Textual Magic

"Hindley paints a picture of magic's place in medieval England, producing an eye-opening study of 'words at their most powerful' . . . that promise[s] to change the way we think about magic in the medieval world." -- Mary Flannery * Times Literary Supplement *
"Hindley is a sure-footed guide to this strange terrain . . . [as] she traces the use of amulets across the whole span of the Middle Ages and the ways it was affected by linguistic change and the spread of literacy." * London Review of Books *
"A thought-provoking look at the distinctive ways medieval English people viewed language [that] intrigues. It's an enlightening deep dive." * Publishers Weekly *
"A major push forward . . . [that] this flies in the face of the current scholarly orthodoxy that oral and literate cultures were indivisible: it appears that writing was perceived as having its own power, which transcended that of speech." * Fortean Times *
"A look at how spoken and written charms were used to improve health or send danger packing drawing on more than 1,000 different charms from medieval England, many of which were previously unknown. With texts in Latin, French, and English, Hindley focuses on what they reveal about language, belief, and power." * Fine Books & Collections *
"Hindley carefully and fruitfully rethinks what charms tell us about written and oral aspects of culture, drawing on a wonderfully abundant collection of source material from a period in which charms proliferated but were often kept secret. A valuable contribution to the history of magic, her book sheds light on both an impressively diverse archive and the implications of their textuality." -- Richard Kieckhefer, Northwestern University
"Hindley guides readers through the complete history of spoken and written charms in medieval England with seasoned ease. Through close readings and the latest archaeological insights, Textual Magic offers an indispensable introduction to medieval English charms, packed with examples in both their original language and modern English translation." -- Lea Olsan, University of Louisiana at Monroe
"Textual Magic is a significant new work in medieval studies, generously illustrated with images and transcriptions of charm texts. In particular, Hindley's focus on the instructions accompanying charms and her awareness of their multilingual contexts are welcome additions to the literature on verbal charms." -- Jonathan Roper, University of Tartu