Obrist, Barbara (Author)
Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry
Volume: 56
Pages: 226--238
During the Middle Ages, the prevailing conception of the history of alchemy was that of a genealogical line of descent --- both carnal and spiritual --- where the original paternal figure was invested with the role of ensuring unity of knowledge. The relationship between this figure and its descendants was one of genus and species. On an epistemological level, the genealogy of knowledge entails the idea of an initial full revelation of knowledge, and its subsequent (partial) loss and recovery. Fundamentally, this view precludes the idea of progress. However, within the frame of history of salvation, alchemy was being assigned a particular role. In writings of, or associated with, Franciscan spirituals, it was meant to provide both material and spiritual support for fighting the Antichrist. From the early fourteenth century onwards, the adherence to a Christocentric and anthropocentric perspective favoured the idea of progress, in the sense that human knowledge of natural and artificial transformations was considered to be increasingly complete. This progress was considered primarily to be one of spiritual perfection, aimed at restoring the nature of man.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Thesis
Matus, Zachary Alexander;
(2010)
Heaven in a Bottle: Franciscan Apocalypticism and the Elixir, 1250--1360
(/isis/citation/CBB001560805/)
Article
Andrew Campbell;
Lorenza Gianfrancesco;
Neil Tarrant;
(2018)
Alchemy and the Mendicant Orders of Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe
(/isis/citation/CBB381369165/)
Book
Zachary A. Matus;
(2017)
Franciscans and the Elixir of Life: Religion and Science in the Later Middle Ages
(/isis/citation/CBB460933825/)
Article
Nicola Polloni;
(2020)
Early Robert Grosseteste on Matter
(/isis/citation/CBB750708755/)
Article
Matus, Zachary;
(2013)
Resurrected Bodies and Roger Bacon's Elixir
(/isis/citation/CBB001213516/)
Book
Stephan Heilen;
(2020)
Konjunktionsprognostik in der Frühen Neuzeit. 1. Band: Die Antichrist-Prognose des Johannes von Lübeck
(/isis/citation/CBB238530105/)
Thesis
Abate, Mark T.;
(2000)
Roger Bacon and the Rage of Antichrist: The Apocalypse of a Thirteenth Century Natural Philosopher
(/isis/citation/CBB001560947/)
Book
Davide Bigalli;
(1971)
I Tartari e l'Apocalisse
(/isis/citation/CBB220126119/)
Article
DeVun, Leah;
(2008)
The Jesus Hermaphrodite: Science and Sex Difference in PremodernEurope
(/isis/citation/CBB001030606/)
Book
Hughes, Jonathan;
(2012)
The Rise of Alchemy in Fourteenth-Century England: Plantagenet Kings and the Search for the Philosopher's Stone
(/isis/citation/CBB001214743/)
Book
Martello, Concetto;
Militello, Chiara;
Vella, Andrea;
(2008)
Cosmogonie e cosmologie nel medioevo
(/isis/citation/CBB001020328/)
Book
Herren, Michael W.;
Ister, Aethicus;
(2011)
The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister: Edition, Translation, and Commentary
(/isis/citation/CBB001201556/)
Book
Pregadio, Fabrizio;
(2006)
Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China
(/isis/citation/CBB000741905/)
Article
Giralt, Sebastià;
(2013)
The Legend of Arnau de Vilanova, from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Times
(/isis/citation/CBB001420839/)
Book
DeVun, Leah;
(2009)
Prophecy, Alchemy and the End of Time: John of Rupescissa in the Late Middle Ages
(/isis/citation/CBB001020324/)
Article
Jean-Patrice Boudet;
(2020)
The Transmission of Arabic Magic in Europe (Middle Ages - Renaissance)
(/isis/citation/CBB652155588/)
Article
Ciola, Graziana;
(2013)
Giovanni di Rupescissa: autobiografia, profezia e leggenda
(/isis/citation/CBB001420842/)
Book
Crisciani, Chiara;
Fabri, Guglielmo;
(2002)
Il Papa e l'alchimia: Felice V, Guglielmo Fabri e l'elixir
(/isis/citation/CBB000470808/)
Book
De Vun, Leah;
(2009)
Prophecy, Alchemy, and the End of Time: John of Rupescissa in the Late Middle Ages
(/isis/citation/CBB000951056/)
Article
Peter Murray Jones;
(2018)
The Survival of the Frater Medicus? English Friars and Alchemy, ca. 1370–ca. 1425
(/isis/citation/CBB784265899/)
Be the first to comment!