An alchemist is a person versed in the art of alchemy. Western alchemy flourished in Greco-Roman Egypt, the Islamic world during the Middle Ages, and then in Europe from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Indian alchemists and Chinese alchemists made contributions to Eastern varieties of the art. Alchemy is still practiced today by a few, and alchemist characters still appear in recent fictional works and video games.
Many alchemists are known from the thousands of surviving alchemical manuscripts and books. Some of their names are listed below. Due to the tradition of pseudepigraphy, the true author of some alchemical writings may differ from the name most often associated with that work. Some well-known historical figures such as Albertus Magnus and Aristotle are often incorrectly named amongst the alchemists as a result.
Alchemy is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first attested in a number of pseudepigraphical texts written in Greco-Roman Egypt during the first few centuries AD. Greek-speaking alchemists often referred to their craft as "the Art" (τέχνη) or "Knowledge" (ἐπιστήμη), and it was often characterised as mystic (μυστική), sacred (ἱɛρά), or divine (θɛíα).
The philosopher's stone is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold or silver; it was also known as "the tincture" and "the powder". Alchemists additionally believed that it could be used to make an elixir of life which made possible rejuvenation and immortality.
Nicolas Flamel was a French écrivain public, a drafsman of public documents such as contracts, letters, agreements and requests. He and his wife also ran a school that taught this trade.
In Renaissance alchemy, alkahest was the theorized "universal solvent". It was supposed to be capable of dissolving any composite substance, including gold, without altering or destroying its fundamental components. By extracting from composite substances their fundamental virtues and properties, alchemists hoped to gain control of invaluable medical healing properties. For this reason the alkahest was earnestly sought. At the same time, its very existence was debated among alchemists and philosophers.
Fullmetal Alchemist is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. It was serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga anthology magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan between July 2001 and June 2010; the publisher later collected the individual chapters in 27 tankōbon volumes. The steampunk world of Fullmetal Alchemist is primarily styled after the European Industrial Revolution. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is a widely practiced science, the series follows the journey of two alchemist brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who are searching for the philosopher's stone to restore their bodies after a failed attempt to bring their mother back to life using alchemy.
Pseudo-Geber is the presumed author or group of authors responsible for a corpus of pseudepigraphic alchemical writings dating to the late 13th and early 14th centuries. These writings were falsely attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan, an early alchemist of the Islamic Golden Age.
Edward Elric is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series created by Hiromu Arakawa. Edward, titled the Fullmetal Alchemist, is the youngest State Alchemist in the history of the fictional country of Amestris. His left leg was divinely severed in a failed attempt to resurrect his dead mother, and then his right arm was taken in exchange for his brother's soul. His missing limbs have been replaced with sophisticated prosthetics called automail. He and his younger brother, Alphonse, who lost his entire body and is spiritually bound to a suit of armor, scour the world in search of the Philosopher's Stone in the hopes of restoring their bodies. Edward has appeared in other media from the series, including video games, original video animations (OVAs) and light novels.
Projection was the ultimate goal of Western alchemy. Once the philosopher's stone or powder of projection had been created, the process of projection would be used to transmute a lesser substance into a higher form; often lead into gold.
Alphonse Elric is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series and its adaptations created by Hiromu Arakawa. Alphonse is a child who lost his body during an alchemical experiment to bring his deceased mother back to life and had his soul attached to a suit of armor by his older brother Edward. As a result, Alphonse is almost invulnerable as long as the armor's seal is not erased, but is unable to feel anything. To recover their bodies, the Elrics travel around their country Amestris to obtain the Philosopher's Stone—an alchemical object that could restore them. In the animated adaptations of Fullmetal Alchemist, Alphonse is voiced by Rie Kugimiya in Japanese. In the English adaptations, he is voiced by Aaron Dismuke in the first series and by Maxey Whitehead in the second.
Colonel Roy Mustang is a fictional character from the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series and its adaptations created by Hiromu Arakawa. In the series, Mustang is a State Alchemist of Amestris' State Military, as well as the superior of the series' protagonist, Edward Elric. Mustang holds the title of "Flame Alchemist" for his ability to create fire with alchemy, and he ambitiously strives to become the next leader of Amestris. Despite his ambition, as the series continues, Mustang decides to overthrow the State Military after his best friend, Maes Hughes, is killed by the homunculi, who are controlling the Military.
Winry Rockbell is a fictional character from Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist manga series and its adaptations. Winry is a teenage mechanic who often spends time with the central characters, brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who are childhood friends of hers. Specializing in mechanical repair, specifically prostheses called automail, Winry services Ed's replacement arm and leg. Originally meant to be introduced in the series' first chapters due to its lack of female characters, some of Winry's traits are based on Arakawa's own life. In the first anime adaptation, Fullmetal Alchemist, Winry is voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi in Japanese and by Caitlin Glass in the English version. In the second anime adaptation, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, she is voiced by Megumi Takamoto in Japanese, with Glass reprising the role in English.
Scar, also known as Scarred Man, is a fictional character from the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series and its adaptations created by Hiromu Arakawa. Scar is introduced as a villain who targets alchemists working for the state military from the fictional country of Amestris. Scar hails from the region of Ishval whose people were almost exterminated in a previous civil war against the state military, most notably their alchemists. His alias is derived from the prominent X-shaped scar that decorates his brow with his birth name being unknown. As the series continues, Scar's backstory is further explored and he questions his motives, eventually joining the side of the Amestrian State military, assisting in an armed coup against the government in order to defeat the organization secretly responsible for the Ishvalan Civil War.
Petrus Bonus was a late medieval alchemist. He is best known for his Precious Pearl or Precious New Pearl, an influential alchemical text composed sometime between 1330 and 1339. He was said to have been a physician at Ferrara in Italy, causing him to sometimes be known as Petrus Bonus of Ferrara or as Petrus Bonus the Lombard. An Introduction to the Divine Art is also attributed to him but was printed much later, in 1572.
Alchemy has had a long-standing relationship with art, seen both in alchemical texts and in mainstream entertainment. Literary alchemy appears throughout the history of English literature from Shakespeare to modern Fantasy authors. Here, characters or plot structure follow an alchemical magnum opus. In the fourteenth century, Chaucer began a trend of alchemical satire that can still be seen in recent fantasy works like those of Terry Pratchett.
Alchemy in the medieval Islamic world refers to both traditional alchemy and early practical chemistry by Muslim scholars in the medieval Islamic world. The word alchemy was derived from the Arabic word كيمياء or kīmiyāʾ and may ultimately derive from the ancient Egyptian word kemi, meaning black.
Guglielmo Gratarolo or Grataroli or Guilelmus Gratarolus was an Italian doctor and alchemist.
De Alchemia is an early collection of alchemical writings first published by Johannes Petreius in Nuremberg in 1541. A second edition was published in Frankfurt in 1550 by the printer Cyriacus Jacobus.
Fullmetal Alchemist is a 2017 Japanese science fantasy action film directed by Fumihiko Sori, starring Ryosuke Yamada, Tsubasa Honda and Dean Fujioka and based on the manga series of the same name by Hiromu Arakawa, covering the first four volumes of the original storyline. It was released in Japan by Warner Bros. Pictures on 1 December 2017. The theme song of the film, "Kimi no Soba ni Iru yo", is performed by Misia. Two sequels were released in 2022: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Revenge of Scar and Fullmetal Alchemist: The Final Alchemy.