The xiiii. Chapter.
Choice of Charmes against the falling evill, the biting of a mad dog, the stinging of a scorpion, the toothach, for a woman in travell, for the Kings evill, to get a thorne out of any member, or a bone out of ones throte, charmes to be said fasting, or at the gathering of hearbs, for sore eies, to open locks, against spirits, for the bots in a horsse, and speciallie for the Duke of Albas horsse, for sowre wines, &c.
HERE be innumerable charmes of conjurers, bad physicians, lewd surgians, melancholike witches, and couseners, for all diseases and greefes; speciallie for such as bad physicians and surgions knowe not how to cure, and in truth are good stuffe to shadow their ignorance, whereof I will repeate some.
For the falling evill.
TAke the sicke man by the hand, and whisper these wordes softlie in his eare, I conjure thee by the sunne and moone, and by243. the gospell of this daie delivered by God to Hubert, Giles, Cornelius, and John, that thou rise and fall no more. ❈ Otherwise: Drinke in the night at a spring water out of a skull of one that hath beene slaine. ❈ Otherwise: Eate a pig killed with a knife that slew a man. ❈ Otherwise as followeth.
Ananizapta ferit mortem, dum lædere quærit,
Est mala mors capta, dum dicitur Ananizapta,
Ananizapta Dei nunc miserere mei.
Englished by Abraham Fleming.
{
Ananizapta smiteth death,
whiles harme intendeth he,
This word Ananizapta say,
and death shall captive be,
Ananizapta ô of God,
have mercie now on me.
}
¶ Against the biting of a mad dog.
PUt a silver ring on the finger,J. Bodinus. lib. de dæmon 3. cap. 5. within the which these words are graven ✠ Habay ✠ habar ✠ hebar ✠ & saie to the person bitten with a mad dog, I am thy saviour, loose not thy life: and then pricke him in the nose thrise, that at each time he bleed. ❈ Otherwise: Take pilles made of the skull of one that is hanged. ❈ Otherwise: Write upon a peece of bread, Irioni, khiriora, esser, khuder, feres; and let it be eaten by the/176. partie bitten. ❈ Otherwise: O rex gloriæ Jesu Christe, veni cum pace: In nomine patris max, in nomine filii max, in nomine spiritus sancti prax: Gasper, Melchior, Balthasar ✠ prax ✠ max ✠ Deus I max ✠
But in troth this is verie dangerous; insomuch as if it be not speedilie and cunninglie prevented, either death or frensie insueth, through infection of the humor left in the wound bitten by a mad dog: which bicause bad surgions cannot cure, they have therfore used foolish cousening charmes. But Dodonæus in his herball saith, that the hearbe Alysson cureth it: which experiment, I doubt not, will proove more true than all the charms in the world. But where he saith, that the same hanged at a mans gate or entrie, preserveth him and his cattell from inchantment, or bewitching, he is overtaken with follie./
¶ Against the biting of a scorpion.244.
SAie to an asse secretlie, and as it were whispering in his eare; I am bitten with a Scorpion.
¶ Against the toothach.
SCarifie the gums in the greefe, with the tooth of one that hath beene slaine. ❈ Otherwise: Galbes galbat, galdes galdat. ❈ Otherwise: A ab hur hus, &c. ❈ Otherwise: At saccaring of masse hold your teeth togither, and say *Os* That is, You shall not breake or diminish a bone of him. non comminuetis ex eo. ❈ Otherwise: strigiles falcesq; dentatæ, dentium dolorem persanate; O horssecombs and sickles that have so many teeth, come heale me now of my toothach.
¶ A charme to release a woman in travell.
THrowe over the top of the house, where a woman in travell lieth, a stone, or any other thing that hath killed three living creatures; namelie, a man, a wild bore, and a she beare.
¶ To heale the Kings or Queenes evill, or any other sorenesse in the throte.
REmedies to cure the Kings or Queenes evill, is first to touch the place with the hand of one that died an untimelie death. ❈ Otherwise: Let a virgine fasting laie hir hand on the sore, and saie; Apollo denieth that the heate of the plague can increase, where a naked virgine quencheth it: and spet three times upon it.
¶ A charme read in the Romish church, upon saint Blazes daie, that will fetch a thorne out of anie place of ones bodie, a bone out of the throte, &c: Lect. 3.
FOr the fetching of a thorne out of any place of ones bodie, or a bone out of the throte, you shall read a charme in the Romish church upon S. Blazes daie; to wit, Call upon God, and remember S. Blaze. This S. Blaze could also heale all wild beasts that were sicke or lame, with laieng on of his hands: as appeareth in the lesson red on his daie, where you shall see the matter at large.//
¶ A charme for the headach.245. 177.
TIe a halter about your head, wherewith one hath beene hanged.
¶ A charme to be said each morning by a witch fasting, or at least before she go abroad.
THE fier bites, the fier bites, the fier bites; Hogs turd over it, hogs turd over it, hogs turd over it; The father with thee, the sonne with me, the holie-ghost betweene us both to be: ter. Then spit over one shoulder, and then over the other, and then three times right forward.
¶ Another charme that witches use at the gathering of their medicinable hearbs.
Haile be thou holie hearbe
growing on the ground
All in the mount *Calvarie* Though neither the hearbe nor the witch never came there.
first wert thou found,
Thou art good for manie a sore,
And healest manie a wound,
In the name of sweete Jesus
I take thee from the ground.
¶ An old womans charme, wherewith she did much good in the countrie, and grew famous thereby.
AN old woman that healed all diseases of cattell (for the which she never tooke any reward but a penie and a loafe) being seriouslie examined by what words she brought these things to passe, confessed that after she had touched the sicke creature, she alwaies departed immediatelie; saieng:
My loafe in my lap,
my penie in my pursse;
Thou are never the better,
and I am never the wursse./
Another like charme.246.
A Gentlewoman having sore eies, made hir mone to one, that promised hir helpe, if she would follow his advise: which was onelie to weare about hir necke a scroll sealed up, whereinto she might not looke. And she conceiving hope of cure thereby, received it under the condition, and left hir weeping and teares, wherewith she was woontNote the force of constant opinion, or fixed fancy. to bewaile the miserable darkenesse, which she doubted to indure: whereby in short time hir eies were well amended. But alas! she lost soone after that pretious jewell, and thereby returned to hir woonted weeping, and by consequence to hir sore eies. Howbeit, hir jewell or scroll being found againe, was looked into by hir deere friends, and this onelie posie was conteined therein:
178.The divell pull out both thine eies,
And *etish* Spell the word backward, and you shall soone see this slovenlie charme or appension. in the holes likewise.
Whereby partlie you may see what constant opinion can doo, according to the saieng of Plato; If a mans fansie or mind give him assurance that a hurtfull thing shall doo him good, it may doo so, &c.
A charme to open locks.
AS the hearbes called AethiopidesTheevish charmes. will open all locks (if all be true that inchanters saie) with the help of certeine words: so be there charmes also and periapts, which without any hearbs can doo as much: as for example. Take a peece of wax crossed in baptisme, and doo but print certeine floures therein, and tie them in the hinder skirt of your shirt; and when you would undoo the locke, blow thrise therin, saieng; Arato hoc partiko hoc maratarykin. I open this doore in thy name that I am forced to breake, as thou brakest hell gates, In nomine patris, & filii, & spiritus sancti, Amen.
¶ A charme to drive awaie spirits that haunt anie house.This is called and counted the Paracelsian charme.
HAng in everie of the foure corners of your house this sentence written upon virgine parchment; aa Psal. 150.Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum: bb Luk. 16.Mosen habent & prophetas: cc Psa. 64.Exurgat Deus et dissi/pentur inimici ejus.247.
¶ A prettie charme or conclusion for one possessed.
THe possessed bodie must go upon his or hir knees to the church, how farre so ever it be off from their lodging; and so must creepe without going out of the waie, being the common high waie, in that sort, how fowle and durtie soever the same be; or whatsoever lie in the waie, not shunning anie thing whatsoever, untill he come to the church, where he must heare *masse* Memorandum that hearing of masse be in no case omitted, quoth Nota. devoutlie, and then followeth recoverie.
¶ Another for the same purpose.
THere must be commended to some poore begger the saieng of five Pater nosters, and five Aves; the first to be said in the name of the partie possessed, or bewitched: for that Christ was led into the garden; secondlie, for that Christ did sweat both water and bloud; thirdlie, for that Christ was condemned; fourthlie, for that he was crucified guiltlesse; and fiftlie, for that he suffered to take awaie our sinnes. Then must the sicke bodie heare masse eight daies together, standing in the place where the gospell is said, and must mingle holie water with his meate and his drinke, and holie salt also must be a portion of the mixture.
¶ Another to the same effect.
THe sicke man must fast three daies,Johannes Anglicus ex Constantino, Gualtero, Bernardo, Gilberto, &c. and then he with his parents must come to church, upon an embering fridaie, and must heare the masse for that daie appointed, and so likewise the saturdaie and sundaie following. And the preest must read upon the sicke mans head, that gospell which is read in September, and in grape harvest, after the feast of holie crosse In diebus quatuor temporum, in ember daies: then let him write it and carrie it aboute his necke, and he shall be cured./
¶ Another charme or witch-craft for the same.179.
THis office or conjuration following was first authorised and printed at Rome, and afterwards at Avenion, Anno. 1515. And least that the divell should lie hid in some secret part of the/248. bodie, everie part thereof is named; Obsecro te Jesu Christe, &c: that is: I beseech thee O Lord Jesus Christ, that thou pull out of everie member of this man all infirmities, from his head, from his haire, from his braine, from his forhead, from his eies, from his nose, from his eares, from his mouth, from his toong, from his teeth, from his jawes, from his throte, from his necke, from his backe, from his brest, from his paps, from his heart, from his stomach, from his sides, from his flesh, from his bloud, from his bones, from his legs, from his feete, from his fingers, from the soles of his feete, from his marrowe, from his sinewes, from his skin, and from everie joint of his members, &c.
Doubtles Jesus Christ could have no starting hole, but was hereby everie waie prevented and pursued; so as he was forced to doo the cure: for it appeareth hereby, that it had beene insufficient for him to have said; Depart out of this man thou uncleane spirit, and that when he so said he did not performe it. I doo not thinke that there will be found among all the heathens superstitious fables, or among the witches, conjurors, couseners, poets, knaves, fooles, &c: that ever wrote, so impudent and impious a lie or charme as is read in Barnardine de bustis;Barnard. de bustis in Rosar. serm. serm. 15. where, to cure a sicke man, Christs bodie, to wit: a wafer cake, was outwardlie applied to his side, and entred into his heart, in the sight of all the standers by. Now, if grave authors report such lies, what credit in these cases shall we attribute unto the old wives tales, that Sprenger, Institor, Bodine, and others write? Even as much as to Ovids Metamorphosis, Aesops fables, Moores Utopia, and diverse other fansies; which have as much truth in them, as a blind man hath sight in his eie.
¶ A charme for the bots in a horsse.
YOu must both saie and doo thus upon the diseased horsse three daies together, before the sunne rising: In nomine pa✠tris & fi✠lii & spiritus✠sancti; Exorcizo te vermem per Deum pa✠trem, & fi✠lium & spiritum ✠ sanctum: that is, In the name of God the Father, the Sonne, & the Holy-ghost, I conjure thee O worme by God the Father, the Sonne, & the Holy-ghost; that thou neither eat nor drinke the flesh bloud or bones of this horsse; and that thou hereby maist be made as patient as Job, and as good as S. John/ Baptist,249. when he baptised Christ in Jordan, In nomine pa✠tris & fi✠lii & spiritus ✠ sancti. And then saie three Pater nosters, and three Aves, in the right eare of the horsse, to the glorie of the holie trinitie. Do✠minus fili✠us spiri✠tus Mari✠a.
There are also divers bookes imprinted, as it should appeare with the authoritie of the church of Rome, wherein are conteined manie medicinall praiers, not onelie against all diseases of horsses, but also for everie impediment and fault in a horsse: in so much as if a shoo fall off in the middest of his journie, there is a praier to warrant your horsses/180. hoofe, so as it shall not breake, how far so ever he be from the SmithesThe smiths will canne them small thankes for this praier. forge.
Item, the Duke of Alba his horsse was consecrated, or canonized, in the lowe countries, at the solemne masse; wherein the popes bull, and also his charme was published (which I will hereafter recite) he in the meane time sitting as Vice-roy with his consecrated standard in his hand, till masse was done.
¶ A charme against vineager.
THat wine wax not eager, write on the vessell,*[* Ps. 33. 9. Vulg.] Gustate & videte, quoniam suavis est Dominus.O notable blasphemie.