alchemy-msg - 11/21/11 Alchemy philosophy, medieval chemistry. NOTE: See also the files: p-medicine-msg, beverages-msg, bev-distilled-msg, perfumes-msg, aphrodisiacs-msg, metals-msg, Med-Math-Sci-bib, Teach-in-SCA-art. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ From: tip at lead.tmc.edu (Tom Perigrin) Date: 5 Dec 91 00:56:26 GMT Organization: A.I. Chem Lab, University of Arizona Unto the dearest and most adventurous Winifred de Schyppewallebotham, doth Thomas Ignatius Perigrinus send his amused greetings; I humbly salute thy adventerousness in attempting to dye with indigo and urine! Thy peradventures should'st stand as a beacon to light our way, although mayhaps the nose shall lead rather than our eyes? I am minded of the time I made saltpeter at the Northern California Rennaisance Faire. If thou wouldst permit, may I relate my tale, which I promise thee, has good humour therein. I followed the scrip of Birringucchio, 1540. I took a large barrel, and did bore therein a hole near unto the bottom. Into this small hole did I affix a bung, so as to draw off the liquors when they were ripe. Then I did find me some goodly horse manure which had dried but not been rained upon. I specifically searched for that which was rimed with white. Of this manure I took and cast a full four fingers depth into my pot, and then two fingers of ash, and a final finger of lime. This I did repeat until the earthly matter did come nye unto the top of my barrell. Then I did invite twenty men all stout and true to add their waters into my barrel, which, they being full of goodly ale, they proceeded to accomplish with alacrity. I then stirred this goodly brew with a stout stick. But, as I did stir it, I did see that many of the larger turds did not dissolve, so casting aside my shirt, I did plunge my arms into the vile soup and did break up the clumps with my hands. It was at this time that one of the Blue Boys, Her Majesties own guard, did come unto me , and knowing that I was a man of martial disposition as to himself, he did ask at what was I adventuring? So I took out a goodly turd, which being covered by wet ashes and lime, did seem more like unto a rock than the outfall of a horse, and I did press it into his hand and say thusly unto him; "In faith, I am assaying to make saltpeter... but as you can see, my turds have not broken!" Stout fellow he was, he did blanch for but a moment, and then proceeded to answer me in like manner, discussing how the dissolution was proceeding. But mind you, under his breath he swore to me that I would die afore the day was through! Then, once I had accomplisht my goal, and the whole been reduced to the consistency of some diabolical gruel, I left it to stand in the hot sun for four and twenty hours. Upon the next day, the mass had achieved an excellence of odor which was surpassing ripe! And so, preparing to follow the dictates of learned Birringucchio, I prepared myself to draw forth the waters. I once again cast off my shirt, and plunged my hands into the mass to affix a wad of straw over the hole to act as a filter. And as I stood near this vile vat, two comely but cupshotten women come up unto me, and insensate to the evidence of their noses, enquired of me as to the contents of this evil cauldron. Now, I must admit that these fair women must have been deep into their cups many times and more that day, for not only did they fail to smell the effluvience of this morass, they also gave evidence of finding me attractive unto them (remember, I am lame, bald, and exceedingly ugly!) So before I could answer them, one began to run her fingers up and down my arm in what could have been a most seductive fashion, had not the arm in question been lubricated with the combined and fermented waste of horse, man, and fire. It was but my duty to inform her what she was rubbing her comely fingers through, whereupon her collegue did let forth a most amazed laugh, and did call sport upon the unfortunate one. This was, mayhaps, unwise, for the offended party did turn and assay to clean her fingers upon the shirt of she who did laugh. This succeeded in quelling the laughter, but transmutated mirth to umbrage, and quickly into a missile of mire which caught the flirtatious one square upon her shirt. And thus by degrees did they proceed from shirt to hair, and unto a rolling catfight interrupted only by the need to refresh their armamentaria with new handfuls of deadly dung. Needless to say, this sight amused me greatly, and caused such mirth among my fellows that we all lay helpless upon the ground, clutching our sides and rolling with laughter. Eventually the two, by now slime encrusted combatants left, and I proceeded to drain my broth, and rinsed it twice with water, and boiled it down to receive 1 handful of pale brown crystals of saltpeter. But I must swear, the making was more rewarding than the salt. I hope that my tale may have given thee some amusement, and I remain, thy dutious and obedient (but, alas, not blue) servant Thomas Ignatius Perigrinus From: harald at matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Harold Kraus Jr) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: A "Medieval" look at napalm Date: 2 Nov 1993 13:10:16 -0600 Organization: Kansas State University Ahoy, the Bridge! Given the wanderings of the napalm thread, thought I'd dig out one of my great-grandson's "term" papers -- Harald Isenross Aristotlan (After A Fashion) Atomic Theory According to Karl Isenross, Nuremburg scholar (with apologies) Caveat: I'm just a physimatitioneer. I'd be a physemist- matitioneer if I hadn't quizzed out of Alchemy. :) Just as the stone seeks its place below the serpent which seeks its place below the beast which seeks its place below man; just as the body of man seeks the earth and the soul of man seeks the heavens; so too do the atoms seek their place in creation. Metals and Airs: Just as man and animal were created male and female, each to seek out the other and join so two may become one; so were atoms created metals and airs, each to seek out the other and join so two may become one. Metals and airs are opposites: metals, sequestered and purified from airs, are enduring, strong, and heavy; airs, sequestered from metals, are ephemeral, weak, and light. As with men who are cloistered from women to serve God, so too are metals cloistered from airs to serve men to the glory of God. As there are virtuous and base men and women, there are also virtuous and base metals and airs. Virtuous metals, like virtuous men, are more able to resist corruption. Gold (Au) is incorruptible and is to be found free, pure, and untarnished in the earth. Aluminum (Al) is so base and corruptible as to be little more than common dirt in its natural state. The baser the air, the greater the power to corrupt metals. So virtuous are the airs of the first degree (C, P, S) that they can take on enduring forms similar to metals. But in the enduring form, airs of the first degree lack strength and their true nature as airs can be revealed by heating. So base are the airs of the third degree (O, Cl, F) that they not only corrupt metals as is their predilection; but, in the absence of metals, will corrupt airs of the first degree and even airs of the second degree (N, H [and H will even corrupt N]). Metals Airs Au Virtuous C Ag P Hg S Cu N Sn H Pb O Fe Cl Al Base F Corruption of Fe by O via H: H + O -> HO HO + Fe -> FeO + H Thus, given a drop of water (HO) on a piece of iron (Fe) all in air (containing O), the O corrupting the H abandons the H for the Fe given the baser air's preference for metal. The abandoned H is then available to be corrupted again by any O in the air. With impetus (heating), a corrupting air atom may be driven from a metal atom. Baser metals require more impetus to drive off an air than more virtuous metals. Being fickle, an air atom that has been driven off a metal atom by impetus will retain that impetus. If a baser metal atom is nearby, the air atom with impetus will corrupt the baser metal atom. In so corrupting the baser metal atom, the air atom will give up its impetus. This surrendered impetus can be sufficient to be collected and used by another nearby corrupted but relatively virtuous metal to drive off a corrupting air atom. Consider the compound of *thermite*: Sequestered Al atoms are mixed with corrupted Fe atoms. With sufficient impetus, some of the corrupting air atoms can be driven off of the Fe atoms. With the baser Al atoms in sufficient proximity, the exiled air atoms readily corrupt the Al atoms releasing considerable impetus given the exceptional baseness of Al atoms. This released impetus is greater than the impetus needed to drive the air atom off of a nearby corrupted Fe atom. Thus, this process is canonical, canonical in the sense that when an atom is purified, one or more other corrupted atoms may follow and imitate the purification of the first atom. Hence, impetus + FeO -> Fe + O(+impetus) O(+impetus) + Al -> AlO + greater impetus (Combining) impetus + FeO + Al -> Fe + AlO + greater impetus Thus, just as the purification of one corrupted soul can lead to the purification by that soul of another soul, the purification of one corrupted metal atom can lead to the purification by that atom of another atom. Base Metals and Noble Airs: Just as there are men so base that it be their nature to corrupt themselves without influence, there are metals other than those listed above that are so base as they quite readily corrupt themselves with airs under their own impetus. These metals are so base as to be called "earths". Just as the noble heirs hold themselves separate from the baser men and women and thus maintain their higher place in creation, so too do the noble airs hold themselves separate from the baser metals and earths and thus ascend to the heavens. So, as in the kingdom of man, in the kingdom of atoms are be to found the incorruptible, corruptible, and ultimately corruptible, the non-corrupting, corrupting, and ultimately corrupting. Newsgroups: rec.org.sca From: hwt at bcarh11a.bnr.ca (Henry Troup) Subject: Re: Dinner we got, but how about breakfast and lunch? Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1993 15:01:19 GMT Water glass is sodium or potassium silicate. Source: Concise Oxford Beware of some lists of common versus chemical names. These things changed over the years. And some lists are wrong - "The Edge of the Anvil", an other wise good book, defines water glass as sodium cyanide!!! -- Henry Troup - H.Troup at BNR.CA (Canada) - From: corliss at hal.PHysics.wayne.EDU (David J. Corliss) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Tin Date: 12 May 1994 10:56:33 -0400 Mistress Gwennis asks about tin. [Comments are in persona; comments out of persona/period are in brackets] There are seven metals: lead, iron, tin, mercury, copper, silver, and gold. None dissolve in vinegar and hartshorn [ammonia] may be used to clean them. The base metals, lead, iron, and tin, may be dissolved in cold aqua fortis or strong water [nitric acid]. Aqua fortis is made by distilling oil of vitriol [sulfuric acid] with saltpeter [potassium nitrate]. Hot aqua fortis will act on the noble metals mercury, copper, and silver, but not gold. It will also act more quickly on base metals than cold aqua fortis. A person wishing to use tin as a mordant is then advised to obtain some aqua fortis, warm it, and place the tin therein. Do not make it too hot, for the fumes are very dangerous. When the tin is consumed, lye [sodium hydroxide] or wood ashes [which combine with water to form potassium hydroxide] must be added to the brew until it will no longer turn orchil red [litmus test. yes: they knew about this.] This water of tin may then be added to the dyebath to help the dye bite. Beorthwine of Grafham Wood From: jeffs at math.bu.EDU (Jeff Suzuki) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: platinum Date: 12 May 1994 15:56:56 -0400 Michael Fenwick writes: >If I recall aright, platinum was known in period; seems to me >that the Germans called it "Kupfernickel" ("copper-devil"). >"Kupfer" because it often showed up in association with copper, >and "Nickel" because it was the very devil on the water-driven >hammermills used to work the copper: it broke them, being _much_ >harder than copper, and harder than the hardened steel >hammer-faces. But that very difficulty in working it makes it >less likely, IMHO, that this is what Pliny was talking about. "Kupfernickel" is "Devil's Copper". It's where we get the word nickel from (Old Nick and all...sayyyy, do ya think there's a relationship between that and Jack Nicholson...) The name comes from the fact that certain ores of nickel resemble copper ores, yet no matter how they were worked, they produced no copper. (qv "Fool's Gold") The practice of adding nickel to iron is fairly recent; any artifact with a nickel-iron alloy is most likely derived from meteoric iron. Read the section in the Iliad about the funerary games if you want a Bronze Age person's view of iron. Platinum was certainly known in period; it was first described by a Spaniard who called it "Pinto Silver". (Silver in Spanish is Platina). It was discovered in the new world. It's not improbable that other elements of the platinum group were around, since, like gold, they're very inert and nuggets of them can be found. However, the metals are very rare. Antimony was "discovered" during the Middle Ages, although there is an Egyptian vase around that is nearly pure antimony. One of its ores (stibinite, I believe it's called) was used as a mascara; the word "styptic" hails from the same root (as does its symbol, Sb, for "stibium"). The name "antimony" itself seems to mean "against solitude", probably due to some obscure alchemical notions. Oh, and Al2O3 + CO --> Al + CO2 ("How do you spell stoichiometry? B-O-R-I-N-G!") is _never_ spontaneous at any temperature. It's endothermic and entropy decreasing (i.e., Del G > 0 for all T) William the Alchymist From: jeffs at math.bu.EDU (Jeff Suzuki) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: alchymy Date: 14 Jan 1995 17:57:15 -0500 Genevieve de Renard asks: >Greetings to one and all! After finishing a loverly novel titled "In >Search of the Green Lion," I was wondering if, in fact, the green >lion *in the book it was rearing, and swallowing a sun* was actually >an alchemist's symbol, or if it was made up to spice up the author's >story. Did alchemist's use animal personifications to represent >elements or substances? Just curious! It was fairly common. From memory (check out Sherwood Taylor's _The Alchemists_, or, um, Carrington's _Historical Studies in the Language of Chemistry_), the "spirit" of a metal was usually depicted as some sort of animal: dove, lion, etc., not in any standardized way. Now, recall the Gospels also are associated with animals (bull, rooster, etc.) Thus came the belief that certain of the Gospels were worthy of study for their alchemical content. For example, a metal might be burnt to release its spirit (sometimes depicted as a dove), which could be coaxed to enter another metal to change its quality. The metals were _also_ symbolized as planets, in a more standardized way: the sun is gold, the Moon silver, Mars iron, Saturn lead, Venus copper, Jupiter tin, and Mercury mercury. This astronomical connection lent itself easily to an astrological connection: the positions of these planets determined the efficacy of a procedure. This last could tie together (via the zodiac) the two systems; however, I don't recall ever seeing the two systems mixed. Still, one might hazard a guess at the "green lion swallowing the sun": Lion, as King of the beasts, would correspond to gold, king of the metals. But a green lion is not truly a lion, just something that looks like it: probably copper (which turns green if acted upon by oil of vitriol). Swallowing the sun clearly means imbibing upon the essence of gold, and, hopefully, turning the green lion into a true one, as a bit of leaven may raise a whole batch of dough (also a standard alchemical belief, ergo the search for the Philosopher's Stone). William the Alchymist From: bjm10 at cornell.edu (Bryan Maloney) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Alchemy and Magic in Date: Wed, 21 Jun 1995 15:13:09 UNDEFINED Organization: Organization is a means of destroying humanity. > Ahem, hmmm, QUESTION TIME: Isn't the modern conception of >alchemy and similar stuff OUT OF PERIOD by about 200 years? >DESPITE the claims of would be mages, I have never run into >documentary evidence of the practice of the `science' until >a point very very close to our cutoff point of our society. Answer time: I've translated a work called "Dhe book of Quinte Essencia" [sic--I'm recalling the title to memory], part of the EETS (Early English Text Series) to modern English. According to the foreword of the EETS edition, the MS. it comes from dates somewhere around the mid fifteenth century. Last time I checked, 1450 was within SCA period. I have already promised email of an ASCII copy of both the translation and the transliterated early modern English text to one person. I intend to put both onto a WWW page once I can remember the furshlugginer HTML2 codes for "thorn" and "yogh". > If we are to take Crowley - that's John, not Alek. at his >word (that he has done research into the origins of the >modern tradition of "magick" it all occurs during the end of >the Renaisance with the "discoveries" of many an allegedly >ancient book ranging from the pseudo Keys of Solomon to the However, this still does not mean that no magic nor alchemy at all was practiced in the Medieval period. To wit: TITLE: Zauberer und Hexen in der Kultur des Mittelalters : III. Jahrestagung der Reineke-Gesellschaft e.V., San Malo, 5.-9. Juni 1992. AUTHOR: Jahrestagung der Reineke-Gesellschaft. 3rd, 1992, San Malo. PUBLISHED: Greifswald : Reineke-Verlag, 1994. TITLE: The rise of magic in early medieval Europe AUTHOR: Flint, Valerie I. J. (Valerie Irene Jean), 1936- PUBLISHED: Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1991. TITLE: Magic in the Middle Ages AUTHOR: Kieckhefer, Richard. PUBLISHED: Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1989, c1990. TITLE: Zur Geschichte der Schmerz-, Schlaf- und Betueaubungsmittel in Mittelalter und frueuher Neuzeit AUTHOR: Kuhlen, Franz-Josef. PUBLISHED: Stuttgart : In Kommission, Deutscher Apotheker Verlag, 1983. TITLE: The feather of Simurgh : the "licit magic" of the arts in medieval Islam AUTHOR: B?urgel, J. Christoph. PUBLISHED: New York : New York University Press, c1988. TITLE: The book of secrets of Albertus Magnus of the virtues of herbs, stones and certain beasts, also A book of the marvels of the world. AUTHOR: Albertus, Magnus, Saint, 1193?-1280. Spurious and doubtful works. PUBLISHED: Oxford [Eng.] Clarendon Press, 1973. TITLE: Die Alchemie im Mittelalter. 8Reprografischer Nachdruck der Ausg. Paderborn 1938) AUTHOR: Ganzenm?uller, Wilhelm, 1882- PUBLISHED: Paderborn, Verlag der Bonifacius-druckerei [c1938] TITLE: De occulta philosophia libri tres AUTHOR: Agrippa von Nettesheim, Heinrich Cornelius, 1486?-1535. PUBLISHED: Leiden ; New York : E.J. Brill, 1992. TITLE: Criptologia AUTHOR: Porta, Giambattista della, 1535?-1615. PUBLISHED: Roma : Centro internazionale di studi umanistici, 1982. TITLE: Disqvisitionvm magicarvm libri sex, : quibus continetur accurata curiosarum artium, & vanarum superstitionum confutatio; apprime utilis, & pernecessaria theologis, iurisconsultis, medicis, philosophis, ac prÌsertim verbi Dei concionatoribus, & utriusque fori iudicibus, quibus in primis aurea prÌcepta traduntur. AUTHOR: Del Rio, Martin Antoine, 1551-1608. PUBLISHED: Venetiis, : Apud Iuntas., M.DC.LII. [1652] TITLE: The archaeology of ritual and magic AUTHOR: Merrifield, Ralph. PUBLISHED: New York : New Amsterdam, 1988. TITLE: The rise of magic in early medieval Europe AUTHOR: Flint, Valerie I. J. (Valerie Irene Jean), 1936- PUBLISHED: Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1991. TITLE: Zauberglaube und Hexenwahn im Gebiet von Rhein und Maas : sp?atmittelalterlicher Volksglaube im Werk Johan Weyers (1515-1588) AUTHOR: Nahl, Rudolf van. PUBLISHED: Bonn : L. R?ohrscheid, 1983. TITLE: Anglo-Saxon-charms AUTHOR: Grendon, Felix, 1882-1965, comp. PUBLISHED: Norwood, Pa. : Norwood Editions, 1978. TITLE: Anglo-Saxon magic and medicine. Illustrated specially from the semi-pagan text "Lacnunga," AUTHOR: Grattan, John Henry Grafton, 1878-1951. PUBLISHED: London, New York, Oxford University Press, 1952. TITLE: The book of the secrets of alchemy AUTHOR: Constantinus, Pisanus, 13th cent. PUBLISHED: Leiden ; New York : E.J. Brill, 1990. TITLE: The Summa perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber : a critical edition, translation and study AUTHOR: Geber, 13th cent. PUBLISHED: Leiden ; New York : E.J. Brill, 1991. TITLE: Vom Hylealischen, das ist, Pri-materialischen catholischen oder allgemeinen nat?urlichen Chaos, der naturgem?assen Alchymiae und Alchymisten AUTHOR: Khunrath, Heinrich, 1560-1605. PUBLISHED: Graz, Austria : Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, 1990. I apologize for only listing English, German, and Latin sources, but these are the only languages that I have any chance of following (and the Latin only with a Latin/English dictionary by my side). >know of today came from the misinterpretation of some Greek >Gnostic writings around the time of Elizabeth I. i.e. the >point we draw our line in the sand between things period and >things not period. And your point? >scams) etc. But 18th through 20th century theosophism, >anything dealing with the Rosecutions, Masons, A. Crowley, >the A(three dots)A(three dots) and Golden Dawn, etc. and >almost anything dealing dealing with Kabalistic and >Chassidic writing is as period and as proper in the SCA >setting as electric toasters, telephones and plastic. Ah, this is your point. So far as I can tell, nobody was advocating study of modern magical traditions but study of the practices and traditions of the period. Did anybody mention 18th-century or later traditions or attempting to work modern magic in this thread? From: morganh at teleport.com (Morgan Hall) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Alchemy and Magic in Period Date: 21 Jun 1995 08:22:43 -0700 Organization: Teleport - Portland's Public Access (503) 220-1016 In article <8AB7593.02DE00A11C.uuout at compudata.com>, DAVID RAZLER wrote: >... > Ahem, hmmm, QUESTION TIME: Isn't the modern conception of >alchemy and similar stuff OUT OF PERIOD by about 200 years? >DESPITE the claims of would be mages, I have never run into >documentary evidence of the practice of the `science' until >a point very very close to our cutoff point of our society. M'lord, although I agree with you on the _modern_conception_ of alchemy, I would refer you to Biringucchio's _PIROTECHNICA_ (available in translation from Dover Books) for a discussion of the processes and equipment used. True, it's from very late period, but it's one of the earliest technical books available. He discusses common technical problems and somehow I doubt that the extensive discussion he presents would be caused either by a recent or rare phenomonon. Biringucchio was a practical man. (I'm sure you'd get a few smiles out of his descriptions of alchemy and alchemists) His book shows how to make and do things. So far, I've been able to use it as a means to solve many practical problems, and would accept it as an authoritative source for period practices. Thus, since the first publication was 1540 or therabouts, we can say that there was at least a market for alchemical equipment at the end of period. > > If we are to take Crowley - that's John, not Alek. at his >word (that he has done research into the origins of the >modern tradition of "magick" it all occurs during the end of >the Renaisance with the "discoveries" of many an allegedly >ancient book ranging from the pseudo Keys of Solomon to the >Zohar. two of a promised four novels where he states that what we >know of today came from the misinterpretation of some Greek >Gnostic writings around the time of Elizabeth I. i.e. the >point we draw our line in the sand between things period and >things not period. > > While not encouraging or discouraging anyone's faith, I >must point out that only dealings with the alleged >supernatural be done as they were done in period, to the >best of one's abilities to properly recreate them. John >Dee's experiments and astrology would be perfectly >acceptable as models, various forms of divination >(surprisingly excluding tarot cards - which were used for >gambling in period, though the Rom did use them in their >scams) etc. But 18th through 20th century theosophism, >anything dealing with the Rosecutions, Masons, A. Crowley, >the A(three dots)A(three dots) and Golden Dawn, etc. and >almost anything dealing dealing with Kabalistic and >Chassidic writing is as period and as proper in the SCA >setting as electric toasters, telephones and plastic. > In Service as Always >Aleksandr the Traveller > Much of what you say is quite true. However, it should not affect _period_ practices. The modern stuff is useful only as those who investigated such things documented their sources. It seems to me that for persons treading on somewhat shaky ground, that a set of resources and expertise that could help weed out non-period concepts and practices would be quite valuable. Caution, indeed, is in order. Here is a point where peer-review may be a valuable tool to help establish authenticity. Well, time to return to the earth, air, water, and fire of the blacksmith shop and practice some practical alchemy with a hammer. In Service Morgan de Comyn Piper to Clan Hubert and all-around nice guy -- morganh at teleport.COM From: cat at MARVIN.ama.ttuhsc.edu (Catherine Faber) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Alchemy and Magic in Mediaeval Times Date: 22 Jun 1995 17:31:26 GMT Organization: Texas Tech University HSC Amarillo Bryan Maloney (bjm10 at cornell.edu) wrote: (snip) : >a peice on the historical relevance of the source. This way, we have an : >ever expanding body of work (instead of everyone doing the same thing) from : >which to compare and contrast. : I suggest that this be done with caution. As a professional molecular : biologist who has read some alchemy (and translated a late alchemetical work : into modern English--should I post it or email it?), I must warn people of : potential dangers involved in alchemical workings under period conditions: (good gentle mentions dangers of heavy metal poisioning and explosions...) (snip) I noticed this because I'm just in the process of reading "the Canon's Yeoman's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales (By Chaucer, 13something). The speaker in that story has *plenty* to say on the practice of alchemy, none of it flattering. According to the story, explosions are a regular occurrence, and occur with such force that the walls of the workroom must be made of stone, and metals are frequently driven into the (earthen?) floor. Chaucer does not describe heavy metal poisoning _per se_, but comments on the general unhealthiness of alchemists... While it is *fiction*, there are footnotes in the back saying that as far as modern science historians can make out, Chaucer's descriptions of the practices of the time are correct. I would urge you to use *extreme* caution before carrying out any "alchemical experiment". Yours---Myfanwy ferch Tangwystl (mka Cat Faber) From: Michael Bennett Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: alchemy questions Date: Sun, 27 Apr 1997 23:09:59 -0700 Organization: Oregon Public Networking MISS PATRICIA M HEFNER wrote: > Does anybody know how you get the equipment and the materials for > alchemy experiments? Also, does anybody know of any good books on > period alchemy? Merci beaucoup! > > Isabelle de Foix You can find an *excellent* Alchemy website at: http://www.levity.com/alchemy/index.html This Alchemy Web site has at present 30 megabytes of information organised into over 700 individual pages (with 18 megabyes of text), and 500 graphic images. Have fun! -- Mike Bennett aka Brenainn MacCuUladh (Barony of Adiantum, AnTir) aka Crimmy (Forbidden Fruit) mjb at efn.org From: sjerkins at worldnet.att.net (Steven Jerkins) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: alchemy questions Date: Mon, 28 Apr 1997 21:24:36 GMT On 27 Apr 1997 22:57:16 -0400, HPGV80D at prodigy.COM (MISS PATRICIA M HEFNER) wrote: >Does anybody know how you get the equipment and the materials for >alchemy experiments? Also, does anybody know of any good books on >period alchemy? Merci beaucoup! > >Isabelle de Foix >Shire of Misty Mere >Kingdom of Meridies Get a copy of "The Modern Alchemist". I don't have it at hand to give you the author and ISBN. That gives modern terminology for a lot of the materials that seem so cryptic in old texts and a bibliography of where to get modern equivalent equipment. Steven From: azdeg at imap1.asu.edu Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: alchemy questions Date: 29 Apr 1997 05:09:17 GMT Organization: Arizona State University james koch (alchem at en.com) wrote: : > >Does anybody know how you get the equipment and the materials for : > >alchemy experiments? Also, does anybody know of any good books on : > >period alchemy? Merci beaucoup! : > > : > >Isabelle de Foix : > >Shire of Misty Mere : > >Kingdom of Meridies : > : Dear Ms. de Foix, Chemical supply houses will sell equipment to private : individuals, but will no longer sell chemicals. This is due to recent : EPA type legislation (a long story). However, most chemicals available : to the alchemists of the renaissance may still be found in bulk in : hardware stores and industrial supply houses, and at a much lower price. : Stop at a drug store and ask the pharmacist for an old pharmacy : supply catalog. These contain all sorts of alchemical paraphernalia : (thank good ness for dictionaries!) which they display as decorations. : I have also found flasks, beakers, mortars & pestles and the like in : second hand stores. : A third route is to synthesize your own chemicals and make your : own equipment. Alcohol lamps, alembics, mortars and many other pieces : of equipment can be made as they were in the past. : If you are seriously interested in alchemy please e-mail me at : "alchem at en.com" or stop at my camp (Pentwyvern(Christmas in Pentwyvern, : men without pants & ...)) at Pennsic. Gladius You can also usually find mortars and pestles at any herbalist shop (or organic food co-op). Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 12:36:19 -0400 (EDT) From: Rooscc at aol.com To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Medieval alembics Alembics are a small still as you guessed. Early alembics were made in two pieces: a round bowl bottom part and a cone-shaped top part. The cone had a lip on the inside and a drainage hole or spout. The herb and water were placed in the bowl and heated. The steam rose into the cone, condensed on the sides, ran down into the lip and dripped out the spout into another container. This water could be added to a fresh batch of herbs and the process repeated again (and again) for a stronger product. You can do the same thing by collecting the condensation on a glass pot lid. Very early distillation wasn't distillation as we use the term. It literally means "drop by drop". Avicenna advises making waters by distillation, but describes a filtering system. Put the herb and water in one container. Dip a piece of wool (raw, but a piece of cloth will work) into the liquid and hang it over the edge of the container, so it can drip into another container. As the water drips off the end of the wool, more water is drawn up the other end of the wool which remains submerged. This method does not make a very strongly scented product, but it is capable of filtering out the plant material. (Not as well as a coffee filter, though.) It is an easy and fun experiment and could be used as a "period" air freshener. In case someone is interested: Because the condensing part of medieval alembics is not very sophisticated, you most likely would not get "essential oils", the volatile oils which often (but not in all cases) are the fragrance of the plant. "Essential oils" are often treated by modern herbalists as "the essence of all the good stuff" in a plant--which is stretching the matter a good bit. It is a perfumers' term. Volatile oils are substances which evaporate at a lower temperature than water--why we can smell herbs and flowers ;-). This is what's behind the instructions on when to harvest herbs--on a sunny morning, just after the dew has dried. The idea is to catch the plant before these fragrance oils have dispersed. In distilling then, the oils are released before the steam, and because they are present in very small quantities it difficult to collect them. While the tendency is to equate the fragrance with the active principles in herbs, this is not necessarily the case. Alysoun Middle Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 15:12:23 -0700 (PDT) From: Catherine deSteele To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Alembics ???? On Thu, 5 Jun 1997, Margritte wrote: > Anyone know what an alembic is? From the context, I assume that it must be > some sort of small still, as it can be used for making rosewater. I'd very > much like to find a description and/or pictures (maybe woodcuts from texts > on alchemy?) showing or talking about an alembic. Can anyone help me out? > > -Margritte Ther's a lovely book out, "Secrets From the Still", I think the author's name is Grace Firth. Very readable, good historical section, incluing woodcuts of an alembiv, a helmet still, and other goodies. Check your library! Catherine deSteele Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 20:25:55 +0200 From: "Cindy M. Renfrow" Subject: SC - nifty site http://www.levity.com/alchemy/images_s.html Alchemical symbolism, imagery and music - has lots of pictures of glassware, labs, etc. (& Nicolas Flamel too) Cindy From: rcmann4 at earthlink.net To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 23:57:31 -0400 Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Book of Quinte Essence On 16 Jun 01,, Ted Eisenstein wrote: > I came across a reference to this earlier today. A vague memory suggests that > this may be a book about eating, or cooking, or even possibly vintning, > brewing, herbalism, or something in some way vaguely connected with cooking or > gardening. Does anyone hereabouts know what it is? > Furnivall, F.J., ed., Book of Quinte Essence Sloane MS 73 (It's part of the > Early English Text Society series.) > > Alban There's a transcription of it here: http://www.tigerden.com/~lilith/Library/Unknown/quintess.html Seems to be an alchemical treatise. From: Bronwynmgn at aol.com Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 21:00:44 EST Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] ivory reworked To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org mark.s.harris at motorola.com writes: > Ok. And what are "bezoar stones"? Not a Harry Potter fan, eh? Professor Snape asks Harry where he would find a bezoar during Harry's first potions class (as a way of taking the "new celebrity" down a notch). The answer is that it is a stone found in the stomach of a goat, and will protect you from most poisons. That's the period answer, by the way. So I guess it's effectively a goat's gallstone. Brangwayna Morgan From: "Grace Loehr" Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Alchemy & hermetic philosophy Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 04:55:46 GMT "Jeff Foehringer" wrote: > I am looking for some good sources on alchemy in the middle ages & >renaissance, particularly as it applied to hermetic philosophy. I'm having >a difficult time finding any books in print on the subject. Here's my two cents' worth; if you've already heard of or read these books, then disregard: I know of a few books on this topic; they're more philosophical and historical overviews of the hermetic tradition from antiquity throughout the medieval and Renaissance periods, rather than sources for specific, "how to" manuals for practice of alchemy : two by Frances A. Yates, "Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition" (Univ of Chicago Press, 1991), and "The Art of Memory" (Univ of Chicago Press, 1966). Another is Ioan P. Couliano, who has a book translated into English, "Eros and Magic in the Renaissance" (Univ of Chicago Prrss, 1987). I had a very interesting class from Mr. Couliano in the mid-'80's at Univ of Chicago Divinity School on this topic, which is where I read the Frances Yates "Art of Memory" book. One of the other books from this class was "The Occult Sciences of the Renaissance: A Study in Intellectual Patterns" by Wayne Schumaker (U of Calif Press, 1972). > I'll take recommendations from anyone, but I'm hoping to contact two >individuals in particular. > One is a gentle who taught three classes, in persona, many Pennsics ago >(Pennsic 22). I believe his name is Beorthwine of Grafham Wood. > The other is Isolt la Gaunt-Roussel called Midori, who taught a class >on hermetic theory and neoplatonism at Pennsic 24. If you contact these indviduals, and get further information, would you mind sharing it with me? (By email, below.) Thanks, Juliana, Lost In Byzantium/Grace -- Grace Loehr From: "Steven H. Mesnick" Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Alchemy & hermetic philosophy Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 22:44:40 GMT > I am looking for some good sources on alchemy in the middle ages & > renaissance, particularly as it applied to hermetic philosophy. I'm having > a difficult time finding any books in print on the subject. Check out Samuel Weiser Publishing of York Beach ME, at . They're probably the foremost publishers of hermetic/esoteric books in the US. -- === Baron Steffan ap Kennydd, Pel, Firebrand Her. Ext. === Silverwing's Laws: http://pobox.com/~steffan/laws.html Bridge, East (RI, USA) Are you on the Rolls Ethereal? You should be! Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 10:11:21 -0400 (EDT) From: Jenne Heise To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ku.edu Subject: Re: Alchemy > I have a question; I plan to put my hands on alchemy, and I know > it's perfectly allright if you go to a scadian and say "hey my > art is alchemy" -- but what about roleplaying? Practicing alchemy on the side seems to have been considered a sort of wierd hobby... Take a look at John French's _Art of Distillation_ Which is basically on the practical aspects of alchemy: http://www.library.upenn.edu/etext/collections/smith/french/ Also see this history of alchemy: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=DhiAlch.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1 So one could dabble in alchemy, presumably, as long as one didn't 'go over the line'... -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise jenne at mail.browser.net Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 09:31:17 -0500 From: "Pafra & Scott Catledge" To: Subject: Re: Alchemy Note that John French dates to 1650--very late in the gray area (although I use him myself for a reference). His practices update but are substantially based on the much earlier Arnaldus de Villa Nova, who documented the production of a substance (alcohol) from many forms of living matter. He considered this the fifth essential element, joining air, earth, fire, and water. Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 09:25:26 -0500 From: "Pafra & Scott Catledge" To: Subject: Re: Alchemy >I have a question; I plan to put my hands on alchemy, and I know > it's perfectly allright if you go to a scadian and say "hey my > art is alchemy" -- but what about roleplaying? I mean, if someone's > persona was a witch, the others would be supposed to burn her > and have a fiesta, or they could ask her "ok, so show us". > Same thing as we all play nobles, I suppose. > > *gundrid I am confused. I freely admit that in the Middle Ages that burning witches was as common as impaling homosexuals. but what does any of that have to do with alchemy? Alchemy was a series of chemical operations guided by theories of the nature of matter and directed by astrological and/or religious ideas--Hellenistic, Islamic, Nestorian, and culminating in the works of Arnaldus de Villa Nova, Albertus Magnus, and Roger Bacon. I am not familiar with any widespread Wiccan beliefs concerning the nature of matter and its transmutation. I can tell you that alchemists did not discuss their work--even with other alchemists: all knowledge acquired was considered a closely held trade secret. If you truly believed that one day you would discover how to change lead into gold, would you run around sharing your secrets and risk someone beating you to your dreams of wealth and power? When a SCAdian alchemists role plays, I would think that the role would relate to that of a dyer or metal caster--the two most common related trades by which alchemists supported themselves. Of course, most dyers and all metal casters kept the details of their work to themselves. In short, an alchemist would "pass" as a self-educated skilled tradesperson (who would not boast of being literate) or as an educated noble with no visible connection to anything alchemical. As a woman, I would suggest dyer as your cover occupation; as a noblewoman, you could get away with reading current works on general alchemy and having philosophical discussions on the nature of matter with other ladies so inclined. Colm Dubh Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 10:31:50 -0500 From: "Pafra & Scott Catledge" To: Subject: Re: Alchemy > > and its transmutation. I can tell you that alchemists did > > not discuss their work--even with other alchemists: all > > knowledge acquired was considered a closely held trade > > secret. > > Um. Dumb question: if alchemists didn't discuss their work, how come there > are printed books from our period (pre 1600) on it? > -- > Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise Not a dumb question at all. The notebooks kept by alchemists used allegorical or made-up names for every apparatus, procedure, or reagent used in order to confuse even fellow alchemists who could only guess--only the seven metals (gold, silver, copper, tin, mercury, iron, lead--corresponding to the seven heavenly bodies:(sun , moon, and five planets) were commonly identified by common astrological symbols. Such manuscripts were usually attributed to a classical, mythological, or Biblical hero and were frequently distributed after the death of the alchemist. The confusion found in many early manuscripts was compounded when the mystical alchemists added their philosophy and interpretation to such writings. The Physica et Mystica, the writings of Zosimus of Panopolis, and 40-odd other manuscripts of the 3rd-6th century were collected in Constantinople around the 7th-8th. The results are very difficult to read or translate and harder to interpret. The works of later alchemists were normally available only after their deaths: the works of Arnaldus de Villa Nova were published several centuries later. Note that the common man and the noble were essentially illiterate in period, and the greatest library in England might have a few hundred books until after the printing press. Just because a book was in someone's library did not mean that anyone had read it--much less that the information was up for common knowledge. Colm Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2002 05:18:43 -0500 From: "Patricia Hefner" To: Subject: Re: Alchemy I have a primary alchemy source on my site. It's called "the Book of Quintessence" and was written around 1450. The URL is http://scholar76.tripod.com/castle2/ and "Quintessence" is in the first category, "General Research". Isabelle Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2004 11:54:07 -0400 From: Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise Subject: [SCA-AS] [jahb at Lehigh.EDU: IRN: Alchemy] To: SCA Herbalist list , Arts and Sciences in the SCA Reviewed on Internet Resource Newsletter... ALCHEMY http://www.cix.co.uk/~apritchard/ ?The major bibliography on alchemy (Alchemy: a bibliography of English-language writings) is to be updated and published on a web site as the 2nd (Internet) edition. It is very much an ongoing project and will be focussing on new material, and on the wealth of material made available on the Internet. Material from the 1st edition will gradually be incorporated, in order to provide a comprehensive resource on both the alchemical and Hermetic source literature, and the influences of alchemical thought and imagery on many aspects of Western culture. ----- End forwarded message ----- -- -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:33:45 -0500 From: "Martin G. Diehl" Subject: [Sca-cooks] Alchemy To: SCA-cooks at ansteorra.org Cc: BethAnn A Bretter BethAnn A Bretter's Ravens recently whispered: Ironically enough, whilst searching for herbalism info I came upon this website which has some of the most intriguing Alchemical texts both period and post-period. Including one from Arnald de Villanova. http://www.levity.com/alchemy/index.html Peyton Vincenzo Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:25:15 +1100 From: Raymond Wickham Subject: [Lochac] borax alternate name To: An English author wrote in 1569: "There is to be found in the heads of old and great toads a stone they call borax or stelon, which being used in a ring gives a forewarning against venom" "see the article by E.A. Armstrong in Man, Myth and Magic p.2856." Here is an article on the nature of the black toad http://www.alchemywebsite.com/toad.html#r5 From: "Ceridwen" Date: November 10, 2011 9:05:39 PM CST To: Subject: Re: {TheTriskeleTavern} Alchemy Look up "Natural Magick" by John Baptista Porta - late period and almost the beginnings of real science, but enough of the alchemical beliefs to get you started. Ceridwen Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:43:27 +1100 From: Ian Whitchurch Subject: Re: [Lochac] washable, 24-carat cloth-of-gold To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list" As part of a compound, aluminium is well known in alchemy - "Alum of Yemen" is aluminium sulphate, and per Gerber, as the Latins called Jabir ibn Hayyan, Aqua Fortis is made by equal parts of that and vitriol of cyprus and two parts of saltpetre (*). That said, I havent ever found aluminium as a metal referenced in any of my dodgy and unreliable sources, mostly because all the planets already have their own metal, and so any new metals would therefore need a new planet to rule them. Anton de Stoc At Rowanie XI novembre c+e