The Wyrm Came Creeping

The Old English Nine Herbs Charm is among the most remarkable survivals from early medieval England: a healing text in which plant-lore, spoken formula, Christian language, and older mythic memory meet.

Brian Smith’s translation and commentary depart from several familiar academic readings, but never casually. Each attribution is argued from the language, structure, and cultural setting of the poem, making the book useful both to serious practitioners and to readers approaching the charm for the first time.

The volume is richly illustrated by renowned Heathen artist Jesseca Trainham, whose work gives each of the nine herbs its own presence.