Alchemy | part 2

 England: alchemical spy

 Perhaps the most famous court alchemist can be called the English lover of secret sciences John Dee (1527-1609), who was in the service of Queen Elizabeth - according to some versions, he was even her spy on the continent.

 Dee studied astrology and magic much more diligently than alchemy, as evidenced by artifacts that have come down to us, for example, his wax disk used for magical incantations (see Figure 3), as well as a quartz ball for divination and a witch's mirror.

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 Already at the age of 55, Dee met Edward Kelly (1555-1597), a magician and alchemist, who became his assistant: with him he tried to communicate with angels, and then went on a trip to Europe. There Dee and Kelly visited the main alchemical centers - Krakow and Prague.

 In the latter lived the famous patron of alchemy, Emperor Rudolph II, who gathered at his court a lot of talented goldsmiths, magicians and astrologers. Dee went back to England, but his companion Edward Kelly remained at the court of Rudolph, where he wrote several alchemical treatises. The emperor's mercy to him quickly gave way to disfavor: the patron wanted to extort the recipe for the philosopher's stone from him, imprisoning him.

 Russia: a panacea for the unicorn

 In Russia, interest in alchemy arose during trade contacts with England and is also associated with the name of John Dee. Prior to that, Russia was not a developed metallurgical power - the technology for the extraction of mercury, iron, silver and gold was weak in the country, and therefore there was no soil for the emergence of gold-making. <…> In 1553 one of the English trade routes went through the White Sea to Russia, which led to the establishment of scientific ties between the two states. Ivan IV the Terrible ordered himself from England the doctor Elisha Bomelius - a specialist in poisons, alchemist and sorcerer.

 It is believed that it was he who offered Grozny a method of mercury treatment (according to one of the legends, the tsar kept a vessel full of mercury under the bed), and also offered to buy precious stones and an expensive staff made of "unicorn horn", allegedly with medicinal properties. Bomelius was known as an executioner, since He poisoned those who were objectionable to Grozny with particular cruelty. After being accused of treason, the poisoner was burned alive, and the tsar asked in London, Elizabeth I, for new pharmacists.

 During the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich, a wave of interest in natural philosophy arose. In 1586 he even invited John Dee to Russia, but he refused.

 In 1596, a certain man from Tver came to the court of Fyodor, who could “pass” gold and silver ores. However, his trick failed, and the king ordered to torture him to death with mercury.

 Il. 2. Images taken from the book "History of Alchemy" by Sergei Zotov. Moscow, AST. 2020

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 In 1621, John Dee's son, Arthur (1579-1651), agreed to come to Russia and for thirteen years served as a personal doctor, "archbishop" of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, who had four "alchemists" in his personal pharmacy order equipped with a laboratory ...

 Arthur, or, as he was called in Russia, Artemy Ivanovich Diy, was not spoiled by work, because carried out only the most important assignments directly related to the life of the king. He dispelled boredom by doing alchemy - it was in Moscow that he wrote his main alchemical treatise. <…> The love of Russian tsars for "almanacs" - astrologers and "assay masters" was parodied among the people. For example, in the 17th century. a pamphlet "A Healer for Foreigners" appeared, in which the useless and atrochemical recipes of foreigners - "negligent Germans" were ridiculed.

 For pain in the abdomen, the foreigners were offered to take a mixture of "female dancing and heart pressing and palmar splashing", flavored with "flea skip".

 In 1700, Peter I instituted the order of the mines, which stimulated the development of alchemy. And although the sovereign himself had a negative attitude towards transmutation, there were many people in his immediate circle who were fond of alchemical experiments. Peter's associate Jacob Bruce (1669–1735), who was popularly considered a sorcerer sitting in the Sukharev Tower, had a rich library with books on alchemy, Paracelsianism and mysticism. It was Bruce who was the owner of the "cabinet of curious things", which became one of the foundations of the famous collection in the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera.

 Peter's personal physician and president of the School of Medicine, Scotsman Robert Areskin (1677–1718), also collected an extensive library of nearly three hundred alchemical volumes. The President of the Synod, Theophan Prokopovich (1681–1736), not only had the largest alchemical library in Russia, but also used gold-making metaphors in his lectures. His main ecclesiastical opponent, Stefan Yavorsky (1658-1722), even included alchemical themes in his sermons and called God a heavenly alchemist.

 In the XVIII century. among Russian intellectuals the fashion for secret societies is spreading. Lecturer at Moscow University Johann Schwartz establishes contacts with German Freemasons, after which writers Nikolai Trubetskoy and Mikhail Kheraskov, director of Moscow University Ivan Turgenev, publishers Nikolai Novikov and Ivan Lopukhin and other mystics, alchemists and translators of Paracelsus join the Russian lodge.

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 In the 1780s. Catherine II, initially supportive of Freemasonry, bans secret societies because of a visit to the court of Count Cagliostro, who angered her with his quack ideas. The Empress even puts on a number of her own plays that ridicule the Masons.

 Soon the friend of the fabulist Ivan Krylov, Alexander Klushin, will write a satirical play called "The Alchemist". Alchemy is also criticized by the writer Nikolai Karamzin, who, while traveling around Europe, looked into the house of Paracelsus, according to a popular legend, who once visited Muscovy. With a stream of criticism, interest in alchemy in Russia ends.

 Il. 3. Images are taken from the book "History of Alchemy" by Sergei Zotov. Moscow, AST. 2020

 Scandinavia: Nordic Kabbalah

 In another northern country, Denmark, kings and bishops were involved in alchemy, with special attention to its medical side. King Frederick II (1534-1588) sponsored the research of the great astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), who also owned "earthly astronomy" - in return, he supplied alchemical medicines to the court. His sister Sophia also practiced great art. Later in the country, Paracelsian iatrochemistry became part of official medicine.

 The popularity of alchemy in Denmark is evidenced by the collection of sumptuous manuscripts collected by Danish secret societies, and now kept in the Royal Library of Copenhagen. Interest in alchemy in Denmark persisted even after its heyday in the 16th – 17th centuries: the famous Count Saint-Germain lived in the 18th century. in the estate of the Danish governor and taught him the secrets of the philosopher's stone.

 In neighboring Sweden, a country rich in ores of a wide variety of metals, alchemy has also been known since at least the 16th century. It was mainly engaged in by representatives of the nobility (for example, one of the princes and one of the bishops), the Swedish kings actively sponsored laboratories and bought alchemical treatises (see ill. 4). <…> The most original interpretation of alchemy in the national key was offered by the Swedish polymath and the royal librarian Johan Bure (1568-1652). In his book "Adulruna Reborn", he combined alchemy and rune magic, trying to recreate the once allegedly existing "Nordic Kabbalah". According to his teachings, the runes contained the original and indivisible wisdom, which included alchemy, astrology, Kabbalah and magic. <…> In addition to his theoretical activities, he practiced alchemy in his own laboratory and even showed experiments at court.