Abstract
The ten parchment rolls containing the illustrated arma Christi prayer-poem “O Vernicle” are generally considered tools for affective or penitential prayer. Yet the earliest version of the text attributes innate power to the arma images and uses charm-like language. Furthermore, eight of the ten rolls are narrow. A survey of narrow English rolls shows a significant proportion are either obvious amulets or have contents suggesting amuletic use. The text, the size of the “O Vernicle” rolls, and the fact that the arma are common in charms and other magic suggest that some of these rolls were as likely to have served as amulets as to have been devotional.
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