Herb cocktails and magic dolls are for amateurs! The real success among men can be ensured by apples served from under the armpit, fish applied vaginally, soup with menstruation and grated hare testicles. These are just some of the reliable tips ...
Do you remember how Isolde's mother prepared a love potion for her? It was a drink brewed with flowers, spices and herbs, which - mixed with wine and seasoned with a spell - was to guarantee the girl the affection of her husband. Such preparations were trusted in the Middle Ages. A good herbalist could offer something for both young and married women. For peasant women and for the well-born. She was also able to help young men in love with madness. The customer is our master!
1. When a girl dreams that everyone will be crazy about her
It will cost you a little bit of trouble. A virgin should go for the common at night , inconspicuous-looking leaf with long spikes. It was not easy to find - that's why some researchers suggest that it was this plant that became the prototype of the legendary "fern flower".
In addition, the girl was supposed to go searching not only in the dark, but still naked and walking backwards! At the same time, she should say a spell: snot, I'm boldly tearing you, five fingers, with a full hand, let the boys chase after me . Just picking the plant guaranteed the child's success. She could also - to be sure - rub it on the body.
A magically prepared love drink for a young bride? Just not in this case. It is Eleanor of Aquitaine preparing poison for her husband's mistress, Rozamunda Clifford. Image by Evelyn de Morgan (source:public domain).
2. When a boy has to fall out of love
The unfortunate man has - fortunately - several options to choose from. First, he can grab the girl's shirt (shirt) and toss it around her collar .
Second, it is worth fortifying himself with a herb with the significant name of sedum . Anything but too much! In excess, it can lead an unhappy lover to poisoning and parting not only with his love, but also with his health.
3. When a woman wants her ex to suffer
Sitter. It is enough to make yourself a husband or lover figurine (for example, made of cake or wax) and throw it in a rather unpleasant place. Even in the flames! More merciful ladies could put a male doll in an anthill ...
4. How to charm a chosen boy?
There are a lot of methods here. First, a young lady can give her chosen one the water in which she washed herself to drink . Secondly, a girl - let's call her Ewa - can put half an apple under her arm , carry them a little and then give them to your Adam to eat.
Third, if the previous method fails, you can try a more complicated apple option, native to Western Europe. You have to pick a beautiful fruit from the apple tree on Friday before sunrise , cut it in half and put a rolled-up card between its halves . On one side of it you had to write your own name, on the other side, and add his three hairs. Then, after combining both halves of the apple, dry the fruit, wrap it in bay leaves and place it under your loved one's pillow.
The latter method, however, was so complicated (not for the illiterate!) That in practice it was limited to a clientele of "better sort". For the rest, the fourth method remained proven:give the boy a drink with an admixture of lovage.
Biblical Eve handing an apple to biblical Adam. In this case, it was not from under her armpit. Or at least let's hope so ... A painting by Adriaeen van der Wert from around 1711 (source:public domain).
5. How to keep a man with you?
If the relationship is serious, then the measures taken must be of a high caliber. It is good for a woman to add her husband her menstrual blood to food and drink . Also for dessert, cookies with menstruation and with woman's hair will be useful. After sex, it is worth rubbing the cross on the man's back "from the secretions of common intercourse".
Let us add that in the case of pairs of children, a woman can keep her chosen one with her, tying her to a common child for killing. It is enough to convince the husband to eat a preparation, which consists of an egg, soaked in the baby's first bath, and powdered fetal membrane …
However, the most complicated method is catching the guy "on the fish." The woman puts three small fish into three places:in the mouth, between the breasts and in the vagina. He keeps them there until they die, then grinds them to dust and adds them to the dishes for her husband. Enjoy your meal!
6. How can you ensure your lover's undying faithfulness?
You have to kiss your chosen one ... but at the same time holding the hidden host in your mouth ! How to get it? One should have communion soon and not swallow the holy wafer.
In the Middle Ages, there was a chance that a priest would turn a blind eye to this abuse - after all, such a method of sanctifying love was better than some purely pagan practice. The more that it was supposed to lead to the wedding of lovers!
7. Wife fails, everything fails after giving birth ...
Husband lost interest in wife after childbirth? The spouse is afraid that her wedding day will make a "side jump"? There are also methods for that. The sex life of somewhat tired couples will be enlivened by an aphrodisiac from the bones of the dead, cemetery trees and urine-sprinkled nettles.
Now I'll add menstrual blood, amniotic fluid, and finally maybe a fish killed between my breasts… Handsome, you'll be mine forever! The painting "Love Magic" by an unknown master from the Rhineland, circa 1470 (source:public domain).
And according to Maurice Druon, in order to arouse male interest, a woman also used an unusual cocktail:a drop of her own blood mixed with verbena, lovage and lily of the valley. The mixture must be burned with a sprig of ash, and the resulting powder should be tossed to the husband for a drink.
If that doesn't work, the wife should give the insensitive wedding man a universal remedy for men:a drop of her own blood mixed with the liver of a dove and the grated testicles of a hare.
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Attention! The most important thing is not to confuse anything and give the above-mentioned preparations to the right person. After all, in the case of the love potion prepared by Isolde's mother, the whole scandal broke out because the drink was tasted not by the husband chosen for the girl, but by a knight named Tristan. Admittedly, a couple in love has become a legend, but isn't it better to live quietly and happily for a long time?
Bibliography:
- Joseph Bedier, The Story of Tristan and Isolde, PIW 1982.
- Aleksander Brückner, The history of Polish culture, vol. 1, Book and Knowledge 1957.
- Andrzej Chwalba [ed.], Customs in Poland. From the Middle Ages to the present day, PWN 2004.
- Jerzy Dowiat [ed.], Culture of medieval Poland 10th-13th centuries, PIW 1985.
- Maurice Druon, The cursed kings Ed. Open 2015.
- Bronisław Geremek [ed.], Culture of medieval Poland in the 14th-15th centuries, Warsaw 1997.
- Edward Karwot, Rudolf's catalog of magic. Ethnographic source of the 12th century, Wrocław 1955.