Home›Sources›Grimoires: A History of Magic BooksSourcesGrimoires: A History of Magic BooksCitation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "Grimoires: A History of Magic Books." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/grimoires-a-history-of-magic-books.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). Grimoires: A History of Magic Books. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/grimoires-a-history-of-magic-booksCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-grimoires-a-history-of-magic-books, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {Grimoires: A History of Magic Books}, year = {2026}, url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/grimoires-a-history-of-magic-books}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXOwen Davies traces the grimoire tradition, the actual books of magical instruction that were copied, altered and circulated from the medieval period onward, by following specific surviving texts and their copying history across centuries rather than describing magic books in the abstract. That attention to how individual grimoires actually moved and changed hands is the book's real evidentiary basis. This record has not independently traced a documented history of scholarly disagreement with his specific textual histories. It is a strong source for the historical origin, transmission and use of specific grimoires. It is a history of the genre and its practitioners, not itself a magical manual, so a claim about a specific grimoire's actual instructions is better drawn from an edition or study of that particular text.FactsClaims Backed By This Source (1,241 claims)Comments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsCitationAuthorWell-attestedOwen DaviesPublisherWell-attestedOxford University PressPublication YearWell-attested2009URLWell-attestedhttps://global.oup.com/academic/product/grimoires-9780199590049Source TypeWell-attestedBook (scholarly)AssessmentReliability TierWell-attested1A standard academic history of the grimoire tradition from a university press, treating the magic books themselves as historical objects rather than as instructional texts.NotesWell-attestedStandard academic history of the grimoire tradition.Claims Backed By This Source (1,241 claims)This source backs 1,241 claims across the atlas. As facts: 1,028 well-attested, 4 scholarly debate, 3 open question. As cited relationships: 29 holds, 4 connected. Plus 173 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.Disposition By TopicGoetic Demons, 360 claims: 288 well-attested, 72 general references.Alphabet Letters, 260 claims: 234 well-attested, 26 general references.Articles, 169 claims: 168 well-attested, 1 general references.Esoteric Texts, 146 claims: 108 well-attested, 4 scholarly debate, 3 open question, 16 holds, 15 general references.Archangels, 60 claims: 51 well-attested, 9 general references.Open Questions, 36 claims: 28 well-attested, 4 connected, 4 general references.Subcategories, 32 claims: 23 well-attested, 9 general references.Categories, 29 claims: 26 well-attested, 3 general references.Planetary Magic, 28 claims: 21 well-attested, 7 general references.Rituals, 27 claims: 22 well-attested, 3 holds, 2 general references.Days of the Week, 21 claims: 7 well-attested, 7 holds, 7 general references.Spirit Ranks, 21 claims: 14 well-attested, 7 general references.Magical Weapons, 15 claims: 10 well-attested, 5 general references.Disciplines, 11 claims: 6 well-attested, 2 holds, 3 general references.Practices, 11 claims: 10 well-attested, 1 general references.Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.Historical Figures, 5 claims: 3 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.Scripts & Magical Alphabets, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.Well-attested1,028Alphabet LettersTheban A ATheban B BTheban C CTheban D DTheban E ETheban F FTheban G GTheban H HTheban I ITheban J JTheban K KTheban L LTheban M MTheban N NTheban O OTheban P PTheban Q QTheban R RTheban STheban T TTheban U UTheban V VTheban W WTheban X XTheban Y YTheban Z ZArchangelsAnaelCassielGabrielMichaelMichaelRaphaelRaphaelSachielSamaelArticlesA Cipher Among Ceremonial Magic's Working ToolsA Composite of Five BooksA Folk-Magic Bestseller Falsely Fathered on MosesA Grimoire Whose Goal Is the Vision of GodA Magician's Answer to PersecutionA Name Worth ReusingA Plain Tool, And Why That Is The PointA Practical Manual, and Why It Was FearedA Timetable for AngelsA Working Book, Not a CuriosityAngelic Magic by the Days of the WeekAstaroth and AstarteAttributed to a King, Assembled by the RenaissanceBael, Baal, and the Argument from a NameBalam and BalaamShowing 1 to 50 of 339 entities carrying this claim. NextScholarly debate4Esoteric TextsPicatrix (Ghayat al-Hakim)The Book of AbramelinOpen question3Esoteric TextsThe Book of AbramelinThe Heptameron (Elementa Magica)The Sworn Book of Honorius (Liber Juratus)Holds29Days of the WeekFridayMondaySaturdaySundayThursdayTuesdayWednesdayDisciplinesDemonologyNecromancyEsoteric TextsGrimorium VerumPicatrix (Ghayat al-Hakim)The Book of AbramelinThe Fourth Book of Occult PhilosophyThe Grand Grimoire (The Red Dragon)The Heptameron (Elementa Magica)The Key of Solomon (Clavicula Salomonis)The Lesser Key of Solomon (Lemegeton)The Sixth and Seventh Books of MosesThe Sworn Book of Honorius (Liber Juratus)Historical FiguresHonorius of ThebesRitualsEvocationNecromancy RitesConnected4Open QuestionsDid Honorius of Thebes exist, and if so who was he?Is Abraham von Worms a historical author or a literary persona?Was Salomon Trismosin a real person?Who wrote the Heptameron, and does it rework any material older than its sixteenth-century printing?General References173Alphabet LettersTheban A ATheban B BTheban C CTheban D DTheban E ETheban F FTheban G GTheban H HTheban I ITheban J JTheban K KTheban L LTheban M MTheban N NTheban O OTheban P PTheban Q QTheban R RTheban STheban T TTheban U UTheban V VTheban W WTheban X XTheban Y YTheban Z ZArchangelsAnaelCassielGabrielMichaelMichaelRaphaelRaphaelSachielSamaelArticlesThe Study of the Planetary Week: History and MethodCategoriesGoetic DemonsPlanetary MagicSpirit RanksDays of the WeekFridayMondaySaturdaySundayThursdayTuesdayWednesdayDisciplinesDemonologyNecromancyScryingEsoteric TextsArbatel de Magia VeterumShowing 1 to 50 of 173 entities carrying this claim. 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