If you like medieval-themed movies, books and series, you have surely seen or imagined those huge hardcover books with dangerous spells written on old yellowish parchment. Did you know, however, that these books actually existed? They are the grimoires !

We have prepared this article for you to understand exactly what a grimoire is and where it comes from, learn about some famous grimoires, and even learn how to make your own. Check it out!

What is a grimoire?

Granaries are medieval collections of spells, incantations, potions, rituals, and other elements of magical or spiritual application.

These books, usually bound in hard cover, contained, besides spells and magic, knowledge, such as astrology, lists of angels and demons, and ways to contact them. Talismans and crystallomancy were also frequent.

Nevertheless, there were grimoires that did not involve magic and that became known by the same name, as books that compiled knowledge about herbs, cures, knowledge forbidden by the church, no matter what it was, among many other types of information that was written down to be recorded.

What does grimoire mean?

The word "grimoire" derives from the French term "grimoire", which in turn is a modern version of the Old French "gramaire", meaning "grammar". This word has come to refer to spell books for a very specific and even random reason.

In the Middle Ages, Latin grammars and grimoires seized by Christians were stored in universities run by the Church. Most people could not access these places. Since they were forbidden and stored in the same place, grammars and grimoires ended up receiving the same name.

Despite the randomness, there are similarities. Grammars teach how to combine letters and words to make sense in a language, while grimoires bring combinations of ingredients, rituals and symbols to practice magic.

Famous grimoires

Many of the books that were produced in the Middle Ages ended up being lost before we could even know them or know of their existence, but some of them survived or were recorded in other books, so we know about them. Check some of them out:

The Book of Saint Cyprian

Often called the Black-Cover Bible, the Book of Saint Cyprian is a set of grimoires that were written between the 17th and 19th century. The author of these grimoires is supposed to be Saint Cyprian of Antioch, who was a powerful sorcerer, according to legend, but gave up magic when he became a Christian.

The content of the book includes occult rituals and demon exorcism, as well as folk magic and conjurations, which is what we know today as sympathies. The content ranges from powerful black magic to simple sympathies for everyday life.

Voynich Manuscript

Known by many as one of mankind's greatest mysteries, the Voynich Manuscript, written around the year 1400, is a 240-page compilation of text, illustrations, and other elements that have never been unraveled.

Although many amateur and professional cryptographers have tried to decipher the contents of this mysterious book, none have succeeded in their task, and its contents remain a mystery to this day.

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Abramelin's Book

Also known as the Book of Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Magician, this grimoire was written around 1600, supposedly by a well-known Egyptian magician named Abramelin (or Abramélin).

The main content of the book is a ritual that teaches its practitioners to invoke and unite their presence with that of their guardian angel, called the Sacred Guardian Angel, who, according to the book, is the very voice of God contained and stored in each one of us. If the ritual is badly done, the practitioner is doomed to madness.

Galdrabók

Also known simply as the Icelandic Book of Magic, this Icelandic grimoire was written around 1600. This manuscript contains a collection of 47 symbols and is estimated to have been written by four people between the 16th and 17th century.

The content features material written in Latin, Icelandic, and runes, with invocations to Christian entities, Norse gods and demons, instructions for use of magic items, and Icelandic herbs and staves, which are symbols carved into objects for magical purposes.

How to make your own grimoire?

To make your own grimoire, all you need is a blank notebook and a pen! Of course, you can make everything more classic and characterized by making or buying a hardcover book with yellowed pages and even a pen with quill nibs.

Sympathies, rituals, and other magical spiritual procedures that are part of your beliefs or that just make sense to you can be recorded - both for the purpose of marking what works and for passing on to the next generations.

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If you don't believe in magic or spiritual beliefs, you can still make a grimoire, recording, for example, recipes and applications of essential oils, gastronomic recipes, knowledge about family or your daily life... In short, let your imagination flow!

Grimoires, as you have learned, were books that held secret and magical content; and the cool thing is that you can continue this tradition by preparing your own grimoires to record all the content that makes sense to you!