Magic in the Hebrew-Manuscript Collection of the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg: Observations on Cod. hebr. 252

Michael Kohs; Giuseppe Veltri

Abstract

The Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg holds several Hebrew multiple-text manuscripts of Jewish magic that until now have received only occasional scholarly attention. This paper focusses on Cod. hebr. 252, a seventeenthcentury manuscript of Jewish magic from the Hamburg collection. The codex is in a fragmentary state, making a reconstruction of its history difficult. Evidence suggests that the codex was originally produced in Northern Italy and later came to the German lands. The manuscript’s original, main content consists of magical recipes and instructions, magical-mystical names, cosmological diagrams, and astronomical drawings. This content has then been supplemented with additional magical texts as well as with various items of paracontent and guest content.

Magic in the Hebrew-Manuscript Collection of the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg: Observations on Cod. hebr. 252

Abstract

Chapters in this book (59)