Alchemical Hands in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

Why It Matters for the Hypnerotomachia

The BL alchemist (Hand B) used an extensive vocabulary of alchemical ideograms — compact symbols for gold, silver, mercury, Venus, Jupiter — within the syntax of Latin annotations. These signs sometimes had Latin inflections appended, creating a hybrid semiotic system.

Why It Matters in Scholarship

Russell notes that Hand B's ideographic vocabulary shows consistency with Newton's Keynes MSS, suggesting a possible connection to the Royal Society or Cambridge circle. Taylor (1951) provides a reference table for standard alchemical signs.

Key Passages / Evidence

• <!-- Page 116 --> The Eros and Psyche Myth: Psychological Interpretations 101 Range of Jungian Interpretations All of the Jungian interpretations we have discussed view the Eros and Psyche story... [Gollnick (Apuleius dreamworld)]
• ... which this particular alchemist interpreted the HP is intended to be a prompt for future study. As with the BL annotator, the potential commentary on alchemical themes in this copy is vast,... [Russell 2014 (PhD thesis)]
• ... hand viewed the HP as a complex and elaborate allegory of the magnum opus. A variety of components of the novel – Poliphilo, Polia, nymphs, and monuments – were considered as representatives... [Russell 2014 (PhD thesis)]

Source Documents

Blunt 1937 (HP in French art); Georg_Leidinger_Albrecht_Dürer_und_die_Hypnerotomachia_Poliphili_Oldenbourg_Wiss; Gollnick (Apuleius dreamworld); O'Neill (Durham thesis); Russell 2014 (PhD thesis); Word_Image_2015_apr_03_vol_31_iss_2_Keller_William_B_Hypnerotomachia_joins_the_P