Two catalogues often compared with the later Ars Goetia are the French Livre des Esperitz (Trinity College Cambridge, MS O.8.29) and the English Liber Officiorum Spirituum (Folger MS V.b.26). Their relationship is a question for textual comparison; a resemblance does not by itself establish a direct line of copying.
Livre des Esperitz, Trinity College Cambridge, MS O.8.29, f. 179r. Facsimile used in Grimorium’s digital edition.
What comparison can—and cannot—show
When we compare their lists, names do not always travel unchanged. Descriptions of an office or function can remain recognizable, giving us a clue for comparison—but not proof that the manuscripts are identical or that every step in their transmission is known.
Liber Officiorum Spirituum, Folger Shakespeare Library, MS V.b.26, p. 73. Facsimile used in Grimorium’s digital edition.
A parallel is a clue to investigate; it is not permission to erase the differences.
Grimorium · nota editorial original
The facsimiles matter here: a transcription is easier to assess when readers can look back at the page it represents. Grimorium places source images beside transcriptions and translations so editorial decisions remain visible.
Read the full comparison and explore the linked editions in Livre ↔ Liber: two witnesses of the old Goetia.