Borrowing or Tradition

Abstract

A difficult problem presenting itself to us in connection with the charms and the magical practices found in O.E. manuscripts is in how far they are borrowed from the classics and from Christian sources and in how far they go back to Germanic customs and practices. The greater part of our material comes from manuscripts in which not only classical influences are recognisable but which often give literal translations of whole passages from classical authors. This is especially the case with the magical practices and charms scattered throughout the Leechbook and the Lacnunga; to a less extent it is true also of the charms noted down in the margins, on the fly-leaves and in open spaces of manuscripts that contain an O.E. text. Before attempting to prove that a given text is Anglo-Saxon, classical or Christian, we shall have first to show that an Anglo-Saxon tradition existed in England. After that we can pass on to drawing up certain criteria that can help us in distinguishing between Anglo-Saxon and classical tradition. Christian influences seem much easier to detect though occasionally we are confronted with some knotty problems.