Didier Kahn

Alchemical Poetry in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: A Preliminary Survey and Synthesis Part II — Synthesis

Abstract This article provides a preliminary description of medieval and early modern alchemical poetry composed in Latin and in the principal vernacular languages of western Europe. It aims to distinguish the various genres in which this poetry flourished, and to identify the most representative aspects of each cultural epoch by considering the medieval and early modern periods in turn. Such a distinction (always somewhat artificial) between two broad historical periods may be justified by the appearance of new cultural phenomena that profoundly modified the character of early modern alchemical poetry: the ever-increasing importance of the prisca theologia, the alchemical interpretation of ancient mythology, and the rise of neo-Latin humanist poetry. Although early modern alchemy was marked by the appearance of new doctrines (notably the alchemical spiritus mundi and Paracelsianism), alchemical poetry was only superficially modified by criteria of a scientific nature, which therefore appear to be of lesser importance. This study falls into two parts. Part I provides a descriptive survey of extant poetry, and in Part II the results of the survey are analysed in order to highlight such distinctive features as the function of alchemical poetry, the influence of the book market on its evolution, its doctrinal content, and the question of whether any theory of alchemical poetry ever emerged. Part II is accompanied by an index of the authors and works cited in both parts.

Alchemical Poetry in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: A Preliminary Survey and Synthesis Part I - Preliminary Survey

Abstract This article provides a preliminary description of medieval and early modern alchemical poetry composed in Latin and in the principal vernacular languages of western Europe. It aims to distinguish the various genres in which this poetry flourished, and to identify the most representative aspects of each cultural epoch by considering the medieval and early modern periods in turn. Such a distinction (always somewhat artificial) between two broad historical periods may be justified by the appearance of new cultural phenomena that profoundly modified the character of early modern alchemical poetry: the ever-increasing importance of the prisca theologia, the alchemical interpretation of ancient mythology, and the rise of neo-Latin humanist poetry. Although early modern alchemy was marked by the appearance of new doctrines (notably the alchemical spiritus mundi and Paracelsianism), alchemical poetry was only superficially modified by criteria of a scientific nature, which therefore appear to be of lesser importance. This study falls into two parts. Part I provides a descriptive survey of extant poetry, and in Part II the results of the survey are analysed in order to highlight such distinctive features as the function of alchemical poetry, the influence of the book market on its evolution, its doctrinal content, and the question of whether any theory of alchemical poetry ever emerged. Part II is accompanied by an index of the authors and works cited in both parts.

Lux in Tenebris: The Visual and the Symbolic in Western Esotericism

Focused on “the visual and symbolic in Western esotericism,” as the subtitle puts it, this impressive book takes its title from the famous passage in John 1:5 (“and the light shineth in darkness”),...

Joachim Telle (1939–2013)

Joachim Telle left us on 12 December 2013. Just the evening before, he had come one last time to lead his seminar at the University of Heidelberg. Those colleagues who live neither in Heidelberg no...

Towards a History of Joseph Du Chesne's Manuscripts

Abstract The papers and manuscripts of Joseph Du Chesne (1546–1609) were praised by many readers in the 17th century, who often copied extracts from them. Although we are no longer able to trace the original manuscripts, several people are said to have owned them in the 17th century. I try here to put together all the available data on this matter, in order to shed some light on the main possessors of Du Chesnes papers from his death in 1609 up to 1660.