A Bard's Blog

The presentation examined a medieval way of protecting manuscripts and books from thieves: the anathema, or the book curse. It discussed how these curses came about and included examples from a wide range of times and cultures as well as learn the anathema formula. Presented in 2020 during Lockdowns for the East Kingdom A& S series.

A few more links I found: http://www.library.vcu.edu/preservation/curse.html http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/specialcollections/exhibits/past/ploughing/index.htm I was trying to work on a poem for "inspiration" but these curses make me laugh. So, inspired by a favorite curse all around--book in the Monastery of San Pedro in Barcelona I wrote my own. The Original: For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand & rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, & all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying aloud for mercy, & let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not, & when at last he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him for ever.  from a book in the Monastery of San Pedro in Barcelona I wasn't found of the rhyme from this one but I did like the sentime...

Mixing it up a little, I'm going to start including posts about research, including links to interesting finding. This was originally posted on my livejournal blog http://alienorh.livejournal.com I always knew that books were very valuable in period, but the discovery that clerks wrote in "book curses" against anyone who would steal a book amuses me. I glossed over the apparent used of it when I read Chaucer's "House of Fame" Some examples I loved:  "Whoever steals this book let him die the death; let be him be frizzled in a pan; may the falling sickness rage within him; may he be broken on the wheel and be hanged" Placing Middle English in context By Irma Taavitsainen has a chapter where she discuses the use of the genre. Anathema!: Medieval Scribes and the History of Book Curses‎ by Marc Drogin, apparently also discusses it. "Whoever Alters This, May God Turn His Face from Him on the Day of Judgment": Curses in Anglo-Saxon Le...