Ars Notoria: Angelic Figures, Sacred Prayers, and the Medieval Dream of Instant Knowledge
The first figure of grammar in an Ars Notoria manuscript, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Latin 9336, fol. 18. The medieval work is public domain;…
Angel Magic
The Sworn Book of Honorius: Medieval Angel Magic, the Vision of God, and the Secret Life of the Sigillum Dei
Among medieval books of learned magic, few are as revealing—or as difficult to classify—as the Liber iuratus Honorii, commonly called the Sworn Book of Honorius….
Before the Ars Almadel: How an Arabic-Derived Spirit Rite Became Christian Angel Magic in Medieval Europe
The Ars Almadel is usually encountered today as a small section of the Lemegeton, or Lesser Key of Solomon: a ritual in which a square…
The Liber de Essentia Spirituum: Medieval Monks, Spirit Fellowship, and the Theurgy Hidden in a Canterbury Manuscript
Most medieval books of ritual magic survive because several generations of readers copied them. The Liber de essentia spirituum is different. Modern scholarship knows it…
John of Morigny and the Flowers of Heavenly Teaching: Visions, Forbidden Knowledge, and a Monk’s Attempt to Re write Magic
Some of the most revealing books in the history of magic are not texts whose authors proudly identify themselves as magicians. They are books written…