Nine Ƿorts Galder

This is an Anglish translation of the "Nine Herbs Charm", an Old English incantation. The meanings of the words BRYODEDON, FREABEGDE, WERGULU, and RUNLAN are unknown to me, so I didn't touch them.

The Writ

Mun geƿ, mugƿort, hƿat geƿ melded,

hƿat geƿ rained at þe rainmeld.

Une geƿ higt, oldest of ƿorts.

Geƿ may stand ƿiþer III and ƿiþer XXX,

Geƿ may stand ƿiþer atter and ƿiþer onfly,

Geƿ may stand ƿiþer þe loaþsum hƿo geond þe land fare.

And geƿ, ƿaybroad, ƿorts moþer,

from þe east open, migty inside.

Ofer geƿ crats creaked, ofer geƿ cƿeens rode,

ofer geƿ brides BRYODEDON, ofer geƿ fears snorted.

Geƿ ƿiþstood and ƿiþstunned em all.

So too geƿ ƿiþstood atter and onfly

and þe loaþsum hƿo geond þe land fare.

Stun higt þis ƿort, it ƿaxed on stone,

it stood ƿiþer atter, it stuns ƿark.

Stiþe it higt, it ƿiþstuns atter,

it ƿreaks þe ƿroþ one, it ƿarps ute atter.

Þis is þe ƿort þat fougt ƿiþer a ƿorm.

Þis may ƿiþer atter, it may ƿiþer onfly

It may ƿiþer þe loaþsum hƿo geond þe land fare.

Fly geƿ nu, atterloaþe, þe less þe more,

þe more þe less, ooþ boot is for boþ ƿiþ him.

Mun geƿ, maþe, hƿat geƿ melded,

hƿat geƿ ended at Alderford.

Nefer sell feer for onfly

siþen man geared maþe as meat for him.

Þis is þe ƿort þat ǷERGULU higt,

þis onsent a seal ofer seas ricg,

atters ond, oþers boot.

Þese VIIII may ƿiþer nine atters.

A ƿorm came sneaking, it slit a man,

þen Ƿooden num VIIII ƿoldertones

þen he sleƿ þe nadder and it fleƿ into VIIII bits.

Þere ended appel and atter,

þat it nefer ƿould bue in a huse.

Fill and fennel, feel migty tƿo.

Þese ƿorts ƿere scaped by a ƿitty drigten,

holy in heafens, hƿen he hung

he set and sent into VII ƿorlds

for arm and for eddy, all for boot.

It stood ƿiþer ƿark, it stuns ƿiþer atter.

It may stand ƿiþer III, and ƿiþer XXX,

ƿiþer hand, and ƿiþer FREABEGDE,

and ƿiþer maskering mone ƿigts.

Nu þese VIIII ƿorts may ƿiþer nine ƿolderfleers,

ƿiþer VIIII atters, and ƿiþer nine onflies,

ƿiþer þe red atter, ƿiþer þe RUNLAN atter,

ƿiþer þe hƿite atter, ƿiþer þe heƿn atter,

ƿiþer þe gelloƿ atter, ƿiþer þe green atter,

ƿiþer þe ƿan atter, ƿiþer þe ƿoaden atter,

ƿiþer þe brune atter, ƿiþer þe base atter,

ƿiþer ƿormblad, ƿiþer ƿaterblad,

ƿiþer þornblad, ƿiþer þistelblad,

ƿiþer iseblad, ƿiþer atterblad,

if any atter cum flying from þe east

or if any cum from þe norþ,

or if any cum from þe ƿest ofer ƿereþeeds.

Crist stood ofer oadel, one of a kind.

Only I ƿot þe running ea.

Þere þe nine nadders behold.

All ƿeeds must nu spring as ƿorts.

Seas slip all salt ƿater

hƿile I bloƿ þis atter off þee.

Mugƿort, ƿaybroad hƿic is open from þe east, lambscrest, atterloaþe, maþe, nettel, ƿoodsureappel, fill and fennel, old soap.

Ƿork þe ƿorts into dust, mong ƿiþ þe soap and ƿiþ þe appels gore. Ƿork a slip of ƿater and of asc.

Nim þe fennel, ƿell in þe slip and beeþ ƿiþ eymong hƿen he puts on þe salfe, ere and after.

Sing þe galder on eac of þe ƿorts þrise ere he ƿorks em, and on þe appel also. And þen sing in þe muþe of men, and in boþ þe ears, and on þe ƿund þat ilc galder, ere he puts on þe salf.