(15-08-2025, 04:21 AM)BessAgritianin wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.My focus is on a broader understanding of " maria" in VM -foil 116v where the context "balneo Maria, plaster, even alchemical symbolism might differ from the Swiss example.
What do you think about it? Is the term "maria" in foil116 v a practical remedy, a symbolic reference or something else?
I see plausible alchemy themes in several places but f. 116v is too messed-up to understand what it is about. In the context of what looks like a typical charm, with magic words ending with "ix" and crosses, the most obvious interpretation of the word "maria" is religious. Names were not capitalized, usually, so what was meant could very well be "Maria".
One thing that might be relevant is the word before it, "al(ki)a" where the "k" and "i" are (maybe) fused together and the loop over the k is missing, so it's not obvious at all that they should be read as "k" and "i" but I see no better alternative. Is this a shortened "alkemia"? Maybe. In a charm, magic words don't have to make the same kind of sense as in a recipe that could have mentioned "balneo marie" clearly.