Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells by Claude Lecouteux

The provided text is the preamble and introductory matter of Claude Lecouteux's Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells. It explores the history, linguistic composition, and practical application of magical words and spells from antiquity through the nineteenth century.
Magic words belong to a long-evolving corpus of tens of thousands of accounts found in charms, orisons, blessings, conjurations, and medical prescriptions.
Definitions of Spell Types:
- Orisons: Magical prayers disguised with a Christian exterior (e.g., references to Jesus or Mary).
- Blessings: Pagan or Christian formulas to summon good fortune.
- Conjurations: Used to summon supernatural beings or perform exorcisms to banish malevolent entities.
- Brevets: Short notes on amulets of parchment or paper containing encrypted Kabbalistic phrases or "caracteres" (strange signs/unknown scripts).

Medieval magic often blended Christian and pagan elements. Early Christian beliefs inherited the idea that disease was sent by demons or the devil, adding the concept of sin.
God was viewed as the "Supreme Physician," as expressed in the phrase: "Diabolus ligavit, Angelus curavit, Dominus salvavit" (the devil bound, the angel cured, God saved).
Christian figures (the Cross, Christ's wounds) were adapted to "undo the bonds" of affliction caused by demons like dwarves, elves, and trolls.
The transition of charms often followed three stages:
1. Pagan charms were given a Christian veneer.
2. Clerics developed Christian charms based on pagan models (e.g., replacing Odin with Christian figures).
3. The two styles merged into texts where pagan and Christian elements sat side-by-side (e.g., the Sator Square appearing next to the Our Father).

Spells served several practical purposes:
- Protection: Shields for people and property, halting fires, curses, or physical projectiles (apotropaic charms).
- Theft Recovery: Discovering a thief via magic tests or forcing the return of stolen items.
- Healing: Staunching the flow of blood or curing illnesses. Many instructions include Repeating a phrase three times or writing phrases in blood (e.g., "Consummatum est").
- Granting Wishes: Desires for wealth, success in fishing, or winning the love of another.
Effectiveness and Obscurity: The potency of a spell was often believed to increase with its inscrutability. The "mystification" where long phrases were reduced to cryptic letter series was a hallmark of the tradition.

Numen est nomen: The belief that a spirit's power is embedded in its name. Naming a being compels its obedience.
Litany of Names: When the true name was unknown, practitioners would list every known name for a deity or demon (e.g., God having seventy-two names) to ensure the correct one was included.
Language Variations: Spells are divided into three linguistic types:
1. Liturgical elements (Bible extracts, Mass, Psalms).
2. Distorted Greek, Hebrew, and Latin words where the sound (alliteration/homophones) was the focus.
3. Sequences of letters serving as mnemonics or secrets for initiates (e.g., I.N.R.I.).
Translation Loss: Origen noted that names with power in one language lose it when translated, leading practitioners to keep original Greek or Hebrew terms despite not understanding them.

Timing: Spells often had to be written at specific times, such as Thursday (auspicious in Scandinavian lore) or before sunrise ("magic is the daughter of darkness").
Physical Supports: Caracteres were drawn on virgin parchment (from a stillborn animal), wax, paper, fruits, bread, cheese, or communion wafers.
Consumable Magic: Phrases were sometimes dissolved in liquid and drunk or written on food and eaten to facilitate internal healing or binding (e.g., preventing a thief from swallowing).
Scribe Clandestinity: Rituals were rarely fully recorded because clerics and churchmen, who were the literate specialists, censored texts to maintain their income as practitioners.

Caracteres: This Latin term describes all secret symbols used in charms to impress or terrify.
Coding Methods:
- Vowel substitution: Using dots (.A = .; .e = :) or consonants.
- Alphabetic shifts: Replacing letters with those following them (e.g., .v = x).
- Script transliteration: Writing local dialects using Greek or Hebrew alphabets to create an air of mystery.
- Abbreviation: Each letter in a series representing a specific magical word.
Transmission Errors: Many incomprehensible spells resulted from scribes misdeciphering handwriting or mishearing dictation, leading to phonetic but nonsensical transcriptions.

The dictionary is based on over 7,000 spells from Western and Northern Europe.
Layout:
- Entries are arranged by single magic words or spell fragments.
- Spellings are respected exactly as they appeared in original manuscripts, including "gibberish" or errors.
- Commentary provides deciphering attempts where possible.
- Biblical references utilize the Vulgate Latin translation.