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Article THE HISTORY OF MAGIC. ← Page 8 of 15 →
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The History Of Magic.
middle ages it again rose , an object of superstitious dread , it has in the present day finally descended to mere matter for ridicule . In the eighth century Gregory of Tours speaks of Pythonesses among the Gauls ; and in the Capitulars of Charlemagne reference is made to a prescribed class of female
diviners called Strice . At a much later period came the nightly assemblies in worship of Diana , or Hera , with their accompanying feasts , races , and dances — all relics of the ancient polytheism and sorcery . In the succeeding century , the Arabs , at rest after their great conquests , ardently studied ¦ magic ; and turned their attention in particular to the
transmutation of metals into gold . From this race the love of learning w as borrowed and fostered by Charlemagne , the dismemberment of the Arabian monarchy in the east dating from about 800 , A . c . The age of Arabian learning was coeval with that of European ignorance , and lasted about 500 years — the decline of the former keeping pace with the improvement of the latter . In the tenth century Cordova , in Spain , became the great seat of Arab and Moorish literature , where it was preserved for about seventy years . Commercial
intercourse was opened between the Arabians and Europeans in the eleventh century , during which the former nation brought over much scientific knowledge , though highly tainted with superstition . Schools of the occult sciences were established at Toledo , Salamanca , and Seville , the former of which w as a very celebrated one . Students from all parts hastened to study
at these schools , which subsisted until the fifteenth century . Connected with them were the secret societies , which also mark this age , and demand a few words of notice . They were chiefly established for the purpose of guarding the mystic secrets of the learned—the most important of them being the Templarsthe Fehmgerichteor secret tribunals of
, , Westphalia , and the Illuminati of Bavaria . The first and very powerful body was founded in 1120 , but abuses , unjustly alleged against it , tended to its abolishment in 1311 . The Fehmgerichte rose in 1180 . The Inquisition was established in 1233 , by Gregory IX . The Rosicrucians w ere founded in 1484 by a German named Christian Rosencruz . They
pro-, fessed acquaintance with the sciences , and particularly with that of medicine , and claimed to have derived their knowledge from the Egyptians and Chaldeans . They were also supposed in the eighteenth century to be the Illuminati , Immortals , or Invisible Brothers , signing themselves Fratres Rosea Cruets .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The History Of Magic.
middle ages it again rose , an object of superstitious dread , it has in the present day finally descended to mere matter for ridicule . In the eighth century Gregory of Tours speaks of Pythonesses among the Gauls ; and in the Capitulars of Charlemagne reference is made to a prescribed class of female
diviners called Strice . At a much later period came the nightly assemblies in worship of Diana , or Hera , with their accompanying feasts , races , and dances — all relics of the ancient polytheism and sorcery . In the succeeding century , the Arabs , at rest after their great conquests , ardently studied ¦ magic ; and turned their attention in particular to the
transmutation of metals into gold . From this race the love of learning w as borrowed and fostered by Charlemagne , the dismemberment of the Arabian monarchy in the east dating from about 800 , A . c . The age of Arabian learning was coeval with that of European ignorance , and lasted about 500 years — the decline of the former keeping pace with the improvement of the latter . In the tenth century Cordova , in Spain , became the great seat of Arab and Moorish literature , where it was preserved for about seventy years . Commercial
intercourse was opened between the Arabians and Europeans in the eleventh century , during which the former nation brought over much scientific knowledge , though highly tainted with superstition . Schools of the occult sciences were established at Toledo , Salamanca , and Seville , the former of which w as a very celebrated one . Students from all parts hastened to study
at these schools , which subsisted until the fifteenth century . Connected with them were the secret societies , which also mark this age , and demand a few words of notice . They were chiefly established for the purpose of guarding the mystic secrets of the learned—the most important of them being the Templarsthe Fehmgerichteor secret tribunals of
, , Westphalia , and the Illuminati of Bavaria . The first and very powerful body was founded in 1120 , but abuses , unjustly alleged against it , tended to its abolishment in 1311 . The Fehmgerichte rose in 1180 . The Inquisition was established in 1233 , by Gregory IX . The Rosicrucians w ere founded in 1484 by a German named Christian Rosencruz . They
pro-, fessed acquaintance with the sciences , and particularly with that of medicine , and claimed to have derived their knowledge from the Egyptians and Chaldeans . They were also supposed in the eighteenth century to be the Illuminati , Immortals , or Invisible Brothers , signing themselves Fratres Rosea Cruets .