Himmelsbrief
Encyclopedia
Himmelsbrief in Pennsylvania Dutch
, Himmelsbriefe in Standard German ("heaven's letter") is a name for religious documents said to have been written by God or a divine agent.
They are often said to have miraculously "fallen from sky", claim protection
for owners of a copy (encouraging meme
tic replication) and punishment for disbelievers.
Some authors reserve the name for Christian apocryphal documents, but similar pieces are found in Islam, Hinduism and pre-Christian religions.
Hippolytus of Rome mentions one in Refutation of All Heresies
(third century), and the earlier full text is a Latin one dated in the 6th century.
Jacob, the organizer of the Crusade of the Shepherds held one while preaching which was allegedly given by the Virgin Mary.
tradition and contained Bible
verses and other charms and assurances that their owners would be protected from death, injury, and other misfortune. The text of these letters was occasionally reminiscent of some contemporary chain letter
s. Pow-wow practitioners charged handsome sums for these magical
letters; the price they commanded depended on the reputation of the practitioner. However, some traditions call for it to be given free of charge.
Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch refers to immigrants and their descendants from southwestern Germany and Switzerland who settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries...
, Himmelsbriefe in Standard German ("heaven's letter") is a name for religious documents said to have been written by God or a divine agent.
They are often said to have miraculously "fallen from sky", claim protection
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
for owners of a copy (encouraging meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
tic replication) and punishment for disbelievers.
Some authors reserve the name for Christian apocryphal documents, but similar pieces are found in Islam, Hinduism and pre-Christian religions.
Hippolytus of Rome mentions one in Refutation of All Heresies
Refutation of all Heresies
The Refutation of All Heresies or Philosophumena is a compendious Christian polemical work of the early third century, now generally attributed to Hippolytus of Rome. Most of it was recovered in 1842 in a manuscript at Mount Athos, but the complete text is not known...
(third century), and the earlier full text is a Latin one dated in the 6th century.
Jacob, the organizer of the Crusade of the Shepherds held one while preaching which was allegedly given by the Virgin Mary.
Pennsylvania German
In the Pennsylvania German community, they are part of Pow-wowPow-wow (folk magic)
Pow-wow is a system of American folk religion and magic associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch.-Origin of the name and practices:Its name comes from the book Pow-wows, or, The Long Lost Friend, written by John George Hohman and first published in German as Der Lange Verborgene Freund in 1820...
tradition and contained Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
verses and other charms and assurances that their owners would be protected from death, injury, and other misfortune. The text of these letters was occasionally reminiscent of some contemporary chain letter
Chain letter
A typical chain letter consists of a message that attempts to the recipient to make a number of copies of the letter and then pass them on to as many recipients as possible...
s. Pow-wow practitioners charged handsome sums for these magical
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
letters; the price they commanded depended on the reputation of the practitioner. However, some traditions call for it to be given free of charge.