Distilling Reliable Remedies: Hieronymus Brunschwig'sLiber de arte distillandi(1500) Between Alchemical Learning and Craft Practice

Abstract

Hieronymus Brunschwig's Liber de arte distillandi, written in German and first published in Strasbourg in 1500, was the first printed manual on the distillation of medicinal waters. Although influential among early modern audiences and well known to modern scholars, its intriguing blend of intellectual and practical traditions has thus far received little attention. This paper identifies these strands in Brunschwig's technical instructions and shows how they intertwine in the production of reliable remedies. Exploring the intellectual dimension of Brunschwig's work, I argue that his concept of distillation is shaped by an alchemical understanding of matter, especially by the writings on 'quintessence' of the fourteenth-century alchemist John of Rupescissa. To realise this concept in the workshop, Brunschwig emphasises the central importance of the body and its senses to ensure true craftsmanship. Brunschwig's printed manual was as much a product of skilled artisanal practices as the distilled waters it describes, and I argue that it was shaped by the same concerns about technical precision and reliability.

Chemophobia versus the identity of chemists: heroes of chemistry as an effective communication strategy

“…Although we know that chemical transmutation of base metals into gold is not possible, we can perceive this Rupescissa's effort as a metaphor for creating new materials that are indispensable to our modern technologies. In his later work, De consideratione quintae essentiae omnium rerum (On the consideration of the fifth essence of all things), he is one of the first to discuss the possibility of using chemistry in a new area-medicine [58,59]. In this work, Rupescissa proposed a plan for humankind to escape disease, ageing, and even death through alchemy, i.e.…”

Redefinir y resignificar la historia de la alquimia: Marie Meurdrac

“…Thaddeus Alderotti (1215-1296) mostró cómo destilar alcohol del vino mediante un serpentín que pasaba a través de un tubo de condensación. En 1500, Hieronymus Brunschwig, en su Liber de arte distillandi, escrito en alemán y que se dirige a «personas profanas, tanto hombres como mujeres», observa que «destilar no es otra cosa que separar lo ordinario de lo sutil… con la intención de que lo corruptible se vuelva incorruptible…» (Taape, 2014). Así se conecta la alquimia con el proceso de separación de lo puro, las partes medicinales de una sustancia de las partes que son nocivas, venenosas o impuras.…”

Woodcuts as reading guides. How images shaped knowledge transmission in medical-astrological books in Dutch (1500-1550)

“…Literature: Hoogendoorn 2018, 169; Van Dixhoorn 2014, 116-117;Franssen 1990, 36 and 76;Jansen-Sieben 1989, 50;Vermeulen 1986, 121;Forbes 1948, 110-111;Post et al 1960, nr. 132. On the German editions: Taape 2021; Taape 2014;Rankin 2014;Habermann 2001, 487-501;Belkin 1986;Anderson 1977, chapter 15;Forbes 1948, 109-116;Sigerist 1946, 33-36;Klein 1911, IX-X;Choulant 1858, 75-85. Thuys der fortunen ende dat huys der doot Copies consulted: Thuys-1518-A12, Thuys-1522-B02, Thuys-1531-G03 109 , Thuys-1531-H04, Thuys-c1540-H04 Other copies: -In Thuys der fortunen, lavishly illustrated throughout in all editions, the first section is a book of fortune: a kind of interactive horoscope that could be played 106 Brunschwig, The vertuose boke of Distyllacyon (London: Laurence Andrewe, 1527), 2 o , https:// www.ustc.ac.uk/editions/501983, ESTC S106740. 107 Franssen 1990, 36 assumes that Jan van Doesborch has played a role in this transition.…”