Pruflas

Pruflas is a demon cataloged within the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, a significant early work in demonology. This text, which translates to 'False Monarchy of Demons,' first appeared as an appendix to Johann Weyer's influential book De praestigiis daemonum in 1577.

Origin and Documentation

The Pseudomonarchia Daemonum is an abridgment that predates and differs somewhat from the later and more famous Ars Goetia, the first book of The Lesser Key of Solomon. While the Ars Goetia lists seventy-two demons, the Pseudomonarchia details sixty-nine, with variations in their order and characteristics. Pruflas is notable as one of the demons that appears exclusively in Weyer's list and is not found in the Ars Goetia. Furthermore, the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum does not attribute any specific sigils to the demons it enumerates.

Weyer himself referred to the source manuscript for this work as Liber officiorum spirituum, seu Liber dictus Empto. Salomonis, de principibus et regibus daemoniorum (Book of the offices of spirits, or the book called 'Empto'. Solomon, concerning the princes and kings of demons). This manuscript is believed to be related to a similar text from 1583 titled The Office of Spirits, which in turn seems to be an elaboration on a fifteenth-century manuscript known as Le Livre des Esperitz. Approximately thirty of the spirits from Le Livre des Esperitz are nearly identical to spirits found in the Ars Goetia.