What’s alchemy got to do with it?

Very little actually, but it may turn into some sort of allegory further down the line. The title comes from a book written by one of Britain’s early alchemists, George Ripley, in 1475. I picked up the reference in a book called ‘Medieval Lives’ by Terry Jones and Alan Ereira – which was written to accompany an excellent BBC TV documentary series of the same name. The series set out to challenge the popular view that medieval Britain was, well ‘medieval’, and uncovered ‘a vibrant society teeming with individuality, intrigue and innovation.’ In a chapter on philosophy the role of alchemy is investigated and the following quotation appears:

“… to discourage the fools, for although we write primarily for the edification of the disciples of the art, we also write for the mystification of those owls and bats which can neither bear the splendour of the sun, nor the light of the moon.” George Ripley, The Compound of Alchymie, 1475

Ripley saw alchemy as a ‘holy science’ and sought to control knowledge relating to his work by writing in code. He wanted to pass on knowledge only to those who had the knowhow to use it effectively. In practice he used pictographs combined with lavish illustrations and his book, the Ripley Scrolls, is a true work of art (even if you do need to be ‘in-the-know’ to work out it’s message).

ExLink: Ripley Scrolls