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- What they are: Books of learned magic attributed to Solomon, not works demonstrably written by the biblical king.
- Main distinction: The Key of Solomon and the Lesser Key, or Lemegeton, are separate works; the Ars Goetia belongs to the latter.
- Dates: The Ars Notoria survives from the thirteenth century; the Lemegeton reached its familiar form in seventeenth-century England.
- Earlier background: The Testament of Solomon is an ancient narrative about Solomon commanding demons, not another title for either Key.
The Solomonic grimoires are related books of learned magic attributed to King Solomon, including the Ars Notoria, the Key of Solomon and the Lesser Key, rather than works demonstrably written by him. They differ in age, contents and purpose: learning through divine assistance, ritual dealings with spirits, and catalogues of spiritual beings. The much earlier Testament of Solomon belongs to the background of this tradition, but is a narrative rather than another version of the Key.
This guide moves from Solomon's reputation and the ancient Testament to the medieval Ars Notoria, then distinguishes the two Keys and the five conventional parts of the Lemegeton. It closes with manuscript variation, religious condemnation and related guides. The account is historical, without ritual directions or claims of effectiveness.
What is a grimoire, and why Solomon?
In this context, a grimoire is a book of learned magic. The Solomonic tradition is not a single book with a fixed contents list, but a group of related texts credited to the biblical king. Attribution supplies an authoritative name; it does not establish authorship. Solomon's biblical reputation for extraordinary wisdom helped make him a figure under whose name later writers could present knowledge of spiritual beings and hidden powers.
Legends of Solomon's control over demons circulated in antiquity, before the surviving medieval grimoires. That background connects the texts without making them identical in religious outlook or literary form. Scholars study them as evidence for relationships among religion, learned magic, manuscript culture and ideas about knowledge. Neither the ancient Testament nor the medieval Solomonic grimoires belongs to the Jewish or major Christian biblical canons.
The Testament of Solomon: the ancient narrative
The Testament of Solomon is generally associated with the early centuries CE, although its precise date and stages of composition remain uncertain. It is an anonymous pseudepigraphic narrative, written in Solomon's voice, rather than a medieval ritual handbook. Its surviving Greek manuscripts differ in their contents, so the manuscript tradition does not preserve one uniform account. It represents the ancient Solomon-and-demons tradition discussed here.
In the narrative, the archangel Michael gives Solomon a ring that enables him to command demons. The demons are compelled to assist in building the Temple in Jerusalem. Solomon's interrogations concern their identities, the harm they cause and the powers that can thwart them. These encounters connect the Temple's construction with accounts of illness, temptation and supernatural forces, placing the king's authority within a succession of encounters with spirits.
Ars Notoria: learning, memory and sacred figures
The Ars Notoria is a medieval Latin work whose earliest surviving manuscripts date to the thirteenth century. An exact composition date of 1225 is not established. Its author is unknown. The work presents prayers and sacred figures as means of gaining learning, memory and eloquence through divine assistance. Its intellectual scope extends across the liberal arts, philosophy and theology, linking the pursuit of knowledge with devotion.
Its distinctive figures, called notae, combine visual forms with written material. God and angels, rather than the coercion of demons, stand at the centre of its approach. The work treats learning as a divine gift and connects intellectual understanding with spiritual preparation. This focus makes the Ars Notoria a different kind of Solomonic work from a catalogue that classifies spirits by their names, ranks and attributed powers.
The Key of Solomon and the Lesser Key are different works
The Key of Solomon, also called Clavicula Salomonis, belongs to a late medieval and early modern manuscript tradition. Many versions have two books. Its contents concern ritual preparation, consecrated objects, prayers and relations with spirits; inscribed figures commonly called pentacles are prominent. These are descriptions of the work's subject matter, not evidence that it originated in the biblical period.
The Lesser Key of Solomon, or Lemegeton, took its familiar form in seventeenth-century England, drawing on older material. Its principal surviving manuscripts are in English. The conventional arrangement has five parts, although not every surviving manuscript contains all five. The Ars Notoria had already existed independently for centuries before becoming part of this compilation tradition. The shared attribution to Solomon therefore brings together works with different histories.
The Ars Goetia is the Lemegeton's catalogue of seventy-two spirits attributed to Solomon's authority. Its entries describe names, ranks, appearances, attributed powers and identifying seals. It draws substantially on an earlier spirit catalogue, the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum. Goetia is thus neither a name for the whole Solomonic tradition nor another title for the separate Key of Solomon.
- Ars Goetia: the spirit catalogue that forms one part of the conventional five-part Lemegeton.
- Ars Theurgia-Goetia: a treatment of spirits organized through directional and hierarchical schemes.
- Ars Paulina: material associating angels with hours of day and night and degrees of the zodiac.
- Ars Almadel: an account of angelic contact associated with a specially prepared wax tablet.
- Ars Notoria: the independently circulating work on learning that also appears within the Lemegeton tradition.
Copying, condemnation and the surviving manuscripts
The Key circulated in Latin, Italian, French and English, with differences in contents, arrangement and illustrations. The Ars Notoria likewise survives in varying manuscript versions, while some printed presentations omit its central figures. Medieval Christian authorities sometimes condemned it despite its devotional language. These differences and responses belong to the history of the texts themselves: a shared title does not establish identical contents, and devotional wording did not prevent religious objection.
Where to go next
The related guide to the Testament of Solomon develops the ancient narrative discussed here; the pseudepigrapha guide offers a related subject for the question of attributed authorship.
The library holds editions of the Ars Notoria and The Testament of Solomon, and also Sefer ha-Razim, an ancient Hebrew book of magical lore.
Keep exploring
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Every book’s page plays the opening of its audiobook. Open Ars Notoria below and press play.
Ars NotoriaAttributed to King SolomonHear a sample
The Testament of SolomonAttributed to King SolomonHear a sample
Sefer ha-RazimAnonymousHear a sample
Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and EarthAttributed to early Jewish mysticsHear a sample
Questions about the Solomonic grimoires
What is the Lesser Key of Solomon?
The Lesser Key of Solomon is the Lemegeton, a compilation that reached its familiar form in seventeenth-century England. Its conventional five parts bring together spirit catalogues and angelic material, but surviving manuscripts do not all contain the same complete set. It is distinct from the Key of Solomon.
What is the Ars Goetia?
The Ars Goetia is the part of the Lemegeton that catalogues seventy-two spirits associated with Solomon's authority. Entries identify spirits through names, ranks, appearances, attributed abilities and seals. Its substantial use of the earlier Pseudomonarchia Daemonum places it within a history of compilation rather than biblical authorship.
What is the Ars Notoria?
The Ars Notoria is a medieval Latin work presenting prayers and sacred figures as means of seeking learning, memory and eloquence through divine help. Its earliest surviving manuscripts are thirteenth-century. It invokes God and angels, and its subjects encompass the liberal arts, philosophy and theology.
Did King Solomon write the Key of Solomon?
The Key of Solomon is attributed to Solomon, but is not demonstrably his work. Its manuscript history belongs to the late medieval and early modern periods, not the biblical period. The attribution connects it with the king's reputation for wisdom and the broader tradition of Solomonic magical authority.
What is the Testament of Solomon?
The Testament of Solomon is an ancient pseudepigraphic narrative in which Solomon commands demons with a ring received from Michael. It associates their labour with building the Temple in Jerusalem. Usually placed in the early centuries CE, it has an uncertain composition history and survives in differing Greek manuscripts.
