Pseudo-Solomon Manuscript in French, mid-18th C
Wellcome 4659
La Clavicule ou la Clef de Salomon (The Little Key or the Key of Solomon) is an interesting French edition of the Key of Solomon carefully calligraphed and finely conserved in the Wellcome Library, London. The fist two parts match that of Wellcome MS 4669 beautifully calligraphed by J.S. Fyot. The first part, La Clavicule ou la Clef de Salomon, belongs to the Abraham Colorno Text-Group. The second part, Traite Universel des clavicules de salomon belongs to the ‘Universal Treatise’ Text-Group and deserves the most attention as this material is actually an abbreviated French translation of the Clavicula Salomonis de secretis In nomine Adonay, Tetragrammaton, the prototype to the Grimorium Verum. This is followed by a final section with 44 pentacles of Clavicula Solomonis.
Below is the “Grand Pentacle” (Pentaculum Magnum) from La Clavicule ou la Clef de Salomon (left) and Clavicula Salomonis de secretis (right).
The manuscript also contains some tracing sheets with pentacles which appear to be artifacts from its production or possibly the transference to another copy of the text.
