Cyprianus: St. Cyprian and the Black Book in Scandinavian Folklore

Cyprianus is the name of an infamous grimoire in Scandinavian folk magic and a byword for sorcery. In recent years, dozens of Cyprianus books have been translated into English, revealing a rich array of folk-magical operations similar to those found in the Iberian Cyprian tradition. Missing from this emergent literature, however, is the place of folklore.

Cyprianus: St. Cyprian and the Black Book in Scandinavian Folklore provides a translation of Danish legends relating to the Cyprianus, originally collected in the second half of the nineteenth century by the folklorist Evald Tang Kristensen. Most of these legends refer to the Cyprianus as a book - its powers, familiar spirits and those persons bold (and sometimes foolish) enough to read from its pages - while others recount the exploits of its eponymous author, a mysterious figure who, in Scandinavian lore, takes on different guises and genders. Still others reveal methods for outsmarting the Devil or banishing him entirely.

Together, these legends offer a perspective on the Cyprianus that helps contemporary readers understand the cultural and folk-magical context of this fabled grimoire.