MS. Bodl. Rolls 26
Summary Catalogue no.: 3115
Contents
Written in blood (?). The greater part of the content is written lengthwise on the roll in a long line, between two rows of magical symbols, pentacles and crosses
An image of the three nails of the Crucifixion followed by text that is unreadable apart from an invocation of the Trinity
A list of divine names interspersed with crosses, beginning 'messias', 'sother', 'emanuel', 'sabaoth', 'adonay'
Verses from John i.1–14
The Pater Noster in Greek, written in Latin characters
Don C. Skemer argues that the roll was used as a 'birthing girdle' and that its thin, ribbon-like format would have made it easy to wrap around a pregnant woman’s abdomen or leg (Binding Words: Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages [Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006], p. 260; see also Daniel Wakelin, Designing English: Early Literature on the Page [Bodleian Library, 2018], p. 485 and n. 885)
Although the roll contains no direct references to either childbirth or women, Skemer posits that its wards of general protection were enough for it to be regarded as an amulet to assist childbirth (Binding Words: Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages, p. 260). Going further than this, Mary Agnes Edsall suggests that the roll was never an object for reading but an 'imagetextobject' where the material support and the visual combination of words and images signified supernatural power ('Arma Christi Rolls or Textual Amulets? The Narrow Roll Format Manuscripts of "O Vernicle"', Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft> 9 [2014], p. 201)
Physical Description
Condition
Binding
Kept in a cloth box, 2.125" x 3" x 2.25"
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Came into the Library before 1680
Record Sources
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
Last Substantive Revision
2025-03-20: Description revised to incorporate all the information in the Summary Catalogue (1905)