Conrad Khunrath
Conrad Khunrath (* around 1555 in Leipzig ; † 1613 , presumably in Hamburg ) was a German merchant , alchemist , coin validator , doctor , author , editor and translator . It is particularly important because of its Medulla distillatoria , which has been reissued over and over again for well over a hundred years , which is one of the extensive standard works of Paracelsian- oriented chemiatry .
Life
Conrad Khunrath was born around 1555 as the son of the Leipzig merchant Sebastian Kunrat and his wife Anna. Heinrich Khunrath, also known as an alchemist , is one of his at least ten siblings . Already in 1562, as a child, Conrad was enrolled at the University of Leipzig , but probably only pro forma. In his youth he traveled to England where he learned the English language. From 1580 he is known as a merchant, after the death of his father he also took over the cloth and vitriol trade . In the following years, however, Khunrath developed into a medical practitioner who produced his own drugs using spagyric or alchemical processes. From 1594 at the latest he was based in Schleswig , where he published the first version of his main work Medulla distillatoria and ancillary works integrated into later editions. From around 1606 Khunrath was available as a coin validator in Hamburg and got caught up in the waves of the tipper and wipper era . He died in the office of coin validator, presumably in Hamburg, shortly before May 6, 1613.
Two years after his death, a second part of the Medulla distillatoria, which had grown from initially 122 pages to a total of 1,246 pages, appeared over the years . Many individual recipes were adopted in Zedler's Universal Lexicon in the middle of the 18th century .
Works (selection)
Own work:
- Medulla distillatoria et medica , Schleswig 1594, etc.
- Medulla distillatoria et medica sextum aucta et renovata, that is: thorough and well-established distiller [-] u. Artzney [-] book: in it understood how the Spiritus Vini brought to the highest exaltation. Froben, Hamburg 1638. Digitized edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf
- Five beautiful medical treatises , Schleswig 1596
- Four beautiful medical treatises , Schleswig 1597
- Mystica et chymica quaedam arcana , Hamburg 1600
- Most precious gem of human health; That is: The inestimable and highly proven art of distillation and art scene, sought out from the secrets of nature: For better operation / ... three useful and complete registers are attached to each part / ... Hynitzsch, Frankfurt / Leipzig / Halberstadt 1680. Digitized edition
As editor or translator:
- Paracelsus, Chirurgia vulnerum , Schleswig 1595
- A proclamation, Der newen Müntze halben , Hamburg 1605
- Two beautiful tracts , Hamburg 1606, etc.
- Relatio or narration, like the most powerful Herr Christianus Quartus ... , Hamburg 1607. Digitized edition
Web links
- Medulla distillatoria, 1st part (print from 1614)
- Medulla distillatoria, part 2 (print from 1621)
literature
- Johann Moller , Cimbria literata II, Copenhagen 1744, 439
- Oliver Humberg: The alchemist Conrad Khunrath. Texts and documents from Leipzig, Schleswig and Hamburg with studies on life, work and family history. Humberg, Elberfeld 2006 (= sources and research on alchemy , 2), ISBN 3-938657-01-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cf. Niedersächsisches Münzarchiv, ed. by Max Bahrfeldt, Halle / Saale 1930, IV, pages 106, 122, 248.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Khunrath, Conrad |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Khunrath, Conradus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German alchemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1555 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leipzig |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1613 |