thumbnail|right|Illustration of an angel found in Aurora consurgens
The Aurora consurgens is an alchemical treatise of the 15th century famous for the rich illuminations that accompany it in some manuscripts.
According to von Franz the following arguments support the hypothesis of Thomas Aquinas being the author of Aurora Consurgens: Its author knows both the Bible and liturgy intimately, he quotes rather little of classical alchemical texts and mentions neither chemical recipes nor technical instructions, which indicates a clergyman to be its author. His praising of the poor is typical for a Dominican or a Franciscan. The passionate style of being gripped could result from an intrusion of the unconscious, which – as psychological experience tells - might have compensated a rather intellectual consciousness dominated by logic. The biography of Thomas Aquinas fits this, as, before his death, Thomas Aquinas is said to have had a disturbing vision, the content of which is not authenticated. But he is said to have interpreted the Song of Songs on his deathbed. Thus, this treatise might well represent his last seminar or his last words. Unusual for a work of this type, the text is accompanied by about thirty-seven fine miniatures in watercolour. The illustrations are representations of alchemical symbols depicted in human or animal form. For example, mercury is depicted as a serpent, gold as the sun and silver as the moon. These illustrations incorporate some of the earliest Greek alchemical symbols known, found in the Authentic Memoirs of Zosimos of Panopolis.
Illuminations
The visuals found in Aurora consurgens are regarded by B. Obrist as alchemical metaphors that relate to human and animal procreation, procedures like calcination and putrefaction and other motifs.
Copies of Aurora consurgens
- Zürich, Zentralbibliothek MS. Rhenoviensis 172
- Glasgow, University Library MS. Ferguson 6
- Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MS. Vossiani Chymici F. 29
- Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS. Parisinus Latinus 14006
- Prague, Univerzitní knihovna, MS. VI. Fd. 26
- Prague, Metropolitan Chapter, MS. 1663. O. LXXIX
- Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz, MS. Germ. qu. 848
Major differences
In Glasgow, Sp. Coll. Ferguson MS 6 (f. 220v), a couple depicted performing intercourse are hidden under a sheet and a blue bedspread. Their child is shown sleeping in a small rocking cradle, along with a young servant boy standing at the foot of the bed.
thumbnail|right|Depiction of the zodiac [[menstrual cycle found in Aurora consurgens]]
The explicitness of sexual details also varies from text to text.
In an illustration from Zürich Zentralbibliothek MS Rh. 172 (f. 11r), a menstruating woman bleeds profusely within a zodiac circle to illustrate her monthly cycle and the creation of menstruation and its use within the body.