
81. Imer, “Lumps of Lead,” 32.
82. Imer, “Lumps of Lead,” 24.
83. ‘Contra dolorem dencium/Ihesus christus qui est et qui erat et qui venturus est li-/beret.N. de dolore dencium Epas nebas/Epin nebeum tendula dracones est vermis/In nomine patris C pax et filii et spiritus sancti salus/et remedium C in nomine patris C et filii C/et spiritus sancti Amen’. in Kroon et al., A Danish Teacher’s Manual, 433.
84. Skemer, Binding Words, 47.
85. Imer, “Lumps of Lead,” 30.
86. Tørnsø, Djævletro og folkemagi, 11–2.
87. Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 168 r:1; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 150.
88. Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 150–1: ‘Unde sanctus Thomas dicit: Licet ex virtute sacramenti sub specie panis sit tantum corpus et sub specie vini sit tantum sanguis, tamen propter materialem concomitanciam sub utraque specie sc. panis et vini, est totus Christus sc. secundum corpus et animam et divinitatem’; Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 168 v:2.
89. Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 167 r:2; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 149.
90. Ezra, “The Ways That Never Parted,” 262.
91. Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 167 r:2; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 149.
92. Hindley, “Eating Words and Burning Them,” 362–3, footnote 11.
93. Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 151; Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 168 v:2; Herolt, “Fidei est fundamentum,” fol. 454 v:2.
94. Conti, Witchcraft, Superstition and Observant Franciscan Preachers, 265.
95. Filotas, Pagan Survivals, 74–6.
96. Ibid., 45.
97. Bailey, “Witchcraft and Demonology in the Middle Ages,” 49.
98. Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 149; Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 167 r:2.
99. Filotas, Pagan Survivals, 121, 125.
100. Søndergaard, “Polyphony and Pragmatism,” 120.
101. McLeod and Mees, Runic Amulets and Magic Objects, 124–7.
102. ‘Ite[m] aliqui dicu[n]t [quod] a[n]i[m]a egressa a corp[o]re tunc p[ri]ma nocte p[er]noctabit cu[m] beata v[ir]gine. Secu[n]da nocte cum archeangelo michaele. Tertia nocta vadit sc[ien]d[u]m [quod] diffinitu[m] est de ea quod est erroneu[m]’.
103. ‘Item aliqui dicunt quod quando anima egressa est de corpore, tunc prima nocte pernoctabit cum beata Gertrude, alia nocte cum Michaele archangelo glorioso. Sed 3a nocte videt sicut diffinitum est de ea, quod eciam erroneum est’.
104. Bisgaard, “Bykultur og byliv,” 281.
105. Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 167 v:2; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 150.
106. Bjork, “Limbo”.
107. Harris, “Old Ideas for a New Debate,” 140.
108. Herolt, “Genera hominum sermone,” fol. 167 v; Madsen, Liber Petri Mathie, 150.
109. Søvsø, Søvsø, and Siggaard, “Om hugorme, dyrekranier og tordensten,” 67.
110. Søvsø, “Findes bygningsofre og andre arkæologiske spor,” 237–8, 244.
111. Tørnsø, Djævletro og folkemagi, 104–6.
112. Ibid., 107–9.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Clara Dalsgaard
Clara Dalsgaard (b. 1995) is an independent scholar based in Copenhagen. Between 2016 and 2020, she attained a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Copenhagen. From 2020 to 2022, she obtained an interdisiciplinary master’s degree in medieval studies from Stockholm University. Her research interests include the sermon studies, materiality, the history of magic, the history of religions, and Old Norse studies.