Square and Daggers
a crypto-historical investigation
I.
At the beginning of this year, an archeological team led by Matthias Remelt of Heidelberg University discovered a hitherto unknown fragment of Polybius’ Historíai in a Latin translation at an excavation near Verona. The style, content, and certain items that were not yet disclosed allow us to speak of the authenticity of this fragment. It contains a supplement to the description of the destruction of Carthage by Roman legionaries under Publius Cornelius Scipio as well as a drawing signed with Polybius’ own name. It depicts a palm-sized circle, with a horned humanoid in the center of the circle and an inscription in Phoenician hieroglyphs. Polybius refers to this piece in a lost fragment, calling it “the talisman of Baal” (he uses the word phylacterium).
The events surrounding the capture of Carthage in 146 BC are well known and we will not reproduce them. Polybius supplements our knowledge with a detailed description of the ritual of the “burning of the lambs” (holocaustum agnum). In the hour of greatest danger to the city, a symbolic offender (sceleratus) was chosen to perform the ritual. After three days of strict fasting, the offender — in this case, the unsuccessful Boetharch Hasdrubal, who had led the defense of Carthage — had to burn his children alive after hours of deep prayer. This passage contradicts what is described in the known version of the Historíai, according to which Hasdrubal surrendered to the Romans, after which his wife burned herself and her children during the fall of the city. In the new fragment available to us, dubbed Historiae X by archaeologists, the following events are described: Hasdrubal sacrificed his sons, after which he mortally wounded his distraught wife, who had tried to interrupt the ritual. In a deathly rage she tore the amulet from his neck and threw herself onto the pyre, where her sons were burning among various oils and precious wood. Immediately, Gasdrubal’s frenzy (phrenesis) overtook him and he stabbed himself with his sword, screaming out the name of Baal.
What follows is an account of the destruction of Carthage, not unlike the known manuscripts of Polybius. Only at the end is a fact mentioned that is never mentioned or described by other authors. It speaks of a certain merchant, Gisco, who, together with other surviving Phoenicians, returned to the city after it had been burned and combed through the ashes and ruins searching for jewels. In the ruins of Baʿal Ḥammon’s temple Gisco discovered the very same amulet and hid it from his associates. Where Polybius might have gotten such information is unknown; it probably belongs to the realm of mythopoeia.
The account of Gisco and his companions continues with a description of a sea voyage toward the Apennine peninsula, namely, the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea. There lived a tribe known as ‘Veneti’. They welcomed refugees from Carthage and allowed them to live among themselves, asking only to be taught the art of building stone houses in return. Unfortunately, the bottom of the page describing these events is unreadable and it is impossible to understand the exact terms of this mythical bargain between the Phoenicians and the Veneti, who had been allies of the Romans during the Second Punic War.
Palmer, Michael. (2015). “Historiae X and New Horizons”, The Journal of Hellenic Studies
II.
It is claimed that there are pagans operating in the city of St. Mark among the masons, that demons are worshipped. The canon proves that they are not sorcerers, for sorcerers do not exist. These masons and pagans need to be examined and judged. It is said that the city of St. Mark was founded by these masons and pagans when our Lord Jesus Christ had not yet blessed this land. We have seen no letters or treaties confirming this. That the city of St. Mark is in the power of the devil and the pagans we do not confirm. It is said that the Serene Doge himself belongs to these stonemasons and worships the demon called Baal, but he has sworn on the Holy Scriptures that this is an abominable heresy. The Res publica of Venice has an infestation of pagans, but it is in the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Frater Oderisi, Legate of the Dominican Order, “Letter to Rome”, 1291
III.
The First Principal Spirit is a King ruling in the East, called Bael. He maketh thee to go Invisible. He ruleth over 66 Legions of Infernal Spirits. He appeareth in divers shapes, sometimes like a Cat, sometimes like a Toad, and sometimes like a Man, and sometimes all these forms at once. He speaketh hoarsely. This is his character which is used to be worn as a Lamen before him forth, or else he will not do thee homage.
“The Lesser Key of Solomon”, author unknown, 16th century
IV.
And I will tell you of the enemy across the sea. The Romans overthrew ill-fated Carthage and for that we shall be overthrown. For they are already strong and it is not the first time they have gone to war against Rome. Our supposed brothers in Christ are but puppets, guided by dark forces. The servants of the devil are advancing on both sides of the empire: the Republic of Venice is in the power of the stonemasons, who serve the demons of Babylon, and the Hagarene heresies of the desert are brought to our gates. We feel what our ancestors felt when Hannibal stood before Rome. The gates have opened and only unwavering faith can save us from the fury of the Beast. They call themselves Christians or Muslims, but the Synagogue of Satan they are. They believe in death, not life; they believe in fear, not love. They believe in gold, but they do not believe in the soul. You will argue that the merchant of Venice has brought us both bread and cloth, but the Hagarenes spray us with fire. I will say: the Infidel of Venice is much more terrible than the Hagarene, for he pretends to be a brother, but he is the son of the devil and only that. They believe that death is stronger than God, and they worship dead things: gold and iron, stones and rivers, their flesh and powerless demons. They have infected us, too, with the religion of death. Who among us remembers our Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified, who from the dead, by death trampling death? Everyone trades in goods and people and souls. How many of our people send their children to the Republic of Venice to learn their teachings? But after all, the Lord said: “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God”. Moloch and Baal stand not only at the gates of the City, but also at the gates of our souls.
Joseph Bryennios, Byzantine monk, “Six speeches against the enemies of Christ”, 1431
V.
In reading the speculations of laymen about the magic of Carthage, I have found that few have minds capable of realizing what lay at its heart. It is not unreasonable, therefore, for me to speak of the true nature of this magic. Some people ask: why did the rites of the Phoenicians survive to this day and the Roman magic disappear? The Gentiles of Rome did not believe in magic. They were set on ritual, on formulas, on action; but nothing is more important in magic than emotion. It is only by coming to the right state of mind and opening the gates of our psyche that we can practice magic. This was known in Carthage, but not in Rome. The Roman sorcerers had no real contact to the other side because they could not change their consciousness. That is why they so easily forgot the past and converted to the New Faith. Carthaginian magic, on the other hand, allows the doors of shallow consciousness to be opened to various spirits capable of sharing the treasures of Sophia. A reading of poetry should preceed any ritual. It is necessary to ease the soul before immersing it in the warm hands of Baal. Reading the formulas, we come into a state of complete ecstasy, a real intoxication, and quite often after the rituals we find traces of sweet violence on our bodies.
Speaking of the magic of Carthage, I must explain that the knowledge did not come to my brain by itself, as it often does. I was initiated into this mystery by real masons — not by the pathetic “Masonic” clubs who, wearing aprons, talk about commerce and reform. One of them even possessed a fabulous amulet, bearing an inscription in an ancient language and miraculously preserving the warmth of fire for all time. I have been told his story, but I cannot share it, for it contains as many secrets as even the secret police of the Russian Tsar does not know. I can only say that this amulet has been in England for a very long time, and that its acquisition by different personalities has always been accompanied by incredible stories. Having learned the secrets of the magic of Carthage from the true elders, I have promised to share it with my neophytes, keeping the main secrets to myself, as is the custom among the free masons of the ancient faith.
Aleister Crowley, “The Soul of Carthage and the Mystic Heart”, 1909
VI.
In the 1540s some of those attracted to reform decided to stay in Italy, preferring loyalty to the Church, while others fled to lands where reform had taken a stronger hold — including England. Some Italian exiles fitted in well, others remained radicals and misfits in their places of refuge. We shall be concerned with them all: those who stayed and those who fled, confused and convinced, mainstream and radical. From about 1540, the word ‘spirituali’ (the spiritual, unworldly ones) came into regular use as a description for Italy’s reformers. […] Several influential Englishmen went to Italy in the early sixteenth century. […] English travellers were exposed to both sorts of influence by the very fact that almost all of them were based in the North of Italy, the melting pot of reform. They were not living in a homogenous, closed society; new ideas spread rapidly, partly because itinerant preachers drew huge crowds, in the best Italian tradition. In the northern cities reform came in all shapes and sizes, some of it intensely personal, like the significant number of departures to hermitages, or local, based on confraternities and individual preachers. In Ferrara, it centred on the ducal court, in Padua on the university; in Venice, reformers gathered around printers’ shops. […] Modern historians are rightly suspicious of the ‘myths’ about Pole, but there can be little doubt that he was a gifted ‘networker’, the centre of a circle of Italian scholars and visiting English students.19 During two periods of residence, he spent in all some twenty-six years in Italy. His correspondence proves the importance of his friendships and the difficulty of understanding this most Italianate of Englishmen. In the eyes of Italian contemporaries, Henry VIII’s cousin was no ordinary visiting student; Pole was of royal blood.
Overell, Anne. (2008). Italian reform and English reformations, c.1535-c.1585
VII.
RAPHAEL, MARCO (fl. 1529–1534), Hebraist, was a Jewish convert to Christianity from Venice, where he was rewarded by the Council of Ten for inventing an improved brand of invisible ink. In 1529, another native of Venice, Francesco Giorgi, the leading Christian Kabbalist of his time, recruited him to defend the divorce case of Henry VIII. […] By late 1530, there were plans to take Raphael to England and Charles V’s agents in Rome advised him to stop the process by all means. Despite everything, Raphael arrived in London on 25 January 1531. He had two audiences with Henry VIII during the first week. […] On April 29, 1531, Charles V learned from his ambassador in London that Raphael hoped to reconcile with the emperor. But all was not yet lost on him in England, where on May 24, 1532 he obtained a license to import 600 tons of Gascon wine. Just as importantly, Henry took Raphael with him to Calais when he met there with Francis I in October 1532 in a last-ditch effort to get a chance for a fair hearing before the Pope. […] All that remains of Raphael after that are a few small bills and two mentions in a list of “bills to be signed” in Thomas Cromwell’s notes in 1534. With that, he disappears. Perhaps he returned to Venice. […] Perhaps he simply died in 1534.
Katz, David S. (2004). “Raphael, Marco”, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
VIII.
Mine own husband wast hath sent out lasteth week to behold f’r an outlaw. Can thee imagineth, mine own dearest? A yeoman of the guardeth, looking f’r an ingraft criminal! that gent toldeth me yond an outlaw hadst hath killed some italian Jew — Raphael, i bethink — and stolen an ancient charm. We has’t the most dreadful rum’rs about t in london. I hath heard from cecilia yond h’r husband coequal suspects the jesuits of the murd’r. T’s as if ‘t be true ev’ryone hast gone nimble-footed. I bethink this Jew did steal the charm himself, and his accomplice did steal it from that gent. I hath heard yond this Raphael hadst an audience with His Highness, but only as a lawy’r f’r this unf’rtunate st’ry with Kath’rine. Concluded, be it, i’m much offend’d at His Highness and i shalt bid uncle Thomas to beest sure to conc’rn himself. What, aft’r all, doth we has’t watchmen f’r.?
Anna Marlowe, “Letter to her sister”, September 2nd 1534
IX.
Tuesday, January 12th, 1535
Tello jumped into the sea. In a few moments it was already impossible to see him. And we are only two days from the fortress of El Morro, where we are carrying this infernal cargo. It seems to me that the devil himself has taken up residence in this chest. The four sailors carrying it seem to have gone mad, and Tello has become possessed and decided to swim with the sharks. I don’t understand what’s going on. Even Francis, our Jesuit, whom His Highness Charles V himself ordered us to bring, is in a very strange state of mind. All he does most of the day is pray. He does not answer our questions. I dread to find out what we are really taking to miserable Habana, but I am insanely glad to be rid of this hellish thing in two days’ time.
from Captain Juan Perero’s ship’s logs
X.
Sunday, March 1, 1579
Today we have captured at last the cursed Nuestra Señora de la Concepción. The “Fireshitter”, as the Spaniards call her, was easy prey. Captain Drake skillfully led the attack and the pampered Spaniards, unable to withstand our boarding, quickly surrendered. For six days we unloaded the treasure! We captured 80 pounds of gold, a gold crucifix of incredible beauty, 13 chests of gold coins, and 26 tons of silver. The only thing Captain Drake took for himself on the spot was a small ebony box. He was in a cheerful mood and told us that in this box lay a piece of jewelry which the Jesuits had once stolen from King Henry and that Queen Elizabeth would surely reward him with a knighthood for its return. We all rejoiced earnestly for our brave captain and feasted as never before in our lives.
from the diary of Peter Swift, a sailor on the galleon “Golden Hind”
XI.
A sensational discovery was made in London by historians from Oxford University. Another letter from Queen Elizabeth I to a mysterious acquaintance, whom she referred to only as “Dear Barca,” was found in one of the city’s archives. In the last four years, this is the seventh letter found by historians and experts in the royal archives, addressed to this mysterious man, who may well be considered one of the Queen’s closest advisors. In the new letter, Elizabeth thanks “Barca” for bringing the famous pirate and admiral Sir Francis Drake to her attention and informs her that she has decided to reward him upon his return with “yond piece thee gaveth me”. This refers to the famous Drake jewel, a masterpiece of goldworking, which the Queen awarded to Drake after he made the second voyage around the world in the history of mankind. However, another newly found letter claims that the Drake jewel, just like the knighthood, was earned by Sir Francis not at all by his voyage, but by the return of an unnamed “artifact” that the Spanish had stolen during the reign of Henry VIII.
James Campbell, The Guardian, June 2016
