European alchemy: some traditional beliefs.

Three important doctrines of European alchemy are discussed: the Emerald Table of Hermes, the idea of transmutation, and the Elixir of Life. The analysis of these problems is focused on the 16th century, the epoch of the high flourish of alchemy in Renaissance Europe. As typical examples two works are chosen: the treatises of Jean-Pierre Fabre (1588-1658) and Alexander von Suchten (? 1520 - ? 1590). The arguments of these authors illustrate the ways how alchemists tried to defend their position in face of repeated failures. Just the 16th century stood in the sign of dramatic development of crafts, but, simultaneously, of growing interest in alchemy.

Medical aspects of the late European alchemy.

Medical trends in European alchemy are discussed. There existed a direction that in curing illnesses made use of various substances known to alchemists. The origin can be traced back to the 14th century and further development of this trend has later led to iatrochemistry. Beside this, there existed all the time the second direction called alchemical medicine. It searched for miraculous universal medicine using for this purpose approaches known from attempts in metal transmutation. Several examples of the confused world of alchemical medicine are brought.