Against Wind and Storm: A Medieval German Charm

Abstract

This article presents a fifteenth-century German weather charm preserved in Munich, BSB Clm 26693. Entitled Contra auram et tempestatem, the text is a vernacular adjuration intended to avert wind and storm. Drawing on John 18:3–6, the charm transforms Christ’s verbal power (“I am he”) into an operative formula for calming the elements. By comparing related Latin and German materials, the study situates Contra auram et tempestatem at the intersection of ecclesiastical benediction and vernacular ritual speech, showing how medieval practitioners negotiated orthodoxy, efficacy, and linguistic adaptation within the broader continuum of Christian apotropaic tradition.