Frauds, Charlatans, and Alchemists: Discerning Deceit in Medieval Magic

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Institute for Medieval Studies, Univ. of New Mexico; Societas Magica

Organizer Name

Michael A. Ryan

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of New Mexico

Presider Name

Marla Segol

Presider Affiliation

Univ. at Buffalo

Paper Title 1

"Cristoforo di Parigi" and the Issues Surrounding Alchemy in Late Medieval Venice

Presenter 1 Name

Michael A. Ryan

Paper Title 2

The Alchemical Cipher of Martin Roesel of Rosenthal

Presenter 2 Name

Agnieszka Rec

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Yale Univ.

Paper Title 3

Processing Abramelin: Imagining the Ancient and Forging the Medieval in an Early Modern Grimoire

Presenter 3 Name

Jason Roberts

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Univ. of Texas-Austin

Paper Title 4

So You Want To Be an Alchemist? A Mountebank's Guide to Alchemical Patronage in Early Modern England

Presenter 4 Name

Jason Underhill

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Univ. of Saskatchewan

Start Date

8-5-2014 1:30 PM

Session Location

Fetzer 1010

Description

The study of medieval magic has undergone a scholarly Renaissance in the last two decades, with all manner of studies published on various aspects of magical thought in different geographic regions of ancient, medieval, and early modern Europe. Yet the study of fraud and deceit within a magical context, the presence of the magical, wonder-working charlatan, so to speak, has been comparably little studied. By the later Middle Ages, the term “charlatan,” in its various vernacular forms, had enveloped a variety of professions including astrologers, popular fortune-tellers, and, of course, alchemists. Panelists in this session will address matters of charlatanry and fraud that relied upon, or were believed to rely upon, magical and occult means.

Timothy C. Graham