Abstracts
Abstract
In his Neo-Latin poem Chrysopoeia (1515), the Italian humanist Giovanni Aurelio Augurello often declares to be outdoing the ancients in writing the first alchemical poem in Latin. Is this simply an instance of what E. R. Curtius called outdoing a topos? Or is Augurello’s poem actually venturing onto a metaphorically untrodden path? Based on an analysis of Chrysopoeia, its genesis, and its sources, this article aims to assess the extent of this poem’s novelty. In particular, my interpretation focuses on this text’s poetic transpositions of non-literary sources, and more specifically Geber’s Summa perfectionis and other medieval alchemical texts.
Keywords:
- Intertextuality,
- Neo-Latin Poetry,
- Alchemy,
- Renaissance Humanism,
- G. A. Augurello
Résumé
Dans son poème néo-latin Chrysopoeia (1515), l’humaniste italien Giovanni Aurelio Augurello déclare à plusieurs reprises qu’il surpasse les Anciens en écrivant le premier poème alchimique latin. Est-ce simplement un exemple de ce que E. R. Curtius appelait « surpasser un topos » ? Ou le poème d’Augurello s’aventure-t-il réellement sur un territoire métaphoriquement inexploré ? En se fondant sur l’analyse de Chrysopoeia, sa genèse et ses sources, cet article cherche à évaluer l’étendue de la nouveauté de ce poème. Notre interprétation se concentre en particulier sur les transpositions poétiques de sources non littéraires dans ce poème, et plus spécifiquement sur la Summa perfectionis de Geber et d’autres textes alchimiques médiévaux.
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Appendices
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