A Medieval Lead Amulet from Central Germany

A lead amulet found in 1928 Swanscombe Börde district (Germany) during an excavation in advance of construction work on the Mittelland Canal on the site of the former Hildagsburg in Elbeu, municipality of Wolmirstedt. It comes from a child's grave near the former castle chapel. Due to its location on the neck, the excavation Director Hans Dunker classified it as an amulet.

The fortress itself was burnt down in 1129 by Albert the Bear as a result of family conflict. The Church seems to have suffered some damage, but not irreparable, and remained in use - maybe with interruptions. In any case, pilgrims still visited this site in the 13th and 14th centuries, but the Chapel has not existed since the middle of the 16th century.

 

The lead tablet is corroded in several places so that readability is heavily impaired. Moreover, the typeface has been distorted and furrowed by folding, so that the reading of individual words in the lower section is uncertain. However, with the help of electronic microscopes and grazing light shots the following decoding was managed. The problematic passages with question marks are marked in the now proposed transcription. The text is the beginning of the Gospel of John, plus a spell/curse/prayer.

 

1  + In PiNrCiPIo erAT uerbum & uerbum
2  + erat apud deu[m] et d[eu]S eArAt uerbum hoc
3  [era]T In PriniciPio APud deum omnia P[er] ipsum
4  FACTA snut et sine // circular character // ip[s]um factum
5  est nichil In nomine //  circular character // PATris eT filii
6  eT sPiriuTus scs amen (?) ...//  circular character // … Satis sit me esse(?) …
7  hAc dum tirono(?)...
8  inAculo sancte crucis    ecce cirucem
9  domi[n]i (?)  + [fug]ite P[arte]s
10                               [adversariae]… 

1 + In the beginning was the Word and the Word

2 + was with God, and the Word was God.

3 He was in the beginning with God. All things through Him

4 were made and without / / circular character / / Him made

5 was nothing. In the name of / / circular character / / of the Father and of the Son

6 of the Holy Spirit Amen / / circular character / /  May it be enough that I was(?)

7 here as long as the (?) recruit(?)... [In the]

8 Characters of the Holy Cross... Behold the Cross

9 of the Lord + [flee]

10 [hostile powers]...

When folded, the the two outer surfaces have the Greek letters Alpha:

and Omega (with a Cross drawn over the Omega).