Mediaeval small part of luther sermon

gabriel smit

New Member

hi, luther wrote his sermons in latin but delivered them in german. he inter alia wrote a series of sermons on the ten commandments from which this image is taken. i am looking at the aspect of divination and occult in scripture and this part seems important.
i would be grateful if someone on this forum could translate this to english or german.
God bless
gabriel
rute luther.JPG
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
A bit of a big chunk to translate for free, but since I've got time right now and am in the mood, here you are.

Third. Here belong those who seek knowledge by means of the notory art, about which enough is said in the law, as well as those who seek to discover secrets by means of a crystal, of a nail or of an ivory hilt*, though first consecrated. That can be done only by virgin girls or boys enclosed in a circle, so that a pleasant appearance be not lacking in that execrable deed. The mystery of this inspection, however, is said to be very deceptive. To this category belong those who seek hidden treasures using a divining rod, and most of all those who are commonly called wise men and women (that is, magi and pythonesses), for whose oracles people come from various faraway places, if anyone has lost something or has suffered any harm without knowing who the culprit is. It is surprising that Bishops let these people dare publicly to do such things with impunity.

*The word capulum has several meanings and it's difficult to tell for sure which one it is here. Since you may know more about the subject than I do, does "hilt" seem likely to you or does any other of the definitions found here seem likelier?
 

gabriel smit

New Member

A bit of a big chunk to translate for free, but since I've got time right now and am in the mood, here you are.

Third. Here belong those who seek knowledge by means of the notory art, about which enough is said in the law, as well as those who seek to discover secrets by means of a crystal, of a nail or of an ivory hilt*, though first consecrated. That can be done only by virgin girls or boys enclosed in a circle, so that a pleasant appearance be not lacking in that execrable deed. The mystery of this inspection, however, is said to be very deceptive. To this category belong those who seek hidden treasures using a divining rod, and most of all those who are commonly called wise men and women (that is, magi and pythonesses), for whose oracles people come from various faraway places, if anyone has lost something or has suffered any harm without knowing who the culprit is. It is surprising that Bishops let these people dare publicly to do such things with impunity.

*The word capulum has several meanings and it's difficult to tell for sure which one it is here. Since you may know more about the subject than I do, does "hilt" seem likely to you or does any other of the definitions found here seem likelier?
hi pacifica,
'first', i am thankful you were in the mood :)
as to your question re the 'capulum' ... it was suggested by a friend that the word you translated as 'nail' could be a 'claw' as that which luther here addresses is a occult 'ritual'. in the context thus a 'capulum' has to be something which can be used in the occultic - the german would be 'hexerei'. not being familiar with what kind of articles the 'magicians' of those days [and for that matter today might be the same] conducted their trade, it could well be a tooth of a wild boar, see here http://www.indomagic.com/blog/wild-boar-tooth-for-kanuragan-invincibility-and-kadigdayaan-invulnerability/ - as those animals must have frequented the woods of europe in those years and must have had a mysterious and powerful image about them.
kind regards
gabriel smit
south africa
 
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