Geistlicher Schild, gegen Geist- und leibliche Gefährlichkeiten allzeit bey sich zu tragen; darinn sehr kräftige Segen und Gebet, So Theils von Gott offenbaret, von der Kirchen und H.H. Vättern gemacht, und von Urban VIII. Röm. Pabst approbiret worden; zum Trost aller Christglaubigen, sonderlich deren, so zu Wasser oder Land reisen, damit sie durch Kraft dieses bey sich tragenden Schilds, vor vielen Gefahren erhalten werden [bound with] Andächtige Weis dem Amt der H. Mess nützlich beyzuwohnen; in Betrachtung des bittern Leidens und Sterbens unsers Herrn und Seeligmachers Jesu Christi; samt beygefügten Morgen- und Abend-Gebetlein [and] Geistliche Schild-Wacht, darinnen der Mensch ihm für eine jegliche Stund, sowol des Tags als bey der Racht einen besondern Patron aus den Heiligen Gottes auserwehlet; welchen er mit einem Gebetlein anruffet, dass er in der Stund seines Absterbens gleich aufstehen und wachen wolle, damit er nicht von den arglistigen Anfechtungen des bösen Feindes überwunden werde

Mainz, [ca. 1700] | [Germany, ca. 1705] | [Germany], 1705

[48]; 48; [72] p. | 24mo | A-B^12; A-B^12; A-C^12 | 100 x 56 mm

A small but potent book-as-amulet meant to protect travelers from misfortune. All three texts were published in a variety of slightly different editions. VD17 dates our Geistlicher Schild to ca. 1700. While not the exact same setting, its title layout matches VD18 90986873 (1705) line for line, a date conveniently matching our Schild-Wacht, so we take it as a reasonable guess for our undated Andächtige Weis. Such combinations of these prayer texts are common, though we expect the discrete titles also would have been available individually. In lieu of our Andächtige Weis, we sometimes find Ein schöner und wol approbirter H. Segen zu Wasser und Land. The marquee title, Geistlicher Schild, was in print by 1613 and went through numerous editions into the nineteenth century. While the work has been attributed to Capuchin theologian Martin of Cochem (1630 or 1634-1712), the date of its earliest edition should render this impossible. Some of the prayers, however, are thought to be Capuchin work. It’s also been considered a translation of a 16th-century Latin work, possibly a Clypeus spiritualis. ¶ Whatever its origins, the book is a telling witness to the popular belief that simply carrying a particular text could provide protection against misfortune. The Geistlicher Schild title clearly indicates such a purpose, that it was meant to be carried almost as a literal shield: "for the comfort of all Christian believers, especially those who travel by sea or land, so that they may be protected from many dangers by the power of this shield." Prayers throughout the text underscore this same apotropaic role. One on A3v-A4r, for example, says that "whoever carries it with them, no spell or devil's art can harm them" (wer dieselbige bey sich trägt, dem kan keine Verzanberung noch einige Teufels-Kunst an seinem selbe schaden). Another on A12v notes that whoever carries this book and recites this prayer will not die in water, fire, or battle (Streit). A blessing of St. Vincent indicates that laying one's hands on the sick will heal them, perhaps obliquely suggesting that mere contact with the book could do the same (A7v: Ueber die Kranken werden sie die Hände legen, und sie werden gesund werden). And there's a "sure remedy against the plague" on A11v-A12r. ¶ Citing Gérard Leser’s scholarship, Michel Krempper notes that the Geistlicher Schild was sold on the down-low by street peddlers (vendu sous le manteau par des colporteurs ambulants). Better still, popular belief maintained that the book’s power stemmed from its being blessed (unwittingly) by priests during Mass. To avoid inadvertently doing so, the priest might run his hands over the altar to ensure no one had hidden a copy under the cloth. This behavior may sound extreme, but the book’s power was not to be taken lightly. “The owner of this grimoire was obligated to use it if he did not want the power of the book to turn against him. In addition, once used for harmful ends, the Bouclier spirituel [Geistlicher Schild] could never be used otherwise…And its owner had to pass it to someone else before his death, lest he should experience an especially long agony.” ¶ The Andächtige Weis is perhaps a less superstitious companion to daily prayer, but the Schild-Wacht better matches the protectionist spirit of the Geistlicher Schild. In addition to its added illustrated title page, the work contains 24 rustic woodcut portraits of saints, each accompanied by a protection prayer for each hour of the day. ¶ All titles are scarce, though we do find a few copies of each in North America, in ours (or earlier) editions. 

PROVENANCE: Laid in is a baptism notice for one Franz Xaver Dosch in 1771: Den 16. Aberil a[nno] 1771 ist gebohren Mein sohn Franz Xaferi Dosch, in Zeichen des Stiers umb 12 Ur nachts und zur heil[igen] Dauf gehoben worden, durch Herrn Franz Antoni Fackhler [Sackhler[?] seiller Meister in Vohburg, Herr Franz Baullgrim, hat dis Kind gedauft. This Franz Anton appears to have been a master rope maker in Vohburg, a Bavarian village between Nuremberg and Munich. ¶ With two old ownership inscriptions on front paste-down.

CONDITION: Old paper-covered boards, with an embossed representation of St. John the Baptist affixed to the front cover. ¶ Not a wide-margined copy, nor a fine piece of printing, but in good shape internally. Binding soiled and worn at the extremities, but altogether a solid little book.

REFERENCES: VD17 3614:744643K (Geistlicher Schild); VD18 14078031 (Schild-Wacht, but our title with gleich aufstehen instead of gleichsam stehen) ¶ Michel Krempper, Dictionnaire des légendes d’Alsace (Mulhousienne/Milhüser, 2019), p. 28-30; Andrea Sapunar, “Biblische Apokrypha bei den burgenländischen Kroaten im achtzehnten Jahrhundert,” Wiener Slavistisches Jahrbuch 44 (1998), p. 205-206 (“The collection of superstitious prayers and blessings, Geistlicher Schild, was a popular book in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as evidenced by its numerous editions, from the oldest in Mainz in 1613 and 1647 to the end of the nineteenth century”); “The Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus and Superstition,” Franciscan Studies 8.1 (March 1948), p. 80 (“is most powerful against witchcraft, sorcery and perils of every kind, whenever one carries it with him and recites it in times of danger with great confidence,” citing a 1747 edition), 80n4 (“A goodly number of superstitious prayers of this book are credited to Capuchins”); Carleton F. Brown, John George Hohman, and Johann Georg Hohman, “The Long Hidden Friend,” The Journal of American Folklore 17.65 (April-June 1904), p. 99 (includes “collections of prayers against witchcraft and magic arts which were published with the authority of the mediaeval church,” and suggesting the book could be found among the Pennsylvania Dutch)

Item #839