The Sacrificial Body And the Day of Doom: Alchemy And Apocalyptic Discourse in the Protestant Reformation

249 Pages·2006·0.23 MB·English

by  Urszula Szulakowska

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The Sacri cial Body and the Day of Doom
Aries Book Series
Texts and Studies in Western Esotericism
Editor
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Wouter J. Hanegraa
Editorial Board
Jean-Pierre Brach
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
Advisory Board
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Roland Edigho er – Antoine Faivre
Olav Hammer – Andreas Kilcher
Arthur McCalla – Monika Neugebauer-Wölk
Marco Pasi – Mark Sedgwick – Jan Snoek
Michael Stausberg – Kocku von Stuckrad
,/
György Szonyi – Garry Trompf
VOLUME 1
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The Sacri cial Body and
the Day of Doom
Alchemy and Apocalyptic Discourse
in the Protestant Reformation
by
Urszula Szulakowska
BRILL
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2006
On the cover: Anti-Christ, Stefan Michelspacher, Cabala: Spiegel der Kunst und Natur
(Augsburg: David Francke, 1616), second engraving. With the permission of the
British Library, London.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Szulakowska, Urszula.
The sacrificial body and the day of doom : alchemy and apocalyptic discourse
in the Protestant Reformation / by Urszula Szulakowska.
p. cm. — (Aries book series ; vol. 1)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-90-04-15025-6
ISBN-10: 90-04-15025-0 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Alchemy—Religious
aspects—Christianity—History. 2. Apocalyptic literature—History and criticism.
3. Reformation. I. Title. II. Series.
BR115.A57S98 2006
540’.1120943—dc22
2006043990
ISSN: 1871–1405
ISBN-13: 978 90 04 15025 6
ISBN-10: 90 04 15025 0
© Copyright 2006 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill Academic
Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
prior written permission from the publisher.
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granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to
The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive,
Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ...................................................................... vii
Illustrations .................................................................................. ix
Introduction ................................................................................ 1
Chapter One The Cosmic Body of Christ-Anthropos ...... 15
Chapter Two The Alchemical Eucharist ............................ 37
Chapter Three Alchemy and Domesday .............................. 59
Chapter Four The Sacrificial Body ...................................... 81
Chapter Five Spiritual Dissenters and Religious
Toleration ...................................................... 95
Chapter Six Robert Fludd’s Sacramental Medicine ........ 121
Chapter Seven Jacob Boehme and Abraham Von
Franckenberg .................................................. 141
Chapter Eight Conclusion: Change and Stasis .................... 159
Bibliography ................................................................................ 165
Index .......................................................................................... 177

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project could not have been accomplished without the financial
assistance of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) which
funded an extended period of research leave and provided for other
expenses. I would like to thank the AHRC for its support.
Equally important has been the financial assistance of the Research
Committee of the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural
Studies (University of Leeds) which facilitated additional research
leave and contributed other funding. In addition, I would like to
acknowledge the generous financial help and encouragement of my
work over many years by the Research Committee of Bretton Hall
College (Wakefield).
I am in debt to several scholars of international repute for their
help, most notably Professor Wouter J. Hanegraaff whom I would
like to thank for his time and patience in reading my text and mak-
ing suggestions for its improvement. Another authority who has
encouraged my work and has offered practical assistance has been
Professor Stanton J. Linden to whom I am grateful. In addition,
Professor György Sz,/onyi has kindly engaged with my ideas over sev-
eral years and I thank him for his interest.
Other institutions which should be acknowledged for their assis-
tance are: the British Library (London), the Bodleian Library (Oxford),
the Warburg Library (London), the Wellcome Institute Library
(London), Brotherton Library (University of Leeds), Yorkshire
Archaeological Society (Leeds), the Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris),
Bibiliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit (Leiden), Wolfenbüttel Bibliothek
und Staatsarchiv, the Biblioteka Narodowa (Warsaw), the Biblioteca
Marciana (Venice), the Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana (Florence)
and the Biblioteca Nazionale-Centrale di Firenze.
My family, as ever, are sincerely thanked for their consideration
and understanding of my work.

ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Christ in the Fountain of Life, Stefan Michelspacher, Cabala:
Spiegel der Kunst und Natur (Augsburg: David Francke, 1616), fourth
engraving.
2. Robert Vaughan, “Christ in Glory” in Elias Ashmole, Theatrum
Chemicum Britannicum (London: G. Grismond, 1652).
3. Christ in Glory, Heinrich Khunrath, Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae
(Hamburg, 1595; Hanau, 1609).
4. Christ as the philosopher’s stone, “Rosarium Philosophorum” in
De Alchimia Opuscula (Frankfurt, 1550), reprinted in Artis Auriferae
(Basel, 1593). (Another copy in Theatrum chemicum, 5 (Strassburg:
Heredium Eberhard Zetzner, 1622), 191).
5. Pan as the philosopher’s stone, MS Florence Biblioteca Medicea-
Laurenziana Cod. Ashburnham 1166 e. 1. b, Miscellanea d’Alchimia
(folio 18r) (ca. 1470).
6. Dying man (“Adam”) MS Florence, Biblioteca Medicea-Lauren-
ziana Cod. Ashburnham 1166, e. 1. b, Miscellanea d’Alchimia (folio
16r) (ca. 1470).
7. Dying woman (“Eve”) and skull, MS Florence Biblioteca Medicea-
Laurenziana Cod. Ashburnham 1166, e. 1. b, Miscellanea d’Alchimia
(folio 17v) (ca. 1470).
8. “Pater silvanus” in MS London British Library Sloane 1316,
folio 13r (17th Century).
9. Diagram of the Cosmic Body, Robert Fludd, “Microcosm,” 1,
Utriusque Cosmi...Historia (Oppenheim: J. T. de Bry, 1619), 82.
10. Diagram of the Divine, Cosmic and Human Minds, Robert
Fludd, “Macrocosm,” Utriusque Cosmi Historia (Oppenheim: J. T.
de Bry, 1617), 217.
11. Diagram of the Digestive System, Robert Fludd, Medicina Catholica,
3 (Frankfurt: William Fitzer, 1631), 52.
12. God and his Cosmic manifestation, Robert Fludd, “Microcosm,”
2,Utriusque Cosmi...Historia (Oppenheim: J. T. de Bry, 1619),62.
13. Title-page, Robert Fludd, “Microcosm,” 1, Utriusque Cosmi...
Historia (Oppenheim: J. T. de Bry, 1619).
14. Title-page, Robert Fludd, Philosophia Sacra (Frankfurt: J. T. de
Bry, 1626).