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Magical and Amuletic scroll, in German and Latin, illuminated manuscript scroll on paper [Germany, c.1760-1780]
Details
An amuletic scroll
Magical and Amuletic scroll, in German and Latin, illuminated manuscript scroll on paper [Germany, c.1760-1780]
A magical protection scroll containing sigils and incantations – drawn from medieval grimoires and the Clavicula Salomonis – designed to invoke powerful spiritual and angelic protections for its owner including the power to defy death and the power to summon demons.
c.2850mm x 85mm. 8 membranes, 36 amulets and sigils, the reverse with invocations and sacred formulae in Latin and German written in red and black ink, including angelic and divine names such as Emanuel, Sabaoth, Adonay, El Shaddai, ending '††† 1573 TEH / Circulum Salamonis', which serves as a ritual seal of consecration (some creasing and staining, else in good condition).
Provenance:
The number '1573' is not an indication of the date of the scroll: the reduced digit-sum (7) of the number signifies perfection and divine order. The script of the manuscript is datable to the second half of the 18th century.
Contents:
36 amulets, talismans and sigils, drawn in red and black ink, each accompanied by explanatory captions, including, on the first membrane: sigil with ACLA repeated in a cross-pattern (acronym for ?AGLA, or Atā gībōr ləʿōlām ʾĂḏōnāy, 'Thou art mighty forever, O Lord'), guarding against sudden death ('Vor den den jähen Tod'), two sigils guarding against enemies ('vor die Feinde'), one against the evil spirit ('vor die bösen geister'); the second membrane including a sigil protecting against sorcery ('Von zauberey') and the famous SATOR square to ward against injury ('Es keine verletzt'); the third with a protective pentacle; the fourth with sigils warding against storms and tempests ('Vor Sturm und Ungewitter') and poverty and sorrow ('vor Armuth und Trübsal'); the fifth including sigils protecting against illness ('Vor Krankheit und Sucht'); the sixth including sigils protecting against wild animals and snakebites ('Vor wilde thier und schlangen biss') and all kinds of misfortune ('Wid allerhand anstoss'); the seventh opening with four uncaptioned sigils including the Tetragrammaton and the magical AGLA acronym; and the final membrane with sigils intended for the conjuration of spirits, including Lucifer, Comifatron, Beelzebub and Mamon.
In medieval ceremonial magic, sigils represented angels and demons which the budding magician might attempt to summon, as a means of exerting power or invoking protection, as is the case in the present manuscript. This scroll draws from a variety of different texts and grimoires, including the 14th- or 15th-century 'Key of Solomon', the pseudepigraphical grimoire attributed to King Solomon, influenced by earlier works of Jewish theosophical kabbala, and one of the fundamental instruction manuals on how to create amulets and perform spells.
Magical and Amuletic scroll, in German and Latin, illuminated manuscript scroll on paper [Germany, c.1760-1780]
A magical protection scroll containing sigils and incantations – drawn from medieval grimoires and the Clavicula Salomonis – designed to invoke powerful spiritual and angelic protections for its owner including the power to defy death and the power to summon demons.
c.2850mm x 85mm. 8 membranes, 36 amulets and sigils, the reverse with invocations and sacred formulae in Latin and German written in red and black ink, including angelic and divine names such as Emanuel, Sabaoth, Adonay, El Shaddai, ending '††† 1573 TEH / Circulum Salamonis', which serves as a ritual seal of consecration (some creasing and staining, else in good condition).
Provenance:
The number '1573' is not an indication of the date of the scroll: the reduced digit-sum (7) of the number signifies perfection and divine order. The script of the manuscript is datable to the second half of the 18th century.
Contents:
36 amulets, talismans and sigils, drawn in red and black ink, each accompanied by explanatory captions, including, on the first membrane: sigil with ACLA repeated in a cross-pattern (acronym for ?AGLA, or Atā gībōr ləʿōlām ʾĂḏōnāy, 'Thou art mighty forever, O Lord'), guarding against sudden death ('Vor den den jähen Tod'), two sigils guarding against enemies ('vor die Feinde'), one against the evil spirit ('vor die bösen geister'); the second membrane including a sigil protecting against sorcery ('Von zauberey') and the famous SATOR square to ward against injury ('Es keine verletzt'); the third with a protective pentacle; the fourth with sigils warding against storms and tempests ('Vor Sturm und Ungewitter') and poverty and sorrow ('vor Armuth und Trübsal'); the fifth including sigils protecting against illness ('Vor Krankheit und Sucht'); the sixth including sigils protecting against wild animals and snakebites ('Vor wilde thier und schlangen biss') and all kinds of misfortune ('Wid allerhand anstoss'); the seventh opening with four uncaptioned sigils including the Tetragrammaton and the magical AGLA acronym; and the final membrane with sigils intended for the conjuration of spirits, including Lucifer, Comifatron, Beelzebub and Mamon.
In medieval ceremonial magic, sigils represented angels and demons which the budding magician might attempt to summon, as a means of exerting power or invoking protection, as is the case in the present manuscript. This scroll draws from a variety of different texts and grimoires, including the 14th- or 15th-century 'Key of Solomon', the pseudepigraphical grimoire attributed to King Solomon, influenced by earlier works of Jewish theosophical kabbala, and one of the fundamental instruction manuals on how to create amulets and perform spells.
Brought to you by
Eugenio Donadoni
Senior Specialist, Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts