Ellen Hausner

Research Topic

‘The Rise of the Character: An Abstract Method of Visualising Knowledge in Alchemical Texts, c.1450-1700’

My doctoral project explores the evolution of methods for communicating knowledge within European alchemical texts from the late medieval era through the end of the early modern period. My primary focus is the development of abstract notations and signs, known in the period as 'characters,' such as the astrological glyphs of the planets to represent metals or an upright triangle to represent fire. Characters are pervasive within early modern verbal and pictorial alchemical texts and, I suggest, should be considered a third, abstract language which was developed to transmit meaning in the period. Despite their widespread use and clear importance, however, the subject of characters as a key type of alchemical notation, and as a singular method of visualising knowledge, has been overlooked within academic discourse. By making an analytical study of characters within alchemical texts in the period c. 1450-1700, this research will demonstrate how and why they grew in complexity and importance. My premise is that the use of alchemical characters steadily increased over time, and that they inclined towards an standardised, codified method of communication.

Joint winner of the 2023 Jane Willis Kirkaldy Senior Prize for my essay ‘“Prima materia lapidis”: A late medieval alchemical scroll and its early modern reception.’

Supervisor: Rob Iliffe