Collection of treatises on magic, astrology, alchemy and Sufism: 1. On the magical qualities of the letters of the Arabic alphabet, their numerical values and their categorization into fire, air, water and earth letters, in Ottoman Turkish (folios1a-2a). 2. Talisman (folio 2a), in Arabic. The copyist (Tawakkulī Muṣṭafá) claims to have seen this talisman in the year 1162 Hijrī (1748/1749) and copied it in Jumād Thānī, 1175 Hijrī (1761/1762). 3. Miftāḥ Kitāb Sāmūr Hindī (Key to the book of the Indian Sāmūr" (folios 2b-22a), by Darwīsh Fatʹḥ Allāh Rūmī (could not be identified), in Ottoman Turkish, an elaborate work on numerology with magic squares. The alleged author "Sāmūr Hindī" (or "Shaykh Sāmūr") could not be identified (probably a fictitious name). Copied in Jumād Awwal, 1188 Hijrī (July/August, 1774). Name of copyist and place of copying not mentioned. 4. Chronology (Silsilah "Chain") of some Sufi order in Ottoman Turkish (folio 22b). 5. Sketch of the zodiac with several magical astronomical tables "zāyirjahs" (folios 23a-26b). 6. Alchemy recipes (27a-29b) on how to convert base metals into gold, in Arabic and Ottoman Turkish. Copied in Shaʻbān 1187 Hijrī (October/November 1773) by Tawakkulī Muṣṭafá. Place of copying not mentioned. 7. Second collection of alchemy recipes (folios 30b-33a). The author wrote at the beginning of these recipes that they were given to him by Sharīf Sayyidī Ḥasan of Diyār Bakr (Diyarbakır, Turkey) in the year 1172 Hijrī (September/October, 1758), at the rate of two words a month. The alleged Sharīf lived after that for fourteen years and died in Muḥarram 1185 Hijrī (April/May, 1771) before being able to finish the alchemy process. 8. Taswīdah (folio 33b), a short alchemy recipe copied on 22 Rajab, 1230 Hijrī (30 June, 1815) by ʻAbd Allāh Muḥammad Luṭfī.
Description:
In Arabic and Ottoman Turkish., Title of the codex supplied by cataloger., Romanization supplied by cataloger., Incipit of the Talisman : "Aqsamtu ʻalaykum ayyuhā al-arwāḥ al-ʻulwīyah wa-al-suflīyah al-mustakhrajūn min taksīr hādhihi al-ḥurūf al-sharīfah al-muwakkalūn wa-al-ḥākimūn ʻalayhā, yā Fakhāʼīl, yā Khaḍāʼīl ...", Incipit of Miftāḥ Kitāb Sāmūr Hindī: "Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm. al-Ḥamdu lillāh alladhī aẓhara dhawāt al-ʻālimīn bi-amrihi al-qadīm, wa-nawwara al-ʻārifīn bi-tilāwat asmāʼihi al-ʻaẓīm, wa-al-ṣalāh al-dāʼimah ʻalá muẓhir al-dhāt Nabīyih Muḥammad Dhī al-wajh al-karīm wa-ʻalá ālihi wa-awlādihi alladhīna uẓhirū min ʻālam al-rūḥ ilá ʻālam al-jism bi-al-faḍl al-ʻamīm ...", Secundo folio of Miftāḥ Kitāb Sāmūr Hindī: amīdh darkah bayn., Incipit of Alchemy recipes: "Mabqalah qarībah. Taʼkhudh ʻalá barakat Allāh, taʼkhudh min shaʻr ithnay ʻashar ūqiyah wa-min wa-min [repeated] al-ṣābūn [ṣābūn] al-ḥukamā qadr thalāthīn, yaʻnī thamāniyah wa-tisʻīn dirham, tusḥaq farādah thumma tusḥaq maʻa baʻḍ saḥqan balīghan ...", Secundo folio of Alchemy recipes: fī muddat laylah., Incipit of Second collection of alchemy recipes: "Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm wa-ṣallá Allāh ʻalá Sayyidinā Muḥammad wa-ālihi wa-ṣaḥbihi wa-sallam. Talaqqaynā hādhihi [hādhā] al-ʻilm min Sharīf Sayyidī Ḥasan min Diyār Bakr fī sanat1172, ibtidāʼ kull shahr kalimatayn. ʻĀsha baʻda dhālika arbaʻat ʻashar sanah ḥattá kamulat asmāʼuhā ramzan. Wa-lam kamulat kulluhā, yaʻnī tarkībuhā. ʻAinda al-tarkīb tawaffā [tuwuffiya] fī Muḥarram sanat 1185.", Secundo folio of Second collection of alchemy recipes: ʻalá kānūn ʻalá nār., Incipit of Taswīdah: "Khudh ʻalá barakat Allāh taʻālá min al-kibrīt al-mistakkāwī ūqīyah wa-min al-zinjafr ūqīyah ...", 15 x 20.5 cm; written surfaces: vary ; lines per page vary., Binding: In brown cloth modern binding., In good naskh script in different hands, in black ink on white paper; headings, keywords and markings in red; catchwords., Title of Miftāḥ Kitāb Sāmūr Hindī from folio 2b., On folio 34a an ownership statement: "Ṣāḥibī wa-mālikī Nuʻmān Afandī Madanī al-Ḥanafī, khādim al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf. 1246 Hijrī (1830/1831)., Colophon of the Talisman: "Tammat. Naqaltuhu min risālah taḥrīran fī Jumāda Thānī sanat 1175, wa-raʼaytuhu fī sanat 1162, thumma naqaltuhu fī Jumād Thānī [signature] Tawakkulī Muṣṭafá.", Translation of the colophon of the Talisman: "It is completed. I copied it from a treatise in Jumād Thānī, 1175 [December 1761/January 1762], having seen it in 1162 [December 1748/January 1749] and copied it in Jumād Thānī [signiture], Tawakkulī Muṣṭafá.", Colophon of Miftāḥ Kitāb Sāmūr Hindī: Colophon missing. Ends with numerical calculations., Colophon of of Alchemy recipes: Colophon missing. Ends with: "... wa-in kāna yafḍulu fīhi shayʼ udmushu marratan ukhrah [ukhrá] ḥattá lā yafḍula fīhi min al-māʼ shayʼ wa-yaṣīr mithl al-isfīdāj dawwim minhā ʻalá 6 qamar yaṣīr ibrīzan kāmilan.", and Colophon of Second Alchemy recipes. Colophon missing. Ends with: "... wa-in lam yaghūṣ shammiʻhu bi-waznah min al-miftāḥ, shayʼ fa-shayʼ jarribhu, wa-in waqf awḍiʻ ʻalayh min al-miftāḥ waznah wa-qaṭṭirhu wa-rudda al-qāṭir ʻlayh thāniyan wa-thālithan, wa-ammā thālith marrah lam yaḥmil qābilat qizāz yaṭlīh raṣāṣ aw ṣīnī hindī, hādhā nuqṭat al-ḥāriqah ʻalá al-dhahab wa-al-fiḍḍah."
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Astrology, Magic, Magic squares, Numerology, Sufism, and Talismans
Title and date supplied by curator., Place of publication derived from language of text., Three woodcuts, portion of text and border cuts: probably used as a bookbinding., and This electronic record is derived from historic data and may not reflect our current information. Review and updating of records is ongoing.
Publisher:
publisher not identified
Subject (Topic):
Astrology, Phlebotomy, Human body, Zodiac, Surgery, and Sick persons
Cliff, Jer. Jeremiah?, apothecary at Tenterdon, Kent
Call Number:
Osborn c158
Image Count:
500
Resource Type:
unspecified
Abstract:
Manuscript, in a single hand, of a collection of several hundred primarily religious or lighthearted entries, including poetry, recipes, sermons, epitaphs, extracts, and a treatise on the months and phases of the moon. The manuscript contains verses copied from early 17th-century books, including Remains concerning Britain by William Camden and Josuah Sylvester's translation of Du Bartas's Divine weeks & works, as well as more contemporary works, such as The true-Bred Englishman and The mock-mourners, by Daniel Defoe. Several of the religious poems are anti-Catholic, while others focus on the subjects of women and love, Other entries include extracts from sermons of Hugh Latimer and colloquies of Erasmus; recipes, including some from Helmes Trismegistus; extracts from the Journal of Nathaniel Mist; and a lengthy treatise on the months, the phases of the moon, and astrological signs entitled The shepherd's kalendar, which is accompanied by illustrations of astrological signs; a shepherd reaching for the stars;and a diagram with moveable parts, held in place by a pin, and In addition to the illustrations accompanying the astrological treatise, the manuscript contains a drawing of the Virgin Mary titled "Taken oute of T. V. Monk of the holy Order of St. Benedict It shews their absurdity."
Description:
In English., The author's name appears on p. 2, where he writes, "Songs, Poems, Epitaphs, and some Fragments of Old Doctor Zatimers sermons taught above a hund and fifty year agoe all very diverting to young people all collected by me Jer: Cliff in the yeares 1697: 97:99:700: 701: 702:: & 703 to 1728.", Index at end of volume., Written on back flyleaf: Sarah Cliff Her Book July the 18 1741. Given her by her father., and Binding: vellum boards. Pen trials on both front and back covers.
