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‘WAR OF THE KNIGHTS’ OF JOHANN STERNHALS AND ALCHEMICAL NATURE OF MONEY

V. Vinokurov, M. Vorontsova

Abstract

‘War of the Knights’ (Ritter Krieg) is a medieval alchemical narrative, written in the form of judicial combat between the allegorical figures of the Sun (gold) and Mars (iron). The purpose of the study is to show that if one considers the verbal duel of the ‘knights’ not as alchemic dispute, but as a clash of interests of various medieval social classes, the contents of the book is clear, and the alchemist is engaged in the analysis of the historical and socio-political situation in the late Middle Ages. The method of research is historical-philosophical and socio-cultural analysis. In the fifteenth century, the growth of trade exposed the aspect of gold circulation, namely, the deficit of gold. In the dispute a third party appears, the interests of which (the interests of society) are represented at the trial by the judge – Mercury. Mercury proposes to withdraw gold from the jewelry business and increase the mass of currency. These processes are relevant for the XV century but not for the end of XVII. The philosopher’s stone in the Treatise is money, gold coins created from the wealth of the aristocrat by the work of the blacksmith. Wealth – the consequence of trade – is the last stage of alchemy, ‘multiplication’.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2018/2.2/S10.095

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