HIDDEN CHARMS 3
ROB GANDY reports from Chester on the return of the annual conference devoted to the magical protection of buildings
It was perhaps coincidental that, thanks to Covid-19, the Hidden Charms 3 took place at the third time of asking. Chester’s gothic St Mary’s Creative Space, a church converted for arts and other activities near the city’s castle, was the venue. The theme was the magical protection of buildings and related apotropaic topics, and followed conferences in Norwich (2016) and Salisbury (2018). Host Brian Hoggard had pulled together an impressive list of speakers to give a wide range of presentations on this particular component of the fortean spectrum, as well as tables for the Folklore Society (https:// folklore-society.com) and Raking Light (https://rakinglight.co.uk/).
Brian welcomed everyone and apologised for the lack of heating (!), a problem that was beyond his control. He then gave the initial talk about horse skulls and their use in magic, which featured examples from Britain, Ireland and the USA going back as far as the 14th century. The key question was whether these were sacrificial or protective offerings. Although historically there were examples of whole horses sacrificed in burials, having just skulls (sometimes many together) was more suggestive of warding off evil. Brian described an 1897 example where a horse’s skull was placed in a chapel’s foundations and had beer poured on it ceremonially. Intriguingly, some claimed an acoustic purpose, illustrated by 24 skulls screwed to the floor of a hall from underneath in Herefordshire, purportedly making musical instruments sound better.
Debora Moretti followed with an admittedly polemical presentation highlighting the need for archæologists and academics to be better trained and more perceptive when looking at magic and rituals in archæological contexts. She feared the current lack of understanding in the profession was leading to apotropaic and other artefacts being ignored or misinterpreted and argued that raising public awareness was the key to achieving progress.
Jeremy Harte challenged the belief that archers sharpened their arrow-heads in vertical marks found (mainly) on sandstone church walls in an extremely amusing talk. Indeed, given many such marks were in church entrances, no one could get into and out of services if archers were busy sharpening arrow-heads! He traced the belief to as recent a date as 1917 and suggested that children/ youths were the real culprits.
Jeannine Woods described the many ways pagan protection rituals were integral to popular Christian celebrations of Brigid in Ireland, a key figure seen as both a goddess and a saint. Related symbols included cloaks/ mantles, crosses and girdles, and usually had curative or protective purposes. She also told of processions of ‘biddy-boys’ carrying an effigy of Brigid through villages on the eve of St Brigid’s day. Jeannine was followed by Linda Wilson, who detailed her researches into circles, double ‘U’s and word squares at the Maison Forte de Reignac, a fortified dwelling in the Dordogne region of France. There were lots of photos of daisy-wheels and other symbols which she argued related to magical protection. Many were faint and others had been hidden by plaster, and some were outside the building. It must have been wonderful to undertake research in such a beautiful location. After lunch, Chris Wood talked about the many various forms of crosses that existed, with examples dating back to the 12th century. Many were decorative, but heck posts (which were referred to as ‘witch posts’ in the late 19th century) were found in places such as chimneys to protect against witch magic. He argued some could only have apotropaic intent because they were situated where they could not easily be seen. Jason Semmens then detailed witchcraft and counter-magic in early 20th century Cornwall, including the life of William Paynter (aka the Cornish Witch-finder), an active member in the movement to preserve Cornish culture, language and identity as ‘Celtic’. After a break, Marc Robben opened the audience’s minds to differing ways of seeing buildings. He began by highlighting how architects and builders believed that many early buildings, such as churches and cathedrals, collapsed because of evil spirits flying around them. Of course, the real explanation was faulty design, but over time strategically placed cruciferous stone structures helped improve stability and add decoration. But, given a largely agricultural society, there was an apotropaic purpose as well as these functional and æsthetic ones: from whichever angle the building was looked at, it would be covered in crosses – and so ghosts and spirits would avoid it. Therefore, it became common for churches to mimic cruciferous plants in their designs and even timber-framed buildings had decorative crosses and flowers; examples were shown from Delft in Holland and the Rows in Chester.
James Wright concluded with a presentation about ritual protection graffiti and the use of apotropaic motifs in elite architecture. His main example was Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire, with its processional approaches representing a religious and secular overlap. He included examples of sacred geometry and holy symbols such as pentagrams, and highlighted how burn marks were used to protect against fire, including reference to the role of candles at Candlemas.
Brian concluded by thanking everyone for attending the conference, which was both entertaining and enlightening. The date and location of Hidden Charms 4 have yet to be determined, so keep an eye on the website (www.apotropaios. co.uk) for updates.