Roger Bacon and the Incorruptible Human, 1220-1292: Alchemy, Pharmacology and the Desire to Prolong Life (Palgrave Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Medicine)

This book examines the Franciscan alchemist Roger Bacon’s (1220-1292) interest in the role of alchemy in medicine, and how this interest connected with the thirteenth-century milieu in which he was writing. Though twelfth-century Latin alchemy had largely been concerned with transmuting base metals into noble ones, Bacon believed that the natural principles taught in alchemy would be better used in medicine. In an age where many physicians were theorizing about ways to prevent the effects of aging, Bacon held that combining alchemy and humoral medicine would allow one to extend their life by decades, even centuries. By examining Bacon’s alchemical, medical, and mathematical works, this book argues that Bacon combined a number of sources to create a unique plan for prolonging human life. His understanding of disease and aging was ultimately Galenic in nature, and his understanding of how pharmaceuticals work can be traced back to his mathematical theories, especially that of the multiplication of species. The book provides a new system for organizing Bacon’s alchemically-produced medicines, and explains what Bacon saw as the difference between each, and how they could have different physiological effects. Bacon is situated within the thirteenth-century contexts in which he was writing – that of the university-educated and newly professionalized medical practitioners, who were invested in finding ways to extend human life; and the Franciscan order, with their understanding of the innate goodness of the physical body, the resurrection, and corporeal union with God. Filling a major lacuna in scholarship on the history of medieval medical writings, this book provides vital reading for historians of medicine, pre- and early modern European science, and medieval philosophy and religion. Acknowledgments Contents List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction References Manuscripts Printed Works Chapter 2: Roger Bacon and the (Un)Natural State of Man 1 Disease and the Four Humors 2 Aging, the Radical Humidity, and the Innate Heat 3 The Regimen of Health 4 Natural and Accidental Decay 5 Conclusions References Printed Works Chapter 3: Learning to Prolong Life 1 Error in Medicine 2 Ignorance of Related Fields 3 Alchemy and Medicine 4 Experiment and Scientia Experimentalis 5 Success and Failure 6 Conclusions References Manuscripts Printed Works Chapter 4: The Corpus Equale 1 What Is Equal Complexion? Individual Versus Universal Equality 2 The Multiplication of Species 3 Conclusions References Manuscripts Printed Works Chapter 5: Medicines and Their Effects on the Body 1 The Six Non-Naturals 2 Orthodox Medicines Compound Medicines 3 Prepared Alchemical Medicines The Gloria Inestimabilis Man-Made Gold The Ethiopian Dragon 4 True Alchemical Medicines The Secret Seven 5 Alchemy, Humidity, and the “Radical Prolongevitism” 6 Conclusions References Manuscripts Printed Works Chapter 6: Reshaping Medical Knowledge in Bacon’s Milieu 1 Defining Doctors: Medicus or Physicus? 2 Medicine: Scientia or Ars? 3 Speculative Versus Practical Sciences Bacon on the Division Between Practical and Speculative 4 Greek and Arabic Authorities in Bacon’s Medicine An Examination of Bacon’s Medical Authorities Bacon and Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine 5 Authority in the Marketplace Bacon on Diagnosis and Prognosis 6 Bacon as a Medical Source 7 Conclusions References Manuscripts Printed Works Chapter 7: The Prolongatio Vitae and the Resurrection Body 1 The Physicality of the Resurrection Spiritual and Physical: Soul and Body 2 The Nature of Christ and the Eucharist 3 Light and Vision References Manuscripts Printed Works Chapter 8: Conclusion References Printed Works Appendix A: List of Authorities in Bacon’s Medical Works Appendix B: Bacon’s Authentic Alchemical/Medical Works and Their Witnesses Appendix C: The Epistola de secretis operibus artis et naturae et de nullitate magiae Importance of Determining Authenticity Manuscript Witnesses of the Epistola Determining the Epistola’s Authenticity Placement Content Chapter Divisions Textual Variations Themes Decknamen in the Epistola and Genuine Works The Philosophers’ Egg Sources in the Epistola and Genuine Works Conclusions Further Reading Index This book examines Roger Bacons alchemical theories, and explains how he believed that the key to extending life lay not in the curricula as taught in the medical faculties of the universities, but in the study of alchemy. Though twelfth- and thirteenth-century alchemy was generally concerned with the transmutation of metals, Bacons alchemy was a much larger area of study, and encompassed the generation and corruption of all material things in the sublunary world. It was this aspect of alchemy, which Bacon referred to as speculative alchemy, that explained how the four elements of fire, air, water, and earth interacted with each other to make the basis of reality as man could know it. Thus, the study of alchemy in conjunction with humoral medicine could explain not only how the human body worked, but how it interacted with the materials around it, illuminating the method of prolonging life to extreme lengths.