Spring 2013: ‘In the Beginning: Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry’
Autumn 2013: ‘Chemistry and its Books’
Autumn 2013: ‘Chemistry and its Books’
9 November, London
The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry and the Bolton Society (of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia) held a joint meeting in London on Saturday 9 November 2013. The Bolton Society had further meetings in Cambridge (on 11 November) and Oxford (on 12 November).
The Bolton Society is named after Henry Carrington Bolton (1843-1903), chemist, historian and bibliophile who documented books published over the period 1492-1892 and published his Select Bibliography of Chemistry in 1893 (reprinted 2005).
For more information, see the Annual General Meeting Agenda and the Bolton Timetable.
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‘In the Beginning: Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry’
Saturday 16 March, 1.30pm–5.30pm, Clare Hall, Herschel Road, Cambridge
This year, the Society launches Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry, a new series of supplements to Ambix. These will offer critical editions and English translations of important works in the history of chemistry, including works composed in Greek, Syriac, Arabic, Hebrew and Latin. These editions will showcase the best and most up-to-date scholarship on early chemical writings, offering new insight into the origins of alchemy, chemistry and chemical technology. To mark the occasion, the SHAC Spring Meeting will explore new work in these fields, using sources that are not yet available in modern editions.
The Meeting took place on the 16 March between 12.30 and 17.30 at Richard Eden Room, Gillian Beer House, Clare Hall (West Court site), Clare Hall, Cambridge. The programme is outlined below:
Programme
12.30 – 13:00 Registration and Refreshments
13:00 – 13:30 Introduction: Prof Lawrence M. Principe (Johns Hopkins University), ‘Early Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry’
13.30 – 15:00 Panel 1: Alchemy in the Graeco-Roman and Judaeo-Arabic Worlds
• Dr Matteo Martelli (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), ‘Zosimus and the First Book of Alchemy’
• Dr Gabriele Ferrario (Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge University Library), ‘Judaeo-Arabic alchemy in the Cairo Genizah’
Chair: Dr Cristina Viano (CNRS, Paris)
15.00 – 15.30 Coffee Break
15:30 – 17:00 Panel 2:Sources of Latin Alchemy
• Dr Sébastien Moureau (Université catholique de Louvain), ‘Elixir and Ferment, Alchemy and Medicine: the Link between Pseudo-Avicenna’s De anima, Roger Bacon, and Pseudo-Aristotle’s Secretum secretorum‘
• Dr Jennifer Rampling (University of Cambridge), ‘Plotting the Future of Medieval Alchemy’
• Chair: Prof Charles Burnett (Warburg Institute)
17.00 – 17:30 Roundtable discussion
Colloquium organized by Jennifer Rampling (University of Cambridge) and Professor Lawrence Principe (Johns Hopkins University) on behalf of SHAC. With support from the British Society for the History of Science and the Charles Singleton Center for the Study of Pre-Modern Europe.
Download the programme in PDF format here.
We will publish a report on the Workshop in our next issue of Chemical Intelligence.
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