“Ecce formationem saeculi tibi monstro”: A Christian Magical Diagram and Its Jewish Sources

• In Event: Beyond textual analysis: Diagrams in Jewish and Hebrew medieval manuscripts

Abstract

In the second book of his Summa Sacre Magice, the Christian magician Berengar Ganell discusses the Tabula Semamephoras, a central tool in his system of magic. This presentation aims to uncover the ideas that shaped Ganell's conceptualization of the Tabula, tracing its origins to Jewish sources and its relationship with the Alfonsine Liber Razielis. Through an examination of such sources, this study points to the Tabula's dual significance as both a celestial map and an astro-magical instrument, influenced by but superior to its textual source. Central to this exploration is the revelation of the Tabula's profound connection with the content of Sefer Yetzirah, which, as will be argued, was probably translated into Latin already during the thirteenth century.

Author

• Gal Sofer, Ben-Gurion Univeristy of the Negev