The Book of Oberon (Folger MS V.b.26)

Folger Shakespeare Library MS V.b.26 is a large Elizabethan handbook of ritual magic, written in English and Latin by several hands around 1577–1583. Published in 2015 as The Book of Oberon, after the fairy king who is among the spirits it summons, it has become one of the best-known sources for magical practice in Shakespeare’s England. It is a working compilation rather than a single treatise. It contains prayers and orations for power over spirits, invocations using Hebrew and Greek divine names, instructions for magic circles, pentacles, consecrations and exorcisms, and protections against weapons and enemies. Among its many experiments are methods for calling spirits into crystals, for finding treasure and stolen goods, for invisibility and for winning favour, as well as a catalogue of spirits and conjurations of the fairy queen and her sisters and of Oberon. Long sections draw on the Heptameron attributed to Peter of Abano and on other Latin sources, and liturgical texts such as the Creed and the opening of the Gospel of John are included for ritual use. The manuscript shows how learned Solomonic material, folk belief about fairies and Protestant-era piety coexisted in practical magic. The online edition offers a diplomatic transcription by Joseph Peterson and Dan Harms, prepared as a companion to the Folger’s digital images and the printed edition.

What it contains

• Prayers and orations for power over spirits
• Circles, pentacles, consecrations and exorcisms
• Experiments for treasure, theft, invisibility and favour
• Catalogue of spirits with their seals
• Conjurations of Oberon and of fairy spirits
• Material drawn from the Heptameron and liturgical texts