The Heavenly Field

The Æcerbot is one of the famous Old English “metrical charms” that details lengthy prescriptions for ritual performances if a field fails to produce crops.1 It has attracted much debate over many decades. Scholars initially viewed it as providing evidence of surviving pagan customs in eleventh-century England before more nuanced interpretations of it were made as a popular, perhaps heterodox, Christian performance, if not a ritual script akin to a liturgical ordine for a procession or exorcism.2 One striking feature of this field remedy that has at times been at the center of these debates is its unique triple invocation of “erce,” which is then followed by an address to “eorþan modor,” or “mother of earth.” Immediately following this is a second address to the earth as the mother of men (“folde fira modor”), possibly a separate maternal figure. Uncovering the meaning of this perhaps most obscure part of the text would almost certainly aid in the interpretation of the field ritual as a whole and cast light on some spiritual practices of at least one farming community in pre-Conquest England. This article seeks to contribute new readings of both “erce” and “eorþan modor” to previous discussions. It proposes that Marian features underpin this invocation and that the Æcerbot as a whole is a dramatic and highly symbolic reenactment of the Incarnation to impregnate the earth, resurrect its crops, and transform the poisoned earthly field into a fertile, spiritually renewed one resembling a celestial realm.The Æcerbot survives in a single copy on folios 176r-78r of London, British Library, MS Cotton Caligula A. vii, and paleographical evidence indicates that it was written in southern England in the first half of the eleventh century.3 At some point the Æcerbot was added to the C version of the Heliand, which is an Old Saxon heroic retelling of the gospels in verse, and it was also copied in southern England, probably Winchester or Canterbury, in the second half of the tenth century, on paleographical and contextual grounds.4 Cotton Caligula A. vii contains only these two texts, and when these were bound together has been a point of dispute because the codicological evidence of the manuscript is inconclusive, leading some scholars to claim that they were bound by an eleventh-century reader and others to argue that they were compiled by Robert Cotton.5 However, a marginal note in an eleventh-century hand that is similar to and contemporary with the Æcerbot scribe was also made in this copy of the Heliand. It simply reads “be sancta marian” and appears on folio 17r beside a section that narrates the Annunciation of Christ's Incarnation by the archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary.6 It is the only note made in this hand in the Heliand C copy and it indicates that an eleventh-century reader was particularly drawn to this part of the Old Saxon poem.7The eleventh-century note in the Heliand draws attention to the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as angels descend to her from what is described as the field of heaven (“heƀanuuang”). The Annunciation passage is filled with references to “heƀanuuang,” the Old Saxon equivalent to Old English “neorxnawang,” which appears extensively throughout the Old English corpus in references to both Eden and a paradisiacal realm where Christians dwell after death until Doomsday. The motif of a heavenly land as a fruitful, fertile, and irrigated field or garden is common in early medieval Germanic literature and is in both Christian and pagan The of with of the which seeks to an earthly field from its and poisoned However, as the marginal note in the Annunciation is a these two texts, as the in both a heaven and earth and the of the two marginal note is contemporary with the Æcerbot scribe it is written in a and almost certainly by a hand to that of the ritual it is to the Old Saxon features of the field the marginal in the Mary and to which in the Annunciation and of the that readings of the maternal that in the Æcerbot The text also the Blessed Virgin liturgical with the Annunciation and and contains Marian when the section of the Heliand the Incarnation the famous to is into of the of in the of the heavenly and earthly evidence to the for an eleventh-century The marginal note attention to Mary was added to the Heliand the as when the Æcerbot was and common in and an that they were bound together not after the perhaps in the Æcerbot liturgical from the and the and to in and Old English for the of a field that has been made by It is a script for an ritual that with the symbolic of the first probably for a farming community in a or It to the that is to throughout the land by a which was perhaps on of the of the is to resurrect the crops, to a and to spiritually the Christian to from of the a is to made of the of on the of that and of light of the passage that is to following this the that the on the over which to when was to and The is then of the before the passage is to which is with an for in Old English or This passage is from where to the earth, and it also in when a new with after the and to the and both argue that the is to this ritual text because the passage is to times throughout the ritual also draws attention to the of early medieval on of the ritual that the the the of that was a from that were from the of the and from the of and this and the to from of the field with the of these the in this Christian as the mother of and at in the Æcerbot as to to the earth was before the and it was the of the that and were to both the of the earth and in in in in in in the also and in to is the earth in with and the of and it to and the of the the of until to the earth, of which were for and into the of because was the mother of the Æcerbot seeks to the of the of and in that the field and the and of its its it as a remedy that been throughout the on on on is the if it not or if some has been to it by a or by a The ritual to an that was and before the with features in the the address to the earth as passage the and This from the of a of the spiritual of the field that has been poisoned by and this passage is throughout the a the passage is for the first the an and before the of the of the of the into the of the field in the by the and is as this is This of with the of the early medieval liturgical particularly in the been into the and the the passage is a times with the The of this from the invocation of the the of the of the and the of the the field with the of the Old and It is that the invocation of the is as as the of to and as they in the of the in the is then to times before a lengthy passage of This to the has been as symbolic of the of the perhaps from the of is and contemporary the as the of an earthly the that they to the to the the lengthy passage that of the earth and and the heavenly sancta to for the the the of earth and and the sancta Mary and and that this by the of the with to these for to this land with to this passage that the of the is both and and the The to the earth and and Mary her role as a and these two as for in the English of the of the Virgin in the of British Library, MS these a of liturgical is to and of these has with the ritual as a on sancta with the and the and to the then with and and and it to and Mary and the the would an of probably and the of the and of also that this was to at times of the the the of The times with of the and the also that it was to were the followed by the which is a of a from and the of at Christ's into in The would been in the previous before the for the of the and into Christ's and The Christ's from heaven into the and the of this liturgical in the field Christ's in the in is in the of the as as the previous of heaven and earth in its and earth of Christ's from heaven to the earthly field would been made in the of this is then to which is a that was in the of on and It in of and is of the angels in heaven the heavenly the the the that in the land the of the earth the of the and of the and the and of that this liturgical was not at for the Æcerbot it in to the the is for the and of the field ritual as a this liturgical is only in a of with more common and an of to for which they The is a that the whole of the to an to the previous invocation of the of that is to is the that Mary after the Annunciation when her also the after the Gabriel to The was as a in the of of the in to the of the has filled the with and the in a ritual for a field that has a the with in has to and for Mary her the of and her is the of with this the of is in it is that the field with and the Christian community is then more and this liturgical has with the of the field ritual in its its for to on earth as it is in heaven in in in the ritual that heaven and for the of and from a also the to the and spiritual from the field and the liturgical with of the Æcerbot and were not at The at would been to and it is that they would in and as the in the of in of these by a and were in the and that the Æcerbot was written or copied in a that land and a these liturgical the field is to and the sancta its with the Incarnation and the which was which at this point is also in of the is then to in which is one of the most for the the is a of in the gospels also and the of the field and its to the spiritual of the Christian the of in the new is on of the which has a in it that and this and of on which was the first after the that the Æcerbot been a of on and and it is to note when this in the liturgical The for the first after the is of the in the this the of the which with the of the of and with the of the the Æcerbot was for the of as would of the Incarnation in the and and the which was in the as an and and after from and the the the earth and a the earth to that is a of the field and would its of the liturgical of Christ's of the for is which is the and before the of the and However, on the of and with these times of because they not with the of some of the which on it is that this would been to at a when a field a at a of the liturgical similar to a the is the famous invocation of is to when the first is on land to to the the and and crops, and crops, and crops, and the and in that produce and that it at from the the this that that these invocation of “erce” and “eorþan modor” has drawn has been with pagan of that it to a Germanic or on and a “erce” and the mother of and the of most to of of a a that that the earth, is from the of crops, and they her by many also is because the earth is made by her because from her the because is with and or from by her this one as both and the with and and of is because many because because with her earth is the of is with a because the earth is in the and is in the that from to that the and for and men in where is the of to and and is the of a of in the of also the that it is a of which appears in Old English as one in the section of London, British Library, MS probably also the that this not a at a and that “erce” with Old a similar that “erce” simply a of a this is and that “erce” is the second of Old this they point that this is not in surviving and that this is more when one England and in the early medieval this is perhaps the most on and contextual that has not been is that “erce” a of the of which to the of from British The of this in the of the for the and the of in the It also has in Old and the first of these appears some half a the paleographical of the “erce” as an early of a meaning more of this invocation of the of a pagan It is most that the modor” is a triple of the mother to and the new as the field is first to the the the meaning of “erce,” the of the mother of earth and the earth as mother of men (“folde fira in the and from this point the of the Æcerbot is on these maternal this has to two to this It to that the of the two the is and the for this that the second half is from more perhaps in a that is the then certainly to more on “mother on the This would to the that to and been if not before the also for an of where is to and the Christian The of with has not been in to is or throughout the these not two to two is a in the and of the into the of and in the text as a as as its manuscript in the of the earth and men not as from the first half of the ritual as appears to the at first and the of these into this first address to “eorþan modor,” is to the of and her with the is to her that with and The of the field is also the of of The on the and is in with the passage from as the mother is and the earth with to the of a paradisiacal This first passage by the to what is and and to or from the ritual this passage of is the is and a second address is fira on to earth, mother of in with filled for the of the earth is the and is the mother of and it is not “eorþan modor” was to one and the as fira modor” or a figure. The of mother of also to as and the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother of Christians and the second The earth is to in and filled with in what to an this address to the earth, a of is the first to the field with and then of and a a and it with and with and it the first This has been viewed as evidence of of the of the ritual that this with this also in liturgical and as the of on in famous of the from to of the this as to both the of the Christian community and a of the of The community of Christian a as a in for the where the the of the which were the of and into the earth, which is described as and to for the the section of the earth is described as a field of for the of fira to of for in the of the one heaven and the earth on which the the one made the the of that for to field is in the of made earth, and the the of which the of from and the to and or on the the of the Christian community that the earth her and following this the Æcerbot with a of the passage as the the to in the of the was the at the of and this with the The of the earth as of to as and by “eorþan modor” and the earth the of this the field has from a land to one that is and with for a new and the Christian was perhaps the of the to in the has also been with the field to an of heaven as a field common in early medieval Germanic perhaps of or the in and Old a for is which to the of Old English appears more times in a of and that was a of where a that is filled with that was the of a that described this heavenly or the first two after the of in the obscure of as a of a as with in of and of that is an and in of the in which it is and has also this at the of this obscure is in that the Christian as a fruitful, and field is to of this heaven and an earthly has the and were in early medieval England, as English not to to the of or It has been that the of the for this before the or the It appears in that the from Eden after the and it is also to the of Christians after It also to been over for heaven or in with an that it was to an earthly from and were and to which after to a of perhaps not heaven of Eden in a to is in Old English to a land that in the Eden is filled with the of the in to to the garden and for is to by The from the to the of this paradisiacal realm its of the land with and a and irrigated by and a Eden is a heavenly and it is a realm on is to a where the of until the of the The of this in its throughout London, British Library, MS Cotton which was copied by a single scribe in the century, probably at to its and The appears times in of this the of the and on the of and the The manuscript contains of as as contemporary with the of and the of the is a on which is where most of the references to this most in the manuscript times of and it is the text in the surviving of the and more famous version of the in the and it features of Eden in However, the only much the of this land of the of this in the in its and is in the of the as a of an land and to the as if it were a the and to in the the of as an heaven and on on and is in heaven on earth it heaven and earth as the It also to a of is of where the of the with the angels until when the on over the of the is on also indicates that it to that this realm an of the which has with of is It is a is with and a is The of is is is the that the of this land and its and it is irrigated that the over it at a and the and is and of features a more of a land that Eden and a earthly to which and until earthly is also in this in the Old Saxon Heliand, a common Germanic of a heavenly realm in of a is a motif in the Heliand, particularly in the section where the eleventh-century scribe made a marginal note in Cotton Caligula A. vii to attention to the Blessed Virgin This part of the retelling on heaven as an and role as an the field of heaven and the of The manuscript of the Heliand and Æcerbot a in the role of the Blessed Virgin in the heavenly and earthly and it a of “eorþan modor” and fira modor” in the the field ritual the Annunciation and draws of the of Mary and the of earth and the that the field of heaven is with the of earth Mary in the Incarnation the Æcerbot to an field into a heavenly of its maternal is in of the Heliand, the Annunciation and the on the Christ's and the in Heliand to the and angels descend from and to the field of heaven to and from the of the The Annunciation and the most references to a of this in the The first after the marginal note in a passage the to Mary and of her is sancta Gabriel the an the of the then to a a her was Mary in the of her to her by her and to her from with is of to the for of to more to the mother of a the of the of the of the to from the of a to in this from the most of in its this of the from the field of Mary then the with and following the Gabriel then appears to in a to to Mary as The Mary is and from her an It is is a in her in her from the of heaven by the of the It is the her in a the new from the heavenly Gabriel then to her into and to a her Christ's is described in of and and it is by the also from this the an of Christ's to the as as they over in the before angels to a of to an after an an an that they were they were men on over the the of the they the in two in the and the light of the and the in the field as that an of the the of to the one from the of many of for the of then to a as they the the of a new heaven and earth following the which is by the and the in two an an The of angels then from to the on the earth before the angels to the these two is then in the to an the with and made over the what a from the of they been in the throughout to the that to from in earthly The Incarnation a heaven and earth, and the of an is made throughout the land and a of heaven as a field is in with the on the Christ's and the has that the has a and these in the on the the following the of in and for following is the of the Heliand, in and for in and field This is to Christian and Germanic heroic and they to in the as the angels in the the on the on and the over as as the for with the of the which more the Heliand, is as the Germanic a an of and the in and not with what was in the field with the and that from the field of heaven The Heliand the of the to the earthly and that the of earth as an and of an which and it not the “heƀanuuang,” the the of the Heliand, and it in a field as a of the in the and in a as is in and and to with The from the gospels to the of a garden and a that is is that to the the which the most The of was of the were as to at It on the light was was a garden and the it was in a garden the earthly of Eden from was This is with the of the field to a land that is and The a of this as they in a before the in two when they an The of the and the of and also in the when the angels descend from the to the of in the Heliand, the heaven as a garden and a field that the is the Incarnation and the of the to the heavenly field in the Heliand is in its that the Heliand C before this the manuscript which was copied from the as Heliand C This the of the Annunciation when the from the field of the to then and with is before heaven and in a similar to the angels at the This section of the draws also it the and the of heaven and earth by the from with Christ's to that of the surviving of the Heliand the if the was one the of the it is that the from at the of the where the to impregnate of the heavenly field has an role in the Old Saxon Heliand, to the reader or of the and of this The Heliand in a similar to Old English of “neorxnawang,” and it from the to on this of heaven as a and and of farming is a the and of which is in the to the on in the the of the earthly and the and garden of the The field of heaven was from the of earth by and before the two were the the and the Incarnation was the which these was it is perhaps that the of references to in the section of the Heliand. This is where the eleventh-century scribe the marginal “be sancta the of a English reader perhaps a or a or that the the role of the Blessed the of earthly and the of heaven light of these of heaven as a field in the Heliand, and the it and the of the earth her and the details of the Æcerbot ritual the in to the Annunciation and where the eleventh-century marginal note some of of the heavenly field when field to from of the field into the and to the “eorþan modor” to a before It is on the that from heaven into the the in a to from the field of heaven in the The of the earthly field the Christ's which in the into the of The as has and its throughout as a the to the earth to as the It the of to a new and as and were to and and the Incarnation were and the marginal note that draws attention to the Blessed Virgin is in a section the new of the This is also the on of the of the of the the of the Heliand the of the written in and of that an the of the written of the and they in of the field with the they and land throughout the and that has been by a or a that to the in liturgical and and that it is where was to as as the of the Incarnation in The passage that is to after to the for as the of the Mary sancta of the heavenly and the earth and heaven The to the land with and that it and more It is that the was to both earthly and celestial in Old as in the of that the one of paradisiacal The field is filled with and in a similar to Mary was filled with when in her role as mother of and was in her an the Heliand, Mary a the field of heaven and the of earth for the of the the “eorþan modor” is a the earth and heaven for the Christian community on earth to to liturgical in the and with these in the Heliand. The first part of the that the earth is of and the second part Christ's into the its liturgical the the and Christ's from heaven the which the and the earth with the the in the this to of the heavenly the angels The the The of the heaven of with the and to with in the of the of Christ's to the in the the earth is filled with the of as the field of heaven is and the is in two they to the angels also in the an then

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