The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300–1700

427 Pages·2020·9.165 MB·English

by  Jennifer M. Rampling

The Experimental Fire
A series in the history of chemistry, broadly construed,
edited by Carin Berkowitz, Angela N. H. Creager, John E. Lesch,
Lawrence M. Principe, Alan Rocke, and E. C. Spary,
in partnership with the Science History Institute.
The
Experimental
F I R E
Inventing English Alchemy, 1300– 1700
Jennifer M. Rampling
Th e University of Chicago Press
Chicago and London
Th e University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
Th e University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2020 by Th e University of Chicago
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in
any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case
of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. For more informa-
tion, contact the University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th St., Chicago,
IL 60637.
Published 2020
Printed in the United States of America
29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 71070- 9 (cloth)
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 71084- 6 (e- book)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226710846.001.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Rampling, Jennifer M., author.
Title: Th e experimental fi re : inventing English alchemy, 1300– 1700 /
Jennifer M. Rampling.
Other titles: Synthesis (University of Chicago Press)
Description: Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2020. | Series:
Synthesis | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2020018398 | ISBN 9780226710709 (cloth) | ISBN
9780226710846 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Alchemy—England—History. | Chemistry—
England—Experiments—History.
Classifi cation: LCC QD18.G7 R36 2020 | DDC 540.1/ 1209420903—
dc23
LC record available at https:// lccn.loc .gov/ 2020018398
♾ Th is paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48- 1992
(Permanence of Paper).
In loving memory of Dr. Molly Rampling (1913– 2008),
my grandmother

Contents
List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xv
Introduction: What Is Mercury? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Part I: Th e Medieval Origins of English Alchemy
1 Philosophers and Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
2. Medicine and Transmutation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
3. Opinion and Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Part II: Th e Golden Age of English Alchemy
4. Dissolution and Reformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
5. Nature and Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
6. Time and Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204
Part III: Th e Legacy of Medieval Alchemy in Early Modern England
7. Recovery and Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249
8. Home and Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
9. Antiquity and Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .397
vii

Figures
1. Pseudo- Lullian wheel, Practica Testamenti. Th e wheel begins with A
(“Deus”), signifying God. Th e practice starts with B (“Argentum viuum”).
Yale University, Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscripts Library, MS Mellon
12, fol. 97v. By permission of the Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscripts
Library.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2. George Ripley, Compound of Alchemy, alias the “Book of Ripla.” Th is late
fi ft eenth- century copy was later owned by the anonymous Opinator,
who in turn presented it to Th omas Ellys, Prior of Little Leighs. Oxford,
Bod leian Library, MS Ashmole 1486, pt. 3, fol. 49v. By permission of Th e
Bodleian Libraries, Th e University of Oxford.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
3. Fift eenth- century manuscript repaired by Giles Du Wes. © Th e British
Library Board, MS Harley 3528, fol. 6r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
4. Ownership marks of Giles Du Wes and Robert Greene of Welby in Cam-
bridge, Trinity College Library, MS O.8.24, fl yleaf. By permission of the
Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144
5. Pseudo- Lullian wheel and gemissaries. William Blomfi ld, Practicke, in a
copy made by Christopher Taylour. Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Ash-
mole 1492, 153. By permission of Th e Bodleian Libraries, Th e University of
Oxford.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
6. Illustration of lunaria, in a fi ft eenth- century manuscript later owned by
Giles Du Wes, Robert Greene of Welby, and probably John Dee. Cam-
bridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 395, fol. 50r. By permission of the
Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .198
7. Marginal notes added by Robert Greene of Welby and Robert Freelove to
ix