Medievalists.net » Alchemy http://www.medievalists.net Where the Middle Ages Begin Sun, 06 Dec 2015 23:06:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.9 Caterina Sforza’s Experiments with Alchemy http://www.medievalists.net/2015/06/12/caterina-sforzas-experiments-with-alchemy/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/06/12/caterina-sforzas-experiments-with-alchemy/#comments Sat, 13 Jun 2015 02:38:01 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=58928 She collected over four hundred alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes, and corresponded with other alchemical adepts about materials and laboratory techniques.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/06/12/caterina-sforzas-experiments-with-alchemy/feed/ 0 What is the Splendor Solis? http://www.medievalists.net/2014/10/27/splendor-solis/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/10/27/splendor-solis/#comments Tue, 28 Oct 2014 03:37:37 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=53685 The most beautiful and well known illuminated alchemical manuscript in the world.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/10/27/splendor-solis/feed/ 0 Pedlars and Alchemists in Friuli History of itinerant sellers in an alpine reality http://www.medievalists.net/2014/08/25/pedlars-alchemists-friuli-history-itinerant-sellers-alpine-reality/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/08/25/pedlars-alchemists-friuli-history-itinerant-sellers-alpine-reality/#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2014 18:50:06 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=52132 This short review discusses about itinerant sellers in Friuli, who are Cramaro called (XI-XIX centuries). Attention is focused, in particular, on the question if some of theme were alchemists.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/08/25/pedlars-alchemists-friuli-history-itinerant-sellers-alpine-reality/feed/ 0 Depicting the Medieval Alchemical Cosmos: George Ripley’s Wheel of Inferior Astronomy http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/10/depicting-the-medieval-alchemical-cosmos-george-ripleys-wheel-of-inferior-astronomy/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/10/depicting-the-medieval-alchemical-cosmos-george-ripleys-wheel-of-inferior-astronomy/#comments Wed, 11 Dec 2013 00:28:54 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=45680 Alchemical writing often develops the idea of a physical or analogical correspondence between heaven and earth: a relationship most fre- quently and conveniently expressed by the use of the seven planetary symbols (Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) to denote the seven metals (usually gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, iron, tin and lead respectively).

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/10/depicting-the-medieval-alchemical-cosmos-george-ripleys-wheel-of-inferior-astronomy/feed/ 0 Visualization in Medieval Alchemy http://www.medievalists.net/2013/04/14/visualization-in-medieval-alchemy/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/04/14/visualization-in-medieval-alchemy/#comments Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:26:04 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=40461 Therefore, rather than attempting to establish an exhaustive inventory of visual forms in medieval alchemy or a premature synthesis, the purpose of this article is to sketch major trends in visualization and to exemplify them by their earliest appearance so far known.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/04/14/visualization-in-medieval-alchemy/feed/ 0 The Rise of Alchemy in Fourteenth-Century England http://www.medievalists.net/2013/02/06/the-rise-of-alchemy-in-fourteenth-century-england/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/02/06/the-rise-of-alchemy-in-fourteenth-century-england/#comments Thu, 07 Feb 2013 04:03:40 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=39112 However the alchemical source of the early fourteenth century also explicitly maintained that knowledge of the secret of secrets involved an understanding of the hidden forces within the earth, and this in turn would bring earthly power. The most obvious manifestation of this interest in alchemical secrets lay in the belief that controlled experimentation with mercury and sulphur could effect transmutation of base metals into gold.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/02/06/the-rise-of-alchemy-in-fourteenth-century-england/feed/ 0 Fools, Devils, and Alchemy: Secular Images in the Monastery http://www.medievalists.net/2012/12/09/fools-devils-and-alchemy-secular-images-in-the-monastery-2/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/12/09/fools-devils-and-alchemy-secular-images-in-the-monastery-2/#comments Sun, 09 Dec 2012 22:45:22 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=37860 The fool is one of the most popular and stable character types throughout cultures and times. This is especially true of medieval Europe. The fool, sometimes a jester, sometimes a clown or a trickster, is always recognizable through his abnormal appearance.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/12/09/fools-devils-and-alchemy-secular-images-in-the-monastery-2/feed/ 0 Understanding the Language of Alchemy http://www.medievalists.net/2012/09/30/understanding-the-language-of-alchemy/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/09/30/understanding-the-language-of-alchemy/#comments Sun, 30 Sep 2012 17:50:51 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=36099 The editing of medieval alchemical texts poses a number of challenges to the modern scholar.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/09/30/understanding-the-language-of-alchemy/feed/ 0 Towards a Context for Ibn Umayl, Known to Chaucer as the Alchemist ‘Senior’ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/08/18/towards-a-context-for-ibn-umayl-known-to-chaucer-as-the-alchemist-senior/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/08/18/towards-a-context-for-ibn-umayl-known-to-chaucer-as-the-alchemist-senior/#comments Sun, 19 Aug 2012 00:55:34 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=34908 his article will present what we know of the life and times of an important alchemist, Ibn Umayl.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/08/18/towards-a-context-for-ibn-umayl-known-to-chaucer-as-the-alchemist-senior/feed/ 0 Harley MS. 3469: Splendor Solis or Splendour of the Sun – A German Alchemical Manuscript http://www.medievalists.net/2012/08/13/harley-ms-3469-splendor-solis-or-splendour-of-the-sun-a-german-alchemical-manuscript/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/08/13/harley-ms-3469-splendor-solis-or-splendour-of-the-sun-a-german-alchemical-manuscript/#comments Tue, 14 Aug 2012 04:45:59 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=34760 Splendor Solis oder Sonnenglanz is the title of an illuminated manuscript that can rightfully be called one of the principal works of the alchemical tradition (fig. 1). The text survives in many witnesses dating from the early sixteenth to the nineteenth century, of which Harl. MS. 3469 is definitely the most famous and best preserved example.

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