Compendium Rarissimum Totius Artis Magicae

Record summary

Compendium Rarissimum Totius Artis Magicae is an eighteenth-century German manuscript combining Latin and German magical text with striking painted images of demons, spirits, and ritual figures. Its visual and textual mixture makes it useful for studying how grimoires functioned as illustrated objects, not merely verbal recipes. The manuscript’s compiler, provenance, and exact dating remain less certain than the broad eighteenth-century attribution. Researchers should consult the British Library catalogue and digital images, distinguishing description of the codex from later sensational interpretations of its illustrations.