THE BOOKS OF MAGIC
A Global History of Grimoires, Charms and Forbidden Knowledge
1. The Devils Library: French Grimoires, Demonology and Forbidden Magic
For the past several years, we have been researching, translating and reconstructing magical books from around the world, following their trails through forgotten libraries, digitised archives, private collections and historical editions. In 2027, The Books of Magic brings that work together in twelve lectures, each devoted to a different magical culture and to the books that preserved its spells, fears, rituals and forbidden knowledge.
We begin in France, home to some of the most notorious occult books ever printed. Le Petit Albert became one of Europe’s best-known practical grimoires, offering charms, magical curiosities and methods for influencing the world through secret knowledge. La Poule Noire, or The Black Pullet, promised enchanted rings, talismans, protection, treasure and extraordinary powers. Jules Garinet’s History of Magic in France carries us through witchcraft, possession, werewolves, demonology and centuries of superstition, while Paul Lacroix’s Infernal Curiosities, first published in 1886, opens an even stranger cabinet of devils, incubi, succubi, fairies, ghosts, vampires, magical rings, pacts and supernatural disasters.
These books existed in the uneasy territory between entertainment, folklore, belief and genuine occult practice. Some were read secretly, some were condemned, and some were believed to possess a dangerous reputation simply because of the knowledge they contained. This opening lecture enters that shadowy French library and asks why supposedly rational modern Europe remained so fascinated by devils, magic and books that respectable people insisted nobody should read.
Speaker Bio
Lena Schattenherz Heide-Brennand is a Norwegian lecturer with a master degree in language, culture and literature from the University of Oslo and Linnaeus University. She has been lecturing and teaching various subjects since 1998. Her field of interest and main focus has always been topics that others have considered strange, eccentric and eerie, and she has specialised in a variety of dark subjects linked to folklore, mythology and Victorian traditions and medicine. Her students often point out her thorough knowledge about the subjects she is teaching, in addition to her charismatic appearance. She refers to herself as a performance lecturer and always gives her audience an outstanding experience, Lena’s New Book – Mythical Creatures in Scandinavian Folklore is now available on Amazon
Don’t worry if you can’t make the talk live on the night – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day
