Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms and Prayers from British Library MS Harley 585 : The Lacnunga

The Anglo-Saxon Lacnunga is a miscellaneous collection of almost 200 mainly herbal remedies, charms, and prayers found only in a mostly 10th-11th century manuscript in the British Library. The collection is written mainly in Old English and Latin, and includes a version of a remarkable 7th-century Hiberno-Latin prayer known as the Lorica of Laidcenn. There are also corrupt passages in Old Irish, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. It is one of the oldest extant medical collections in Northern Europe. Study of it sheds light on the dissemination, understanding, and translation in Anglo-Saxon England of remedies from classical and classical-derived collections such as the Historia Naturalis of Pliny, the Medicina Plinii, and the Plinii. The collection also includes a large number of magical charms which offer an insight into native beliefs in elves, spirits, witches, and sentient plants.