Grimoires: A History of Magic Books »

Owen Davies is Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire. His previous books include The Haunted: A Social History of Ghosts; Murder, Magic, Madness: The Victorian Trials of Dove and the Wizard; and Cunning-folk: Popular Magic in English History.

No books have been more feared than grimoires, and no books have been more valued and revered. In Grimoires: A History of Magic Books, Owen Davies illuminates the many fascinating forms these recondite books have taken and exactly what these books held. At their most benign, these repositories of forbidden knowledge revealed how to make powerful talismans and protective amulets, and provided charms and conjurations for healing illness, finding love, and warding off evil. But other books promised the power to control innocent victims, even to call up the devil. Davies traces the history of this remarkably resilient and adaptable genre, from the ancient Middle East to modern America, offering a new perspective on the fundamental developments of western civilization over the past two thousand years. Grimoires shows the influence magic and magical writing has had on the cultures of the world, richly demonstrating the role they have played in the spread of Christianity, the growth of literacy, and the influence of western traditions from colonial times to the present.

List of Illustrations ix

List of Plates xi

Introduction 1

1 Ancient and Medieval Grimoires 6

2 The War against Magic 44

3 Enlightement and Treasure 93

4 Across the Oceans 139

5 Rediscovering Ancient Magic 168

6 Grimoires USA 189

7 Pulp Magic 232

8 Lovecraft, Satan, and Shadows 262

Epilogue 278

Picture Acknowledgements 284

Further Reading 285

Notes 291

Index 351