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The Intellectual World of Rudolf II and the Kabbalah

Ivo Purš
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:12 PM
In memorIam prof. VladImír Sadek
1/ dominicus Custos, Emperor Rudolph II with the Chain
of the Order of the Golden Fleece (detail), copperplate
engraving, ratisbon 1594.
national Gallery in prague in prague
(in the background, an illustration from Amphitheatrum
sapientiae aeternae solius verae christiano-kabalisticum,
divino-magicum, see below, p. 216, ill. 9)
1 The seminal work on this subject is r.J.W. evans, Rudolf II and His World:
A Study in Intellectual History 1576–1612, oxford 1973. This essay is indebted
to his conclusions.
2 This has been averred by erich Tunz who states that everyone who was
able to visit rudolf, including his rivals, spoke of his serenity, the mercy
of God incarnate. See Wissenschaft und Kunst im Kreise Kaiser Rudolfs II.
1576–1612, neumünster 1992, p. 8.
3 The most outstanding embodiment of this concept of symbolic represen-
tation is Symbola Divina & Humana, prague 1601, a collaborative effort
between Jacob Typotius, ottavio Strada, and the engraver aegidius
Sadeler.
4 The bust of rudolf by andriaen de Vries from 1603 for example
(kunsthistorisches museum Wien). See Jurgen müller und Bertram
kaschek, ‘adriaen de Vries: Bildnisbüste rudolfs II. von 1603’, in Studia
Rudolphina, 1 (2001), pp. 3–16.
Stránka 199
Rudolf II and the Kabbalah 199
I t is no easy task to map out the intellectual world of emperor
rudolf II (July 18, 1552, Vienna – January 20, 1612, prague).1
Indeed, a number of factors make this a particularly formidable
undertaking. rudolf II was an extremely complex individual with
wide ranging interests. He was an intellectual and introvert who had
a tendency to live his life as mystical experience. at the same time,
he was at the apex of his era’s social pyramid and was fully aware of
the esteem and the power that came with his rank.2 This fundamen-
tal duality at the core of rudolf ’s personality is the reason why the
historical records and documents present him as, to put it simply,
having two faces. The first face is the official one: rudolf was dili-
gent in conveying the proper impression, and thanks to the circle
of kindred artists he assembled at his court his portraits are of the
very highest artistry. These artworks favor symbolic meaning over
the simplistic conventional representation of allegorical meaning.3
They drew inspiration from the period’s humanistic culture, in par-
ticular from its more complex forms such as the use of emblems
and hieroglyphs, and from the philosophies of neoplatonism and
Hermeticism as well. In presenting himself in this manner, rudolf
was keen to imprint his image with features that were unmistakably
majestic and triumphal, yet it certainly cannot be said that his char-
acter was revealed in these works. on the contrary, upon closer in-
spection they seem more enigmatic than unambiguous,4 as if rudolf
were at once revealing and concealing himself. This impression is re-
inforced when one tries to glean rudolf ’s personality from the his-
torical accounts that describe his character. one encounters a wide
range of opinions, from those that point to his learning and clementiae,
to those that portray him as godless and a human wreck beset by
erotic compulsions and mental illness. The source of these varying
characterizations should always be taken into account: a papal am-
bassador would have viewed him differently from a humanist scholar
who shared the emperor’s intellectual interests.
I would like to focus here on those aspects of rudolf ’s intellectual
universe that were, or could have been, influenced by Judaism and in
particular – considering what occupied his mind – Jewish mysticism,
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200 Ivo Purš
that is, kabbalah. This influence of course might have been
specific to what in the Jewish kabbalah had been trans-
formed in the Christian milieu where, separated from its
roots, it had become a discipline sui generis that influenced
western european thought, especially Christian esotericism,
5
well into the seventeenth century. It is important to sketch
out the context in which the Christian kabbalah emerged
because it contains and predetermines the entire spectrum
of later issues and problems generated by this intellectual
appropriation.
The Rise of the Christian Kabbalah and the Apologetic
Literature of the Middle Ages
Interest in the Jewish kabbalah6 spread across western
europe at the end of the fifteenth century and had two gen-
erally recognized pioneers: Giovanni pico della mirandola
(1463–1494) and Johann reuchlin (1455–1522). pico, known
as ‘the phoenix of his time’, was the leading intellectual of
the Italian renaissance and is widely considered to be the
founder of the Christian kabbalah. His philosophical work
centered on demonstrating accord between aristotle and
plato and harmoniously connecting Christian thinking with
the ideals of neoplatonism and Hermeticism, in which he
classified Jewish kabbalah. pico formulated his philosophical
and kabbalistic credo in his famous nine hundred Conclusiones,7
which he intended to be the topic addressed by a grand
symposium he wanted to convene in rome. This project,
however, provoked an entirely different reaction than he had
anticipated. a commission set up by pope Innocent VIII de-
clared seven of his theses unorthodox and six dubious.8 The
most famous of these stated, ‘no science affords a better as-
surance of the divinity of Christ than magic and kabbalah’
(Nulla est scientia quae nos magis certificet de divinitate Christi,
quam Magia et Cabala). In pico’s interpretation of kabbalah
Stránka 200
this provocative thesis had a logical foundation. for him,
kabbalah, the same as magic in the sense of the period’s con-
ception of magia naturalis, was part of the ‘ancient theology’
(prisca theologia), whose earliest and most privileged order
represented the sacred knowledge moses received directly
from God on mount Sinai as the secret and true interpretation
of the law (the pentateuch). This knowledge should not be
made public, but under strict oaths of silence be passed from
generation to generation of high priests.9 and since, accord-
ing to the Gospels, Christ did not come to ‘destroy’ the old
Testament and the writings of the prophets but to fulfill their
words (mat. 5:17–19), then the hidden meaning of the old
Testament must therefore adumbrate its culmination in the
new Testament. more than the strictly mystical expositions
on the unification or fusion of man with God, kabbalah in-
terested pico for its theosophical teaching on the symbolic
conception of Creation, on the divine nature hidden in the
2/ Johannes pistorius, Artis cabalisticae hoc est reconditae theologiae
et philosophiae scriptorum tomus I, Basel 1587.
prague, Strahov library
5 echoes of the Christian kabbalah can be found later in the eminent Jesuit polymath
anthanasius kircher (1602–1680).
6 Given the intent and limited scope of this essay the Jewish kabbalah will not be dis-
cussed in detail. I would refer the reader to Gershom Scholem’s seminal work, in partic-
ular Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (Jerusalem 1941), and Ursprung und Anfänge der
Kabbala (Berlin 1962), as well as his lectures and essays collected in On the Kabbalah and
Its Symbolism (new York 1965), and the essays that make up the volume The Messianic
Idea in Judaism and Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality (new York 1971, 1995). also see
moshe Idel’s Kabbalah: New Perspectives (new Haven 1990), and Golem: Jewish Magical
and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid (new York 1989). mention should also
be made of aryeh kaplan’s translations of the two essential texts of kabbalah: Sefer ha-
Bahir and Sefer Yetzirah. among Czech authors, I would point to Vladimír Sadek’s exten-
sive and erudite work, in particular Židovská mystika [Jewish mysticism] (prague 2003).
7 The nine hundred theses on philosophical and theological questions were divided into
six sections.
8 Tomáš nejeschleba, ‘kníže svornosti. Giovanni pico della mirandola a jeho filosofické
úsilí’ [The prince of Harmony: Giovanni pico della mirandola and His philosophical
endeavors], in pico della mirandola, O důstojnosti člověka [on the dignity of man],
praha 2005, p. 14.
9 pico della mirandola, pp. 107–109.
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202 Ivo Purš
ten sefirot, the ten enumerations, or lights, which as the cre-
10
ative potency of God pervades the whole of Creation.
The intensive development of Christian kabbalah that
pico’s pioneering work initiated was made possible by hav-
ing occurred in the ‘century of polyglots and trilingual col-
11
leges’. Interest in kabbalah went hand in hand with inter-
est in the study of Hebrew, considered the holy language
that God spoke to adam and moses. To translate and inter-
pret the Bible, Hebrew had been studied by Saint Jerome,
whom pico thought should be referred to as ‘doctor of
kabbalah’ and whose semantic interpretation of the Hebrew
alphabet was accompanied by lofty praise for Hebrew
itself.12 It is no wonder then that the study of Hebrew was
highly regarded and recommended by pico’s disciple Johann
reuchlin: ‘There is no latinist capable of elucidating the
old Testament if he has not learned the language in which
it is written. as we read in the pentateuch, voice was indeed
the intermediary between the people and God, and it is im-
portant to recognize that this voice was in Hebrew, the
13
tongue God chose to inform mortals of His mysteries.’
reuchlin achieved fame with his very first work, De Verbo
mirifico (1494), in which he explores the kabbalistic mean-
ing of the word Jesus. He considers it the ineffable name of
God expressed by the tetragrammaton YHWH, which was
made pronounceable by the introduction of the letter shin,
14
rendering its Hebraic form Yehoshua. reuchlin later de-
veloped his conception of Christian kabbalah in De arte ca-
15
balistica (1517), where he defines kabbalah as the mystical
path to God. In stressing that everything living ascends up-
ward, just as the vital emanation descends from the higher
to the lower, he draws a comparison to alchemy where the
task is to refine (sublimate) and purify base metal. a similar
sublimation occurs in man: perception of the outer is trans-
formed into an inner spiritual understanding, and this into
idea, idea into judgment, judgment into reason, and this into
Stránka 202
intellect and then into spirit and ultimately into light that
enlightens and enraptures man. people are innately inclined
toward the higher and sublime forms of reality, and they
are able to grasp this only to the extent that it conforms to
their rapture. The kabbalists compared this inclination to
a flame shooting upward. rabbi Joseph of Castile had this
to say about it: ‘know that the intellective soul poured into
the body of man and representing his highest form goes by
the name of fire. This is what is meant when Solomon says:
»The spirit of man is the lamp of the lord« [proverbs
20:27].’16 kabbalah is a process of deification, a discipline
dealing with the universal renewal of the human species re-
quiring intellectual rigor and moral asceticism. knowledge,
however, is a gift of God, and therefore one should follow
the tradition of the saints who through contemplation re-
ceived kabbalah as divine revelation.
Considering the above, and taken together with pico’s at-
tempt to elaborate a broad unity between pagan, Jewish, and
Christian traditions, one might come to the conclusion that
the brilliant Christian humanists and initiators of the study
of Hebrew and kabbalah were the forerunners of modern
ecumenism. This, however, would be a grievous error. as
was the case with arabic science, which was not ‘transferred’
to medieval western europe by Islamic scholars, as the oft-
made inaccurate claim would have it, but was captured dur-
ing the Reconquista of Spain, so too with the ‘adoption’ of
kabbalah and its essentially alien principles. This militancy
was a direct result of the fact that the Christian kabbalah
came out of the tradition of medieval apologetic literature,
which continued the work of the early Church fathers and
unleashed a virulent polemic against Judaism, oftentimes
coming from the pens of Jews who had converted to
Christianity. It received wider dissemination with the tract
Pugio fidei (dagger of faith), written around 1278 by the
Spanish dominican ramón martí. While he does not ex-
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM
3/ Sefirot. from the treatise by paulus ricius De coelestis agricultura,
in: Johannes pistorius, Artis cabalisticae […], Basel 1587
10 See Gershom Scholem’s essay ‘die Stellung der kabbala in der europäischen
Geistesgeschichte’.
11 françois Secret, Les kabbalistes chrétiens de la Renaissance, paris 1964, p. VII.
12 Ibidem, p. 24.
13 Ibidem, p. 47. The citation comes from a letter to nicholas ellenborg. reuchlin also
authored the first Hebrew grammar for Christians (De Rudimentis Hebraicis, 1506),
and from 1510 to 1514 he played a major role in defending Jewish theological and
mystical literature from the attacks of Johannes pfefferkorn, a baptized Jew.
14 Ibidem, p. 49. reuchlin takes up one of pico’s theses on kabbalah that comments
on the letter shin in the middle of the name Yehoshua. Cf. thesis no. 842 in the
bilingual edition pic de la mirandole, 900 conclusions philosophiques, cabalistiques et
théologiques, paris 2006, p. 211.
Stránka 203
Rudolf II and the Kabbalah 203
plicitly reference kabbalah, he does treat a number of themes
found in the Talmud and the midrash that also passed into
kabbalistic literature and attracted the attention of the
Christian kabbalists. as the title itself suggests, the tenor of
this work is much more bellicose than the writings of the
renaissance philosophers and theosophists. according to
martí, Jews believed that God revealed to moses on Sinai the
law as well as the oral law, and moses passed this down to
Joshua and he to his successors, yet it is not possible to be-
lieve that everything in the Talmud was given by God on
Sinai. only certain passages are inspired with truth and
a correct understanding of the teachings of the prophets,
and only these express the Christian faith. But this is the heart
of the matter, because what could be more agreeable to the
Christian than so effortlessly to take the sword of the enemy
and lop of his head, like Judith decapitating Holofernes with
his own dagger.17
This ‘pirating’ of kabbalah was naturally met with con-
tempt and regarded a misinterpretation by Jewish scholars,
at least those who did not harbor doubts about their faith
and were ripe for conversion. Several were convinced that
Jesus of nazareth and his disciples were kabbalists them-
selves, but that their kabbalah, which helped them to per-
form miracles, was false.18 Yet one can only agree with
Gershom Scholem that, given the highly distorted picture
Christian apologetic literature presented of Judaism as
a religious phenomenon, the discovery and promulgation
of Jewish kabbalah by Christian humanists was indeed as-
tonishing,19 and it presented Christians, who, after all, were
the majority, with an alternate view of Judaism.
15 In the book’s dedication to pope leo X he nevertheless carefully explains the
work as a revival of pythagorean teaching. See Jonann Reuchlin, La Kabbale (De arte
cabalistica), bilingual edition, paris 1995, p. 22.
16 Secret, op. cit., p. 57. reuchlin, op. cit., pp. 29–37.
17 Secret, op. cit., pp. 9–11.
18 Ibidem, p. 12.
19 Scholem, ‘die Stellung der kabbala’.
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204 Ivo Purš
Sources of the Emperor’s Interest in Kabbalah
and the Role of Johann Pistorius
emperor rudolf II and his court’s interest in kabbalah was
not an anomaly that can be attributed to an eccentricity in
the emperor’s psychological makeup, which is how his fas-
cination with the occult and mysticism is often portrayed
in older sources. as with his relationship to alchemy, this
should be viewed more as a continuity within the royal
20
family. It is clear rudolf studied kabbalistic literature
himself,21 and he shared this interest with his imperial vice-
chancellor, rudolf Coraduz, who was a bibliophile, patron
of alchemy, student of Hebrew, and wrote out his own
copy of extracts of Sefer Yetzirah, the primary kabbalistic
text. another of his close confidants, the last chief director
of his privy council duke Heinrich Julius of Brunswick
(1564–1613), owned a copy of pico’s treatise Cabalistarum
22
Dogmata. a bibliophile and specialist in literature and law,
he was tutored by Johann Caselius, he also had a command
of Hebrew. Giordano Bruno dedicated his final two works
to him, De Monade and De Triplici Minimo et Mensuro (both
23
printed in 1591). There is no doubt rudolf ’s library housed
volumes of kabbalistic literature, that is, its Christian variety,
especially those that had been dedicated to his ancestors. It
can also be asserted that he supported the printing of new
editions of the essential works of Christian kabbalah in the
collection Artis cabalisticae: Hoc est Reconditae Theologiae et
Philosophiae scriptorum, Tomus I. (Basileae 1587), in which
pride of place went to paulus ricius’s De coelesti agricultura,
which was dedicated to his grandfather ferdinand I and
great-uncle Charles V.
This brings us to the leading figure in kabbalistic studies
in rudolf ’s circle, the physician, publisher, and theologian
Johann pistorius the Younger of nidda (1546–1608). This
learned man undoubtedly cast a more stimulating light on
Stránka 204
rudolf ’s curiosity about kabbalah. Born on february 14, 1546,
in nidda, his father was the protestant minister and superin-
tendent, Johann pistorius the elder, friend of melanchthon,
whose deep piety was matched by the tolerant attitude he
exhibited toward Jews.24 at the age of thirteen, pistorius
enrolled at the University of marburg, where he studied
medicine, law, and philosophy. In 1575, he became person-
al physician and court historian to margrave Charles II of
Baden-durlach. pistorius converted to Calvinism, and later,
in 1588 in Speyer, he entered the Catholic Church. after 1590
he dedicated himself to a clerical career. He was ordained
a priest in 1591 and entered the service of the bishop of Con-
stance and Cardinal andreas von austria (1558–1600), the
first-born son of archduke ferdinand II of Tyrol (1529–1595).
The archduke was uncle to rudolf II and an influential doyen
of the House of Habsburg.25 after the death of Cardinal
andreas, pistorius obtained the position of provost of Ölen-
berg and Surburg in alsace, and in 1600 he was made con-
fessor to emperor rudolf II.26 during his career in the
Catholic Church he participated in theological disputations
with his former protestant colleagues, such as Grynaeus and
osiander, and he published trenchant counter-reforma-
tion polemics, to which his adversaries replied in kind.27
20 rudolf ’s grandfather, ferdinand I, was a patron of Hebraic studies and invited
Guillaume postel to the University of Vienna.
21 frederick of Württemberg thanked rudolf in 1600 for a book in Hebrew he was
given by the emperor. See evans, op. cit., p. 284.
22 To be more exact, it was a commentary to pico’s Conclusiones cabalisticae, the author
of which was archangelus de Burgonovo (Cabalistarum selectiora obscurioraque
dogmata, Venetiis 1569). It was reprinted as Archangli Burgonovensis interpretationes
in selectiora obscurioraq[ue] Cabalistarum dogmata in pistorius’s anthology Artis
cabalisticae.
23 evans, op. cit., pp. 276, 284.
24 Biographic data taken from Neue deutsche Biographie, vol. 20 (Berlin, 2001), pp.
486–487 and Allgemeine deutsche Biographie, vol. 26 (leipzig 1888), pp. 199–201.
25 for the archduke’s contacts with pistorius see Joseph Hirn, Erherzog Ferdinand II.
von Tirol, vol. 1, p. 270n.
26 pistorius traveled to prague from freiburg im Breisgau in 1600. He served also as
Bavarian Council at the emperor’s court. See Hilda lietzmann, Herzog Heinrich
Julius zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg (1564–1613). Persönlichkeit und Wirken für Kaiser
und Reich, langenhagen 1993.
27 of pistorius’s polemical writings particular mention should be made of the unfinished
Anatomia Lutheri, köln 1595–1598.
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Rudolf II and the Kabbalah 205

4/ dominicus Custos,
Dr. Johannes Pistorius,
copperplate engraving, 1594.
national Gallery in prague
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206 Ivo Purš
He based his arguments on the Catholic Church’s positives
28
and the principle of tradition, which established the Church
de jure as the embodiment of Christian continuity, since he
knew this would present the most difficulty for his protestant
opponents. despite his colossal, unquestionably excessive
belligerence, pistorius still managed to maintain a stance
that was humanistic and rational. This was clearly evident
in 1603 when he intervened in a witch trial in freiburg im
Breisgau to save a fourteen-year-old girl from torture and
29
execution.
pistorius’s purely rational approach to the question of
sorcery is of note in view of his career at the imperial court.
He arrived in prague at a time when rudolf was suffering
his second great mental breakdown,30 and pistorius was the
one who was tasked with bringing him out of it:
‘The crisis of 1600 was the more dramatic. It was a culmination
of extreme frustration, especially over the plans for marriage,
which was undoubtedly exacerbated – though how far is un-
certain – by astrological and superstitious fear of the new
century. […] The man closest to the Emperor’s ear during the
whole episode was Pistorius. […] The nature of Pistorius’s in-
volvement in mystical religion after his move to Prague in the
1590s is now difficult to establish – understandably it does
not emerge from his dealings with the Papacy – but it may
furnish the clue to his influence on Rudolf. Perhaps
a contemporary Catholic memorandum was right when it
suggested exorcism as the only remedy for the Emperor’s ills;
there was indeed a spirit of disquiet behind the »melancholis-
che schwere Perturbationes«. Pistorius himself told Rome that
the disease was simply chronic melancholy: »Obsessus non est,
quod quidam existimant, sed melancholia laborat, quae longi
temporis tractu radices nimium egit […].« Yet it was common
knowledge that the complaint was connected with Rudolf ’s
occult activity.’31
Stránka 206
It is highly likely that pistorius’s repudiation of kabbalah not
long after in his polemic with his critic Jacob Heilbronner
was a function of his role as rudolf ’s confessor.32 Certainly
he would have wanted to guard himself against accusations
of dabbling in the occult or with magic (with which
kabbalah was grouped) not only for his own safety but to
protect the emperor, against whom such rebukes could be
indirectly used as a political weapon.
Josef Janáček claims pistorius took a psychological ap-
proach to curing rudolf. He tried to draw the emperor’s at-
tention to his collections and gradually, step by step, through
consultation like some primitive psychoanalyst, bring
rudolf back to living a normal life.33 While this assertion
certainly has its merits, pistorius’s influence on the emperor
might have been more sophisticated. He might in actuality
have used a kind of ‘spiritual therapy’ that was part of his
medical theories based on kabbalah. during the period he
was most engaged in medicine, he published the tract De
vera curandae pestis ratione liber I. (frankfurt a. m. 1568),
where he outlined the three primary means of therapy: diet,
medicament, and surgery, to which he adds in the conclud-
ing chapter, ‘De praeservatione et curatione per medicamenta
occulta’, the healing power of sacred words. His explication
of this form of treatment relies on kabbalistic cosmology:
the hierarchy of the world as symbolized by Jacob’s ladder
emanating from Ein Sof (the unknowable boundlessness)
and comprising four planes. The first is nature (Natura); the
second is the Horizon of time and infinite eternity (Horizon
Temporis et infinitae aeternalis); the third is the Horizon of
temporal eternity (Horizon aeternitatis temporis); and the
fourth is the Horizon of the supra highest world (Horizon
mundi supersupremi).34 This is followed by a discussion of
the fifty kabbalistic gates from which a miraculous power
emanates through voices, virtus poieticus, the omnipotent di-
vine shafts of light conveyed by the angels. nature conducts
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its magic firstly through the voice, and therefore words
form the essential basis of magic. pistorius clearly states
that this power can never be understood by anyone who
has not first grasped the thirty-two paths to wisdom, that
is, one who is not versed in kabbalah. He calls it the rarest
tree and the most difficult discipline, the full extent of
which only the messiah comprehends, and for that reason
priests, philosophers, and kings should devote themselves
to its study.35 There can be little doubt that such a theory
of treating illness, which pistorius certainly imparted to
the emperor, in itself must have had a salutary effect on
rudolf ’s fickle soul, for as someone who was learned and
atop the social pyramid he was in the privileged position
of having access to sacred sources of knowledge and reality
as it was.
28 His thoughts on the principle of tradition evidently led him to convert to
Catholicism shortly after the publication of Artis cabalisticae. I will only note that it
was kabbalah as the ‘reception of the foundations of tradition’ that might have
served him as inspiration.
29 See Hans-Jürgen Günther, ‘die »kindhexe« agatha Gatter und ihr retter
dr. Johannes pistorius niddanus d.J. ein freiburger malefizprozess aus dem Jahr
1603’, at www.latein-pagina.de/hexen/pistorius.htm.
30 for the problem of rudolf II’s personality and his mental illness see Ivan lesný,
‘rudolf II. jako nemocný člověk’ [rudolf II in Illness], Folia historica bohemica, 7
(1984): pp. 271–280 and Josef Janáček, Rudolf II. a jeho doba [rudolf II and His
Time], praha 1987, pp. 182–194, 329–344.
31 evans, op. cit., pp. 90–91.
32 Johannes pistorius, Offentliche beweisung, dass die Lutherische zu Regenspurg … Anno
1601 … sich … in höchste schand … gesetzt. Sampt widerruff wegen der Judischen cabala,
freiburg 1607, written in 1602.
33 Janáček, op. cit., p. 343.
34 pistorius borrowed this terminology from pico della mirandola’s Conclusiones, the
chapter on magic. See pic de la mirandola, 900 conclusions, p. 197.
35 Johannes pistorius, De vera curandae pestis ratione liber I., frankfurt 1568, fol.
66v–67v. on this subject also see lynn Thorndyke, A History of Magic and
Experimental Science, vol. VI, new York 1941, p. 163.
36 Secret, op. cit., p. 280.
37 Epistolarum medicinalium libri quinque, pragae 1561. The fact that he cites this work,
which was published only in this prague edition, suggests that pistorius had con-
tact with prague long before he was summoned to rudolf II’s court.
38 Joel Shackelford, A Philosophical Path for Paracelsian Medicine: The Ideas, Intellectual
Context, and Influence of Petrus Severinus, 1540–1602, Copenhagen 2004, pp.
217–220.
39 The work was not dedicated to rudolf II but to the abbots of the three
Benedictine monasteries in Württemberg: abbot friedich in Schuttern; abbot
lorenzo III in ettenheym; and abbot Johann ludwig Sorgov in Gengenbach.
40 Artis cabalisticae […], Basileae 1587, fol. 2a-2 bis.
Stránka 207
Rudolf II and the Kabbalah 207
pistorius’s occult theory of medicine was criticized not
only by the aforementioned Jacob Heilbronner but also by
the doctor and alchemist andreas libavius (1555–1616) in
his Tractatus duo physici, prior de impostoria vulnerum per
unguentum armarium sanatione Paracelsis usitata commen-
dataque (frankfurt a. m. 1594). libavius launched his at-
tack not for reasons of faith (though he was a lutheran)
but because he opposed the philosophical and magical as-
pects in paracelsus’s theories.36 pistorius can rightfully be
considered a paracelsian because in his treatise on the plague
he recommends metal, alchemical, and magical medicines
(bezoar, for example, was taken to be a universal panacea),
and referring to mattioli’s Epistolae 37 he presents three in-
structions for the preparation of one of the most renowned
alchemical potions: potable gold (aurum potabile).
pistorius’s close relationship to paracelsian medicine is evi-
denced in his correspondence with the danish physician
petrus Severinus (1542–1602), who was a prominent disci-
ple of paracelsus. Their letters discuss the period’s attacks
on paracelsus and those who followed his teachings.38
returning to pistorius’s anthology Artis cabalisticae from
1587, the emperor granted a privilege for the book’s publi-
cations, and pistorius repeatedly refers to the emperor’s
support in the dedication.39 He points to the fact that kab-
balistic teaching was once greatly admired among Jews be-
cause it encompassed a complete understanding of all
things and arts. It had, however, fallen into oblivion and
been abandoned. It was necessary, therefore, to publish
his volume to cleanse kabbalah of its deleterious parts. To
accomplish this task, pistorius implores the support of the
‘most eminent ruler of Germania’ and he will spare no ef-
fort not to disappoint his expectations.40 The anthology’s
introduction mentions paulus ricius, to whom additional
texts are connected, some of which are not included in the
kabbalistic tradition but are ‘the best of things as if from
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM
208 Ivo Purš
a well of plenty’. remarkably, kabbalah is praised here and
defended for its own worth without any trace of apologetic
thinking. maybe the reason is that apologetics are already
found in ricius’s work reprinted herein. even so, pistorius
was likely more interested in the philosophical aspects of
kabbalah, as this can be found in his writings on medicine
from his younger days.
In the anthology’s first volume, pistorius reproduces the
texts of authors who ‘professed the Christian faith and al-
ways led a pure and pious life, and therefore their work was
not condemned as Jewish extravagance’. If the first volume
met with success he was prepared to publish a second vol-
ume that was to contain works of Jewish kabbalah, but this
never happened. His new coreligionists would almost cer-
tainly object to it since Artis cabalisticae contained works
that had been placed on the Tridentine index of forbidden
books,41 and these formed the backbone of pistorius’s col-
lection: paulus ricius’s De coelestis agricultura and the two
essential works by Johann reuchlin, De Verbo mirifico and
De arte cabalistica. To these pistorius added commentary
by archangelus de Burgonovo to the first series of pico’s
Conclusiones, a latin translation of león Hebreo’s Dialogues
of Love, and an authentic kabbalistic text, Sefer Yetzirah
(Book of Creation), in latin translation. The oldest inte-
gral system of Jewish mysticism, Sefer Yetzirah elaborates
the theory that the world was created through the sefirot,
which form an infinitely complex and dynamic spiritual
42
cosmos. pistorius conceived this as the bridge to his
planned second volume.
Stránka 208
Kabbalistic Themes in the Personal Symbolism
of Rudolf II
Several works of art created expressly for rudolf II point us
to his interest in kabbalah and magic. firstly is the amulet
that was likely presented to rudolf by the Jewish Com-
munity of prague.43 on the front side is a large intaglio of
a seven-branched menorah under the imperial crown.
These two central motifs are circled by several rings. In one
are the names of the twelve angels,44 another contains the
signs of the zodiac. The names of Jacob’s twelve sons,45 to
which correspond the twelve precious stones and symbolize
the twelve tribes of Israel, are engraved around the zodiac,
like the breastplate of the high priest (exodus 28:17–21).
The inscription ‘emperor rudolf ’ is engraved in Hebrew
by the crown, and the following text runs on both sides
of the menorah:
‘Power is Yours for eternity, Lord. O Almighty, visit Your
grace upon [our] great monarch, grant him strength and
Your blessing; fill him with mercy and power over all living
beings, sovereign power over the people he leads at the be-
hest of the holy angels Hadarniel, Gabriel, and Nuriel. Amen.
Sela. Blessed be the name of the One whose kingdom of
glory will last the ages.’46
on the reverse side of the stones engraved on both main
radii are the latin letters (running clockwise): LA, AA, DA,
GG. Contained within these letters is at least one important
magical word that appears with some frequency: AGLA.
It was a common magic formula that according to the
Enchiridion of pope leo first published in 1525 was the ‘first
of the three holy names of God’.47 We also encounter it in
pietro d’abano’s treatise Elementa magica, which was later
appended to Cornelius agrippa’s De occulta philosophia –
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM Stránka 209

Rudolf II and the Kabbalah 209

5/ amulet of rudolph II., precious and semi-precious stones, gold, enamel.

Avers: a menorah under the imperial crown, in the circles the names of angels,
signs of the zodiac, the names of the sons of Jacob and the stones from
the breastplate of the High priest.
Reverse: a combination of Jewish and Christian symbols
and magical elements, prague, ca. 1600.
Vienna, kunsthistorisches museum, kunstkammer

41 Secret, op. cit., p. 280.

42 Sadek, op. cit., pp. 49–51
43 first listed in the inventory of the Schatzkammer in Vienna in 1750. earlier invento-
ries do not mention it. according to the entry in eduard von Sacken and friedrich
kenner, Die Sammlungen des k.k. Münz- und Antiken-Cabinets (Wien 1866), the talis-
man was a gift from prague’s Jews to emperor rudolf II. Cited in Prag um 1600. Kunst
und Kultur am Hofe Kaiser Rudolfs II., vol. 1, essen 1988, p. 603.
44 dimiel, Gavriel, Shaviel, maroniel, Gabiel, Zuriel, Haniel, Barkiel, nuriel, paniel,
kahatiel, Uriel.
45 Benjamin, Joseph, asher, Gad, naphtali, dan, Zebulun, Issachar, Judah, levi,
Simeon, reuben.
46 Jana doleželová, cat. no. 505, in Prag um 1600, p. 603.
47 pierre Béhar, Les langues occultes de la Renaissance. Essai sur la crise intellectuelle de
l’Europe au XVI siècle, paris 1996, p. 194.
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM
210 Ivo Purš
AGLA is here a component of the central magical penta-
gram. no less remarkable, even shocking, is the symbol
on the back of the amulet. located here is a closable lid on
which is engraved a square along whose sides appear vari-
ous names for God and in whose corners are small Greek
crosses. Inside the square is a hexagram (six-pointed star)
containing within itself a pentagram (five-pointed star).
These stars are complemented with Hebrew and latin letters
composing the words DIES and JESUS. on the enameled
inner side of the back lid is an image
of the apocalyptic Christ with olive
branch and sword in his mouth, sit-
ting on a rainbow, above which flies
the dove of the Holy Spirit.
This is an extraordinary example
of an amalgamation of Jewish and
Christian sacred symbolism and
magic, and it indicates in which
direction the emperor’s active interests lay. no one has yet
drawn attention to the fact that the symbolism on the amulet
is very similar to one of the three rings found in rudolf ’s
coffin. evidently rudolf wore this ring for a long time, and
four precious stones (diamond, sapphire, ruby, emerald)
mark its edge and among these are four signs of the zodiac
(Capricorn, libra, aquarius, Cancer). The ring’s inner cir-
cumference has the names of four angels (Gabriel, michael,
Uriel, anael) accompanied by the magical word aGla.48
The symbolism on the ring apparently refers to rudolf ’s
horoscope in its pre-Gregorian calendar form, that is, prior
to 1582 when the Sun in the emperor’s horoscope was in
the sign of Cancer.49 after the reforms and the acceptance
of the new calendar, which put the Sun in the emperor’s
horoscope in the sign of leo, rudolf had his artists incor-
porate this along with the sign of Capricorn, which is his
ascendant,50 into their representations of him.
Stránka 210
rudolf ’s astrological motif was beautifully represented
in two miniature paintings by Joris Hoefnagel in 1600.51 The
first of the two shows both signs, Capricorn52 and leo, hold-
ing the celestial globe,53 and the second depicts rudolf ’s
horoscope held aloft by two angels.54 The two pictures are
meant to be taken together as a whole. rudolf ’s horoscope
is painted in a circular mirror, the shape analogous to the
celestial globe, and also found here is an analogous allego-
rization of the elements. The terrestrial land of animals is
represented in the lower part of the ce-
lestial globe of the earth, the scaly tail
of Capricorn indicates water on the
right,55 birds in the upper part represent
air, and fire is on the left with the Sun
above the head of leo. The depiction
of the elements is as sophisticated as the
horoscope, with an emphasis placed on
their interchangeability: the terrestrial
animals in water (earth–water); flying fish (water–air); and
the imperial eagle at the apex of the horoscope56 in proximity
to the divine fire, in which section appear symbolic birds
48 Beket Bukovinská, cat. no. 456 a-c, in Prag um 1600, p. 572.
49 Béhar, op. cit., p. 192. It should be remembered that Cancer is ruled by the moon,
while the Sun rules leo. This symbolism certainly was not lost on rudolf, who
found his entire empire in a dangerous conflict with the empire of the crescent
moon, i.e., the Turks.
50 In astrology the ascendant, or rising sign, is the sign and degree ascending on the
eastern horizon at the time of birth. The sign in which this degree occurs has
a decisive influence on all aspects of one’s horoscope. The sign of Capricorn is evi-
dently an allusion to emperor octavius augustus, who had this zodiacal sign
minted on medallions.
51 See Thomas daCosta kaufman, The School of Prague, Chicago–london 1988, pp.
209–210.
52 Capricorn holding between its hooves the globe complemented by star and eagle
also occurs in the two impreses of rudolf found in Symbola Divina & Humana,
vol. 1, p. 56. See Thea Wilberg Vignau, Die Emblematische Elemente im Werke Joris
Hoefnagel, vol. 1, leiden 1969, pp. 151.
53 a virtually identical representation is found in Hoefnagel’s Bocskay-kodex, fol.
1v. See Wilberg Vignau, op. cit., p. 150. The motif was borrowed in the alchemical
manuscript Sylva Philosophorum, which was dedicated to rudolf. See p.C. Boeren,
Codices Vossiani Chymici, leiden 1975, pp. 237–238.
54 leo and Capricorn as well as the two angels take on the role here of heraldic
shield bearers.
55 While Capricorn is an ‘earth’ sign, traditionally it implies this duality.
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM Stránka 211

Rudolf II and the Kabbalah 211

< 6/ magical ring found in the coffin of rudolph II, gold, 7/ Joris Hoefnagel, Celestial Globe Held
diamond, sapphire, emerald, ruby, enamel, prague (?), before 1612. by a Lion and a Capricorn, 1600.
prague, Collections of prague Castle Vienna, Österreichische nationalbibliothek
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM Stránka 212

212 Ivo Purš

8/ Joris Hoefnagel, Horoscope of Emperor Rudolph II, 1600.

Vienna, Österreichische nationalbibliothek
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM Stránka 213
and the heads of angels (air–fire). The picture is clearly al-
luding to the beginning of Genesis, the Garden of eden. of
fundamental importance from the perspective of kabbalah
is that the four angelic names are symmetrically placed
around the horoscope: ASCHALIAH in the upper section
of the horoscope, IEIALEL behind the left angel, LAAVIAH
in the lower section, and IEIAIEL behind the right angel.
apparently these were the names of rudolf ’s guardian an-
gels. While recognizing that renaissance transcriptions
from Hebrew were unavoidably erratic, pierre Béhar is of
the opinion that we can identify in these names four of the
seventy-two names of God, the whole of which is constitut-
ed in Shem ha-meforash as described by reuchlin in the third
book of his De arte cabalistica, redacted by pistorius: Laviah is
the eleventh; Ieiaiel the twenty-second; Asaliah, or Aschaliah,
57
the forty-seventh; and Ieialel the fifty-eighth. It is read from
the bottom and counterclockwise, like a Hebrew clock. It
should be noted that Shem ha-meforash is the most complex
form of God’s name, an exegetical reading of the tetra-
58
grammaton by invoking the seventy-two holy names. at
the same time, it is the most effective device for performing
kabbalistic magic. reuchlin specifies the nature of these an-
gels is such that ‘their power extended over the whole earth
and on their account moses was able to perform his miracles,
the parting of the red Sea foremost among them’. reuchlin
also names them angels of the universe and sovereigns of
the provinces.59
56 following the iconography of the period, the eagle flies toward the sun and be-
comes rejuvenated in its rays. Similarly, the heron flew high up to the heavens be-
cause it abhors rain. It symbolized the souls of the chosen who out of fear of the
storms of this world ascend with all their strength over temporality to the heights
of their heavenly home.
57 pistorius, Artis cabalisticae, p. 698.
58 The number 72 is derived from the fifty gates of wisdom plus the twenty-two let-
ters of the Hebrew alphabet.
59 Béhar, op. cit., p. 189. reuchlin, op. cit., pp. 227–229.
Rudolf II and the Kabbalah 213
Kabbalah and Rudolfine Alchemy
kabbalah also penetrated other areas of interest to rudolf,
such as alchemy. as Gershom Scholem has demonstrated,
alchemy was or could have been influenced primarily by
the Christian version of kabbalah, not by its Jewish roots,
which conflicted with some of the more important aspects
of alchemy.60 Yet there does exist original alchemical-kab-
balistic texts like the renowned Esh Metzaref (purifying – or
Smelting – fire). This work combines the kabbalistic doc-
trine of sefirot with the alchemical theories on metals.
kabbalah, however, significantly differs with alchemy in
that it does not consider gold to be the highest and most
noble metal, corresponding to Din, or Gevurah, the sefirah
of Judgment, but silver, corresponding to Hesed, the su-
perior sefirah of mercy or Grace.61
The most extensive synthesis of Christian kabbalah and
alchemy can be found in the work of the leipzig physician
and alchemist Heinrich khunrath (1560–1605). remarkable
even for its artwork, his Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae
was published in 1595 and in a second posthumous ex-
panded edition in 1609.62 attached to the 1609 edition is
an imperial privilege dated 1598 and signed by Johann
Barvitius. There is no document to attest that khunrath
was engaged directly in the emperor’s service, but be-
tween 1591 and 1592 he was the personal physician to
Vilém rožmberk, who maintained a close friendship
60 Scholem, ‘die Stellung der kabbala’.
61 Sadek, op. cit., p. 22.
62 for more on the first and second editions see the seminal bibliographical study
by Carlos Gilly, ‘The amphitheatrum Sapientiae aeternae of Heinrich
khunrath’ in Magia, Alchimia, Scienza dal ’400 al ’700. L’influsso di Ermete
Trismegisto / Magic, Alchemy and Science 15th–18th Centuries. The Influence of Hermes
Trismegistus, Biblioteca nazionale marciana Venezia – Bibliotheca philosophica
Hermetica, firenze 2002, vol. 1, pp. 341–350.
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM
214 Ivo Purš
with the emperor and shared his passion for alchemy. So it
is highly probable that rudolf not only knew khunrath’s
work, but was in either direct or indirect contact with him.
khunrath’s tract is composed of symbolic plates (the first
edition has four engraved plates; the second edition has an
additional fifth plate) introduced by a prologue and copi-
ous commentary on proverbs where passages from the
Vulgate, Septuagint, and the Hebrew Bible are juxtaposed.
khunrath elaborates on the idea already found in the works
of medieval alchemists that the philosopher’s Stone and
Universal panacea are a ‘type’ of Jesus Christ. What inter-
ested him was not medieval alchemy’s common analogy
between the redemption of humanity and the ‘curing’ of
63
base metal, that is, its transmutation into noble metal.
In addition to searching for the agency of miracles, the
philosopher’s Stone, he was more concerned with the
process by which the alchemist himself is transformed by
joining spiritual zeal through prayer and meditation with
his work in the laboratory.
The kabbalistic teaching on achieving the highest state
of reality evidently inspired khunrath’s writing. In his
treatise Vom hylealischen Chaos (1597) he explicitly claims
that while he learned the secrets of the art thanks to expe-
rience and the grace of God, he also had the benefit of be-
ing instructed by a certain learned master of kabbalah,
who was the first to demonstrate for him the alchemical
process.64 He states in Amphitheatrum that one is able to
attain knowledge of YHWH, nature, and oneself by con-
templating the philosopher’s Stone.65 other passages ex-
plain that this act only achieves perfection in the ‘third
regime’, through a process of ‘fermentation’, which cul-
minates in the invisible unity of the philosopher’s Stone
with the higher world. on the physico-chemical level this
is none other than the kabbalistic ‘union of man with
God transposed to the simplicity of the monad’.66
Stránka 214
admittedly the comparison is rather bold, yet it should
be noted that the kabbalistic themes in Amphitheatrum are
decidedly more pronounced in the first emblematic plate,
which is indeed entirely devoted to kabbalah. The circular
engraving illustrates in general the mystical light radiating
out from the center, crossing a pentagram to the ten sefirot
and then out toward the Ten Commandments on the cir-
cumference.67 at the center of the engraving is a man with
spread arms, suggesting the Crucifixion only by the small
nail holes in the hands and feet. The intent here is not only
to reference a principal Christian symbol but also the well-
known man inscribed in a square (homo quadratus) from
Cornelius agrippa’s De occulta philosophia libri tres. Two in-
scriptions encircle the central figure which define him as
the man-God: In hoc signo vinces (In this sign you will con-
quer) and Dei erat ipse vere filius (Indeed this was the Son of
God). This itself is surrounded by a flaming five-pointed
star bearing in its more pronounced flames the letters of
the name Yehoshua, the tetragrammaton with the letter
shin. The smaller flames contain the fourteen primary names
of God. The pentagram is circumscribed by a ten-point star
whose points contain the names of the sefirot, and at the pen-
tagram’s base is the flaming dove of the Holy Spirit with its
wings spread. Between the sefirot Keter and Malkhuth above
is a black circle bearing the inscription Ein Sof; between the
sefirot Tif 'eret and Gevurah below is a white circle bearing
the inscription Emet (Truth). Circling the ten sefirot are the
twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which com-
bine with the ten sefirot to make the thirty-two kabbalistic
paths to wisdom. This circle also contains the latin inscrip-
tion: Diliges, Dominum Deum tuum, ex toto corde tuo, et ex to-
ta anima tua, et ex omnibus viribus tuis, et ex omni mente tua,
et proximum tuum, sicut teipsum. The engraving’s final circle
contains the decalogue and at the apex, above the Ein Sof –
the bottomless abyss that is everything and nothing – is
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM
a triangular depiction of the name of God.68 The question
remains whether khunrath in his cosmology has Christian
themes conforming to the Jewish or the other way around.
my opinion is that the latter is more probable because if
the engraving’s Christian aspects were to be removed what
would remain would still be an original ontology, but if
the sefirotic system were removed, nothing would remain
save the central figures of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Such
symbolism would hardly lead Jews to a knowledge of the
‘cause and meaning of truth’, Christ in other words, which
is what khunrath so emphatically claimed was his intent.69
The Emperor and the Rabbi, or an Unbridgeable
Distance
To properly understand the extent of rudolf ’s interest in
Jewish mysticism (albeit in its Christianized form) mention
should be made of his historic meeting with rabbi loew at
prague Castle in 1592. no doubt this was an extraordinary
event, and it was regarded as such by both the emperor’s
court and especially the Jewish population in Bohemia,
whose very existence was directly affected by the degree
63 The work of pseudo-arnald of Villanova for example. See Ivo purš and Jakub
Hlaváček, Alchymická mše. Sborník textů ke vztahům alchymie a křesťanství [The
alchemical mass: an anthology of Writings on the relationship between
alchemy and Christianity], praha 2008.
64 Hereward Tilton, ‘of ether and Colloidal Gold: The making of a philosopher’s
Stone’, in: Esoterica, vol. IX (2007): 55.
65 Heinrich khunrath, ‘filosofický kámen’ [The philosopher’s Stone] in d.Ž. Bor
(ed.), Alchymická tvrz [The alchemical fortress], praha 1992, p. 46.
66 Ibidem, p. 43.
67 Inspiration for the image might have been the depiction of the sefirot as ten con-
centric, emanating circles.
68 See Bor, op. cit., pp. 14–16.
69 Ibidem, p. 47
70 Byron l. Sherwin, Mystical Theology and Social Dissent: The Life and Works of Judah
Loew of Prague, portland 2006, p. 33.
71 david Gans, Zemah David , e.p. prague, 1592, ed. mordecai Breuer, Jerusalem
1983, p. 145. I am grateful to alexandr putík for the quote and its translation
from Hebrew.
72 Sherwin, op. cit., p. 15. I have also consulted david kaufmann, ‘Jair Chayim
Bacharach: a Biographical Sketch’, The Jewish Quarterly Review, 3 (1891), no. 2,
p. 523.
73 Ibidem, pp. 89–92.
Stránka 215
Rudolf II and the Kabbalah 215
of favor and protection bestowed by the sovereign. any
benevolence shown by the emperor would not go unno-
ticed.70 Since the reason for their meeting and what was
discussed are not known, it has given rise to much specu-
lation, and over time this has become shrouded in the
magnificent garb of legend.
The historian and astrologer david Gans, a student of
rabbi loew, dates the meeting to the 13 of adar, [5]352
(february 26, 1592) in the only known record to have sur-
vived: ‘our lord the emperor [...] rudolph […] sent for
and called upon our master rabbi löw ben Bezalel and
received him with a welcome and merry expression, and
spoke to him face to face as one would to a friend. The na-
ture and quality of their words are mysterious, sealed and
hidden.’71 We should assume that the subject of their con-
versation was mysticism and the occult, and it is no coinci-
dence that nearly all legends about this meeting point to
the rabbi’s magical skills as the source of the emperor’s
abiding amiability and admiration for him. That they dis-
cussed the occult is a conjecture supported by a compilation
of documents made by rabbi loew’s great-great-grand-
son Jair Hayyim Bacharach. The compilation lists records
(unfortunately lost) about rudolf ’s inviting the rabbi to
the Castle and a transcript of the texts on the amulet
rabbi loew prepared for him.72
rabbi loew was certainly well aware of the delicate na-
ture of the meeting. Given that he was a firm supporter of
keeping Jewish and Gentile communities separate,73 he
had little inclination to discuss the secrets of the Torah with
Christians. on the other hand, while the Holy roman
emperor and king of Bohemia was surely a Gentile, he
was also the sole guarantor of the Jewish community’s
safety, which was practically under continual threat from
the estates and the townsfolk, to say nothing of the peasants,
who could always be whipped into a murderous frenzy by
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM Stránka 216

216 Ivo Purš

9/ Heinrich khunrath, Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae solius verae

christiano-kabalisticum, divino-magicum, Hanau – magdeburg 1609.
prague, Strahov library
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM
religious fanaticism. perhaps it is not too much of a stretch to
say that if rabbi loew had the chance to divert the emperor’s
attention away from the mysteries of kabbalah and the di-
vine names without drawing his ire, then he would have
done so without hesitation, and a magical amulet would be
something that would interest rudolf and raise his spirits,
despite the rabbi’s reticence toward magic. The amulet de-
scribed above did indeed belong to rudolf and it would
confirm this conjecture, though it cannot be connected to
the rabbi’s audience because evidence linking the two sim-
ply does not exist.
It is often said that there were a number of Jews at rudolf’s
court. This is not exactly correct, because the Jews that were
at court had converted to Christianity, which allowed them
to achieve a much higher social standing. prominent among
them was the emperor’s valet, philipp lang, who had come
to prague Castle by way of his career as a singer in archduke
74
ferdinand II of Tyrol’s court ensemble at ambrass Castle.
lang maintained contact with the Jewish ghetto, and rudolf’s
court was in contact with Jewish merchants, mordecai
maisel in particular, who gave large sums in support of the
emperor’s wars with the Turks. another baptized Jew by
the name of mardocheus de nelle was one of rudolf ’s al-
75
chemists.
lang’s story and the documentation on his miserable end76
could serve as proof that the Jewish community of the day
did possess tracts on magic that would be indispensable for
the construction of amulets of the type that rabbi loew
74 See Hirn, op. cit., vol. I, p. 393.
75 evans. op. cit., p. 250.
76 I am grateful to alexandr putík for drawing my attention to this scenario and the
fruitful discussions concerning it.
77 Janáček, op. cit., p. 393.
78 friedrich Hurter, Philipp Lang, Kammerdiener Kaiser Rudolphs II. Eine Kriminal-
Geschichte aus dem Anfang des siebenzehnten Jahrhunderts, Schaffhausen 1851, p. 157.
79 Christa Tuckay, Magie und Magier im Mittelalter, münchen 2003, pp. 247–248.
80 This role was particularly popularized by pietro d’abano in Elementa magica from
the 13th century. See also Gershom Scholem, ‘The Star of david: History of
a Symbol’, in The Messianic Idea in Judaism, pp. 257–281.
Stránka 217
Rudolf II and the Kabbalah 217
could have procured for rudolf with the help of his bene-
factor maisel. lang was not shy in extorting money and he
was infamous for his insatiable demands.77 So it should come
as no surprise that he fell out of favor with the emperor, and
in 1607 he was imprisoned. He was accused of stealing from
the art collections and practicing sorcery: ‘amongst the
Jews he had his helpers, one in particular by the name of
Seligman. Through them he obtained a book of sorcery
called Sigillum Salomonis. He further employed as a magical
device a Zeddel, in the Hebrew tongue. from a certain
makarsky he obtained an entire crate of texts for this pur-
pose. The emperor having learned of this commanded
lang to surrender them to him. Choosing not to obey the
emperor’s will, lang, with his helpers, instead continued
his pursuit of the black arts.’78 In addition to the protocol
from the inquiry, I would add that the presumed author of
this grimoire, king Solomon, had been taken as an authori-
ty on magic since antiquity and was credited with many
texts on the subject. according to the Babylonian Talmud,
he was privy to the secret teaching, which he then entrust-
ed to the seventy elders, and this is the basis of kabbalah.
Johann Hartlieb in his Das Buch aller verbotenen Künste from
1455 mentions the Sigillum Salomonis along with the more
well-known Clavicula Salomonis as one of the medieval gri-
moires.79 and I should also add that the Seal of Solomon,
the hexagram made of the intersection of two equilateral
triangles, also known as the Star, or Shield, of david, was
one of the most common and most powerful signs, as was
the pentagram, or pentacle.80
To illustrate the atmosphere prevailing in prague fifteen
years after rabbi loew’s audience with rudolf, I should
still mention that lang was accused of poisoning, a crime
commonly ascribed to Jews. He was further leveled with
the serious charge of having contacts with Jews, who had
been seen in his home (along with Italian and other agents),
C-6-2.korek-198-221-ANG-25.6.qxd:Sestava 1 6/25/09 6:13 PM
218 Ivo Purš
that he supported them and secretly visited the ghetto. He
was even accused of attending synagogue to demonstrate
by participating in their rituals that he had not forsaken
them in any way. lang died in 1610 in prison without ever
having a proper trial.81 The circumstances of his case clearly
show just how complicated, when not impossible, were the
social relations and communication between the Christian
majority and the Jewish minority. and rudolf ’s interest in
kabbalah could do nothing to change this. It is also true
that study of kabbalah and Hebrew did not necessarily lead
to more tolerance among those individuals who cultivated
these interests. The emperor and his confessor pistorius
likely were tolerant toward Jews but that cannot be said
about duke Heinrich Julius of Brunswick if the historical
sources are accurate. Hilda lietzmann points to his aston-
ishing severity toward sorcery and Jews. a decree of
January 6, 1593 established that sorcery was to be punished
according to the words of God,82 which resulted in many
witch burnings in Brunswick. While his father was indul-
gent toward the Jews and issued them writs of protection,
duke Heinrich Julius banished them from the territory be-
tween 1590 and 1591. although prague’s Jews petitioned
emperor rudolf to intercede in the matter, the expulsion
was not repealed.83
Conclusion
In conclusion I will try to answer the most salient question:
What aspect of kabbalah might have inspired emperor
rudolf II the most? In my opinion, there is one in particu-
lar that he could have believed connected his personal in-
terests with his role as emperor, a role he took very serious-
ly as I have already mentioned. devotion to the study of
kabbalah and the sefirot would not only bring the adept
closer to the powers of the superior intellect but contribute
Stránka 218
to maintaining balance in the universe. despite its forceful-
ness, pico’s definition of the apotheosis of the soul as made
possible by the study of kabbalah does not quite express
the full import of kabbalistic meditation: ‘When the soul
comprehends everything that it is able to comprehend,
and when it joins with the oversoul, it removes its terrestri-
al garments, breaks free from its place and unites with the
divine.’84 rudolf ’s esotericism did not conceive separation
from the material world as flight from his duties as sover-
eign, as has been frequently claimed. for him, it was about
penetrating a higher, more potent stratum of reality. for
example, in his wars with the Turks rudolf would have the
horoscope of the Sultan read, and in so doing he was being
entirely consistent with another of pico’s kabbalistic the-
ses: ‘an earthly king cannot be punished on earth if he has
not yet been laid low by the celestial army in heaven.’85
This path was marked out by both intellectual and moral
criteria as its foundation was righteousness: ‘a column
reaches from earth to heaven, and its name is the righteous
one, Tzaddik. If there are righteous ones in the world, the
column grows strong. If not, it grows weak. and it bears
the entire world, as is written: »The righteous is the foun-
dation of the world.«86 But if the column becomes weak,
the world cannot survive.’87 To phrase it with another
Hermetic maxim, everything is connected to everything,
and this was doubly true in the case of emperor rudolf II
and his relationship to running his empire and to forces
sacred and divine.
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Rudolf II and the Kabbalah 219

10/ Hans Bulla, magical handbell of rudolph II with kabbalistic

inscriptions, an alloy of more metals, cast and gilded,
prague, ca. 1600.
Vienna, kunsthistorisches museum

81 Hurter, op. cit., p. 159. 11/ Samuel Globic of Bučina, Map of the Jewish and Old Towns,
82 ‘You shall not tolerate [to live] a sorceress’ (exodus 22:17).
coloured pen-and-ink drawing, ca. 1665.
83 lietzmann, op. cit., p. 14.
84 pic de la mirandole, op. cit., thesis 399, p. 107. prague, map Collection of Charles University >
85 Ibidem, thesis 401, p. 107. Thus a military campaign should only be undertaken
when the stars were unfavorably aligned for rudolf ’s enemies. The point is suc-
cinctly made in rabbi Joseph Gikatilla’s Sha'arei Tzedek [The Gate of
righteousness]: ‘a people shall not perish until an angel first vanquishes their
ruler.’ Quoted in Secret, op. cit., p. 24.
86 ‘When the storm passes the wicked man is gone, / But the righteous is an everlasting
foundation’ (proverbs 10:25).
87 Sefer ha-Bahir, §102. rudolf could have known this idea only from kabbalistic
texts, which took it up in varying degrees.
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