Editing Grimoire (section)

===Medieval period===
In the [[Middle Ages|medieval period]], the production of grimoires continued in [[Christendom]], as well as amongst Jews and the followers of the newly founded [[Islam]]ic faith. As the historian Owen Davies noted, "while the [Christian] Church was ultimately successful in defeating pagan worship it never managed to demarcate clearly and maintain a line of practice between religious devotion and magic."<ref>Davies (2009:21–22)</ref> The use of such books on magic continued. In Christianised Europe, the Church divided books of magic into two kinds: those that dealt with "[[natural magic]]" and those that dealt in "demonic magic".<ref name="Davies 2009:22">Davies (2009:22)</ref>

The former was acceptable because it was viewed as merely taking note of the powers in nature that were created by God; for instance, the [[Anglo-Saxon]] leechbooks, which contained simple spells for medicinal purposes, were tolerated. Demonic magic was not acceptable, because it was believed that such magic did not come from God, but from the [[Devil]] and his demons. These grimoires dealt in such topics as [[necromancy]], [[divination]] and [[demonology]].<ref name="Davies 2009:22"/> Despite this, "there is ample evidence that the mediaeval clergy were the main practitioners of magic and therefore the owners, transcribers, and circulators of grimoires,"<ref>Davies (2009:36)</ref> while several grimoires were attributed to [[Popes]].<ref>Davies (2009:34–35)</ref>

[[File:Sefer raziel segulot.png|thumb|250px|An excerpt from ''[[Sefer Raziel HaMalakh]]'', featuring magical [[Sigil (magic)|sigils]] (or סגולות, ''seguloth'', in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]).]]
One such Arabic grimoire devoted to astral magic, the 10th-century ''Ghâyat al-Hakîm'', was later translated into Latin and circulated in Europe during the 13th century under the name of the ''[[Picatrix]]''.<ref>Davies (2009:25–26)</ref> However, not all such grimoires of this era were based upon Arabic sources. The 13th-century [[The Sworn Book of Honorius|''Sworn Book of Honorius'']], for instance, was (like the ancient ''Testament of Solomon'' before it) largely based on the supposed teachings of the Biblical king Solomon and included ideas such as prayers and a [[ritual circle]], with the [[mysticism|mystical]] purpose of having visions of God, [[Hell]], and [[Purgatory]] and gaining much wisdom and knowledge as a result. Another was the Hebrew ''[[Sefer Raziel Ha-Malakh]]'', translated in Europe as the ''Liber Razielis Archangeli''.<ref>Davies (2009:34)</ref>

A later book also claiming to have been written by Solomon was originally written in Greek during the 15th century, where it was known as the ''[[Magical Treatise of Solomon]]'' or the ''Little Key of the Whole Art of Hygromancy, Found by Several Craftsmen and by the Holy Prophet Solomon''. In the 16th century, this work had been translated into Latin and Italian, being renamed the ''Clavicula Salomonis'', or the ''[[Key of Solomon]]''.<ref>Davies (2009:15)</ref>

In Christendom during the medieval age, grimoires were written that were attributed to other ancient figures, thereby supposedly giving them a sense of authenticity because of their antiquity. The German abbot and occultist [[Trithemius]] (1462–1516) supposedly had a ''Book of Simon the Magician'', based upon the New Testament figure of [[Simon Magus]].<ref>Davies (2009:16–17)</ref>

Similarly, it was commonly believed by medieval people that other ancient figures, such as the poet [[Virgil]], astronomer [[Ptolemy]], and philosopher [[Aristotle]], had been involved in magic, and grimoires claiming to have been written by them were circulated.<ref>Davies (2009:24)</ref> However, there were those who did not believe this; for instance, the [[Franciscan]] [[friar]] [[Roger Bacon]] (c.&nbsp;1214–94) stated that books falsely claiming to be by ancient authors "ought to be prohibited by law."<ref>Davies (2009:37)</ref>