John Dastin (c.1293-c.1386) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

alchemist of the fourteenth century. Little is known of his life beyond the texts which are attributed to him (A biographical notice ''De vita, aetate ac scripsis Johannis Dastin'' is found in a 17th-century manuscript: Ms Oxford, Bold. Libr., Ashmol. 1445, VIII, fol. 53). Dastin is known for correspondence with Pope John XXII and Cardinal Napoleone Orsini in defense of alchemical practice, dated to 1320. Work attributed to Dastin was included in the 1625 ''Harmoniae imperscrutabilis Chymico-Philosophicae'' of Hermannus Condeesyanus, the 1629 ''

Fasciculus Chemicus ''Fasciculus Chemicus'' or ''Chymical Collections. Expressing the Ingress, Progress, and Egress, of the Secret Hermetick Science out of the choicest and most famous authors'' is an anthology of alchemical writings compiled by Arthur Dee (1579– ...

'' of

Arthur Dee Arthur Dee (13 July 1579 – September or October 1651) was a physician and alchemist. He became a physician successively to Tsar Michael I of Russia and to King Charles I of England. Youth Dee was the eldest son of John Dee by his third wife, J ...

, and the 1652 ''Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum'' of

Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he ...

. Recent research has revealed that John Dastin lived around 1293-1386. He was born in the village of Greet, in the county of Gloucestershire and was ordained deacon in 1311. He studied at Oxford and was appointed vicar of the church of Bringhurst, Leicestershire. In mid-1317 he traveled to Avignon to work in the service of Cardinal Napoleon Orsini (†1342) and obtained the benefits of a canonry of the collegiate church of Southwell. During his stay in Avignon he was known as "magister Johannes Anglicus." He worked at the court of Napoleon Orsini, and he helped Giovanni Gaetano Orsini during his legacy in Italy (1326-1334). Dastin returned to Oxford in 1341 and was appointed vicar of the Church of Aberford, in Yorkshire, associated with Oriel College. He died at an earlier date than 1386.

Works

Letter to John XXII

Dastin argues that artificial transmutation into gold with the help of sulphur of mercury (argent vive) is equivalent to natural transformation. Furthermore, that "art imitates nature, and in certain respects corrects and surpasses it just as infirm nature is changed by the industry of medicine."

Rosarius

The ''Rosarius Philosophorum'', also known by its incipit ''Desiderabile desiderium'' (the ''desired desire''). The ''Rosarium'' is known in manuscript and was printed in 1702 by

Jean-Jacques Manget Jean-Jacques Manget (or Johann Jacob Mangetus) (1652–1742) was a Genevan physician and writer. He was known for his work on epidemic diseases such as bubonic plague and tuberculosis. In addition to his own researches, he assiduously compiled pr ...

in his ''

Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa (Latin for “Curious Chemical Library”) is a collection of alchemical texts first published in Latin, in Geneva, 1702 by Chouet, edited by Jean-Jacques Manget Jean-Jacques Manget (or Johann Jacob Mangetus) (1652–1742) was a Genevan physic ...

''. It was also attributed to Dastin's contemporary

Arnaldus de Villa Nova Arnaldus de Villa Nova (also called Arnau de Vilanova in Catalan, his language, Arnaldus Villanovanus, Arnaud de Ville-Neuve or Arnaldo de Villanueva, c. 1240–1311) was a physician and a religious reformer. He was also thought to be an alchem ...

(1238-1311 or 1313) and translated into French under the title ''La Vraie Pratique de la noble science d'alchimie.'' Later still it was attributed to

Nicolas Flamel Nicolas Flamel (; 1330 – 22 March 1418) was a French scribe and manuscript-seller. After his death, Flamel developed a reputation as an alchemist believed to have created and discovered the philosopher's stone and to have thereby achieved im ...

under the title ''The Book of Washing''.

''Visio''

In manuscripts, this text was often associated with the ''Visio Edwardi''. It was printed for the first time in 1625 under the title ''Visio Ioannis Dastin'',''Harmoniae Chymico-Philosophicae decade II, collecta studio Johannis Rhenani'', Francfort. 1625 pp.301-308 and translated into English in 1652 in the

Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum ''Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum'' first published in 1652, is an extensively annotated compilation of English alchemical literature selected by Elias Ashmole. The book preserved and made available many works that had previously existed only in pr ...

as ''Dastin's Dreame.''

Notes

Manuscripts

* ''Tractatus Joannis Dastin. Cum gauderent uti breuitate'' Cambridge, Trinity College MS. O.8.36. * ''Inc. Ep. Johannis Dastine ad papam Johannem xxii transmissa de alkimia'' and ''Visio Joh. Dastin'' Cambridge, Trinity College MS. O.2.18. 14th and 15th centuries. * ''Tractatus Alchemici. De erroribus J. Dastin'' - British Library MS. Egerton 845. 15th century.

References

*Entry in ''Concise Dictionary of National Biography'' *

Lynn Thorndike Lynn Thorndike (24 July 1882, in Lynn, Massachusetts, USA – 28 December 1965, Columbia University Club, New York City) was an American historian of medieval science and alchemy. He was the son of a clergyman, Edward R. Thorndike, and the young ...

''A history of magic and experimental science'' 1934, vol. 3, pp. 85–102 * C.H. Josten ''The text of John Dastin's 'Letter to Pope John XXII'' Ambix, 4:1 & 2 (1949), 34-51 * Wilfred Theisen ''John Dastin's Letter on the Philosophers' Stone''Ambix 1986, vol. 33, no2-3, pp. 78–87 * Wilfred Theisen ''John Dastin : the Alchemist as Co-Creator'' Ambix 1991, vol. 38, no2, pp. 73–78 * * * ''John Dastin's Alchemical Dream'' Kessinger Publishing, 2005 * Pascale Barthélemy et Didier Kahn ''Les voyages d'une allégorie alchimique : de la Visio Edwardi à l'Oeuvre royalle de Charles VI'' in ''Comprendre et maîtriser la nature au Moyen Age. Mélanges d'histoire des sciences offerts à Guy Beaujouan'', Genève-Paris / 199

External links

''John Dastin's Dream'': online text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dastin, John 14th-century births English alchemists Year of death unknown 14th-century alchemists