#stephen pollington

[ur-folk]

Woden: A Historical Companion by Stephen Pollington

Published by Uppsala Books 2024

[witchcraftinred]

Many of the carriers are secondary products such as whey and butter from milk, wine from grapes, ale from corn, etc. These substances have all undergone a kind of ‘cultural destruction’ in that they have decayed but are not actually rotten. It is interesting to note that in Anglo-Saxon times a posthumous mark of sainthood was the lack of bodily decay. The carriers are perhaps to be regarded as ‘liminal’ foodstuff, being at once both decayed and yet still edible, and thus well suited to their role of mediation between culture and destruction, healing and harming.

Leechcraft: Early English Charms, Plantlore and Healing by Stephen Pollington

[witchcraftinred]

Metonymy and simile play some part in the choice of which plant is used for which complaint: bulbous plants are used against dwellings, bark is used for skin disease, and so on. Examining the botanical resources in detail, many instances are found of association between the colouring or shape of a plant and the condition it is meant to treat.

Leechcraft: Early English Charms, Plantlore and Healing by Stephen Pollington