The Dangerous Art of Alchemy

by Karen Maitland

Genres: Medieval

Synopsis

A free e-short from 'Queen of the Dark Ages' Karen Maitland, author of Company of Liars, which explores medieval Dark Arts practices and the mysterious history of alchemy.

**Includes real recipes devised by medieval alchemists and a free sample of Karen's gothic historical thriller, The Raven's Head**

'An atmospheric and dark story' The Times on The Raven's Head

The black object inside the flask was the head of a raven. Its beak was opened wide as if it cried out a warning, and from its mouth a long forked scarlet tongue quivered in the flickering candle flame, like a viper poised to strike.

Alchemy. The word conjures up images of magic, mystery and dark dungeons full of bubbling potions, with shadowy figures poring over ancient manuscripts in pursuit of the secret formula that will allow them to turn base metal into pure gold. And, for centuries, this image of alchemy was not far from the truth...

Take science and politics. Mix with desire and desperation. Leave to intensify. And you shall have the legendary world of the medieval alchemists, expertly drawn by the Queen of the Dark Ages.

What readers are saying about Dangerous Art of Alchemy:

'A book to delve into over and over again'

'A fascinating read full of information on this strange system of beliefs'

'A fun book that will whet your appetite for The Raven's Head'

Release date: August 13, 2015

Publisher: Headline

Print pages: 80

Sample

A man in scorched and tattered robes hunches over a crucible containing a human bone. In the blood-red glow of a furnace, he holds up a shining glass vial. His fingers tremble for this contains the lethal acid – oil of vitriol. Drop by drop, he lets the vitriol fall on to the bone. It hisses as it burns. He holds his breath as the deadly fumes snake upwards.

He hears a noise at the door and whirls around, trying to conceal the book of strange symbols that lies on the table beside him. He is terrified he will be discovered, for this man is an alchemist and what he is doing is forbidden by both Church and King.

Alchemy. The word conjures up images of magic, mystery and dark dungeons full of bubbling potions, with shadowy figures poring over ancient manuscripts in pursuit of the secret formula that will allow them to turn base metal into pure gold. And for centuries this image of alchemy was not far from the truth.

The infamous alchemist Michael Scot (c.1175–1235) was Court Astrologer to Emperor Frederick II of Sicily, and is believed to have learned the art of hypnotism from the Sufis. In his alchemic experiments, Scot used not only alums, salts and spirits, as well as herbs from Calabria, India and Alexandra, but also more bizarre ingredients such as ‘dust of mole’, ‘blood of an owl’ and live toads. His reputation for the Dark Arts, which included riding a demon horse, so terrified the King of France, he is said to have given Scot all he asked for when the alchemist was sent to France as an envoy from the Scottish king.

But the royal art of alchemy was at least 1,500 years old by the time Scot learned its secrets. Alchemy dates back as far as the fourth century BCE when it was developed in Egypt by the Ancient Greeks. Although it was to become associated with magic, it was also the birth of modern chemistry. One famous Middle Eastern alchemist was Maria Prophetissa who lived around the first century BCE. As late as the twentieth century, scientists continued to use several pieces of equipment she invented, including the tribikos for distillation. Over two thousand years later, Maria’s name still lives on in the water bath called the bain-marie, which we now largely use for cooking, but which she invented for chemical experiments in her laboratory.

The European alchemists of the Middle Ages inherited their traditions from the writings of the Ancient Greeks, which had been translated into Arabic, then brought into Spain and southern Italy. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, alchemy spread throughout Europe as Christians learned more about Muslim science, which was far more advanced than that of the West. Christian and Islamic students, both male and female, studied together at universities such as Pamplona, Palermo, Toledo, Barcelona and Segovia, giving rise to the first major flourishing of Western medieval alchemy, led by scholars such as Albertus Magnus (1193–1280), Roger Bacon (1214–94) and Raymond Lully (1235–1316).

Later, famous alchemists included Queen Christina of Sweden, King Charles II of England, Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Walter Raleigh who, along with the ‘Wizard Earl’, Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, occupied his time while awaiting his execution in the Tower of London by conducting alchemical experiments using ingredients supplied by Mrs Hutchinson, wife of the Maste. . .