tall and narrow pages

Ingredients

gazelle skin, wet aloe, male frankincense, mastic, cyclamen

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The text on page 33 describes the preparation of magical support materials. For the month of al-Muḥarram, a spell should be written on 'gazelle skin', followed by fumigation with 'wet aloe' (p. 33). The practitioner is instructed to wash his body in hot water before writing at sunset and fastening the skin to the right arm. For Safar, the text specifies writing on a 'copper lamella' with male frankincense fumigation. Other months require gazelle skin with mastic (Rabīʿ al-awwal) or cyclamen (Rabīʿ al-ākhar).

Evidence

"displaying codicological features (tall and narrow pages; see Fig. 1.2) that might point to an origin in the regions of Persia or Iraq."

Remarks

The fragments T-S K. 1.113 and T-S Ar. 43.116 represent a quire containing aggressive magical texts. The physical format (tall and narrow) suggests they were imported to the Cairo Genizah from the East, likely Persia or Iraq (p. 31). The document is described as having blank pages where scribbles were later added.