The part of a papyrus shows the archangel Michael, who is accompanied by two angelic powers. Such images were used for many ritual purposes, for example to heal illnesses, drive out evil demons, protect against robbers or curse other people. (Image: Elke Fuchs / Institut für Papyrologie, Universität Heidelberg)Magical texts from Egypt in Coptic script and language are the focus of a research project at the University of Würzburg. They are now being presented for the first time in a 600-page book.
A team of scholars spent five years studying them: "magical" texts from Egypt that were written on papyrus, parchment, paper and shards of clay - so-called ostraca - and date from the period between the fourth and twelfth centuries AD. The effect of these papyri was magical. Worn in an amulet around the neck or secretly hidden in the house of an adversary, they were supposed to heal illnesses, curse enemies, evoke love or hatred or allow a glimpse into the future, among other things. ...
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