Elements, minerals, metals, and their transformation

Alchemy

The alchemical knowledge, the protagonist of the magnificent volumes in this section, no longer exists in the ways it was once known and practiced, but some of its forms and reasoning have been useful in defining scientific knowledge.

Over the centuries, various interpretations have been given to alchemical knowledge: some have thought it was a sort of proto-chemistry, others have conceived it as practical-spiritual knowledge, aimed at transforming and perfecting minerals, metals, and substances of a vegetable or animal nature, as well as transforming the practitioner’s spirit.

Franciscanism and alchemy

Despite the numerous ecclesiastical prohibitions, many illustrious members of the Franciscan Order were fascinated by alchemy; some scholars of quick wit, tireless seekers of nature’s secrets, wrote renowned treatises dedicated to this subject. An emblematic example is the great “alchemical encyclopedia” attributed to Fra Bonaventura da Iseo, the Liber Compostelle, an extraordinary collection of experiments and recipes, selected from those made available by the great Arab and Latin alchemical tradition: a vast repertoire to draw from based on the various needs of the moment.

Curious miscellanies

The singular miscellaneous manuscripts, true protagonists of this section, arouse lively curiosity. They are collections of treatises in Latin and Italian, linked to the names of the most well-known authors of the alchemical tradition: famous Franciscans such as Roger Bacon, John of Rupescissa, Raimondo Gaufredi, and even Brother Elias of Assisi, one of Saint Francis’s first companions.

In some cases, the enigmatic, unusual, and suggestive texts address debated questions about the nature of elements, the possibility of their combination and transformation, as well as the realization of the philosopher’s stone and the preparation of powerful medicines.

Others, without particular metaphorical implications, describe laboratory practices. There is extensive use of graphic means such as combinatorial tables and circular figures, variously complicated by inscribed triangles and squares. The tables also contain numerous drawings of alembics, cucurbits, retorts, and tools necessary for distillation, such as furnaces, cooling tubes, and various types of vessels for collecting the distillate.

The first anthology

Closing this section is an interesting printed anthology of the most important authors of the Arab-Latin alchemical tradition, particularly Pietro Bono da Ferrara, published by a little-known 16th-century Calabrian Franciscan, Giano Lacinio, who intended to bring to light the true art of alchemy, obscured and debased by many false masters.