Blanford Forum - Bell ringing at Allhallows

It is stated in Kethe's Sermon preached at Blandford Forum in Dorsetshire, January 17th, 1570, p. 19, that "there was a custom, in the papal times, to ring hells at Allhallow-tide for all Christian souls."

Brand 1813

 

Map - Blandford Forum

Devon charm to protect from theives and enemies

Frontispiece of the Old Testament -By Phillip Medhurst (Photo by Harry Kossuth) [FAL], via Wikimedia Commons

"SAY daily at sunrise :

"In the power of God, I walk on my way
In the meekness of Christ, what thieves soe'er I meet
The Holy Ghost to-day shall me keep.
Whether I sit, or stand, walk or sleep,
The shining of the sun
Also the brightness of his beams, shall me help.
The faith of Isaac to-day shall me lead ;
The sufferings of Jacob to-day be my speed.
The devotion of the holy Lamb thieves shall let,
The strength of Jesus's passion them beset,
The dread of death hold thieves low,
The wisdom of Solomon cause their overthrow.
The sufferings of Job set them in hold,
The chastity of Daniel let what they would.
The speech of Isaac their speech shall spill,
The languishing faith of Jerom let them of their will.
The flaming fires of hell to hit them, I bequeath,
The deepness of the deep sea, their hearts to grieve
The help of Heaven cause thieves to stand.
He that made the sun and moon bind them with his hand
So sure as St. Bartholomew bound the fiend,
With the hair of his beard.
With these three sacred names of God known and unknown.
Miser, Sue, Tetragrammaton, Christ Jesus ! Amen."

Hewett 1900

[I am not a great expert on such things, but this line "Miser, Sue, Tetragrammaton," sounds a bit Jewish.  Although it does feature Jesus and Saint Bartholomew the rest seem to be old testament characters.]

Devon charm to cure Ringworm, Barngun, or skin eruptions such as shingles

Shingles on a back - By Timepants (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

"Barngun is cured by blessing, and the outward application of clotted cream, thus : Take three locks of
wool one white, one grey, one black dip them into a basin of clotted cream, and when thoroughly saturated,
take each lock and rub in succession each infected spot on the skin. Hang the wool on sprigs of white thorn against the wind to dry. Repeat this process five, seven, or nine times, as the case may require. While lubricating the sores chant in monotone the following : 

There were three angels come from the west, 

to cure Simon Fluke (or other) of the barngun, 

white barngun, red barngun, black barngun,
aching, sticking, pricking, barngun, 

all sorts of barngun,
barngun-biibee, 

ill will I prove 'e. 

I stick thee
up on thees yer thorn, 

there thou shalt die, 

and never come near'n no more, 

in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen."

Hewett 1900 

[This charm is very similar to other Devon charms for other ailments in the opening and closing lines, and in the use of colours (take note: there are three colours - 3 is a very frequently used number in folklore). Also note the hypnotically intensifying rhythm.]

Devon charm to counter the bad luck of ill omened birds

Collard Dove - by DemonTraitor, wikipedia, under a creative commoncs lecence http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Collared_dove.jpg

"ONE should repeat seven times the following :

" Clean birds by sevens, unclean birds by twos,
The dove in the heavens, is the bird which I choose.""

Hewett 1900

Devon Charm to regain money

Coins from:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonanamary/328238859/sizes/l/ Some rights reserved by jonanamary

"A white witch professed to be able to restore a lost sum of money by the following incantation.

Flibberty, gibberty, flasky flum,
Calafac, tarada, lara, wagra wum.
Hooky, maroosky, whatever's the sum,
Heigho ! Presto ! Money corne !
In the name of the Father, the Holy Ghost, and Son. Amen ! Amen !"

Hewett 1900

Devon charm to cure a thorn in the flesh

Cima da Conegliano, Christ Crowned with Thorns, 15th - 16th century

"Our dear Lord Jesus Christ was pricked with thorns. His blood went back to Heaven again, His flesh neither cankered, rankled, nor festered, neither shall thine, M. or N. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen, Amen, Amen."

Hewett 1900

[Not sure what "M. or N." meens...]

Devon charm to counter the power of a 'black whitch'

Horseshoe nailed to a door in Chagford, Devon. If you want to use my photos please attribute this blog

"TAKE a cast horse shoe, nail it over the front door, points upwards. While nailing it up chant in monotone the following :

So as the fire do melt the wax
And wind blows smoke away,
So in the presence of the Lord
The wicked shall decay,
The wicked shall decay. Amen."

 

Hewett 1900

Devon charm to staunch blood

Blood cells.

"As Christ was born in Bethlehem and baptized in the river Jordan, He said to the water, "Be still.'' So shall thy blood cease to flow. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen."

Hewett 1900

Four Devon charms to cure toothache

Aching human tooth! - Some rights reserved by zenilorac  http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenilorac/639735618/sizes/z/

"(1) Carry a dead person's tooth in the left waistcoat pocket.

(2) Bite a tooth from the jaw of a disinterred skull.

(3) "As Peter sat weeping on a stone our Saviour passed by and said, 'Peter, why weepest thou ?' Peter said unto Him, ' I have got the toothache.' Our Saviour replied, 'Arise and be sound.'"

And whosoever keeps this in memory or in writing will never suffer from toothache.

(4)-Mix

Two quarts of rat's broth.

One ounce of camphor.

One ounce essence of cloves.

Dose: Take one teaspoonful three times a day."

Hewett 1900

Devon rhyme to make bring cream to butter

I have a butter churn like this (a little later in date) that I bought in Devon - By Gnangarra (own work, digital photograph)[see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons

"Come, butter, come,
Come, butter, come,
Peter's waiting at the gate,
Waiting for a buttered cake.
Come, butter, come."

Hewett 1900

Devon Charm to heal burns

The eastern fire of the rising sun on the frosty ground near Chagford. If you want to use my images please attribute this blog.

"THE witch repeats the following prayer while passing her hand three times over the burn :
 

Three wise men came from the east,
One brought fire, two carried frost.
Out fire ! In frost !
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

Hewett 1900

Unlucky in Devon - 35, 36, 37 & 38 (baptism and confirmation)

Roman Catholic Baptism

 It is unlucky -

"To reveal a child's Christian name before it is presented at the font for baptism.

To receive the left hand of the bishop on the head, at confirmation. It conveys a ban instead of a blessing.

For a child to refrain from crying when presented at the font for baptism. It is thought the more it yells and screams, the quicker the evil spirits will quit it.

For an unmarried person to be sponsor at a baptism : for "First to the font, never to the altar.""

Hewett 1900

Saint Decuman part 1

Saint Decuman Church, Watchet - ChurchCrawler [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

"Happy Decuman was born of a good family in the western part of Wales, of parents strict observers of the Christian religion. He, after he had passed his childhood at home, as he advanced in years, was of a very good disposition; and at length crossed the Severn unknown to all his acquaintance, especially to his relations, and to those who seemed to be more nearly concerned for his welfare; trusting in Christ alone for his protection. But not to mention anything more, he paid no freight and had no ship. This good man relying upon the mercy of God, not doubting but that He would protect him, bound shrubs together, which he found growing by the sea-side, and making use of such a vehicle committed himself to the ocean. Being by divine providence directed, he was carried to the opposite shore, near Dart's Castle.

There was in that part of the country in which he landed, a desert place (presumably Exmoor) beset with shrubs and briars, which were very long and large, and by the hollowness of the vathes was wonderfully separated. This place pleased him much : changing his native country for a sort of exile, the luxury of a palace for the dens of a desert. There he began to dwell and to live upon roots and herbs, leading the life of a hermit, and by such government in the above-mentioned desert, he lived many years...." [cont.]

Hewett 1900

A Devonshire Bible divination

The Holy Bible - photo © Adrian van Leen
for openphoto.net CC:PublicDomain

"A person wishing to know whether success or failure is to attend his future, should open the Bible at the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis, begin with the third verse and end with the twenty-seventh : the verse he first chooses will be typical of his future fate, character, and success in life.

Another method practised by country folk on almost every occasion, is to open the Bible at random, and the words which first present themselves decides the future lot of the enquirer."

Hewett 1900

The animals worship Jesus on Christmas Eve

Honey Bee (unfortunately from Texas, not the Westcountry!) - By Baytownbert (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

"A belief was long current in Devon and Cornwall, and perhaps still lingers both there and in other remote parts of the country, that at midnight, on Christmas Eve, the cattle in their stalls fall down on their knees in adoration of the infant Saviour, in the same manner as the legend reports them to have done in the stable at Bethlehem. Bees were also said to sing in their hives at the same time, and bread baked on Christmas Eve, it was averred, never became mouldy. All nature was thus supposed to unite in celebrating the birth of Christ, and partake in the general joy which the anniversary of the Nativity inspired."

Chambers 1888a

Cornish Holy Wells - Part 2

Madron Well and the Clouties around it, 2008 - Some rights reserved here.

"... My informant told me that Thursday was the particular day of the week, though some came on the second and third Thursday. May was the first month after Easter, when the waters had been especially blessed; for then was the great time of baptism. When I visited this well last week, I found in it a polyanthus and some article of an infant's dress, which showed that votaries had been there. After the sixth century, these baptisteries were removed into the church."

Hope 1893

Map - Madern Well

Madron - Saint Madern or Doom Well - Part 2

"...In the year 1640, John Trelille, who had been an absolute cripple for sixteen years, and was obliged to crawl upon his hands by reason of the close contraction of the sinews of his legs, upon three several admonitions in his dreams, washing in St. Madern's Well and sleeping afterwards in what was called St. Madern's bed, was suddenly and perfectly cured. 

Of all writers, Bishop Hall, sometime Bishop of the diocese of these western parts, bears the most honourable testimony to the efficacy of this well. In his Mystery of Godliness, when speaking of the good office which angels do to God's servants, the Bishop says "Of whiche kind was that noe less than miraculous cure whiche at Madern's Well, in Cornwall, was wrought on a poor cripple, whereof, besides the attestation of many hundreds of the neighhours, I saw him able to walk and get his own maintenance. I took strict and impartial examination in my last triennial visitation. I found neither art nor collusion, the cure done, the author an invisible God."..." [to be cont.]

 Hope 1893

Marchants Cross

"In a mile and a half from Sheepstor village we may reach the river Mew at Marchants Bridge, near to which is a cross of the same name. Tradition tells how the traveler used to stop and prey for his safe journey at this cross before setting out over the moor, wild enough in these days of cultivation, but how much more so when that slender symbol was erected, when road and hamlet were alike unknown, and the wolf, it may be, still lingered among the mires and mountains."

Cresswell 1921

Map - Marchants Cross

The Merchant and the church on Brent Tor

"The story runs that a merchant, encountering a heavy storm in the channel, vowed to erect a church on the first land he was.  This proved to be Brent Tor, and landing in safety he fulfilled his vow."

Cresswell 1921

Map - Brent Tor

The Cross Tree of Chagford

[This photo is of the site of Chagfords Cross tree, now supplanted by a granite boulder installed at the millennium.  Though I have asked many people no one appears to know much about the origional tree, despight it being celebrated in a kneeler in the local church.  Many Devon and some Somerset and Dorset villages had Cross Trees, often situated just outside the church entrance. Most where elm, but Chagfords was an oak.  There is some confusion as to whether they are called cross trees because of being at a cross ways (the entrance to the church) or whether they had some religious connotation.  During the middle ages the church frequently had to petition people to stop worshiping under trees and by rocks and springs, albeit in a Christian way.  I have read somewhere about one cross tree being used for religious purposes as a hangover from Catholic times in England.

The only rumors I found to Chagfords Cross Tree was that it was once part of a giant circle of trees that surrounded (and predated!) the land where the church now stands, a druids grove none the less, with one tree standing in historic times in the square (never seen any evidence for this) and the last one being the that which felled in the 1970's, called the Cross Tree...  Very mysterious...]