Poszukiwania skarbów za pomocą magii na nowożytnym Śląsku i Morawach.
Treasure hunting with magic in early modern Silesia

The introduction to further research

Summary/Abstract: Semantics of a word “treasure” has been changing over the centuries. Differences included money value and sentimental element of the collection. A believe in treasures was very popular in early modern Silesia. It was so important that the issue reflected in legal documents, regulating legal status of a treasure. Analysed documents stored in Czech archives present a number of events connected with treasure hunting, including a place of hiding a treasure, its form, its guardians, as well as detailed instruction on a timeframe, when a treasure may be revealed and discovered. There is a very interesting document describing the ritual necessary to bring out the hidden treasure. According to the instruction a magical sign had to be drawn, including a ring and a pentagram and written text mentioning saints (a saint patron of a treasure hunting was Saint Christopher) together with four devil princes. A number of gestures followed, which were to complete the endeavour successfully. A treasure hunting was so popular in this period, that special manuals were written, and a professional treasure hunters were using their skills to discover hidden valuables.

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