Albert the Great

For other uses, see Albert (disambiguation).

Albert the Great, known by many other names, was a Dominican bishop and scholar who is wrongly considered a magician.

## History

He was born in Lauingen in, according to de Plancy, 1205. In his youth he had a vision of the Virgin Mary who he served, and who blessed him to become a great scholar. He was the teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas. In his old age, his mind faltered rapidly, making people believe the blessing he received was only temporary. This caused a rumour to spread that he had once been a donkey who had been transformed into a philosopher, and that his mind had now reverted to its former state.

He is stated as having died at the age of 87 in Cologne, but given his death is recorded as having happened in 1280, this means that de Plancy got the year of his birth wrong, and that he was instead born in 1193.

Matthew of Luna attributed to him the invention of the cannon and pistol, but in reality he had nothing to do with these.

## Legends

According to Mayer, Albert the Great learned the secret of the philosopher's stone from the Dominicans, which he then taught to St. Thomas Aquinas.

He is also said to have possessed a stone with a natural marking in the shape of a serpent, which would attract snakes if placed in a location where snakes were often seen.

Mayer also says that he spent 30 years using his magical and astrological knowledge to build an automaton capable of speaking, using carefully selected metals which he aligned to the stars, in a similar vein to the automata claimed to have been created by Virgil, Pope Sylvester II, and Roger Bacon. St. Thomas Aquinas is said to have destroyed this automaton with a stick, believing it to have been either the work of the devil or one of his agents.

At a banquet he hosted in Cologne for the Holy Roman Emperor William II, he used white magic to make the banquet hall seem as though it was spring, whereas it was winter outside, and once the banquet was over the plants withered and returned to winter.

He supposedly tried making use of kingfisher feathers in one of his experiments, using the belief that their feathers continued to crow after the bird was dead. This did not work.

## Works

* 21-volume set including tales described as fantasy rather than fact, published in 1651
* *The Admirable Secrets of Albert the Great*, attributed. A collection of treatises on a myriad of topics including magic.
* *The Solid Treasure of Little Albert, or Marvelous Secrets of Natural and Kabbalistic Magic*, attributed and originally in Latin. A book on the creation of various magical items.

## Further Reading

* *Vision of the Schoolboy* in *Legends of the Holy Virgin*
* *On Sleep and Wakefulness*

## See Also

* Aiguillette
* Talismans
* Hand of Glory
* Greek Fire
* Aqua Vitae
* Traveller's Garter and Staff
* Ring of Invisibility
* Sympathetic Powder
* Artificial Gold

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 de Plancy, J. C., (1863). *Dictionnaire Infernal*. 6ed. pg.13
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 de Plancy, J. C., (1863). *Dictionnaire Infernal*. 6ed. pg.14
3. ↑ de Plancy, J. C., (1863). *Dictionnaire Infernal*. 6ed. pg.16
4. ↑ de Plancy, J. C., (1863). *Dictionnaire Infernal*. 6ed. pg.15