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adammclean Member 
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I just came across a reference to two articles by Peter Grund. “The Golden Formulas: Genre Conventions of Alchemical Recipes in the Middle English Period”. Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 104 (4): 455–475. “Albertus Magnus and the Queen of the Elves: A 15th-Century English Verse Dialogue on Alchemy”. Anglia: Zeitschrift für englische Philologie 122 (4): 640-662. I will be able to see the first in the University Library, but will have to search more widely for the second journal. Last edited on Fri Oct 24th, 2008 02:20 pm by adammclean |
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Paul Ferguson Member 
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adammclean wrote:I just came across a reference to two articles by Peter Grund. Is this it? Free download  http://www.reference-global.com/doi/pdf/10.1515/ANGL.2004.640 Last edited on Fri Oct 24th, 2008 07:25 pm by Paul Ferguson |
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Paul Ferguson Member
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Paul Ferguson wrote:adammclean wrote: Sorry - not free at all. My Google Chrome browser somehow managed to picked up a free version behind their storefront but I won't post it as an attachment here unless Adam says it's OK for me to do so.  Last edited on Sun Oct 26th, 2008 06:55 pm by Paul Ferguson |
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adammclean Member
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I managed to get access to Peter Grund's article. “Albertus Magnus and the Queen of the Elves: A 15th-Century English Verse Dialogue on Alchemy”. Anglia: Zeitschrift für englische Philologie 122 (4): 640-662. In this he provides the background and his transcription of this short Middle English verse. I found one section of the article particularly interesting. Peter Grund must have puzzled long over some strange words Atyscam, Retelas, and so on. He must have had a sudden inspiration and realised that these were, in fact, in code. The word had to be read backwards and the third and fifth letters had then to be supplied. Thus:- atyscam => marcasyta retelas => sallpeter erupus => sulphur There were also some other similar coding schemes sugasigi => ignis magnus (here the third, sixth and ninth letters had to be supplied. It is amazing that he spotted this, and I wonder if such codes could have been used in other early manuscripts. Last edited on Sat Nov 1st, 2008 04:47 pm by adammclean |
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Paul Ferguson Member
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Grund also read a paper here: http://www.wuhmo.ox.ac.uk/events/recipes_conf_programme.htm Recipes in Early Modern Europe: The Production of Medicine, Food and Knowledge, 13-14th February 2004, Osler-McGovern Centre, Green College, Oxford "'Take Atyscam she sayth fayre and bryzte': English Alchemical Recipes in Verse from the 15th and 16th Centuries" |
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