The Sworn Book of Honorius
Encyclopedia
The Sworn Book of Honorius, or Liber Juratus (also Liber Sacer/Sacratus/Consecratus or Grimoire of Honorius) is a medieval grimoire
purportedly written by Honorius of Thebes
. Its date of composition is uncertain, but it is mentioned as Liber Sacer in the 13th century, apparently asserting a high medieval date. Johannes Hartlieb
(1456) mentions it as one of the books used in nigromancy. The oldest preserved manuscript dates to the 14th century, Sloane MS
3854 (fol 117-144). Sloane MS 313, dating to the late 14th or early 15th century, was once in the possession of John Dee
. The book is one of the oldest existing medieval grimoires as well as one of the most influential.
It is supposedly the product of a conference of magicians who decided to condense all their knowledge into one volume. In 93 chapters, it covers a large variety of topics, from how to save your soul from purgatory to the catching of thieves or finding of treasures. It has many instructions on how to conjure and command demon
s, to work other magical
operations, and knowledge of what lies in Heaven among other highly sought information. Like many grimoires, it has lengthy dissertations for proper operation and seals to be used.
The book can be classified as a "Solomonic Grimoire" due to its heavy use of angelic powers and seals like those found in The Greater Key of Solomon.
"In this text called the Grimoire of Honorius, he discusses the value of occult knowledge in the Church, and how by summoning or raisiing demonic entities, one could learn to control them. He uses his faith in God and mixes with it the teachings of King Solomon; it contains invocations of demonic entities for every day of the week. He talked about the priest needing to fast for a certain amount of time and the sacrifice of animals in order to help with the binding of eveil spirits."
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...
purportedly written by Honorius of Thebes
Honorius of Thebes
Honorius of Thebes, a possibly mythical character from the Middle Ages, is said to have authored The Sworn Book of Honorius, although the first printed manuscript of this work did not appear until 1629. Considerable mystery still exists about the identity of Honorius, both Pope Honorius I and Pope...
. Its date of composition is uncertain, but it is mentioned as Liber Sacer in the 13th century, apparently asserting a high medieval date. Johannes Hartlieb
Johannes Hartlieb
Johannes Hartlieb was a physician of Late Medieval Bavaria, probably of a family from Neuburg an der Donau. He was in the employment of Louis VII of Bavaria and Albert VI of Austria in the 1430s, and of Albert III of Bavaria from 1440, and of the latter's son Sigismund from 1456.In 1444, he...
(1456) mentions it as one of the books used in nigromancy. The oldest preserved manuscript dates to the 14th century, Sloane MS
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
3854 (fol 117-144). Sloane MS 313, dating to the late 14th or early 15th century, was once in the possession of John Dee
John Dee (mathematician)
John Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy....
. The book is one of the oldest existing medieval grimoires as well as one of the most influential.
It is supposedly the product of a conference of magicians who decided to condense all their knowledge into one volume. In 93 chapters, it covers a large variety of topics, from how to save your soul from purgatory to the catching of thieves or finding of treasures. It has many instructions on how to conjure and command 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, to work other magical
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
operations, and knowledge of what lies in Heaven among other highly sought information. Like many grimoires, it has lengthy dissertations for proper operation and seals to be used.
The book can be classified as a "Solomonic Grimoire" due to its heavy use of angelic powers and seals like those found in The Greater Key of Solomon.
"In this text called the Grimoire of Honorius, he discusses the value of occult knowledge in the Church, and how by summoning or raisiing demonic entities, one could learn to control them. He uses his faith in God and mixes with it the teachings of King Solomon; it contains invocations of demonic entities for every day of the week. He talked about the priest needing to fast for a certain amount of time and the sacrifice of animals in order to help with the binding of eveil spirits."
Editions
- Gösta Hedegård, Liber Iuratus Honorii: A Critical Edition of the Latin Version of the Sworn Book of Honorius, Studia Latina Stockholmiensia 48, Almqvist & Wiksell (2002), ISBN 978-91-22-01970-1.
- Daniel Driscoll, The Sworn Book of Honourius the Magician, Heptangle Books, 1977.
External links
- Online edition by Joseph H. Peterson (1998, 1999).