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According to popular lore, magicians of the Middle Ages were trained in the art of magic in "magician schools" located in various metropolitan areas, such as Naples, Athens, and Toledo, It was common knowledge that magic was learned and that cities had schools designed to teach the dark arts. The Spanish city of Toledo, for example, was so renowned for its magic training schools that "the art of Toledo" was synonymous with "the art of magic." Until Benedek Lang's work on Unlocked Books, little had been known about the place of magic outside these major cities. A principal aim of Unlocked Books is to situate the role of central Europe as a center for the study of magic.

List of Illustrations

List of Abbreviations

Introduction In Search of Magician Schools 1

Pt. 1 Magic

1 Definitions and Classifications 17

Pt. 2 Texts and Handbooks

Introduction The Sociology of Manuscripts 47

2 Natural Magic 51

3 Image Magic 79

4 Divination with Diagrams 123

5 Alchemy 144

6 Ritual Magic and Crystallomancy 162

Pt. 3 Readers and Collectors

Introduction The Motives and Intentions of Scribes 191

7 Magic in the Clerical Context 194

8 Magic in the Courtly Context 209

9 Magic in the University Context 241

Conclusion: Seven Questions 265

Epilogue: When Central Em-ope Was Finally Close to Becoming a Center for Magical Studies 276

Appendixes 281

Selected Bibliography 295

Description of Selected Manuscripts 319

General Index 329

Index of Manuscripts 333