Article ID: CBB015818092

Deciphering the Hermeticae Philosophiae Medulla: Textual Cultures of Alchemical Secrecy (2023)

unapi

This article presents the decryption, historical analysis, and alchemical interpretation of an alchemical cipher found in a shared notebook of John and Arthur Dee (British Library MS Sloane 1902). The cipher is an early example of a Bellaso/Della Porta/Vigenère type, a strong encryption method which was historically deemed indecipherable. The essay explores the medical and alchemical context for the manuscript into which the cipher was copied and provides the transcription, plaintext solution (in Latin), and English translation of the encrypted text. Further, it interprets the enciphered text through the lens of alchemical practice and provides evidence for the dissemination of this cipher as part of a larger alchemical knowledge network.

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB015818092/

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Authors & Contributors
Garofalo, Ivan
Bayer, Penny
Boner, Patrick J.
Callataÿ, Godefroid de
Calvet, Antoine
El-Bizri, Nader
Journals
Galenos: Rivista di Filologia dei Testi Medici Antichi
Medicina nei Secoli - Arte e Scienza
Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry
Llull: Revista de la Sociedad Española de Historia de las Ciencias y de las Técnicas
Micrologus: Nature, Sciences and Medieval Societies
Medioevo, Rivista di Storia della Filosofia Medievale
Publishers
Brill
Anchor
Archè
Fabrizio Serra Editore
Oxford University Press
SISMEL edizioni del Galluzzo
Concepts
Translations
Critical editions
Manuscripts
Medicine
Latin language
Alchemy
People
Galen
al-Fārābī, Abū Naṣr Muḥammd ibn Muḥammad
Arnaldus de Villanova
Cirillo, Domenico
Clifford, Margaret
Dee, John
Time Periods
Medieval
Ancient
16th century
12th century
13th century
15th century
Places
Italy
Holy Roman Empire
Europe
Greece
Byzantium
Catalonia (Spain)
Institutions
Tübingen. Universität
Ikhwān al-Ṣafā (Brethren of Purity)
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