Gal Sofer
(Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)

Paper
presented at the 60th International Congress on Medieval Studies
(Kalamazoo, 2025)

Session on
“Grimoires of the Greater West (1):
Multicultural Solomonic Magic: The Case of the Almandal”

Co-Sponsored by

Societas Magica
Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

Co-Organized by

Matthew Melvin-Koushki (University of South Carolina – Columbia)
Gal Sofer
Vajra Regan (Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto)

2025 Congress Program

“Al-mandel:
Multicultural Magic and the Quest for an Urtext”

Abstract:

Scholars of learned magic frequently encounter manuscripts where the primary language of the text is interspersed with foreign linguistic elements. In some cases, these foreign languages are acknowledged by the authors, while in others, they are concealed, requiring deeper linguistic analysis to uncover their origins. But what, if anything, can such an examination truly reveal about the nature of multicultural, learned magic?

In this lecture, we will explore the renowned codex Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, II.III.214, investigating its multilingual and multi-cultural foundations. While this manuscript is often considered pivotal in the study of learned magic, as the late David Pingree suggested, I will contend that it is also highly misleading. The authors seem to obscure the origins of their sources, raising a fog screen of intentional misdirection. This codex, I argue, is part of a broader tradition of attributing texts to fictitious figures, a practice that complicates any attempt to trace a singular origin. Our focus will then shift to the “Al-mandal” text, a work presumed to have Arabic roots, where we will critically assess whether such an origin—or any definitive prototype—can be substantiated, or whether the idea of a multi-cultural influence should be maintained instead of pursuing a singular, illusory “Urtext.”

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