The Morgul Blade -- In an Old English Charm

Hi Prof. Olsen & all. I've fallen hopelessly behind the Exploring series again, been spending most free time finding & reading more Old English.

But in that, I've come across something remarkable. There are a series of Old English "charms" preserved in a text known as the "Lacnunga." These are chants, incantations, and recipes against certain illnesses & misfortunes.

The one in question is called "Wið færstice," meaning "against a stabbing pain." It describes a pain that comes from being magically "shot" by a piercing piece of iron, which remains inside the body and works its evil inside you. The charm's climax reads:

gif hēr inne sȳ īsenes dǣl
hægtessan geweorc
hit sceal gemyltan


Translation:
"If herein be a piece of iron
The work of witches
It shall melt."

Interestingly, the idea behind the charm is not that a person has been stabbed by a blade but more likely "elfshot." A thousand years ago, as now, the English landscape was littered with thousands of prehistoric stone arrowheads. They can be found nearly anywhere there has ever been human activity. The Anglo-Saxon explanation for finding such an arrowhead on the ground was that magical creatures -- elves, or witches -- had shot them, out of mischief.

There's no doubt that Tolkien knew "Wið færstice," and I believe it inspired his Morgul blade story. The word "melt" really struck me, because it was such an interesting & unexpected way for Gandalf to describe how Frodo's blade shard was destroyed. Supporting this is the opening of the charm, which describes the fierce enemy riding out from over barrows (or a barrow). As I've learned from "Exploring," the Black Riders were originally the wights, who would have ridden out from their barrows to harry the lands.

Anyway, in an earlier thread, I suggested that when we come up with something we don't really understand, we should see if there is an Old English explanation or source that makes sense. I think that applies here. I know we are WAAAAY beyond that attack on Weathertop now & its aftermath. But I had to note this here.
 
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