Associated with lust, Asmodeus is presented as a fearsome three-headed monstrosity, though not one above doing the bidding of King Solomon (regarded by the occult tradition as having had a special ability to control demons), who “loaded him with irons and forced him to help build the temple of Jerusalem. de Plancy collaborated with Jacques Paul Migne, a French priest, to complete a Dictionary of the occult sciences or theological Encyclopaedia, which is described as an authentic Roman Catholic work. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. It is one of the most comprehensive and influential works on the subject, containing entries on demons, occult phenomena, and superstitions.

He became an ardent defender of the faith and denounced his previous writings as erroneous and dangerous. This connection between the ideals of the Enlightenment and the old world of magic and superstition from which these demons sprung was, in many ways, made literal by the figure of Collin de Plancy himself. Many articles written in the Dictionnaire Infernal illustrate the author's vacillation between rationalism, faith, and willingness to believe without evidence. Or there is Amduscias, in “the form of a unicorn”, to whose voice “the trees bow”, and who “commands twenty-nine legions.He also aimed to provide instruction on both the history and the practical utility of the more exalted among Satan’s minions.

There were several editions of the book; perhaps the most famous is the 1863 edition, which included sixty-nine illustrations by Louis Le Breton depicting the appearances of several of the demons. Grimoires exist”, he goes on, “because of the desire to create a physical record of magical knowledge, reflecting concerns regarding the uncontrollable and corruptible nature of .There is Asmodeus, who the Talmud claimed was born of a succubus who slept with King David, but who Collin de Plancy argued was “the ancient serpent who seduced Eve. Like many demonologists before him, de Plancy set out to create an accounting of demonic events and forces in his book, Dictionnaire Infernal.

For example, the book reassures its contemporaries as to the torments of Hell: "To deny that there are sorrows and rewards after death is to deny the existence of God; since God exists, it must be necessarily so. Ed Simon explores the work and how at its heart lies an unlikely but pertinent synthesis of the Enlightenment and the occult. Written by Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy, and illustrated by Louis Le Breton, this classic work was printed in 6 editions, with the final edition of 1863 containing the famous demon images.

Perks include receiving twice-a-year our very special themed postcard packs and getting 10% off our prints. His images were based on his imagination and previous sources, such as grimoires, folklore, and art. Collin de Plancy’s dictionary may be a grimoire, or his grimoire may be a dictionary, but fundamentally the distinction between them is less stark than might be supposed. L. MacGregor Mathers’ The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon, a famous grimoire that describes how to summon and control 72 demons. The Dictionnaire Infernal compiled the names, ranks, attributes, and appearances of hundreds of demons, as well as their histories, legends, and influences on human affairs.

Le Breton depicts Eurynome as a caprine, saw-toothed creature on bended knee, grimacing at some unseen victim, “showing his great teeth like a starving wolf”.There is Eurynome, who has “long teeth, a frightful body full of wounds, and a fox skin for clothing. In both cases, words have the power, if they’re properly organized, to change the world for better or for worse. A specialist in early modern and early American literature, he holds a PhD in English from Lehigh University, and his most recent book is Printed in Utopia: The Renaissance's Radicalism (Zero Books, 2020). The demonologist was a man stuck between logic and faith, the salon and the Hellfire club, who heard the screams of horrific monsters while writing with the sober pen of a naturalist. The information in this book is stuff that can be found online but is much better to have a physical copy of in your hands.