#lambcress

More dried herbs than dried flowers, but close enough. Today's illustration is the Nine Herbs Charm. I did a full illustration of it last year, which took so long, I had to stop inktober, but today I made a smaller one with only short text passages.

We have the nine herbs in a circle, with the Anglo-Saxon runes on the spears around them giving a short insight on how they are described in the original Nine Herbs Charm text:

Mugwort, Una, the oldest of herbs. Waybread, mother of herbs. Lambcress, the herb growing on a stone. Nettle, the herb tha fought against the serpent. Betony, the one that will fight. Chamomile, prepared for food. Chervil, the very mighty herb Crab-apple, sent by a seal across the sea Fennel shaped the lord when he hung.

Around it, written in the nine segments of a killed dragon/snake the runes read about the creation of the Charm:

A worm came creeping, he tore a man in two then Woden took nine Glory-Twigs, struck the adder then, that it flew apart into nine.

In the middle we have Woden, the depiction is inspired, albeit slightly changed, from a 8th century Anglosaxon Sceatta coin.

The Old English text: Mucgwyrt Una, yldost wyrta Wegbrade, wyrta modor Stune, wyrt heo on stane geweox Stiðe, wyrt seo wiþ wyrm gefeaht Attorlaðe, seo læsse ða maran Mægðe to mete gegyrede Fille, felamightigu wyrta Wergulu, onsænde seolh ofer sæ Finule gesceop drihten hongode

Wyrm com snican, toslat he man; ða genam Woden nigon wuldortanas, sloh ða þa næddran, þæt heo on nigon tofleah.

In Anglo-Saxon runes: ᛗᚢᚳᚷᚹᚣᚱᛏ·ᚢᚾᚪ·ᚣᛚᛞᚩᛋᛏ·ᚹᚣᚱᛏᚪ ᚹᛖᚷᛒᚱᚪᛞᛖ·ᚹᚣᚱᛏᚪ·ᛗᚩᛞᚩᚱ ᛥᚢᚾᛖ·ᚹᚣᚱᛏ·ᚻᛖᚩ·ᚩᚾ·ᛥᚪᚾᛖ·ᚷᛖᚹᛖᚩᛣᛋ ᛥᛁᚦᛖ·ᚹᚣᚱᛏ·ᛋᛖᚩ·ᚹᛁᚦ·ᚹᚣᚱᛗ·ᚷᛖᚠᛠᚻᛏ ᚪᛏᚩᚱᛚᚪᚦᛖ·ᛋᛖᚩ·ᛚᚨᛋᛖ·ᚦᚪ·ᛗᚪᚱᚪᚾ ᛗᚨᚷᚦᛖ·ᛏᚩ·ᛗᛖᛏᛖ·ᚷᛖᚷᚣᚱᛖᛞᛖ ᚠᛁᛚᛖ·ᚠᛖᛚᚪᛗᛁᚻᛏᛁᚷᚢ·ᚹᚣᚱᛏᚪ ᚹᛖᚱᚷᚢᛚᚢ·ᚩᚾᛋᚨᚾᛞᛖ·ᛋᛖᚩᛚᚻ·ᚩᚠᛖᚱ·ᛋᚨ· ᚠᛁᚾᚢᛚᛖ·ᚷᛖᛋᚳᛖᚩᛈ·ᛞᚱᛁᚻᛏᛖᚾ·ᚻᚩᛝᚩᛞᛖ