Bibliography
Ilona
Tuomi s. xx–xxi
Works edited
Tuomi, Ilona, John Carey, Barbara Hillers, and Ciarán Ó Gealbhain (eds), Charms, charmers and charming in Ireland: from the medieval to the modern, New Approaches to Celtic Religion and Mythology, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2019.
abstract:
This is the first book to examine the full range of the evidence for Irish charms, from medieval to modern times. As Ireland has one of the oldest literatures in Europe, and also one of the most comprehensively recorded folklore traditions, it affords a uniquely rich body of evidence for such an investigation. The collection includes surveys of broad aspects of the subject (charm scholarship, charms in medieval tales, modern narrative charms, nineteenth-century charm documentation); dossiers of the evidence for specific charms (a headache charm, a nightmare charm, charms against bleeding); a study comparing the curses of saints with those of poets; and an account of a newly discovered manuscript of a toothache charm. The practices of a contemporary healer are described on the basis of recent fieldwork, and the connection between charms and storytelling is foregrounded in chapters on the textual amulet known as the Leabhar Eoin, on the belief that witches steal butter, and on the nature of the belief that effects supernatural cures.
abstract:
This is the first book to examine the full range of the evidence for Irish charms, from medieval to modern times. As Ireland has one of the oldest literatures in Europe, and also one of the most comprehensively recorded folklore traditions, it affords a uniquely rich body of evidence for such an investigation. The collection includes surveys of broad aspects of the subject (charm scholarship, charms in medieval tales, modern narrative charms, nineteenth-century charm documentation); dossiers of the evidence for specific charms (a headache charm, a nightmare charm, charms against bleeding); a study comparing the curses of saints with those of poets; and an account of a newly discovered manuscript of a toothache charm. The practices of a contemporary healer are described on the basis of recent fieldwork, and the connection between charms and storytelling is foregrounded in chapters on the textual amulet known as the Leabhar Eoin, on the belief that witches steal butter, and on the nature of the belief that effects supernatural cures.
Contributions to journals
Tuomi, Ilona, “‘As I went up the hill of Mount Olive’ : the Irish tradition of the Three Good Brothers charm revisited”, Studia Celtica Fennica 13 (2016): 69–94.
Subheadings: 1. Introduction; 2. The oldest Three Good Brothers charm in Ireland; 3. Lady Wilde and the Three Good Brothers; 4. Douglas Hyde’s Three Good Brothers; 5. The Three Good Brothers gets published in Béaloideas; 6. The Three Good Brothers charms in the National Folklore Collection, UCD; 7. NFC 202: 81; Collector: Sarah Foley, Ardmore, Carna, Co. Galway, April 1933; 8. NFC 1273: 363; Maitiú Ó Corraoin, Ruisín na Manach, Carna, Co. Galway. Collector: Máire Ní Mhaoil Chiaráin, c. 1934; 9. NFC 481: 363; Séamus Ó Ceallaigh (54), labourer, Loch gCarman, Co. Wexford. Collector: Mícheál MacAodha, 23.2.1938; 10. NFC 1265: 266; Seán Briatmac (56), Co. Mayo. Collector: Maighréad Breatnach, 25.11.1939; 11. NFC 1311: 408; Colm Ó Cuala (38), Carna, Co. Galway. Collector: Éamonn Ó Conghaile, 22.11.1952; 12. NFC 1776: 15-16; Josey Costello (67), workman, Bohermore, Co. Galway. Collector: Ciarán Bairéad, 26.8.1968; 13. The Three Good Brothers charms in Léaraí Ó Fínneadha’s Ó Bhaile go Baile; 14. Conclusion; 15. Manuscripts; 16. Bibliography.
Studia Celtica Fennica: <link>
Subheadings: 1. Introduction; 2. The oldest Three Good Brothers charm in Ireland; 3. Lady Wilde and the Three Good Brothers; 4. Douglas Hyde’s Three Good Brothers; 5. The Three Good Brothers gets published in Béaloideas; 6. The Three Good Brothers charms in the National Folklore Collection, UCD; 7. NFC 202: 81; Collector: Sarah Foley, Ardmore, Carna, Co. Galway, April 1933; 8. NFC 1273: 363; Maitiú Ó Corraoin, Ruisín na Manach, Carna, Co. Galway. Collector: Máire Ní Mhaoil Chiaráin, c. 1934; 9. NFC 481: 363; Séamus Ó Ceallaigh (54), labourer, Loch gCarman, Co. Wexford. Collector: Mícheál MacAodha, 23.2.1938; 10. NFC 1265: 266; Seán Briatmac (56), Co. Mayo. Collector: Maighréad Breatnach, 25.11.1939; 11. NFC 1311: 408; Colm Ó Cuala (38), Carna, Co. Galway. Collector: Éamonn Ó Conghaile, 22.11.1952; 12. NFC 1776: 15-16; Josey Costello (67), workman, Bohermore, Co. Galway. Collector: Ciarán Bairéad, 26.8.1968; 13. The Three Good Brothers charms in Léaraí Ó Fínneadha’s Ó Bhaile go Baile; 14. Conclusion; 15. Manuscripts; 16. Bibliography.
Tuomi, Ilona, “Parchment, praxis and performance of charms in early medieval Ireland”, Incantatio: An International Journal on Charms, Charmers and Charming 3 (2013): 60–85. URL: <https://ojs.folklore.ee/incantatio/issue/view/issue3>.
abstract:
St. Gall MS 1395, a collection of fragments from various periods, includes a page of Irish origin and apparently ninth-century date, containing four healing charms known as the St. Gall Incantations, each followed by instructions concerning its ritual performance. A close study of this single vellum folio examining the characteristics of the text, scribal practices and the cultural setting in which the document was compiled, provides a basis for theorizing about Old Irish magical practices and their multidimensional performative context. By highlighting the investigation of the liaison between the words of the charm and the associated ritual, an attempt will be made to elucidate how the textual register of the manuscript translated into physical performance. Accordingly, questions of mise-en-page performance and the manuscript as a material amulet are addressed in order to understand the written environment of magical language as well as the practices of charming in early medieval Ireland.
abstract:
St. Gall MS 1395, a collection of fragments from various periods, includes a page of Irish origin and apparently ninth-century date, containing four healing charms known as the St. Gall Incantations, each followed by instructions concerning its ritual performance. A close study of this single vellum folio examining the characteristics of the text, scribal practices and the cultural setting in which the document was compiled, provides a basis for theorizing about Old Irish magical practices and their multidimensional performative context. By highlighting the investigation of the liaison between the words of the charm and the associated ritual, an attempt will be made to elucidate how the textual register of the manuscript translated into physical performance. Accordingly, questions of mise-en-page performance and the manuscript as a material amulet are addressed in order to understand the written environment of magical language as well as the practices of charming in early medieval Ireland.
Tuomi, Ilona, “Whore, witch, saint, goddess? Sheela-na-gig: ilmiö ja historia”, Studia Celtica Fennica 6 (2009): 40–60.
Sfks.org: <link>
Contributions to edited collections or authored works
Tuomi, Ilona, “Nine hundred years of the Caput Christi charm: scribal strategies and textual transmission”, in: Ilona Tuomi, John Carey, Barbara Hillers, and Ciarán Ó Gealbhain (eds), Charms, charmers and charming in Ireland: from the medieval to the modern, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2019. 51–64.
