Magic in Anglo-Saxon England
By Carolyn Emerick
Introduction: Magic was a regular part of daily life in pre-Christian Europe, as it was and still is in many other parts of the world. In this context, the term “magic” is distinct from its modern usage which is better described as optical illusion.
From a socio-anthropological standpoint, magic is the act of attempting to manipulate the world using unseen forces. Magic was a very real part of the human experience in the indigenous European landscape. And, these were societies that believed that otherworldly entities and supernatural energies were all around them.
In the modern Scientific Age, it is sometimes difficult for us to understand a belief system that viewed the world as, to borrow scholar Brian Bates’ phrase, both geographical and mystical. Just like other early societies, the peoples in Northern Europe “all had a view of nature which we would call enchanted.”
Our forbearers used magic in nearly all aspects of life, from medicine and healing to divination and conjuring. They believed that words had power, and that unseen entities in the spirit world heard and responded to them.
However, we can piece together a general understanding using the fragments that do survive as well as using tools such as etymology, place-name studies, and by referencing other types of evidence such as pagan elements that survive in medieval Christian writings, folklore, folk traditions, witch trial records, and so forth.
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