Textual Magic: charms and written amulets in medieval England
The medieval charm tradition was a continuous, deeply-rooted part of the English Middle Ages.
On 7 July, Dr Katherine Hindley discussed these centuries of dynamic, shifting cultural landscapes, where multiple languages, alphabets, and modes of transmission gained and lost their protective healing power.
Katherine's book, Textual Magic: Charms and Written Amulets in Medieval England, examines the medieval belief that spoken and written words, in the form of charms and textual amulets, could physically change the world. By tracing ideas about the power of words across the Middle Ages, the project reveals complex and shifting attitudes about language, speech, text, and material objects.
This research has been supported by the Medieval Academy of America, the Bibliographical Society of America, and the Josephine de Karman Fellowship, among others.
About the speaker
Katherine Storm Hindley is Assistant Professor of English at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Director of the London International Palaeography School; and a Senior Research Associate at the Intellectual Forum, Jesus College.
She received her PhD in Medieval Studies from Yale University in 2017. She also holds an MA (Oxon.) in English and an MSt in Medieval Studies, both from the University of Oxford. Her research and teaching lie at the intersection of medieval literature, manuscript studies, and the history of medicine.
