Ylfa spere in Selb -

The lyrics of the song are based on an Old English medical text from the 10th century, „Wið færstice”, surviving in the collection known now as Lacnunga in the British Library. According to Felix Grendon, whose collection of Anglo-Saxon charms appeared in the Journal of American Folklore in 1908, “the charm is intended to cure a sudden twinge or stitch, possibly rheumatism that can be due to being shot by witches, elves, and other spirits that fly through the air.”