The Hidden Origins of Il Separatio: Manuscripts Deemed Dangerous and Banned

By Valda Roric


Throughout history a large number of books have been banned only because they contained various uncomfortable truths or tales. Such books have been systematically hunted down and destroyed by representatives of the church or the state. Some copies have even been poisoned, thus giving the books a reputation of being cursed, as those who read them ended up dying due to the fatal poisons. Such was the case of books mentioning or telling tales about the entity known as Il Separatio.

The Bible mentions the following passage: “God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness”. According to legend, this separation between light and darkness took the form of an entity known as Il Separatio meaning “The Separation”.

This entity was regarded as being neither good, nor evil. Instead, it represented perfect and absolute neutrality. As this legend placed the third entity midway between God and the Devil, the medieval church did not want people to begin to wonder which entity is the strongest—God or Il Separatio.

Il Separatio provided a third option, one not recognized by the church. According to the teachings of the church, good people went to Heaven and bad people were destined for Hell. In the catholic case, should the situation have been unclear, the person ended up in Purgatory. If the individual did good deeds in Purgatory, then he or she progressed to Heaven. If the person was bad, then he or she went to Hell. All was very simple until Il Separatio entered the equation.

This entity could claim the people who had done just as much good as they had sinned. So, when a person has done exactly as many good deeds as bad deeds, then that person was said to belong to Il Separatio.


Things got even more complicated as medieval texts discussed the powers of this entity. According to legend, the power of Il Separatio was “absolutum” meaning “absolute”. With such a description, it is not surprising that the medieval church banned all books mentioning Il Separatio and the Inquisition hunted down everyone who dared utter his name. Therefore, Il Separatio came to be known as Anonymus, “The Anonymous One”, “The Nameless One”, “The One Who Should Not Be Named”. Calling this entity Anonymus offered people a means of protection against the Inquisition. Still, there was little protection for the books which included the entity.


Out of the few books mentioning Il Separatio that have survived up to the present day, one can point to two main examples: “Compendium Augumentum” and “Codex Lugubrum”. (The Codex Lugubrum may also have been printed in Latin with the title: D. Hilarii Pictauorum episcopi Lucubrationes quotquot extant : olim per Des. Erasmum Roterod. haud mediocribus sudoribus emendate. )

The first tells the story of Il Separatio and the warrior Ashor, while the second tells the same story in a different and more detailed form. “Codex Lugubrum” which has survived in two known copies, both found in private collections across Europe, changes the name of the fierce warrior who meets Il Separatio into Amantes.

Amantes had done both good and evil during his time. In fact, he had done just as much good as he had done evil. Therefore, when a demon and an angel both began to fight over his soul, Il Separatio appeared and sent them away, wielding his neutrality. The demon had claimed that Amantes had done a lot of evil and, as a result, he was his and belonged with him in Hell. The angel had claimed that the warrior had done a lot of good, therefore he was his to take with him in Heaven. When Il Separatio appeared, he simply said that the man had done just as much good as he had done evil and, as a result, none of the other two could have him.


When Il Separatio waved his hand signaling the demon and the angel to leave, they both disappeared instantly, one to Hell and the other to Heaven. In a subtle form, this symbolized the absolute power of Il Separatio. As for neutrality, it is said that this entity is so neutral that it even lacks a form. In order to be visible, to be seen by others, Il Separatio always appears as a figure in a long black hooded cloak, but no arms, legs or face ever stick out. This is the neutral appearance and elusive identity of Anonymus.

The most forbidden aspect of Il Separatio is the option that he brought. Once the angel and the demon had left, the wounds of Amantes all healed and he was restored to his appearance as it was at the ideal age of 30.  Also, it was said he became immortal and had great power. He could no longer die, he could no longer fall ill. He was young and strong and he could do whatever he wanted and travel wherever he wanted just by using the power of his mind. Legend has it he could transport himself to other worlds—on the sun, inside the sun and even into stone and minerals.


Another old forbidden text, the “Cabala Speculum”, contained an engraving portraying humans, man and woman, tied with chains to the entire creation thus suggesting that should these chains be broken, then humans could become gods themselves. Similarly, the chains keeping Amantes tied had all vanished. He had become completely and absolutely free. This was both freedom as well as an exit from the ‘system’ and this is the true meaning of Il Separatio.

Real or mere legend, the tale of Il Separatio remains a fascinating one, and one not soon to be forgotten.

Featured image: Deriv; Unidentified ancient manuscript ( CC BY 2.0 ), Il Commendatore in Prague. ( CC BY 3. 0)


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Source: Ancient Origins
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''God and devil are distinguished by the qualities of fullness and 
emptiness, generation and destruction. EFFECTIVENESS is 
common to both. Effectiveness joineth them. Effectiveness, therefore, standeth above both; is a god above god, since in its effect it uniteth fullness and emptiness. This is a god whom ye knew not, for mankind forgot it. We name it by its name GALDRUX . It is more indefinite still than god and devil. That god may be distinguished from it, we name god HELIOS or sun. Galdrux is effect. Nothing standeth opposed to it but the ineffective; hence its effective natyre freely unfoldeth itself. 
The ineffective is not, therefore resisteth not. Galdrux standeth above the sun and above the devil. It is improbable probability, unreal reality. Had the anticosm a being, Galdrux would be its manifestation. It is the effective itself, nor any particular effect, but effect in general.''

''What the god-sun speaketh is life. What the devil speaketh is death. But Galdrux speaketh that hallowed and accursed word which is life and death at the same time. Galdrux begetteth truth and lying, good and evil, light and darkness, in the same word and in the same act. Wherefore is Galdrux terrible.''

wodouvhaox wrote:

Another old forbidden text, the “Cabala Speculum”, contained an engraving portraying humans, man and woman, tied with chains to the entire creation thus suggesting that should these chains be broken, then humans could become gods themselves. Similarly, the chains keeping Amantes tied had all vanished. He had become completely and absolutely free. This was both freedom as well as an exit from the ‘system’ and this is the true meaning of Il Separatio.

''Despite today's culture embracing both a mutinous and escapist attitude, it still misses the mark of the ancient Gnostics.

And despite their existential cred of alienation bordering on nihilism, the Gnostic outlook was refreshingly positive and gripped by a fiery joy. Sure, Gnostic texts like the Secret Book of John or the Gospel of Truth portray a fallen world of Lovecraftian foes.

However, there is a rescue operation at all times from higher forces. Everything is going to be alright if we would just wake up and become Christian Bodhisattvas as is our right.

Beyond a lack of hope (or you might call it faith), there is still that one crucial ingredient missing from society today that falls short of a full-blown Gnostic mindset (and that of other ancient esoteric movements).

It's best explained by Philip K. Dick scholar Erik Davies:

"I'd like to suggest instead that the impulse to transcend - the Neoplatonist's ascent through the spheres, the Gnostics' sudden awakening, the desert monk's rejection of the élan vital - is not simply a philosophical error or the mark of patriarchy, but is fired by an intensely lucid yearning of the highest of goals: liberation." viii

Yes, more than anything the Gnostics sought freedom - untamed, unapologetic freedom.

That, in truth, is perhaps why they were considered the greatest of heretics to both secular and religious authorities:

they wanted a freedom not stored in any material construct.''

''Nam ashal gash u mut zwatûkbran krish''

Around the year 800, Black Knights began to appear in history and, since the 13th century, a series of legends mentioning the mysterious Black Knights, then known as ‘the Sith’, emerged. Although the Black Knights were said to have carried out good deeds and fought to protect cities from unjust rulers and other threats, texts referring to these legends were censored and banned by the Church during the medieval period. Nevertheless, the story of the legendary knight Ashor endured over the centuries.

The origin of Black Knights is closely linked to the legend of Ashor, a knight who had remained skilled and strong, despite his advanced age, and who specialized in the killing of kings and other nobles. Some time around the 13th or 14th century, there was a king with a powerful enemy – a king of another land who oppressed his people. Desperate to defeat his opponent, the good king sent a message calling Ashor to his court.  One night, the king woke up to find Ashor near his bed. The assassin had entered his castle without detection, thus having proven his skill.

Ashor asked the king who he needed to kill and the king gave his order. Ashor accepted the task, but said that he would first check the king’s claims that his enemy was an evil oppressor. Ashor entered the fortress city of the king’s enemy, and witnessed for himself the cruelty of the ruler; his task to assassinate the king would proceed as planned.

Ashor discovered that an old priest, who had once risen up against the cruelty of the evil king, was being held prisoner in the dungeon.  Thus, after fulfilling his order to kill the king, Ashor, moved by the priest’s story, decided to free him from the prison. He entered the dungeon and found the man in bad condition. He was very weak and could barely stand. Unfortunately, the priest proved to be a burden, making it difficult for Ashor to escape. While carrying the old man out of the dungeon, the knight was injured. Nevertheless, the two got up on a horse, escaped the city and made for the woods.

The black knight had freed the city from its evil king and he had escaped. However, with people in pursuit, Ashor understood that he could not tend to his wounds on time and he descended from the horse telling the priest that he would not slow him down and he must continue. The priest thanked him, gave him his blessing and left as instructed.

Ashor waited for his end near a tree. Soon, as blood left the knight’s body, a demon appeared before him telling the knight that his soul belonged to him and he had come to claim him. Before the demon could take Ashor’s soul, an angel also appeared, saying that the knight’s soul belonged to him and that he had come to take it with him to Heaven. Apparently, the knight’s good deeds had been just a little more numerous than his bad ones and he had been forgiven.

As the two entities were getting ready to clash in order to fight for the human’s soul, a third entity appeared. At this time, the angel and the demon had stopped fighting as if they had been frozen. The third entity had no form. In order to be visible, it had appeared as a figure in a black cloak. However, nothing could be seen coming out of the cloak: no hands, no feet, no face. This third entity was Il Separatio, the Anonymous one, the keeper of universal balance, the one who cannot be named.

Anonymus is the personification of perfect neutrality. He is neither good, nor evil, he is beyond all divisions. Il Separatio spoke and said that the knight had done just as much good as he had done evil. Therefore, none of the two sides could claim his soul. He belonged to Il Separatio. At that moment, both the angel and the demon disappeared and Anonymus turned to the knight.

Ashor’s wounds had been healed. He got up and talked to Il Separatio. The entity told Ashor that he had become free and no longer belonged to ‘the system’. He was outside it, beyond it. Il Separatio told the knight that he could do whatever he wanted, that he could live for as long as he wanted, that he could travel anywhere (including other planets). When he was to become bored of all of this, then he was to call upon Il Separatio to stand before him once again and tell him about the true purpose of their existence. Ashor was told that, as now he was no longer part of the system, his actions no longer mattered for the world. Should he do good deeds, other would do bad deeds and the universal balance would remain unchanged. Should he do bad deeds, others would do good deeds and, again, the balance of the universe would remain the same.
According to legend, Il Separatio disappeared once he finished his explanation, while the knight Ashor still lives among humans today. It is said that he had chosen to do good deeds as a black knight even though his actions no longer mattered for the world. Ashor, the Immortal, remains the prototype for the image of the black knight.