Ivo Purš, Vladimír Karpenko:
Alchemy in the Czech lands II. Golden Age of Czech alchemy

Abstract

Alchemy flourished in Bohemia, especially in the 16th and the beginning of the following century. This
era is outlined in a broader context because mining and metallurgy of precious metals developed as well, and both fields used similar technical approaches, although with different aims. Leading craftsmen were active here, Georgius Agricola and Lazarus Ercker. Important for this state of science and practice was a vivid interest of Hapsburg rules to various fields. This trend found its climax in the rule of Rudolf II.
Still, his predecessors, especially the emperor Ferdinand I and archduke Ferdinand II kept contact with prominent figures of alchemy and medicine, among others with Paracelsus. Simultaneously Czech alchemy had the representatives, most important being Bavor the Younger Rodovský of Hustiřany.

Language: czech

Keywords: history of alchemy; mining; metallurgy; alchemy; medicine; emperor Ferdinand I; archduke Ferdinand II; emperor Rudolf II; Paracelsus; Bavor the Younger Rodovský of Hustiřany