The Compendium Rarissimum is an extraordinary occult manuscript held in the collections of London's Wellcome Library.
The full title of this, short, yet astounding manuscript is Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros. Anno 1057. Noli me tangere, which means Most rare summary of the entire Magical Art put together by the most famous Masters of this Art. Year 1057. Do not touch me.
Despite the year mentioned in the title, scholars suggest that the book was written much later, in 1775.
Compendium Rarissimum is about demonology and it is handwritten in both German and Latin. It contains, in total, 31 watercolor illustrations of demons, kabalistic signs, sigils and other figures; its demonology corresponding closely to the Hell hierarchy laid out in The Book of Abramelin.
The manuscripts begins with three pages of seals, of which only two have headings: the first illustrates the characters of evil spirits, the second records the characters of elemental spirits and the third, those of the good spirits. There seem also to be pictures relating to necromancy, the act of communicating with the dead in order to gain information about, and possibly control, the future.
Its purpose and authorship remain unknown.
The Wellcome Library graciously shared high-quality scans of the entire manuscript, with download options including a full PDF of the entire document, HERE.
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I love these images! Thanks for writing about these works.
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