The Book of the Light of the Great Magistery of John of Rupescissa (Liber lucis magisterii magni) - Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry: Sir Robert Mond Studies in the History of Early Chemistry

This volume presents the first critical edition, modern English translation, and focussed study of John's Book of Light. Based on over one hundred surviving manuscripts, many recently discovered, this critical edition restores substantial original text that was omitted from the printed editions and corrects longstanding textual errors. In the accompanying study, Principe explores John's sources and ideas, especially his striking theories of matter and material change, and follows the transmission, reception, vernacularization, and multiple modifications of John's text as readers engaged with it over the next three centuries. Modern laboratory reworkings, fully illustrated and explained, go hand-in-hand with the textual analyses, providing a vivid picture of the friar's practices and observational skills and deeper understanding of his text.
John of Rupescissa stands revealed as an innovative theorist and observant practitioner; he was not an "armchair" alchemist whose knowledge came only from textual sources. The clear evidence of his practice presented here provokes in turn a close reevaluation of the conditions of his nearly twenty-year confinement at a papal prison in Avignon where he learned and practiced much of his alchemy before writing the Book of Light.
Historians of science and technology, medievalists, book historians, manuscript scholars, and many others will find new and important information in this third volume of the series Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry.

List of contents

Part 1: Introduction 1. John of Rupescissa and his Liber lucis magisterii magni 2. The Content and Context of the Liber lucis magisterii magni 3. The Text's Transmission in Manuscript and Print and Its Users 4. The Liber lucis magisterii magni 5. Critical Edition and English Translation Part 2: Manuscripts 6. Witness Families and Manuscript Descriptions

About the author

Lawrence M. Principe is the Drew Professor of the Humanities in the Department of the History of Science and Technology and the Department of Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University.

Product details

• Authors: Principe Lawrence M.
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 16.04.2026
• EAN: 9781041121176
• ISBN: 978-1-041-12117-6
• No. of pages: 288
• Illustrations: schwarz-weiss Illustrationen, farbige Illustrationen, Raster,schwarz-weiss, Raster, farbig, Zeichnungen, schwarz-weiss
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; SCIENCE / Chemistry / General, SCIENCE / Chemistry / Analytic, BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Alchemy, Religion: general, Magic, alchemy and hermetic thought, Magic, alchemy & hermetic thought, Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Eclectic & Esoteric Religions & Belief Systems, Eclectic and esoteric religions and belief systems, Chemistry;Alchemy