_Here is the remedy by which thou mayst improve thy fields if they will
not produce well or if any evil thing is done to them by means of sorcery
or witchcraft:_
_5_ _Take at night, before daybreak, four pieces of turf from the four
corners of the land and mark the places where they have stood. Take then
oil and honey and yeast and the milk of every kind of cattle that is on
that land and a piece of every kind of tree that is grown _10_ on that
land, except hard wood, and a piece of every kind of herb known by name,
except burdock alone. Then put holy water on these and dip it thrice in
the base of the turfs and say these words:_ Crescite, _grow_, et
multiplicamini, _and multiply_, et replete, _and fill_, terram, _15_
_this earth_, in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti sint
benedicti; _and_ Pater Noster _as often as anything else_.
_Then carry the turfs to the church and have the priest sing four masses
over them and have the green sides _20_ turned toward the altar. Then
bring them back before sunset to the place where they were at first. Now
make four crosses of aspen and write on the end of each_ Matheus _and_
Marcus _and_ Lucas _and_ Johannes. _Lay the crosses on the bottom of each
hole and then say_: _25_ Crux Matheus, crux Marcus, crux Lucas, crux
Sanctus Johannes. _Then take the sods and lay them on top and say nine
times the word_ Crescite, _and the_ Pater Noster _as often. Turn then to
the east and bow humbly nine times and say these words:_
30 Eastward I stand, for honors I pray;
I pray to the God of glory; I pray to the gracious Lord;
I pray to the high and holy Heavenly Father;
I pray to the earth and all of the heavens,
And to the true and virtuous virgin Saint Mary,
35 And to the high hall of Heaven and its power,
That with God's blessing I may unbind this spell
With my open teeth, and through trusty thought
May awaken the growth for our worldly advantage,
May fill these fields by fast belief,
40 May improve this planting, for the prophet saith
That he hath honors on earth whose alms are free,
Who wisely gives, by the will of God.
_Then turn three times following the course of the sun, stretch thyself
prostrate, and chant the litanies. _45_ Then say_ Sanctus, Sanctus,
Sanctus _through to the end. Then chant_ Benedicte _with outstretched
arms, and the_ Magnificat _and_ Pater Noster _three times and commend thy
prayer to the praise and glory of Christ and Saint Mary and the Holy
Rood, and to the honor _50_ of him who owns the land and to all those
that are subject to him. When all this is done, get some unknown seed
from beggars, and give them twice as much as thou takest from them. Then
gather all thy plowing gear together and bore a hole in the beam and put
in _55_ it incense and fennel and consecrated soap and consecrated salt.
Take the seed and put it on the body of the plow, and then say:_
Erce, Erce, Erce, of earth the mother,
May he graciously grant thee, God Eternal,
60 To have fertile fields and fruitful harvests,
Growing in profit and gaining in power;
A host of products and harvests in plenty,
Bright with the broad barley harvest;
And heavy with the white harvest of wheat,
65 And all the harvest of the earth. May the Almighty Lord grant
And all his saints who are seated in heaven,
That against all of the enemies this earth may be guarded,
Protected and made proof against the powers of evil,
Against sorceries and spells dispersed through the land.
70 Now I pray to the Power who planned the creation
That no woman of witchcraft, no worker of magic,
May change or unspell the charm I have spoken.
_Then drive forth the plow and turn the first furrow and say:_
75 Hail to thee, Earth, of all men the mother,
Be goodly thy growth in God's embrace,
Filled with food as a favor to men.
_Then take meal of every kind and bake a loaf as broad as it will lie
between the two hands, kneading _80_ it with milk and with holy water,
and lay it under the first furrow. Say then:_
Full be the field with food for mankind,
Blossoming brightly. Blessed by thou
By the holy name of Heaven's Creator,
85 And the maker of Earth, which men inhabit.
May God who created the ground grant us growing gifts,
That each kernel of corn may come to use.
_Say then three times_, Crescite in nomine patris, sint benedicti. Amen
_and_ Pater Noster _three times_.
30. Irregularities in the meter in the translations are imitations of
similar irregularities in the original.
58. _Erce:_ probably the name of an old Teutonic deity, the Mother of
Earth. This reference is all we have to preserve the name.
75. The conception of a goddess as Mother of Earth and of Earth as Mother
of Men is entirely pagan. This charm is a peculiar complex of
Christian and pagan ideas.