Polygraphia (book)

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Polygraphia (book)
Polygraphiae.jpg
Copy of Polygraphia
Author Johannes Trithemius
Original titlePolygraphia
CountryGermany
LanguageLatin
Genre Cryptographic, steganography
Publication date
1518
Published in English
N/A
Media typePrinted book
Preceded bySteganography 

Polygraphia is a cryptographic work written by Johannes Trithemius published in 1518 dedicated to the art of steganography. [1]

Contents

The full title is "Polygraphiae libri sex, Ioannis Trithemii abbatis Peapolitani, quondam Spanheimensis, ad Maximilianum Caesarem." ("Six books of polygraphy, by Johannes Trithemius, abbot at Würzburg, formerly at Spanheim, for the Emperor Maximilian.")

It is the oldest known source of the popular Witches' Alphabet, used at large by modern traditions of witchcraft. [2]

Review

It is composed of six books and a clavis (key):

Example alphabet. Theban alphabet Trithemius 1518.png
Example alphabet.

The work ends with alphabets of his invention as the "tetragramaticus" formed by 4 characters that are diversified in 24 letters and the "enagramaticus" of 9 characters and 28 letters, from which he gives examples of writings that belongs to something it resembles a natural language.

Relationship with Steganographia

According to some scholars[ who? ], both books, Steganographia and Polygraphia, are but a single work presented in two parts: the first is metaphysical and quite theoretical (it even hides a complete treatise on "angelology", or the study of angels with their names and hierarchies, between its pages), the second is more practical and is used for encoding messages.

See also

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References

  1. Johannes Trithemius (1608). Iohannis Trithemii Steganographia: h.e. ars per occultam scripturam animi sui voluntatem absentibus aperiendi certa. pp. 1–.
  2. Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1531). Three Books of Occult Philosophy .

Bibliography