Basilius Valentinus’ Triumph Wagen antimonii, a work first published in 1604, was among the most popular alchemical works of the 17th century. It celebrated antimony as a panacea and offered numerous recipes for medicinal use. Originally published in German, it was often reprinted and also translate...

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1. Verfasser:	Heertum, Cis van 1958- (VerfasserIn)
Format:	Artikel
Sprache:	English
Veröffentlicht:	[2023]
Schlagworte:	Kerckring, Theodor > 1640-1693 Hooghe, Romeyn de > 1645-1708 Basilius > Valentinus > 1394-1450 Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica > Amsterdam Rosenkreuzer Alchemie
Zusammenfassung:	Basilius Valentinus’ Triumph Wagen antimonii, a work first published in 1604, was among the most popular alchemical works of the 17th century. It celebrated antimony as a panacea and offered numerous recipes for medicinal use. Originally published in German, it was often reprinted and also translated into Latin twice. This article focuses on the Latin translation by Theodor Kerckring, a noted anatomist and fellow of the Royal Society but also a practising iatrochemist and follower of Paracelsus. His annotated edition, Commentarius in currum triumphalem antimonii Basilii Valentini, was published in 1671 by his friend Andreas Frisius and contains a title engraving by Romeyn de Hooghe that was pirated and printed in mirror image for a German reprint of Triumph Wagen antimonii of 1676. Kerckring’s annotations were considered so valuable that the edition was translated into English by the "Philochymist" Richard Russell in 1678. Half a century later, a German translator followed suit by translating Kerckring’s annotations in German (the text of Triumph Wagen antimonii itself was taken from a German edition). This translator prefaced his edition with an extensive introduction in which he also suggested Kerckring had addressed his edition to the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. Starting with the BPH’s interleaved copy of Kerckring’s edition, the article will also consider in detail Romeyn de Hooghe’s engraving, which must have been made in close consultation with the author, as well as the "Nachleben" of Kerckring’s Commentarius in currum triumphalem antimonii. All copies discussed are in the BPH’s collection, forming a valuable subset.
Beschreibung:	Illustrationen
ISSN:	0014-9527