Father God and Mother Earth: Nature-Mysticism in the Anglo-Saxon World

Fields, Ritual and Religion: Holistic Approaches to the Rural Landscape in Long‐Term Perspective (c.1500 BC–AD 1086)

“…For people of the medieval period and earlier, ploughing and prayer were both equally necessary to ensure a good harvest. As the Old English Æcerbot charm – a ceremony to improve the productivity of fields, preserved in a twelfth‐century manuscript – reveals, fields also run the risk of being subjected to harmful curses (Jolly ; ). The Roman ritual appeasement of the god Mars (Cato De Agri Cultura 141, c .160 BC) shows similar concerns for divine protection of fields over a millennium earlier, suggesting widespread concern with the matter, regardless of religion or geography.…”

“…This is clearly apparent from the aforementioned Æcerbot charm, describing a lengthy ceremony meant to improve the fertility of the land, or to heal it once it has been damaged through witchcraft or sorcery. The Æcerbot charm gives the impression of stemming from a deeper pagan past, involving an appeal to Mother Earth and the preparation of a potion, but it is thoroughly Christianized in its involvement of the local priest and the incantation of Christian prayers (Hill ; Jolly ; , 9). Its implications for our understanding of the rural landscape and agricultural processes have, however, been inadequately explored in an archaeological context.…”