Speaking and writing
diamesic variation in Germanic magic
Abstract
Germanic charm incantations are written texts which preserve the oral nature of magic as the recitation, singing or reading of texts represent a kind of oral performance. However, bracteates, runic inscriptions, poetical texts, charms preserved in manuscripts, as well as amulets, provide evidence that writing, together with whispering and silence, strongly contributed to the efficacy of the charms in the Germanic tradition. In fact, if Old English gealdor, cweþan and Old High German sprechan, which occur in Germanic charm incantations, refer to the power of the spoken word, Old Icelandic rísta (rúnar), Old English wrītan, gemearcan and Old High German scrīban, reveal that writing was part of the diamesic variation in the performance of charms. By focusing on the occurrences of the words belonging to the semantic area of writing in Germanic magical texts, this paper investigates the specific role of writing as a medium meant to strengthen the magical power of words and transform the handling of a marked/signed object into the handling of a magic object.
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