Cursing

Historical Context Essay

Karen O'Brien (University of Sydney)

Domains

Religion and Spirituality (any)
Social Sciences

Dates

Date of occurrence -050-1624

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

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Cursing has a long history. The earliest evidence in England and Northern Europe can be traced to the Celtic period, 50 years B. C. Tablets bearing magical inscriptions have been found in several parts of the country (K. Thomas, 607). Evidence of formulaic cursing was found in Northern England inscribed upon stone tablets. A curse, discovered at Covetina’s Well near Hadrian’s Wall, was written on a tablet of lead. The curse invoked the wrath of the local goddess upon an unknown person (H. E. Davidson, 131). Whether the goddess was familiar to popular culture, or brought to Britain by German troops is not known. Cursing was practiced in Anglo-Saxon England; it was common throughout the Middle Ages and continued throughout the medieval period (K. Thomas, 599-637. Thomas argues that the…

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1559 words

Citation: O'Brien, Karen. "Cursing". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 November 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1746, accessed 07 May 2024.]

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