"Allmygti god this lettyr sent": English Heavenly Letter Charms in Late Medieval Books and Rolls

This study focuses on the material context of medieval charms by investigating how books differ from rolls as carriers of charms. The essential difference between medieval books and rolls as carriers of charms appears to lie in the kind of unity they constitute. A roll featuring charms like the one described in the present work was probably used integrally as a physical protective device, making it the epitome of a functional unity: the whole of its contents combined with the physical writing surface of the roll itself is what defines the use of the roll. A book can certainly also make up a thematic unity, but the functional combination of contents and materiality is not as strongly present. Instead, books containing charms were more likely to have functioned as storehouses of information in a less physical sense. The texts, including the charms, could be consulted separately, and were also more likely to be perceived as such. This would explain why added and deleted texts are more commonly found in books than on rolls. The intensity of the usage of rolls, especially amulet rolls that were worn on the body, could be one of the reasons why relatively few medieval rolls survive. Ultimately, it was not the carrier that selected the charm, nor was it the charm that selected the carrier. It was an individual's purpose that determined whether and how a charm was to become part of the contents of a particular material carrier.