Curse tablet dedicated to Satan found in medieval latrine

2023-12-18 16:23:37

In the Greco-Roman world, the ‘curse tablet’ was a common means of getting rid of an enemy, or at least disrupting their plans. It consisted of a thin sheet of lead, although sometimes also on wood, wax or papyrus, on which a prayer was inscribed to the gods to harm the target. Hermes, Charon, Hecate and Persephonethe infernal gods, were the most frequently used for the assignment and the task was often specified quite precisely. misfortune that had to fall on the victim.

Once the inscription is made, the lead sheet is rolled up and buried underground, it was put through a crack in an underground sanctuary or thrown into a well or spring, from where it would have its perfidious effect. It was believed to be a practice limited to the period between 800 BC C. and 600 AD. c.but a finding in the German city of Rostock has just proven that these curse tablets continued to be used in the Middle Ages.

This is a piece of lead that has appeared during expansion works of the town hall of Rostock. The workers, during the excavation of the foundations, must obtain approval from the local team of archaeologists who supervises the work and noticed a metal object recovered from what was once the bottom of a latrine. Once unrolled, the words “sathanas taleke belzebuk hinrik berith” became legible. The curse, carefully engraved in tiny Gothic letters, was directed against a woman named Taleke and a certain Hinrik, who were condemned to have to deal with the demons Satan, Beelzebub and Berith.

It is not surprising that it appeared at the bottom of a latrine, clarified the head of local archaeologists, Jörg Ansorge, who remembers that these curse tablets were placed where it was difficult or impossible to find them. The damn they shouldn’t know of impending disaster because harmful magic had to be developed in secret.

The cellars on An der Hege Street, in one of which was the latrine, belonged to six medieval houses significantly rebuilt after a major fire in 1677 and later destroyed during the bombings of 1942. The cellar dates back to the 13th century and the curse tablet must have been deposited there in the XV centuryaccording to Ansorge’s calculations.

Later, around 1880/90, a new Williamite style building was built on top of that same house. In the same medieval basement were preserved remains of crafts and housingamong them a chimney for pots and a stone staircase through which we do not know if the victims of the curse or its perpetrators went down and up.

Black magic

These tablets obey the desire to harm and cause various evils, in the context of black magic. The use of lead It is not free, but loaded with symbolism: in addition to the practical advantages that its malleability and easy obtaining offer, it offers coldness, heaviness and considers it to be ruled by Saturnin astrology the malefic planet par excellence.

Equally loaded with meaning were the places where the sheets were to be deposited. Most of the tablets have been found in graves or in wells, fountains and water currents in general, which were supposed to connect this world with the kingdom of the god Hades. Some of the inscriptions, erotic character, they sought to attract the desired being against their will, even through the torture of insomnia, various impediments to eating and drinking, or fevers and loss of strength or vigor, but this does not seem to be the case with the Rostock tablet. . Taleke and Hinrik must be harassed by demons, or perhaps separated due to jealousy, financial interest, or some domestic issue that will forever remain a mystery.