The Anti-Witchcraft Ritual Maqlu
The Cuneiform Sources of a Magic Ceremony from Ancient Mesopotamia
by Daniel Schwemer
This book examines the epigraphy and history of transmission of the cuneiform sources of the Maqlu anti-witchcraft ritual, one of the major compositions of ancient Mesopotamian exorcistic lore and a masterpiece of Babylonian literature. The performance of Maqlu, ‘Burning’, stretched over a whole night and included the recitation of almost a hundred incantations. In the course of the ritual, the victim of witchcraft is transferred from a state of imminent death back to life; he is purified and his bound state undone. The witches are assigned the fate they had intended for their victim by sending the witchcraft back to them. The book consists of three parts: First, an introduction to the Maqlu ceremony as a Babylonian anti-witchcraft ritual is provided; it includes an attempt at giving a step-by-step reconstruction of the ritual drama of Maqlu based on the instructions for its performance and the texts of its recitations. Next, a set of more specialized studies is devoted to various aspects of the cuneiform transmission of Maqlu: the history of the text’s reconstruction; the types of manuscripts; their specific provenance and historical context; variation in the textual transmission as well as spelling conventions and linguistic characteristics. Finally, the manuscripts are presented in ‘hand-copies’ (technical drawings) on the plates in the second half of the book.
- By (author) Daniel Schwemer
Similar Books
‘For You I Study, For You I Work, For You I Live, For You I Am Ready To Even Give My Life’
Essays in Honour of Francis (Frank) J Moloney, SDB
A Late Antique Harrowing of Hell and Its Medieval Reception
Eusebius of Alexandria's Sermons 15 and 17 (CPG 5524; 5526) and their Latin Rewritings
Volume 99
Crossroads of Cultures
Multilingual Diversity in Dutch Literature from Late Medieval Flanders
Volume 41
Drunk the Potion, No Whit Charmed
The Doctrine of Pure and Perfect Souls from Iamblichus to Damascius
Fear, Fear of God, God-Fearers
Philological and Historical Perspectives on the World of Ancient Judaism and Christianity
Ḫattušaš utnē išḫameški
Hittite and Other Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Piotr Taracha on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday
Legal Visuality
Exegesis, Ambiguity, and Dissimulation of the Donation of Constantine in the Early Modern Period
Liturgia semper reformanda
Adaptations and accommodations in the liturgy in light of canon 838 of the Code of Canon Law
