Originally published as special issue of Brill’s journal Early Science and Medicine, volume 24 (2019), no. 5–6 (published February 2020), now with a revised Introduction. A new Appendix by Julian Paulus, entitled “A Catalogue Raisonné of Pseudo-Paracelsian Writings: Texts Attributed to Paracelsus and Paracelsian Writings of Doubtful Authenticity,” has also been added.
Cover illustration: An alchemist in his laboratory. Oil painting on wood by James Nasmyth (1808–1890). Wellcome Library no. 47333i. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kahn, Didier, editor. | Hirai, Hiro, editor.
Title: Pseudo-paracelsus : forgery and early modern alchemy, medicine and natural philosophy / edited by Didier Kahn, Hiro Hirai.
Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2019, 2022. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021047070 (print) | LCCN 2021047071 (ebook) | ISBN 9789004503373 (hardback) | ISBN 9789004503380 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Paracelsus, 1493–1541. | Medicine—Philosophy—History.
Classification: LCC R147.P2 P74 2019, 2022 (print) | LCC R147.P2 (ebook) | DDC 610.1—dc23/eng/20211109
LC record available at
LC ebook record available at
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download:
ISBN 978-90-04-50337-3 (hardback)
ISBN 978-90-04-50338-0 (e-book)
Copyright 2019, 2022 by Didier Kahn and Hiro Hirai. Published by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Hotei, Brill Schöningh, Brill Fink, Brill mentis, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Böhlau Verlag and V&R Unipress.
Koninklijke Brill NV reserves the right to protect this publication against unauthorized use. Requests for re-use and/or translations must be addressed to Koninklijke Brill NV via
This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.