- Basil Valentine
Basilius Valentinus, also known under the Anglicized version of his name, Basil Valentine, was a 15th-century alchemist. He was the Canon of the
Benedictine Priory of Sankt Peter in Erfurt, Germany. Even his name cannot be corroborated; during the 18th century it was suggested that he was Johann Thölde. The year given for his birth inMainz , 1394, is also uncertain.Valentine showed that
ammonia could be obtained by the action ofalkali es onsal-ammoniac , and howhydrochloric acid could be produced from acidizingbrine .Bibliography
Basilius Valentinus wrote dozens of important publications on alchemy in
Latin and German. They have been translated into many Western European languages, including English, French, and others.; Most famous works (in Latin)
* Currus Triumphalis Antimonii (The triumphal chariot ofantimony )
* Duodecim Claves philosophicæ (The twelve philosophical keys); Many other works (in Latin and German)
* Porta sophica
* The Medicine of Metals
* Of things natural and supernatural
* Of the first tincture, root and spirit of metals
* "De microcosmo deque magno mundi mysterio, et medicina hominis", (Of the microcosm, of the great secrecy of the world, and the human medicine)
* "Libri quattuor de particularibus septem planetarum", (Book four: Of the features of the seven planets)
* Experimenta chymica
* Practica
* Azoth
* Compendium veritatis philosophicum (German)
* Last will and testamentValentinus had connections to the esoteric Freemasonry as his work Azothproves (VA05, REBIS with the
freemasonry square and compasses in the hands). Behind his works stood the secret knowledge of spiritual alchemy, the Opus Magnum.External links
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/alc/antimony.htm Transcription of Triumphal Chariot of Antimony]
* [http://www.themamundi.de/lesebuch/valentin.htm Transcription of the supremacy of the seven planets (German)]
* [http://www.yankeeclassic.com/miskatonic/library/stacks/alchemy/shelves/stacks-bc.html Transcription of Last will and testament]
* [http://www.alchemywebsite.com/bookshop/prints_series_val_azoth.html Azoth]References
* Paracelsus article by Alan G. Hefner
*cite book | author=Waite, Arthur Edward | title=Secret Tradition in Alchemy | publisher=Kessinger Publishing | year=1992 | ISBN 0922802831
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