Schultheisz Emil: Traditio Renovata. Tanulmányok a középkor és a reneszánsz orvostudományáról / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 21. (Budapest, 1997)
20. The contacts of the two Dees and Sir Philip Sidney with Hungarian physicians
Z^oo¡ nuscript of Jonathan Gođđarđ (1617—1674), treating the materia medica (pharmacology in today's terms), we meet a number of Bánfihunyadi's recipes hitherto unknown by the literature. 4 5 However interesting these recipes of Bánfihunyadi may be—the manuscript mentions their author once as Dr. Huniades, then again as John Hunyades—it is outside our scope to go into their details. However, we consider it important to mention that the text, or rather the collection of recipes in the manuscript, are so far from being of an alchemist character, that they are not even reminiscent of the "Corpus Alchemisticum'—which is the basis of all the alchemist writings dealing with gold-making and searching for the philosophers' stone. The ingredients of the prescriptions, the chemical techniques applied, the methods of preparation all doubtlessly prove that Bánfihunyadi must have been a true chemist. It is interesting to notice that as early as in 1641 he already made use of the alcoholthermometer in certain distilling procedures. The majority of drugs and mineral substances mentioned in the recipes had been used as medicines in the 17th century. What is new here is the method of their preparation. All the recipes described in the manuscript were meant for therapeutic use and no trace can be found in them of any "classical" alchemist objective, as the formula of the lapis philosophorum or gold-making. If the work has any connection with alchemy then it is the use of alchemist symbols. By this we do not intend to say that Bánfthunyadi was not an alchemist for he was one. It is, however, obvious that his work as a chemist-pharmacologist proceeded in the direction of natural science, it was of an experimental character and clearly distinguishable from alchemy. At the present state of our knowledge, we have a great number of indirect data on his having been an alchemist, whereas we have direct proof of his chemical activities. An excellent Hungarian source 4 6 completes our picture of Bánfihunyadi with interesting biographical data. The Hungarian scholar who settled in London maintained close connections with his native country, he spoke in his mother-tongue with Hungarians living abroad and with those who were about to travel home, also his letters written home are Hungarian. He supported Hungarian students studying in England both financially and morally. A much more significant fact found is that when György Rákóczi I, Prince of Transylvania, made an attempt to establish an academy in he capital of his country, Kolozsvár, he intended to appoint Bánfihunyadi to its leader as a man with excellent knowledge of the English academic organization and life. Our source recalls this circumstance as follows: ".. .György Rákóczi called János Bánfihunyadi home in 1633 in order to organize a body of professors, here (in Kolozsvár), which would consist only of Hungarians. There cannot be any doubt about the autenticity of this letter of invitation since it was seen by Adam Frank himself in London." 4 7 In 1646 he was about to leave for Hungary with his wife, four children and his friend Dr. Arthur Dee, but death prevented him from realizing his plan. 4 8 Neither did the other member of the English —Hungarian scientist team survive him long: Arthur Dee died in September 1651. The history of Hungarian —English medical relations continues with the role of the two Doctor Brownes. 4 Í Ambix, Vol. 5, 50. 4 6 Keserű B. (ed.): Adattár XV¡l. századi szellemi mozgalmaink történetéhez (Collected Data to the History of Intellectual Trends in the 17th Century). Vol. 2. Budapest—Szeged. 1966, 294—296, 369. 4 7 Ibid. Vol. I. 289 p. Cfr. op. cit. 116, 287-290, 375, 384. 4 8 "... Als er in Alter mit dem Arthur Dee, seinem vertrauten Freunde und Sohne des Johannis Dee in sein Vaterland zurückreisen wollte, starb er zu Amsterdam, nach 1650." Adelung, J. Chr. op. cit. Vol. I., column 1397.
