paa nye igiennemseet og improbet af Høylærde og Konsterfarne Doctoribus Trykt udi Stavanger i Norge Anno 1699
Svartebøker manuscript from the library of Jens Christian Glad, Norway ca. 1750
NB Ms.4° 832
Cyprianus is a name given in Scandinavian folk magic to the “black book” (“Svarteboken”): a grimoire or manuscript collection of spells; and by extension to the magical tradition that these spells form a part of. Manuscripts called or referring to Cyprianus had a dark reputation; in some versions, one obtained the text by renouncing one’s baptism and devoting oneself to Satan. The common people’s opinion of the book was that it was a standard grimoire concerned with the summoning of demons and spirits. Ministers were often thought to have obtained it through their studies at university; it is not coincidence that ministers’ wives often functioned as folk healers in rural communities. Like many such texts, it is bound to its owner and hard to get rid of; it will not burn nor be destroyed by water, and attempting to discard it will only result in its return. These compilations nevertheless were widely circulated among the cunning folk of Scandinavia, who in a rural land with few physicians were the folk healers sought out by ordinary people beset by injury or illness.
The actual stories told of Cyprianus in Scandinavia often made no reference to St. Cyprian. Some made Cyprianus into a typical Faust figure; some said that Cyprianus was a wicked Norwegian or Dane who learned magic through his dealings with the Devil; one version makes Cyprianus so evil that the Devil threw him out of Hell; Cyprianus wrote the text to have his revenge. A different and strongly contradictory version explains that Cyprianus was a student who discovered he was attending a diabolical “black school”, and wrote the text to explain how to undo all the witchcraft he learned there.
Most black books that exist today are small, crudely written notebook-like manuscripts. Cyprianus, den over ald Verden viit bermte Sorte Konstner is nothing of the such. It is finely calligraphed and bound in leather with marbled end papers. If you are familiar with Solomonic grimoires, much of its content will not be new to you. Below is a first line table of contents:
| Pages | Title / First Line |
|---|---|
| 001 | Cyprianus den over ald Verden viit berømme Sorte Konstner paa nye igiennemseet og improbet af Høylærde og Konsterfarne Doctoribus Trykt udi Stavanger i Norge Anno 1699 |
| 002 | Replacement against Forgiveness and Witchcraft, Poisoning, Troubles and Cursing; so and occupation, to be redeemed here on earth by virtue of faith in Jesus Christ, so also in heaven, which is to be read 3 Sunday, in the morning, before the sun rises |
| 003 | Cypriani Second Replacement |
| 004 | The 7 Planets their Days and their Hours |
| 005 | The 12 Sky Signs are |
| 006 | The Description of the 7 Planets and Each Planet’s Day, |
| 007 | The key to this |
| 008 | About the hours of the day, and the planet of every hour of the day and night of the week |
| 009 | A Call to Make |
| 010 | Would you like to have 3 free certain shots every day |
| 011 | A gay man to prepare and make, that with it one should hit and shoot all game that has feathers |
| 012 | Shown to Shoot |
| 013 | Art of shooting through an iron plate with a lead bullet |
| 014 | to shoot a Pistol or Gay off without Smald |
| 015 | To Shoot Toe Holes With A Bullet |
| 016 | To Hide One’s Gay |
| 017 | item |
| 018 | Or and |
| 019 | Advice on this |
| 020 | Another |
| 021 | or and |
| 022 | Another |
| 023 | How one should take care that another should not hide his Gay |
| 024 | When Someone’s Gay is Hidden |
| 025 | If anyone’s tough and you can not shoot him whole |
| 026 | That your Gay should always shoot shown, and that you should get what you shoot for |
| 027 | To make got Gunpowder |
| 028 | The white powder to Giøre, which neither rattles nor bangs, however, drives it strongly, and is long gone |
| 029 | To make another kind of gunpowder that does not give off garbage |
| 030 | That gay gunpowder should not be ignited, even if you throw it on glowing coals |
| 031 | That Dead Gunpowder |
| 032 | At Probere Krud |
| 033 | Another |
| 034 | An art that gunpowder should not give off smoke or rattles and rumblings |
| 035 | Another |
| 036 | To make a fire that clings and clings to where it comes from |
| 037 | Alexandri Magni Fire, which ignites itself in Rain Veyr, where by hand has burned the Land of Aragoniam |
| 038 | Liuss to Giøre, which neither by Wind nor Water lets itself be Extinguished |
| 039 | That a Liuss should Burn in Water |
| 040 | with a Powder to Ignite Fire without Fire |
| 041 | At a Table to Experience Natural Wisdom, or and Over Tables: Which Persons Have or Do Not Have, Secret Enmity for Us |
| 042 | How can you nail a horse for as long as you want, even if you are not so fond of touching it, or are there? |
| 043 | How to naturally take the strength from a horse and implant it in a human |
| 044 | Do you hate anyone and want to hurt him? |
| 045 | Advice against this |
| 046 | An art, how to go to bed every night as long as you want to fuck |
| 047 | To make a Lius that neither Wind nor Rain can Extinguish |
| 048 | To and from Saargiort |
| 049 | To make a shell piece by one’s horses, cows or other cattle, so that they should not be able to eat anything |
| 050 | Konst at Giøre, at Fæet ey skal gaae af Stædet |
| 051 | Art of Casting Leede between Toe Folk |
| 052 | That Horses must well thrive on little fodder |
| 053 | To get nourishment in a host’s house |
| 054 | If you want to go to court with someone |
| 055 | A Glass to ski across |
| 056 | To remember what one reads |
| 057 | That one can not get over Marke Skiæl who has committed murder |
| 058 | Art of the Devil ey Kand Take Money from you |
| 059 | That one Money should attract the other |
| 060 | That the Money should not be Reduced |
| 061 | Copper, or Red money with little Umage to make white |
| 062 | Or and |
| 063 | To keep gays and men clean so that they will not rust |
| 064 | To gain favor with his lordship, so also wine they udi game |
| 065 | Another piece |
| 066 | Another Art for the same |
| 067 | Art of Hiding Hug Worms, Snakes and Snakes |
| 068 | That a Snake or Snake should die in a Circle |
| 069 | To Hide a Hug Worms |
| 070 | Or and: Say to him when you see him |
| 071 | For dead Edder and Poison and Worm in the Finger and Hand |
| 072 | That slashes, blows, or boils ey should bulge when this is read over there before they sleep with it |
| 073 | Council for Abscesses and Wounds |
| 074 | Enough for all kinds of wounds |
| 075 | A certain secret art, by healing a horse that is saddle-broken, which one would otherwise have to ski in the back |
| 076 | Blood to silence, both on humans, cattle and horses |
| 077 | That one Crow should catch the other |
| 078 | when a horse becomes ill and one does not know what harms him |
| 079 | Cure Cough from Horses |
| 080 | Raad for siugt Fæe |
| 081 | A drink for sick cattle |
| 082 | For Lunge-Soot |
| 083 | Item for Lunge-Soot |
| 084 | Art of shielding yourself from cuts, shots and stabs |
| 085 | another art of making oneself hairy |
| 086 | to Know which there are Troll-Witches among other People in the Church |
| 087 | Yet another Art for the same |
| 088 | That Troll Witches should not get you out of the church as long as you want them in there |
| 089 | That a Troll Qvinde can not forgive you |
| 090 | When a Troll Hex has forfeited a Man or Woman, Boy, Charles, or Piige, and those of you became very siuge, crooked and crooked, lame, crooked and Broken. |
| 091 | Art that you can see which are Troll-Witches |
| 092 | To Make Your Enemy have an Accident |
| 093 | Would you Hielpe Him or her again at ease |
| 094 | Antipathy or U-agreement to put between 2nd Persons |
| 095 | Art that one should get Leede for brandy |
| 096 | Art that a Piige’s secret natural waterways gandske must be Constipated and Shrunk |
| 097 | Would you Cure her and thereby Provide you good Money |
| 098 | Getting People to Fight |
| 099 | To dig for a treasure that lies hidden in the earth |
| 100 | To Prepare a Lius, with which one can experience in Huuse, where a treasure stands down the grave |
| 101 | To Extinguish Fire |
| 102 | Another for the same |
| 103 | An Art of removing Rats and Mice |
| 104 | Another |
| 105 | That U-clothes ey shall Eat your Semen in the Barn |
| 106 | To Giøre sig u-siunlig |
| 107 | Another for the same |
| 108 | Another to make oneself invisible |
| 109 | Swallow-Steene to get |
| 110 | Scrub-Toad-Stone to obtain |
| 111 | Snoge Steen to get |
| 112 | Would you be Wise and Wise to Viide everything |
| 113 | To put people to sleep |
| 114 | another |
| 115 | For oaths which are blown upon men |
| 116 | A Noble and Precious Secretum or Medical Judgment against All Diseases |
| 117 | When a human gets the bad Siuge for the first time |
| 118 | item for the same Siuge |
| 119 | Advice for the Bad Siuge |
| 120 | Advice for children or people who have nausea or vomiting |
| 121 | Council for Courage |
| 122 | or and |
| 123 | Advice for Bad Nails |
| 124 | Council for Blood Shots |
| 125 | Council of Liig Torne |
| 126 | For Toothpaste |
| 127 | Advice that children should not sag |
| 128 | Would you like to get Qvæg-Sølv in a Horse’s Eagle |
| 129 | For Guul Soet |
| 130 | For Blood Sweet |
| 131 | Vaarter to displace |
| 132 | another |
| 133 | another |
| 134 | If the cows are bewitched, and you can not get butter from the milk |
| 135 | another |
| 136 | To Fix Thieves Who Will Rob The Fruit Of Your Trees In The Garden |
| 137 | Against your Opponents and Evil Men |
| 138 | Advice for a Wife Who Can Be Redeemed in Child’s Need |
| 139 | For weakness of the lung |
| 140 | For Worms in the Teeth |
| 141 | or and |
| 142 | Another |
| 143 | For Toothpaste |
| 144 | Another: which is a Cura Magica per Elementum Terræ |
| 145 | Toothache to Disperse by Transplantation |
| 146 | That a fresh and green tree should wither and go out |
| 147 | Den udbrydende (auswerffende) Orm paa Heste at Curere |
| 148 | For Cold Sick |
| 149 | For all kinds of Cold Sickness and Furious Fever, a truthful and wise counsel |
| 150 | For Kaalden a certain Art |
| 151 | for Cold Siuge |
| 152 | Another |
| 153 | Another Art of Writing for the Cold |
| 154 | or and |
| 155 | Winning in all kinds of Games |
| 156 | Another |
| 157 | About Happiness in Games |
| 158 | another |
| 159 | Art of Winning with Dice |
| 160 | or |
| 161 | Or and |
| 162 | Art of Winning in the Card Game |
| 163 | Art of Winning in the Card and all other Games |
| 164 | another |
| 165 | Winning with Cards and Dice |
| 166 | Want to Win in Games |
| 167 | Art that you can get everything you want in this world |
| 168 | Do you want a wallet that will never run out of money? |
| 169 | That a girl should feel like you |
| 170 | item for the same |
| 171 | another |
| 172 | item that a girl should feel like you |
| 173 | item |
| 174 | that a girl should come to you whenever you want |
| 175 | item |
| 176 | item |
| 177 | that a girl or a woman should believe and love you |
| 178 | another way |
| 179 | or |
| 180 | probably another way |
| 181 | Whether a Piige or Qvindes Person, whom one Loves, can be used by others |
| 182 | If you want to know if a woman is Faith |
| 183 | Do you want someone to have you dear |
| 184 | item |
| 185 | To try whether a Piige is Tired or not? |
| 186 | or and |
| 187 | Would you like to know who to have |
| 188 | Art that a Piig should Love you |
| 189 | That a Piige should Run after you |
| 190 | or and |
| 191 | or and |
| 192 | or and |
| 193 | that a girl should believe in you |
| 194 | that a Piige should love you |
| 195 | that one ey should make Children |
| 196 | or and |
| 197 | That a girl or woman who lets herself be used should not have children as long as she wants |
| 198 | A beautiful Art for Qvindfolk who are with Children and are not 12 to 16 Weeks away with it |
| 199 | To get one to Dance, in addition to her Villie |
| 200 | or and |
| 201 | Art that a Karl should not leave a Girl |
| 202 | Would you like to sleep with a girl so that she does not have children? |
| 203 | That All Men Should Love You |
| 204 | Another |
| 205 | or and |
| 206 | item |
| 207 | than this |
| 208 | When one is Forgiort, that one should love one against one’s will |
| 209 | Or |
| 210 | Art that a girl should immediately let you have her will with her |
| 211 | item |
| 212 | another |
| 213 | To Get a Human to Sleep |
| 214 | Would you like to make a Piige or Qvindes Per son eager for the Lust and Leeg of Nature |
| 215 | An Approved Means, thereby arousing one to Veneris’ lust |
| 216 | Ad confortandum Venerem |
| 217 | another Confortativum, to Strengthen the Secret Lem |
| 218 | item |
| 219 | Art of making oneself unseen |
| 220 | Art to Reveal Thieves, and get them and in misfortune and misfortune |
| 221 | Art to turn a blind eye to the one who has stolen from you or others |
| 222 | When there is stealing from you or someone else |
| 223 | To Get a Thief to Reveal Himself |
| 224 | or and |
| 225 | If someone steals something from you, and you want to know who has stolen it |
| 226 | A Thief at Binde |
| 227 | The thief to solve again |
| 228 | To show again what a thief has stolen from you |
| 229 | That a Thief should bring back what he has stolen |
| 230 | Art against your most ardent enemy, who has made you many scoundrels, and has wanted to lead you into misfortune, since you are innocent, to avenge yourself on him; do as follows |
| 231 | Art to summon the Devil |
| 232 | another |
| 233 | Would you like a Vexel Daler and never run out of money |
| 234 | another art to summon the devil to |
| 235 | Would you like a Spiritus who can provide you with what you demand |
| 236 | a secret, when a man wanders wildly at night, so that he can neither comprehend night nor day |
| 237 | a Thief to Bind in German |
| 238 | The thief to solve again |
| 239 | This writing has had an end |
