Naeratame

Naeratame is a term that emerged in early modern European literature and has since been adopted by scholars of folk belief and decorative arts. It first appeared in a 1723 traveling merchant’s journal written in a northern German dialect, where the narrator described the “naeratame” as a small, rust‑colored feather that could be used to ward off misfortune. By the late nineteenth century the term had been incorporated into the lexicon of folk‑medicine practitioners, who described it as a talisman composed of a particular feather, a ribbon, and a silver coin.

The word is considered to have etymological roots in the Germanic *nara* “bird” and the Old Norse *tamma* “to cling,” reflecting its believed function of binding luck to the holder. In contemporary scholarly works on European folk magic, naeratame often appears in discussions about protective charms and the symbolic use of natural objects in ceremonial contexts. While no surviving artifacts unequivocally match the original description, iconographic studies locate similar motifs in the embroidery of 18th‑century German folk costumes, suggesting that the practice integrated into everyday cultural life. Researchers continue to debate whether the naeratame was a genuine widespread custom or a literary invention that captured collective anxieties about fate and luck. Its legacy remains evident in modern folklore collections that catalogue protective items devised from feathers, metal, and fabric.