Grand Albert

Last updated
Grand Albert
483 Albert Le Grand.jpg
Cover page for Les admirables secrets d'Albert Le Grand
Original title'Les Admirables Secrets d'Albert Le Grand'
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
SubjectMagic
Genre Grimoire
PublisherChez le Dispensateur des Secrets
Publication date
1703
Pages292
OCLC 423416316
Followed by Petit Albert & Dragon Rouge (also known as the Grand Grimoire) 

The Grand Albert is a grimoire that has often been attributed to Albertus Magnus. Begun perhaps around 1245, it received its definitive form in Latin around 1493, a French translation in 1500, and its most expansive and well-known French edition in 1703. Its original Latin title, Liber Secretorum Alberti Magni virtutibus herbarum, lapidum and animalium quorumdam, translates to English as "the book of secrets of Albert the Great on the virtues of herbs, stones and certain animals". It is also known under the names of The Secrets of Albert, Secreta Alberti, and Experimenta Alberti.

Contents

Bibliographer Jacques-Charles Brunet described it as being "among popular books, the most famous and perhaps the most absurd.... It is only natural that the Book of Secrets was attributed to Albert the Great, because this doctor, very learned for his time, had, among his contemporaries, the reputation of being a sorcerer."

This book is often accompanied by another, similar text, the Petit Albert , which has been called its "little brother". [1] Its title is Alberti Parvi Lucii Libellus Mirabilibus Naturae Arcanis, or the "Book of the marvelous secrets of Little Albert". There are recipes taken from Gerolamo Cardano ( De subtilitate , 1552) and Giambattista Della Porta ( Magia Naturalis , 1598), and there is an original chapter on talismans.

The Grand Albert grimoire was not an isolated phenomenon, but rather part of a long tradition of occult literature that stretches back centuries. From the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead to medieval grimoires like the Key of Solomon and the Lesser Key of Solomon, people have long been drawn to books like the Grand Albert for their promises of power and knowledge.

During the 19th century, this grimoire was widely circulated in France, where it was distributed on the streets in small paperback versions in the Bibliothèque bleue style. [2] This mass availability was one of the factors that contributed to the rise in popularity of the grimoire. While it was intended for those with an interest in magic and the occult, its contents and purported power often appealed to those who were desperate for solutions to their problems.

The book contained instructions on how to summon spirits, demons, and other supernatural beings, as well as spells and incantations for various purposes such as healing, protection, and love. It also recommended herbal remedies and potions for common ailments, such as the use of theriac, a concoction made of serpent’s flesh and opium, as a remedy for animal poisons. [3]

However, the use of folk cures and occult rituals, like the ones in Grand Albert, was much more common with peasants. Those who had access to mainstream medical care and education tended to avoid such practices, as they were often viewed as superstitious and ineffective and there was a stigma attached to reading grimoires like the Grand Albert.

The Grand Albert's popularity was also partly due to its reputation for granting spiritual powers to its readers. Some believed that simply reading the book could result in demonic possession, while others saw it as a means of gaining supernatural abilities. [4] However, such beliefs were not supported by mainstream religious authorities, who often viewed such practices as heretical and potentially dangerous.

Despite their reputation as sources of dangerous and forbidden knowledge, grimoires like Grand Albert have also played a role in the development of science and medicine. Many early scientists and physicians were also practitioners of magic and alchemy, and some believed that magic and science were two sides of the same coin.

There is still interest in the occult and esoteric practices, with many recent versions of Grand Albert and other ancient texts that modern audiences can read in search of hidden knowledge and spiritual enlightenment. This has led to a resurgence in the popularity of grimoires and other occult literature, with some modern practitioners adapting ancient rituals and spells to suit their own spiritual beliefs and practices.

Some scholars have attempted to trace the origins of the Grand Albert grimoire, but its true authorship remains unknown. Despite the controversy surrounding the Grand Albert grimoire and other similar books, they continue to fascinate and intrigue people to this day. The book's enduring popularity is a testament to the interest society has with the supernatural and the unknown.

Contents

English text, The Secrets of Albertus Magnus Portrait of Albertus Magnus. Wellcome M0006319.jpg
English text, The Secrets of Albertus Magnus

The traditional French version, Les admirables secrets d'Albert le Grand, was published in Cologne in 1703. It contains the following parts:

Epistle

Excerpts:

Book One

(12 chapters)

Book Two

(Three chapters)

Book Three

Book Four

This book is in two parts: Physiognomy and Procreation. It was added to the Grand Albert in 1508 by the aforementioned publisher Quadrat and in the 1706 edition.

Advice to the Reader / Thoughts of the Prince of the Philosophers

These two sections were added to the text after the edition published in 1703. The "Prince of the Philosophers" refers to Aristotle.

Medieval editions

A page from Les admirables secrets d'Albert Le Grand printed in the first half of the 19th century 485 Albert Le Grand.jpg
A page from Les admirables secrets d'Albert Le Grand printed in the first half of the 19th century

The core of the book was written in the 13th century. [6]

Authorship

Many experts, including folklorist Kevin J. Hayes, insist that the attribution of the Grand Albert to Albertus Magnus is spurious. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albertus Magnus</span> German Dominican friar and saint (c.1200–1280)

Albertus Magnus, also known as Saint Albert the Great, Albert of Swabia or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grimoire</span> Book of magic spells, invocations and talismans

A grimoire 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 how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, deities, and demons. In many cases, the books themselves are believed to be imbued with magical powers, although in many cultures, other sacred texts that are not grimoires have been believed to have supernatural properties intrinsically. The only contents found in a grimoire would be information on spells, rituals, the preparation of magical tools, and lists of ingredients and their magical correspondences. In this manner, while all books on magic could be thought of as grimoires, not all magical books should be thought of as grimoires.

Bartholomaeus Anglicus, also known as Bartholomew the Englishman and Berthelet, was an early 13th-century Scholastic of Paris, a member of the Franciscan order. He was the author of the compendium De proprietatibus rerum, dated c.1240, an early forerunner of the encyclopedia and a widely cited book in the Middle Ages. Bartholomew also held senior positions within the church and was appointed Bishop of Łuków in what is now Poland, although he was not consecrated to that position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Éliphas Lévi</span> French occult writer and poet (1810–1875)

Éliphas Lévi Zahed, born Alphonse Louis Constant, was a French esotericist, poet, and writer. Initially pursuing an ecclesiastical career in the Catholic Church, he abandoned the priesthood in his mid-twenties and became a ceremonial magician. At the age of 40, he began professing knowledge of the occult. He wrote over 20 books on magic, Kabbalah, alchemical studies, and occultism.

<i>Grand Grimoire</i> 18th-century grimoire

The Grand Grimoire, also known as Le Dragon Rouge or The Red Dragon, is a black magic goetic grimoire. Different editions date the book to 1521, 1522 or 1421. Owen Davies suggests 1702 is when the first edition may have been created and a Bibliothèque bleue version of the text may have been published in 1750. The 19th-century French occultist Éliphas Lévi considered the contemporary edition of Le Dragon Rouge to be a counterfeit of a true, older Grand Grimoire.

A pentacle is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, and is usually made of parchment, paper, cloth, or metal, upon which a magical design is drawn. Symbols may also be included, a common one being the six-point form of the Seal of Solomon.

<i>Key of Solomon</i> Pseudepigraphical grimoire (book of spells)

The Key of Solomon, also known as The Greater Key of Solomon, is a pseudepigraphical grimoire attributed to King Solomon. It probably dates back to the 14th or 15th century Italian Renaissance. It presents a typical example of Renaissance magic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Classification of demons</span> Differing classification systems of demons

There have been various attempts at the classification of demons within the contexts of classical mythology, demonology, occultism, and Renaissance magic. These classifications may be for purposes of traditional medicine, exorcisms, ceremonial magic, witch-hunts, lessons in morality, folklore, religious ritual, or combinations thereof. Classifications might be according to astrological connections, elemental forms, noble titles, or parallels to the angelic hierarchy; or by association with particular sins, diseases, and other calamities; or by what angel or saint opposes them.

<i>Three Books of Occult Philosophy</i> Book by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim

Three Books of Occult Philosophy is Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's study of occult philosophy, acknowledged as a significant contribution to the Renaissance philosophical discussion concerning the powers of magic, and its relationship with religion. The first book was printed in 1531 in Paris, Cologne, and Antwerp, while the full three volumes first appeared in Cologne in 1533.

<i>Emerald Tablet</i> Alchemical and Hermetic text

The Emerald Tablet, also known as the Smaragdine Tablet or the Tabula Smaragdina, is a compact and cryptic Hermetic text. It was highly regarded by Islamic and European alchemists as the foundation of their art. Though attributed to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus, the text of the Emerald Tablet first appears in a number of early medieval Arabic sources, the oldest of which dates to the late eighth or early ninth century. It was translated into Latin several times in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Numerous interpretations and commentaries followed.

<i>Secretum Secretorum</i> Pseudo-Aristotelian treatise

The Secretum Secretorum or Secreta Secretorum, also known as the Sirr al-Asrar, is a treatise which purports to be a letter from Aristotle to his student Alexander the Great on an encyclopedic range of topics, including statecraft, ethics, physiognomy, astrology, alchemy, magic, and medicine. The earliest extant editions claim to be based on a 9th-century Arabic translation of a Syriac translation of the lost Greek original. It is a pseudo-Aristotelian work. Modern scholarship finds it likely to have been written in the 10th century in Arabic. Translated into Latin in the mid-12th century, it was influential among European intellectuals during the High Middle Ages.

<i>Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses</i> 18th- or 19th-century magical text allegedly written by Moses

The 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 Hebrew Bible. Self-described as "the wonderful arts of the old Hebrews, taken from the Mosaic books of the Kabbalah and the Talmud", it is actually a grimoire, or text of magical incantations and seals, that purports to instruct the reader in the spells used to create some of the miracles portrayed in the Bible as well as to grant other forms of good fortune and good health. The work contains reputed Talmudic magic names, words, and ideograms, some written in Hebrew and some with letters from the Latin alphabet. It contains "Seals" or magical drawings accompanied by instructions intended to help the user perform various tasks, from controlling weather or people to contacting the dead or Biblical religious figures.

Andrew D. Chumbley was an English practitioner and theorist of magic, and a writer, poet and artist. He was Magister of the UK-based magical group Cultus Sabbati.

<i>Dictionnaire Infernal</i> Book on demonology, written by Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy

The Dictionnaire Infernal is a book on demonology, describing demons organised in hierarchies. It was written by Jacques Collin de Plancy and first published in 1818. There were several editions of the book; perhaps the most famous is the 1863 edition, which included sixty-nine illustrations by Louis Le Breton depicting the appearances of several of the demons. Many but not all of these images were later used in S. L. MacGregor Mathers's edition of The Lesser Key of Solomon.

Peter Levenda is an American author who focuses primarily on occult history. He is best known for his book Unholy Alliance, which is about Esoteric Hitlerism and Nazi occultism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anselmus de Boodt</span> Belgian physician and gemologist

Anselmus de Boodt or Anselmus Boetius de Boodt was a Flemish humanist naturalist, Rudolf II physician's gemologist. Along with the German known as Georgius Agricola with mineralogy, de Boodt was responsible for establishing modern gemology. De Boodt was an avid gems and minerals collector who travelled widely to various mining regions in Belgium, Germany, Bohemia and Silesia to collect samples. His definitive work on the subject was the Gemmarum et Lapidum Historia (1609).

<i>The Secret Lore of Magic</i> 1957 book by Idries Shah

The Secret Lore of Magic is a book by Idries Shah on the subject of magical texts. First published in 1957, it includes several major source-books of magical arts, translated from French, Latin, Hebrew and other tongues, annotated and fully illustrated with numerous diagrams, signs and characters. Together with Oriental Magic, which appeared in the preceding year, it provided an important literary-anthropological survey of magical literature and is a comprehensive reference for psychologists, ethnologists and others interested in the rise and development of human beliefs.

<i>Petit Albert</i> 18th-century grimoire

Petit Albert is an 18th-century grimoire of natural and cabalistic magic. It may have been inspired by the writings of Albertus Parvus Lucius. Brought down to the smallest hamlets in the saddlebags of peddlers, it represents publishing success, despite its association with "devil worshipers"—or rather because of it. It is associated with a second work, the Grand Albert. It is a composite, heterogeneous work, collecting texts written by various authors; most of these authors are anonymous but some are notable such as Cardano and Paracelsus. Due to its historical nature, Albertus Magnus' attribution to the text is considerably uncertain and since the text quotes from many later sources, it is an ethnological document of the first order.

<i>Maléfices</i> French horror tabletop role-playing game

Maléfices, subtitled "The role-playing game with the scent of sulphur", was published by Jeux Descartes in 1985 as the first original French-language horror role-playing game. Three editions, 13 adventures and a bestiary have been published, and a fourth edition is being developed.

<i>The True Black Magic</i> Pseudepigraphical grimoire (book of spells)

The True Black Magic, also known as The secret of secrets, is a pseudepigraphical grimoire or book of spells attributed to King Solomon. It probably dates back to the 14th or 15th century.

References

  1. ↑ Davies, Owen (2010). Grimoires: A History of Magic Books. Oxford: OUP. ISBN   9780191509247 . Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  2. ↑ Ellis, Bill (2004). Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture. University Press of Kentucky. p. 72.
  3. ↑ Coleman, William (1977). "THE PEOPLE'S HEALTH: MEDICAL THEMES IN 18th-CENTURY FRENCH POPULAR LITERATURE". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 51 (1): 55–74. JSTOR   44450390. PMID   324547.
  4. ↑ Devlin, Judith (1987). The Superstitious Mind: French Peasants and the Supernatural in the Nineteenth Century. Yale University Press. p. 165.
  5. ↑ Colson, Alexandre (1880). Ce sont les secres des dames. Édouard Rouveyre. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  6. ↑ "Albertus Magnus [zugeschrieben]". Wikiwix. viaLibri. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  7. ↑ Albertus, Magnus, Saint, (1193?-1280.) Liber aggregationis, seu Liber secretorum de virtutibus herbarum, lapidum et animalium quorundam. Rome, Georgius Herolt, 1481. PDF. .
  8. ↑ Catalogue Des Livres De La Bibliotheque De Feu M. Le Duc De La Valliere (Digital ed.). Bavarian State Library: Bure. 1783. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  9. ↑ Hayes, Kevin J. (2016). Folklore and Book Culture (Reprint ed.). Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN   9781498290210 . Retrieved 21 March 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.