A History of Magic and Experimental Science, Volume 2 (of 2) / During the First Thirteen Centuries of Our Era

by Lynn Thorndike

APPENDIX II

SOME MANUSCRIPTS OF THE TREATISE OF THETEL ON SEALS

For the Berlin MS I follow the catalogue description by V. Rose. I have examined personally the two Paris MSS and some of those at Oxford.

Berlin 956, 12th century, fol. 22, what Rose calls the “very peculiar original text.” “Hic incipit liber sigillorum filiorum israel quem fecerunt in deserto. Cum pluribus libris nobilibus magne auctoritatis et nominis vigilante animo atque perspicaci, fratres karissimi, studeamus,” etc., which may be translated: “Here begins the books of seals of the children of Israel which they made in the desert. Although, dearest brothers, we have studied many noble books of great authority and name with vigilant and perspicacious mind, we have not found any book so dear and precious as this is. For this is that great and secret precious book of seals of Cehel the Israelite, which the children of Israel made in the desert after their exodus from Egypt according to the course and motion of the stars. And because many false books are made in imitation of this, in order that we may perfectly know the virtue of these seals we have noted them down in this little book.”

BN 8454, 12-13th century, fols. 65v-66r, Liber magnus et secretus sigillorum Cehel. The Incipit and text closely resemble Digby 79, except that the name is spelled “Cehel” and that no mention is made of the planets.

BN 16204, 13th century, pp. 500-7. Has the same Incipit as BN 8454 and Digby 79, except that the name is spelled “Theel” and that the last clause of the Incipit, “et quia multi ... subnotavimus” (for which see the description of Digby 79 below) is omitted. On the other hand, we have the following opening paragraph of text which is not found in BN 8454: “I, Theel, one of the sons of the children of Israel, who after the transit of the Red Sea ate manna in the wilderness and drank water from the rock and saw innumerable miracles with my own eyes, and heard why from the twelve tribes twelve precious stones are worn by order of the Lord on Aaron’s vestments. And I myself chose them. And besides this selection I have inspected the engraving of gems made, as the divine Nature willed, according to the movement of the signs and the courses of the planets. And I have learned the virtues of many. And I am called Theel (or rather, Cheel) for this reason, because I have written of sealing (de celatione), that is, concerning the sculpture of gems, and not because I have concealed and kept to myself what God and nature have produced, for I write to you, my posterity, in order that through these few brief words many seals may be known in the nature of stones.”

This MS then has at pp. 500-2 the same text as BN 8454 except that the names of the planets are inserted before the first seven seals. At p. 502 the text as given in BN 8454 ends with the words, “Hoc autem sigillum fertur habuisse galienus,” but the listing of seals continues in BN 16204 until the top of p. 507, where the work of Haly on elections begins.

Digby 79, 13th century, fols. 178v-180, opens, “In nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Hic est liber preciosus magnus atque secretus sigillorum Eethel quem fecerunt filii Israel in deserto post exitum ab Egipto secundum motus et cursus siderum, et quia multi ad similitudinem huius falso facti sunt, in hoc libello subnotavimus.” This version differs from that of Thomas of Cantimpré, since its first seal is made under the planet Mercury and is an image of a man seated on a plow. Then “under Mars” comes a fuller description of what is the first seal in Thomas’s version.

Digby 193, 14th century, fol. 30, closely resembles Digby 79, except that the name is spelled “Cethel.”

Ashmole 1471, late 14th century, fols. 65v-67v, closely resembles Thomas of Cantimpré’s text. “Incipit liber Techel. Liber Techel nomine editus de sculpturis lapidum a filiis Israel eo tempore quo per desertum transierunt, et transierunt ut intrarent terram promissionis: propterea hii lapides leguntur fuisse assignati in templo Appollonis a rege Persarum cum consilio omnium astrologorum tam Egiptiorum quam Caldeorum secundum cursum signorum et cursum planetarum.” Next ensue the same preliminary observations that Thomas makes; the text of Techel proper begins only at fol. 66v.

Canon. Misc. 285, 15th century, fol. 40, anon., “In nomine dei Amen; Pretiosissimus liber sigillorum quem filii Israel post exitum....”

Corpus Christi 221, 14th century, fol. 55.

Selden 3464 (Bernard), #9.

CUL 1391, 14th century, fols. 204v-207v, “Liber magnus de sigillis lapidum et de virtutibus eorum quem fecerunt Filii Israelis in Deserto.” Like BN 8454 it closes, “hoc sigillum fertur habuisse Gallienus.”