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Secondary sourceBook1617

Symbola Aureae Mensae Duodecim Nationum

Michael Maier · 1617

A 1617 alchemical book by Michael Maier that includes Avicenna among twelve national masters of alchemy.

This alchemical book lists Avicenna as one of twelve national masters of alchemy, showing his later reputation in that field.

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Title page of Symbola Aureae Mensae Duodecim Nationum, 1617, an engraved frontispiece with twelve oval portraits of alchemists around a central block of printed text naming Michael Maier as author and Frankfurt as place of printing.
Michael Maier, Symbola Aureae Mensae Duodecim Nationum, Frankfurt, 1617.

About this source

What it is

This is the title page of 'Symbola Aureae Mensae Duodecim Nationum' ('Symbols of the Golden Table of Twelve Nations'), a book written by Michael Maier and printed in Frankfurt in 1617. The engraved frontispiece shows twelve oval portraits of alchemists surrounding the printed title.

Why it matters

Avicenna is one of the twelve figures from different nations honoured in this book as a master of alchemy. This shows that, alongside his fame as a physician and philosopher, Europeans in the early modern period also saw him as part of the alchemical tradition, a reputation that grew long after his death and reflects European interests of the time more than Avicenna's own work.

Look closer

  • Why might a European author like Michael Maier want to include a Persian scholar among 'twelve nations' of alchemists?
  • What does this book reveal about how Avicenna's reputation changed and spread across different fields over time?
  • What is missing here that would let you check whether Avicenna really practiced alchemy himself?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Avicenna on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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