Name and Variants
Alocer
Alloces
Aloces
The name appears with minor orthographic variation across early modern Latin and vernacular sources. No earlier form is securely attested.
Historic Attestation
Alocer first appears in Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, first published in 1563 (Basel), §64. No pre-Weyer source has yet been identified. The entry is later reproduced, with minimal alteration, in the Ars Goetia of the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, a grimoire compiled in manuscript form during the mid-seventeenth century (c. 1640–1680, English manuscripts).
The name and description are subsequently summarized and standardized in nineteenth-century demonological reference works, most notably Jacques Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal, first edition 1818, with expanded illustrated editions appearing in 1844–1845.
No account of the name’s origin, discovery, or initial encounter is preserved. The figure enters the record already formed.
Descriptions Across Sources
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| Seal attributed to Aloces Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis |
In Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1563), Alocer is described as advancing like a soldier, seated upon a great horse. His face is leonine, ruddy in complexion, with flaming eyes. He speaks gravely. He is said to make a man remarkable in astronomy and in all the liberal arts, to bestow a good household, and to rule thirty-six legions.
The Lemegeton (Ars Goetia, c. 1640–1680) repeats the description with slight variation. Alocer appears as a soldier riding upon a great horse. His face is like that of a lion, very red, with flaming eyes. His speech is described as hoarse and very loud. His office is to teach astronomy and the liberal sciences. He brings good familiars and rules thirty-six legions. A seal is provided, to be worn.
In the Dictionnaire Infernal (1818; illustrated editions 1844–1845), Alocer is presented as a grand duke of hell, appearing as a knight mounted on an enormous horse. His appearance recalls the features of a lion. He has a flaming complexion and burning eyes. He speaks with gravity and teaches the secrets of astronomy and the liberal arts. He rules thirty-six legions.
All sources agree on the leonine face, mounted appearance, and association with astronomy and the liberal arts. No source explains the origin of these attributes.
Iconography
Later visual representations—most notably those accompanying Collin de Plancy’s illustrated editions (1844–1845)—depict Alocer as a heavily armed or armored figure mounted on a large horse, with leonine facial features exaggerated beyond the textual descriptions.
These images postdate the earliest written accounts by nearly three centuries.
No source explains the basis for the visual tradition.
Usage and Ritual Context
Alocer appears in operative grimoires of the seventeenth century as a named spirit with an assigned seal and hierarchical rank. The Lemegeton (c. 1640–1680) implies ritual engagement through the instruction to wear his seal, but no detailed ritual procedure specific to Alocer is preserved.
No planetary, lunar, or astrological timing is explicitly assigned to him in extant texts, despite his association with astronomy.
Notes on the Record
Alocer has no known antecedent in classical, biblical, or late antique demonological literature. His sudden appearance in the sixteenth century (1563) is unexplained.
Despite the absence of an origin narrative, his description remains strikingly consistent across sources spanning more than three hundred years. Variations in tone and emphasis occur, but the core features persist.
No explanation is offered for the confidence with which his attributes are reported.
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