futures�RESEARCH
mothers to use Makaton gestures, a type of sign language formed of basic gestures that represent actions, like ‘more’, ‘food’, ‘drink’. Makaton is a simpler form of sign language that uses signs as well as some speech and picture cards. While it was initially developed in the UK in the 1970s to help disabled children and those who could not communicate that well, Elizabeth encourages the parents to use them with their babies with some fruitful results. Kirk is now taking forward the research, having
created classes for mothers and babies to learn the signs. The classes are run in three Sure Start centres in Hertfordshire so far, but Kirk hopes more will take on the programme; she added: “The classes are aimed at low-income families, as these showed the most improvement and we hope to regularly teach these free classes. We hope we can roll more sessions out throughout 2011 to more Sure Start centres and continue to monitor the babies’ progress.” Jumping back in time, and switching from the spoken language to the written word we move on from the present day to ancient books, full of incantations, spells and ghostly tales. Grimories: A History of Magic Books, a book of magical knowledge, recently released by Professor Owen Davies, Research Fellow and History Lecturer at the University, covers an eye-watering amount of material covering ancient Babylonia, clay tablets and the ever popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ‘Grimoire’ means a book that contains incantations,
spells from the supernatural realm. Davies claims that the need to retain these Grimories led to people writing them down, and therefore led to the development of written language as we know it. His argument throughout the book is a bold one, that if we are “to understand the spread of relgion, the development of early science, the cultural influence of the printed word, the growth of literacy, and the social impact of slavery and colonialism” we must understand Grimoires. Pop culture propagates the idea that magic is a primitive backward art, its influence dispelled by science and our rational discoveries. If you ask someone these days if a spell could influence the weather they’d probably think you were mad, but for Davies these beliefs are not crazy rants but a window into history. It was surprising to find out that religion and magic were so closely linked in their written form. Davies explained: “The history of literature has always been embedded in magic, and by looking back and studying literature we can see how the need to write down spells and incantations prompted the need for writing.” The rich history of ghost folklore and spooky stories has always been of great interest to me. Speaking to Professor Davies I’m reminded of Harry Potter, with the students’ heavy dusty books that held secret spells and chants. While the University of Hertfordshire isn’t
Hogwarts, Davies’ research studies these old texts just as studiously as Harry Potter. However, you’re more likely to find him pondering the history, importance and power of magical books than waving a wand; more specifically, he’s studying the written development as well as supernatural content of the old texts. “If you put yourself in the mind-set of the time, the written word was a magical knowledge; it was another kind of mystic skill. Writing was a magical act” says Professor Davies. “Even the colonised people believed
Pop culture propagates the idea that magic is a primitive backward art
that the Bible was an occult power for white people. They thought that they kept bits of the Bible back to keep them as ignorant subjects.”
Davies traces these magical, human and social developments along with their twists and turns throughout history, looking at different religions and their growth - using literature. His research goes beyond the normal focus on religious institutions and organised churches, saying “the supernatural is much broader than religion in the normal sense; I like to explore that in my work.”
Fiction may spark our interest in the magical but Davies’ book proves that often fact is stranger than fiction. The Renaissance saw a revival in magic, creating a demand for books showing the runic farting spell, the use of candles made from the fat of a hanged man and manuals for creating rain, seducing women or making enemies mute.
Davies also tells me Grimories have led to the
creation of new religions. He takes me back to the 1820s, where a farmer called Joseph Smith was using talismans to search for buried treasure in New York. He was reported to have found two gold plates. The characters on them were translated to what we now call the Book of Mormon, and with this Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Magic’s growth into new religion isn’t restricted to our past either. Davies is currently researching an introduction to paganism and how it developed. With druids and paganism making the headlines last year with the Winter Solstice celebrations, Davies’ research touches on the current trends of today, while examining the past to discover why paganism developed. “We believe we are in a rational age where things are
reasoned, and everything has a rational point, but many people still believe in ghosts and new religions crop up every day” says Davies. With Grimories: The History of Book, Davies aims to show that the world today isn’t quite how it seems – I’d say with this intriguing research he succeeds. f�
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Photography: Istockphoto
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