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The “Eye of Abraham” Charm for Thieves: Versions in Middle and Early Modern English

This article discusses and edits five versions of the “Eye of Abraham,” a charm against thieves common in Early Modern England, though in fact the procedure described in the charms is unique to neither England nor the sixteenth century. A similar charm is known to German folklorists as the Diebesauge; numerous versions are found in the folk- and magic-literature of Germany and Scandinavia, and the earliest known version occurs in an early fourth-century Greek papyrus. All the versions have in common a procedure that involves painting an eye on a wall, and striking or hitting it with a hammer or sharp object to cause the eye of the thief to water, or in the worst cases, to be put out. The five English versions edited here all show interesting differences in language and invocation.