diff --git a/src/creport.c b/src/creport.c
index 53c542470..345aaf0bc 100644
--- a/src/creport.c
+++ b/src/creport.c
@@ -719,7 +719,7 @@ static void cr_output_spells(stream *out, const unit * u, int maxlevel)
             spellbook_entry * sbe = (spellbook_entry *)selist_get(ql, qi);
             if (sbe->level <= maxlevel) {
                 // TODO: no need to deref spref here, spref->name == sp->sname
-                spell * sp = spellref_get(sbe->spref);
+                spell * sp = sbe->sp;
                 const char *name = translate(mkname("spell", sp->sname), spell_name(sp, f->locale));
                 if (!header) {
                     stream_printf(out, "SPRUECHE\n");
@@ -1622,7 +1622,7 @@ report_computer(const char *filename, report_context * ctx, const char *bom)
     a = a_find(f->attribs, &at_reportspell);
     while (a && a->type == &at_reportspell) {
         spellbook_entry *sbe = (spellbook_entry *)a->data.v;
-        cr_reportspell(F, spellref_get(sbe->spref), sbe->level, f->locale);
+        cr_reportspell(F, sbe->sp, sbe->level, f->locale);
         a = a->next;
     }
     for (a = a_find(f->attribs, &at_showitem); a && a->type == &at_showitem;
diff --git a/src/kernel/spell.c b/src/kernel/spell.c
index f950918e0..212b0a7d2 100644
--- a/src/kernel/spell.c
+++ b/src/kernel/spell.c
@@ -146,12 +146,18 @@ spell *find_spellbyid(unsigned int id)
     return NULL;
 }
 
-struct spellref *spellref_create(const char *name)
+struct spellref *spellref_create(spell *sp, const char *name)
 {
     spellref *spref = malloc(sizeof(spellref));
 
-    spref->name = strdup(name);
-    spref->sp = NULL;
+    if (sp) {
+        spref->sp = sp;
+        spref->name = strdup(sp->sname);
+    }
+    else if (name) {
+        spref->name = strdup(name);
+        spref->sp = NULL;
+    }
     return spref;
 }
 
@@ -166,16 +172,12 @@ void spellref_free(spellref *spref)
 struct spell *spellref_get(struct spellref *spref)
 {
     if (!spref->sp) {
+        assert(spref->name);
         spref->sp = find_spell(spref->name);
+        if (spref->sp) {
+            free(spref->name);
+            spref->name = NULL;
+        }
     }
     return spref->sp;
 }
-
-spellref *spellref_copy(spellref *spref)
-{
-    spellref *result = spellref_create(spref->name);
-    if (spref->sp) {
-        result->sp = spref->sp;
-    }
-    return result;
-}
diff --git a/src/kernel/spell.h b/src/kernel/spell.h
index 116816e26..e7592f082 100644
--- a/src/kernel/spell.h
+++ b/src/kernel/spell.h
@@ -50,9 +50,8 @@ extern "C" {
         struct spell *sp;
     } spellref;
 
-    struct spellref *spellref_create(const char *name);
+    struct spellref *spellref_create(struct spell *sp, const char *name);
     void spellref_free(struct spellref *spref);
-    struct spellref *spellref_copy(struct spellref *spref);
     struct spell *spellref_get(struct spellref *spref);
 
     int sp_antimagiczone(struct castorder *co);
diff --git a/src/kernel/spell.test.c b/src/kernel/spell.test.c
index 4a8cd617a..b500f94cc 100644
--- a/src/kernel/spell.test.c
+++ b/src/kernel/spell.test.c
@@ -74,13 +74,14 @@ static void test_spellref(CuTest *tc)
     spellref *ref;
     spell *sp;
     test_setup();
-    ref = spellref_create("hodor");
+    ref = spellref_create(NULL, "hodor");
     CuAssertPtrNotNull(tc, ref);
+    CuAssertPtrEquals(tc, NULL, ref->sp);
+    CuAssertStrEquals(tc, "hodor", ref->name);
     CuAssertPtrEquals(tc, NULL, spellref_get(ref));
     sp = create_spell("hodor", 0);
     CuAssertPtrNotNull(tc, sp);
     CuAssertPtrEquals(tc, sp, spellref_get(ref));
-    CuAssertPtrEquals(tc, NULL, ref->name);
     spellref_free(ref);
     test_cleanup();
 }
diff --git a/src/kernel/spellbook.c b/src/kernel/spellbook.c
index 919142585..b7f65420c 100644
--- a/src/kernel/spellbook.c
+++ b/src/kernel/spellbook.c
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ void read_spellbook(spellbook **bookp, gamedata *data, int(*get_level)(const spe
                 sb = *bookp;
             }
             if (level > 0 && (data->version >= SPELLBOOK_VERSION || !spellbook_get(sb, sp))) {
-                spellbook_add_spell(sb, sp, level);
+                spellbook_add(sb, sp, level);
             }
         }
     }
@@ -64,43 +64,25 @@ void write_spellbook(const struct spellbook *book, struct storage *store)
     if (book) {
         for (ql = book->spells, qi = 0; ql; selist_advance(&ql, &qi, 1)) {
             spellbook_entry *sbe = (spellbook_entry *)selist_get(ql, qi);
-            WRITE_TOK(store, sbe->spref->name);
+            WRITE_TOK(store, sbe->sp->sname);
             WRITE_INT(store, sbe->level);
         }
     }
     WRITE_TOK(store, "end");
 }
 
-void spellbook_add(spellbook *sb, spellref *spref, int level)
+void spellbook_add(spellbook *sb, spell *sp, int level)
 {
     spellbook_entry * sbe;
 
-    assert(sb && spref && level > 0);
-#ifndef NDEBUG
-    if (spellbook_get(sb, spellref_get(spref))) {
-        log_error("duplicate spell in spellbook '%s': '%s'\n", sb->name, spref->name);
-    }
-#endif  
-    sbe = (spellbook_entry *)malloc(sizeof(spellbook_entry));
-    sbe->spref = spellref_copy(spref);
-    sbe->level = level;
-    selist_push(&sb->spells, sbe);
-}
-
-void spellbook_add_spell(spellbook *sb, spell *sp, int level)
-{
-    spellbook_entry * sbe;
-
-    assert(sb && sp->sname && level > 0);
+    assert(sb && sp && level > 0);
 #ifndef NDEBUG
     if (spellbook_get(sb, sp)) {
         log_error("duplicate spell in spellbook '%s': '%s'\n", sb->name, sp->sname);
     }
 #endif  
     sbe = (spellbook_entry *)malloc(sizeof(spellbook_entry));
-    // FIXME: create a better API to create spellref from spell 
-    sbe->spref = spellref_create(sp->sname);
-    sbe->spref->sp = sp;
+    sbe->sp = sp;
     sbe->level = level;
     selist_push(&sb->spells, sbe);
 }
@@ -113,7 +95,6 @@ void spellbook_clear(spellbook *sb)
     assert(sb);
     for (qi = 0, ql = sb->spells; ql; selist_advance(&ql, &qi, 1)) {
         spellbook_entry *sbe = (spellbook_entry *)selist_get(ql, qi);
-        spellref_free(sbe->spref);
         free(sbe);
     }
     selist_free(sb->spells);
@@ -135,7 +116,7 @@ int spellbook_foreach(spellbook *sb, int(*callback)(spellbook_entry *, void *),
     return 0;
 }
 
-spellbook_entry * spellbook_get(spellbook *sb, const struct spell * sp)
+spellbook_entry * spellbook_get(spellbook *sb, const struct spell *sp)
 {
     if (sb) {
         selist *ql;
@@ -143,7 +124,7 @@ spellbook_entry * spellbook_get(spellbook *sb, const struct spell * sp)
 
         for (qi = 0, ql = sb->spells; ql; selist_advance(&ql, &qi, 1)) {
             spellbook_entry *sbe = (spellbook_entry *)selist_get(ql, qi);
-            if (sp == spellref_get(sbe->spref)) {
+            if (sbe->sp==sp) {
                 return sbe;
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/kernel/spellbook.h b/src/kernel/spellbook.h
index 858240f54..fb3438a8b 100644
--- a/src/kernel/spellbook.h
+++ b/src/kernel/spellbook.h
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ extern "C" {
     struct selist;
 
     typedef struct spellbook_entry {
-        struct spellref * spref;
+        struct spell *sp;
         int level;
     } spellbook_entry;
 
@@ -44,11 +44,10 @@ extern "C" {
     void read_spellbook(struct spellbook **bookp, struct gamedata *data, int(*get_level)(const struct spell * sp, void *), void * cbdata);
     void write_spellbook(const struct spellbook *book, struct storage *store);
 
-    void spellbook_add(spellbook *sbp, struct spellref *spref, int level);
-    void spellbook_add_spell(spellbook *sb, struct spell *sp, int level);
+    void spellbook_add(spellbook *sbp, struct spell *sp, int level);
     int spellbook_foreach(spellbook *sb, int(*callback)(spellbook_entry *, void *), void * data);
     void spellbook_clear(spellbook *sb);
-    spellbook_entry * spellbook_get(spellbook *sb, const struct spell * sp);
+    spellbook_entry * spellbook_get(spellbook *sb, const struct spell *sp);
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
diff --git a/src/kernel/xmlreader.c b/src/kernel/xmlreader.c
index f9d0912da..4225858ee 100644
--- a/src/kernel/xmlreader.c
+++ b/src/kernel/xmlreader.c
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ static spellref *xml_spellref(xmlNode * node, const char *name)
 {
     xmlChar *propValue = xmlGetProp(node, BAD_CAST name);
     if (propValue != NULL) {
-        spellref *ref = spellref_create((const char *)propValue);
+        spellref *ref = spellref_create(NULL, (const char *)propValue);
         xmlFree(propValue);
         return ref;
     }
@@ -2075,10 +2075,10 @@ void register_xmlreader(void)
 
     xml_register_callback(parse_buildings);       /* requires resources */
     xml_register_callback(parse_ships);   /* requires terrains */
-    xml_register_callback(parse_races);   /* requires spells */
-    xml_register_callback(parse_spellbooks);  /* requires spells */
-    xml_register_callback(parse_equipment);       /* requires spells */
-    xml_register_callback(parse_spells);  /* requires resources */
+    xml_register_callback(parse_races);
     xml_register_callback(parse_calendar);
+    xml_register_callback(parse_spells);  /* requires resources */
+    xml_register_callback(parse_equipment);       /* requires spells */
+    xml_register_callback(parse_spellbooks);  /* requires spells */
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/src/laws.c b/src/laws.c
index f543fc78f..6b0bfda8d 100644
--- a/src/laws.c
+++ b/src/laws.c
@@ -3458,8 +3458,8 @@ static void copy_spells(const spellbook * src, spellbook * dst, int maxlevel)
         for (qi = 0, ql = src->spells; ql; selist_advance(&ql, &qi, 1)) {
             spellbook_entry * sbe = (spellbook_entry *)selist_get(ql, qi);
             if (sbe->level <= maxlevel) {
-                if (!spellbook_get(dst, spellref_get(sbe->spref))) {
-                    spellbook_add(dst, sbe->spref, sbe->level);
+                if (!spellbook_get(dst, sbe->sp)) {
+                    spellbook_add(dst, sbe->sp, sbe->level);
                 }
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/magic.c b/src/magic.c
index bdac11df8..7e820f9c3 100644
--- a/src/magic.c
+++ b/src/magic.c
@@ -430,14 +430,13 @@ void show_new_spells(faction * f, int level, const spellbook *book)
         for (qi = 0; ql; selist_advance(&ql, &qi, 1)) {
             spellbook_entry *sbe = (spellbook_entry *)selist_get(ql, qi);
             if (sbe->level <= level) {
-                spell *sp = spellref_get(sbe->spref);
-                if (!already_seen(f, sp)) {
+                if (!already_seen(f, sbe->sp)) {
                     attrib * a = a_new(&at_reportspell);
                     spellbook_entry * entry = (spellbook_entry *)a->data.v;
                     entry->level = sbe->level;
-                    entry->spref = spellref_copy(sbe->spref);
+                    entry->sp = sbe->sp;
                     a_add(&f->attribs, a);
-                    a_add(&f->attribs, a_new(&at_seenspell))->data.v = sp;
+                    a_add(&f->attribs, a_new(&at_seenspell))->data.v = sbe->sp;
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -482,8 +481,7 @@ void pick_random_spells(faction * f, int level, spellbook * book, int num_spells
                     sbe = 0;
                 }
                 else {
-                    spell *sp = spellref_get(sbe->spref);
-                    if (f->spellbook && spellbook_get(f->spellbook, sp)) {
+                    if (f->spellbook && spellbook_get(f->spellbook, sbe->sp)) {
                         // already have this spell, remove it from the list of candidates
                         commonspells[spellno] = commonspells[--numspells];
                         if (maxspell > numspells) {
@@ -498,7 +496,7 @@ void pick_random_spells(faction * f, int level, spellbook * book, int num_spells
                 if (!f->spellbook) {
                     f->spellbook = create_spellbook(0);
                 }
-                spellbook_add(f->spellbook, sbe->spref, sbe->level);
+                spellbook_add(f->spellbook, sbe->sp, sbe->level);
                 commonspells[spellno] = commonspells[--numspells];
             }
         }
@@ -2971,15 +2969,14 @@ static void select_spellbook(void **tokens, spellbook *sb, const struct locale *
 
     for (qi = 0, ql = sb->spells; ql; selist_advance(&ql, &qi, 1)) {
         spellbook_entry *sbe = (spellbook_entry *)selist_get(ql, qi);
-        spell *sp = spellref_get(sbe->spref);
 
-        const char *n = spell_name(sp, lang);
+        const char *n = spell_name(sbe->sp, lang);
         if (!n) {
-            log_error("no translation in locale %s for spell %s\n", locale_name(lang), sp->sname);
+            log_error("no translation in locale %s for spell %s\n", locale_name(lang), sbe->sp->sname);
         }
         else {
             variant token;
-            token.v = sp;
+            token.v = sbe->sp;
             addtoken((struct tnode **)tokens, n, token);
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/report.c b/src/report.c
index fa1222f90..06244c70c 100644
--- a/src/report.c
+++ b/src/report.c
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ void nr_spell_syntax(struct stream *out, spellbook_entry * sbe, const struct loc
     char buf[4096];
     char *bufp = buf;
     size_t size = sizeof(buf) - 1;
-    const spell * sp = spellref_get(sbe->spref);
+    const spell * sp = sbe->sp;
     const char *params = sp->parameter;
 
     if (sp->sptyp & ISCOMBATSPELL) {
@@ -445,7 +445,7 @@ void nr_spell(struct stream *out, spellbook_entry * sbe, const struct locale *la
     char buf[4096];
     char *startp, *bufp = buf;
     size_t size = sizeof(buf) - 1;
-    const spell * sp = spellref_get(sbe->spref);
+    const spell * sp = sbe->sp;
 
     newline(out);
     centre(out, spell_name(sp, lang), true);
diff --git a/src/reports.c b/src/reports.c
index bb727083e..318660024 100644
--- a/src/reports.c
+++ b/src/reports.c
@@ -681,7 +681,7 @@ size_t size)
                         WARN_STATIC_BUFFER();
                     }
                     // TODO: no need to deref the spellref here (spref->name is good)
-                    bufp = STRLCPY(bufp, spell_name(spellref_get(sbe->spref), f->locale), size);
+                    bufp = STRLCPY(bufp, spell_name(sbe->sp, f->locale), size);
                 }
             }