Mythical account

Solomon receives the Ars Notoria from the angel Pamphilius in the Jewish Temple.

The Ars Notoria expands upon the biblical narrative account about King Solomon receiving a vision from God in which he asks for wisdom and God grants it to him (2 Chronicles 1:1-12; 1 Kings 3:3-15). Essentially, the claim is that King Solomon obtained his vast knowledge and wisdom via the notory art. The Ars Notoria says that Solomon received the “golden tablets above the altar of the Temple” from the angel Pamphilius who taught him the “method, form, and contents” of the notory art (i.e., the esoteric formulation of the prayers and the ritual practice of the notory art, including the inspection of the magical figures).^[9] After his divine revelation, Solomon made his compilation of writings called the Book of Flowers of Heavenly Teaching (Liber Florum Caelestis Doctrinae) using “a distorted speech” (perhaps formulated by notarikon) out of the Hebrew, Chaldean, and Greek languages.^[10] (Solomon’s Liber Florum is not to be confused with the 14th-century work of the French Benedictine monk John of Morigny of the same name). From Solomon’s Liber Florum, it is said that Apollonius of Tyana wrote his own florilegium based on Solomon’s work called the Golden Flowers (Flores Aurei). Apollonius provided his own commentary. Supposedly, Apollonius wrote his own Latin translations or summaries called “prologues” (Latin: prologus, prologi) of a few of Solomon’s mysteriously formulated prayers.^[11] It is explained that these Latin “prologues” do not convey the full meaning of the original but only offer the first part of the mysteriously formulated prayer. Apollonius explains that the decoding process would be too long and cumbersome to decipher and translate into Latin for the reader. These “prologues” present a distinct tone of Christian orthodoxy, while the mysteriously formulated prayers resemble magical formulas called voces magicae. The pictorial figures are generally depicted as geometric shapes and composites, although they are understood as having a different ritual function from sigils,^[12][13] their true ritual function is disputed. Véronèse proposes hypotheses that the figures may relate to the symbols (sunthemata) of Neoplatonic theurgy or the art of memory. He also suggests that inspecting the figures might induce visionary experiences,^[14] which is a position favored by Skinner and Clark.^[15] Yates and Castle assert the ritual function as relating to the art of memory.^[16][17] In any case, the Notory Art asserts that the figures are assigned to various disciplines of study and moral virtue.

Euclid of Thebes, the father of Honorius the author of the Sworn Book of Honorius (Liber Iuratus Honorii), and Mani (or Ptolemy according to other witnesses)^[18] are said to have tested and verified the efficacy of the notory art.^[19] In a second divine revelation, Solomon received the New Art wrapped in a cloth in the Temple after he had atoned for his sin against God for having mocked the Notory Art.^[20]

Historical account

The Ars Notoria survives in about fifty manuscripts, dating from the 13th century to the 18th century. Julien Véronèse has grouped these manuscripts into three classes, thereby establishing the textual tradition: Version A (the most primitive and short version), Version A2 (the intermediary version), and Version B (the long and glossed version). Of the textual tradition, Versions A and A2 are dated to the 13th and 14th centuries. Version B is dated to the 14th and 16th centuries.^[21][22] The textual tradition past the 16th century consists of later copies and composites and is therefore understudied except for The Notory Art, which the Almighty Creator Revealed to Solomon mentioned below. Véronèse has also published a semi-critical Latin edition based on the best exemplar manuscripts in 2007. The first complete English translation based on Véronèse’s Latin edition was made by Matthias Castle in 2023.

Véronèse proposes a date and provenance of the Ars Notoria to the late 12th or early 13th century in northern Italy.^[23] Castle agrees with Véronèse’s proposal of the present-day form of the Ars Notoria. Skinner and Clark and Castle hypothesize a Byzantine Greek origin hypothesis for the lost original of Apollonius’ Golden Flowers.^[24][25]

The New Art

The New Art is the first derivative text of the Golden Flowers which presents a ritual of ten prayers which may stand alone or be worked in conjunction with the ritual of the Golden Flowers. These ten prayers are not bound by any time restraints like those found in the Golden Flowers nor is it as involved, making it a more attractive alternative to the practitioner.

The Work of Works

The mid-13th-century magical treatise, penned by an unknown author, adapts the same goal of the Ars Notoria for the purpose of enhancing one’s mental faculties and attaining scholastic knowledge in a short period of time. The Work of Works reflects the same concept of mysteriously formulated prayers accompanied by Latin “prologues”. The text offers a unique three-month prayer regimen of thirty-two prayers. The Work of Works is usually accompanied by a Version A or Version A2 copy of the Ars Notoria in the extant manuscripts. The first critical Latin edition was published by Véronèse (2007), and the first English translation appears in the Castle edition (2023).

The Book of Flowers of Heavenly Teaching

The 14th-century magical treatise authored by the French Benedictine monk John of Morigny adapts the structure and goal of the Ars Notoria, promising its practitioner knowledge of the liberal arts and other disciplines. John of Morigny expanded and revised his work, supposedly under the guidance of the Virgin Mary, and to distance it from accusations that its content resembled necromancy and ritual magic. The first Latin edition and systematic study of the Book of Flowers of Heavenly Teaching was published by Fanger and Watson (2015).^[30] Only a few excerpts have been translated into English among other publications.

The Short Art

The mid-14th-century magical treatise was originally called the The Good and Short Notory Art (Ars Notoria Brevis et Bona) but its title was abbreviated by Véronèse. This work is not to be confused with Ramon Llull’s Short Art (Ars Brevis) published in 1308, which explains a logical method to solve problems using a special alphabet set upon geometric figures. The original author of this magical text is unknown but might be understood as a pseudepigraphical work attributed to John of Morigny. This magical text is divided into two books. The first is called the “Blessed Book of John” which contains magical experiments for the acquisition of worldly knowledge, secrets, and the enhancement of mental faculties by means of contacting an angel through dream incubation or vision. These magical experiments consist of Catholic liturgy, votive masses, and prayers blended with notory art prayers and magical figures. The second book is called the “Book of Divine Revelation,” and it consists of prayers derived from the Ars Notoria. Véronèse published a Latin edition in 2004. The first English translation of the Short Art based on a new Latin edition^[31] is published in the Castle edition (2023).

The Abbreviated Art according to Thomas of Toledo

The 14th-century magical treatise attributed to a certain Thomas of Toldeo presents a one-month ritual procedure consisting of three prayers for the acquisition of the liberal arts, medicine, theology, and jurisprudence plus nine magical figures. Thomas of Toldeo distills the essence of the notory art into this abbreviated ritual practice. Véronèse published a Latin edition in 2004. The first English translation of the Abbreviated Art is published in the Castle edition (2023).

The Pauline Art [of Seven Figures]

The 15th-century magical text of Italian origin called the Pauline Art (Ars Paulina) was renamed to Pauline Art [of Seven Figures] by Castle to distinguish it from the 17th-century Pauline Art, a separate magical treatise for the evocation of celestial and angelic spirits as compiled in the Lemegeton, the Lesser Key of Solomon. The Pauline Art [of Seven Figures] claims its mythical origins come from the New Testament account of Paul of Tarsus who had a divine vision of being taken up into the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). The text contains seven figures dedicated to the divine hypotheses of Christian theology in order to acquire religious literacy of the Holy Scriptures in three months. Véronèse published a Latin edition in 2004. The first English translation of the Pauline Art is published in the Castle edition (2023).

The Notory Art, which the Almighty Creator Revealed to Solomon

The Notory Art, which the Almighty Creator Revealed to Solomon (Ars Notoria, quam Creator Altissimus Salomoni revelavit) is a 17th-century Latin derivative and composite text compiled by an unknown scribe and first published in the Collected Works (Opera Omnia; c. 1620), vol. 2 (pages 603-660) of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim. This Latin edition comprises the Ars Notoria (Version B), the Short Art, and special blended material of both, although incomplete and imperfect in many respects. There are significant omissions of the Version B glosses, a rearrangement of the original sections from the Ars Notoria, and none of the notory art figures are present.^[32] The material borrowed from the Short Art had its Catholic elements removed by a Protestant scribe and only a single figure remains. Robert Turner of Holshott published an English translation in 1657, which has subsequently seen several reprints, most notably by Teitan Press (2015) and Golden Hoard (2019). A comparison of the Latin edition against the English edition has been made by Joseph H. Peterson (1986, 2009, 2023).^[33]

Primary sources