Mythology & Folklore

Charm (Peter and James and John)

by Anonymous (Scottish Gaelic) traditional; collected in the Highlands and Islands 1855–1899

Translated by Alexander Carmichael (1900) · From Carmina Gadelica, vol. II (1900): Incantations

Mythology & Folklore

Peter and James and John,
The three of sweetest virtues in glory,
Who arose to make the charm,
Before the great gate of the City,
By the right knee of God the Son.
Against the keen-eyed men.
Against the peering-eyed women.
Against the slim, slender, fairy -darts,
Against the swift arrows of furies.

Two made to thee the withered eye,
Man and woman with venom and envy.
Three whom I will set against them,
Father, Son, and Spirit Holy.

Four and twenty diseases in the constitution of man and beast,
God scrape them, God search them, God cleanse them,
From out thy blood, from out thy flesh, from out thy fragrant bones.
From this day and each day that comes, till thy day on earth be done.

MLA

Anonymous (Scottish Gaelic). “Charm (Peter and James and John).” Translated by Alexander Carmichael. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-scottish-gaelic/155/.

Chicago

Anonymous (Scottish Gaelic). “Charm (Peter and James and John).” Translated by Alexander Carmichael. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-scottish-gaelic/155/.

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