Women often find inspiration in alchemy. In the light of the Renaissance several female alchemists emerge. Women alchemists of the Renaissance include Countess Barbara of Zweibrücken-Neuburg, Caterina Sforza and Anna Maria Zieglerin.
Perenelle Flamel (m. 1368; died 1397)
Perenelle is married twice before she weds Nicolas Flamel in Paris, France, 1368. He owns two scribal houses and has a solid reputation in intellectual circles. Perenelle brings money to the marriage. The couple work well together but are childless, spurring rumors of the occult.
A mystic stone, mentioned by Democritus 400 BCE, is defined as lapis philosophorum in the13th century. Later, the wealth of Nicolas and Perenelle factors into their invention as successful alchemists, after the death of Nicolas Flamel in 1418.
Countess Barbara of Zweibrücken-Neuburg (1559 - 1618)
An enthusiastic scholar of alchemy, Countess Barbara is considered one of the most important women in this field. She employs several alchemists and corresponds extensively on the subject with her nephew, Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach.
Barbara also performs numerous experiments for Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II Hapsburg at his Prague residence. Rudolf II (1552–1612) has a strong interest in alchemy, astrology and occult arts. His mystic circle includes Michael Maier, Edward Kelley and Tycho Brahe.
Catharina Elisabeth Heinecken (1683 - 1757)
Heinecken is a painter known for her portraits and still lifes, and as the mother of Christian Heinrich Heineken, a child prodigy known as "the infant scholar of Lübeck". At ten months old, he's able to speak German.
By the age of one, he has already read the Pentateuch, and between two and three, he reads the Old and New Testaments in Latin. He's breastfed until shortly before his death at age four. It's thought he dies of celiac disease due to a change in diet.
One of Catharina Heinecken's most notable works is a portrait of Christian Heinrich, later an engraving by Christian Fritzsch. Aside from her artistic pursuits, Heinecken's interests extend to the realm of alchemy.
Fascinated by mystical and transformative arts, she spends much of her fortune on alchemical studies and experiments. While her work brings little financial profit, the soul journey is one she must take.
Queen Christina of Sweden (1626 - 1689)
From the royal library at Prague, many of Rudolf II's books and curiosities come into the possession of Swedish Queen Christina. They influence her interest in alchemy and the occult, and she takes them to Rome when she abdicates.
She abdicates because she doesn't want to marry. Christina often wears male clothes and comports herself as a man. Some scholars believe she's transgender. As a newborn her deep cry and hairiness reportedly cause confusion among midwives, who think she's a boy.
Midwives are typically skilled in gender determination. Thus, it's possible they see something "down there" to suggest Christina's a hermaphrodite. In alchemy hermaphrodites, children of Hermes and Aphrodite, relate to the divine Rebis and are considered particularly gifted.
Christina wants to know more about alchemy and brings a younger woman, Sibylla, into the experiments. In 1670, she employs a working alchemist, Pietro Antonio Bandiera, to run her laboratory. She ultimately bequeaths the equipment to him.
Duchess Sibylla of Württemberg (1564-1614)
Many women of high standing are curious about alchemy. One such example is Sibylla of Württemberg, who shares an interest in alchemy with husband Duke Friedrich I. He's infamously an object of ridicule in The Merry Wives of Windsor by Wilhelm Shakespeare.
They have so many children, sixteen in all, Sibylla is often weak and bedridden. When it's agreed she should bear no more children, she and the Duke stop having sex. He no longer takes her on his travels and gives her little attention at court.
Sibylla continues to pursue alchemical arts. In 1610, she and her son Duke Johann Friederich enter an agreement with alchemist Andreas Reiche. It obligates him to instruct the royal family in the theoretical and practical alchemy. Ultimately, Reiche ends up in debtor's prison.
Anna Maria Zieglerin (1550 - 1575)
After a privileged childhood as daughter of minor nobles, at the age of fourteen Anna Maria Zieglerin rejects a suitor, who becomes enraged and rapes her. By fifteen she's a murderess as she gives birth in secret and drowns the child in the river.
By eighteen she's already on her third husband, a cruel joke by her brother as the man is a court jester. They meet a huckster, Philipp Sömmering who purveys alchemical skills. When the town is besieged they all flee together.
After a few years of wandering, they land the patronage of a Duke. Anna Maria becomes Sömmering's assistant and soon has her own laboratory. She develops a red oil she believes has miraculous properties.
Caterina Sforza
One of the primary alchemists of the Italian Renaissance is Caterina Sforza. Married at the age of ten she goes through three husbands and has eight children. A strong figure, she's known for leading troops into battle, in one case when she's seven months pregnant.
She's barred by her husband from participating in politics. She puts the same vigor into her alchemical studies and experiments as into the rest of her life, developing medicines and cosmetics, and tries her hand at gold-making to pay off debts.
Lady Isabella Cortese
Isabella Cortese, (c. 1561) is a remarkable figure in the realm of alchemy and literature during the Renaissance. Despite limited information about her life, her legacy lives on through her renowned work, The Secrets of Lady Isabella Cortese.
"Secrets" is another name for experiments. Her book breaks class barriers, appealing to humble and noble-born. Her medicines and cosmetics recipes start a major publishing trend in books of secrets.
Literacy rates are rising especially among women. Women agree they know their own bodies better than men can. Based on this, and the unwillingness of men to admit women can understand science, several books of secrets are written by men under female names.
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