Schlaf, Kindchen, Schlaf!

This study presents Mesopotamian incantations and rituals for calming infants and protecting them against disease. The book’s work is thus of interest not only to Near Eastern specialists, but to anthropologists and historians of medicine as well. The author introduces, edits, and translates the texts, which include much hitherto unpublished material. He follows his edition with discussions of the words for infant and baby in Akkadian and an analysis of the rubrics, subscripts, and the incantations themselves. A final chapter is devoted to folkloristic and stylistic analyses of the material. Included as well are indexes, a glossary, ritual materials, and cuneiform copies.