Cyprianus
Encyclopedia
Cyprianus is a name given in Scandinavia
n traditions of folk magic to the "black book" (svarte boken): a grimoire
or manuscript collection of spells; and by extension to the magical tradition that these spells form a part of. There is no standard text called "Cyprianus"; it was a general label given to a collection of spells.
Manuscripts called or referring to Cyprianus had a dark reputation; in some versions, you obtained the text by renouncing your baptism and devoting yourself to Satan
. The common people's opinion of the book was that it was a standard grimoire concerned with the summoning of demon
s and spirits. Ministers
were often thought to have obtained it through their studies at university; it is not coincidence that ministers' wives often functioned as folk healer
s in rural communities. Like many such texts, it is bound to its owner and hard to get rid of; it will not burn nor be destroyed by water, and attempting to discard it will only result in its supernatural return. These compilations nevertheless were widely circulated among the cunning folk
of Scandinavia, who in a rural land with few physician
s were the folk healer
s sought out by ordinary people beset by injury or illness.
Saint Cyprian of Carthage
was a bishop and martyr in early Christianity
. In the middle ages, a variety of legends attached to his name, including a tradition that he practiced magic before his conversion, and as such was the author of a magical textbook. In another medieval tradition, Cyprianus was a sorcerer who sought to seduce St. Justina
, but was foiled and converted when she made the sign of the cross and he followed suit, freeing himself from the power of the devil. The sorcerer and the historical bishop were likely confounded in later legend.
The actual stories told of Cyprianus in Scandinavia often made no reference to St. Cyprian. Some made Cyprianus into a typical Faust
figure; some said that Cyprianus was a wicked Norwegian or Dane who learned magic through his dealings with the Devil
; one version makes Cyprianus so evil that the Devil threw him out of Hell
; Cyprianus wrote the text to have his revenge. A different and strongly contradictory version explains that Cyprianus was a student who discovered he was attending a diabolical "black school", and wrote the text to explain how to undo all the witchcraft
he learned there.
An anachronistic
tale told in the printed Danish
spell collection Oldtidens Sortebog ("Old Time Magic Book") makes Cyprianus to have been a pious and beautiful Mexican
nun
from the fourteenth century. In a gothic tale, Oldtidens Sortebog has Cyprianus cast into a dungeon in 1351. While imprisoned in the dungeon, Cyprianus rends her clothing and commits her magical knowledge to the rags, written in her own blood. Her text was then found in an old castle.
s, and actual magic. They resemble the spells of the German language
braucherei, "pow-wow
", and The Long Lost Friend traditions. One typical spell to heal a sprained ankle
went:
The methods of contagion
and transference
are in use here; a sacred personage in an apocryphal story is confronted with a problem similar to that faced by the actual sufferer, who avails himself of their supernatural aid.
An important aspect of the magical tradition was the performance of divination
, often by pouring molten lead
through a hole in a piece of flatbread
into cold water, a practice called støyping. Lead scraped from the windows of churches was often used for this purpose. This was done to divine the cause of rickets
, which was often thought to be the result of a changeling
, a huldrabarn or bytting, left in the place of a healthy child by the malicious huldra-folk
. The diviner in this ritual was called a signekjerring, a "blessing crone".
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n traditions of folk magic to the "black book" (svarte boken): a grimoire
Grimoire
A grimoire is a textbook of magic. Such books typically include instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination and also how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, and demons...
or manuscript collection of spells; and by extension to the magical tradition that these spells form a part of. There is no standard text called "Cyprianus"; it was a general label given to a collection of spells.
Manuscripts called or referring to Cyprianus had a dark reputation; in some versions, you obtained the text by renouncing your baptism and devoting yourself to Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. The common people's opinion of the book was that it was a standard grimoire concerned with the summoning of demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s and spirits. Ministers
Christian ministry
In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith. 2003's Encyclopedia of Christianity defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in baptism." It is performed by all Christians...
were often thought to have obtained it through their studies at university; it is not coincidence that ministers' wives often functioned as folk healer
Folk healer
A folk healer is an unlicensed person who practices the art of healing using traditional practices, herbal remedies and even the power of suggestion. A folk healer may be a highly trained person who pursues his specialties, learning by study, observation and imitation...
s in rural communities. Like many such texts, it is bound to its owner and hard to get rid of; it will not burn nor be destroyed by water, and attempting to discard it will only result in its supernatural return. These compilations nevertheless were widely circulated among the cunning folk
Cunning folk
The cunning folk in Britain were professional or semi-professional practitioners of magic active from the Medieval period through to the early twentieth century. As cunning folk, they practised folk magic – also known as "low magic" – although often combined with elements of "high" or ceremonial...
of Scandinavia, who in a rural land with few physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s were the folk healer
Folk healer
A folk healer is an unlicensed person who practices the art of healing using traditional practices, herbal remedies and even the power of suggestion. A folk healer may be a highly trained person who pursues his specialties, learning by study, observation and imitation...
s sought out by ordinary people beset by injury or illness.
Cyprianus
"Cyprianus" is the name frequently given to the compiler or author of the spells contained in the tradition. A variety of stories are told concerning the identity of this Cyprianus.Saint Cyprian of Carthage
Cyprian
Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer, many of whose Latin works are extant. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education...
was a bishop and martyr in early Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. In the middle ages, a variety of legends attached to his name, including a tradition that he practiced magic before his conversion, and as such was the author of a magical textbook. In another medieval tradition, Cyprianus was a sorcerer who sought to seduce St. Justina
Cyprian and Justina
Saints Cyprian and Justina are honored in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy as Christians of Antioch, Pisidia who in 304, during the persecution of Diocletian, suffered martyrdom at Nicomedia on September 26, the date of their feast.-Legend:The outline of the...
, but was foiled and converted when she made the sign of the cross and he followed suit, freeing himself from the power of the devil. The sorcerer and the historical bishop were likely confounded in later legend.
The actual stories told of Cyprianus in Scandinavia often made no reference to St. Cyprian. Some made Cyprianus into a typical Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
figure; some said that Cyprianus was a wicked Norwegian or Dane who learned magic through his dealings with the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
; one version makes Cyprianus so evil that the Devil threw him out of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
; Cyprianus wrote the text to have his revenge. A different and strongly contradictory version explains that Cyprianus was a student who discovered he was attending a diabolical "black school", and wrote the text to explain how to undo all the witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
he learned there.
An anachronistic
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
tale told in the printed Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
spell collection Oldtidens Sortebog ("Old Time Magic Book") makes Cyprianus to have been a pious and beautiful Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
from the fourteenth century. In a gothic tale, Oldtidens Sortebog has Cyprianus cast into a dungeon in 1351. While imprisoned in the dungeon, Cyprianus rends her clothing and commits her magical knowledge to the rags, written in her own blood. Her text was then found in an old castle.
The spells
The spells in the Cyprianus tradition are typical Germanic folk magic: a mixed bag of folk remedies, prayerPrayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
s, and actual magic. They resemble the spells of the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
braucherei, "pow-wow
Pow-wow (folk magic)
Pow-wow is a system of American folk religion and magic associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch.-Origin of the name and practices:Its name comes from the book Pow-wows, or, The Long Lost Friend, written by John George Hohman and first published in German as Der Lange Verborgene Freund in 1820...
", and The Long Lost Friend traditions. One typical spell to heal a sprained ankle
Sprained ankle
A sprained ankle, also known as an ankle sprain, twisted ankle, rolled ankle, ankle injury or ankle ligament injury, is a common medical condition where one or more of the ligaments of the ankle is torn or partially torn.-Cause:...
went:
- Jesus rei over ei hei
Fållån snåva og foten vrei
Jesus steig av og la foten an
som den tilforn var
i namnet Gud, Fader, Sønn, og Helligånd
-
- "Jesus rode over a stony plain.
His horse stumbled, its leg it did sprain.
Jesus dismounted to cure the pain
And made he injury good again.
In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
- "Jesus rode over a stony plain.
The methods of contagion
Contagion
Contagion may refer to:In medicine:* Infectious disease, also known as contagious disease, with infection, or the infectious agent, also known as contagionIn media* Batman: Contagion, a story arc in the Batman comic book series...
and transference
Transference
Transference is a phenomenon in psychoanalysis characterized by unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another. One definition of transference is "the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person's childhood." Another definition is "the...
are in use here; a sacred personage in an apocryphal story is confronted with a problem similar to that faced by the actual sufferer, who avails himself of their supernatural aid.
An important aspect of the magical tradition was the performance of divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
, often by pouring molten lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
through a hole in a piece of flatbread
Flatbread
A flatbread is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened: made without yeast or sourdough culture: although some flatbread is made with yeast, such as pita bread....
into cold water, a practice called støyping. Lead scraped from the windows of churches was often used for this purpose. This was done to divine the cause of rickets
Rickets
Rickets is a softening of bones in children due to deficiency or impaired metabolism of vitamin D, magnesium , phosphorus or calcium, potentially leading to fractures and deformity. Rickets is among the most frequent childhood diseases in many developing countries...
, which was often thought to be the result of a changeling
Changeling
A changeling is a creature found in Western European folklore and folk religion. It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. Sometimes the term is also used to refer to the child who...
, a huldrabarn or bytting, left in the place of a healthy child by the malicious huldra-folk
Huldra
In Scandinavian folklore, the Huldra , or the skogsrå or skogsfru/skovfrue or Tallemaja in Swedish culture, is a seductive forest creature...
. The diviner in this ritual was called a signekjerring, a "blessing crone".
External links
- Kloge folk og læger (Danish: Cunning people and healers)
See also
- The Great Book of Saint CyprianThe Great Book of Saint CyprianThe Great Book of Saint Cyprian is a book that deals with the occult. The book is written in Portuguese and Spanish and has been published in several editions with varying titles.-Authorship:...
- HoodooHoodooHoodoo, also known as conjure, is a form of predominantly African-American traditional folk magic that developed from the syncretism of a number of separate cultures and magical traditions. It incorporates practices from African and Native American traditions, as well as some European magical...
- Sixth and Seventh Books of MosesSixth and Seventh Books of MosesThe Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses is an 18th- or 19th-century magical text allegedly written by Moses, and passed down as hidden books of the Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch. A grimoire, a text of magical incantations and seals, it purports to instruct the reader in the spells used to create...