Bernard Trevisan is a prototypical figure in alchemy, constructed by various alchemical writers of the medieval and Renaissance eras in Europe. His story is that of alchemists through the ages, and his charismatic persona endears him to the world of writers and philosophers.
He joins a select list of mythical alchemists including Christian Rosenkreuz of Germany, Anqi Shen of China and Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Roman Egypt. The name Trevisan is Italian and means 'from Treviso (Venice)'.
An enigmatic figure, Bernard sets upon his quest for the Philosophers' Stone at the age of fourteen. Alchemy is expensive. Bernard receives support from his family, who are intrigued by the hope of riches. He partners with a Cistercian monk, Gotfridus Leurier, for eight years.
Early experiments involve concoctions of hen eggshells, purified egg yolk, and horse manure. Alchemy uses natural ingredients and processes found in nature. The heat of fresh horse dung, created by bacteria, can keep an experiment warm for days in the process of Digestion.
Ingredients are for symbolic or chemical effect. The Egg is the world (yolk) surrounded by Chaos (white) and symbolizes the beginning and nourishment of life. The yolk is golden, symbolizing ... gold.
Scientifically egg shell is made of physical elements including calcium carbonate (about 94%) with small amounts of magnesium carbonate and calcium phosphate. Calcium carbonate is an antacid in medicine, treating digestive woes. How to use these is up to the alchemist.
The fictional Bernard Trevisan is said to influence Gilles de Rais. In the 15th century the infamous French nobleman is known for his association with alchemy and occult. He's also known as a serial child murderer, using "child parts" in his experiments.
Bernard Trevisan explores mysteries of nature, intrigued by the transformative properties of minerals and natural salts. Inspired by works of Jabir ibn Hayyan and Abu Bakr al-Razi, he tries distillation and crystallization to unlock the secrets of transmutation.
With no sign of success in his quest for the Philosophers' stone, Trevisan shifts focus to the realm of organic substances. He experiments with various vegetable and animal components in his alchemical laboratory. Recipe ingredients include human blood and urine.
Bernard gradually exhausts his wealth to buy secrets of the stone from swindlers and the deluded. He travels widely including to the Baltics, Germany, Spain, France, Austria, Egypt, Palestine, Persia, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, to find clues left by past alchemists.
His health deteriorates due to the fumes and toxins he ingests by working with substances and metals such as mercury, arsenic or lead. Bernard retires to the Island of Rhodes in southern Greece, where he continues to seek the Philosophers' Stone until his death in 1490.
Bernard is a fictional character. It's in the nature of alchemy to use allegories, anagrams and symbols. He has roots in a mixup with alchemist Bernard of Trier. Rather than fading away, he grows to represent the complexities of the alchemical quest.
The story remarks on the poverty of the alchemist in search of truth. This reflects universal ideals of sacrifice to attain a goal. Losing one's money to fraudsters also becomes more prevalent in reality, as the Middle Ages progress.
Patrons and peasants fall prey to talk of riches, although alchemy comes from the practice of dyeing metals. Coloring metals or stones is part of the ancient alchemist's skill set. When talk turns to creation of real gold the western world perks up. But how to make it happen?
Bernard Trevisan is a typical model of the impassioned practitioner. At the time he's invented, alchemical practice leans more toward transmutation of metals like lead into gold. To turn lead into gold one must remove only three protons.
In the 16th century, several alchemy works are credited to Bernard. One of these, "Trevisanus de Chymico miraculo, quod lapidem philosophiae appellant," (Trevisan of the chemical miracle, which they call the philosopher's stone) is published 1583 by Gerhard Dorn.
Another work attributed to Bernard, "The Answer of Bernardus Trevisanus, to the Epistle of Thomas of Bononia," along with "The Prefatory Epistle of Bernard Earl of Tresne" in English, is included in the 1680 publication "Aurifontina Chymica."
The work is fully titled "Aurifontina Chymica: or, a collection of fourteen small treatises concerning the first matter of philosophers, for the discovery of their (hitherto so much concealed) Mercury. Which many have studiously endeavored to hide, but these to make manifest, for the benefit of Mankind in general".
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