A Bunch of Latin Shorties

Y’all know what time it is.  The way I translate these is in part from google translate but also in part by recognizing repeated subject matter, similarity to other sources on demonology, and recognizing some Latin roots.  I don’t have a background in this, and the source material is pretty scratchy, so…  I’m going to post my translations, insofar as I have them, and you make fun of me in the comments, right?

Lanima – AKA Pneuna – is a great count, appearing in angelic seeming (smonibus blamois?) ceases, and knows strengths of herbs, and has under him 20 legions.  It’s hard to pin down a demon in another source I could compare against to find meanings for those words.

Judifligei is a great duke, appearing in the likeness of ravens, and then appears in human form, preceded by teachers (preptore fui inbente?), makes heard unseen trumpets and symphonies, and transfers (et ora gna?) instruments, teaches to play, is best familars, has 19 legions in his dominion.  Again, I can’t find an equivalent to him in other demonology to help here.  On those ravens, I have a frustration I’ll get to in just a bit…

Gomens or Caym, a strong powerful duke, appears in the likeness of a beautiful woman, crowned with a duchal crown, riding on a camel.  Gives full true responses on past present and future, on the occult (ravernis?), in which appear (spentes?) is princes, and (rustos?).  Gives best love of women, and has under him 2j legions.

This is the one known as Gremory, Gomori, or a half dozen variants thereof in many other grimoires!  A lovely gender weirdo on a camel.  On that “spentes,” I feel like I’ve seen “serpentes” – snakes – abbreviated that way somewhere else in here, but not positive.  Rustos sounds like it would mean farmers, but doesn’t come up in translate.  Don’t know.

Furfur, a great count, appears in the likeness of ravens, his tail in flames, lies unless trapped in a triangle. Then can be ordered into angelic form, with a raucous voice…  Here’s my problem with those ravens.  Furfur is in lots of other demonologies, always described as a deer or hart.  I can see how one missed transcription could lead to a chain of error, with “corvii” looking like “cervus.”  Or maybe the Geomanticarum has it wrong, or I do.  But if Furfur is ravens, so is Judifligei.  And if he’s a deer, likewise.

This is mostly gibberish to me, but it’s clearly about Berith – here called Berich.  Most demonologies open his description saying he is known by at least three names – known to the jews (lovely) as Berith, to some nigromancers or necromancers as Bolfry, and to unnamed third party as (insert random garble here).  I imagine the “vocatur Salmonazi vocant” is about him being referred to in the “notary art of Solomon” as Berich.  Are Gramatiri and Belfarit alternate names?

This guy is known in other demonologies as Aym or Cabeym.  Here… Bachimy or Albermi or Cabeym is a great strong duke appearing with three heads.  The first is like a (nason?), the second like a man (tyng?) two bodies (wtf?), third as a mouse hunter (cat), rides on a viper, carrying in hand a blazing (valcham?), makes man ingenius in all arts, and gives true responses, and has under him 26 legions.  In other demonologies, the first head is a snake, the human head has two stars on it.  But is a “nason” a snake?  And that really looks like it’s saying one of his heads has two bodies, which is bonkers.  The blazing thing elsewhere is a firebrand, but the word valcham doesn’t seem to mean shit in Latin, and reminds me of the sound of “falchion” – a kind of sword.

Simias or Gumas is a great marquis, appearing in the likeness of a lion, riding on a strong (ursum?  bears?), the tail of a serpent, flames proceeding from his mouth. In his right hand carries…  OK, this guy is really similar to Egyn in The Book of Oberon, The Book of Spirits, and… Also this book.  In those descriptions, Egyn rides bears or a dragon, so…?  I don’t know.  However, he’s maybe even more similar to Orias, from the Pseudomomarchia Demonum, Lesser Key of Solomon, and other sources – and that guy rides a horse.  I may be overthinking this one.

Ras, a great governor, appears in the likeness of a (cervi?) with then a subsequent human form, speaking gravely.  Belvow (?) makes subside, and limp.  Gives true responses, gives grace of friends, has under him LX9 legions…  Whatever, buddy.

I hope this one, being Latin, draws as much attention as the previous posts – and doesn’t get whiffed on like the Italian Demonds.  Thank you for what help you’ve already given me.  It is imperative that I summon these demons, pronto.  I swear.

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Italian Demonds

I might be the first person online to note that in the Fasciculus rerum Geomanticarum that there are a dozen-ish demons listed much earlier in the book than the main list, but these descriptions are less consistent and often less interesting than the usual demon lists.  Also, they seem to be in late Renaissance Italian, possibly with a skosh of Latin mixed in.  The handwriting was great so I was able to translate most of them, but a few things I couldn’t work out…

Andaras e gran conte fa parere uno homo grande como uno castrono et ancora picolo como uno capreto ha si suo dominio 12 generatione de dimonii.  Andaras, a great count, makes a great man seem like he’s castrated, and yet small like a baby goat.  Has  in his dominion 12 generations of demons.  There’s some guesswork in that.  Any other ideas, my scholars?

Hey, it’s somebody familiar…

Apparently, I’m e re possente fa de lo di nocte et de la noote di a fn suo dominio 12 re de corona.  Satan, a mighty king, makes (what?) night of the night, has in his dominion 12 crowned kings.  Don’t know what this means, but it sounds cool.

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The English Faust Book, Fury

Content Warnings: Blood and Guts, Kinda Dark Thoughts.

I didn’t think much of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, despite the hype.  It seemed slight and breezy.  Might make a good play, but as prose, not that interesting.  It was an adaptation of The English Faust Book, or The Historye of the Damnable Life and Deserued Death of Doctor Iohn Faustus:  A Discourse of the Most Famous Doctor Iohn Faustus of Wittenberg in Germany — Coniurer and Necromancer —  Wherein is Declared Many Strange Things That He Himselfe Had Seene and Done in the Earth, and in the Ayre, with His Bringing vp, His Trauailes, Studies, and Last End.  Marlowe basically did the kiddie adaptation of some adult material (not that it makes Marlowe’s Faustus child appropriate).

The play is a play, the book is prose, so it surely fares better in comparison on dead pages.  The story isn’t amazing, it’s offensive in the expected ways, and it’s boring in a way one might not expect, being 21st century people.  There are big sections where the writer just wants to show off their knowledge of interesting things in heaven and earth, literally a travelog of “hot spots to visit in Renaissance Europe.”

However, it has one hot advantage over Marlowe’s Faustus.  When the action heats up, it’s bad ass.  Here’s our man Faust summoning devils:

…Then began Doctor Faustus to call on Mephostophiles the Spirit – and to charge him in the name of Belzebub, to appear there personally: then presently the devill began so great a rumor in the wood, as if heaven and earth would have come together, with wind, that trees bowed their tops to the ground: then fell the devill to bleat as if the whole wood had been full of Lyons, and suddenly about the circle ran the devill, as if a thousand wagons had beene running together on paved stones. After this, at the four corners of the wood it thundered horribly, with such lightnings as if the whole world to his seeming had beene on fire…  suddenly over his head hung hovering in the air a mighty Dragon: then calls Faustus again after his devilish manner, at which there was a monstrous cry in the wood, as if hell had been open, and all the tormented souls crying to God for mercy…

Here’s the first time devils get mad about Faust getting cold feet:

Suddenly upon these words came such a whirlwind about the place that Faustus thought the whole house would have come down, all the doors in the house flew off the hooks: after all this his house was full of smoke, and the floor covered over with ashes… and flying up, Faustus was taken and thrown down into the hall that he was not able to stir hand nor foot: then round about him ran a monstrous circle of fire, never standing still, that Faustus fried as he lay & thought there to have beene burned.  Then cried he out to his spirit Mephostophiles for help, promising him he would live in all things as he had vowed…  Hereupon appeared unto him an ugly devill, so fearfull and monstrous to behold that Faustus durst not look on him.  The devill said, “What wouldst thou have Faustus? …What mind art thou in now?”  Faustus answered, he had forgot his promise, desiring him of pardon, and he would talk no more of such things.  “Thou wert best so to doe,” and so vanished from him.

And I’m gonna spoil this for you.  These are literally the best three paragraphs in a book that is full of boring crap.  Here’s what Faust looked like after the devil came for his due:

But when it was day, the students that had taken no rest that night arose and went into the hall in which they left Doctor Faustus…  They found not Faustus, but all the hall lay besprinkled with blood, his brains cleaving to the wall, for the devill had beaten him from one wall against another: In one corner lay his eyes, in another his teeth, a pitifull and fearfull sight to behold.  Then began the students to wail and weep for him, and sought for his body in many places: lastly they came into the yard, where they found his body lying on the horse dung, most monstrously torn and fearfull to behold, for his head and all his joints were dashed in pieces.  The forenamed students and masters that were at his death, have obtained so much, that they buried him in the village where he was so grievously tormented.

There’s something about this violence I find appealing.  I’m not big into horror where blood and brains are dripping off the wall.  But the extreme nature of the movement – trees bending to the ground, fire and lightning blasting all around, men being tossed like rag dolls – it’s exciting.  And the cause of it too.  Oh no, Faustus, you gave yourself to Satan, and now you are his plaything.  Throw yourself in the garbage and see what happens.

There’s a part in the 1941 movie version of The Devil and Daniel Webster where sexy succubus Simone Simon is dancing with a lost soul, and as they twirl his feet are lifted off the ground – light as dead leaves or empty clothing.  In my memory of this there was a trick with camera speed to make the moment more unnatural and alarming.  It has that motion, the fury of hell sweeping you away.

It’s a shame this stuff is all very xtian, and that it pretty much has to be.  I’d like to own a piece of the action – the movement and fury.  What is this feeling for me?  I have some primal feelings about motion and motivation, this is probably related.  The feeling of being helpless before the fury of violent forces, that can’t be good, can it?

Maybe it works because in the real world we are helpless before the world ruining evil of the human ability to elaborately diffuse blame, of the rich to absolve themselves of their direct hand in fucking us all to death because the weapon they used was the abstraction of money – something they can’t see.  And there’s a dark feeling like, why not just turn that into a literal bomb and sweep me away?  It’s faster, more exciting.  A lot of the dark humor of the 1980s comes from this attitude, inherited from Dr. Strangelove.

Hail Satan.  Get wrecked.  Why not?

In seriousness, my ultimate goal is to try to treat the art of hell and devils as neutral to positive, and all things holy as despicable.  I gotta change up this situation in my writing.

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The Hell is a Hois?

More Latin, and I don’t think this one will be so easy.  These two characters apparet in similitudine “hois.”  One of them is a hois pugnatis, portani arma – unless I got that wrong.  A combative hois carrying weapons, right?  But what the hell is a hois?

gibberish

Near as I can tell:  “Strong Duke Ponicarpo appears in the likeness of a pugnacious (hois) carrying weapons.  Let therefore image (exealhris arma armta and faciat a pdicto) confers.  and (pipa) strongly bound infantry.  Gives love of women and true responses to questioning.  Has under him 30 legions.”

Some problems with this whole endeavor:  This was written by a speaker of 15th century Italian and may have some of that sprinkled in.  A few parts of the book are almost entirely in that language.  The writer’s understanding of Latin could be quite different from modern scholars.  Also there are clearly abbreviations and inconsistent spelling in parts.

gibberish

“Saylmon or Zamon is a strong duke and president and/or earl appearing in the likeness of a (hois) riding on a pale horse, having the head of a lion and in the hand carrying an (aqbla), speaking in hoarse voice.  He makes peace between many and discords between men and women, and has under him 30 legions.”

By the way, don’t think the fact that one is holding weapons and one is riding a horse that this “hois” is humanoid.  It could be, but some of these demons are lions riding on horseback or gripping things.  It could well be a profession rather than an animal or other oddity.

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One Latin Word Plz, I’m Dyin’ Here

OK, I understand asking ye random scholars and gentlepeeps to translate twenty pages of scrawled Renaissance Latin from a mediocre res pdf is like asking for days of labor for free.  Not cool.  I withdraw that request.  But there is ONE SINGLE WORD which would be awesome to understand here, in the Fasciculus rerum Geomanticarum: the likeness of the demon Cambea, starting in the top line of page 617 of the pdf.

i can't even with this

Why?  Because from the rest of the description I can tell Cambea is another name for Decarabia from the Pseudomonarchia Demonum.  In that tome, it says he appears in the likeness of *.  Literally it has an asterisk to nothing there, like maybe he appears in the likeness of a butthole.  I believe the Ars Goetia in the Clavicula Salomonis interpreted that as a star, so it’s saying he appears in the form of a star.

However, the Geomanticarum is an older document and includes an actual word there!  If we can translate it, we know what Decarabia is actually supposed to look like!  Can you feel the excitement?  Anyway, the word is divided between two lines with a –, and every way I try to transcribe it gives me nothing in google translate.  Is it fanni? fairni? farns? sanni? sairni?  I can’t tell, I’m not a classics major.

Enlighten me.  Summon Decarabia.  I’m beggin’ ya.

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I Need Latin Skills or Google Fu

I’m trying to decipher part of this funky old Italian grimoire – the Fasciculus rerum Geomanticarum – to compare the descriptions of the demons in it to later books.  I haven’t found a transcription that I could feed into google translate, and my lack of familiarity with Latin is bound to make any transcription I do close to useless.

I’ve tried some, it’s bad.  I can gather the names of the demons, their titles and numbers of legions they command, but anything else is real tough.  So I need either a transcription or translation to work from, or I need somebody with boss Latin skills to just rattle off the answers.  Google did help me confirm the demon names via the footnotes in a modern French book about demonology, but I haven’t found anything else.

Anybody wanna show off their Latin or googling skillz in my comments here?  I need the info from pages 611 to 628 of the PDF.

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