Alchemist Alchemy enjoyed an immense amount of popularity throughout the medieval and Renaissance eras, despite a great deal of religious persecution by the Church. Alchemy was the study of the perfection of nature. Alchemists sought to penetrate the mysteries of nature and to extract from them the energy and power that they perceived existed there. Something of a cross between mysticism and science, alchemy held as its central tenent that everything had a perfect form. The perfet form of metal, for example, was gold; hence the popular image of the alchemist attempting to turn lead into gold (actually, mercury was more commonly used as a starting point). But alchemy extended beyond such common pursuits as greed. Alchemists sought to perfect the life force itself, e.g. the search for the panacaea, a potion that would imbue the user with health and long life. Alchemists tended to write their research down in cryptic forms that defied understanding by any but a select few. They did this for two reasons: first, to keep dabblers from interfering in the "great work" as they called it; and second, to keep their practices hidden from the Church.
Aludel The "Philosopher's Vase" used by alchemists. Really nothing more than a ceramic holder for metals being heated in the Athanor, or oven, used by alchemists. Alchemists had a special word for every piece of apparatus they used.
Athanor The alchemist's oven, capable of reaching high temperatures.
Avignon Seat of the Papacy throughout most of the 14th Century,situated in Provence near the mouth of the Rhone River. Pope Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon for political reasons, and the focus of the office turned from spiritual matters in favor of temporal ones, mainly money. The fourteenth century saw the powers that ruled the Church at (arguably) their most corrupt.
Benezet (Saint) Benezet, an uneducated shepherd, approached the Bishop of Avignon at the age of 12 with plans to build a bridge over the point where the Rhone River ran swiftest, where even early Roman engineers had been discouraged. He claimed to have been so ordered by Christ, and upon approval began work in 1177. The bridge was completed ten years later. The twenty-arched bridge, "Pont d'Avignon," no longer stands today. Benezet died at the age of eighteen, four years before his bridge was completed. His remains were interred for nearly five-hundred years in one of the piers of the bridge, before being removed to a new location.
Brigands Brigands were bands of English mercenary soldiers that wandered France in the intervening years between the many squabbles that made up the Hundred Years War. Their most common tactic involved the extortion of "tribute" from towns in exchange for refraining from pillaging. Most infamous of these was Sir John Hawkwood, commander of the "White Company." Hawkwood sold his services at will, switching sides to suit his appetite for wealth, mostly allying himself in petty wars between Italian city-states.
Dante Dante Alighieri, Italian, b. 1265, d. 1321. Author of the "Divine Comedy," considered one of the great works of Western literature and the greatest Italian poem of its time. The Divine Comedy is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradisio. It outlines Dante's vision of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, and addresses the religious concerns of the medieval era.
Diogenes, Greek, Born c.? Died c.320 BCE. Founder of the philosophical school of Cynicism, Diogenes was a true rebel against the society in which he lived. An ascetic, he taught extreme self-sufficiency, and he sought throughout his life to expose hypocrisy and falsity. Stories abound regarding this figure, including his famous "search for an honest man" while carrying a lighted lantern in broad daylight. Perhaps closer to his intent was the search for a "true" man, i.e. one who is honest with himself. From this tale we can argue that Diogenes was the first performance artist. He gained great reknown, over the course of his lifetime, and could have lived in luxury had he so chosen; but Diogenes remained true to his beliefs and lived as pauper, beggar and slave.
Hundred Years' War Actually a long series of shorter struggles between France and England, from 1337 to 1453. It was primarily based on various land disputes, and was punctuated by numerous treaties and truces. Notable in this war are many popular heroes: Edward, Black Prince of Wales, who led many successful campaigns against the French; Henry V, who brought the flower of French Chivalry to its knees in a single engagement at Agincourt; and Joan of Arc, who signaled the eventual expulsion of the English from French soil.. Despite such shining victories on both sides, the war ultimately yielded little gain for either side, except, perhaps, an abiding understanding of the stupidity of such conflicts.
Hermes Trismegistus Derived from the Egyptian god Thoth, Hermes Trismegistus is the Greek god who founded the hermetic sciences (Alchemy). Hermes supposedly brought knowledge of Alchemy and Astrology to man through obscure arabic writings.
Inquisition The enforcement arm of the Church in medieval Europe. The Inquisition was responsible for routing the Church's enemies, which were considered many. Chief among these were heretics and sorcerers. The Inquisition employed torture to extract confessions from their "subjects," often followed by execution. For this reason it was greatly feared.
Panacaea Alchemists believed in the existence of a single substance that would imbue the user with perfect health and perhaps even immortality.
Philosopher's Stone a metallic compound, perhaps a mineral salt, capable of transmuting metals into a higher state, e.g. gold.
Saracen A term used by European Crusaders to describe the Moslems whom they encountered on their incursions into the Holy Land. Originally, the term applied to Syrians, and later, Arabs. The idea of the Saracen would certainly have fired the medieval imagination, if nothing else as a sort of bogie man. Saracen warriors were legendary for their fierce fighting style, particularly when mounted on horseback and wielding their curved, razor-sharp swords.
Templars The Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon was formed in the early years of the Crusades, to protect pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem, then held by the West. They were founded and led by Hugues de Payens in the early 1100s. Housed by the King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II, in a former Jewish temple, they derived their more common name, the Knights Templar. The Order grew greatly in numbers over the next 200 years, becoming a veritable army ready to defend Christendom. They also practiced shrewd banking and became known for their enormous wealth, including widespread land holdings. It was sometimes said that they were wealthier than the Church itself. They were not known for thir charity, and unlike the Knights of St. John did not found or support any hospitals. They kept a mighty fortress in Paris known as the Temple. All of these factors eventually became their downfall; jealous of their wealth and fearful of their extreme secrecy, Philip the Fair, King of France, had every member of the Order residing in Paris arrested, including its Grand Master, Jacques de Molay. He had them imprisoned and then bullied Pope Clement V into authorizing their trial. Under horrible torture, 122 members of the Order were eventually made to confess to various satanic and blasphemous acts against the Church. The Order was disbanded throughout Europe and the Holy Land, and in a final tragic episode Jacques de Molay, Philip's personal friend and his lieutenant were brought to a scaffold before Notre Dame to reaffirm their confessions and hear their sentence of life imprisonment. Instead, they asserted the Order's innocence and, as a result, were burned at the stake. Legend tells us that de Molay, before he died, called down a curse on the next thirteen generations of the Royal House of France.
Toulouse City in southern France's Languedoc region. In the 1300's, Toulouse was a learning center, having one of the first public Universities in France. Toulouse was known for its rich culture, particularly for its famous troubadors, patronized by the wealthy nobles of the region. The power of the Toulouse aristocracy was crushed in the Cathar Crusades, a brief but bloody and highly effective campaign to destroy a spiritual, pseudo-Christian "heresy" that had gained a great deal of popularity in the region into the 1200's. Because of this, the Church's Holy Inquisition had a strong foothold in the city. Toulouse was and still is known for the beautiful Chapel du St Sernin, a marvel of medieval architecture.