09-21-2026, 10:54 AM
More metallurgical than alchemical, but an interesting read. Among other things I had no idea that Herbert Hoover was a Latin scholar and translator.
"Among Medieval writers, from the tenth century Agricola drew on the Islamic Aristotelian Avicenna, mostly known for his monumental works on medicine, and Theophilus, a monk who wrote about the preparation of metal and glass-work (according to Hoover, mostly for ecclesiastical decoration). Also mention is Geber, apparently of disputed identity and origin (the literature at Hoover’s time placed him somewhere between the seventh and thirteenth centuries) to whom are attributed detailed works on metallurgy and alchemy, including the preparation of various acids and salts, as well as methods to amalgamate and separate precious metals by melting. Hoover states that these works dominated alchemical studies for centuries."
https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/20...scene.html
"Among Medieval writers, from the tenth century Agricola drew on the Islamic Aristotelian Avicenna, mostly known for his monumental works on medicine, and Theophilus, a monk who wrote about the preparation of metal and glass-work (according to Hoover, mostly for ecclesiastical decoration). Also mention is Geber, apparently of disputed identity and origin (the literature at Hoover’s time placed him somewhere between the seventh and thirteenth centuries) to whom are attributed detailed works on metallurgy and alchemy, including the preparation of various acids and salts, as well as methods to amalgamate and separate precious metals by melting. Hoover states that these works dominated alchemical studies for centuries."
https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/20...scene.html