In an earlier post, I'd written about the appeal that Renaissance philosopher Heinrich Agrippa has for Rolf Mansfeld, aka Azathoth. In my post Azathoth, Meet Agrippa, I discussed Agrippa's interest in the occult. In Lion's Lair, another shared interest is spotlighted—codes.
Rolf Mansfeld's fascination for abstruse programming languages was first documented in the malware he wrote to disable museum security software. Cryptography, often in the form of substitution ciphers, was popular in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The Theban script featured in Lion's Lair is just one example. Agrippa didn't invent the script, but he was the most famous practitioner. In recent times, Wiccans have adopted the Theban alphabet. Some call it the Witches Alphabet.
Behenian symbols were also popularized by Agrippa. The symbols were used to designate fifteen stars that were believed to have magical properties. Rolf Mansfeld had used a symbol designed by H.P. Lovecraft—the glowing branch—as his signature. Diana believed that Rolf would appreciate Agrippa also using an obscure symbol for his signature.
There is also a personal hidden message in Diana's choice of Agrippa. She was disappointed that Lovecraft didn't write about strong female characters. One of Agrippa's most famous treatises is on the superiority of women. The title of the work is "On the Nobility and Excellence of the Feminine Sex." Diana doesn't know what Rolf's views are about women, but this is her way of tossing down the gauntlet.
Lion's Lair on Archive of Our Own
Lion's Lair on FanFiction
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