Does anyone recognize the following?
"sic p[er] uerbo ueritatis amedatio sic eris inmundissime sp[iritu]s
fletus oculo[rum] tibi gehenna ignis"
It comes from a mangled formula for warding off enemy (demonic)
hostility in the margin of CCCC 41 (with ealra feo[n]da grimnessum). It
is preceded by verses from the Roman psalter (specifically, Ps. 117/118:
16-17 and the First Canticle of Moses, Exodus 15: 6-7). What follows it
is a garbled version of the infamous "exorcism of body parts."
I have followed the lead of Christopher Hohler and found faint
echoes in the exorcism formulae. "sic...ueritatis amedatio" is likely
"sicut... veritatem a mendatio" as in the following exorcism that shows
its relation to "sic eris inmundissime spiritus":
"Separa te diabole ab hoc famulo Dei N. sicut separavit omnipotens
Deus coelum a terra, lucem a tenebris, veritatem a mendacio, bonum a
malo, dulcem ab amaro, sic eris separatus inmundissime spiritus...".
The "per verbo" is unclear.
Although "gehenna" pops up in the exorcisms, it doesn't in this
immediate context, and not with ignis. Where else in liturgicaland does
this Scriptural phrase get used and would it perchance shed any light on
this obscure passage?
Any thoughts on "fletus oculorum" in this context are welcome. [If
Tom Hill is on this list, I have a question about its relevance to your
"apotropaic motif" of tormenting the devil with boiling drops].
Sorry for the esoteric nature of this, and the bad Latin.
Karen
--
Dr. Karen Jolly
Associate Professor, History
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
[log in to unmask]
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kjolly
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