- What Exactly Is the Livre des Esperitz?
- What Is the Lesser Key of Solomon?
- How Do Their Origins Differ?
- What Spirits Do They Include?
- How Do Their Ritual Frameworks Compare?
- What Do Their Manuscript Traditions Reveal?
- How Have They Been Interpreted by Modern Practitioners?
- What Are the Common Misconceptions?
- Closing
A 15th-century French scribe copied a list of spirits into a manuscript now known as the Livre des Esperitz. Two centuries later, English compilers expanded that same lineage into the Lesser Key of Solomon. The key difference is scope: the Livre des Esperitz catalogs 31 spirits with minimal instruction, while the Lesser Key of Solomon systematizes 72 demons across five books with elaborate ritual frameworks. One is a working list. The other is a complete operational manual.
The Livre des Esperitz (Book of Spirits) survives in a single manuscript, Paris BnF MS français 25345, dated to approximately 1450. The Lesser Key of Solomon, first printed in 1904 but compiled from earlier manuscripts, represents the full flowering of Renaissance ceremonial magic. Understanding their differences means understanding how grimoire tradition evolved from simple catalogues to complex systems of control.
What Exactly Is the Livre des Esperitz?
The Livre des Esperitz is a short grimoire, roughly 4,000 words in French, that lists 31 spirits with their names, appearances, and functions. It belongs to the “Solomonic cycle” of texts that claim King Solomon as their source, but it predates the more famous grimoires by at least a century.
Each entry follows a formula: the spirit’s name, its appearance (often hybrid animal-human forms), the number of subordinate spirits under its command, and what it can teach or provide. The manuscript includes no diagrams, no circles, no elaborate conjuration prayers. It is a reference list, not a manual.
The text shows clear influence from the Almandal, a 14th-century Arabic-derived work on spirit invocation, and from the Sworn Book of Honorius, a 13th-century Latin grimoire. But the Livre des Esperitz strips away the theological framing. It presents spirits as resources to be called upon, not as enemies to be bound.
What Is the Lesser Key of Solomon?
The Lesser Key of Solomon, also called the Lemegeton, is a 17th-century compilation that organizes 72 demons into a coherent hierarchy. It survives in multiple manuscripts, the earliest being Sloane MS 2735 (1687) and Sloane MS 3825 (1688), both held at the British Library.
The work divides into five books:
- Goetia (72 demons, their seals, and conjuration methods)
- Theurgia Goetia (31 spirits of mixed nature, neither wholly good nor evil)
- Pauline Art (spirits of the hours, days, and zodiac)
- Almadel (20 spirits associated with four altars)
- Ars Notoria (prayers for acquiring knowledge and memory)
The Goetia, the most famous section, assigns each demon a rank (king, duke, president, etc.), a planetary correspondence, a specific seal, and a detailed description of its appearance and powers. The text provides conjuration prayers, protective circles, and instructions for the magician’s preparation.
The compiler is unknown, but the work draws on earlier sources: the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1583) by Johann Weyer, the Heptameron (1559) by Pietro d’Abano, and the Steganographia (c. 1500) by Johannes Trithemius.
How Do Their Origins Differ?
The Livre des Esperitz was copied in France around 1450, during the late Middle Ages. Its language is French, its cosmology is Christian, but its approach to spirits is practical rather than theological. The scribe was likely a cleric or a scholar with access to monastic libraries.
The Lesser Key of Solomon was compiled in England during the late 17th century, after the Renaissance had transformed European magic. The Reformation had broken the Church’s monopoly on the supernatural. Printing had made manuscripts more accessible. The compiler had access to multiple grimoire traditions and synthesized them.
This difference in historical context explains much of their divergence. The Livre des Esperitz reflects a world where magic was still largely oral and manuscript-based, where a list of spirits was enough because the practitioner already knew the rituals. The Lesser Key reflects a world where magic had become a literary genre, where completeness and systematization were valued.
What Spirits Do They Include?
The Livre des Esperitz lists 31 spirits. About half correspond to demons in the Goetia, but with different names or attributes. For example:
- Bael appears in both, but the Livre describes him as a king with three heads, while the Goetia adds specific times for his conjuration.
- Paimon appears in both, but the Livre gives him 200 legions of subordinates, while the Goetia assigns him 200 legions plus a specific seal.
- Astaroth appears in the Livre as a duke who appears as a serpent with a human face, while the Goetia describes him as an angelic figure riding a dragon.
The Lesser Key’s 72 demons are organized into a hierarchy of kings, dukes, presidents, marquises, counts, and knights. Each has a specific function: teaching sciences, finding treasures, causing love or hatred, revealing secrets. The Livre’s spirits have similar functions but lack the hierarchical structure.
How Do Their Ritual Frameworks Compare?
This is where the difference becomes stark. The Livre des Esperitz contains no ritual instructions. It lists spirits and what they do. The assumption is that the reader already knows how to summon them.
The Lesser Key of Solomon provides complete ritual frameworks:
- Preparation: The magician must fast, confess sins, and abstain from sex for a specified period.
- Tools: The text describes the construction of a circle, a triangle, a wand, a ring, and a seal.
- Timing: Each demon has specific planetary hours and days for conjuration.
- Conjuration: The text provides prayers, adjurations, and commands in Latin and Hebrew.
- Dismissal: The magician must formally release the spirit, or face consequences.
The Lesser Key also includes protective measures. The magician is warned not to step outside the circle, not to show fear, and not to break the ritual sequence. The Livre has none of this. It treats spirits as information sources, not as dangerous entities requiring control.
What Do Their Manuscript Traditions Reveal?
The Livre des Esperitz survives in a single manuscript, BnF français 25345, which also contains the Elucidaire (a French translation of the Elucidarium by Honorius of Autun) and other religious texts. The manuscript was owned by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France since the 18th century. Its provenance before that is unknown.
The Lesser Key of Solomon survives in at least 15 manuscripts, dating from 1687 to the 19th century. The most important are:
- Sloane MS 2735 (1687): The earliest known copy, written in English.
- Sloane MS 3825 (1688): A Latin version with additional material.
- Harley MS 6482 (c. 1700): An English copy with illustrations.
- Additional MS 36674 (c. 1700): A French translation.
The number of manuscripts indicates the Lesser Key’s popularity. It was copied, circulated, and studied across Europe. The Livre des Esperitz, by contrast, remained obscure until modern scholars rediscovered it.
How Have They Been Interpreted by Modern Practitioners?
The Lesser Key of Solomon, particularly the Goetia, has been central to Western ceremonial magic since the 19th century. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (founded 1888) used it extensively. Aleister Crowley published an edition in 1904, adding his own commentary. The text has been translated into multiple languages and remains in print.
The Livre des Esperitz was first published in modern form by Jean-Patrice Boudet in 2003, in his study of medieval magic. It has since appeared in English translation in Joseph H. Peterson’s The Lesser Key of Solomon (2001) and in David Rankine’s The Book of the Goetia (2011). It is studied primarily by scholars and serious practitioners interested in the evolution of grimoire tradition.
What Are the Common Misconceptions?
Misconception 1: The Livre des Esperitz is a fragment of the Lesser Key. It is not. The Livre predates the Lesser Key by two centuries and represents an earlier stage of the Solomonic tradition. The Lesser Key draws on multiple sources, of which the Livre is only one.
Misconception 2: The Lesser Key is a single work by a single author. It is a compilation, assembled from at least five earlier texts. The compiler is unknown. The work grew over time, with different manuscripts adding or removing material.
Misconception 3: Both grimoires are “black magic.” Neither text condemns itself as evil. Both present their methods as legitimate, drawing on Solomonic authority and Christian prayer. The distinction between “white” and “black” magic is a modern imposition.
Misconception 4: The spirits in both grimoires are the same. Only about half of the Livre’s spirits correspond to the Goetia’s 72. The Livre includes spirits like Caym and Oze that do not appear in the Goetia, while the Goetia includes spirits like Bathin and Furfur that are absent from the Livre.
FAQ
Which grimoire is older, the Livre des Esperitz or the Lesser Key of Solomon? The Livre des Esperitz (c. 1450) is older by about 250 years. The Lesser Key of Solomon was compiled in the late 17th century.
Can the Livre des Esperitz be used for practical magic? It can, but the practitioner must supply the ritual framework. The text provides names and functions but no conjuration methods.
Why does the Lesser Key have 72 demons instead of 31? The number 72 has numerological significance: it corresponds to the 72 names of God in Kabbalistic tradition, the 72 disciples of Christ, and the 72 nations of the world in medieval cosmology.
Are the spirits in both grimoires dangerous? Both texts treat spirits as potentially dangerous if mishandled. The Lesser Key provides extensive protective measures. The Livre assumes the practitioner already knows how to manage them.
Closing
The Livre des Esperitz and the Lesser Key of Solomon represent two stages of the same tradition: the first a working list from a world where magic was still oral and manuscript-based, the second a complete system from a world where magic had become a literary genre. Understanding their differences illuminates how grimoire tradition evolved from simple catalogues to complex operational manuals. For a deeper look at how these texts fit into the broader Solomonic tradition, see our guide to grimoires. The symbols and seals used in both texts carry their own history. And for a direct comparison of the Goetia’s 72 demons with their earlier sources, read our guide to the Goetia.