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1893.18.9

Written spell found in house of Jonathan Frankland in a desk.

On display

1893.18.9

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

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Collection type
Object
Description
Written spell found in house of Jonathan Frankland in a desk.
Cultural groups
English
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1873
Date collected
circa 1873
Acquisition information
Donated: 28/02/1893
Materials and processes
Material Paper Plant, Material Ink, Material Wax, Material Bird Feather, Process Written
Dimensions
Width: max 197 mm frame, Length: max 248 mm frame
Object numbers
Accession number: 1893.18.9
Research and responses

Searching the 1841-1901 censuses on line suggests there were several Jonathan Franklands around this time in the Yorkshire area, it is not clear which one is this other owner [AP 17/05/2007]

Associated publications
Illustrated on page 74 of the exhibition catalogue 'Spellbound: Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft' as Figure 69 with the caption 'Written charm with a six-sided star, nineteenth century. 24.8 cm (max length), 19.7 cm (max width of frame). Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford (1993.18.9)' [FB 19/10/2018] Mentioned in Ellen Ettlinger, Folklore vol 54, no. 1, (March 1943) pp 227-249, '... Two specimens from recent times are preserved in the Pitt Rivers Museum (1) a magic pentacle, inscribed within a circle, with some imitations of Hebrew letters, the names of God, the already mentioned AGLA, and biblical quotations. Drawn on a half sheet of letter paper, sealed with three black seals, inserted betwen each two of which are hackles from a red cock's neck, it was kept by Jonathan Frankland, "the largest farmer in Danby, Yorks" to protect him and his cattle against witches. It was found after his death, about 1870, in his standing-desk, a white handled penknife, half-open, laid in front of it. [JC Atkinson, Fourty [sic] Years in a Moorland Parish (London 1891) pp 94-5

Search terms: Religion, Writing, Religious Object, Amulet, Inscription

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