The text draws from a variety of traditions, including Christian, Jewish, and Arabic astral magic , demonstrating the fluidity of medieval mystical thought.

The manuscript was likely compiled by a member of the lower clergy who possessed the necessary Latin literacy and knowledge of church liturgy.

Rituals aimed at influencing the minds of others, often to gain love or cause hatred.

, authored by Richard Kieckhefer , is an academic study and edition of a unique 15th-century Latin manuscript (Clm 849) found in the Bavarian State Library in Munich. The book provides a rare, detailed look into the "clerical underworld" of the Middle Ages, where educated clerics adapted orthodox religious rituals for illicit magical purposes. Core Content and Structure

It contains over 40 illustrations of magic circles and symbols, catalogues of spirits (including Satan, Lilith, and Astaroth), and ceremonies for consecrating a book of magic . Availability and Formats

The manual is not a systematic treatise but a "miscellany" or scrapbook of magical practices. Kieckhefer divides the rituals into three primary categories:

Spells intended to create phantasms, such as phantom banquets or castles in the air.

The book is part of the Magic in History series and is available through major retailers: