Prof. Lawrence M. Principe
Johns Hopkins University
Franciscan Spirituality, Transmutation, and the Antichrist: John of Rupescissa’s Alchemical Thought and Practices in the 14th Century
For additional details and to register for the event, please go here.
When:
16 October, 2024: 16:15 – 17:45
Where:
VUB Main Campus Etterbeek
Pleinlaan 2
1050 Elsene
Raadzaal C2.07a
*Free of charge*
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Professor Cornelis J. Schilt invite you to a lecture by Prof. Lawrence M. Principe (Johns Hopkins University), entitled “Franciscan Spirituality, Transmutation, and the Antichrist: John of Rupescissa’s Alchemical Thought and Practices in the 14th Century”. This lecture is part of the ERC lecture series ‘Knowledge in International Perspective’ (KIIP).
Contact: nicolo.cantoni@vub.be and demetrios.paraschos@vub.be
The Franciscan friar, prophet, and alchemist John of Rupescissa is one of the most important and influential alchemical authors of the 14th century. Convinced that the antichrist was soon to come to power and persecute the Christian world, John turned to alchemy as the solution. Alchemy could provide new medicines to protect the faithful, and gold and silver to rebuild the Church and Christendom after the antichrist’s fall. Despite 20 years of imprisonment, John wrote prolifically. This talk will focus on his Liber lucis (Book of Light), written in 1354 when he was confined to the papal complex in Avignon. This book describes how to make the philosophers’ stone for turning base metals into gold. Using a combination of traditional critical philology and the newer methodology of experimental replication, I will present previously-lost features of John’s text, work, and thought. This new information illustrates his remarkable experimental expertise and theoretical originality, and how his specifically Franciscan theology and prophetic ideas supported his alchemical endeavors and his groundbreaking ideas about matter and material change.
About Prof. Lawrence M. Principe
Lawrence M. Principe is the Drew Professor of the Humanities at Johns Hopkins University and Director of the Singleton Center for the Study of Premodern Europe. A recognized expert on the history of chemistry and alchemy, he has written extensively on the subject. In 2004, he became the first recipient of the Francis Bacon Medal from the California Institute of Technology for his significant contributions to the history of science. His latest project focuses on the production of critical editions and translations of the alchemical works of John of Rupescissa. Read more here.
About Prof. Dr. Cornelis J. Schilt
Cornelis J. Schilt is research professor in History and Philosophy of Knowledge at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, specialising in Renaissance, early modern knowledge formation in general and the life and writings of Isaac Newton in particular. In 2022, he received a prestigious ERC start-up grant. With it, he started the project VERITRACE in which he investigates the influence of ancient wisdom writings on the development of early modern natural philosophy.
