Canterbury charm

The Canterbury charm is an Old Norse runic charm discovered inserted in the margin of an Anglo-Saxon manuscript from the year 1073.

[1] The runes are clear, and the transliteration of the runes is straight-forward (spaces between words not present in the original): kurilGyrilssarþuarasārþvarafarfarþuþūnunū!funtinFundinniseʀtuþū!þurÞōrruigivīgiþikþik,¶ þorsaþursatrutindrōttinn,iurilGyrilssarþuarasārþvara.uiþrViðraþra uariaðravari.kuril sarþuara far þu nu funtin is tu þur uigi þik ¶ þorsa trutin iuril sarþuara uiþr {aþra uari}Gyrils sārþvara far þū nū!

Þōrr vīgi þik, {} þursa drōttinn, Gyrils sārþvara.

MacLeod and Mees note that while Thor is not revered in surviving sources for his medical abilities, he was well attested as harboring enmity towards giants and as a protector of mankind.

MacLeod and Mees compare the charm to the 11th-century Kvinneby amulet (where Thor is also called upon to provide protection), the formula structure of the Sigtuna amulet I, and the inscription on a then-recently discovered rib bone also from Sigtuna, Sweden.