It is therefore unjust in later writers to state, that the art of rendering invulnerable was introduced at Passau by a travelling scholar in the seventeenth century, as Grimmelshausen informs us, or as others will have it, that it was brought into the German army by Kaspar Reithardt von Hersbruck, the executioner; for when Archduke Leopold, the Bishop of Passau, raised the reckless and ill-disciplined bands which spread terror through Alsace and Bohemia by their barbarities, his soldiers only adopted the old traditions which were rooted in German heathenism, and had lingered on through the whole of the middle ages; nay, even the name, "Passau art," which has been customary since then, may rest on a misunderstanding of the people, for in the sixteenth century all who bore charms about them to render them invulnerable were called by the learned soldier, "Pessulanten," or "Charakteristiker," and whoever understood the art of dissolving a charm was a "Solvent." It is possible that the first of these popular designations was changed into "Passauer."
Even in the first year of the Thirty years' war, the art of rendering invulnerable was eagerly discussed. A good account of it can be found in 'The true narrative of the siege and capture by storm of the city of Pilsen in Bohemia, 1619.' The passage according to our dialect is as follows:
"An adventurer under Mansfeld, called Hans Fabel, once took a tumbler of beer up to the city trenches and drank it to the besieged. They saluted him with powder and shot; but he drank up his tumbler of beer, thanked them, entered the trenches and took five balls from his bosom. This 'Pilmiskind,'[[14]] although he was so invulnerable, was taken very sick, and died before the capture of the town. This magical art, 'Passau art,' has become quite common; one would sooner have shot at a rock than at such a charmed fellow. I believe that the devil hides in their skin. One good fellow indeed often charms another, even when the person so charmed does not know it, and still less desires it. A small boy from fourteen to fifteen years of age was shot in the arm when he was beating the drum, but the ball rebounded from the arm to the left breast, and did not penetrate; this was seen by many. But those who use this magic come to a bad end; I have known many such lose their lives in a terrible way, for one delusion struggles against another. Their devilish sorcery is expressly against the first and other commandments of God. Assiduous prayer and faith in God gives other means of support. If any one in presence of the enemy perishes not, it is God's will. If he is struck, the angels take him to heaven, but those who are charmed are taken by Black Kaspar."[[15]]
Numerous were the means employed by men to make themselves and others invulnerable. Even this superstition was governed tyrannically by fashion. Of very ancient date are the charmed shirts, and the Victory and St. George's shirts; they were prepared in different ways for the Landsknechte. On Christmas night, according to ancient tradition, certain virgins used to spin linen thread in the name of the devil, weave and stitch it; on the breast two heads were embroidered, the one on the right side with a beard, and the left like that of king Beelzebub, with a crown, dark reminiscences of the holy heads of Donar and Wuotan. According to later custom the charmed shirt must be spun by maidens under the age of seven; it was to be sewed with particular cross stitches, laid secretly on the altar till three masses had been read over it. On the day of battle such a charmed shirt was worn under the dress, and if the wearer received a wound, it was owing to other thread having been mixed with that which was charmed.
Superstition gladly availed itself of the miraculous power of the Christian Church, even when in opposition to law. The gospel of St. John was written elaborately on thin paper and placed secretly under the altar cover in a Roman Catholic church, and left there till the priest had thrice read the mass over it; then it was placed in a quill or the shell of a hazel nut, and the opening was cemented with Spanish lac or wax, or this capsule was framed in gold or silver and hung round the neck. Others received the host at the Lord's supper, accompanying it with a silent invocation to the devil; taking the wafer out of their mouths again, they separated the skin from the flesh in some part of the body, placed the wafer there, and let the wound heal over it. The most reckless gave themselves up entirely to the devil; such people could not only make other men invulnerable, but even eatables, such as butter, cheese, and fruit, so that the sharpest knife could not penetrate them.[[16]]
There was a change of form and name in the written parchments also which contained charms.
"Pope Leo's blessing" originated in the early Landsknecht times; it contained good Christian words and promises. Besides this there was the "Blessing of the Knight of Flanders," so called because a knight who had once worn it could not be beheaded; it was written in strange characters and types interspersed with signs of the cross. Then there was "The benediction," or charm in time of need, which in a moment of danger arrested the sword or gun of the enemy.[[17]]
Similar were the "Passau charms" of the seventeenth century, written on post paper, virgin parchment, or the host, with a peculiar pen in bat's blood; the superstition was in strange characters, wizard feet, circles, crosses, and the letters of foreign languages; according to Grimmelshausen[[18]] the rhyme runs thus: Devil help me, body and soul give I thee. When fastened under the left arm they expelled the shot and closed the guns of the enemy. Sometimes even the charms were eaten. But opinions concerning their efficacy were fluctuating. Some thought them safeguards only for four-and-twenty hours; but according to others their magic did not begin to work till after the first four-and-twenty hours, and whoever was shot before that time belonged to the devil. Other charms were also used for protection, everything odious and dismal was collected together, and what had been fearful in the ancient mythology continued to retain its old power. A piece of the cord or chain by which a man had been hung, or the beard of a goat, the eyes of a wolf, the head of a bat and the like, worn round the body in a purse of black cat's skin, rendered a person invulnerable. Hair balls (a mass of hair from the stomach of the chamois), and the caul in which children are born, gave invulnerability; he who had never eaten kidneys was secure from shot or pestilence, and it was believed at Augsburg, that a famous knight and experienced General, Sebastian Schärtlin, had thus protected himself before the enemy.
Old magic herbs, as endive, verbena, St. John's wort, chickweed, vervain, mallow, and garlick were used as charms, and the most powerful of all, the deadly nightshade. It was necessary to dig them up with the best new sharpened steel, and never to touch them with the bare hand, least of all with the left, and they were carried like an Agnus Dei. They were circular, and only found on the battle-fields of great battles, and were, as Zimmermann says, sacred for the sake of the dead. Besides these there was a fire-coloured flower which Cabalists called "Efdamanila;" it not only protected the wearer from shot, stabs, and fire, but when it was hung over the wall in a besieged town near the enemy's cannon, they were spell-bound for a whole month.
Amulet medals also were early in use: in 1555, at the battle of Marienburg, between the Princes of Orange and Nevers, a little child was struck on the neck by a shot, a silver medal was doubled up, and the child remained unhurt; this great effect was then ascribed to an amulet parchment which the child wore round his neck near the medal. But about the same time the "Sideristen," who were experienced in astronomical science, poured out heavenly influence in invulnerable medals of silver and fine gold, which were worn round the neck. Thurneisser spread also these kinds of amulets in Northern Germany. An accidental circumstance brought the Mansfeld St. George's thaler into repute in the Thirty years' war, especially those of 1611 and 1613, bearing the inscription, "With God is counsel and action."