Re: Quick thoughts on Edward Kelly...

[Rene Zandbergen <r_zandbergen@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear all, 

I have a distinct feeling of deja vu... did
I respond to a very similar E-mail before or not?
If so, apologies for any repetition.

--- Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> C.A.Burland's "The 
> Arts of the Alchemists", which mentioned that: "it
> was revealed to [Kelly] 
> that [the red powder] had been hidden by Saint
> Dunstan & so had remained 
> intact for some six centuries before Kelly's
> discovery".
> 
> In other sources, it is mentioned that a mysterious
> book and two ivory 
> spheres of powder had been found (or perhaps just
> sold on?) together - so 
> this book is surely the "Boke of Dunstan" that was
> being referred to.

All these sources essentially describe in their
own words (with potentially some artistic licence) 
more original sources, some of which are oral.
It is not at all clear how reliable they are.
In particular, many details which make the story
seem believable are very different in the different
versions. 

Have a look at:
http://www.geocities.com/voynichms/curricula.html
and note in particular the sources prior to
'Schmieder' in the footnotes, which I have not seen.
Fairly close to the original source
should be 'Edelgeborne Jungfrau alchimia'.
The MS found with the two phials of powder could
also have been the famous treasure maps.

> I would be extremely surprised if the other
> surviving manuscripts 
> attributed to Dunstan fail to bear his name
> prominently - attribution was a 
> key part of medieval thought and belief.

The Latin translation of the Book of St.Dunstan
by Edward Kelly is clearly marked as such.

I can't resist: if the VMs were found in a grave
in Wales, where it had rested for several 
centuries, it can hardly have been written by
an Italian noble lady of the late 1400s.... ;-)

Cheers, Rene


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings!
http://greetings.yahoo.com