A grimoire (pronounced /grɪˈmwɑr/) is a textbook of magic. Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and Books of this genre, typically giving instructions for invoking angels or demons, performing divination and gaining magical powers, have circulated throughout Europe since the Middle Ages. An invocation (from the Latin verb invocare "to call on invoke" may take the form of Supplication or Prayer An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining
Magicians were frequently persecuted by the Christian church, so their journals were kept hidden to prevent them from being burned. A magician is a person skilled in the mysterious and hidden art of magic, the ability to attain objectives acquire knowledge or perform works of wonder using Supernatural [1] Such books contain astrological correspondences, lists of angels and demons, directions on casting charms and spells, on mixing medicines, summoning unearthly entities, and making talismans. Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and An amulet ( the Elder|Pliny]] meaning "an object that protects a person from trouble" a close cousin of the talisman (from Arabic "Magical" books in almost any context, especially books of magical spells, are also called grimoires.
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Origin of the term
The word grimoire is from the Old French grammaire, and is from the Greek root "grammatikos", “relating to letters”, from which grammar, a system for language, and glamour, influential appeal, are derived. Old French was the Romance Dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium Grammar is the field of Linguistics that covers the Rules governing the use of any given natural language. Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. In the mid-late Middle Ages, Latin "grammars" (books on Latin syntax and diction) were foundational to school and university education, as controlled by the Church—while to the illiterate majority, non-ecclesiastical books were suspect as magic, or believed to be endowed with supernatural influence. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. In Linguistics, syntax (from Ancient Greek grc συν- syn-, "together" and grc τάξις táxis, "arrangement" is the Diction, in its original primary meaning refers to the writer's or the speaker's distinctive Vocabulary choices and style of expression. Ecclesiology (from Greek grc ἐκκλησίᾱ ekklēsiā, "congregation church" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events The word "grimoire" came over time to apply specifically to those books which did indeed deal with magic and the supernatural.
Similar magical writings have existed from antiquity, and although these are not in the same genre of medieval magic, they are sometimes described as grimoires.
Medieval and Renaissance
The first grimoires appear in the High Middle Ages, growing out of earlier traditions, notably of medieval Jewish mysticism, which continued traditions dating back to Late Antiquity. Renaissance Humanism (15th and 16th century saw a resurgence in Hermeticism and Neo-Platonic varieties of Ceremonial magic Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. Late Antiquity (c 300-600 is a Periodization used by historians to describe the transitional centuries from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in Thus, the 13th century Sefer Raziel Ha-Malakh is significantly based on the Sefer Ha-Razim (ca. Sefer Raziel HaMalakh, (Hebrew he ספר רזיאל המלאך " Book of Raziel the Angel ” is Medieval Kabbalistic The Sepher Ha-Razim is a Kabbalistic text supposedly given to Noah by the angel Raziel. 4th or 5th century), which is in turn influenced by Hellenistic Greek magical papyri. The Greek Magical Papyri (papyri is plural of Papyrus) (commonly abbreviated to PGM from the Latin title Papyri Graecae Magicae) is a collective term for a collection
Notable 13th to 17th century grimoires include:
- The Picatrix, or, Ghâyat al-Hakîm fi'l-sihr; also known as The Aim of the Sage (13th century)
- Liber Iuratus, or, the Sworn Book of Honorius (13th century)
- Sefer Raziel Ha-Malakh Liber Razielis Archangeli (13th century)
- The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage (1450s)
- The so-called Munich Handbook (15th century)
- Libri tres de occulta philosophia by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1531)
- The Greater Key of Solomon (16th century)
- Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (16th century)
- The Lemegeton, or, the Lesser Key of Solomon (17th century)
The Voynich manuscript has never been deciphered, and is difficult to date, but may also qualify as a 15th century grimoire. Picatrix is the name used in Christian Europe for a text originally written in Arabic, probably in the 10th or 11th century entitled غاية الحكيم The Sworn Book of Honorius, or Liber Juratus (also liber sacer sacratus or consecratus, Sworn Book of Honorius Sefer Raziel HaMalakh, (Hebrew he ספר רזיאל המלאך " Book of Raziel the Angel ” is Medieval Kabbalistic The Book of Abramelin tells the story of an Egyptian mage named Abramelin, or Abra-Melin who teaches a system of magic to Abraham The "Munich Manual of Demonic Magic" (CLM 849 of the Bavarian State Library, Munich) is a fifteenth century Grimoire manuscript Libri tres de occulta philosophia ( Three Books about Occult Philosophy) is Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa 's study of occult philosophy acknowledged as Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim ( September 14, 1486 – February 18 1535) was a German magician, Occult The Key of Solomon, Clavis Salomonis, is a medieval book on magic originally attributed to King Solomon. Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, or Hierarchy of Demons first appears as an Appendix to Johann Weyer 's De praestigiis daemonum ( 1577) The Lesser Key of Solomon or Clavicula Salomonis (the Clavis Salomonis, or Key of Solomon is an earlier book on the The Voynich manuscript is a mysterious illustrated Book written in an indecipherable text
18th to 19th century
- The Black Pullet (18th century)
- Le Grand Grimoire, The Grand Grimoire (19th century, allegedly 1522)
In the late 19th century, several of these texts (including the Abra-Melin text and the Keys of Solomon) were reclaimed by para-Masonic magical organizations such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Ordo Templi Orientis. The Black Pullet is a Grimoire that proposes to teach the "science of magical talismans and rings" including the art of Necromancy The Grand Grimoire is a black magic Grimoire that claims to date back to 1522 The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or more commonly the Golden Dawn) was a magical order of the late 19th and early 20th centuries practicing a form of Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO ( Order of the Temple of the East, or the Order of Oriental Templars) is an international fraternal and Religious
Many false or poorly translated grimoires have been circulated since the 19th century (many original texts are in French or Latin, and are quite rare), however faithful editions are available for most of the above titles.
20th century to present
A modern grimoire is the Simon Necronomicon, named after a fictional book of magic in the stories of author H. P. Lovecraft, and inspired by Sumerian mythology and the Ars Goetia, a section in the Lesser Key of Solomon which concerns the summoning of demons. The Simon Necronomicon (or Simonomicon) is a Grimoire which some consider the best-known version of the fictional Necronomicon. Howard Phillips Lovecraft ( August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian Akkadian Assyrian and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris The Lesser Key of Solomon or Clavicula Salomonis (the Clavis Salomonis, or Key of Solomon is an earlier book on the The Azoëtia of Andrew D. Chumbley has been described as a modern grimoire. Andrew D Chumbley ( September 15 1967 - September 15 2004) was an English practitioner and theorist of magic, and a writer [1]
Grimoire was the title selected by Michael Donaghy in 2003 for his poem reflecting on the Cyborg research of scientist Kevin Warwick[2]. Michael Donaghy ( May 24 1954 &ndash September 16 2004) was a Poet and Musician, born in New York. A cyborg is a Cybernetic Organism ( ie, an organism that has both artificial and natural systems Kevin Warwick (born 9 February 1954 Coventry, UK is a British scientist and professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading
Popular culture
The term "grimoire" commonly serves as an alternative name for a spell-book or tome of magical knowledge in such genres as fantasy fiction. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting The most famous fictional grimoire is the Necronomicon, a creation of the author H. The Necronomicon is a Fictional book appearing in the stories by horror novelist H P. Lovecraft. It was first referenced in his story "The Hound", and subsequently made appearances in many of his stories. This page deals with the H P Lovecraft short story For the character from George R Other authors such as August Derleth and Clark Ashton Smith have also cited it in their works with Lovecraft's approval. August William Derleth ( February 24 1909 &ndash July 4 1971) was an American writer and anthologist Clark Ashton Smith ( January 13, 1893 - August 14, 1961) was a Poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy Lovecraft believed such common allusions built up "a background of evil verisimilitude". Many readers and others have believed it to be a real work, with booksellers and librarians receiving many requests for the fictional tome. Pranksters have even listed it in rare book catalogues, including one who surreptitiously slipped an entry into the Yale University Library card catalog. A library catalog (or library catalogue) is a register of all bibliographic items found in a Library or group of libraries such as a network of libraries [3]
References
- ^ Semple, Gavin (1994) 'The Azoëtia - reviewed by Gavin Semple', Starfire Vol. I, No. 2, 1994, p. 194.
- ^ Crawford, Robert(ed. ), "Contemporary Poetry and Contemporary Science", Oxford University Press, 2006
- ^ L. Sprague de Camp, Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers, pp. Lyon Sprague de Camp, ( November 27 1907 – November 6 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy author Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers the Makers of Heroic Fantasy is a 1976 work of collective Biography on the formative authors of the Heroic fantasy 100–1. ISBN 0-87054-076-9.
External links
- Internet Sacred Text Archives: Grimoires
- Hermetics Library of Magical & Mystical E-Books
- Magickal Athenaeum - a collection of magical PDF files
- Timeline of esoterica
- Contemporary publisher of grimoires
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