Pseudo-giver

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Today, historians refer to medieval authors of the 13th century as pseudo-donors who wrote alchemical Latin texts (referred to as donor latinus ) and whose works were long attributed to the Arabic scholar Jabir ibn Hayyān (Latinized donor , also referred to as donor arabicus ) from the 8th century were attributed. The texts were presumably subordinated to Jabir by their authors , since under this pseudonym the scholar's high authority added more weight to their own views. In doing so, the authors may have benefited from a belief in originally extensive knowledge ( golden age ) that existed at the time , resulting in a high degree of truthfulness from (if possible) old texts. Therefore, the texts that are important for the development of chemistry are not translations, but new texts from the Middle Ages.

The important work Summa perfectionis magisterii (The highest perfection of the masterpiece) was probably written by an Italian Franciscan named Paulus von Tarento (Paulus de Tarento), also understandable as the real giver latinus , who came from Taranto and worked in Assisi in the 13th century . In terms of content, the work was influenced by Arabic-writing authors such as the Persian Rhazes (9th century) and the Arab Jābir ibn Hayyān . In later printed editions of Summa , the text was supplemented by four other works. In sum, pseudo-donors also use the atomic theory of Arabic-speaking authors such as Rhazes. The sources identified by Haage refer to contacts with the Salerno school . One source was the Peri physeos anthropou by Nemesios of Emesa ( translated by Alfanus of Salerno ) and another was De effectibus qualitatum and De effectibus medicinarum by Urso of Salerno .

The texts De investigatione perfectionis , De investione perfectionis , De fornacibus construendis and Testamentum are further (later) deletions , probably by other authors.

Summa describes a first clear all- Mercurius -Teaching in which the property of materials to be metallic, to mercury is due. This deviates from the ideas of the time, in which sulfur should also play an important role in the metallic properties of a substance. In sum , the sulfur only appears as an impurity. Here, mercury plays the fundamental role in depicting the Philosopher's Stone (lapis philosophorum) or transmutation ( gold synthesis ) and is thus particularly at odds with the historical sources from the Arab world. The first part Summa deals neither with the discovery of mineral acids , which is important for alchemy and chemistry , nor with the preparation of pure ethanol by distillation . The writing is not a continuous text, but intentionally arranged in a scattered manner and serves to obscure knowledge. In the supplements, however, various work techniques listed below are described in a practical manner.

Two other ideas are also new in the Summa:

  • The doctrine of the order or strength of the means by which transmutations can take place, whereby the first order means only produce temporary and superficial change, the second order only change a quality of the material such as heaviness or luster and only the third order cause a change, for example less noble Metals in gold and silver.
  • The effect of the transmutation aids depends on their fineness (the finer, the more effective), which is explained by a corpuscular theory of matter.

The writings of the pseudo-donors were very important for the development of the natural sciences and worked well into the 17th century.

Working techniques:

  • Distillation as a technique in which you let something drip down . Distillation included techniques like that
Distillation according to its current importance, the
Decantation of a mixture of substances that is partially in melt, solution or slurry and the
Filtration in which a liquid is "sucked off" from a suspension with a cloth hanging down .
  • Purification process for gold
Cupellation , in which gold is melted with lead. In an oxidation reaction, a melt of gold and slag of impurities are formed.
Cementation , in which gold or one of its alloys is forged flat, coated in layers with aggressive reactants and then heated or annealed.

Sources and footnotes

  1. ↑ In the literature, the terms Jabir, Jabir, Gabir or Geber can often be found in the registers. They are related to the typical pronunciation or spelling of the names and not to the first or last name of a person.
  2. ↑ a b Bernhard Dietrich Haage: The corpuscular theory in Geber latinus. In: Würzburg medical history reports. Volume 12, 1994, pp. 19-28; here: p. 19.
  3. ^ Zbigniew Szydlo, in Alchemie: Lexicon of a Hermetic Science .
  4. ↑ Here, mercury and sulfur have little to do with the current concept of chemical elements ! This is a kind of property concentrate for the production of metals with certain properties.
  5. ↑ see Hermetics , a synonym for alchemy as a secret science, or the secrecy ethics of alchemy.
  6. ^ William R. Newman, in Alchemy: Lexicon of a Hermetic Science. , P. 146 f.

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