Apotropaic Devices

Celem tekstu jest przedstawienie magicznych, a w szczególności apotropaicznych zastosowań części ciała hieny, na podstawie fragmentu Historii naturalnej Pliniusza Starszego. W artykule opisuję biologiczną specyfikę tego zwierzęcia oraz jego znaczenie w kulturze, by na tej podstawie zastanowić się nad rolą i praktycznymi zastosowaniami tekstu Pliniusza w kulturze rzymskiej. Opisuję również związki pomiędzy rzeczywistymi właściwościami hieny, jej wizją w kulturze oraz rolą w magii.

The identification of deviant burials as those of ‘vampires’ is a feature of excavated skeletons from sites across Eastern, Central and Southern Europe as well as the Balkans. Based on a close reading of historic and folkloric sources researchers have sought to match features of excavated sites with narrative descriptions drawn from vampire legend and myth. This study critically reviews the recent claims based on sites in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Poland and Slovakia. Whilst it is found that there was a widespread belief in vampires across Europe, it is argued that it is difficult to make absolute claims for ‘vampire’ burials on archaeological grounds as in most cases there are alternate and equally compelling interpretations of the data.

KEYWORDS
ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY, SIXTEENTH CENTURY, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, VAMPIRE, DEVIANT BURIAL, PLAGUE, BLACK DEATH, FOLKLORE, PAGAN, BURIAL, WITCH, BALKANS, EASTERN EUROPE, CENTRAL EUROPE, SOUTHERN EUROPE, BULGARIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, POLAND, GREECE, ITALY, SLOVAKIA, LESBOS, VENICE, APOTROPAIC, VAMPIRIDZHIJA, PERPERIKON, SOZOPOL, PROSTEJOV, CELAKOVICE, DRAWSKO, GLIWICI, SOUTHWELL, KILTEASHEEN, LAZZARETTO NUOVO, NACHTZEHRER, KAMIEN POMORSKI

Lilith understood as the first wife of Adam, the mother of evil spirits and the nocturnal demon particularly fond of men and newborns belongs to the mythical tradition derived from the medieval Alphabet of Ben Sira. The latter is a cryptic yet ribald composition and as such defines the hermeneutic framework for the interpretation of the Lilith-myth contained therein. The present study has therefore two basic purposes. First, to offer the critical translation and commentary of the Lilith-myth present in the Alphabet of Ben Sira. Second, to define the roles this myth might have played in its cultural context.

Nel campanile di San Zeno si collocano quattro epigrafi medievali, oggetto del presente contributo, oltre a numerosi graffiti, posizionati per la maggior parte sulle pareti delle celle campanarie e tracciati in un arco cronologico assai ampio, compreso tra il tardo medioevo e il secolo scorso. 1

In West Africa, Berber groups such as the Tuareg of Mali and Niger use inscribed silver jewelry – rings, pendants and plaques – as talismans. A ring with a curved or flat frontal area may be inscribed with a linear cipher or, if large, carry a “magic square” design. A survey of 132 Tuareg/Berber items revealed that the symbol repertoire appears to be drawn from overlapping categories that include Eastern Arabic and Perso-Arabic numerals, and possibly Western digits and Indian Devanagari numbers as well; Arabic letters; Tifinagh and Libyco-Berber characters; and the Islamic Seven Seals (the ism al-aʿzam or Greatest Name). Most items combine symbols of different types, and reflections and rotations of stock symbols are common. The magic squares sometimes display complete or partial symmetry, with diagonals containing repeats of a single symbol. No two designs were identical, but it was possible to define sub-groups based on style and content. With numerical considerations seemingly secondary to aesthetics, none of the magic squares were mathematically competent. Tuareg gri gri plaques also carry magic square designs, but seem to contain mainly Tifinagh letters. A distinct set of rings also carry Tifinagh-based magic squares; recently-made items of this type may be “Tifinagh alphabet” souvenirs made for tourists. Cryptic apotropaic rings are also found in East Africa. In Ethiopia, especially among the Oromo in the southwestern highland district of Jimma, smiths inscribe white-metal or silver rings with talismanic symbols. The former are just convex circular bands of hard alloy into which glyphs are stamped using simple punch tools. Being softer, silver rings may instead bear symbols incised by scratching or engraving. For either material, the symbols are typically arranged evenly around the ring band; there are usually two circular series, and sometimes the symbols of the upper circle are a reflection (through the ring’s equator) of those in the lower. The Ethiopian symbol repertoire appears to be drawn from Eastern Arabic and possibly Devanagari numbers; Arabic letters; the Islamic Seven Seals; and unique symbols that resist identification. Most Ethiopian rings combine numerical and non-numerical symbols, and reflections and rotations of characters are common. As one might expect from this makeup, there is a significant overlap with the symbol repertoire of Tuareg rings. The most extreme similarities occur in the small subset of Tuareg and Ethiopian rings that carry complete sets of the Islamic Seven Seals.

This paper proposes a novel source for – or at least influence on – the iconography of the Moon trump in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, which preserves the design from the Tarot de Marseille. In fact, the Moon template appears to date back to the earliest days of the Tarot. The proposed source or prototype is a Greco-Roman talismanic design against the Evil Eye known as the "all-suffering eye", which frequently occupies the reverse face of Byzantine copper/bronze "Holy Rider" amulets. The paper identifies compositional elements that correspond in the Evil Eye and Moon card designs, presents reasons why the moon and the Evil Eye might have been thought of as cognates, and considers other likely inputs into the Moon card's visual program.

The tradition of placing objects and symbols within, under, on, and around buildings for supernatural protection and good luck, as an act of formal or informal consecration, or as an element of other magico-religious or mundane ritual, has been documented throughout the world. This thesis examines the material culture of magic and folk ritual in the eastern United States, focusing on objects deliberately concealed within and around standing structures. While a wide range of objects and symbols are considered, in-depth analysis focuses on three artifact types: witch bottles, concealed footwear, and concealed cats. This thesis examines the European origins of ritual concealments, their transmission to North America, and their continuation into the modern era. It also explores how culturally derived cognitive frameworks, including cosmology, religion, ideology, and worldview, as well as the concepts of family and household, may have influenced or encouraged the use of ritual concealments among certain groups.

They say that every Englishman's home is his castle. However, for most of us our home tends to be on a much more modest scale - as it has been for the majority of the population throughout history. The study of historic buildings has told us a great deal about our relationship with the places in which we live. It has shown us how they evolved from the simple round-houses of the pre-Roman era, through the modest timber framed dwellings of the medieval period, all the way through to the brick, stone and concrete of the modern world. It has helped us follow the story of how the 'house' became a 'home'.
However, archaeology also tells us something else. Another part of the story. It appears that ever since mankind chose to live in one particular spot, ever since we began to build structures that we could call 'home', we have sought to protect them. Stout walls and thick doors have kept out the weather and mortal enemies, but throughout history people have also sought to protect their homes from the unseen enemies. They have attempted to keep their hearth and home safe from the forces of evil - the witches, demons and evil spirits that roamed the pre-modern world. The insubstantial evils that could bring misfortune, bad luck and, in extreme cases, the spirits of the dead, into the homes of the living.
Such protections have been sought throughout all periods of the past, and take many forms. From the simple inscribed 'witch marks' above a medieval fireplace, and the 'Hag Stones' hung above doorways, to the more grisly and macabre practice of ritually placing dead animals within the very fabric of the house. Today such objects are regularly uncovered and recorded by researchers, householders and even builders, but few people realise the full extent of the use of such charms and talisman by our ancestors. Whilst we may associate them with superstition, and tend to think of them as being something carried out by the lower classes, they are also to be found in the grandest of Tudor or Jacobean houses, and covering the walls of many medieval castles. It turns out that, when darkness fell, even the bravest of knights feared the night. What is perhaps more surprising still, is just how many of these strange practices continue to be carried out to this day...

This article explores the probability that a silver sixpence,
recovered at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River’s Webster
Field Annex in St. Inigoes, Maryland, represents an everyday
item that had supernatural significance for the individual(s)
who once owned it. Between 1637 and 1942, the land that
now comprises Webster Field had been home to a Jesuit
settlement. Throughout this period, coin magic was practiced
in the British Isles, and silver sixpences incorporated many
of the symbolic properties that made them useful as protective
amulets, emblems of vow-making, and other less defined
representations of luck. The presence of such a coin at St.
Inigoes is indicative of the interplay between folk traditions
and church-sanctioned religious objects employed at the
settlement, and coin-bending practices are examined through
archaeological finds in the Chesapeake.

The purposes of this paper are (1) to outline the early Jewish traditions concerning Lilith so as to provide the backdrop for (2) the reconstruction of the main elements of her image in the Alphabet of Ben Sira [ABS] which contains the most elaborate variant of the Lilith-myth. The latter in turn will be (3) confronted with the early rabbinic traditions concerning Eve so as (4) to present the role of Lilith in unburdening Eve of her problematic past on the one hand and (5) to acknowledge the role of Eve in elevating Lilith to the position of the “prototypical” Jewish femme fatale. The conclusions are that (1) the image of Lilith in the ABS draws from the traditions arose around Eve in the early rabbinic literature; (2) the main difference lies in the fact that Lilith is portrayed as far more defined and unambiguous; (3) one of the functions of Lilith in the ABS is to promote the positive image of Eve.

Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to a variety of material, textual, and literary evidence, the aim of this thesis is to shed light on the realities –rather than stereotypes- of an important aspect of late ancient women’s experience: the use of ritual power. Patterns of gender differentiation in late antique Egyptian magic are investigated and shown to be connected to the particular aims to which numinous powers were employed, aims which were in turn bound up with the social roles expected of each sex. The majority of this study consists of a series of case studies of different types of women’s rituals of power, which emphasize examples of significant trends in ritual iconography, praxis, and context, both those which were typical of late antique Egyptian magic as a whole, and those which were uniquely female in character. The fact that female practitioners came from a wide array of socio-economic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds is also addressed.

This thesis investigates the material culture of early modern England as reflected in the object collections of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon. The collection consists of nearly 300 objects and six buildings dating from the period 1500-1650 representing 'the life, work and times of William Shakespeare', with a particular emphasis on domestic and community life in Shakespeare's Stratford. Using approaches from museum studies and material culture studies together with historical research, this thesis demonstrates how objects add depth and complexity to historical and museological narratives, and presents a range of unique and never before examined material sources for the study of the social and cultural history of the period. For different reasons, collectors, scholars and museum practitioners have all tended to place the Trust's objects within existing historical narratives whilst neglecting the physical evidence of the objects themselves. By closely examining the object as well as the cultural context of its manufacture and use, this study seeks to rejuvenate the way this and similar collections are seen and used in studies of the early modem period.

In keeping with the paradigm of fighting fire with fire, it is suggested that the resemblance of garlic cloves to oversized teeth may help to underpin the legendary efficacy of garlic against the bite of the vampire. The argument casts a wide net – topics range from the fangs of prehistoric predators to the perceptions of garlic in ancient Egypt, Rome and Persia; from the Balkan nezhit to the Middle Eastern nazar; and from biomedical data to comparative linguistics.

During the medieval and early modern periods in Britain, pregnancy and successful birth required overcoming numerous natural risks. In addition to these, however, was also a plethora of supernatural hazards which, according to popular belief, needed to be managed; most notably, the unwanted attention of fairies.
In early modern folklore, fairies are often characterised as ambiguous creatures who can be benevolent if they so choose – but who can also be selfish, vindictive, and cruel, especially if a human has something that they desire. And, as folklorist Katharine Briggs notes: ‘The thing that everyone knows about fairies is that they covet human children and steal them whenever they can’ (1967: 115). Thus pregnant women and newborn babies were considered particularly vulnerable to the attention of supernatural creatures, and there is a large corpus of recorded oral legends of pregnant women being abducted by fairies or troll-like creatures, and of newborns being exchanged for babies from the fairy realm, known as changelings.
This paper considers the reasons behind such notions, examining why pregnant women and newborn babies in the British Isles were believed to be at particular risk from the supernatural realm. The paper also details the precautions taken to prevent abductions and changeling exchanges, which usually involved the incorporation of Christian symbols into folk rituals and apotropaic devices. Concealing pregnancies lest they be noticed by the fairies; placing a knife and Bible in the woman’s bed during childbirth; and laying a four-leaf clover in a newborn’s cradle are just some of the methods employed to prevent abductions, and they shed a different light on the various practical preparations soon-to-be parents had to make to ensure a safe pregnancy and birth.

The Solomon's knot is an ideogram that consists on two closed loops, which are doubly interlinked in an interlaced manner. Commonly they were used in Roman mosaics as a decorative motif. They became a popular motif in the Middle Ages. At that time they were depicted isolated, often on unusual supports, and for apotropaic purposes. Then, the subscription of the notaries made preferential use of it. This figure became very intellectualized by the end of the 15th century and it was employed marginally, although it served as a pattern to build large crosses. The graphic identification and the name (Solomon's knot) occured in La lozana andaluza. It was rescued by Spanish scholarship in the mid-20th century.

El "nudo de Salomón" es un ideograma consistente en el entrelazo de dos eslabones (cada uno compuesto por un número indeterminado de cordones) cruzados perpendicularmente. Utilizados de manera habitual en los mosaicos romanos como motivo decorativo, se popularizan en la Edad Media. En este momento se representan aislados, frecuentemente en soportes inusuales, y con fines apotropaicos. Los signos de suscripción notariales harán uso preferente de él. Hacia finales del siglo XV esta figura se intelectualiza y será utilizada marginalmente, si bien servirá de motivo compositivo para construir grandes cruces de nudos salomónicos. La identificación gráfica y el nombre (nudo de Salomón) se produce en La lozana andaluza, y en español se rescata por la erudición a mediados del siglo XX.

The power of the divine appellations is widely recognized in the Rabbinic Judaism. Since the early midrashes, through the medieval exegesis up till the modern era these names have been believed to possess the extraordinary performative and protective potential. In this regard the position of “Shadday” is of particular significance. Not only it appears on various amulets and dedicatory plaques but more importantly it is strongly connected to the traditional customs which could be considered apotropaic in nature: male circumcision, mezuzah and tefillin. While this connection is explicitly drawn, no actual justification is given and the question arises, what factors might had contributed to this choice. The present paper argues that the apotropaic significance of “Shadday” probably derives from three factors. (1) It is the only divine appellation so closely and explicitly connected to the tetragram and as such might have been believed to participate in its power. (2) Numerous biblical instances utilize the ambivalent paronomasia with the roots שדה and שדד thus presenting Shadday as the one responsible for securing the flow of life and protecting against the enemies. (3) A few early rabbinic sources portray this deity as the one responsible for limiting the expansion of the chaotic matter during the creation process.

Over the last century, numerous hollow bronze/brass rhomboid (i.e., lozenge or diamond-shaped) objects have been excavated from the Inland Niger Delta region of Mali. Cast using the cire perdue technique, these Jenné (Djenné) beads or pendants may date to any time from the 7th to the 19th centuries CE, but most likely to the 17-18th centuries. Their shape and ornamentation suggests a codified and potentially amuletic function. They resemble modern Tuareg amulets in shape, and their serpentine decorations recall the snakes on 13th-15th century CE Jenné-jeno terracottas, but ultimately their symbol repertoire dates back to prehistoric times. The minimalism of their design affords a wealth of interpretative possibilities: the rhomboid as a stylized snake-head, frog belly, human form, or symbol of female generative power. Most of the ornamental motifs – wavy lines, spirals, wheatsheaf/twist motifs – turn out to refer to snakes, so it is tempting to view the Jenné rhomboids as fertility amulets consisting of female shapes adorned with phallic motifs. However, sexual ambiguity pervades to the deepest level, and ultimately all of the symbols have female referents.

This article reconstructs the geography of protection offered by the apotropaic figures depicted on the reliefs of Sennacherib’s (704-681 B.C.) Southwest Palace in Nineveh. It reconstructs an apotropaic landscape that consisted of the paring of different creatures, which were distributed in meaningful ways throughout the palace. These pairings, their distribution and the resulting landscape were novel, though building on earlier apotropaic landscapes. The Southwest Palace is characterized by a combinational approach to creating apotropaic protection. All groupings within the Southwest Palace can be described as coincidental in the sense that they are not inherent in known Assyrian cosmology. This suggests that this geography was specifically conceptualized and created for the palace. Its origin is likely to be looked for in the select group of scholars associated with the palace. The Southwest Palace provides further proof of the heterogeneity of apotropaic protection within Assyria.

Although at first glance ṣîṣîṯ meet the definitional criteria of an amulet, there are just three passages in the early rabbinic literature which only indirectly suggest such interpretation. Yet, as it turns out, the tassels feature strong connections with the priestly clothes and given the protective role played by the latter inside the Tabernacle, ṣîṣîṯ can be interpreted as a lay functional equivalent of the sacerdotal garment. The present paper has three main purposes: first, to scrutinize the passages from bMenahot (41a, 43b and 44a) which are often taken as witnessing to the apotropaic function of fringes; second, to contextualize tassels in the network of the priestly objects: teḵēlęṯ, šaʻaṭnēz and ṣîṣ; third, to advance a careful hypothesis in regards with the implicit apotropaic potential of ṣîṣîṯ.

This is the pre-peer-reviewed version of the paper accepted for publication in “Review of Rabbinic Judaism”. Please cite the following:
Wojciech Kosior, “Like a Throne of Glory”. The Apotropaic Potential of Ṣîṣîṯ in the Hebrew Bible and the Early Rabbinic Literature, “Review of Rabbinic Judaism”, 21.2/2018.

The Hebrew Bible as well as the early rabbinic literature supports the notion of the apotropaic function played by a mezuzah. This topic has so far been adequately investigated in scholarly literature and currently there are no doubts with regards to the protective purpose of this artefact. The state of research is the point of departure for the present study which offers that (1) a mezuzah is not only an apotropaic device but more importantly, (2) it is Yahveh himself who is repelled by its power. The following sources shall be analysed in support of this interpretation: Deuteronomy 6, 11, Exodus 12, Mekhilta de-rabbi Ishmael 7,12, BT Menahot 33b, 43b.

Two excavations were undertaken between West Thurrock and Purfleet in 2002 in advance of construction of High Speed 1 (formerly the Channel Tunnel Rail Link). At High House, ditches, gullies and pits of mainly late prehistoric and early Roman date were concentrated on the higher ground in the western half of the site. The late prehistoric features may represent two phases of settlement-related activity within an overall Middle Bronze Age – Early Iron Age time span. The Late Iron Age and early Roman features were probably also settlement-related and included a small enclosure, a possible trackway and an unusual group of at least 14 inhumation burials and two cremation burials inserted along the entire exposed length of an earlier, prehistoric ditch. At Stone House, the unexpected discovery of building remains during construction work led to an excavation which revealed a large part of a late 13th / early 14th century stone building of some stature and status, as well a sequence of 11th-13th century features probably associated with stock control, and a small number of late prehistoric pits. The considerable amount of documentary evidence shows that, almost certainly from as early as the beginning of the 14th century, Stone House was the manor house of West Thurrock. The building had been extensively robbed and the finds assemblages were relatively poor; but it represents a significant discovery in the county. New Place, later known as High House, was built in the mid-16th century on higher ground to the north-west and subsequently assumed the position of 'manor house’, while Stone House became a tenanted farm. In 1683 Stone House was rebuilt on a more modest scale on an adjacent site, and was used as the parish workhouse for a period of about 20 years at the end of the 18th century, with final demolition coming in the 1920s.

The metalwork assemblage includes an Early LaTène-type brooch and numerous Roman brooches (one with substantial repair) as well as evidence for the ritual/apotropaic use of a nail in a child's burial. The medieval/post-medieval metalwork comprises dress accessories like pins, buckles and hooked tags, as well as a thimble, knives, keys and horse shoes.

The popular yet demonic guardian of ancient Egypt, Bes, combines dwarfish and leonine features, and embodies opposing traits such as a fierce and gentle demeanor, a hideous and comical appearance, serious and humorous roles, an animalistic and numinous nature. Drawing connections with similarly stunted figures, great and small cats, sacred cows, baboons, demonic monsters, universal gods and infant deities, this article will focus on the animalistic associations of the Bes figure to illustrate that this leonine dwarf encompassed a wider religious significance than apotropaic and regenerative functions alone. Bes was thought to come from afar but was always close; the leonine dwarf guarded the sun god Ra along the diurnal solar circuit; the figure protected pregnant women and newborn children; it was a dancer and musician; the figure belonged to the company of magical monsters of hybrid appearance as averter of evil and sword-wielding fighter. Exploring the human and animal, demonic and numinous aspects of this leonine dwarf will not only further our understanding of its nature and function, but also its significance and popularity.

This paper deals with some questions concerning the iconography, iconology and date of execution of the famous mosaic pavement from Sheikh Zoueide in Sinai, now exibited in the Ismailiya Museum. The author analyses both the mythological mosaic with the representation of various subjects, like Dionysiac procession, Nilotic theme, Hippolytos and Phaedra, and another geometric mosaic. The iconological study of all symbolic elements sheds light on the mentality of Nestor who lived in this house and of other inhabitants of the city.  The author sees the great influence of Egypt probably of Alexandria, in the mosaic's style. He also discusses stylistic problems and suggests a date of its execution in the first half of the 5th century.
On the iconological study of the mosaic see also: M.T. Olszewski, Mauvais œil et protection contre l'envie dans la mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï (IV-Ve siècle), published in: Paunier, D., Schmidt, Ch (ed. by), la Mosaïque gréco-romaine VIII. Actes du  VIIIe Colloque international de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Lausanne 1997 (2001), pp. 276-301.
M.T.Olszewski, Two Late Antique synonymous mosaics from Sheikh Zuweid (Egypt) and Vinon (France) (translated) / Deux  mosaïques  synonimiques  de l’antiquité tardive: Cheikh  Zouède  (Egypte)  et  Vinon  (France) / Dwie późnoantyczne mozaiki synonimiczne z Szeikh Zued (Egipt) i Vinon (Francja) - (in Polish), Światowit IV-A, 2002, pp. 99-105.

People in the Nile Valley lived in the constant fear of monsters, demons and other misfortunes threatening them. Therefore, they had to turn to God for protection. God however was far in the Heavens, while his angelic messengers were closer, moving between celestial and earthly
spaces. To ensure their protection, their images and names were placed wherever the exposure to the evil forces was the greatest. An attribution of these protective functions is not always clear from the way the archangels were depicted in art. The figures are shown frontally, frequently
freestanding. For the most part, it is the context or accompanying inscriptions that allow an image to be identified as an archangel in its apotropaic function. Therefore, for this chapter, three groups have been chosen connected with the protection of buildings and their interiors;
protection of the bodies of living Nubians and finally with deceased. Writing this paper, the author was aware that the subject is so rich that the presented material and its interpretations are only an introduction to further research, which will be gradually undertaken.

Although the apotropaic qualities of tefillin have been generally recognised, there is one additional aspect that needs some further attention. The main purpose of this paper is therefore to present the connection between tefillin and Deuteronomy 28:10 that is drawn in the early Rabbinic literature. The said verse reads: and all the nations of the land will see that the name of Yahveh is called upon you and will be afraid of you and in itself bears the meaning of distinction, provision and protection. Yet, despite this verse’s interpretative potential, it is referred to just eleven times in the scope of both Talmuds and Midrash R. Seven of these references are clustered in the Babylonian Talmud: one (Berakhot 56a) interprets the passage as a metaphor of fame, whereas the remaining six (Berakhot 6a, 57a; Megillah 16b; Sotah 17a; Menahot 35b; Hullin 89a) explicitly state that the words the name of Yahveh is called upon you refer to head-tefillin. Meanwhile, the other four mentions (Exodus R. 15:6, 17; Deuteronomy R. 1:25; JT Berakhot 5:1 37b-38a) portray Israel as an earthly representative of Yahveh respected and feared by the heathens, despite the military supremacy of the latter. This indirect connection between tefillin and the idea of godly provision is supported by BT Menahot 36b and Mekhilta de-rabbi Ishmael to Exodus 12:23, 14:29, which explain the power of tefillin as stemming from the sacred names contained therein. This explanation fits the broader context of the apotropaic power of divine appellations.

The alquerque were known in antiquity. These board games ceased to be represented in Europe until the Muslim culture reintroduced them. They were then profusely represented in monumental forms on the walls of buildings. Typologically, these checkerboards were very stable until their virtual disappearance at the end of the 16th century. This paper state that the main purpose for which they were represented in the Middle Ages was symbolic. Like other signs and ideograms they functioned as protective elements invested with apotropaic qualities. The most favourable and comfortable alquerques could occasionally be played on, but it was a residual function, that is, a consequence not expected by those who engraved them.
Los alquerques fueron dameros de juego conocidos en la Antigüedad que dejaron de representarse en Europa hasta que la cultura musulmana los reintrodujo. Entonces fueron profusamente representados en versión monumental, en los muros de los edificios. Tipológicamente estas retículas se muestran estables, sin apenas cambios, hasta su práctica desaparición a finales del siglo XVI. Se defiende que el fin principal con el que se representaron en la Edad Media tuvo sentido simbólico, convertidos en ideogramas, y funcionaron como elementos de protección investidos de cualidades apotropaicas, al igual que otros muchos signos e ideogramas. Si ocasionalmente se pudo jugar sobre ellos, aprovechando los dameros más propicios y cómodos, fue una función residual, una consecuencia no prevista por quienes los grabaron.

This essay explores the meaning, functions, and significance of the Arabic, Latin, and Castilian inscriptions that feature on the “Botica de los Templarios,” a fourteenth-century “cupboard” from Toledo (Victoria and Albert Museum). Such inscriptions belong to a wider context in which texts were used to imbue architectural surfaces or objects with magical power. Apotropaic power did not depend on legibility. For example, the illegibility of unfamiliar Arabic inscriptions only enhanced their magic quality. Although Latin and Castilian apotropaic inscriptions in medieval Castile echo formulae used throughout Europe, they relate to earlier Andalusi traditions, thereby providing a new perspective on mudéjar art and architecture. The essay also touches on historiographical issues and reflects on the impact of new technologies on art historical studies.

Wessex Archaeology excavated parts of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery on the southwest margins of the village of Aldbourne in northeast Wiltshire. The presence of a cemetery had been highlighted by the discovery of six skeletons of unknown date in 1960. The excavations revealed all or parts of 26 inhumation graves in two neighbouring areas. Most graves lay on a south-west–north-east alignment and the majority of burials had been made supine and extended, but one adult male had been laid prone and one grave held the remains of two juveniles laid facing one another. The demographic profile suggests this represents the remains of a 'domestic' population. One of the earliest cases of leprosy was recorded in one adult male and evidence for tuberculosis was seen in the remains of an elderly female. One of the children in the double grave had suffered peri-mortem sharp-weapon trauma to the skull. Grave goods were relatively sparse (eight graves) and limited in form (predominantly knives) indicating a 7th-early 8th century date for the cemetery. Slight variations in grave orientation and distribution, together with frequency of grave goods, suggest a possible temporal or possibly socially hierarchical variation in the use of this apparently Final Phase cemetery.

Apotropaic devices--folk ritual objects and deposits intended to ward away witchcraft or ensorcellment--were often deliberately concealed near the vulnerable parts of a structure (doors, windows, hearths, and chimneys).  Since such devices typically consisted of otherwise mundane materials, they can be difficult to identify in archaeological deposits.  It is the unusual context of the deposit that alerts us to the potential of its apotropaic meaning and intent.  Here, I discuss the social and spatial contexts of an iron jackplate fragment concealed near the doorway of a Spanish colonial kitchen at the Berry site.  Berry, located in present-day western North Carolina, was the site of Fort San Juan de Joara (1566-1568), the first European settlement in the interior of what is now the United States.  Recognizing the iron jackplate fragment as a potential apotropaic device opens a window onto Spanish male anxieties about women’s labor, especially the domestic labor associated with food.  Spaniards and other Europeans believed that “wild” women regularly used ensorcelled food to entrap or punish male victims.  And nowhere were fears of ensorcelled food more pronounced than along the frontiers of colonial America, where indigenous women usually prepared meals for Spanish men as wives, servants, and concubines.

Desde sus inicios, el estudio académico del budismo indio ha estado teñido por prejuicios concernientes a su pureza doctrinal. En su afán por distinguir las manifestaciones religiosas originales de las que consideraban como adiciones posteriores, los estudiosos aplicaron la dicotomía religión popular/religión oficial a distintos aspectos del budismo
En este ensayo pretendo debatir la aplicación de esta dicotomía a ciertos rituales budistas, presentando el ejemplo de un rito que, si bien no forma parte del budismo normativo ni articula los ideales de liberación de la doctrina filosófica budista, atraviesa las distinciones entre monjes y laicos, entre institución religiosa y religiosidad individual, entre religión normativa y culto heterodoxo.

La arquitectura es algo más que unas estructuras portantes para sostener una cubierta y unos elementos decorativos asociados a ella. Levantado un edificio público, la comunidad lo hace suyo mediante reelaboraciones infinitas, espontáneas, ajenas a la voluntad del constructor pero no necesariamente enfrentadas a ella.
Las múltiples expresiones inscritas en los muros de un templo (en su fábrica o en los enlucidos) son la materialidad de hechos puntuales, registros únicos, sin intención publicitaria pero no clandestinos. Cruces, estrellas, alquerques, entrelazos, nudos salomónicos… suponen la plasmación de un imaginario más allá de la iconografía que no miramos, pero ahí está. En propiedad, no responden a la metáfora del palimpsesto, pues por lo general no se borran premeditadamente los signos anteriores ya que no molestan, sino que intensifican la memoria devocional colectiva, por lo común popular.
Del mismo modo que los eruditos ilustrados combatieron la superstición, parece que procedemos igual con la arquitectura histórica, eliminando y borrando marcas, signos de uso, pequeñas “cicatrices” que consideramos parasitarias, espurias, para reencontrarnos con una presunta esencialidad del edificio. Pero tales signos son parte de esa arquitectura, la constituyen, y se inscribieron en gran parte para protegerla, a ella y a sus usuarios. Por las mismas, al eliminar esos testimonios históricos acabamos con barreras profilácticas, y dejamos edificios con forma pero sin información… inermes y al albur de los elementos. En la mentalidad “antigua” tales signa contribuían a conservar el edificio. No puede ser que, bajo el mismo concepto, los destruyamos hoy.
Estos grafitos, aislados o formando constelaciones, por lo general cerca de los vanos (accesos por los que puede entrar el mal) pero también en los tejados, refuerzan el aspecto documental de los muros, les aportan historicidad diacrónica y nos acercan a la cultura popular, viva, de manera privilegiada. Tales testimonios permiten otra lectura de paramentos, riquísima en clave cultural. Además, nos permiten disfrutar más de esa arquitectura, allí donde se han respetado estos testimonios tan frágiles. Repasaremos cruces, estrellas, alquerques, nudos de Salomón, laberintos… y se tratará de un tipo poco estudiado, la “horma de peregrino”. A pesar de la destrucción del tiempo y de las restauración, todavía los vemos por doquier. Hora es de mirarlos, paso previo a su valoración

This report presents the over 2500 metal small finds and 3000 nails recovered from Britain's largest Roman temple complex in the Ebbsfleet at Springhead. The metal finds include items of personal adornment and dress, household utensils and furniture, objects for weighing and measuring, pieces of toilet or medical equipment, tools associated with manufacture and agriculture, military equipment, and religious objects, including two lead Fortuna figurines.

L’article analyse un ensemble d’images monumentales du Moyen Âge qui ont comme dénominateur commun d’être placées à l’extérieur d’édifices et de posséder des pouvoirs sans figurer la divinité. Si certaines sont le support d’incantations magiques, d’autres témoignent de rites, alors qu’un autre groupe représente des sujets qui leur confèrent des propriétés
performatives. En dépit de ces différences, ces images fonctionnent selon des principes d’efficacité communs. Certains, comme la similitudo ou l’évocation des défunts, sont propres à la magie. Ces images, agissant sur l’espace et sur les hommes à des fins différentes, créent ainsi des
« dispositifs ritualisants » aux marges de l’espace ecclésial.

Images, rituals and magic on the fringes of churches in the medieval West
The article analyzes a small group of performative images from the exterior monumental decoration of buildings in the Middle Ages that do not represent the divinity. Some of them were the object of magical incantations, others are simply the trace of rites and another group represents subjects that confer power on them. In spite of these differences, these images work according to common principles of effi ciency. Some of them, such as the similitudo or evocation of the dead, are specific to the functioning of magic. These images, acting on space and on people with various purposes, create “ritualizing devices” in the margins of the ecclesial space.

In the inventory written not long after the death of Enrico VII, four caskets owned Emperor are described. Today the inventory is  preserved in the state archives in Turin.
In this paper, we will focus on certain types of objects, mentioned in this list.In addition to the symbols of power (scepter, crown, etc), documents and metal objects for setting the table, the list reminds jewelry, precious stones and some devotional objects, including two agnus dei. A signet ring with magical powers, a “toad stone”, is also mentioned. Sometimes, these objects are remembered in inventories from the same period.
In addition to the material aspect, their presence suggests a study in the field of history of mentalities.