Lesson plan
Segen
Segen is a German word translating to "blessing, benediction; charm; prayer; spell, incantation". It is in origin a loan from Latin signum sīgnāre "to make a sign", viz. the Sign of the Cross used to confer a Christian blessing, The term is attested as Old High German seganōn from as early as c. AD 800, resulting in a modern segnen "to bless". The noun Segen "blessing" was derived from the verb at an early time, attested in the 9th century as segan. Old English had the corresponding sægnan, which survives as the dialectal (esp. Scottish) sain (popularized by Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian "God sain us"). The concept of Segen, understood magically, was very productive in the folklore, folk religion and superstition of German-speaking Europe, studied in great detail by the German philologists and folklorists of the 19th century. The medieval church used the Segen (the sign of the cross with a spoken formula) liberally, intended as an act with protective effect, putting the person or thing blessed under the protection of God. Nor was the action reserved for priests or clerics, but any Christian was permitted to make the sign of the cross and invoke the protection of God. Thus the Segen came to be seen as the inverse of the curse (Fluch), magical acts with the power to either protect or harm.…
Article summary
Segen is a German word translating to "blessing, benediction; charm; prayer; spell, incantation". It is in origin a loan from Latin signum sīgnāre "to make a sign", viz. the Sign of the Cross used to confer a Christian blessing, The term is attested as Old High German seganōn from as early as c. AD 800, resulting in a modern segnen "to bless". The noun Segen "blessing" was derived from the verb at an early time, attested in the 9th century as segan. Old English had the corresponding sægnan, which survives as the dialectal (esp. Scottish) sain (popularized by Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian "God sain us"). The concept of Segen, understood magically, was very productive in the folklore, folk religion and superstition of German-speaking Europe, studied in great detail by the German philologists and folklorists of the 19th century. The medieval church used the Segen (the sign of the cross with a spoken formula) liberally, intended as an act with protective effect, putting the person or thing blessed under the protection of God. Nor was the action reserved for priests or clerics, but any Christian was permitted to make the sign of the cross and invoke the protection of God. Thus the Segen came to be seen as the inverse of the curse (Fluch), magical acts with the power to either protect or harm.…
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.