Alchýmia a jej žánre: možnosti kvantitatívneho štúdia stredovekých latinských alchymických textov

• Authors: Zdenko Vozár

Title variants

EN

Alchemy and its genres: towards quantitative approaches to medieval Latin alchemical texts

• Languages of publication: SK

Abstracts

EN

The study of medieval alchemical texts is significantly limited by their inaccessibility on several levels—be it the lack of critical editions, their esoteric language, complex textual tradition and the unclear relationships in the definition of their genres and their registers. Additionally, the historiographical problem of the relationship between allegorical imagery and proto-chemical procedures in alchemy, along with its genres, still remains unresolved. This study explores the potential to expand the taxonomy of alchemical genres by integrating them into a broader classification of literary types, as verified through quantitative text analysis. Based on an examination of parts of speech, terminological categorization, and syntactic n-grams in a genre sample, it identifies defining features and stability of the hybrid literature of the florilegia genre. It distinguishes these from practical and allegorical texts, analyzing their elements of dramatization and symbolism. Using the example of the florilegium Defloratio philosophorum and the practical text Novum lumen, the study demonstrates the potential for examining genre fluidity within medieval alchemical literature.

Keywords

EN

alchemy; symbolism; literary genres; florilegia; allegory; composition; quantitative text analysis

Discipline

• PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Teorie vědy (Theory of Science)
• Year: 2025
• Volume: 47
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 51-120
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Zdenko Vozár

• Teorie vědy, redakce, Filosofický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Jilská 1, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic