YALE UNIVERSITY
BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY
GENERAL COLLECTION OF RARE BOOKS AND
MANUSCRIPTS
MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE MANUSCRIPTS
Mellon MS 2
ALCHEMICAL MISCELLANY, in Latin
Netherlands (?), unsigned [possibly written by Frater
Bartholomaeus (of?) Ol-----, 1335], about 1350
2.1 Rasis or Aristotle. Lumen luminum perfecti magisterii, the
beginning only.
2.2 Anonymous. Liber duodecim aquarum.
2.3 Anonymous. Liber sacerdotum, extracts.
2.4 Anonymous. Unidentified alchemical procedures.
2.5 Anonymous. Quomodo gemmae lustrantur.
2.6 Anonymous. Partly identified alchemical procedures.
2.7 Avicenna. Epistola ad Hasen.
2.8 Anonymous. Partly identified alchemical procedures.
2.9 Argenteus, Geber, or Aristotle. Liber XXX verborum.
2.10 Geber. Liber deitatis sive divinitatis.
2.11 Geber. Summa perfectionis magisterii.
2.12 Anonymous. Liber solis et lunae.
2.13 Anonymous. Liber de oleis.
2.14 Anonymous. Unidentified alchemical procedures.
2.15 Roger Bacon (?). Alchemy.
2.16 Anonymous. Sixteen alchemical procedures.
2.17 Rasis or Aristotle. Lumen luminum perfecti magisterii,
completed.
2.18 Anonymous. Unidentified alchemical procedures.
2.19 Rasis. De aluminibus et salibus, extracts.
2.20 Anonymous. Twelve unidentified alchemical procedures.
2.21 Anonymous. List of alchemical equivalents.
2.22 Anonymous. Alchemy.
2.23 Richard de Fournival. Opus Arturi, or De arte alchemica.
2.24 Anonymous. Alchemy.
2.25 Anonymous. Alchemy in thirty chapters.
Parchment codex, 245 x 172 (irregular), ff. 88 (incomplete),
eighteenth-century ink pagination in a German (?) hand 1-174 (115-116
repeated erroneously). Collation: (1-5)^^12, (6)^^4(12?-8?), (7)(uncertain,
lacking), (8)^^12, (9)^^12; original or contemporary signatures in cursive
writing with quiring in arabic numerals; eighteenth-century quiring by the
paginator. Written space 184 x 116, 2 columns, 50-49-48 lines each. Written
by three scribes all using closely similar, legible, and rather cursive forms
of Gothica textualis, heavily abbreviated with standard forms; the first
scribe wrote ff. 1r-64v, the second ff. 65r-77r1, 38, and the third the
remainder. Alternating red and blue capitals throughout, some headings in
red, many capitals stroked red, slight filiform decoration to opening initial
of the volume, the rubrics and decoration probably by one of the scribes or
another closely related hand. Inks of first and third scribes dark brown,
that of the second lighter. Parchment moderately thick, stiff, somewhat oily,
insufficiently whitened, and irregular. Membranes perhaps cut to bifolium
size before ink ruling, neatly carried out throughout; pricked in outer
margins for each lateral rule, and eight times at top and bottom for vertical
bordering lines, all pricking preserved. Many marginalia by contemporary and
later readers, but apparently not overseen by an original Corrector.
BINDING: Early, probably fifteenth-century binding of undecorated red-dyed
hide over beveled wooden boards, four brass edgepieces on each cover attached
with brass nails, two brass catches on upper cover, lightly chased brass and
leather clasps on lower cover (all of the material of cut sheet-brass), back
with six raised bands, repaired and rebacked, with modern leather title
label. Used as pastedowns inside upper and lower cover are two leaves from a
fourteenth-century Germanic (perhaps Netherlandish) manuscript on parchment
containing plainsong written in Germanic neumes on five-line staves, the text
in Gothica textualis formata, large gothic capitals in red or blue, one at
top of lower pastedown in black and red slightly decorated. In all the staves
but the last on the lower pastedown the center-line is stroked red and bears
the clef sign; in the last, the fourth line from the bottom has these
indications. Later entries on the pastedowns are described below.
PROVENANCE: Possibly written by Frater Bartholomaeus (of?) Ol-----, 1335,
according to a later note at foot of f. 88v; probably belonged to a monastic
library, since the many marginalia in Latin entered over a long period of
time suggest frequent reading in a library, possibly in the Netherlands, as
the successive inventory and ownership entries seem to suggest; valued at
twelve florins in the later fifteenth century, according to the faded entry
at top of the lower pastedown written in a later fifteenth-century Bastarda
and transcribed below, possibly a library inventory notation; read and
supplied with some titles in headlines by a similar hand writing a good
Bastarda in the later fifteenth century; probably belonged to the library of
Claude Saumaise (Claudius Salmasius, 1588-1653), the learned classicist and
textual critic for many years connected with Leiden University, as suggested
by the inscription at the foot of the lower pastedown transcribed below;
belonged about 1700 to Henricus Cornelius Anchiroandri (?) and entered into
the catalogue of his books, according to a note on f. 1r; "No. 470," perhaps
in a library, written in a continental hand of the nineteenth century on the
upper pastedown; L'Art Ancien S.A. (booksellers), Zuerich, Catalogue XIX
(1935), no. 15; Denis Duveen, with his bookplate and inked number 100,
acquired from L'Art Ancien; Mellon MS 68, acquired with the Duveen
collection. De Ricci-Bond 16 (68).
CONTENTS
Front pastedown: [At top left Duveen's characteristic number "100" and,
center, in a nineteenth- century continental hand, "No. 470." Beneath,
plainsong notation, seven staves, as described in the binding section above.
Lower left, Duveen bookplate and, center, a modern pencil note, "Miscellanea
alchymica. France (?) 1. H. 14th Cent."]
f. 1r, headline, 1: [In a fifteenth-century gothic cursive hand:] Secreta
Secretorum Aristotelis f. 1r, headline, 2: [In a fifteenth-century
prehumanistic hand, black ink:] Versus: Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere
causas: f. 1r1, 1 Secretum secretorum Aristotilis. | CUm studij sollertis
| indagine... f. 3r1, 31: concludes congruo. et exinde mercedem | laboris
invenies decuplatam. Ex- | plicit...
[2.1: Rasis or Aristotle, Lumen luminum perfecti magisterii, first section
only, substantially as printed by Gratarolus, 1572, II, pp. 101-104; Ruska,
Osiris VII, pp. 45-46; TK 344; DWS 114; Corbett I, 28, etc. The general
introduction to the text found here and frequently ascribed to Rasis was
apparently first printed in Vera alchymiae doctrina, 1561, II, 188 and
following. See also 2.17, ff. 69r1-76r2, for the remainder of this text.]
f. 3r1, 33: ...Incipit liber .12. aquarum |... forcium. | Libelli huiusmodi
aquarum series... .12. splendet capitulis... [Ends f. 4r1, 26:]... commisceas
durescit. si vero du- | hennec mollescit...
[2.2: Anonymous, Liber duodecim aquarum, TK 817; DWS 1063, etc. The twelve
waters in this collection are those printed by Ruska, Osiris VII, pp. 68-72,
but in the order 1-8, 10, 9, 11, plus those printed by Berthelot, Chimie,
nos. 26 & 27 (i.e., two recipes for the last water, Lac virgineum, are
supplied).]
f. 4r1, 27: ...Liber contracio- | ...num. | Ex antiquorum scientia... |
philosophorum... [Ends f. 5v2, 24:]... accipe de limatura | martis et admisce
confectioni cum fu- | sa fuerit...
[2.3: Anonymous, Liber sacerdotum, extracts, TK 1618; or, Liber
communicationum, a title erroneously read from this manuscript, TK 530; also
possibly related to Liber coniunctionum, attributed to Alquinus, TK 530. With
the exception of an unidentified paragraph, Magnesiam feminam, on f. 5v1, the
material in this section is closely similar to that printed by Berthelot,
Chimie I, nos. 1-18, 20, 19, 21-25, 149, 153. The text begins with a wording
parallel to that in the work attributed to Alquinus (also attributed to
others; vide TK 1618; DWS III, pp. 1124-1125), but the closing supplied by
DWS is not in the present manuscript. The connection of the unidentified
paragraphs which follow is therefore uncertain.]
f. 5v2, 26: De experientia colorum. | Et cum fragilitas ex humoris |
habundancia... [f. 5v2, 45:] Pre- | paracio sulphuris | [f. 5v2, 46:]
Sulphuris... | vivi et splendidi et puri...
[2.4: Anonymous, Unidentfied alchemical procedures.]
f. 6r1, 9: Omnis gemma durioris na- | ture sicut iacinctus smaragdus | ...
[Ends f. 6r1, 47.]
[2.5: Anonymous, Quomodo gemmae lustrantur, TK 985, noted in a Canonici
manuscript in the Bodleian Library.]
f. 6r1, 47:... Quomodo fiat margarita | ...de semine alkoti | Tere semen ...
| alkoti...
[Unidentified procedure, another version of which is written of f. 13r2,
q.v.; f. 6r2, 11:]... Ad dissol- |... vendum Talc | [line 12, left:] Talc in
vase... | repositum...
f. 6r2, 33:... Lapis rubeus habens | ... Colorem auri | [line 34, left:] Sume
salis optimi...
[This procedure has been reported by Corbett I, p. 299, Recette 2, from B.N.
MS lat. 6514; another version is also found in the present manuscript, f.
13r1, 35, q.v.; f. 6r2, 46:]... Sublimatio almarcaside. | Sume al ... |
marcasitam et tere et madefac [?] | in aceto quod ex vino constet...
[This procedure occurs again in the present manuscript in a differing
version on f. 13v2, 42, q.v.; f. 6v1, 6:] Quomodo fit zafurandum ferreum. |
Sume limature ferri... [f. 6v1, 16:]... Consolidatio. Sume ungam eream [sic
for aeream, as frequently in this MS] et unge ex | aceto...
[2.6: Anonymous, Partly identified alchemical procedures, as noted.]
f. 6v2, 19: Epistola Aboali Avicenne ad haso |... regem. | [line 20, right:]
Epistola principis... | aboali cognomento abinseni | ad bahasen de re tecta.
Protract- | ta sunt inter me et hasen de eo ... [f 10v1, 11:] et citrinum
completur. iiij. rotis. explicit. |
[2.7: Avicenna, Epistola ad Hasen, TK 603, 1080, 1036, 1577; ZeIV, pp.
572-586; H. E. Stapleton et al., Two Alchemical Treatises Attributed to
Avicenna, in Ambix X, 2, pp. 41-82.]
f. 10v1, 12: [Beginning here is a collection of unidentified procedures and
descriptions of materials, a few of which have been printed from a Paris MS
by Corbett, and four of which are different versions of procedures which also
occur earlier in the present manuscript. Ends f. 15v2, 35. A list follows:]
Ad aurum de gotto... | Accipe zelverem purum... | Vitrum quod fit in
eraclia.. | [f. 11r:] Aquam de uzifur sic facies | ... Salis armoniaci mitte
partem | in scutellam vitratam | ... In fimo faciendo invenies.. | Sal
armoniacus dupliciter invenitus... | Baurac est multis modis ... | Alumen
multis est modis... | [f. 11v:] Sal alkali... | Argentum vivum dicitur
azoc... | Thutie .iij. sunt species [See Corbett I, p. 301, no. 15.] ...|
Antimonium est alkofol nigrum | Attincar genus est salis... Sal pluribus est
modis | atque diversorum colorum... | [f. 12r:] AEs calidum est et siccum
atque crassum... | Aurum calidum est et subtile... | Argentum frigidum est et
| siccum... | Vitrum inter lapides tale ex- | istit... lacincti tres sunt
species... | Corneolus asportatur de terra | abamen... | Magra duobus modis
est... | Coralli duo sunt... | Ematites de monte thabor | asportatus qui est
super flu- | vium Jordanis... | Plumbum est argenti species... Sulphuris .4.
sunt species... | [f. 12v:] Aspaltum ab alarach [corrected to "alairach"]
asportatus ... | Flos eris ex utroque fit [See Corbett I, p. 301, nos. 12,
13.]... | Sal armoniacus sic fit de | fuligine furni ... | Uzifur fit hoc
modo | ... [f. 13r:] Lapis colorem auri habens | sic fit... [For another
version see f. 6r2, 33 of this MS; also see Corbett 1, p. 299, no. 2.] |
Sulfur rubeum sic fit ... | Ut ferrum molle in calibem | [sic] | mutetur...
[See Corbett I, p.299, no. 1.] | Margarita ex semine alkoti | sic fit... [For
another version see f. 6r1, 48 of this MS.] | Talc solvitur hoc modo ... |
AEs ustum [?] sic fit... [See Corbett I, p. 301, no. 11.]... | Sericon sic
fit... | [f. 13v:] Azul fit hoc modo... [See Corbett I, pp.299-300,
[Paragraph mark.] no.3.] | Attinkar sic fit... | Zafaran de ferro | sic
fit... | Plumbum preparatum hoc modo fit ... | Plumbum fit album | hoc modo
[See Corbett I, p. 300, no. 4.]... | Talc calcinatur hoc modo... | Sublimatio
almarcaside | [For another version see f. 6r2, 46 above.]... | [f. 14r:] Res
fusa albificatur hoc modo | [See Corbett I, p. 300, no. 5.]... Aureus novus
sic fit [See Corbett 1, p.300, no. 6.1 | Novum fiet vetus sic ... | Arsenicum
preparatur hoc modo... | Arsenicum quid est succum [?] in colore | ut
sandaraca... | Arsenicum citrinum fit | rubeum sic... | Albificatio prima [?]
in alio mundacio | litargij... | [f. 14v:] Sulphur preparatur sic... |
Sulphur albificatur | et ab eo removetur color hoc | modo... | Ut cuiuslibet
rei colorem in aureum | mutes colorem [See Corbett I, p. 300, no.7.]...
Consolidacio. Ungam eream... [For another version see above, f. 6v1, 16.] |
Lune confectio... [See Corbett I, p. 300, no. 8.] | Item alia confecto
zelveris [See Corbett I, p. 300, no. 9 ]... | Sume unius aurei pondus de |
citrino... | [f. 15r:] Capitulum nobile... | de zel ... | Aliud capitulum de
zel | ...Argentum vivum congelatur hoc | modo... Capitulum urceoli rasis...
[f. 15v:] Item aliud de zel. Sume stanni... | Item aliud de zel. Auricalcum |
durum et album... | Aliud capitulum de zel. Sume laminas | ferri... [f. 15v2,
34:]... nichil addit ponderi ipsius intel- | lige hoc [inserted] et scies.
Explicit...
[2.8: Anonymous, Partly identfied alchemical procedures, as noted.]
f. 15v2, 35: Liber | qui dicitur de .30. verbis- | Iam scis tu qui hanc
queris doc- | trinam... f. 17v2, 15:... quod facias do- | nec tuus compleatur
numerus. et | hoc est verbum .xxx....
[2.9: Argenteus, Geber, or Aristotle, Liber XXX verborum, TK 650, 651; DWS
84. The work exists in numerous versions and with numerous attributions of
authorship.]
f. 17v2, 17... Liber divinitatis qui est unus | ...de .lxx. | Laudes deo sint
habenti gratiam... et bonitatem et pietatem... f. 36v2, 27:... In
sublimatione | vero sunt multa signa. et in solutione similiter | multa . et
in congelatione similiter multa | signa - |
[2.10: Geber, Liber deitatis sive divinitatis, TK 813; DWS 74, etc. As the
rubric in this and other manuscripts indicates, the text is usually found as
the first book of the Liber septuaginta of Geber, translated by Gerardus de
Cremona, although versions of it differ considerably. The text as it occurs
in B.N. lat. 7156 was published by Berthelot, Archeologie, 1906, pp. 310-363.
However, DWS treats its sections most systematically, her nos. 74-102D.
Following her enumeration, the following are present in this codex in the
order listed: DWS 75 (f. 18r2); DWS 102b (f. 19r1); DWS 76 (f. 20r1); DWS 101
(f. 21r1); DWS 85 (f. 21v2); DWS 86 (f. 22r2); DWS 87 (f. 23r1); DWS 88 (f.
23v2); DWS 89 (f. 24r2); DWS 90 (f. 24v2); DWS 91 (f. 25v1); DWS 92 (f.
26r1); DWS 93 (f. 26r2); DWS 94 (f. 27r1); DWS 95 (f. 27v2); DWS 96 (f.
28r2); DWS 97 (f. 29r1); DWS 98 (f. 29v1); DWS 99 (f. 30r2); DWS 100 (f.
30v2); DWS 100B with epilogue (f. 31r2); DWS 100A (f. 32r1); DWS 83 (f.
32v1); DWS 78 (f. 33r2); DWS 101A, both parts (f. 34r1); DWS 101B (f. 34v2);
DWS 102D (f. 35r2, 16); DWS 101C (f. 35r2); DWS 101D-102 (f. 36r1), begins as
DWS 101D, but does not have the ending. Ends f. 36v2, 30, in the same way as
the Berthelot version, and as Cambridge, Trin. Coll. MS 1400 (I), f. 22v, as
noted in DWS.]
f. 36v2, 31-50: [Blank.] f. 37r, headline: [Written in a bold
fifteenth-century Bastarda:] Summa Geber perfectionis magisterij Liber primus
| [f. 37r1, 1:]... Incipit Geber- | Totam nostram ... | scientiam quam ex
libris antiquorum... f. 64v1, 1: inquisicionem hec dicta sufficiant. Ex- |
plicit summa gebri [altered by insertion to "geberi"] perfectionis ma- |
gisterij. Deo gratias. Amen. | Incipit summa Gebri perfectionis ma- |
gisterij. Totam nostram scientiam... [f. 64v2, 49:]... De preparacione
martis. | [Ends abruptly.]
[2.11: Geber, Summa perfectionis magisterii, TK 1576; DWS 105, etc. The text
is quite complete and varies only slightly from the printed editions, Verae
alchemiae, 1561, I, pp. 118-184, etc. In this copy, the chapter headings are
repeated after the explicit, breaking off slightly imperfectly at the end of
f. 64v2, at which point at least one quire of the manuscript has been
excised.]
f. 65r1, 1-4: [Blank. Writing has been washed out on these lines and is now
illegible. A note, ca. 1700, line 6:] Ars solis et Lunae. |
f. 65r1, 6: In nomine domini Amen. Incipit ars solis et lune | idest auri et
argenti verissima et sine dubio in | omnis examinatione stabilis usque ad
finem | et perfecta ... | [f. 65v2, 42:] ... Et habes aurum multo | melius
omni arabye et naturali- |
[2.12: Anonymous, Liber solis et lunae, a short treatise, noted by TK 727
from the Art Ancien description of this manuscript only. The procedure
includes a drawing of apparatus on f. 65v1.]
f. 65v2, 44:... Incipit liber de oleis et primo de oleo | capillorum |
Accipe... | .4. vel .5. libras de for- | tissimo capitello facto de cineribus
clavella- | tis ... [f. 67r1, 14:]... hoc quod remanebit | in fundo vasis-...
[2.13: Anonymous, Liber de oleis, noted by TK 23 from the Art Ancien
catalogue description of this codex, and with a seemingly false reference to
Ernst Darmstaedter's Die Alkemie des Gebers, Berlin, 1922. The text
concerning oils appears to end at the point cited, followed by a series of
recipes not connected with it as follows:]
f. 67r1, 15:... de luna. | Accipe stanni uncias. 10... [followed by three
additional procedures, De Luna: Rex persarum, Recipe thutiam; Recipe
markasite albe; (f. 67r2:) Alius modus augmentacionis lune. Recipe eris
partem .j. ...; then, De sole et luna, Recipe eris limaturam...; then, Aqua
dissolvens, Recipe sal panis; then, De sole, Recipe croci ferri calcinati,
ending f. 67v1, 8:] Idem potest faceri de luna. |
[2.14: Anonymous, Unidentified alchemical procedures.]
f. 67v1, 9: Audiant secreti que loquor et dilecti | verba oris mei. Spiritus
ubi vult | spirat... [f. 68r1, 18:] et recordati sunt sufficere ad omnes |
egritudines. | Recipe herbam quam tu notasti cum suo | sanguine... [f. 68r1,
49:] et sic fit lapis cum terra sua de quo | poteris uti in omnibus
vulneribus modo apto.
[2.15: Roger Bacon (?), Alchemy, TK 163, including citation of this codex
from L'Art Ancien Catalogue 15; DWS 199, 199ii. The text is partly
repetitious and perhaps garbled toward the end, and both endings cited by DWS
are supplied. Little 54. A version was printed in Sanioris medicinae (1603),
pp. 285-291.]
f. 68r2, 1:... de separatione thutie | Accipe de... | thutia quantum vis et
igni eam...
[2.16(1): Anonymous, Collection of eight procedures involving thutia, of
which the first is printed in Ze III (1613), 74. The others begin as follows:
Thutia etiam sic preparatur. facias frusta in modum; Accipe thutie eris usti
[utsi?] markasite; Accipe cinerem thutie pulverizatam tere eam; Accipe
cinerem eius et imbue illam calcande et viride eris; Accipe cinerem eius et
imbue illam calcande de imbibitis istis; Accipe thutiam et tere eam cum oleo
et vitro; Accipe ex ea sublimata et tere eam fortiter. Ends f. 68v1, 5.]
f. 68v1, 6:... de merkasita [sic] | Markasita est diversi coloris. in- |
venitur similiter argento in albe- | dine...
[2.16(2): Anonymous, Collection of eight procedures, involving markasita;
woven into the first of these is a passage printed by J. Ruska as part of Das
Buch der Alaune und Salze (1935), section G71, pp. 78-79. The others begin as
follows: Sublimatio almarkasitae. Sume eam et tere et acetum; Markasitam bene
tritam misce cum nitro (?) et sapone et melle; Item de marakasita. quam ut
prius pluries fuderis [?]; Accipe marcasitam albam conbustam; Quomodo
tingitur marcasita in colore auri; Separacio magnesie et marcasite. Accipe de
quocumque earum volueris partem unam (compare TK 17); Accipe cinerem
marcasite aure. Ends f. 68v2, 48. There are extensive marginalia in a
fifteenth-century cursive on f. 68v.]
f. 68v2, 49-50: [Blank.]
f 69r1, 1: ...Incipit secunda racio. [The rubric is written to the right; f.
69r1, 1:] Omnia corpora... | que a lunari globo... The text begins to the
left; ends f. 76r2, 8:]... aque dulcis preparate. et utere de eo sicut
praedixi. Finitur | liber perfecti magisterij Aristotelis...
[2.17: Rasis or Aristotle, Lumen luminum perfecti magisterii, all but the
opening section, TK 344; DWS 114. The opening section of the text stands
first in the present codex, f. 1, where further references are given.
Versions of the text vary greatly; the ending in this codex is much like that
in B.M. Sloane 1754, cited by DWS and Ruska, Osiris VII, pp. 55-56. See also
TK 989.]
f. 76r2, 10:... Nota | quod cuiuslibet salis et atrimentorum resolucio |
absque labore et decoctione...
[2.18: Anonymous, Unidentified alchemical procedures, mostly very short. The
others begin: Ad faciendum salem armoniacum; Ad faciendum lazurium; Separatio
solis et lune; Ut aurum plurimum coloreatur; Item antimonium mixtum venere.
Ends f. 76r2, 40.]
f. 76r2, 40:... de ferro | Racio in ferro. Ferrum est de par- | tibus
martis... [f. 76v1, 29:] ... tunc operare cum eo.
[2.19: Rasis, De aluminibus et salibus, TK 1388, etc., two portions only,
printed by Ruska as G39-40 of his edition of the Buch der Alaune und Salze
(1935), p. 68.]
f. 76v, headline: [In the fifteenth-century Bastarda:] Incipit liber Secundus
|
[It appears that the fifteenth-century reader thought the following
passages, continuing to the end of the codex, formed parts of a single work;
he noted the beginning of a third book on f. 85v and of a fourth on f. 87r,
where in fact the text so indicates; it is not known, however, how this
material interrelates.]
f. 76v1, 29:... Dometrius [?] | philosophus intentionem suam perduxit... [f.
76v1, 37:]... Rasius | ad ipsum effecit... [f. 76v2, 1:] Mirabile nimis est
quod acetum acer- | rimum... [f. 76v2, 11:]... Limaturem | quantum volueris
accipe et pone in cocliari | ferreo... [f. 76v2, 26:] Marcasite albe partem
.j. litargiri par- | tem mediam... [f. 76v2, 35:] ... Accipe arsenicum
sublimatum et | pondus suum salis praeparati... [f. 76v2, 46:]... Ut
arsenicum vivum mallea- | bile fiat sicut argentum... [f. 77r1, 8:]... Aqua
accuta dealbans me- | talla... [f. 77r1, 14:]... De purgacione ac
mollificatione | cupri. Extingui ipsum... [f. 77r1, 18:] ... De stanno ad mo-
| dum argenti dealbato... [f. 77r1, 23:]... Notandum est quod mul- | tum
valent aque acute... [f. 77r1, 30:]... Notandum | quod sales et alumina
calcinata... [f. 77r1, 38:]... qua utere in omnibus operationibus | tuis. |
[2.20: Anonymous, Twelve unidentified practical procedures, possibly a
single text.]
f. 77r1, 40: Almizadir. Aleziadyr. Sal. | armoniacus preparatus. |... [f.
77r2, 40] Cauda draconis . idest . mercurius sublimatus | Vermiculus . idest
. mercurius.
[2.21: Anonymous, List of alchemical equivalents, to which there are a few
marginal additions in a contemporary hand and in the fifteenth-century
Bastarda.]
f. 77r2, 42: Et quoniam plures sunt vie | et plures modi ad vnum | finem ...
[In the right margin, probably in the hand of Henricus Cornelius Anchiroandri
(for whom see provenance section above), is:] Methodus | transmutandi |
metallroum. [sic] |
f. 84r1, 4: currat super laminam . et facies eam | albam. |
[2.22: Anonymous, Alchemy, titled Methodus transmutandi metallorum by a
later hand, TK 523, noted from the Art Ancien description of this codex. The
text ends earlier than was noted in the Art Ancien description, copied by TK,
with the result that the following text escaped notice.]
f. 84r1, 5: Dixit expositor . Accepi ar- | senicum et elegi in quo sunt
quedam | vene quasi aure ... (There are two slight drawings of apparatus by
the scribe, partly in column-space left blank, and partly in the right
margins of ff. 84v and 85r; f. 85v2, 19:]... Et si .x. partes istius misceas
| cum duabus optimi [?] erit sol bonus
[2.23: Richard de Fournival, Opus Arturi, or De arte alchemica, TK 451
& 450, DWS 174, etc. The endings quoted by DWS from various MSS all
differ from one another, and that found in the present codex differs also
from those cited by Mrs. Singer.]
f. 85v2, 21: Incipit quedam alia practica alchy- | mie cuiusdam alterius
phylosophus. Et quoniam | de oleo tartari in ea... [In the upper margin the
fifteenth-century Bastarda hand has written, "Incipit Liber tercius," and
opposite the incipit a later hand, probably that of Henricus Cornelius, has
written, "LIB. III." At line 26:] Oleum tartarum ad hoc opus sicut | fit.
Recipe de tartaro quantum vis | et pone...
f. 86r1, 19: Post hec dicendum | de oleo alkali... [f. 86r2, 3:] Post hec
dicendum est de sublimatione | et praeparatione et confectione auri- |
pigmenti... [f. 86r2, 12:] Nunc de eius sublimatione est dicendum | Recipe
scoria ferrei... [f. 86v1, 18:] Post de eius confectione ulteriori | est
dicendum... [f. 86v1, 31:] Nunc in no- | mine domini ad opus nostrum pro- |
cedamus. Recipe laminas veneris... [f. 87r1, 1:] Item alius modus. Accipe
sicut prius | spongias [?] cum auripigmento... [f. 87r1, 11:] Item alius
modus. Accipe venerem | calcinatam et imbibe cum oleo tarta- | ri... [f.
87r1, 22:] Item si vis procedere cum levibus | denarijs locatis [?]... [f.
87r1, 28:] Item alius modus. Accipe auripigmentum | sublimatum...
[2.24: Anonymous, Alchemy, TK 523, noted only from the Art Ancien
description of this codex.]
f. 87r2, 6: Incipit liber quartus qui per quendam | socium ex diversis
doctoribus est col- | lectus et compositus. Primo de sublimationibus |
Mercurius sic sublimatur... [in the right margin in red:] Capitulum | primum.
|
f. 88v2, 47:... Et postea con- | misceatur cum fuligine ferri et | sublimetur
sal ab eo.
[2.25: Anonymous, Incipit liber quartus qui per quendam socium ex diversis
doctoribus colleccus, TK 732, noted only from the Art Ancien catalogue
listing. It is not certain whether the text originally ended at this point,
nor whether this final text is complete as it stands in the codex.]
f. 88v lower margin: [At the extreme right, in a later hand, perhaps that
which wrote the "ex biblioth. Salmasij" inscription on the lower pastedown,
vide infra, is the following:] scripsit Frater Bartholomaeus | ol[--?] anno
domini | mccczzzv. [sic] | [To the left, i.e., in the center of the lower
margin, three lines of writing, possibly in the same hand, are faintly
visible, though erased and washed out; they do not fluoresce well and have
not been read.]
Lower pastedown: [In a bold Bastarda hand, now completely faded out but
visible under ultraviolet light, is the inscription:] Presens liber constat
xij florenos |
[Partly covering the above is a reading note of Henricus Cornelius. At the
foot, beneath nine staves of plainsong notation, described in the section
above on the binding, is a recipe in a fifteenth- century Bastarda, faint,
highly abbreviated, and not transcribed; below it is written in a late hand,
possibly seventeenth century:] ex biblioth[eca] Salmasij
SUMMARY: The codex is an important, early, and comprehensive collection of
largely practical alchemies and procedures, the earliest such manuscript in
the Mellon collection, and it is also of special significance both because of
its early copies of texts transmitted from Arabic sources and for what appear
to be very early, independent, European additions to the literature and
practice of alchemy. Although the manuscript has now been described several
times, it awaits an editor to investigate its many texts and to study its
relationships to other manuscripts. MS 2 can scarcely be anything but a
library book, the product of a scriptorium where at least three scribes wrote
very closely similar, albeit somewhat crabbed and inelegant hands, a book
which was in use for centuries and was heavily annotated. Its locus of origin
is perhaps somewhere in the Netherlands, since its later provenance appears
to connect it with Dutch owners; but the musical matter on the pastedowns
will be of further assistance to the specialist in determining where its
present binding, which is probably its second cover, was made. Manuscripts of
a somewhat similar character, but of substantially later date, occur in the
Mellon collection (compare, among others, MSS 17 and 19) and elsewhere, but
those of such early date as MS 2 are very rarely seen.