The prologue of John
In principio erat Verbum
- Known today as
- The opening verses of the Gospel of John, “In the beginning was the Word,” written out and worn, or read over the sick, the fields, and the weather.
- Kind
- Sacramental, in 1 older authority
- Earliest authority here
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914)
Revised October 1, 2026: An authority added from a text read in full. Version 1, first published September 28, 2026.
The prologue of John: what was it used for?
Worn at the neck against fever and demons, and read at the four corners of the fields against storms in the medieval blessings of the crops.
The prologue of John: what does modern science say?
The prologue was read as the Last Gospel at the end of Mass until 1964.
The prologue of John: what lore surrounds it?
Aquinas allowed that sacred words hung at the neck could be lawful, provided nothing unknown or vain was mixed with them and the wearer trusted in God, not in the writing.
The prologue of John: what did the older authorities say?
- The Catholic Encyclopedia
- The Catholic Encyclopedia records that “Pope St. Gregory the Great sent the Lombard queen, Theodolinda, on the occasion of the birth of her son, two phylacteria, one of which contained a fragment of the wood of the True Cross, the other a sentence of the Gospel,” and that “the custom of carrying portions of the Sacred Scriptures as phylacteries is mentioned by St. Jerome and St. John Chrysostom.” The cases “are still Preserved at Monza.” It adds that such practice “lent itself to abuses when magical formulae began to be joined to Christian symbols,” so that “many of the fathers of the fourth and later centuries” protested against these phylacteries.
Sources
- [5] Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 96, a. 4. Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, 2nd rev. ed. (1920). newadvent.org. Book, seen in reviews
- [21] Herbermann, C. G., et al. (eds.) (1907–1912). The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Online at newadvent.org. Articles: Agnus Dei (H. Thurston); Amulet (M. Hassett); Ash Wednesday (H. Thurston); Bells (H. Thurston); Holy Oils (H. Leclercq); Paschal Candle (H. Thurston); Scapular (J. Hilgers). Read in part · the text read
- Skemer, D. C. (2006). Binding Words: Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. Verified against its record · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2265.2007.00344_3.x
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914), “Amulet.” newadvent.org/cathen/01443a.htm Read in full · the text read
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914), “Medals, Devotional.” newadvent.org/cathen/10111b.htm Standard reference work
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full
- Sources
- 5 cited: 1 read in full, 1 read in part, 1 verified against its record, 1 standard reference work, 1 book, seen in reviews.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 28, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026
- Chicago
“The prologue of John.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/gospel-of-john-amulet.
- MLA
“The prologue of John.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/gospel-of-john-amulet. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
The prologue of John. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/gospel-of-john-amulet
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See Also
Also in The Catholic Encyclopedia
The Roman Ritual in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Pilgrim badges and ampullae in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Rosary in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Paschal candle in The Catholic Encyclopedia · everything The Catholic Encyclopedia names →
Drawing on the same sources: Skemer
Nearby in the alphabet
Puffball (White balls that ripen into a cloud of brown spores) · The precious stones (emerald, jacinth, garnet, and topaz, as they were used in medicine) · Purslane (a succulent, creeping herb of warm gardens) · Pomegranate (Punica granatum) · Quicksilver (and its salts such as calomel and corrosive sublimate) · Pomander (of ambergris, musk, civet, and spices, carried in a pierced case) · Quince (Cydonia oblonga) · Polypody of mercurialis, syrup of
Historical description, not medical advice.