Medical and Aristocratic Magic in a Textual Amulet for a Swiss Noblewoman, c. 1375–1400: A Diplomatic Edition

Abstract: This Materia Magica contribution concerns an extant 62-line textual amulet (Zurich, Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum, LM 24097), which contains Latin text and German explanatory instructions about its magical powers and possible positioning on the body. The amulet dates from the last quarter of the fourteenth century and was found among documents of the von Wellenberg family, lesser nobility from northeastern Switzerland. The purpose of the article is to more firmly date and localize the amulet based on paleography and other evidence; identify its intended end-user, a noblewoman of childbearing years named "Greta" (i.e. Margaretha or another Germanic version of Margaret), and position her family in its historical time and place; analyze the amulet's multiple textual components and their functions, including general protection, medical magic, safe childbirth, and forms of aristocratic magic promising embattled nobles advantages in the military, political, and legal realm. The article includes a modified diplomatic edition of the text and instructions.