Antonio Neri is a Renaissance Florentine priest, well known for contributions to alchemy and glassmaking. As a youth Neri is drawn to the...

Caput mortuum, Latin for as "dead head" is an ominous name for a valued color. As an iron oxide it's easy to make at home. As a purple...

Bathing is an important part of ancient Roman culture. Structures such as the Baths of Diocletian or Thermae Diocletiani in Rome are a...

Olympiodorus of Thebes (c. 380 - 425 AD) is a multifaceted figure. A Roman historian from Egypt, poet, philosopher, and diplomat, he...

The Diocletianic or Great Persecution, a significant event in the history of the Roman Empire, marks a period of intense hostility toward...

Following the Peace of Nisibis, Emperor Diocletian and Galeriu s Maximianus r eturn to the bustling city of Antioch, today's southern...

Ancient Alexandria, jewel of Egypt, is renowned as a city of philosophy, medicine and alchemy. A crucial turning point happens 297 AD....

Although alchemy is often associated with gold-making, another essential skill of the alchemist is to color or dye stones like quartz...

The Knights Templar, or the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, are a religious military order formed in 1099 during the...

The 16th and 17th centuries mark a tumultuous period in European history, defined by a series of religious wars with cataclysmic effects...

Bernard Trevisan is a prototypical figure in alchemy, constructed by various alchemical writers of the medieval and Renaissance eras in...

Jean de Roquetaillade (1310 - 1370 AD) or John of Rupescissa is a prominent figure in medieval France. A fiery Franciscan friar,...

Medieval France sees many changes in the turmoil of war, plague, mad royals and the birth of the Inquisition. A precisely defined social...

Christine de Pizan or Pisan (Cristina da Pizzano) c.1364 - 1430 is an Italian-born French court writer during the reign of King Charles...

In the medieval world, urine is a surprisingly versatile body fluid with a wide range of applications beyond the obvious disposal...

Tellurium is the Latin word for earth. A brittle, non-malleable silvery white metalloid, tellurium (Te) is a rare element having both...

In the European alchemical tradition, the elixir vitae or elixir of life is associated with the philosopher's stone. Legend has it...

The Guelphs and Ghibellines are feuding factions during the Italian Renaissance. Warfare and bloodshed between the two throw regions of...

George Ripley (c. 1415 -1490) is an English Augustinian Canon, author and alchemist. One of England's most famous alchemy practitioners,...

Guido Bonatti  (d. 1296 - 1300) is a renowned Italian mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer. Highly respected for his astrological...