![[The Grimorum Arcanorum]](grim.jpg)
Other Appearances: "Awakening" Parts II & III, "Temptation," "Enter MacBeth," "Long Way To Morning," "Vows," "High Noon," "Avalon" Parts I & II, (in flashback) "The Dying Of The Light"
The Grimorum Arcanorum was an ancient book of magic and spells, created by the original Magus, the resident mage of Emperor Augustus in ancient Rome. The Grimorum was passed down throughout the years, its knowledge being added to by its owners, until it came into the hands of the Archmage, Prince Malcolm of Wyvern's court wizard.
The Archmage used it for his purposes, hoping to combine its might with that of the Eye of Odin and the Phoenix Gate to gain the ultimate magical power. When he was exiled from Castle Wyvern following an attempt to subvert Prince Malcolm's rule in AD 984, the Archmage took the Grimorum with him, and used it to create a magically enhanced poison which he shot Malcolm with. To save him, Hudson, then the leader of the Wyvern clan, took Goliath and Demona to the Archmage's lair, where they battled him and gained the Grimorum. The Archmage seemingly died in a fall into a deep chasm, but this was later learned to not be the case. Using the Grimorum, the Magus (no relation to the one in ancient Rome), the Archmage's former pupil, cured Malcolm.
The Grimorum remained in the Magus's possession until AD 994, when it was captured by Hakon's vikings during the events of the Castle Wyvern massacre. Hakon tore out one of its pages and burned it before the Magus could regain it. Unfortunately, thinking that the six gargoyles who survived the massacre were indirectly responsible for Princess Katherine's death, he used a spell from the Grimorum to turn five of the clan to stone until the castle (Wyvern) rose above the clouds. He almost did the same to Goliath, and would have had done so if not for the fact that Princess Katherine was alive. The counterspell was on the page that Hakon had burned, so the Magus could not undo it. For that reason, Goliath requested that the Magus petrify him as well, so he could awake with his clan. The Magus complied.
The Magus kept the Grimorum, using it to help get the Princess to Avalon. However, he was forced to give it to Katherine's ally Finella and Tom's mother Mary for safekeeping, as he could not bring it to that isle. According to Greg Weisman, the Grimorum went with Mary and Finella when Brooklyn took them with him during his first TimeDancer journey. Mary, Finella, and the Grimorum were left in the 1970s.
Eventually, David Xanatos purchased the Grimorum, and, relying on information in the book about Goliath's clan's stone sleep written in it by the Magus, Xanatos brought Castle Wyvern to Manhattan, and set it atop the Eyrie Building, where the terms of the spell were fulfilled, freeing Goliath's clan.
The Grimorum remained in Xanatos's possession, only once removed, by Brooklyn, who had been tricked into doing so by Demona. Demona turned Goliath into her mind-controlled slave and stole a few pages of spells from the Grimorum before Brooklyn got it back.
Hudson and Broadway took the Grimorum with them when they left Castle Wyvern, and it remained in the clock tower until it was stolen by MacBeth and Demona, who were being influenced by the Weird Sisters. Demona used the Grimorum for a few concealment spells before the Weird Sisters claimed it.
The Sisters took the Grimorum to Avalon, where they gave it to the Archmage. It still could not be brought onto the isle, so the Archmage bent the rules by devouring the Grimorum and absorbing its knowledge and power directly into himself. The Grimorum remained as part of the Archmage, until the Eye of Odin was taken from him by Goliath. Without the increased power level the Eye gave him, the energies of the Grimorum consumed him, destroying both the Archmage and the Grimorum.
The Grimorum Arcanorum was a repository of great mystical power and knowledge. Spells contained within its pages included a lightning bolt spell (a favorite of the Archmage), the spell that held Goliath's clan in stone sleep for 1000 years, spells of disguise, concealment, and illusion, the spell to get to Avalon from any body of water, a spell to redirect other magics, a spell to make someone a slave with no mind of their own, the spell Demona used to turn the population of New York City to stone by night for two nights, and doubtless many others.