"And straightway the fountain of her blood dried up" (Mark 5:29): constructing a template for late medieval Irish obstetric charms

Abstract

A general structural template of late medieval Irish obstetric charms is constructed on the basis of 15 hitherto unpublished obstetric charms found in 15th - 17th century Irish manuscripts. These 15 charms are edited, translated and analysed, both philologically and structurally. An index of Irish charms found in 8th to 19th century manuscripts, sorted by function of the charm and date of the manuscript, is attached as an appendix.