Books The Key of Solomon the King (Clavicula Salomonis)

"The Key of Solomon the King" (Clavicula Salomonis) is a medieval grimoire falsely attributed to the biblical King Solomon. It most likely originated in the 14th or 15th century during the Italian Renaissance, representing a typical example of Renaissance magic. The original Hebrew text is believed lost, with surviving versions primarily in Latin, Italian, Greek, and later European translations from the 16th to 18th centuries.

The book consists of magical spells, invocations, pentacles (magical symbols), and rituals closely tied to planetary hours and astrological correspondences. It provides instructions for summoning spirits and commanding supernatural forces using divine names, combining elements of what are traditionally called white magic and darker or necromantic practices.

Legend has it the book was written by Solomon for his son Rehoboam to hide in his tomb, but this claim is part of the text's mythic framing rather than historical fact. Some stories suggest it was found and concealed by Babylonian philosophers, and various incantations and purifications described in the text reveal later medieval Christian influences, such as prayers invoking Jesus Christ, showing the text's composite nature.

Several important manuscripts exist, including early Latin and English translations from the late 16th century and an associated Greek manuscript known as the Magical Treatise of Solomon from around the 15th century. The grimoire likely drew on Jewish kabbalistic ideas, Greco-Roman magic, and Muslim magical traditions filtered through Renaissance occult philosophy.