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    'ffor to make Azure as Albert biddes’: Medieval English Alchemical Writings in the Pseudo-Albertan Tradition

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    Issue Date
    2006-01-01
    Author
    Grund, Peter
    Publisher
    Maney Publishing
    Type
    Article
    Article Version
    Scholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
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    Abstract
    The aim of this article is to explore the unresearched body of manuscript texts on alchemy in medieval English (fifteenth century). More specifically, it is concerned with texts that are commonly attributed to the famous medieval scholar Albertus Magnus. Taking as its starting point the work done by Pearl Kibre on Latin alchemical writings attributed to Albertus, the article shows that the English manuscript texts (some thirty) are all related to one text in the Latin corpus, the Semita recta. (Kibre lists about thirty texts in Latin.) However, the English texts display varying affinities to the Semita recta: there are literal translations as well as major adaptations, and there are texts that appear to exploit the authority of the Semita recta for advancing completely unrelated discussions. It is also evident that the early English translators and redactors of alchemical texts were particularly interested in practical aspects of alchemy: many of the texts exhibit an emphasis on practical details, whereas the theoretical parts have been excised. Furthermore, the article demonstrates that although the English manuscripts derive from a pseudo-Albertan text, most of them do not contain an overt attribution to Albertus. It is thus unclear whether Albertus's renown as an alchemist played a significant part in the circulation of the texts in a vernacular context.
    Description
    This is the author's accepted manuscript. The published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/174582306X93174
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13366
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1179/174582306X93174
    Collections
    • English Scholarly Works [308]
    Citation
    Grund, Peter. 2006. “‘ffor to make Azure as Albert biddes’: Medieval English Alchemical Writings in the Pseudo-Albertan Tradition.” Ambix: The Journal for the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry 53(1): 21–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/174582306X93174

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    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
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    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

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