A Journey Charm facts for kids
The "Journey Charm" (Old English: Færeld Spell) is an old prayer from Anglo-Saxon times. It is one of 12 special poems called Anglo-Saxon metrical charms. This charm was written in Old English, an early form of the English language. People used it to ask God and other Christian figures for protection. They hoped to stay safe from dangers while traveling. This charm is important because it shows us how Christian faith was practiced by ordinary people long ago.
What is the Journey Charm?
The Journey Charm was like a special spoken action or prayer. People would say it out loud before starting a trip. They believed it would help keep evil away during their journey.
The charm mentions many important figures from the Bible. It asks for blessings from people like Adam, Christ, Peter, and Paul.
This poem also shows how Anglo-Saxon Christian culture was quite strong and brave. For example, it says that Luke gives the traveler a sword. Seraphim, who are angels, give a "glorious spear of radiant good light." The traveler is also described as being well-armed. They have mail (like armor) and a shield. This text gives us a special look into the religious customs of Anglo-Saxon people. It also shows the specific rituals they used for journeys.
Where Does it Come From?
We only have one copy of the Journey Charm today. It is found in a very old book from the 11th century. This book is kept at Cambridge, Corpus Christi College. The charm was written in the blank spaces around the main text of the book.
This old text is part of a big change in how stories and poems were shared. For a long time, people passed down stories by telling them out loud. This is called Oral Tradition. But then, people started writing things down. The Journey Charm is a "Transitional Literature." This means it's like a bridge between the old way of telling stories and the new way of writing them. When these spoken poems were written down, some parts that were meant to be performed might have been lost.
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