a formula upon consecrated paper, at which the
devil might well turn pale. Buried in the corner of a field, one of
these was thought to give protection against bad weather and destructive
insects.(231)

(230) "Instituit ut aqua quam sanctum appellamus sale admixta
interpositus sacris orationibus et in templis et in cubiculis ad
fugandos daemones retineretur." Platina, Vitae Pontif. But the story is
from the False Decretals.

(231) See Rydberg, The Magic of the Middle Ages, translated by Edgren,
pp. 63-66.

But highest in repute during centuries was the Agnus Dei--a piece of wax
blessed by the Pope's own hand, and stamped with the well-known device
representing the "Lamb of God." Its powers were so marvellous that Pope
Urban V thought three of these cakes a fitting gift from himself to the
Greek Emperor. In the Latin doggerel recounting their virtues, their
meteorological efficacy stands first, for especial stress is laid on
their power of dispelling the thunder. The stress thus laid by Pope
Urban, as the infallible guide of Christendom, on the efficacy of this
fetich, gave it great value throughout Europe, and the doggerel verses
reciting its virtues sank deep into the popular mind. It was
considered a most potent means of dispelling hail, pestilence, storms,
conflagrations, and enchantments; and this feeling was deepened by the
rules and rites for its consecration. So solemn was the matter, that the
manufacture and sale of this particular fetich was, by a papal bull of
1471, reserved for the Pope himself, and he only performed the required
ceremony in the first and seventh years of his pontificate. Standing
unmitred, he prayed: "O God,... we humbly beseech thee that thou wilt
bless these waxen forms, figured with the image of an innocent lamb,...
that, at the touch and sight of them, the faithful may break forth into
praises, and that the crash of hailstorms, the blast of hurricanes, the
violence of tempests, the fury of winds, and the malice of thunderbolts
may be tempered, and evil spirits flee and tremble before the standard
of thy holy cross, which is graven upon them."(232)

(232) These pious charms are still in use in the Church, and may be
found described in any ecclesiastical cyclopaedia. The doggerel verses
run as follows:

"Tonitrua magna terret, Inimicos nostras domat Et peccata nostra delet;
Praegnantem cum partu salvat, Ab incendio praeservat, Dona dignis multa
confert, A suber