Les formules apotropaïques : Le pouvoir de la parole, le pouvoir des lettres
Résumé
This paper offers a presentation of apotropaic formulas according to their different uses: oral or written, which sheds light on the importance given to the actual meaning of the formulas. Several criteria are taken into account: whether the formula is meant to be uttered or not (and by whom); whether written formulas are meant to be kept about one's person for a long time (as is the case for composite amulets and prophylactic jewelry) or to be destroyed through consumption during the ritual; whether the formulas are intelligible or entirely cryptic. lt also examines the blurring of the boundary between devotional and profane objects.