The Key of Solomon

Reverend Samuel Marcus Gollancz.*

Judging from the Appendices and probably a later Title-page, the manuscript abbreviated as MS. seems to have been copied in the year 1700. There is little doubt that the copyist had an older manuscript before him; he frequently adds corrections and variants, the result of his own criticism. It often occurs that in making such corrections he employs the expression "Y.P.Y. says, as mentioned above" original Hebrew: אמר יפ״י כנ״ל. "Y.P.Y." likely refers to the scribe's initials or a specific editorial mark.; and once (on folio 54b The "verso" or back side of leaf 54.) he writes as follows:—

Y.P.Y.: After this the
scribe left about ten lines blank, and I did not know its meaning. original Hebrew: יפ״י אחר זה הניח הכותב כמו יוד שיטות חלק ולא ידעתי פירושו

We might clearly infer from these words that the writer was copying an older text.

Our manuscript consists of 72 quarto A book size where each sheet of paper is folded twice to form four leaves. leaves of one pagination and 7 leaves of a second pagination, 157 pages in all. The writing is in the Hebraic-Italian hand, the manuscript itself being supplied with numerous illustrations. It would appear that the copyist endeavoured to do his work as carefully as possible, inasmuch as he now and again when making a bad drawing confesses to his want of artistic skill, and repeats his attempt at drawing the same figure on the opposite page.

* My thanks are due to the eminent bibliographer, Mr. S. Chait, for kind help in this description of the manuscript.