Anglo-Saxon metrical charms were sets of instructions generally written to magically resolve a situation or disease.
These Anglo-Saxon charms tell a great deal about medieval medical theory and practice.
[1] Today, some alternative medical practitioners continue to use herbal remedies, but these are often based on some sort of scientific reasoning.
For example, the Nine Herbs Charm mentions both the Germanic god Woden and Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity.
[1] Twelve Metrical Charms survive in Old English, principally in the collection of medical texts known in modern scholarship as Lacnunga (10th to 11th century), but also in Bald's Leechbook (10th century) and as marginal additions in other manuscripts.