Magic in Medieval Manuscripts

Medieval Life in Manuscripts

by Sophie Page

Magic existed in diverse forms in the Middle Ages, from simple charms to complex and subversive demonic magic. Its negative characteristics were defined by theologians who sought to isolate undesirable rituals and beliefs, but there were also many who believed that the condemned texts and practices were valuable and compatible with orthodox piety. Magic in Medieval Manuscripts explores the place of magic in the medieval world and the contradictory responses it evoked, through an exploration of images and texts in British Library manuscripts. These range from representations of the magician, wise-woman and witch, to charms against lightning, wax images for inciting love, and diagrams to find treasure. Most elaborate of all the magical practices are rituals for communicating with and commanding spirits. Whether expressions of piety, ambition, or daring, these rituals reveal a medieval fascination with the points of contact between this world and the celestial and infernal realms.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Witchcraft, Magic

65 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Dr Sophie Page joined UCL History as a permanent lecturer in 2002 after studying at the Warburg Institute, UCL and Cambridge.

Sophie works in the area of European medieval magic and astrology, especially in relation to orthodox religion, natural philosophy, medicine, and cosmology. She is also interested in the imagery of medieval magic, especially diagrams, and in the history of animals in the Middle Ages.

Sophie's most recent book, Magic in the Cloister: Pious Motives, Illicit Interests, and Occult Approaches to the Medieval Universe, was published in October 2013. In addition, she has published an edited collection, The Unorthodox Imagination in Late Medieval Britain, articles on learned magic, astrology, and the cultural history of animals, and two books with the British Library: Astrology in Medieval Manuscripts and Magic in Medieval Manuscripts. Sophie is currently working on a book on animals and demons in the Middle Ages and an article on diagrams in medieval magic texts.

Reviews

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, too brief to be anything more than a tease, but with some great accompanying plates.
Page's fine but terse work comes across as something approaching the companion pamphlet to an exhibition, and might very well be, given the graphic nature of the text. Page dips into all the usual stuff: necromancy; magical texts used by clerics on the q.t.; how religion competed with magic and made stuff up to incriminate the sinful, and so on. If you're even remotely familiar with this topic, you'll likely find this to be mostly a retread, but Page's use of the illustrations is nice, something a lot of volumes on the subject typically lack.

[Joseph F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but wonderful book filled with medieval magical symbols and imagery. Gave a nice succinct account of the different types of magic that people believed in as well.
Great for art historians as well as those of us interested in the history of magical beliefs.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice illustrations from manuscripts, but the book was much smaller than I expected.

If you like this I'd recommend Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century by Richard Kieckhefer.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a really good read, it's just such a shame it's so small when there's so much more she could have included :(

[Calenmarwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book, looking at depictions of magic in medieval manuscripts, and what would be considered good or evil magic at different periods in history.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinct and well-written; many fascinating illuminations.

[nerea]

estos libros me han salvado el trabajo de historia 🫶

[Annalisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a college class. A pretty broad overview on the topic