ARS
Notoria
The NOTORY Art of Solomon
Translated from Latin into English
By Robert Turner, 1657
Ars Notoria: The Notary Art of Solomon
Translated by Robert Turner, 1656
Transcribed and converted to Acrobat by Benjamin Rowe, July 1999
Foreword copyright 1999 by Benjamin Rowe
Typeset in Adobe Caslon
i
Foreword
At the present time, there is only one English version of the Ars Notoria; all cur-
rently-available editions of the book are based on the translation done in the 1650’s by
Robert Turner, a student of magical and astrological texts. Turner translates a Latin
version published by Agrippa fifty years earlier. While many earlier Latin versions
are referenced by scholars – some from as early as the 13th century – no one has as yet
taken the time to produce an updated English rendition of the work, or to fully com-
pare Agrippa’s version with the earlier versions.
The foundation and essence of the practices described in the Ars Notoria lies in
the figures or “notes” that give it its title. These consist partly of realistic illustrations,
partly of sigils and signs similar to other grimoires of the day, and partly of text,
which winds into and around the graphical elements. When used as objects of
contemplation (or in a more active use of visual imagination) the notes are said to
place the user’s mind in a state in which it is granted complete knowledge or skill in
one of the seven Liberal Arts. Unfortunately, Turner’s translation did not include
these figures.
Photographs of several notes can be found in Visual Art in Two Manuscripts of
the Ars Notoria, by Michael Camille, published in Conjuring Spirits: Texts and Tradi-
tions of Medieval Ritual Magic, edited by Claire Fanger, published by the Pennsylva-
nia State University Press. According to Dr. Fanger, there are at least three
stylistically distinct sets of notes to be found among the Latin manuscripts of the
Notoria. No one set is considered definitive.
The text instructs the practioner to “look into” or “inspect” the note with which
he is working several