George Ripley's 'The Compound of Alchymy' (1591)

George Ripley (c1415-1490), was an authoritive figure of alchemical wisdom. His alchemical poem "The Compound of Alchemy" was first published in 1591 with a dedication to Queen Elizabeth, and it promted many commentaries in the two centuries after his death. When written the poem was actually dedicated to King Edward IV, and the poem figures the King as a kind of alchemical aspirant who, having received instruction from his master, Ripley, is enabled to glimpse the arcane secrets of the arts. The poem "The Compounds of Alchemy" is a treatise concerning the 12 stages of the alchemical process leading to the philosopher's stone, and a work of poetry composed in rhyme royal stanzas. This volume is a critical edition of the full "Compound of Alchymy" text, initially transcribed from a microfilm copy of an original held at the Huntington Library. The book is also an analysis of the original 1591 text in its cultural context, with an examination of Ripley's aims and objectives and how they are worked into the verse's format.