Magic in history Forbidden rites : by Richard Kieckhefer

Richard Kieckhefer's Forbidden Rites is a scholarly work that presents a detailed analysis and translation of a 15th-century German manuscript, known as the Munich Manual of Demonic Magic which serves as a practical manual for a medieval necromancer. The book delves into the practical aspects of magic, including prayers, conjurations, rituals of sympathetic and astral magic, a catalogue of spirits, and the consecration of a magical book. Kieckhefer's commentary explores the manuscript's historical context, its contents in comparison to other magical texts, and the broader relationship between religion and magic in the late Middle Ages.