The use of protective symbols, also known as apotropaic marks, is often part of folk magic traditions. The symbols appear in homes and churches and on personal items, and even graves, across Europe, Australia, and North America. The most common and well-known of these marks is the hexfoil, otherwise known as the daisy wheel, witch hex, or rosette. Hexfoils have a history of use for personal protection and were both intentionally carved and graffitied into church pews and walls, bed frames, doors, and gravestones. This research sheds light on the use of this historic symbol to protect the bodies and souls of the deceased, across several thousand years and multiple countries.
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List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Protective Marks and Objects
Chapter 2. Hexfoils in a Mortuary Context
Chapter 3. The Reformation and Medieval Magics
Chapter 4. Survey of Protective Marks on Gravestones
Chapter 5. Results of the Survey
Chapter 6. Modern Interpretations of the Hexfoil and Other Protective Marks
Conclusion: Protective Marks on Gravestones: Past and Present
References
Index
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781805396635
Publisert
2024-09-01
Utgiver
Vendor
Berghahn Books
Høyde
229 mm
Bredde
152 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
210
Forfatter
Biographical note
Robyn S. Lacy earned her PhD in Archaeology at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. She runs a historic gravestone preservation business with her husband in Newfoundland, which takes them all across the island and beyond. Her first book, Burial and Death in Colonial North America, was published in 2020, and she regularly writes about her research on her website, spadeandthegrave.com.