Talismans and seals
The talisman has a long and well-documented history that crosses languages, religions and fields of learning. This section traces its main stages: from the etymology of the word, which passed from Greek into Arabic and then into the European languages, to the magic squares of the planets, from the Chinese Lo Shu to the table of Jupiter engraved by Dürer in Melencolia I. It discusses the Seal of Solomon and the complex, fascinating history of the manuscripts of the Clavicula; the word Abracadabra in the medical poem of Serenus Sammonicus and the Sator square scratched on a wall at Pompeii. Room is also given to the Picatrix and the medieval debate on astrological images, to magical gems bearing Abrasax, devotional medals, Ottoman talismanic shirts and the writings linked to Paracelsus. The approach is historical: sources, objects and interpretations are described, documented facts are kept apart from legends, and no practical instructions are given.
The etymology of talisman: from Greek télesma to Arabic ṭilasm
Where does the word talisman come from? Its journey from Greek télesma to Arabic ṭilasm and the European languages, and how it differs from the Latin amulet.
Planetary seals and magical characters: from the papyri to Agrippa
A history of planetary seals: the charaktêres of the Greco-Egyptian papyri, the signs of medieval manuscripts and Agrippa's system in De occulta philosophia.
The square of Saturn: from the Chinese Lo Shu to the planetary tables
The magic square of order three, summing to fifteen: from the Chinese legend of the Luo river turtle to the square of Saturn in the European tradition.
The square of Jupiter and Dürer's Melencolia I
The magic square engraved by Albrecht Dürer in Melencolia I in 1514: a sum of 34, the hidden date and the link with Jupiter as a remedy for melancholy.
The planetary squares from Mars to the Moon: numbers and symbols
The magic squares of Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon: sums, totals, metals and the meanings attributed to them in Agrippa's Renaissance tradition.
The wafq: magic squares in the medieval Islamic world
A history of the wafq, the Arabic numerical square: from the Brethren of Purity to al-Būnī, the word buduḥ and the passage of magic squares into Europe.
Agrippa and De occulta philosophia: the handbook of talismans
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and De occulta philosophia (1533): the genesis of the work, its three books, squares and seals, the spurious Fourth Book.
The Seal of Solomon: the king's ring in the Bible, Talmud and Qur'an
The legend of Solomon's ring: Josephus, the Testament of Solomon, the Talmud, the Islamic tradition and the uncertainty between hexagram and pentagram.
The Clavicula Salomonis: the history of a book without an original
A history of the Clavicula Salomonis: its legendary attribution, sixteenth-century manuscripts, the Inquisition, French copies and Mathers's 1889 edition.
The pentacles of the Clavicula: history and iconography of the figures
The pentacles of the Clavicula Salomonis read as images: origin of the word, the seven-planet system, colours, psalms, Hebrew letters and copyists' errors.
Abracadabra: the magic word in the poem of Serenus Sammonicus
The first record of Abracadabra in the Liber medicinalis of Quintus Serenus: the poet, the triangular figure, theories on its etymology and the plague of 1665.
The Sator square: from Pompeii to medieval churches
SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS: the Pompeii graffiti, the riddle of arepo, the Paternoster hypothesis and the spread of the square as a protective sign.
The Picatrix and astrological talismans: the goal of the sage
The Picatrix (Ghāyat al-ḥakīm): its anonymous author, the 1256 translation at the court of Alfonso X, its theory of the talisman and the images of the decans.
Astrological images from Thomas Aquinas to Marsilio Ficino
The medieval debate on astrological images: Thābit's De imaginibus, the condemnation by Aquinas, the Speculum astronomiae and the caution of Marsilio Ficino.
Magical gems with Abraxas: the cock-headed god
The so-called Gnostic gems: Abrasax and the number 365, the cock-headed anguipede, Chnoubis, the first collectors and why the traditional name is misleading.
Devotional medals: Saint Benedict, the Miraculous Medal and the Agnus Dei
A history of Catholic devotional medals: the letters on the cross of Saint Benedict, the Miraculous Medal of 1830, the Agnus Dei and the line with amulets.
The talismans of Paracelsus: seals, metals and legend
Paracelsus and talismans: the doctrine of signatures, the Archidoxis magica of doubtful authenticity, the zodiac seals, the electrum magicum and Huser.
The Ottoman talismanic shirts of the Topkapı Palace
The talismanic shirts of the Ottoman sultans: tunics covered with suras, divine names and numerical squares, between devotion, war and calligraphy.
The pentagram: from the Pythagoreans to Gawain and Goethe's Faust
A history of the pentagram: the Pythagorean sign of health in Lucian, Sir Gawain's endless knot, the Drudenfuss in Faust and the invention of Éliphas Lévi.
The Talisman of Charlemagne: from Aachen to Reims
The story of the so-called Talisman of Charlemagne, a ninth-century Carolingian reliquary: the Aachen tomb, the gift to Josephine, the Bonapartes and Reims.