Necronomicon

The Necronomicon (Greek: Nεκρονομικόv, Arabic: العزيف) is a fictional grimoire devised by the American writer H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937), one of the masters of horror and science fiction literature. It is mentioned for the first time in the story The nameless city ("The nameless city") of 1921 where it is also indicated that the author was the "mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred, a pseudonym used by Lovecraft from his childhood.

The book is also mentioned by other authors from the Lovecraftian circle, such as August Derleth or Clark Ashton Smith. Since then, the fictional book has inspired the publication of various works of the same title.

Etymology

The etymology of Necronomicon is more transparent than is usually believed. Although the form is not attested in ancient Greek, it is a construction analogous to common adjectives such as ἀστρονομικός (astronomical), or οἰκονομικός (economic). These adjectives are made up of three elements: a stem (ἀστρο-, οἰκο-, νεκρο-) + the stem νόμος ('law, administration') + the suffix -ικος, meaningless, used to form adjectives. Thus, astronomical etymologically means "relative to the law or arrangement of the stars"; the necronomical neologism would be “relative to the law (or laws) of the dead”.^{[citation needed]}

When these adjectives are placed in the neuter singular (ἀστρονομικόν) or plural (ἀστρονομικά), they acquire a generic value: in the example, “what is related to the stars”, "things related to the arrangement of the stars." Necronomicon, neuter singular, is therefore "(the book that contains) what is related to the law(s) of the dead", in the same way as the Astronomicon by the Latin poet Marco Manilio (1st century AD) is a treatise on the stars.^{[citation needed]}

In a 1937 letter to Harry O. Fischer, Lovecraft reveals that the book's title occurred to him in a dream. Once awake, he made his own interpretation of the etymology. In his opinion, it meant «Image of the Law of the Dead», since in the last element (- icon ) he wanted to see the Greek word εἰκών (Latin icon ), “image”.

Description

The Necronomicon is described as a book of arcane lore and ritual magic, the reading of which causes madness and death. In Lovecraft's tales and those of her followers, it appears as a record of forgotten formulas that allow contact with supernatural entities of immense power, the Ancients.

Perhaps the most famous quote from the Necronomicon in Lovecraft's narrative is this:

That is not dead which can eternal lie, / And with strange aeons even death may die. ("That what lies eternally is not dead, and with strange aeons even death may die").

The Necronomicon appears in a large part of Lovecraft's writings, who also cites other books on magic, such as De Vermis Mysteriis (Latin for "On the Mysteries of the worm") and Le culte des goules ("The Cult of the Ghouls"), attributed to Count D'Erlette (a literary nod to August Derleth, a member of the "Lovecraft Circle"). Other books that appear in Lovecraft's stories are the fictional Pnakotic Manuscripts; and the real ones L’Image du monde, by Gautier de Metz and The Great God Pan, by Arthur Machen.

Origins

First page of the original manuscript History of the Necronomicon

In 1927, Lovecraft wrote a short note on the authorship of the Necronomicon and the history of its translations, which was published in 1938, after his death, as A History of the Necronomicon i>.

According to this work, the book was written under the title Kitab Al-Azif (in Arabic: "The rumor of insects at night", a rumor that in Arabic folklore is attributed to demons such as djins and gules) around 730 AD. C. by the Arab poet Abdul Al-Hazred, from Sana'a (Yemen), of whom he says that he died in broad daylight devoured by an invisible beast.

Lovecraft abounds in data to make the book's existence plausible. For example, he cites Ibn Khallikan, an Iranian or Arab scholar who actually existed, as one of his compilers.

He also tells that around the year 950 it was translated into Greek by Theodorus Philetas and adopted the current Greek title, Necronomicon. It had a rapid diffusion among the philosophers and scientists of the Late Middle Ages. However, the horrendous events surrounding the book led to its condemnation by the Catholic Church in the year 1050. In the year 1228 Olaus Wormius (the real Wormius lived in the 17th century) translated the book into Latin, in which It is the most famous version, because (always according to Lovecraftian fiction) there are still some copies of it, while the Arabic and Greek originals are believed to be lost.

Despite the persecution, according to Lovecraft, various prints were made in Spain and Germany during the 17th century. Supposedly, four complete copies would be preserved: one in the Widener Library at Harvard University, inside a safe; a copy of the 15th century century, in the National Library of Paris; another at the (fictional) Miskatonic University in the non-existent city of Arkham (Massachusetts, United States) and another at the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Plausible fiction

About the fictional nature of the book, Lovecraft wrote the following:

Now, about "the terrible and forbidden books"They force me to say that most of them are purely imaginary. There was never any Abdul Alhazred or NecronomiconBecause I invented these names myself. Luwdig Prinn was devised by Robert Bloch and his De Vermis Mysteriiswhile the Book of Eibon It's a Clark Ashton Smith invention. Robert E. Howard must respond to Friedrich von Junzt and his Unaussprechlichen Kulten... As for books written with seriousness on dark, hidden, and supernatural subjects, they are not really great. That's why it's more fun to invent mythical works like Necronomicon and Book of Eibon.

In fact, the famous crazy Arab Abdul Alhazred is nothing more than a nickname he gave himself in childhood, inspired by the recent reading of Arabian Nights (Alhazred = all has read, the one who has read everything).

Lovecraft managed to make an excellent deception by providing data regarding the Necronomicon. For example, he pointed out that there were very few copies of such a book & # 34; prohibited & # 34; and "dangerous". Copies of the short story The Dunwich Horror are located at the University of Buenos Aires, at the Widener Library at Harvard, the National Library in Paris, at the British Museum and at the non-existent Miskatonic University in the imaginary city of Arkham (which appears repeatedly in Lovecraft's tales). According to August Derleth, this supposed precision has made many people believe in the real existence of the book, and request copies or access to the libraries where it was kept. In the article "The Making of a Hoax", Derleth recounts that during 1962, an advertisement appeared in the Antiquarian Bookman publication, which said:

Alhazred, Abdul. NecronomiconSpain 1647. Coated in somewhat spidered skin, otherwise good condition. Numerous recordings wood signs and mystical symbols. It seems treated (in Latin) by Magia Ceremonial. Ex libris. Seal in guards indicates from Miskatonic University Library. Better bidder.

In the same article, he recounts that a student played the joke of including his file in the register of the General Library of the University of California, in section BL 430, dedicated to primitive religions. An urban legend narrated that Jorge Luis Borges, who did not have a positive opinion of Lovecraft, had created a file on it in the National Library of Argentina.

Pranksters, fans or scammers have published alleged editions of the book; the most famous of them is the one known as Simon's Necronomicon, there are also internet pages where the book is offered for sale. Some of these examples are simple lists of the best-known ancients, along with meaningless symbols and sentences imitating Lovecraft's style.

Cartoon extraordinaire H. R. Giger published a compilation of his drawings under the title Giger's Necronomicon, in two volumes, in a highly curated collectors edition (black leather bound, 666 copies, with a hidden hologram). The Spanish publisher La factoría de ideas has also published a book of stories written by followers of Lovecraft under this title. Worth noting is Donald Tyson's Necronomicon, published in 2004 by Edaf, written as the first-person biography of Abdul Alhazred, following the literary style of Arab writers, and which collects and explains all the myths and cities that appear in Lovecraft's stories, including the explanation of the origin of the world in Lovecraft's tragic style.

In popular culture

• The Necronomicon makes minor appearances in many movies, novels, table games and video games
• In the film series The Evil Dead is mentioned by the name of Necronomicon Ex - Mortis.

• Javier Torras de Ugarte, author of the fantastic genre, uses it as an element of the plot in his novel "The Eternal Book".
• In the video game The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, the Necronomicon makes appearance as an object that the player can use.
• In the Kingdom Come: Deliverance video game, the Necronomicon appears as a forbidden book very difficult to get and is locked by the monks of a monastery.
• In the series of stories Ultrasound Stories, the chapter “Black Magic” refers to the book Necronomicon, which causes an awakening of demons that torment a woman.
• It is mentioned in chapter 2 of the first season of the horror series Masters of Horror, called Dreams in the Witch-House.

Location

According to Lovecraft in History of the Necronomicon, copies of the original Necronomicon are found in only a few libraries, among which he mentions:

• British Museum
• The National Library of France
• Harvard University Widener Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts
• The Library of the University of Buenos Aires
• The Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima, Peru) has a copy in Greek according to the story of Lovecraft and Derleth The one lying on the threshold.
• The library of the fictional University of Miskatonic; it is the Latin translation of Olaus Wormius, printed in Spain in the centuryXVII.
• In the story.The case of Charles Dexter Ward (1941), one of the protagonists, Joseph Curwen, had a copy of unknown origin.