The Old English Topos of Death-bringing Tribulations

The Anglo-Saxons had metrical charms, with strong rhythms and with alliteration, conforming, not always strictly, to prosodic rules derived from poetry. That may mean that these charms were poetic to facilitate incantation. The charm Wið færstice has some lines (20–24a) in which afflictions are listed as alternatives, each introduced by oððe, a polysyndeton. This is syntactically like the polysyndeton of Beowulf lines 1762b–1767a, listing afflictions. The Æsir are mentioned as Esa (gen. pl.) in the charm. That might indicate an ancient tradition, but superstitions last long in popular medicine. There is a similar listing of afflictions in The Seafarer, 66b–71. This is a topos: listing of tribulations, often death-bringing afflictions. In prose this topos occurs from the age of King Alfred to that of Ælfric and Wulfstan. This study lists many occurrences of this topos in Old English verse and prose of all ages.]