Christian Exorcistic Tradition from the Outside
Interpreting the Two Exorcism Spells of the Paris Magical Codex (PGM IV/GEMF 57)
Abstract
This paper places the two unique exorcism spells in PGM IV/GEMF 57 in the contexts of late antique demon-belief, Jewish and Christian exorcistic traditions, and the scribal milieux of late antique formularies. Particular attention is paid to the construction of the demonic, the use of Old Coptic Egyptian in the Excellent Rite, and the use of the name Jesus in both spells. The formulary presents a snapshot of the Jewish/Christian exorcistic tradition as it evolved from the pre- to post-fourth century worlds and spawned these two anomalous additions to the Paris Magical Codex.
Submitted: March 20, 2025 | Accepted: Aug. 21, 2025 | Published Dec. 17, 2025 | Language: en
Keywords Exorcism • Jewish exorcistic tradition • Ritual expert • Christian exorcistic tradition • Scribal traditions • Demon
Copyright © 2025 David Frankfurter. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/QU/0122-2244/2025/01/001