“Do as I say, not always as I do.” Understanding medieval alchemical recipes with the help of philology, archaeology and experimental archaeology

In medieval alchemical literature, recipes occupy an important place. However, they are often very difficult to understand for the modern researcher, both because of the temporal and sometimes geographical distance of the authors, and because of the means of expression used by them, which are often elusive and sometimes plainly obscure. In this paper, the two contributors will illustrate, using examples in Arabic and Latin, how the combined use of philology, archaeology and experimental archaeology allows for a better understanding of medieval alchemical recipes and for the solution of the problems they pose