The Black Books of Elverum
- Book Review,
by Mary S. Rustad (Editor)
Book Description
In a dusty old attic in central Norway, Mary Rustad came upon two handwritten Black Books. In publishing them--and enlisting the help one of Norway's foremost authorities on folk medicine to explain them--she reveals a fascinating and important contribution to our understanding of a little known facet of the Norwegian heritage. The Black Book. Even today the name conjures up images of witchcraft and Satanism. Their terrifying reputation notwithstanding, they usually turn out to be practical handbooks for addressing daily concerns. They reward a modern reader by opening a window unto another age. The cures, advice, prayers, and incantations contained within their pages provide an intimate glimpse into the world of impoverished Norwegian peasants before the age of industrialization. The books reveal not only these peasants' outward way of life--farming, fishing, hunting, waging war--but also give insights into their way of thinking where beliefs about witches, ghosts, and other manifestations of the supernatural firmly held sway. Who knows what magical grimoires may lay hidden in other attics, even in America?
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Norwegian
About the Author
Mary S. Rustad was born in Minnesota of Norwegian heritage. She lives on the farm in Norway where her great-grandfather once lived before immigrating to the United States. After living on the farm for 21 years, she has become familiar with some of her ancestors. These relatives, that she has never met, left letters and possessions behind to help her get to know them. Some years ago, she found the two Black Books in the attic. Putting this book together has helped her understand what kind of spiritual beliefs her ancestors had in the eighteenth century.
Excerpted from The Black Books of Elverum by Mary S. Rustad. Copyright © 1999. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
The art of seeing who has bewitched another's animals Take a spoonful of milk from a cow that has recently calved, a spoonful of a woman's breast milk, and a spoonful of your own urine. Blend them together. Put the mixture in a glass and bury it down in a manure heap overnight. Then say these words three times, while you are sitting down: "Hosala Diesla Euga." After retrieving the mixture, say this three times: "Go then he who now rules over Belsebub in his world." Then walk into the parlor and place the glass on the table. After one hour there will come a sorcerer or a witch and ask for either salty food or something to drink. But do not give it to him; only show him the way out when you want him to leave.
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