111v

Old English

Modern English

crop, cnua ealle tosomne, do on hunig and smire mid þa þunwangan and þone hnifel and ufan þæt heofod.

flower, pound them all together, put in honey and smear the temples and the forehead and on top of the head with [it].

To þon ilcan: sec lytle stanas on swealwan bridda magan, and heald þæt hie ne hrinan eorþan ne wætre neoþrum stanum. Beseowa hira .iii. on þon þe þu wille. Do on þone mon þe him þearf sie. Him biþ sona sel. Hi beoþ gode wiþ heafod ece and wiþ eag wærce and wiþ feondes costunga and nihtgengan and lencten adle and maran and wyrtforbore and malscra and yflum gealdor cræftum. Hit sculon beon micle briddas þe þu hie scealt on findan.

For the same [ache]: seek small stones in the stomachs of swallows' young, and hold [them] so that they touch neither earth nor water nor other stones. Sew three of them of your choosing.¹⁹ Put [them] on the person who has need of them. Soon he will be well. They are good against a headache and against eye pain and against temptations of the devil and night goers and spring fever and nightmares and restraint by plants²⁰ and bewitchment and evils [and] charm crafts. They [the swallow's young] should be big birds in which you shall find them.

Gif mon on healf heafod ace: gecnua rudan swiþe. Do on strang eced and smire mid þæt heafod ufan riht.

If a person has a half headache: pound mountain rue completely. Put in strong vinegar and smear the head with it right on top.

Wiþ þon ilcan: adelf wegbrædan butan isene ær sunnan upgange. Bind þa moran ymb þæt heafod mid wræte reade wræde. Sona him bið sel.

Against the same: dig up greater plantain without iron before sunrise. Bind the roots with madder around the head with a red bandage. Soon he is well.

ii. Wiþ aswollenum eagum: genim cucune hrefn. Ado þa eagan of and eft cucune gebring on wætre and do þa eagan þam man on sweoran, þe him þearf sie. He biþ sona hal.

ii. For swollen eyes: take a live crab²¹. Take the eyes from [it] and afterwards bring [it] alive to the water and, for the person who needs it, put the eyes on the neck. Soon he will be whole.

Wyrc gode eag sealfe: nim celeþonian and bisceopwyrt, wermod, wudumerce, wudubindes leaf. Do on ealre emfela. Cnuwa wel. Do on hunig and on win and on æren fæt, oððe on cyperen; do twæde þæs wines and þriddan dæl þæs

Make a good eye-salve: take celandine, marsh mallow, wormwood, wild celery, and honeysuckle's leaf. Take equal parts of all. Pound well. Put in honey and wine and [put] into a brass cup or a copper one; add two parts of the wine and a third part of the

[huniges

[honey

19. The Old English includes the preposition "on" in this sentence. There may have been a bandage or clothe in which the stones would be sewn in an earlier version of this remedy, such as the red bandage in Chapter 1. This clothe/bandage now only remains in the presence of that "on." ↩

20. Bosworth-Toller: "wyrtforbor es; n. Restraint from an action by the operation of herbs." ↩

21. Bosworth-Toller: "hræfn es, m. Se hrefn ðe sume men hataþ crabba >>the "hrefn" that some people call a crab<<" ↩