The phrase “Prince of Darkness” in English was first attested to in the 17th Century. It appears in A Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures (1604 CE) by the Archbishop of Yorke, Samuel Harsnett (1561 – 1631 CE). Harsnett, as an Anglican, was firmly against the exorcism practices conducted by the Roman Catholics.
“Darkness” derives from the Old English “deorcnysse.” The Old English “deorc” means “dark, obscure, gloomy; sad, cheerless; sinister, wicked,” and likely derived from the Proto-Germanc “*derkaz.” This same root would provide the Old High German word “tarchanjan” meaning “to hide, conceal.”
[Note: For those Runsters reading this, the Proto-Germanic equivalent to “Prince of Darkness” would be “*Druhtinaz ab *Derkaz” or “Drighten of Darkness.”]
Yorke’s book would influence two of the most significant English language writers: William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616 CE) and John Milton (1608 – 1674 CE).
Shakespeare used the phrase “Prince of Darkness” along with other figures drawn from Harsnett’s book in his tragedy King Lear. Based on the legendary figure of Leir of Britain, the play recounts the story of King Lear’s distribution of his responsibilities to his daughters based upon nothing but flattery. The character of Edgar, who takes on the disguise of the insane vagrant Tom O’Bedlem, recites the line:
Act III, Scene IV, l. 140:
Edgar: The prince of darkness is a gentleman: Modo he’s call’d, and Mahu
The names of Modo and Mahu were both drawn from Harsnett.
Milton’s Paradise Lost deals with the term more extensively and would frame the popular mythology of the figure of Satan as the Prince of Darkness through the subsequent centuries. What tends to get lost to contemporary readers is how deeply indebted the work is to Milton’s experience in the English Revolution and Restoration. At stake in this conflict were two key issues, that of Protestantism and Catholicism, and separately, the role of the King ruling as a Divine Authority and the desire for a Parliamentary system.
Tied into this conflict were the Apocalyptic themes resonant in England, which had been strongly influenced by Dr. John Dee (1527 to 1609 CE). Milton’s poem about the attempted toppling of God by a usurping Lucifer, his transformation into Satan, and his role as the Serpent of the Garden of Eden would reflect multiple feelings regarding the successes and failures of the Revolution and were rooted in Milton’s conflicts regarding what had happened.
Setemheb 