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Classification of demons
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== Classification by domain== ===The Testament of Solomon=== {{main|Testament of Solomon}} The ''Testament of Solomon'' is a [[pseudepigraphy|pseudepigraphical]] work, purportedly written by King [[Solomon]], in which the author mostly describes particular demons who he enslaved to help build the [[Solomon's Temple|temple]], the questions he put to them about their deeds and how they could be thwarted, and their answers, which provide a kind of self-help manual against demonic activity. The date is very dubious, though it is considered the oldest surviving work particularly concerned with individual demons.<ref>[http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/testamen.htm ''The Testament of Solomon''], trans. [[F. C. Conybeare]], ''The Jewish Quarterly Review'', October 1898</ref><ref>Conybeare, F.C. ''The Testament of Solomon'', ''The Jewish Quarterly Review'', Vol. 11, No. 1, (October 1898)</ref> ===Psellus' classification=== [[Michael Psellus]] prepared the influential ''De operatione dæmonum (On the Operation of Demons)'' in the 11th century, with a taxonomy dividing demons into six types: Leliurium (Igneous), Aërial, Marine (Aqueous), Terrestrial (Earthly), Subterranean, and Lucifugous (Heliophobic).<ref>''De operatione daemonum.'' Tr. Marcus Collisson. Sydney 1843. [http://www.esotericarchives.com/psellos/daemonibus.pdf Full online text], pp. 31–33</ref> ===''Lanterne of Light''=== In 1409–1410 ''The Lanterne of Light'' (an anonymous English [[Lollard]] tract often attributed to [[John Wycliffe]])<ref>Milford, Humphrey. "Introduction", [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/AHA2749?rgn=main;view=toc ''The Lanterne of Liȝt'']. Oxford University Press, 1917</ref> provided a classification system based on the [[seven deadly sins]], known as the "seven deadly devils" or "seven princes of Hell", with each demon tempting people by means of those [[sin]]s, as follows:<ref>Anonymous, ''[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/AHA2749/1:2.10?rgn=div2;view=fulltext The Lanterne of Liȝt]'', Humphrey Milford ed., (1917). Oxford University Press, p. 60; quote: "Þe firste is Lucifer/ þat regneþ in his malice.̉ ouer þe children of pride/ Þe secounde is clepid Belzebub.̉ þat lordiþ ouer envious/ Þe þridde deuel is Sathanas.̉ & wraþþe is his lordschip/ Þe fourþe is clepid Abadon.̉ þe slowȝ ben hise retenwe/ Þe fifþe deuel is Mammon.̉ & haþ wiþ him þe auarouse/ and also oone þat is his feere.̉ a foule synne couetise/ Þe sixte is clepid Belphegor.̉ þat is þe god of glotouns ‖ Þe seuenþ deuel is Asmodeus.̉ þat leediþ wiþ him þe leccherouse ‖" *{{cite book |editor1=Lilian M. Swinburn |title= The Lanterne of Liȝt |trans-title=The Lanterne of Light |date=1917 |orig-date=Original manuscript {{circa|1400}} |page=60 |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/AHA2749/1:2.10?rgn=div2;view=fulltext |id=Edited from ms. Harl. 2324 |publisher=Early English Text Society; K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|others=[[John Wycliffe]] [attributed authorship]; digitised 2006 by the University of Michigan's Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse|language=enm }}</ref><ref name="MWBSDS">Morton W. Bloomfield, ''The Seven Deadly Sins'', Michigan State College Press, 1952, pp. 214–215.</ref><!-- THE NEXT CITATION HAS THE QUOTED TEXT, READ IT BEFORE CHANGING THE LIST --> {{Verse translation|lang=enm|italicsoff=y |Þe firste is Lucifer þat regneþ in his malice.̉ ouer þe children of pride Þe secounde is clepid Belzebub.̉ þat lordiþ ouer envious Þe þridde deuel is Sathanas.̉ & wraþþe is his lordschip Þe fourþe is clepid Abadon.̉ þe slowȝ ben hise retenwe Þe fifþe deuel is Mammon.̉ & haþ wiþ him þe auarouse and also oone þat is his feere.̉ a foule synne couetise Þe sixte is clepid Belphegor.̉ þat is þe god of glotouns Þe seuenþ deuel is Asmodeus.̉ þat leediþ wiþ him þe leccherouse |The first is Lucifer that reigns in his malice over the children of pride The second is called Beelzebub that lords over [the] envious The third is Satan and wrath is his lordship The fourth is called Abaddon, the sloth[ful] be his retinue The fifth is Mammon and has with him the avarice [avaricious] and also fittingly, a foul sin, covetousness, is with his company of subjects The sixth is called Belphegor, that is the god of gluttons The seventh is Asmodeus, that leads with him the lecherous | attr1 =''The Lanterne of Light'' in original [[Middle English]], p. 60 | attr2 =Translation: Collette and Garrett-Goodyear<ref>{{cite book |last1=Collette |first1=Carolyn P. |last2=Garrett-Goodyear |first2=Harold |title=The later Middle Ages: A sourcebook |date=2011 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire New York |isbn=9780230551367 |chapter=The Lanterne of Light}}</ref>}} This list was later used in the works of [[John Taylor (poet)|John Taylor]], the Water Poet.<ref name="JTWJT">John Taylor, ''Works of John Taylor, the Water Poet, Volume 2'', Spenser Society, 1873, p. 33</ref> Later writers, such as [[Peter Binsfeld]], assigned different demons to the respective sins and should not be confused with this list.<ref name="guiley" /><ref name="gettings" /> The two classification systems are shown side-by-side below:<!-- THE PREVIOUS CITATION HAS THE TEXT QUOTED, READ IT BEFORE CHANGING THE LIST --> {{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|head1=''The Lanterne of Light'' |# [[Lucifer]]: Pride # [[Beelzebub]]: Envy # [[Satan]]: Wrath # [[Abaddon]]: Sloth # [[Mammon]]: Greed # [[Belphegor]]: Gluttony # [[Asmodeus]]: Lust |head2=Binsfeld's classification |# [[Lucifer]]: Pride # [[Mammon]]: Greed # [[Asmodeus]]: Lust # [[Leviathan]]: Envy # [[Beelzebub]]: Gluttony # [[Satan]]: Wrath # [[Belphegor]]: Sloth}}<!--Please don't change the order of the lists just so they line up side-by-side. They should stay in the order of their classification scheme to they belong.--> ===Spina's classification=== [[Alphonso de Spina]], in 1467, prepared a classification of demons. * [[Incubus|Incubi]] and [[Succubus|succubi]] * Wandering groups or armies of demons can include multiple regions in hell * [[Familiar spirit|Familiars]] * [[Drude]]s * [[Cambion]]s and other demons that are born from the union of a demon with a human being. * Liar and mischievous demons * Demons that attack the saints are rogue demons * Demons that try to induce old women to attend [[Sabbath (witchcraft)|Witches' Sabbaths]] This classification is somewhat capricious and it is difficult to find a criterion for it. It seems that Spina was inspired by several legends and stories. The drudes belong to [[German folklore]]. Familiars, goblins, and other mischievous demons belong to the folklore of most European countries. The belief in incubi and succubi (and their ability to procreate) seem to have inspired the fifth category, but it could also have been inspired in the Talmudic legend of demons having sexual intercourse with mortal women and men (see also [[Mastema]]). The visions of tempting demons that some early (and not so early) saints had, perhaps inspired the eighth category (e.g. the visions of [[Anthony the Great]]). The idea of old women attending Sabbaths was common during the European [[Middle Age]]s and [[Renaissance]], and Spina mentioned it before the {{lang|la|[[Malleus Maleficarum]]}}. ===Agrippa's classification=== [[File:KLONTZAS GEORGIOS End of 16th cent The Second Coming detail The Hell.png|thumb|250 px|right|''16th Century Soldier Demons'' by [[Georgios Klontzas]]]] In ''[[Three Books of Occult Philosophy|De occulta philosophia]]'' (1509-1510), [[Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa]] proposed several classifications for demons, based on numeric scales, like his whole [[Cosmology]].<ref>{{Citation |title=De Occulta Philosophia libri tres |last=Agrippa|first=Cornelius |pages=103–135 |date=1510 |url=http://www.esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agrippa2.htm |via=www.esotericarchives.com}}</ref> [[Francis Barrett (occultist)|Francis Barrett]], in his book ''[[The Magus (Barrett book)|The Magus]]'' (1801), adopted this classification of demons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/magus/ma219.htm#page_47 |title=Barrett's The Magus at |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=2011-06-22}}</ref><ref>Gettings, Fred. ''Dictionary of Demons'' Trafalgar Square Publishing, 1988. pgs. 182-183; "Orders", table 17.</ref><!--Reference is for whole section--> ====Scale of unity==== * One prince of rebellion, of angels, and darkness: ** [[Lucifer]] ====Scale of binary==== * Two chiefs of the devils: ** [[Behemoth]] ** [[Leviathan]] ====Scale of ternary==== * Three [[furies]]: ** [[Alecto]] ** [[Megera]] ** [[Tisiphone|Ctesiphon]] * Three [[Hell|infernal]] judges: ** [[Minos]] ** [[Aeacus]] ** [[Rhadamanthus]] ====Scale of quaternary==== * Four Princes of devils in the [[Classical element|elements]]: ** [[Samael]]: [[Classical Element/Fire|Fire]] ** [[Azrael]]: [[Classical Element/Water|Water]] ** [[Azazel]]: [[Classical element/Air|Air]] ** Mahazael: [[Classical Element/Earth|Earth]] * Four Princes of spirits, upon the [[Cardinal direction|four angles of the world]] ** {{notatypo|Oriens}}: [[East]] ** [[Paimon|Paymon]]: [[West]] ** Egyn: [[North]] ** [[Amaymon]]: [[South]] Despite listing these separately, Agrippa mentions that these groups are identical, making the first as the Hebrew equivalent of the names of the latter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Occult Philosophy, Book III, chapter 24 |url=http://www.esotericarchives.com/agrippa/op3.htm#chap24 |via=www.esotericarchives.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614062829/http://esotericarchives.com:80/agrippa/op3.htm |archive-date=2020-06-14 }}</ref> The same four demons appear in the ''Semiphoras and Schemhamforas''.<ref>[http://www.esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agrippa2.htm Cornelius Agrippa, ''De occulta philosophia''] www.esotericarchives.com</ref><ref>[http://www.esotericarchives.com/moses/67moses2.htm#appendix3 The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses] www.esotericarchives.com</ref> ====Scale of six==== * Six [[Telchines#Sorcerers and demons|authors of all calamities]]: ** Acteus ** Megalesius ** Ormenus ** Lycus ** Nicon ** Mimon ====Scale of novenary==== * Nine princes ruling over nine orders of devils (with biblical references):<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Occult Philosophy, Book III, chapter 18 |url=http://www.esotericarchives.com/agrippa/op3.htm#chap18 |url-status=live |access-date=2021-12-02 |website=esotericarchives.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614062829/http://esotericarchives.com:80/agrippa/op3.htm |archive-date=2020-06-14 }}</ref> ** [[Beelzebub]]: False Gods ({{Bibleverse|Matthew|4:1-11|KJV}}) ** [[Python (mythology)|Python]]: Spirits of Lying ({{Bibleverse|1 Kings|22:21-22|KJV}}) ** [[Belial]]: Instruments of iniquity and wrath ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|49:5|KJV}}, {{Bibleverse|Psalms|7:13|KJV}}, {{Bibleverse|Isaiah|13:5|KJV}}, {{Bibleverse|Jeremiah|50:25|KJV}}, {{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|9:2|KJV}}) ** [[Asmodeus]]: Revengers of Wickedness ** [[Satan]]: Deluders or Imitators of miracles ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|3:1-5|KJV}}) ** [[Merihem]]: Aerial Powers ({{Bibleverse|Revelation|7:1-2|KJV}}) ** [[Abaddon]]: [[Furies]] – sowing mischief ** [[Astaroth]]: Calumniators – inquisitors and accusers ** [[Mammon]]: evil [[genies]] – tempters and ensnarers ===Binsfeld's classification{{anchor|Binsfeld's classification of demons}}=== As part of his 1589 ''Treatise on Confessions by Evildoers and Witches'', German theologian [[Peter Binsfeld]] prepared a classification of demons known as the Princes of Hell. Like the ''Lanterne of Light'', Binsfeld used the [[seven deadly sins]] as a basis, though the two schemes differ in various ways.<ref name="guiley">''Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology'', by Rosemary Guiley, pp. 28–29, Facts on File, 2009.</ref><ref name="gettings">''Dictionary of Demons'', by Fred Gettings, Guild Publishing, 1998, pp. 55–56</ref><ref name="Robbins 1959"/>{{rp|127}} # [[Lucifer]]: pride # [[Mammon]]: greed # [[Asmodeus]]: lust # [[Leviathan]]: envy # [[Beelzebub]]: gluttony # [[Satan]]: wrath # [[Belphegor]]: sloth ===King James classification=== {{main|Daemonologie}} [[James VI and I|King James]]' dissertation titled ''Daemonologie'' was first published in 1597, several years before the first publication of the [[King James Version|King James Authorized Version]] of the Bible. Its three short books which are in the form of a philosophical dialogue, making arguments and comparisons between magic, sorcery, and witchcraft. Within them, James classified demons into four sections: * [[Lemures]] or Spectra: Spirits that trouble houses or solitary places<ref name="JR VI"/>{{rp|69}} * [[Intrusive thought|Obsession]]: Spirits that follow upon certain people to outwardly trouble them at various times of the day<ref name="JR VI"/>{{rp|79}} * [[Demonic possession|Possession]]: Spirits that enter inwardly into a person to trouble them<ref name="JR VI"/>{{rp|84}} * [[Fairies]]: Spirits that prophesy, consort, and transport<ref name="JR VI"/>{{rp|87}} His classification was not based on separate demonic entities with their names, ranks, or titles, but rather categorized them based on four methods used by any given devil to cause mischief or torment on a living individual or a corpse. The purpose was to relay the belief that spirits caused maladies and that magic was possible only through demonic influence. He further quotes previous authors who state that each devil has the ability to appear in diverse shapes or forms for varying arrays of purposes as well. In his description of them, he relates that demons are under the direct supervision of God and are unable to act without permission, further illustrating how demonic forces are used as a ''"Rod of Correction"'' when men stray from the will of God and may be commissioned by witches, or magicians to conduct acts of ill will against others but will ultimately only conduct works that will end in the further glorification of God despite their attempts to do otherwise.<ref name="JR VI">{{cite book|last1=King James|title=Daemonologie. A Critical Edition. In Modern English. 2016|date=14 May 2016|isbn=978-1-5329-6891-4|pages=59–90|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform }}</ref> ===Michaëlis's classification=== In 1613 the Dominican prior and French inquisitor, [[Sébastien Michaëlis]] wrote a book, ''Admirable History'', which included a classification of demons as it was told to him by the demon [[Berith (demon)|Berith]] when he was exorcising a nun, according to the author.{{efn|In Michaëlis's classification, many demons' names are exclusively French or unknown in other catalogs. Michaëlis, in referring to the saints who are adversaries of each demon, names unambiguously only St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, St. Vincent Ferrer, and St. Francis de Paul with their full appellations. The other saints are cited only by their name, without distinguishing one from the other, when of the same name; so, for example, ''St Francis'' is not specifically designated as ''St Francis of Assisi''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maus de Rolley |first1=Thibaut |editor1=Koen Vermeir |editor2=Jonathan Regier |title=Boundaries, extents and circulations: Space and spatiality in early modern natural philosophy |date=2016 |publisher=Springer Cham |isbn=978-3-319-41075-3 |pages=179–207 |chapter=Putting the Devil on the Map: Demonology and Cosmography in the Renaissance |series=Studies in History and Philosophy of Science |volume=41 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-41075-3}}</ref>}} This classification is based on the [[De Coelesti Hierarchia|Pseudo-Dionysian hierarchies]], according to the sins the devil tempts one to commit, and includes the demons' adversaries (who suffered that temptation without falling).<ref name="Robbins 1959">{{cite book |author=Rossell Hope Robbins |title=The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology |date=1959 |publisher=Crown Publishers |location=New York |pages=127–130 |orig-date=First published 1912 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwi0000unse_g0r1/page/128/mode/2up}}</ref><!--Reference is for whole section--><ref>"... les demons estans interrogez répondirent qu'ils estoient trois au corps de Louyse, y estans par le moyen d'un maléfice, & que le premier d'eux se nommait Verrine, l'autre Gresil, & le dernier Sonneillon, & que tous estoient du troisiesme ordre, sçauoir au rang des Thrones." (Histoire admirable de la possession et conversion d'une pénitenteexorcisee, sous l'autorité du R.P. F. SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS. Edition troisiesme & dernière À. Paris, Chastellain, 1614, p. 3. From Michaelis's work, available on BNF: [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k83485n online text from Gallica] [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k83485n Histoire admirable]</ref> ====First hierarchy==== The first hierarchy includes angels that were [[Seraphim]], [[Cherubim]], and [[Ophanim]]/[[Throne (angel)|Thrones]]:<ref name="Robbins 1959"/> * [[Beelzebub]] was a prince of the Seraphim, second to Lucifer, founder of Hell’s Order of the Fly. He tempts men with envy and is opposed by [[Francis of Assisi|St. Francis]]. * [[Leviathan]] was also a prince of the Seraphim who tempts people to give into heresy, and is opposed by [[St. Peter]]. * [[Asmodeus]] was a prince of the [[Ophanim]]/[[Throne (angel)|Thrones]], burning with desire to tempt men into wantonness. He is opposed by [[St. John the Baptist]]. * [[Berith (demon)|Berith]] was a prince of the Cherubim. He tempts men to commit homicide, and to be quarrelsome, contentious, and blasphemous. He is opposed by [[St. Barnabas]]. * [[Astaroth]] was a prince of Thrones, who tempts men to be lazy and is opposed by [[Bartholomew the Apostle|St. Bartholomew]]. * [[Verrine (demon)|Verrine]] was also a prince of Thrones, just below Astaroth. He tempts men with impatience and is opposed by [[St. Dominic]]. * [[Gressil]] was the third prince of Thrones, who tempts men with impurity and is opposed by [[Bernard of Clairvaux|St. Bernard]]. * Soneillon was the fourth prince of Thrones, who tempts men to hate and is opposed by [[St. Stephen]]. ====Second hierarchy==== The second hierarchy includes Powers, Dominions, and Virtues:<ref name="Robbins 1959"/> * Carreau was a prince of Powers. He tempts men with hardness of heart and is opposed by [[Vincent Ferrer|St. Vincent]]. * Carnivale was also a prince of Powers. He tempts men to obscenity and shamelessness, and is opposed by [[John the Evangelist]]. * Oeillet was a prince of Dominions. He tempts men to break the vow of poverty and is opposed by [[Martin of Tours|St. Martin]]. * [[Rosier (demon)|Rosier]] was the second in the order of Dominions. He tempts men against sexual purity and is opposed by [[St. Basil]]. * [[Belial|Belias]] was the prince of Virtues. He tempts men with arrogance and women to be vain, raise wanton children, and gossip during mass. He is opposed by [[St. Francis de Paul]]. ====Third hierarchy==== The third hierarchy Principalities, Archangels, and Angels:<ref name="Robbins 1959"/> * Verrier was the prince of Principalities. He tempts men against the vow of obedience and is opposed by [[Bernard of Clairvaux|St. Bernard]]. * Olivier was the prince of the Archangels. He tempts men with cruelty and mercilessness toward the poor and is opposed by [[St. Lawrence]], patron saint of the poor.<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Lawrence |url=https://catholicsaintmedals.com/saints/st-lawrence/ |website=Catholic Saint Medals}}</ref> * Iuvart was the prince of Angels. At the time of Michaelis's writing, Iuvart was believed to have possessed a young novice nun of the [[Ursulines]], Madeleine Demandols de La Palud, from whom it was exorcised.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maus de Rolley |first1=Thibaut |editor1=Jacqueline Glomski |editor2=Isabelle Moreau |title=Seventeenth-century fiction: Text and transmission |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780198737261 |pages=34–48 |chapter-url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1505956/1/MausdeRolley.%20Lewis%20Gaufredy%20-%20final.pdf |chapter=The English Afterlife of a French Magician: ''The Life and Death of Lewis Gaufredy'' (1612)|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198737261.003.0003}}</ref> Many of the names and ranks of these demons appear in the Sabbath litanies of witches, according to Jules Garinet's ''Histoire de la magie en France'', and [[Collin de Plancy]]'s ''Dictionnaire Infernal''.
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