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Alchemy and the Ripley Scrolls 1400-1700

This curated selection of material was brought together to show how European alchemists built on Greco-Egyptian, Islamic, and late medieval foundations to create a golden age of alchemy from the 15th century to the time of Sir Isaac Newton.

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In pre-modern Europe, alchemy was a science of change. Medieval alchemists pursued medicinal elixirs to counter the public health crisis of their era⁠—the bubonic plague⁠—and attempted to transmute base metals into gold and silver to solve the region’s precious metal shortage. They also sought to repair alchemy’s old associations with fraud.

The “Ripley Scrolls” rank among the most spectacular products of this tradition. The oldest of these emblematic, alchemical rolls was produced in England in the late 15th century, possibly for a royal patron. Although its original provenance is unknown, the design was later attributed to the English alchemist George Ripley (d. ca. 1490), author of a famous poem, the Compound of Alchemy (1471). Over time, new generations of readers sought to decipher the Scrolls’ rich imagery, while producing copies of their own —altering the design to reflect new attitudes towards nature, experiment, and England’s alchemical past. The Scrolls played a central role in the transmission of alchemical knowledge. Two of the surviving 23 Scrolls are held by PUL.  

A DPUL online exhibition was also built as a companion to“Through a Glass Darkly” (from the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 13:12) - a 2022 exhibition in the Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery at Firestone Library. Curated by Jennifer M. Rampling, Associate Professor of History; Johanna and Alfred Hurley *61 P76 P82 P86 University Preceptor in History, Princeton University. The exhibition underscores the importance of examining alchemy more deeply than a superficial and imperfectly reflected mirror image, as though seen through a looking-glass. Instead, one must engage with alchemy by examining its historical practices and allegorical imagery.

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Princeton University Library claims no copyright governing this digital resource. It is provided for free, on a non-commercial, open-access basis, for fair-use academic and research purposes only. Anyone who claims copyright over any part of these resources and feels that they should not be presented in this manner is invited to contact Princeton University Library, who will in turn consider such concerns and make reasonable efforts to respond to such concerns.

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[Identification of item], [Sub-collection name (if applicable)], Alchemy and the Ripley Scrolls 1400-1700 Collection, Princeton University Library.

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