THE ALCHEMIST

In the first Harry Potter book, J. K. Rowling writes about a strange character named Nicolas Flamel. But did you know there was a real Nicolas Flamel? Here’s his story.

REAL WIZARDS

A thousand years ago, alchemists were regarded as the leading scientific thinkers. They were the world’s first chemists, carefully mixing liquids and testing metals to discover how things worked. They are often depicted as looking like wizards, with white beards and long robes, mixing magical potions. And most of them had one goal: to find the philosopher’s stone.

A MAGICAL SUBSTANCE

What was the philosopher’s stone? A giant rock where philosophers sat? A stone tablet with carved instructions? Actually, it wasn’t a stone at all, but a magical powder. Alchemists believed that, taken as medicine, it could miraculously cure illnesses and even give you eternal life. Not only that, they believed the philosopher’s stone held the secret to transmutation: it could magically turn any metal into gold! Alchemists thought that if they could just find the right “recipe,” they could make this magical substance themselves.

So did anyone succeed in creating the philosopher’s stone? As far as we know—no. However, some people believe that at least one person did—the French alchemist, Nicolas Flamel.

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A MYSTERIOUS BOOK

Nicolas Flamel’s story begins in 1357 when he bought a very old, very large book in Paris. It was an unusual volume with strange drawings and engravings on its copper cover. Inside the book were 21 pages made of birch bark. Written on the first page in gold letters was the greeting: “Abraham the Jew, Priest, Prince, Levite, Astrologer, and Philosopher to the nation of the Jews dispersed by the wrath of God in France, wishes health.” This prompted Flamel to call the rare volume The Book of Abraham the Jew.

The second page warned that only a priest or a scribe was allowed to read further—anyone else would be cursed! In the days before printing presses, a scribe was a person who copied books by hand so other people could read them. Nicolas Flamel just happened to be working as a scribe at the time, so he felt he could ignore the warnings…and read the book!

What did he find on the rest of the pages? Instructions for turning metal into gold—in other words, the philosopher’s stone! The instructions seemed very easy to follow, except that one key piece of information was missing. The book neglected to tell the reader what kind of metal could be turned to gold.

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MYSTERIOUS IMAGES

The book had many illustrations, but Flamel didn’t know how to interpret them. One picture was of a young man with wings on his ankles who looked like the Roman messenger god, Mercury. Flying at him was an old man with an hourglass on his head and a scythe in his hands. Another picture was a rose bush in bloom leaning against a hollow oak tree.

Flamel showed the pictures to other people, but no one could understand them. For the next 21 years he tried to decipher the book—with no luck. At last his wife, Pernelle, suggested he try a different approach. Since it was a Jewish man who wrote the book, she said, Flamel should seek the advice of a learned Jewish scholar.

Flamel took his wife’s advice and went on a long journey to find someone to help him. In Spain he met a Jewish man called Master Canches, who actually knew of the book and helped him interpret most of the pictures in it. Unfortunately, Canches died before they finished the book.

SUCCESS!

Three more years of trial and error followed. On January 18, 1382, Flamel wrote in his journal that at last he had turned mercury into silver. Three months later, he declared that he had successfully transmuted mercury to gold. “I may speak it with truth,” he wrote. “I have made it three times, with the help of Pernelle who understood it as well as I because she helped me in my operations.”

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LOTS OF GOLD!

Did Nicolas Flamel truly discover the philosopher’s stone? Did he really turn mercury into gold? No one knows for sure, but what historians do know is that Nicolas and Pernelle Flamel suddenly acquired a great deal of wealth. They founded and endowed 14 hospitals, 3 chapels, and 7 churches in Paris, and also gave to many charities. When Flamel died, he willed money and houses to even more churches and cathedrals, as well as a Paris hospital for the blind. His will, which he signed on November 22, 1416, still survives.

IMMORTALITY?

There are those who think that since Flamel discovered the secret of transmutation, he also must have discovered the secret of immortality. True believers think the Flamels went into hiding so that no one could steal the philosopher’s stone from them. They claim the Flamels faked their deaths, had logs buried in their graves in the cemetery, and ran off to Switzerland.

Could they really still be alive? One thing is known for certain: their tomb is empty. Over the centuries—even into the 1900s—people have reported seeing Flamel and his wife in Switzerland, France, and India. Who knows? Nicolas and Pernelle might still be walking the streets of Paris today—very old and rich beyond belief—and all because of the philosopher’s stone.

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