Just In Time For Halloween: UC Scholar Finds Demon-Chasing Charms
Have you ever suffered from headache or back pain? Many of us would look for relief in our medicine cabinets. If you were called to court, youd probably get a lawyer. And while many people in the present day may still whisper a prayer for support, the words of a Christian charm, copied by a priest, were the protection of choice for a population a couple of centuries ago.
John Brolley, University of Cincinnati program director for Religious Studies, has been at work for more than a year translating four little books of Syriac charms that are among the rare collections at Harvard University. Brolley believes the leather-bound books, dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, may have once belonged to a priest who would have lived in Urmia, a region in Kurdistan that is one of a handful of Aramaic-speaking regions worldwide. Syriac, though now used almost exclusively in church liturgy, is one dialect of Aramaic.
Read the
on UC's web site.
Related Stories
Meet UC’s Miss Ohio
July 1, 2024
UC biomedical science student Stephanie Finoti credits UC for helping to prepare her for the Miss Ohio Scholarship Pageant. She will represent Ohio in the national competition in January.
UC alum credits journalism program with early success
June 26, 2024
Zachary Jarrell came to the University of Cincinnati in 2019 to pursue a degree in statistics. In 2023, he graduated with a Bachelor’s in Journalism. For many undergraduates, the journey through college rarely takes the expected track. Detours happen, and majors change. When plans switch up, it can be helpful to a student’s success to find support. For Jarrell, it was the people he worked alongside in the journalism department who helped him on his journey. It has left a lasting impression on his life so far, guiding him to multiple internships as an undergraduate, real-world experience in prominent news outlets, and eventually a successful career in the highly competitive field of journalism.
The health impact of living near a natural gas leak
![BBC logo](/content/dam/refresh/uc-news/news-icons/dark/bbc.png)
June 25, 2024
UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Amy Townsend-Small talks to the BBC about the health issues faced by neighbors of leaking natural gas wells.