Lorscher Bienensegen is an Amulet: Using Manuscript Margins to Make Amulets

A new interpretation of the Old High German 'Lorscher Bienensegen' suggests it was not merely a written version of an oral beekeeping tradition but an amulet designed to influence bee behavior. Contrary to previous assumptions, the text's placement upside down in the margins of a 9th-century manuscript (Vatican, Cod. Pal. Lat. 220) and the presence of cut-out margin strips indicate it was intended for use as a protective or behavioral amulet in apiaries. The study supports this claim by analyzing other 'Bienensegen' texts that explicitly instruct writing down the incantation to prevent bees from fleeing, combined with evidence of manuscript mutilation, which could have been repurposed into amulets.

Hertogh, T. (2025). Lorscher Bienensegen is an Amulet: Using Manuscript Margins to Make Amulets. Manuscript and Text Cultures (MTC), 3(1). https://doi.org/10.56004/v3.1th