DOI Artikel:
Kępiński, Zdzisław: Jan van Eyck's "Tym. Wtheoc": portrait of Jean de Croy?
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27011#0061
JAN VAN EYCK — PORTRAIT OF JEAN DE CROY
43
The image of a magie circle divided by letters Alpha and Omega in its
centre, and with four names of God: Agla, Adonay, Eloy, Tetragramma-
ton, placed at its circumference was constantly repeated (fig. 6 - 9). Ali
those names, and there are ten of them in the treatise plus a compound
narne Dominus Deus, repeat the names of God to which the cabbala refers,
or they reveał step by step God’s hypostasis in a seąuence of ten Sephirots,
that is concentric circles of God’s revelation, equivalent to the creation of
man and of the world, in its archetypal, purely spiritual form.
The same links between the cabała and Sephirots can be found in
the famous Medieval magical apoeryph of the thirteenth century, the au-
thor of which was supposed to be the pope Honorius II or Honorius III
or the anti-pope Alexander II.
The rhyming text of that treatise was translated into French by a
priest Alphons Louis Constant — a recognized scholar who was publishing
his works under a pseudonym Eliphas Levi. Here are sonie ąuotations of
this version:
Par toi tout se termine et par toi tut commence:
Jehoyah, Sabaoth, Eloim, Eloi,
Helion, Helios, Jodhevah, Saddai!
Eloim, Elohah, Sebaoth, Helios,
Eieie, Eieazereie, o Theos Tsehuras! 41
Eliphas Levi’s version is poor, for example this “ó theos tsehuras”
should be spełled, as in other magical texts like: O Theós Ischyrós, that
means Deus Fortis — Powerful God.
God’s names, as they appear in a seąuence of ten Sephirots in Cabala
reads as follows (with equivalents of these in papai apoeryph, ąuoted
above): 1. Ehieh — Eieie; 2. Jah — ?; 3. Jehovah/Jahve, IHVH which is
Tetragrammaton, — Jodhevah; 4. El — Eloi; 5. Eloha — Elohah; 6. Elohim
— Eloim; 7. Jehovah Sabaoth — Jehovah; 8. Elohim Sabaoth — Sebaoth;
9. Sadai — Saddai; 10. Adonai — ? Helios??
This is a set of names, which in the coherent sets, although not always
complete can often be found in Medieval magical texts, and sometimes
we can notice them at Jan van Eyck’s pictures. They have one feature
in common, that is, they are all derived from the cabala, although the
cabbalistic names were often based on, or derived from the Bibie.
Those names were also ąuoted by Jan Eyck as at his times the
treatises signed by doctor Johannes Faustus were extremely popular. At
the beginning of the sixteenth century Doctors Jorg Faustus junior, or ra-
ther Georgius Sabellicus because this was his real name, often referred to
41 Eliphas Lev .i, Histoire de la magie. Paris 1922, p. 312.
43
The image of a magie circle divided by letters Alpha and Omega in its
centre, and with four names of God: Agla, Adonay, Eloy, Tetragramma-
ton, placed at its circumference was constantly repeated (fig. 6 - 9). Ali
those names, and there are ten of them in the treatise plus a compound
narne Dominus Deus, repeat the names of God to which the cabbala refers,
or they reveał step by step God’s hypostasis in a seąuence of ten Sephirots,
that is concentric circles of God’s revelation, equivalent to the creation of
man and of the world, in its archetypal, purely spiritual form.
The same links between the cabała and Sephirots can be found in
the famous Medieval magical apoeryph of the thirteenth century, the au-
thor of which was supposed to be the pope Honorius II or Honorius III
or the anti-pope Alexander II.
The rhyming text of that treatise was translated into French by a
priest Alphons Louis Constant — a recognized scholar who was publishing
his works under a pseudonym Eliphas Levi. Here are sonie ąuotations of
this version:
Par toi tout se termine et par toi tut commence:
Jehoyah, Sabaoth, Eloim, Eloi,
Helion, Helios, Jodhevah, Saddai!
Eloim, Elohah, Sebaoth, Helios,
Eieie, Eieazereie, o Theos Tsehuras! 41
Eliphas Levi’s version is poor, for example this “ó theos tsehuras”
should be spełled, as in other magical texts like: O Theós Ischyrós, that
means Deus Fortis — Powerful God.
God’s names, as they appear in a seąuence of ten Sephirots in Cabala
reads as follows (with equivalents of these in papai apoeryph, ąuoted
above): 1. Ehieh — Eieie; 2. Jah — ?; 3. Jehovah/Jahve, IHVH which is
Tetragrammaton, — Jodhevah; 4. El — Eloi; 5. Eloha — Elohah; 6. Elohim
— Eloim; 7. Jehovah Sabaoth — Jehovah; 8. Elohim Sabaoth — Sebaoth;
9. Sadai — Saddai; 10. Adonai — ? Helios??
This is a set of names, which in the coherent sets, although not always
complete can often be found in Medieval magical texts, and sometimes
we can notice them at Jan van Eyck’s pictures. They have one feature
in common, that is, they are all derived from the cabala, although the
cabbalistic names were often based on, or derived from the Bibie.
Those names were also ąuoted by Jan Eyck as at his times the
treatises signed by doctor Johannes Faustus were extremely popular. At
the beginning of the sixteenth century Doctors Jorg Faustus junior, or ra-
ther Georgius Sabellicus because this was his real name, often referred to
41 Eliphas Lev .i, Histoire de la magie. Paris 1922, p. 312.