McCallum R I
Vesalius. 1996;2(1):39-49.
Alchemical scrolls associated with George Ripley are unusual documents which illustrate the pursuit of the Philosophers Stone. Scrolls vary from about 5 feet in length by 5 inches wide to over 20 feet long and about 3 feet wide. There are 16 scrolls in libraries in the UK and 4 in the USA. Ripley whose name is attached to the scrolls was a Canon of Bridlington in Yorkshire and lived from about 1415 to 1495. He is renowned as an alchemist and author of alchemical works in rhyme, and his verses are used on the scrolls. Some of the scrolls were produced in the 16th century, in Lübeck, probably at the request of John Dee the Elizabethan polymath. A Ripley scroll is in the library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh to which it was presented in 1707. The only published description of this scroll appeared in 1876, and it has not apparently been studied since. Interest in Ripley scrolls has grown in recent years and there have been a number of publications describing them since 1990. The Edinburgh scroll is described and is compared with the other scrolls which have been seen personally or for which detailed descriptions have been published. The origin, significance and use of Ripley Scrolls are discussed in an attempt to define their contemporary role.
与乔治·瑞普利相关的炼金术卷轴是不同寻常的文献，它们阐释了对贤者之石的追求。卷轴长度从约5英尺（1.52米）长、5英寸（12.7厘米）宽到超过20英尺（6.1米）长、约3英尺（0.91米）宽不等。英国的图书馆中有16份卷轴，美国有4份。与这些卷轴相关的瑞普利是约克郡布里德灵顿的一名牧师，生活于约1415年至1495年。他以炼金术士以及炼金术押韵作品的作者而闻名，他的诗句被用在卷轴上。其中一些卷轴于16世纪在吕贝克制作，可能是应伊丽莎白时代的博学家约翰·迪伊的要求。一份瑞普利卷轴保存在爱丁堡皇家内科医学院图书馆，于1707年捐赠给该馆。关于这份卷轴唯一已发表的描述出现在1876年，此后显然未被研究过。近年来，对瑞普利卷轴的兴趣有所增加，自1990年以来已有许多描述它们的出版物。本文描述了爱丁堡卷轴，并将其与其他亲自见过或已发表详细描述的卷轴进行比较。文中还讨论了瑞普利卷轴的起源、意义和用途，试图界定它们在当代的作用。
