Pnakotic Manuscripts
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The '''Pnakotic Manuscripts'''<!--UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT, HENCE NO ITALICS--> (or '''Pnakotic Fragments''') is a fictional [[manuscript]] in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]]. The tome was created by [[H. P. Lovecraft]]<ref>Lovecraft referred to the Pnakotic Manuscripts in eleven of his stories—second only to the ''[[Necronomicon]]'', which is referred to 18 times. (Loucks, "The Necronomicon and Other Grimoires".)</ref> and first appeared in his [[short story]] "[[Polaris (short story)|Polaris]]" ([[1918 in literature|1918]]). They are mentioned in many of Lovecraft's stories, including ''[[At the Mountains of Madness]]'' ([[1936 in literature|1936]]), ''[[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath]]'' ([[1926 in literature|1926]]), "The Other Gods" ([[1933 in literature|1933]]), and "[[The Shadow Out of Time]]" (1936). The manuscripts are also referred to by other mythos authors, such as [[Lin Carter]] and [[Brian Lumley]].
The Pnakotic Manuscripts are noteworthy for being the first of Lovecraft's [[Cthulhu Mythos arcane literature|fictional arcane books]].<ref>Joshi & Schultz, ''An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'', pp. 187.</ref>
==Origin==
The Pnakotic Manuscripts predate the origin of man. The original manuscripts were in scroll form and were passed down through the ages, eventually falling into the hands of secretive cults. The [[Great Race of Yith]] is believed to have produced the first five chapters of the Manuscripts, which, among other things, contain a detailed chronicle of the race's history. However, others attribute them to the [[Elder Thing]]s, because of certain similarities to the [[Cthulhu Mythos arcane literature#Eltdown Shards|Eltdown Shards]].
The Pnakotic Manuscripts were kept in the Great Race's library city of [[Great Race of Yith#Pnakotus|Pnakotus]] (hence the name). They cover a variety of subjects, including descriptions of [[Great Old One compendium#Chaugnar Faugn|Chaugnar Faugn]] and [[Great Old One compendium#Yibb-Tstll|Yibb-Tstll]], the location of [[Cthulhu Mythos supernatural characters#Xiurhn|Xiurhn]], [[Rhan-Tegoth]]'s rituals, and others.
==The Manuscripts in human history==
The Pnakotic Manuscripts were originally held by the people of [[Lomar]], who studied them diligently. Later, they were passed to [[Hyperborean cycle#Hyperborea|Hyperborea]] and translated into the language of that land. Here the manuscripts were added to by the [[Hyperborean cycle#Voormi|Voormi]]. Another addition is known to have been made in earlier times by a scribe in [[Zobna]].
The Manuscripts survived into historical times, protected by a secretive cult known as the Pnakotic Brotherhood, and are thought to have been translated into a [[Greek language|Greek]] in a version known as the ''Pnakotica''. Rumors say that an English translation was made in the [[15th century]] by an unknown scribe, but the consensus is that they exist only in manuscript form. The original scrolls of the Pnakotic Manuscripts are believed to be lost (nevertheless, a copy may still exist in the Temple of the Elder Ones in [[Ulthar]]).
==Appearances in other works==
The Pnakotic Manuscripts appear in both "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" (an episode from ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'') and the computer game ''[[Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth]]''.
It is also featured in the Lovecraftian anime series [[Demonbane]] as a living tome.
==References==
* {{cite web | author=Cornford, Laurence J | title=A Hyperborean Glossary, M-R | work=The Eldritch Dark | url=http://www.eldritchdark.com/misc/hyper/hyper-m-r.html | accessmonthday=July 25 | accessyear=2005 }}
* Harms, Daniel. "Lomar" in ''The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'' (2nd ed.), pp. 185–6. Chaosium, Inc., 1998. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.
:—"Pnakotic Manuscripts", pp. 242–3. Ibid.
*{{cite book | last=Joshi | first=S. T. | authorlink=S. T. Joshi | coauthors=David E. Schultz | title=An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia | location=Westport, CT | publisher=Greenwood Press | date=2001 | id=ISBN 0-313-31578-7}}
* {{cite web | author=Loucks, Donovan K | title=The Necronomicon and Other Grimoires | work=The H.P. Lovecraft Archive | url=http://www.hplovecraft.com/creation/tomes.asp | accessmonthday=August 20 | accessyear=2006 }}
===Notes===
<references/>
[[Category:Fictional books within the Cthulhu Mythos]]
[[ja:ナコト写本]]