Why does the King’s counselor in Bede’s excerpt think they should convert to Christianity?
What is the metaphor in Juliana of Norwich’s excerpt? What do you think it means?
The “Journey Charm” and “Nine Herbs Charm” contain folk remedies for common ailments. What do you think of them? What folk remedies did you grow up with?
There is a tension here between Pagan and Christian motifs. How does this relate to the time period?
Wen, wen, squatting like a chicken
you must not build here, you may not have a home here
but you must go away to the north
unto the near town where you have,
wretched thing, a brother.
He will lay you, leaf & crown
under the feet of wolves,
under the plumes of eagles,
under the eagle’s claw
ever you will remain there.
Shrink as a coal in the hearth.
Crumble like dung falling away.
Fade like water in a puddle.
Grow so tiny like a grain of linseed,
and much less, an earwig’s hipbone,
and smaller still until you are all gone.
Surprisingly, in Bates’s excerpt, this dramatized charm DOES work and the woman is healed by the Wolfman. Why do you think she gets better? The book is narrated by Wat Brand, a Christian scribe who is observing pagan ways to report back to monks; in this chapter, he observes and reluctantly assists in the healing of the woman. He has never seen a healing like this done before and has a variety of reactions to it. How does his opinion of the Wolfman change over the course of the chapter, and why?
What sorts of values did common people have, as gleaned from these various excerpts from Medieval times?
Why do you think these charms were recorded (considering that they were written down by monks)?
What do you notice about structure and style in these charms and excerpts? Do you recognize, or almost recognize, any words from the Old English?
