Overview

Alchemy has traditionally been viewed as 'the history of an error', an example of mediaeval gullibility and greed, in which alchemists tried to turn lead into gold, creatAe fabulous wealth and find the elixir of life. But alchemy has also been described as 'the mightiest secret that a man can possess', and it obsessed the likes of Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle and many of the founders of modern science. This book explores the history of the so-called Royal Art, from its mysterious beginnings in Egypt and China, through the Hellenistic world and the early years of Islam and into mediaeval Europe. 

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9781843446095

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An exemplary introduction. Telegraph on The Cathars

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Seán Martin is a writer, poet and filmmaker. He is the author of The Knights Templar, The Cathars, The Gnostics, The Black Death, Alchemy and Alchemists, A Short History of Disease and, for Kamera Books, Andrei Tarkovsky and New Waves in Cinema. His films include Lanterna Magicka: Bill Douglas & the Secret History of Cinema ('a fine documentary' – Guardian), Folie à Deux, and a series of documentaries on Tarkovsky: Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev: A Journey and The Dream in the Mirror.

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