Medieval Alchemists
Medieval alchemists, standing halfway between the first explorations in the field of chemistry and mysticism, have passed into history as part of the legend of a distant and dark age. The nascent scientific interest, the difficulty of determining which works were truly theirs, and the obscure symbolism of many of their texts have undoubtedly transformed them into legends.
Arnaldus de Villanova ( ? - 1311)
He was perhaps the most famous physician of medieval times, and also served as an ambassador in the service of the Crown of Aragon. Several works on alchemy are attributed to him, such as Rosarius, Semita semitae, and Flos florum, but these are probably apocryphal. Nevertheless, it is very possible that he was an adept of mystical alchemy.
It is said that Villanova proclaimed the imminent coming of the Antichrist, with which an entire era would come to an end. But he also proposed a secular religion, criticizing the failings of his time and extolling evangelical poverty.
His controversial ideas cost him imprisonment in Rome, by order of Boniface VIII, although later, after curing the pontiff of an acute ailment, he became the papal physician and also his adviser on alchemical matters.
Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber)
Born probably in a remote city of Mesopotamia (or, according to others, simply in Seville), he is credited with the authorship of a work on Astronomy, subsequently published in Nuremberg in 1534. Legends describe him as having been king of Persia or India. The texts attributed to him are connected with alchemy, but despite the mythical nature of the figure, very concrete aspects prevail that are far removed from any metaphysical speculation… For Geber, alchemical transmutation would simply be an inner process, equivalent to a psychic operation in which soul and body are transformed.
Ramon Llull (1235–1315)
This legendary figure was a critic of alchemy, at least with regard to the techniques for the transmutation of metals. But above all he was an enigmatic medieval personage who devoted himself to collecting strange materials of diverse origins in order to present them as the object of a “higher illumination.” One of the works attributed to him, Ars Magna, is one of those that has most influenced his followers and could be compared to the techniques used by yogis for inner concentration.
Nicolas Flamel (1330?)
Legend has it that he possessed immense treasures and had even discovered the philosopher’s stone, by means of which he could transform metals into gold. After his death, the house on the Rue Marivaux in Paris where he had lived, known as the “Fleur de Lys,” was coveted by eccentrics who paid a fortune for it, believing that there they might find the philosopher’s stone.
Other versions hold that Flamel’s enormous fortune was due to his taking advantage of persecuted Jews by becoming the custodian of their possessions when they sought safety in flight. Other stories recount that he inherited from a woman named Pernelle, a twice-widowed woman who had in turn inherited from two husbands. But the legend goes even further: Flamel and Pernelle continued to survive somewhere in hiding, thanks to an elixir that granted them a long life. There was no shortage of people who claimed to have seen them in Switzerland or in Turkey.