The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300-1700 (Synthesis)

In medieval and early modern Europe, the practice of alchemy promised extraordinary physical transformations. Who would not be amazed to see base metals turned into silver and gold, hard iron into soft water, and deadly poison into elixirs that could heal the human body? To defend such claims, alchemists turned to the past: scouring ancient books for evidence of a lost alchemical heritage--and seeking to translate their secret language and obscure imagery into replicable, practical effects. Tracing the development of alchemy in England over four hundred years, from the beginning of the fourteenth century to the end of the seventeenth, Jennifer M. Rampling illuminates the role of alchemical reading and experimental practice in the broader context of national and scientific history. Using new manuscript sources, she shows how Roger Bacon, George Ripley, John Dee, Edward Kelley, and Isaac Newton, as well as many previously unknown alchemists, devised new practical approaches to alchemy, while seeking the support of English monarchs, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. By reconstructing their alchemical ideas, practices, and disputes, Rampling reveals how English alchemy was continually reinvented over the space of four centuries, resulting in changes to the science itself. In so doing, The Experimental Fire bridges the intellectual history of chemistry and the wider worlds of early modern patronage, medicine, and science. A 400-year history of the development of alchemy in England that brings to light the evolution of the practice. In medieval and early modern Europe, the practice of alchemy promised extraordinary physical transformations. Who would not be amazed to see base metals turned into silver and gold, hard iron into soft water, and deadly poison into elixirs that could heal the human body? To defend such claims, alchemists turned to the past, scouring ancient books for evidence of a lost alchemical heritage and seeking to translate their secret language and obscure imagery into replicable, practical effects. Tracing the development of alchemy in England over four hundred years, from the beginning of the fourteenth century to the end of the seventeenth, Jennifer M. Rampling illuminates the role of alchemical reading and experimental practice in the broader context of national and scientific history. Using new manuscript sources, she shows how practitioners like George Ripley, John Dee, and Edward Kelley, as well as many previously unknown alchemists, devised new practical approaches to alchemy while seeking the support of English monarchs. By reconstructing their alchemical ideas, practices, and disputes, Rampling reveals how English alchemy was continually reinvented over the space of four centuries, resulting in changes to the science itself. In so doing, The Experimental Fire bridges the intellectual history of chemistry and the wider worlds of early modern patronage, medicine, and science. "By reconstructing the alchemical ideas, practices, and disputes of the late medieval and early modern periods in England, following Roger Bacon, George Ripley, John Dee, Robert Boyle, and many others, Jennifer Rampling reveals how alchemical ideas were continually copied and reworked. She maps, over four centuries, their long-term evolution and the influence of the methods of alchemy's many and varied practitioners. Rampling restores the alchemist's reputation as a serious experimentalist who actually knew his chemistry and made significant discoveries, and from this we see how English alchemy fits within the wider history of European science, medicine, and culture"-- Provided by publisher Dedication Contents List of Figures List of Abbreviations Conventions Acknowledgments Introduction: What Is Mercury? Part I: The Medieval Origins of English Alchemy 1. Philosophers and Kings 2. Medicine and Transmutation 3. Opinion and Experience Part II: The Golden Age of English Alchemy 4. Dissolution and Reformation 5. Nature and Magic 6. Time and Money Part III: The Legacy of Medieval Alchemy in Early Modern England 7. Recovery and Revision 8. Home and Abroad 9. Antiquity and Experiment Bibliography Index