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Samuel Norton (1548–1621) was an English country gentleman and alchemist.
Norton was the author of alchemical tracts; they were edited and published in Latin by
Life
The son of Sir George Norton ofAbbots Leigh
Abbots Leigh is a village and civil parish in North Somerset, England, about west of the centre of Bristol.
History
The original Middle English name was ''Lega'', and the village became Abbots Leigh in the mid-12th century when Robert Fit ...
in Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
, he was great-grandson of Thomas Norton
Thomas Norton (153210 March 1584) was an English lawyer, politician, writer of verse, and playwright.
Official career
Norton was born in London, the son of Thomas Norton and the former Elizabeth Merry. He was educated at Cambridge. He beca ...
, author of the ''Ordinal of Alchemy''. He studied for some time at St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. Th ...
, but records show no degree. On the death of his father, in 1584, he succeeded to the estates. Early in 1585 he was in the commission of the peace for the county, but apparently suffered removal; he was reappointed in October 1589, on the recommendation of Thomas Godwin, bishop of Bath and Wells
The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.
The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...
. He was sheriff of Somerset
The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government A ...
in 1589, and was appointed muster master of Somerset and Wiltshire on 30 June 1604.
Works
Norton was the author of alchemical tracts; they were edited and published in Latin by Edmund Deane
Edmund Deane (1572–c.1640) was an English physician and author. He is known for a significant work on the chemistry of mineral springs, and as an editor of alchemical tracts.
Life
Deane was born in Saltonstall, Halifax, West Yorkshire, and ...
, at Frankfurt in 1630. The titles were:
* ''Mercurius Redivivus''.
* ''Catholicon Physicorum, seu modus conficiendi Tincturam Physicam et Alchymicam''.
* ''Venus Vitriolata, in Elixer conversa''.
* ''Elixer, seu Medicina Vitæ seu modus conficiendi verum Aurum et Argentum Potabile''.
* ''Metamorphosis Lapidum ignobilium in Gemmas quasdam pretiosas''.
* ''Saturnus Saturatus Dissolutus et Cœlo restitutus, seu modus componendi Lapidem Philosophicum tam album quam rubeum e plumbo''.
* ''Alchymiæ Complementum et Perfectio''.
* ''Tractatulus de Antiquorum Scriptorum Considerationibus in Alchymia''.
A German translation of the treatises was published in Nuremberg in 1667, in ''Dreyfaches hermetisches Kleeblat''.
Norton's works circulated earlier; from John Robson, to Richard Napier
Richard Napier (1559 – 1 April 1634) was a prominent English astrologer and medical practitioner.
Life
Also known as Dr Richard Sandy, he was the brother of Sir Robert Napier of Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire. He was a pupil of Simon Forman a ...
, to Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II ...
. Portions of the work in manuscript, brought together before Deane edited his volume under the title of ''Ramorum Arboris Philosophicalis Libri tres'', are in the British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...
(Sloane MS. 3667, ff. 17–21, 24–28, and 31–90), and the Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...
(Ashmolean MS. 1478, vi. ff. 42–104). Norton was occupied on the work in 1598 and 1599. Among the Ashmolean MSS. is a work by Norton entitled ''The Key of Alchimie'', written in 1578, when he was at St John's College, and it is dedicated to Elizabeth I; an abridgement is in the Ashmolean MS. In 1574 Norton translated George Ripley George Ripley may refer to:
*George Ripley (alchemist) (died 1490), English author and alchemist
*George Ripley (transcendentalist)
George Ripley (October 3, 1802 – July 4, 1880) was an American social reformer, Unitarian minister, and journa ...
's ''Bosome Booke'' into English.
Notes
Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Samuel 1548 births 1621 deaths English alchemists People from Somerset Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 16th-century alchemists 17th-century alchemists