Grimoires are books of ceremonies, rituals, and spells that are used in ceremonial magic composed in Europe from the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries. The texts provide rules regarding symbols, chants, and spells, and describes how to utilize them to perform effective magical effects.
The most famous of all Grimoires is the Key of Soloman, allegedly prepared by the king himself. In the first century C.E. the historian Josephus (c. 37–c. 100) refers to a book of incantations for summoning spirits written by Solomon. Black magicians circulated the text throughout Europe in the twelfth century; the Inquisition condemned it as a dangerous text in 1559.
“Grimoires exist because of the desire to create a physical record of magical knowledge, reflecting concerns regarding the uncrontrollable and corruptible nature of the oral transmission of valuable secret or sacred information….. But grimoires also exist because the very act of writing itself was imbued with occult of hidden power. ‘A book of magic is also a magical book,’ as one historian of the subject has observed”…
Via in part: UnexplainedStuff
