The Chemistry of Alchemy Read online

  antimony, 75, 142, 155–56, 158, 201, 203, 274, 295, 298

  Apocalypse, 83, 85

  apothecary, 83

  aqua ardens, 85

  aqua regia, 102, 119, 217–18

  aquarium-pH-lowering solution. See solution, aquarium-pH-lowering

  aqua vitae, 81–92, 147

  Aquinas, Thomas, 58, 59

  Arab, 27, 55, 259

  Arabian, 41

  Arabian Peninsula, 41

  Arabic, 34, 55, 60, 62, 72, 97, 163, 171, 198, 241

  Aristotle, 35, 46, 55–57, 60, 62, 63, 70, 71, 86, 109, 226, 235, 261, 301

  Arnald of Brussels, 96

  Arnald of Villanova, 71

  arsenic, 17, 75, 158, 168, 182, 192, 227, 274

  Artemis, 132–33

  artisan, 15, 30–32, 34, 35, 37, 38, 46, 55, 78, 100, 107, 109, 111, 113, 116, 141, 169, 185, 190, 227, 273, 307, 310, 312

  Art of Earth, The (Palissy), 189

  art of fire, 231

  asbestos, 309

  ash, 136, 137, 206, 207, 299, 302, 323

  Asia, 17, 244

  assay, 15, 47, 70, 109, 227

  Assisi, 69

  astrology, 15, 60, 88

  Athens, 31

  atom, 75, 287

  Augustus, Elector of Saxony, 308–11

  Auld Michael. See Scot, Michael

  Avicenna, 41, 46, 125

  Avignon, 83–85

  Azoth, 128

  Bacon, Francis, 15, 311

  Bacon, Roger, 58–61, 71, 95, 96, 240

  bagno maria, 32

  bain-marie, 32, 33

  baking soda, 67, 80, 96, 121, 160, 221, 229, 230, 234, 254, 268–69, 292, 304

  barber surgeon, 125–62

  barnyard soil, 217–19, 222

  barometer, 297, 300

  base, 207, 208, 218, 221, 269, 299, 301–304, 323

  Basel, 158, 161–62

  Basilica Chymica (Croll), 167

  Bauer, George. See Agricola, Georgius

  Bavaria, 58

  Bayer, Penny, 143, 153, 173

  beaker, 18, 22, 39, 50–52, 62, 67, 79, 80, 90, 102, 104, 105, 117, 119, 121, 134, 153, 165–67, 178–80, 182, 192, 193, 206–209, 221, 234–35, 255–56, 267–69, 290, 304, 312, 316, 318, 324

  Becher, John, 307

  bell jar, 299

  Benedictine, 199

  Benedict XII (pope), 81

  benzene, 274

  Bible, 82, 93, 108, 145, 261, 334

  bile, 46, 124

  Biringuccio, Vannoccio, 107–109, 111, 112, 115, 124, 148, 240

  Black Death, 56, 82, 87

  blank (solution), 290

  bleeding, 124, 126, 157, 227, 271

  blood, 46, 78, 86, 96, 97, 124, 126, 136, 263

  bloodred mass, 278–79

  bloody flux, 156

  Bohemia, 211

  Bologna, 87, 88, 90

  Bologna, Thomas of, 87, 88, 98

  Bonaventure, 60

  book, 60, 71–72, 83, 85, 86, 97, 100, 107–108, 113, 127, 130, 145–46, 161–63, 172–73, 189, 197–200, 202, 204–205, 221–22, 226, 237, 246–47, 250, 258, 260, 274–75, 281, 284, 286, 300–301, 310–11

  handwritten, 57

  Jabirian, 43

  of secrets, 146

  Book concerning Long Life, A (Paracelsus), 156

  “Booke of Alkumiste Apstracions of Distillation & Excellent Medicines,” 145

  Book of Minerals, The (Albert the Great), 59

  Book of the Secret of Secrets, The (Cortese), 45

  booksellers, 57, 71, 100, 124

  borax, 45, 75, 304

  Böttger, Johann Frederick, 307–12

  Boyle, Robert, 16, 185, 269, 281, 282, 286, 287, 289, 291–93, 295–305, 311

  Boyle's law, 297

  Brand, Hennig, 100

  Brandenburg, 176, 198

  brass, 38, 111, 128, 179, 313

  Brethren of Purity, 43

  Brethren of Sincerity, 43

  Brunswick-Lüneburg, 148

  Brussels, 225

  Brussels, Arnald of, 96

  cabbage, 299, 302, 303–305, 311

  Caetano, Domenico, 16, 176–77

  calcination, 32, 39, 67, 75, 97, 98, 191, 263

  calcium acetate, 168

  calcium carbonate, 121, 168, 227, 255

  calcium hydroxide, 79, 208

  calcium polysulfide, 80

  calcium sulfate, 310

  camel, 220–21

  candle, 57, 86, 120, 136, 174, 223, 233–35, 261, 267, 307, 319

  “Cannon's Yeoman's Tale, The” (Chaucer), 72, 169

  Capocchio, 57, 62, 169

  carat. See karat

  carbonate, 67, 121, 168, 207, 218, 221, 227, 253–55

  carbon dioxide, 121, 135, 168, 201, 229–30, 234–35, 250–51, 255

  carbon monoxide, 201, 229

  Cardano, Girolamo, 108

  Carmelite, 58, 245

  “Cask of Amontillado, The” (Poe), 216

  cast-iron skillet, 22, 37, 38, 40, 50, 52, 65, 79, 90, 92, 102, 103, 118–19, 152–53, 165, 167, 180, 192, 206, 209, 223, 254, 256, 278–79, 290, 292, 315, 316, 324

  catalyst, universal, 15

  Cathedral of Alchemy (Croll), 167

  Catholic, 55, 71, 83, 86, 112, 141, 188, 225, 231, 239, 243–44, 246, 257

  caustic alkali, 255

  cave, 197, 230

  Cennini, Cennino, 49

  central niter, 216

  charlatan, 15, 66, 87, 142, 168–71, 173, 175, 177, 179, 181, 183, 209, 211, 215–16, 225, 246, 248, 307, 310

  Charles I (king), 246, 248

  Charles II (king), 297

  Charles the Mad (king), 88

  Charles the Wise (king), 88

  Charnock, 97–98

  Chaucer, Godfrey, 72, 77, 169

  chemical, 15, 17, 18, 22–24, 45, 48, 97, 101, 126, 167, 179, 198, 207, 217, 251, 255

  chemical experiment, 300

  chemical labware, 313

  chemical revolution, 257, 265

  chemical supplies, 165, 313

  chemical translation, 97

  chemist, 22, 97, 101, 289, 312

  chemistry, 17, 21, 37, 74, 107, 116, 130, 134, 137, 152, 155, 160, 166–67, 187, 200, 201, 218, 228, 241, 253, 274, 280, 297, 299, 300, 312–14

  Child, Robert, 282, 284

  Children's Plague, 87

  chimney, 220–21, 249, 273

  China, 41, 189

  choke damp, 201

  Christian, 17, 41, 55, 56, 61, 82, 83, 124, 127, 132, 142, 161, 204, 239, 240–41, 245, 252, 253, 260, 261, 281, 283

  Christian II (elector), 212

  Christian IV (king), 162

  Christine of Pisan, 87

  Chymical Marriage of Christian Rosenkreuz, The (Andreae), 258

  chymist, 16, 241, 274, 298–99, 301, 307

  chymistry, 241

  cinchona, 239

  citrinate, 77–79, 291, 348

  clay, 40, 92, 187, 234–35, 256, 310, 316, 319

  Clifford, Margaret. See Lady Clifford, Countess of Cumberland

  Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened (Digby), 245

  coffee, 193, 239, 297, 322

  Collegia Romano, 264

  colonist, 280, 282, 283

  Concerning the Great Stone of the Ancient Sages (Valentine), 201–202

  “Concerning the Nobel and Precious Art of Alchamia” (Zieglerin), 149

  Condé, Prince de, 188

  Confession of the Rosicrucian Fraternity, The (Andreae), 258

  Connecticut, 281–83

  Consilia, 90

  Constantinople, 281

  contraries, 126, 160, 207, 218

  cookbook, 245

  cook stove, 315

  Copernicus, Nicolaus, 108

  copper, 29, 38, 39, 40, 44, 62, 66, 67, 75, 79, 90–92, 111, 118–19, 133–34, 151–52, 156, 165–68, 179–81, 187, 217, 247, 268, 274, 289, 292–93, 309, 311

  copper(II) sulfate, 67, 118, 152, 165–66, 168, 179, 187, 217, 322, 324

&n
bsp; copper acetate, 67

  copper carbonate, 67

  copper sulfate, 67, 118, 152, 165, 166, 322, 324

  cordials, 191, 194

  corpuscle, 239, 287, 289, 291

  Cortese, Isabella, 146

  cotton swabs, 267

  counterfeit, 30, 57, 62, 169, 216

  Counter-Reformation, 225

  Countess of Cumberland. See Lady Clifford, Countess of Cumberland

  Croll, Oswald, 161–62, 167–68, 197

  Cromwell, Oliver, 247, 48

  crucible, 38, 64–66, 152, 170, 179, 182, 230, 239, 273, 302, 308, 316

  crucifix, 62

  Crusades, 55, 56, 60

  “cunning man,” 172

  cupellation, 64

  Cure [of Ignorance], The (Avicenna), 46

  Dante. See Alighieri, Dante

  daughter of du Chesne, 143, 145

  Decknamen, 203, 217, 265, 301

  Dee, John, 170–75, 211, 291

  De l'art de terre (Palissy), 189

  Della Porta, Giambattista, 113–15, 120–21, 153–54, 244

  Del Rio, Martin, 263–64

  De Mineralibus (Albert the Great), 59

  Denmark, 157

  De re metallica (Agricola), 108, 110, 111–12

  diabolical magic, 113, 284, 289

  Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems (Galileo), 295

  Diana, Tree of. See Tree of Diana

  Digby, Everard, 243–44

  Digby, Kenelm, 243–49, 251, 253, 257

  digestion, 97

  dime, 79, 80, 290–91, 322

  Diocletian (emperor), 30

  “Discourse concerning the Vegetation of Plants” (Digby), 248

  Discourse of Fire and Salt (Vigenère), 217

  disease, occupational, 112, 226

  disease, theory of, 162

  distillation, 32, 35, 36, 39, 40, 67, 75, 86, 89, 90, 92, 97, 98, 100–11, 145, 147, 187, 191–93, 263

  distilled water, 79, 134, 165, 206–208, 224, 229, 255, 268, 292, 304, 320, 323, 324

  diuretic, 269, 283

  Divine Comedy, The (Alighieri), 53, 57

  divine water, 77–79

  dog, 23, 75, 83, 170, 180, 188–89, 230

  Dominican, 57–58, 72

  donkey dung, 15, 86

  Dorn, Gerard, 158

  dosage, 142, 155, 283

  dragon's blood, 15, 96, 126

  Drebble, Cornelius, 243, 248–51, 255–57

  dropper, 120, 166, 268–69, 317

  dropsy, 283

  drugs, 198

  drugstore, 24, 44, 48, 79, 314, 322

  dry ice, 230, 234

  Dublin, 281

  du Chesne, Joseph, 136, 143, 246

  Dutch, 225, 236

  dye, 15, 30–32, 66, 67, 146, 153, 191, 194–95, 250, 282

  Eamon, William, 108, 114, 146

  ear cropping, 170, 174, 177

  Earl of Cork, 298

  effervescence, 221, 234

  egg, 68, 153, 304, 320

  Egypt, 29–32, 34, 35, 38, 39, 43, 199, 259

  elaboratory, 297, 302

  Electress of Saxony. See Anne of Denmark, Electress of Saxony

  elements, four, 44, 48, 59, 86, 135, 214, 239, 261, 301

  elixir, 47, 56, 75, 93, 95, 102, 145, 161, 167, 188, 240

  elixir, universal, 15, 275

  elixir of inheritance, 188

  Elizabeth I (queen), 97, 98, 146, 170, 175, 182, 239, 243–45, 258

  emerald tablet (or Emerald Tablet of Hermes), 94–95, 253

  emetic, 124, 142, 227

  Emmanuel, Maximilian (elector), 176

  Empire, Holy Roman, 147

  empire, Islamic, 41–52, 55, 61, 169, 192

  Empire, Ottoman, 163

  Empire, Roman, 147

  Endicott, John, 295

  enemas, 271

  England, 170, 172–75, 243, 245–50, 258, 280–84, 295, 297

  English Civil War, 246, 295

  Epsom salts, 273

  Erina, 101, 179

  exhaust, 22, 24, 37, 50, 103, 105, 118, 145, 187, 220, 278, 305, 315

  experimentalist, 34, 109, 248, 286, 292

  experimentation, 86, 284, 307

  Experiments and Considerations Touching Colors (Boyle), 301

  Experiments and Observations Touching Cold (Boyle), 301

  explosives, 222, 282

  extraction, 109, 143, 185, 188, 193, 217, 220, 263, 268

  Eymeric, Nicholas, 72

  Faithful Brethren, 43

  Faithful Friends, 43

  falsifier, 62, 63, 66

  falsifying, 30, 63–65

  Fama Fraternitas of the Meritorius Order of the Rosy Cross, The (Andreae), 258

  Fatimid caliphate, 43

  Faulhaber, 260

  Faustus (Goethe), 135

  Ferdinand II (emperor), 216, 250

  fermentation, 230, 263

  fertilizer, 217, 222, 239, 265, 275, 282, 319

  fez, 169

  filter paper, 47, 117–18, 141, 253, 289, 290–91, 317

  Final Judgment, 61

  Fioravanti, Leonardo, 17

  fire damp, 201

  fire extinguisher, 23, 91, 193, 223, 315

  fireworks, 109, 268

  fixed salt, 217–18, 220–21

  flask, 22, 40, 90, 92, 97, 136, 220, 233

  flask, Erlenmeyer, 52, 117, 118–19, 223–24, 234–35, 254–55, 256, 267, 278–79, 292–93, 312, 317–18

  flask, Florence, 187

  flint, 154, 278

  Florence, 62, 90, 108, 109, 187, 198, 245

  flowerpot, 39, 40, 68, 90, 221, 321

  Fludd, Robert, 257–58, 261, 263, 311

  Fontanus, Walenty, 240

  Foulques, Guy le Gros de (cardinal), 60

  France, 32, 69, 81, 85, 87, 88, 155, 187, 189, 190, 246, 257

  Franciscan, 57–60, 69–71, 81, 94, 99, 231, 269

  Fraternity of the Rosy Cross, 258–61

  Frederick II (emperor), 61, 62, 157

  Frederick of Prussia (or Frederick I) (king), 177, 308

  Frederick of Wurzburg, 169

  friar, 56–68

  Frieda, Leonie, 188

  Froben, James, 124–25

  funnel, 117–18, 317

  furnace, 76, 155, 160, 220, 229, 231, 267, 273–74, 276, 310

  Galen, 46, 47, 124–28, 130, 141–42, 157, 160–62, 226, 258, 261, 283, 286, 288

  Galileo, 113–14, 246, 295

  gallows, 16, 18, 169, 177

  gas, 39, 52, 92, 95, 116, 121, 135, 168, 201, 218, 229–30, 233–35, 291, 297, 299, 300, 320

  gas pingue, 229

  Geber, 27, 68–80, 94, 96, 128, 291

  gems, artificial, 153–54

  Genesis, book of, 261

  German, 56, 125, 160, 185, 187, 200, 203, 215–16, 274, 307

  Germany, 61, 112, 148, 271, 273, 307

  glassware, 23, 51, 160, 187, 256, 303, 314, 316, 317

  Glauber, Johann, 16, 270–80, 311

  Glauber's golden garden, 277–80, 311

  Glauber's salts, 276

  glaze, 189–90, 310

  Gleeson, Janet, 307

  globes, 173

  gloves, garden, 165–66, 223, 314

  gloves, surgical, 24, 51, 117, 134, 165, 180, 208, 220, 279, 314

  gloves, work, 38, 51, 105, 133, 137, 153, 206, 268, 278, 292, 314

  glue, 146

  goddess, 132–33

  Goethe, 135

  gold, 15–16, 18, 21, 29–32, 34–39, 41, 44–47, 49, 56, 58, 59, 62–70, 74–77, 79–80, 85, 86, 88, 93, 95, 98, 99–105, 107, 109–15, 117–21, 128, 134, 141, 143, 145–47, 150–51, 153, 158, 163, 165, 169–70, 174, 176–77, 179, 181–83, 185, 188, 191, 197–98, 201–203, 212, 214–15, 217–18, 226, 231, 239–40, 246, 250, 253, 258–59, 264–65, 271, 273–81, 289–91, 302–307, 308–12, 318

  alchemical, 58, 62, 64, 65, 141, 181

  alloy, 30, 38, 63

  assay, 45, 70

  doubling, 30

  false, 30, 31, 32
, 37, 46, 62–66, 69, 88, 169, 176

  firing of, 64

  house, 147

  ink, 153

  making, 31, 32, 35, 174, 176

  medicine, 88, 226, 275

  multiplication of, 30, 63, 93

  nugget, 66

  parting, 111, 113–15, 117, 119–201, 134, 290

  plating, 30

  potable, 226, 275

  purification of, 201, 203

  salt, 102, 274

  solution (see solution, gold)

  volatilization of, 253

  white, 38, 80, 128, 307, 309, 310

  wire, 117–19, 318

  Gold Alley, 174

  Golden Fleece, 110

  golden tree, 15, 134, 145, 279–80

  goldsmith, 174, 176–77, 181, 197, 212, 215, 291

  gratuitous ingredient, 18, 77–78, 102, 179, 218

  gray wolf, 203

  Great Fire of London, 248

  Great Surgery Book (Paracelsus), 130

  Greek, 29–32, 45, 60, 69, 79, 97, 112, 132, 141, 198, 226, 259, 268, 307, 308

  green mass, 278–79

  Gregory IX (pope), 57

  Grosse Wundartzney (Paracelsus). See Great Surgery Book (Paracelsus)

  gunpowder, 109, 131, 208, 223, 230, 240, 244, 257, 271, 299, 300

  gypsy, 232

  Habsburg, 211

  Haligraphia (Tholde), 199

  Hamilton, 212–13

  handheld mirror, 24, 315

  Harry Potter, 279

  Hartlib, Samuel, 282, 295, 297–98

  Hartlib circle, 282, 284, 286, 295

  Harvard College, 281, 284

  healer, women, 142, 283

  Hebrew, 55, 198

  Helmontians, 225

  herb, 130, 142, 147, 158, 161, 185, 191–93, 202, 281

  herbal, 130, 142, 147, 158, 161, 185, 191–93, 202

  herbalist, 142

  hermaphrodite, 96, 127, 128

  Hermes. See Trismegistus, Hermes

  hermetically sealed, 95

  Hermetic art, 95, 258

  hibachi, 22, 51, 52, 79, 80, 102, 103, 105, 316

  hippuric acid, 222

  Hoar, Leonard, 284

  Hoefer, F., 123

  Holy Land, 83, 259

  Holy Roman emperor, 61, 85, 161, 174, 176, 211, 216, 250

  homunculus, 133, 135–36, 143, 246, 265, 289, 302

  Honnauer, George, 179

  Hoover, Herbert, 111

  Hoover, Lou, 111

  horse stomach, 136

  household ammonia. See solution, ammonia

  Howes, Edward, 281

  Hufford, Kevin, 179

  humanism, 112, 124, 141

  humors, 46, 47, 124, 130, 142, 157, 162, 283

  Hundred Years’ War, 83, 87

  hydrochloric acid. See acid, hydrochloric

  ibn Hayyān, Jabir, 27, 43, 70, 268

  ibn Sīnā, Abū Alī Al-Husayn ibn Abdallāh, 46

  Idea Medecinae Philosophicae (Idea) (Severinus), 155, 157

  imaginary number, 108

  India, 41

  Inquisition, 56, 114, 225–26, 231–32

  inquisitor, 57, 72, 108, 231

  Internet, 49–52, 66, 268, 313