Western Medieval Manuscripts : Collection of alchemical works

Western Medieval Manuscripts

Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 4087 is an early 15th-century miscellany containing thirty-one works, mostly alchemical and medical, and by both Arabic and Latin authors and pseudo-authors. While many of the works are excerpts – passages copied from longer alchemical texts - MS Add. 4087 includes several lengthy passages from popular 13th- and early 14th-century works, including De essentiis essentiarum, ascribed to Thomas Capellanus; the Breve breviarum de dono dei and the Epistola tres ad Iohannem of pseudo-Roger Bacon; the Expositio super Arithmeticam Boethii of Simon Bredon; the Tractatus de alkimia of Richard de Fournival; and the Epistola ad Hasan of pseudo-Avicenna (on the authenticity of these works, especially the Epistola, see Newman (1994)). The Tractatus de alkimia will be of special interest to readers, as the margins contain drawings of alchemical apparatus (see ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(122);return false;'>56v-58v</a>). Though the Tractatus de alkimia is the only work in MS Add. 4087 to contain alchemical illustrations, each work features richly decorated initial letters, drawn in red and blue ink, often with a floral motif (see ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(112);return false;'>51v</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(267);return false;'>129r</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(401);return false;'>196r-196v</a>).Medieval European alchemy was heavily influenced by the scientific developments of the Islamic Golden Age. Though some form of alchemy had been practiced since at least Roman Egypt, many traits that we now associate with alchemy arise in this period. One of the most influential schools of alchemy arose under the name of Jabir ibn Hayyan, a semi-mythical figure said to be active during the 9th century. This school promoted the 'Mercury-Sulfur Theory', in which every metal (gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, mercury, and lead) is formed by some combination of two principles: 'mercury' and 'sulfur'. The proportion of these two principles, as well as their purity, determines which metal will be produced. Gold, the noblest of all metals, is produced from the best proportion of the purest 'mercury' to 'sulfur'. Copper, a base metal, is contaminated by impurities, and contains too much sulfur in relation to mercury. In this way, it becomes possible for an alchemist to separate and purify the components of a metal, recombining them in the proper proportion to make a better, 'noble' metal. The truth of alchemy was not uncontested during the Islamic Golden Age. Many philosophers denied the possibility of transmutation, either on the basis of the inability of man to know, and therefore transmute, species, or on theological grounds. One of the most famous dissenters was the Persian philosopher Ibn Sina (d. 1037) (or Avicenna, as he became known among his Latin audience). Ironically, Ibn Sina developed a posthumous reputation as an alchemist, and many alchemical works were spuriously attributed to him after his death. These works were very popular among 13th- and 14th-century Latin alchemists, and included his De anima in arte alkymia and his Epistola ad Hasan, found in ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(102);return false;'>46v-54r</a> of MS Add. 4087 (for more on Islamic and medieval alchemy, see Principe (2012)).This use of pseudonymous authorship is a common feature of medieval alchemical literature. As alchemical works were translated from Arabic into Latin in the 12th and 13th centuries, many new works appeared under the names of older, established authorities, in order to lend credibility to novel ideas. Much like Avicenna, Jabir and other Islamic authors had works spuriously attributed to them after death. Latin authors - including Roger Bacon, Arnald of Villanova and Ramon Llull - were likewise used as pen names by 13th- and 14th-century alchemists looking to provide their works with an additional layer of authority. MS Add. 4087 contains many excellent examples of this. As the practice of alchemy grew in the 13th century, Latin authors expanded upon the theories of their Arabic predecessors, applying alchemy to new fields, such as medicine and pharmacology. While Arabic alchemy – and the Latin alchemy of the 12th and early 13th centuries – had been concerned with the transmutation of base metals into noble ones, the late 13th and early 14th centuries mark a turn in the alchemists' goals. While many were still interested in chrysopoeia, or gold-making, many also turned their attention towards the production of pharmaceuticals intended either to cure specific diseases or to prolong human life. While the idea of a 'medicine for metals' had existed previously, it appeared as a metaphor. 13th- and 14th-century European alchemists extended this metaphor to its ultimate conclusion, attempting to make materials that would both transmute metals and heal human bodies (see Allen (2023)). The growing interest in medicine can be seen in MS Add. 4087, which contains not only traditional recipes for transmutation, but also medical works, including excerpts on the medical properties of animals from Albertus Magnus's De animalibus.Dr Meagan S. Allen Visiting Assistant Professor, History of Science and Technology Johns Hopkins UniversityReferences: <div style='list-style-type: disc;'><div style='display: list-item; margin-left: 20px;'>Meagan S. Allen, Roger Bacon and the Incorruptible Human, 1220-1292: Alchemy, Pharmacology, and the Desire to Prolong Life (Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2023)</div><div style='display: list-item; margin-left: 20px;'>William R. Newman, 'The Alchemy of Roger Bacon and the Tres Epistolae Attributed to Him', in Comprendre et maîtriser la nature au Moyen Âge: mélanges d'histoire offerts à Guy Beaujouan Hautes études médiévales et modernes, 73 (Geneva: Droz, 1994), 461-79</div><div style='display: list-item; margin-left: 20px;'>Lawrence Principe, Secrets of Alchemy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012)</div></div>