''Tripus Aureus'' or ''The Golden Tripod'' is an alchemical book by

Michael Maier Michael Maier (; 1568–1622) was a German physician and counsellor to Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II Habsburg. He was a learned Alchemy, alchemist, epigramist, and amateur composer. Early life Maier was born in Rendsburg, Duchy of ...

published in 1618 by Lucas Jennis. It contains three alchemical texts: The "twelve keys" of

Basil Valentine Basil Valentine is the Anglicised version of the name Basilius Valentinus, ostensibly a 15th-century alchemist, possibly Canon of the Benedictine Priory of Saint Peter in Erfurt, Germany but more likely a pseudonym used by one or several 16th-c ...

, Thomas Norton's ''Ordinal of Alchemy'' (1477), and ''The Testament of Cremer''.

''The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine''

This alchemical book is spuriously attributed to the figure of

, and was first published in 1599. It's presented as a sequence of alchemical operations encoded allegorically, in words to which images have been added. Maier's Latin edition in ''Tripus aureus'' contains woodcut illustrations for all twelve keys for the first time. These were engraved by Matthaeus Merian.

''Testament of Cremer''

The ''Testament of Cremer'' is a pseudo- alchemical text which originated in sixteenth century England. Two manuscript copies of it exist. One is in the hand of

Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer, freemason and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Char ...

and is housed in the Bodleian Library. The other is a French translation in the Wellcome Collection dated to around 1675. Maier's transcription is the earliest extant copy of the text.Hereward Tilton. ''The Quest for the Phoenix: Spiritual Alchemy and Rosicrucianism in the Work of Count Michael Maier (1569-1622)''. Walter de Gruyter, 2003. p.109-112 The author calls himself John Cremer, Abbott of Westminster. According to the text, he lived at the time of Raymond Lull (c. 1232–c. 1315) and

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

(1312–1377). However, there is no such abbot on the rolls of Westminster. The medieval origins of the document are doubtful. Maier translated the text from English into Latin and it was published for the first time in his 1618 volume. Maier warns his readers:

''Either the meaning of the Author or the letter of his writings is deceitful. Be on your guard, therefore. Everywhere a serpent lurks among the flowers. Yet scorn not a friend who spoke as plainly as he might. Beneath the shadowy foliage of words is concealed the golden fruit of Truth.''

Cremer's text was also published in '' Musaeum Hermeticum'' (1625) and later in

Arthur Edward Waite Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was a British poet and scholarly Mysticism, mystic who wrote extensively on occult and Western esotericism, esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite Tarot (also called th ...

's ''Hermetic Museum''.

The introduction tells the author's story of a journey to Italy. According to legend, Cremer visited Lull in Milan 1330. The two men returned to England, where they worked to supply gold to Edward III, which he used against France. James Brown Craven ''The Works of Count Michael Maier''. 1910. Kessinger Legacy Reprints. p.96 After a five verse hymn, a pseudo alchemical recipe follows in seven short chapters. This text contains little of the allegory and deck names common in alchemical literature.

References

External links

''Testament of Cremer'' English text on The Alchemy Website
{{Alchemy, state=expanded 1618 books Alchemical documents

''The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine''

''Testament of Cremer''

Contents

References

External links