Medieval Magic
The Solomonic magic tradition is usually defined as those magical texts which are falsely attributed to King Solomon of Israel. These texts are diverse in their origin across time and cultural boundaries, and the term "Solomonic magic" is a matter of convenience when speaking about this Pseudo-Solomonic corpus of magical writings. Outside of and within this corpus, there are certain writings classified as angelic magic. The earliest of these texts attributed to Solomon and angelic magic is the medieval treatise called the Ars Notoria (The Notory Art). The Ars Notoria claims to grant its magical practitioner scholastic knowledge through petitioning angels by means of certain prayers and magical figures. The Ars Notoria inspired an entire magical tradition of its own, surging in popularity between the 13th and 15th centuries, and then declining by the 17th century. This tradition includes magical texts entitled Opus Operum (Work of Works), Liber Florum Celestis Doctrine (Book of Flowers of Heavenly Teaching) of the French Benedictine monk John of Morigny, Ars Brevis (Short Art), Ars Notoria Abbreviata (The Abbreviated Notory Art of Thomas of Toledo), and Ars Paulina (The Pauline Art of Seven Figures). For an introductory guide to this mysterious and forgotten tradition, see the link for "Ars Notoria".
Where are the Original Latin Texts of the Ars Notoria Tradition?
Ars Notoria: The Little Ritual of the Saffron and Rosewater Tea
Agrippa’s Latin Edition of the Ars Notoria and Robert Turner’s 1657 English Translation Thereof
Ars Notoria: Why is It Called the Notory Art?
Ars Notoria (Version A2): The “Lost” Gems of the Notory Art
Visual Guide to the Notory Art Figures of Angelic Magic, Part I
Visual Guide to the Notory Art Figures of Angelic Magic, Part II
The Last Derivative Texts of the Ars Notoria: The Early Modern Composites, Part I
The Last Derivative Texts of the Ars Notoria: The Early Modern Composites, Part II
John of Morigny, The Flowers of Heavenly Teaching
Rethinking the Jewish-Christian Encounter through the Ars Notoria
Occult References to the Ars Notoria in the Almadel Tradition
The Ars Brevis (The Short Art) is a mid-fourteenth-century magical treatise which describes itself as "a true and approved experiment, to understand all Arts and secrets of the World, to find out and dig up minerals and treasure; This was revealed by the Heavenly Angel in this Notory Art. For this Art doth also declare things to come, and rendereth the sense capable of all Arts in a short time, by the Divine use thereof." As the name implies, it is an abbreviated version of the Ars Notoria for acquiring knowledge through dream visitations by a tutelary angel using special prayers and magical figures. The Ars Brevis may have been inspired in part by John of Morigny's Book of Flowers of Heavenly Teaching. The Ars Brevis is divided into two books. The first book includes four magical figures which are very mysterious. The book also describes a ritual magic practice involving Catholic votive masses and a mock crucifixion ritual. I have translated or provided those votive masses for the curious reader. I have also provided a new Latin edition of the Ars Brevis for scholars.
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Ars Brevis: The Contested Identities of the Figures for Magical Experiments
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Ars Brevis: The Votive Mass of the Holy Trinity (1 of 7)
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Ars Brevis: The Votive Mass of the Holy Cross (2 of 7)
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Ars Brevis: The Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit (3 of 7)
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Ars Brevis: The Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary (4 of 7)
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Ars Brevis: The Votive Mass of All the Most Holy Apostles (5 of 7)
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Ars Brevis: The Votive Mass of the Angels (6 of 7)
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Ars Brevis: The Votive Mass of All the Saints (7 of 7)
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New Latin Edition of the Ars Brevis, a Derivative of the Ars Notoria
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John of Morigny, The Flowers of Heavenly Teaching
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Occult References to the Ars Notoria in the Almadel Tradition
The Summa Sacrae Magicae (the SSM, transcribed as Summa Sacre Magice) is a fourteenth-century magical compendium compiled and composed by Berengario Ganell in 1346. The title can be translated as the Best of the Sacred Magic. The SSM contains a corpus of magical writings, including the Liber Iuratus Honorii (The Sworn Book of Honorius), the fourteenth century magical handbook attributed to Honorius of Thebes, and the Ars Notoria, the thirteenth century treatise of angelic magic and the art of memory. I have transcribed and translated a portion of the SSM that describes the artis veteribus (“the old arts”) to which the Ars Notoria belongs according to Ganell. The SSM provides key descriptions which act as clues to the true ritual function of the mysterious notory art prayers.
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The fifteenth-century magical text of Italian origin called the Pauline Art [of Seven Figures] (Ars Paulina) claims its mythical origins come from the New Testament account of Paul of Tarsus who had a divine vision of being taken up into the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). The text contains seven figures dedicated to the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, the nine angelic orders,and the saints in order to acquire religious literacy of the Holy Scriptures in three months.
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The Pauline Art [of Seven Figures]: A Fifteenth Century Derivative of the Ars Notoria
