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Through the Lion's Gate, A Medieval Tale of Intrigue and Transmutation
This medieval tale is woven around King Edward III, Queen Philippa, the Duke and Duchess of Lancaster, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Ravens of the Tower of London.
The hero, Elias Dorn, is a notorious alchemist navigating the dangers of his heretical pursuit for perfection and divinity through the making of gold. Alchemy is forbidden and practitioners are thrown in prison. But, Dorn is pursued for a greater reason: If he is successful in unlocking the key to making gold, both the King and the Pope want to own his secret.
A pious man, Dorn struggles as his quest for transformation moves toward a higher purpose, from the outer realm to the inner. Since the beginning of time, people have sought answers to the universal questions in search for the true self. Through The Lion’s Gate transcends the ages in discovering the personal gold within.
PEOPLE AND TOPICS IN THE BOOK
Years of research and travel to England, Spain, and writing in France culminated in a very colorful story. Here are some of the figures from Greek mythology that are woven into the tale: Zeus, Prometheus, Hermes, Achilles, Sisyphus, Cybele, and Hades/Pluto. From Persian mythology is Saptarishi and also Mithras, which Romans built temples to all over Europe, one being right in Londinium (London).
Topics in the book include the history of Jews (in England, France, and Spain), Arabs in Spain and the Reconquista, translating Arab texts to Latin, tributes paid by English ships to fly flag of the Doge of Genoa, 100 Years War, Burghers of Calais, English language in 1352, Tamese River (Thames), Tower of London, London Mithraeum, travels of Marco Polo, plague of 1348, value of gold florins, wool exports in Britain and Edward III's Statute of Limitations, bloomery furnace for making iron, the Bible, Christian world map vs. the globe of Ptolemy, significance of 9 and 108 in Mongolia, paper & ink making, tanning hides, distillation, bone casting, I Ching, Portuguese and Romani healing remedies, Valholl (Valhalla), wine barrel sizes (rundlet - 18 gallons), and the ravens of Cape St. Vincent in Portugal and the Tower of London.
Historical figures: King Edward III, Queen Philippa, Duke & Duchess of Lancaster, Archbishop Simon Islip, Chaucers (John, Agnes, Geoffrey), Ozbeg Khan, Michael Scot, Dante, Duns Scotus.
Alchemists and alchemy topics: Mary the Jewess, Hildegard von Bingen, Cleopatra, Roger Bacon, Ortolandus, Arnaldus de Villa Nova, Paul of Tarato, Hugh of Evesham, Jean de Roquetaillade, Hermes Trismegistus, Aristotle, Bain Marie, cucurbit, alembic, cinnabar (mercury-quicksilver), Philosopher's Stone, 12 Stages, Black-White-Red, alchemical symbolism in Notre Dame, quest for gold/riches vs. divinity, and the Quest for eternal life.
ABOUT ALCHEMY (from Ch. 3)
Tom learned of alchemy's origins in Egypt, India, and Cathay; how the writings of Aristotle, Hippocrates, Euclid, Archimedes, and other Greek scholars were translated into Arabic during the height of the Arab empire. In 711, Muslim invaders led by Tariq ibn Ziyad conquered the Visigoth kingdom of Hispania and set up centers of learning in Toledo, Xàtiva, Girona, and Córdoba.
The Moors were responsible for preserving the West's classical heritage. When Christians reconquered parts of Al-Andalus, known as the Caliphate of Córdoba, they seized many libraries, and the process of translating the valuable Arabic texts to Latin began. Archbishop Raymond of Toledo created the first college of translators and it was there, in the 12th century, that the first Latin text on alchemy appeared.
An underlying precept of Greek thought which pertained directly to alchemy was how all substances are in a constant state of change. A plant seed is created, it grows, flowers, withers, dies, and decays. The elements continually change in proportion, causing the earth element in the plant to change into water, the water to air, air to fire, and fire to earth. For a metal to become gold, first it must "die," opening itself to be reborn in the re-proportioning of its elements—a process alchemists called Solve et Coagula, dissolve and bind.
Tom learned about alchemists such as Ortolanus, Arnaldus de Villa Nova, Paul of Taranto, and Hugh of Evesham, all who had contributed toward the advancement of alchemy, and Jean de Roquetaillade, who first developed the method for using a limbeck to create aqua vitae, the water of life, a reduction of heated wine to use once the Stone was born.
Elias taught Tom about Aristotle's theory of prime matter and form, all things possessing both. The "form" was the particular structure which governed a substance and dictated the proportions of the elements. Tom's "form" differed from that of a dog, as did that of lead from gold. The alchemist sought to change the form of a base metal into the form of gold by varying the amounts of the four elements and altering in the laboratorium what Nature did over a much longer period of time.
The process was by now as familiar to Tom as the craft of a cobbler to his son. At first he was awed by the acute reverence with which Elias treated the metals, as if they themselves possessed souls. The language of alchemy was a passionate one, with chemical reactions described in terms of love and hate. Metals underwent all the human experiences encompassing life and death.
For the alchemist, the quest for the Philosopher's Stone was an emotional journey with the very materials he used. Elias began each procedure with a prayer asking for "…blessings on these materials, all gold by their species, gold being their limit. All of Your Holy creations strive for perfection. Have mercy on me, O most perfect One, as I seek to bring these substances to Thy perfection."