The Book of Soyga, also titled Aldaraia, is a 16th-century Latin treatise on magic, one copy of which was owned by the Elizabethan scholar John Dee. After Dee's death, the book was thought lost until 1994, when two manuscripts were located in the British Library (Sloane MS 8) and the Bodleian Library (Bodley MS. 908), under the title Aldaraia sive Soyga vocor, by Dee scholar Professor Deborah Harkness. The Sloane MS 8 version is also described as Tractatus Astrologico Magicus, though both versions differ only slightly.[1]
Elias Ashmole recorded that the Duke of Lauderdale owned a manuscript titled Aldaraia sive Soyga vocor that had formerly belonged to Dee. The manuscript was sold at auction in 1692 and is now probably Sloane MS 8, based on Jim Reeds' identification. Bodley MS. 908 was donated to the Bodleian Library in 1605.[2]
Contents
Jim Reeds notes that the Bodley 908 MS consists of 197 pages including Liber Aldaraia (95 leaves), Liber Radiorum (65 pages), and Liber decimus septimus (2 pages), as well as a number of shorter and unnamed works totaling approximately ten pages. The final 18 pages of the manuscript contain 36 tables of letters. The Sloane MS 8 manuscript consists of 147 pages, mostly identical to the Bodley manuscript, with the exception that the tables of letters appear on 36 pages, and the Liber Radiorum is presented in a two-page summarized version.[1]
Amongst the incantations and instructions on magic, astrology, demonology, lists of conjunctions, lunar mansions, and names and genealogies of angels, the book contains 36 large squares of letters which Dee was unable to decipher. Otherwise unknown medieval magical treatises are cited, including works known as liber E, liber Os, liber dignus, liber Sipal, and liber Munob.[3]
Analysis
Jim Reeds, in his short work John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga which also appeared abbreviated in an essay,[4] notes a proclivity to record words backwards in the MS, citing as examples Lapis reversed as Sipal, Bonum reversed as Munob, and the title of the MS, Soyga, as Agyos, literis transvectis, revealing a practice which sought to obscure some of the works cited. 'Soyga' is ‘Agios’ (Greek for "Holy") spelled backwards.
Reeds writes:
The Book of Soyga's preoccupation with letters, alphabet arithmetic, Hebrew-like backwards writing, and so on, is of course characteristic of the new Cabalistic magic which became popular in the sixteenth century, exemplified by the great compilation of Agrippa of Nettesheim (1486-1535), and borrowing authority both from the Renaissance humanist interest in the Kabbala expressed by such figures as Pico and Reuchlin and from the supposed Biblical antiquity of the Kabbalah."[3]
Of the square tables that obsessed Dee, Reeds continued, "Although... not themselves a characteristic feature of the traditional Kabbalah, they had by Agrippa's time become an integral part of the Christian magical Cabala."[3]
Significance
In 1556, Dee proposed the founding of a national English library to Queen Mary, but his plan was not implemented. In consequence, Dee amassed the largest library in England at the time using his personal funds, consisting of at least 3,000 printed volumes and a large number of manuscripts. The library was pilfered during Dee's six-year trip to continental Europe between 1583 and 1589, and Dee was forced to sell many more volumes upon his return due to penury. After his death in 1608 or 1609, the still-considerable remnants of the vaunted library were ransacked until nothing remained.[5]
During Dee's long trip to the continent, he sought to supernaturally contact angels through the services of a scryer, Edward Kelley. On the subject of the Book of Soyga, Dee claimed to have questioned the angel Uriel about the significance of the book and asked for guidance. The reply that Dee received was that the book had been revealed to Adam in Paradise by angels, and could only be interpreted by the archangel Michael.[6]
After Harkness rediscovered the two copies of the book, Jim Reeds uncovered the mathematical formula used to construct the tables (starting with the seed word given for each table), and identified errors of various types made by the manuscripts' scribes. He showed that a subset of the errors were common to the two copies, suggesting that they were derived from a common ancestor which contained that subset of errors (and thus was presumably itself a copy of another work).
Although Reeds deciphered the construction algorithm and the code words used in crafting the tables, the actual contents and significance of the tables remain mysterious. He writes, "The treatise in the Book of Soyga which discusses the tables, Liber Radiorum, has a series of paragraphs mentioning the code words for twenty-three of the tables, together with number sequences which stand in unknown relation to the words."[7]
^ abJim Reeds, John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga, pg. 3.
^Jim Reeds, John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga, pg. 1.
^ abcJim Reeds, John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga, pg. 4.
^Reeds, Jim (2006). "Chapter 9". In Clucas, Stephen (ed.). John Dee: Interdisciplinary Studies in English Renaissance Thought. International Archives of the History of Ideas (193 ed.). Springer. pp. 177–206.
^"Books owned by John Dee". St. John's College, Cambridge. Retrieved 26 October 2006.
^Brooke-Hitching, Edward (2020). The Madman's Library: The Strangest Books, Manuscripts and Other Literary Curiosities From History. London, United Kingdom: Simon and Schuster, UK Ltd. pp. 149–150. ISBN978-1-4711-6692-1.
^Jim Reeds, John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga, pg. 7.
References
Harkness, Deborah (2006). "The Nexus of Angelology, Eschatology and Natural Philosophy in John Dee's Angel Conversations and Library". In Stephen Clucas (ed.). John Dee: Interdisciplinary Studies in Renaissance Thought. Dordrecht: Springer.
Jim Reeds (1996). (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2006.
Roberts, Julian (2006). "Additions and Corrections to 'John Dee's Library Catalogue'". In Stephen Clucas (ed.). John Dee: Interdisciplinary Studies in Renaissance Thought. Dordrecht: Springer.
James Orchard Halliwell (1842). The Private Diary of Dr. John Dee, and the Catalogue of His Library of Manuscripts(Full view book with PDF download at Internet Archive). Camden Society. Retrieved 27 June 2009. john dee.
External links
Edited and translated by Jane Kupin
The Book of Soyga
English Translation by CLAVIS EDITIONS
August 23, 2023
book, soyga, also, titled, aldaraia, 16th, century, latin, treatise, magic, copy, which, owned, elizabethan, scholar, john, after, death, book, thought, lost, until, 1994, when, manuscripts, were, located, british, library, sloane, bodleian, library, bodley, u. The Book of Soyga also titled Aldaraia is a 16th century Latin treatise on magic one copy of which was owned by the Elizabethan scholar John Dee After Dee s death the book was thought lost until 1994 when two manuscripts were located in the British Library Sloane MS 8 and the Bodleian Library Bodley MS 908 under the title Aldaraia sive Soyga vocor by Dee scholar Professor Deborah Harkness The Sloane MS 8 version is also described as Tractatus Astrologico Magicus though both versions differ only slightly 1 Portrait of John Dee in the Ashmolean Museum Oxford Contents 1 Provenance 2 Contents 3 Analysis 4 Significance 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksProvenance EditElias Ashmole recorded that the Duke of Lauderdale owned a manuscript titled Aldaraia sive Soyga vocor that had formerly belonged to Dee The manuscript was sold at auction in 1692 and is now probably Sloane MS 8 based on Jim Reeds identification Bodley MS 908 was donated to the Bodleian Library in 1605 2 Contents EditJim Reeds notes that the Bodley 908 MS consists of 197 pages including Liber Aldaraia 95 leaves Liber Radiorum 65 pages and Liber decimus septimus 2 pages as well as a number of shorter and unnamed works totaling approximately ten pages The final 18 pages of the manuscript contain 36 tables of letters The Sloane MS 8 manuscript consists of 147 pages mostly identical to the Bodley manuscript with the exception that the tables of letters appear on 36 pages and the Liber Radiorum is presented in a two page summarized version 1 Amongst the incantations and instructions on magic astrology demonology lists of conjunctions lunar mansions and names and genealogies of angels the book contains 36 large squares of letters which Dee was unable to decipher Otherwise unknown medieval magical treatises are cited including works known as liber E liber Os liber dignus liber Sipal and liber Munob 3 Analysis EditJim Reeds in his short work John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga which also appeared abbreviated in an essay 4 notes a proclivity to record words backwards in the MS citing as examples Lapis reversed as Sipal Bonum reversed as Munob and the title of the MS Soyga as Agyos literis transvectis revealing a practice which sought to obscure some of the works cited Soyga is Agios Greek for Holy spelled backwards Reeds writes The Book of Soyga s preoccupation with letters alphabet arithmetic Hebrew like backwards writing and so on is of course characteristic of the new Cabalistic magic which became popular in the sixteenth century exemplified by the great compilation of Agrippa of Nettesheim 1486 1535 and borrowing authority both from the Renaissance humanist interest in the Kabbala expressed by such figures as Pico and Reuchlin and from the supposed Biblical antiquity of the Kabbalah 3 Of the square tables that obsessed Dee Reeds continued Although not themselves a characteristic feature of the traditional Kabbalah they had by Agrippa s time become an integral part of the Christian magical Cabala 3 Significance EditIn 1556 Dee proposed the founding of a national English library to Queen Mary but his plan was not implemented In consequence Dee amassed the largest library in England at the time using his personal funds consisting of at least 3 000 printed volumes and a large number of manuscripts The library was pilfered during Dee s six year trip to continental Europe between 1583 and 1589 and Dee was forced to sell many more volumes upon his return due to penury After his death in 1608 or 1609 the still considerable remnants of the vaunted library were ransacked until nothing remained 5 During Dee s long trip to the continent he sought to supernaturally contact angels through the services of a scryer Edward Kelley On the subject of the Book of Soyga Dee claimed to have questioned the angel Uriel about the significance of the book and asked for guidance The reply that Dee received was that the book had been revealed to Adam in Paradise by angels and could only be interpreted by the archangel Michael 6 After Harkness rediscovered the two copies of the book Jim Reeds uncovered the mathematical formula used to construct the tables starting with the seed word given for each table and identified errors of various types made by the manuscripts scribes He showed that a subset of the errors were common to the two copies suggesting that they were derived from a common ancestor which contained that subset of errors and thus was presumably itself a copy of another work Although Reeds deciphered the construction algorithm and the code words used in crafting the tables the actual contents and significance of the tables remain mysterious He writes The treatise in the Book of Soyga which discusses the tables Liber Radiorum has a series of paragraphs mentioning the code words for twenty three of the tables together with number sequences which stand in unknown relation to the words 7 See also EditGrimoire Voynich manuscript Three Books of Occult PhilosophyNotes Edit a b Jim Reeds John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga pg 3 Jim Reeds John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga pg 1 a b c Jim Reeds John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga pg 4 Reeds Jim 2006 Chapter 9 In Clucas Stephen ed John Dee Interdisciplinary Studies in English Renaissance Thought International Archives of the History of Ideas 193 ed Springer pp 177 206 Books owned by John Dee St John s College Cambridge Retrieved 26 October 2006 Brooke Hitching Edward 2020 The Madman s Library The Strangest Books Manuscripts and Other Literary Curiosities From History London United Kingdom Simon and Schuster UK Ltd pp 149 150 ISBN 978 1 4711 6692 1 Jim Reeds John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga pg 7 References EditHarkness Deborah 2006 The Nexus of Angelology Eschatology and Natural Philosophy in John Dee s Angel Conversations and Library In Stephen Clucas ed John Dee Interdisciplinary Studies in Renaissance Thought Dordrecht Springer Jim Reeds 1996 John Dee and the Magic Tables in the Book of Soyga PDF Archived from the original PDF on 5 March 2007 Retrieved 8 November 2006 Roberts Julian 2006 Additions and Corrections to John Dee s Library Catalogue In Stephen Clucas ed John Dee Interdisciplinary Studies in Renaissance Thought Dordrecht Springer James Orchard Halliwell 1842 The Private Diary of Dr John Dee and the Catalogue of His Library of Manuscripts Full view book with PDF download at Internet Archive Camden Society Retrieved 27 June 2009 john dee External links EditEdited and translated by Jane Kupin The Book of Soyga English Translation by CLAVIS EDITIONS Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Book of Soyga amp oldid 1115284827, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
