A bibliographical, antiquarian and picturesque tour in France and Germany (1821) (14594715768)

''The Grand Grimoire'' is a

black magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...

grimoire A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...

. Different editions date the book to 1521, 1522 or 1421, but it was probably written during the early 19th century. Owen Davies suggests 1702 is when the first edition may have been created and a ''

Bibliothèque bleue ' ("blue library" in French) is a type of ephemera and popular literature published in Early Modern France (between and ), comparable to the English chapbook and the German '. As was the case in England and Germany, that literary format appealed ...

'' version (a popular edition, similar to a chapbook) of the text may have been published in 1750. The "introductory chapter" was authored by someone named Antonio Venitiana del Rabina who supposedly gathered his information from original writings of King Solomon. Much of material of this grimoire derives from the ''

Key of Solomon The ''Key of Solomon'' ( la, Clavicula Salomonis; he, מפתח שלמה []) (Also known as "The Greater Key of Solomon") is a pseudepigraphical grimoire (also known as a book of spells) attributed to Solomon, King Solomon. It probably dates ba ...

'' and the ''

Lesser Key of Solomon ''The Lesser Key of Solomon'', also known as ''Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis'' or simply ''Lemegeton'', is an anonymous grimoire on demonology. It was compiled in the mid-17th century, mostly from materials a couple of centuries older.''Lemegeto ...

'', pseudepigraphical grimoires attributed to King Solomon. Also known as ''Le Dragon Rouge'' or ''The Red Dragon'', this book contains instructions purported to summon

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

or Lucifuge Rofocale, for the purpose of forming a

Deal with the Devil A deal with the Devil (also called a Faustian bargain or Mephistophelian bargain) is a cultural motif exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many Christian traditions. According to ...

. The 19th century French

occultist The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

Éliphas Lévi Éliphas Lévi Zahed, born Alphonse Louis Constant (8 February 1810 – 31 May 1875), was a French esotericist, poet, and author of more than 20 books on magic, Kabbalah, alchemical studies, and occultism. He pursued an ecclesiastical career i ...

(author of ''

Dogme et rituel de la haute magie ''Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie'' ( en, Dogma and Ritual of High Magic) is the title of Éliphas Lévi's first published treatise on ritual magic, which appeared in two volumes between 1854 (''Dogme'') and 1856 (''Rituel''). Each volume is ...

'') claimed the contemporary edition of ''Le Dragon Rouge'' to be a counterfeit of a true, older Grand Grimoire. The work is divided into two books. The first book contains instructions for summoning a demon and for the construction of tools with which to force the demon to do one's bidding. The second book is divided further into two parts: the ''Sanctum Regnum'' and ''Secrets, de L'Art Magique du Grand Grimoire'' ("Secrets, of the magic art of the Grand Grimoire"). The ''Sanctum Regnum'' contain instructions for making a pact with the demon, allowing one to command the spirit without the tools required by book one, but at greater risk. ''Secrets'' contains simple spells and rituals one can employ after having performed the ritual of the first book. Some editions contain a short text between these two parts, ''Le Secret Magique, où le Grand Art de pouvoir parler aux Morts'' (''The Magic Secret, or the Grand Art of being able to speaking with the dead''), dealing with necromancy. The book describes several demons as well as the rituals to summon them in order to make a pact with them. It also details several spells for winning a lottery, talking to spirits, being loved by a girl, making oneself invisible, etc.

The demons

This book mentions three greater demons. These demons are similarly prioritized in ''

Grimorium Verum The ''Grimorium Verum'' (Latin for ''True Grimoire'') is an 18th-century grimoire attributed to one "Alibeck the Egyptian" of Memphis, who purportedly wrote in 1517. Like many grimoires, it claims a tradition originating with King Solomon. The gr ...

''. Although, for Tarl Warwick's English translation of the work, the "demons" are referenced by the more generic term of "spirits". *

, emperor *

Beelzebub Beelzebub ( ; he, ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ'') or Beelzebul is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. The name ''Beelzebub'' is associated with the Can ...

, prince *

Astaroth Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot and Asteroth), in demonology, was known to be the Great Duke of Hell in the first hierarchy with Beelzebub and Lucifer; he was part of the evil trinity. He is known to be a male figure most likely named afte ...

, grand duke It also mentions six lesser demons: * Lucifuge Rofocale, prime minister *

Satanachia Satanachia is described in the ''Grand Grimoire'' as a commander-in-chief of Satan's army, who controls either forty-five or fifty-four legions of demons, including Pruflas, Aamon, Barbatos Barbatos is the 8th spirit named among the list of 72 ...

, commander in chief (in French, "commandant en chef", although Warwick translates it as "great general") * Agaliarept, commandant * Fleurèty, lieutenant-general * Sargatanas, brigadier-major *

Nebiros The demon Naberius was first mentioned by Johann Weyer in 1583. He is supposedly the most valiant Marquess of Hell, and has nineteen legions of demons under his command. He makes men cunning in all arts (and sciences, according to most authors), ...

, marshal and inspector general ("camp marshal" in Warwick's translation)

In popular culture

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

author

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...

uses the word "karcist" as a synonym for "magician" or "sorcerer" in several of his works, citing the Grand Grimoire as a source. In his novel ''Thongor in the City of Magicians'', Carter's "karcist" is a mage requested to serve as "controller" of a magic ritual enacted by a cabal of his colleagues. For the video game ''

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a 2003 tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. A spin-off of the ''Final Fantasy'' series, the game shares several traits with 1997's ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', althoug ...

'', the Grand Grimoire is a magical book that survived the Flood on

Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in t ...

, but the value of which was forgotten. The book is found later by one of the game's main characters, Mewt Randell, in a used book shop. The book's power transports the game's protagonists to

Ivalice is a fictional universe setting primarily appearing in the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series. The world was created by Yasumi Matsuno and has since been expanded upon by several games as the ''Ivalice Alliance'' series. Ivalice is described as a ...

, a fictional universe used as a setting for other

Final Fantasy is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...

games as well. For the 1989 motion picture ''

Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver" and was given special applicati ...

'', actor

Julian Sands Julian Richard Morley Sands''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, ...

plays a warlock trying to find the three ''Grand Grimoires'', which when combined purportedly contain the

name of God There are various names of God, many of which enumerate the various qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word ''god'' (and its equivalent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun to refer to different deities, or speci ...

. In the movie the book has supernatural properties, and is therefore separated into three sets of pages to prevent its evil power from being abused. In James H. Brennan's literary series ''

Sagas of the Demonspawn ''Sagas of the Demonspawn'' is a four issue gamebook series written by J. H. Brennan and illustrated by Geoff Taylor (first two books) and John Blanche (latter two). The books feature a protagonist named Fire*Wolf in a continuing storyline. Unu ...

'', Lucifuge Rofocale is the name of the demon incarnated in the sword named Doom Bringer. According to the ''Grand Grimoire'', Lucifuge Rofocale is the demon in charge of Hell's government. The Netherlands musical band

God Dethroned God Dethroned is a Dutch extreme metal band from Beilen, originally formed in 1990. Biography God Dethroned was formed in 1990 by singer and guitar player Henri Sattler, with Hans Leegstra (guitar) and Ard de Weerd. Sattler and Leegstra had pr ...

have an album named ''The Grand Grimoire'' (1997). In its second season, the

Fox TV The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

series '' Sleepy Hollow'' presents the ''Grand Grimoire'' as once owned by occultist John Dee and coveted by an evil warlock named Solomon Kent. It became possessed by one of the series' antagonists, Henry Parrish, and helped cause the demise of protagonist Katrina Crane. For the 2012 video game '' Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney'', a book named the Grand Grimoire contains all of the black magic within the town of Labyrinthia, and is used by Phoenix Wright to reveal contradictions and illogic of accusations of witchcraft. The killer of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman in

Kingsbury, London Kingsbury is a district of northwest London in the London Borough of Brent. Its ancient scope stretches to include various distinct areas that were once small villages until the inter-war period. Kingsbury was in 2001 a ward and in 2011 was id ...

in 2020, had invoked Lucifuge Rofocale prior to the killings. He hoped that by sacrificing their lives to the demon, he would win a lottery. American rock music band Coven referenced the hierarchy of demons presented in the Grand Grimoire in their 1969 song "Dignitaries of Hell." The song, part of their controversial album ''

Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls ''Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls'' (also known as simply ''Witchcraft'') is the debut studio album by the American rock band Coven. Released in 1969, it was unusual in that it dealt with overtly occult and satanic themes. It was remove ...

'', has lyrics that include a brief summary of each demon's respective job in hell. The novel '' God's Demon'' by

Wayne Barlowe Wayne Douglas Barlowe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, painter, and concept artist. Barlowe's work focuses on esoteric landscapes and creatures such as citizens of hell and alien worlds. He has painted over 300 book and magazi ...

features most of the Grand Grimoire's named demons as characters, including Sargatanas as its protagonist. In ''

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup ''Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup'' (''DCSS'') is a free and open source roguelike computer game and the community-developed successor to the 1997 roguelike game ''Linley's Dungeon Crawl'', originally programmed by Linley Henzell. It has been identifi ...

'', "Grand Grimoire" is used as the name of a spellbook containing high-level summoning spells.

References

External links

*

by Joseph H. Peterson {{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Grimoire, The 18th-century books Goetia Grimoires Left-Hand Path

The demons

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links