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Books were special -

Books were rare and expensive objects. These would often take years to complete, and they were indeed precious commodities.

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Books needed to be protected -

It goes without saying that not everyone had access to books, and those who did had to make sure they protected their valuable possessions. In medieval monasteries, for instance, it was not uncommon to attach chains to books to deter thieves.

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Books needed to be protected -

But there was one thing people feared most back in the Middle Ages: curses. After all, the repercussions of an act could be brutal if a curse manifested!

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Ancient book curses -

The earliest known example of a book curse dates back to the 7th century BCE and is found in the library of Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.

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King Ashurbanipal’s curses -

A collection of clay tablets held in the king’s library contained a curse to deter thieves. One of them read: “Whosoever shall carry off this tablet, er shall inscribe his name on it, side by side with mine own, may Ashur and Belic overthrow him in wrath and anger, and may they destroy his name and posterity in the land.”

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King Ashurbanipal’s curses -

Other tablets contained slightly different curses, as follows: “He who fears Anu, Enlil, and Ea will return it to the owner’s house the same day,” and “He who fears Anu and Antu will take care of it and respect it.”

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King Ashurbanipal’s curses -

Being made of clay, the tablets would be easily damaged, so specific curses were added, such as “In the name of Nabu and Marduk, do not rub out the text!”

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King Ashurbanipal’s curses -

Another curse read: “He who breaks this tablet or puts it in water or rubs it until you cannot recognize it [and] cannot make it to be understood, may Ashur, Sin, Shamash, Adad and Ishtar, Bel, Nergal, Ishtar of Nineveh, Ishtar of Arbela, Ishtar of Bit Kidmurri, the gods of heaven and earth and the gods of Assyria, may all these curse him with a curse that cannot be relieved, terrible and merciless, as long as he lives, may they let his name, his seed, be carried off from the land, may they put his flesh in a dog’s mouth.”

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Medieval curses -

During the Middle Ages, most books were held in monasteries. Scribes would work hard to copy manuscripts, and protecting their work was important. The borrowing and lending of manuscripts was a pretty big deal, so curses added a layer of security.

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Types of curses -

Curses would often be added at the beginning or end of the book, and they mostly contained three types of threats: excommunication, damnation, or anathema (i.e. a formal curse by the pope or a Church council). Now, let’s take a look at some examples of medieval book curses.

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Some curses were pretty simple -

Several manuscripts from St. Alban’s monastery in England contained the following curse: “This book belongs to St. Alban. May whosoever steals it from him or destroys its title be anathema. Amen.”

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Curses for loans -

One manuscript from St. Alban's that was loaned to monks at Gloucester College in Oxford contained the following message: “This book is given in use to the brothers of Oxford by John Whethamstede, father of the flock of the proto-martyr of the English. If anyone secretly tears this inscription or removes it, may he feel Judas’s noose or forks.”

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Some curses were very graphic -

The Arnstein Bible, written around 1172 in Germany, contains the following detailed curse: “If anyone take away this book, let him die the death; let him be fried in a pan: let the falling sickness and fever seize him; let him be broken on the wheel, and hanged. Amen.”

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French curse -

A 15th-century curse found in a French manuscript reads: “Whoever steals this book, Will hang on a gallows in Paris, And, if he isn’t hung, he’ll drown, And, if he doesn’t drown, he’ll roast, And, if he doesn’t roast, a worse end will befall him.”

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Lesnes Abbey curse -

A medieval manuscript from Lesnes Abbey in England reads: “This book belongs to the church of Thomas the Martyr of Lesnes. Anyone who removes it or does damage to it: if the same person does not repay the church sufficiently, may he be cursed [Anathema Maranatha]. Let it be done. Let it be done. Amen.”

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Don’t you dare criticize the scribe’s work -

A Middle Dutch natural encyclopedia and bestiary (a collection describing animals) contains the following curse: “If anyone steal it, let him be anathema!” This is followed by, “Whoever finds fault with it, let him be accursed. Amen.”

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Pour the scribe some fine wine for his work -

The Harmony of the Gospels from Evesham Abbey contains a request for vini nobilis haustum (“high-quality wine”) for the scribe as a reward for his work.

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With or without wine, thieves would still be cursed -

The book also contains a curse, of course, wishing the book thief a “death from evil things,” adding “may the thief of this book die.”

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Thieves won’t be saved -

A monk from Rochester, England, went as far as claiming that the thief’s name would be deleted from the Book of Life (the book containing the names of those saved in the Last Judgment).

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Thieves won’t be saved -

The curse can be found in the 13th-century book Distinctiones. It reads: “This book of the Distinctiones belongs to the monastery of Rochester: anyone who takes it from there, hides or keeps it, or damages or erases this inscription, or makes or causes it to be deleted, may his name be deleted from the Book of Life.”

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12th-century French curse -

Historia scholastica, a French book from around 1173, contains the following curse: “Peter, of all the monks the least significant, gave this book to the most blessed martyr, Saint Quentin. If anyone should steal it, let him know that on the Day of Judgment the most sainted martyr himself will be the accuser against him before the face of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

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Sometimes books legitimately changed hands -

Curses were aimed at thieves, but what would happen when the manuscripts legitimately became someone else’s property? An example was when the bishop of Exeter acquired a book in 1327.

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The bishop’s new book -

The book had the following inscription: “This book belongs to Sc. Mary of Robert’s Bridge; whoever steals it, or sells it, or takes it away from this house in any way, or injures it, let him be anathema-maranatha.”

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The bishop’s response -

The solution was to write his own defense to the curse in the book, as follows: “I, John, bishop of Exeter, do nor know where the said house is: I did not steal this book, but got it lawfully.”

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Vatican curse -

The following curse was found in a 13th-century manuscript from the Vatican Library: “The finished book before you lies; This humble scribe don’t criticize. Whoever takes away this book May he never on Christ look. Whoever to steal this volume durst May he be killed as one accursed. Whoever to steal this volume tries. Out with his eyes, out with his eyes!”

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Some curses could be broken -

A curse from an 11th-century book in an Italian church tries to encourage thieves to repent and do the right thing. It reads: “Whoever takes this book or steals it or in some evil way removes it from the Church of St Caecilia, may he be damned and cursed forever, unless he returns it or atones for his act.”

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Gruesome book curse -

A medieval curse, written in a mix of German and Latin, translates to “To steal this book, if you should try, It’s by the throat you’ll hang high. And ravens then will gather ’bout To find your eyes and pull them out. And when you’re screaming ‘oh, oh, oh!’ Remember, you deserved this woe.”

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Cookbook curse -

While most books protected by curses are religious manuscripts, a 17th-century book of recipes also used one to deter thieves. It reads: “Jean Gembel her book I wish she may be drouned yt steals it from her.”

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The gallows -

A 1632 book printed in London contained the following inscription: “Steal not this Book my honest friend / For fear the gallows be yr end / For when you die the Lord will say / Where is the book you stole away.”

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Cursed by God -

A manuscript dating back to the 18th century was found in Saint Mark’s Monastery in Jerusalem. It contained the following curse, written in Arabic: “Property of the monastery of the Syrians in honorable Jerusalem. Anyone who steals or removes [it] from its place of donation will be cursed from the mouth of God! God (may he be exalted) will be angry with him! Amen.”

Sources: (British Library) (Mental Floss) (Book Riot) (Medievalists.net) (Atlas Obscura)

See also: History's most bizarre curses and episodes of misfortune

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