Article ID: CBB001550407

Auß Quecksilber und Schwefel Rein: Johann Mathesius (1504--65) and Sulfur-Mercurius in the Silver Mines of Joachimstal (2014)

unapi

Norris, John A. (Author)


Osiris: A Research Journal Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences
Volume: 29, no. 1
Issue: 1
Pages: 35-48


Publication Date: 2014
Edition Details: Title of volume: “Chemical Knowledge in the Early Modern World”
Language: English

The Sarepta, oder Bergpostill (1562) by Johann Mathesius is a book of sermons on mining and mineral subjects in which the composition and generation of metals in ore veins are discussed in terms of the sulfur-mercurius theory. Gur was an embodiment of mercurius or of sulfur and mercurius. Sulfur was evident in the sulfurous odor of the mines, in the supposed effects of subterranean heat, and in the deposition of mineral sulfur during the roasting of the ores. The toxic smoke given off during smelting was considered to be an additional manifestation of mercurius. Mathesius's sermons offer a glimpse of the ways miners' understanding of ores overlapped with alchemists' theories.

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Article Eddy, Matthew Daniel; Mauskopf, Seymour H.; Newman, William R. (2014) An Introduction to Chemical Knowledge in the Early Modern World. Osiris: A Research Journal Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 1-15). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001550407/

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Authors & Contributors
Guerrero, Saúl
Klaus Thalheim
Peter Oakley
George Vrtis
Haug, Henrike
Ruhland, Florian
Concepts
Mines and mining
Silver
Mercury (element)
Alchemy
Spain, colonies
Gold
Time Periods
16th century
17th century
Early modern
Renaissance
18th century
19th century
Places
Peru
Germany
Czech Republic
Bolivia
Andes
Europe
Institutions
UNESCO
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