Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall, Second SeriesBottrell, William
General
Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall, Second Series
Bottrell, William
Cornwall (England : County) -- Social life and customs; Legends -- England -- Cornwall (County)
"This Men-an-tol may be an old dial, erected originally to fix
the proper time for the celebration of the autumnal equinox;[243]
and, though it may have been applied to other purposes likewise,
such as the curing of children by dragging them several times
through the hole, still its original intention may have been
astronomical."
He also thinks that the Menheeres (long stones) served the
same purpose, as they are mostly found in pairs bearing nearly
east and west.
The Tolmen, in Constantine parish, and holed stones in other
parts of the county, were used the same way as Lanyon Crick-stone
for curing various ailments.
To cure boils and rheumatism, persons "crame" nine times
against the sun, under a bramble growing at both ends.
The notion is that going against the sun will backen a disease
but in all other cases the sun's course must be followed.
Charms.
THERE are persons in every parish west of Hayle, and
in many east of it, who charm for the cure of various
ailments. The members of a family, formerly of
Sennen, are believed to possess peculiar virtues as
charmers, which is said to have been obtained,
hundreds of years ago, from a forefather of theirs, dwelling in
Escols, who found, washed in on Gwenvor sand, a very old man,
almost dead, whom he took to his house, had him well cared for, so
that he soon recovered and prepared to depart. Before leaving,
however, he told his host that he had neither gold nor silver to
pay him for his hospitality; yet he would bestow on him and his
what would be of more value; and imparted to the old man of
Escols most of the following charms, which a descendant of the
family gave me by word of mouth; if written they are useless,
and the giver of a written one thenceforth loses the power to cure
by charming.
Charm for a scald, wild-fire, burn, or any other
inflammatory diseases.
The person to be charmed gathers nine bramble leaves, which
are put into a vessel of spring water; then each leaf is passed[244]
over and from the diseased part, whilst repeating three times to
each leaf as follows:—
"Three ladies come from the east,
One with fire and two with frost;
Out with thee fire, and in with thee frost,
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
A stick of fire is then taken from the hearth and passed over
and around the diseased part whilst the above is repeated nine
times.
Charm for a prick of a thorn, boils, kennels, &c.
"Christ was crowned with thorns,
The thorns did bleed but did not rot,
No more shall thy finger (or whatever part it may be),
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
Charm for staunching blood.
"Christ was born in Bethlehem,
Baptised in the river Jordan;
There he digg'd a well.
And turn'd the water against the hill,
So shall thy blood stand still.
In the name, &c."
Charm for a tetter.
"Tetter, tetter, thou hast nine sisters.
God bless the flesh and preserve the bone,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account