Magonomia – Alchemical terror and treasure-filled poultry (introducing Benvenuto Cellini)

Cellini was a Florentine goldsmith who lived during Elizabeth’s reign. He wrote a lengthy biography in which he confesses to serial murder and necromancy, but its the little boasts which make him particularly charming. If you’re an Ars Magica player his petty pride is perfect for a Verditus magus, and if you play Magonomia, his practical alchemy is full of useful effects.

The following plot hooks aren’t from his Autobiography, which I’m seriously thinking of turning into a column called “The FATE of Celllini” for Magonomia. They are from a little book on goldsmithing he wrote when his patron was annoyed at him, so he had no work to do. The first hook is reminiscent of my earlier episode about Playing the Ghost. The later is a source of vis, in Ars magica, or treasure, in any roleplaying game. This recording is by Rob Marland, released through Librivox. Thanks to the gang. Commentary afterward.

“Piero di Nino was a goldsmith, who worked only in filigree, an art which, while it affords great charm, is not without its difficulties. He, however, knew how to work in it better than anyone else. Inasmuch as there was great riches in those days within the town, so was it likewise in the country, especially among the peasant folk of the plain, who used to get made for their wives a sort of velvet girdle with buckle and pin, about half a cubit long and covered all over with little spangles. These buckles and pins were all wrought in filigree with great delicacy and fashioned in silver of excellent setting. When later on I shall show how these things are made, I am sure the reader will find delight in them.

I knew this Piero de Nino when an old man of near 90 years. He died partly from fear of dying of hunger, and partly from a shock he got one night. As for the dying of hunger it was this way : An edict had been issued in the city that no more belts should be worn either by peasants or others ; and the poor old fellow, who knew no other branch of goldsmithing but this, was always grieving, and cursing from the bottom of his heart all those who had a hand in making this law.

He lived near a draper’s shop, where was a young rogue of an urchin, the son of one of them that had made the law. The boy, hearing him thus continually cursing his father, ‘Oh, Piero,’ said he, ‘if you go on swearing like that, some fine day the devil will come and carry you off, bones and all !’ Now one Saturday night, when the old chap had worked right up to midnight to finish some job he was engaged on that was to go to Bologna, the urchin took it into his head to play him a practical joke and give him a fright. So he stood on the watch for the old man on his way home.

The latter, as was his wont, locked up his shop, took his lantern in his hand, and, with the lap- pet of his cloak thrown over his head, trudged along ever so slowly, and as lonely as a ghost, home to his house, which stood in the via Mozza. Just as he was turning the corner of the old market the urchin, who was awaiting in ambush for him, and had tricked himself out with rag-tag, sulphur lights, blue fire, and suchlike horrible devilries, suddenly jumped out upon him. The poor old thing was so terrified at the fearful monster thus suddenly coming at him, that he lost his senses ; so much so that the boy, seeing he had played the fool, had to lead the old man home as well as he could, and consign him to the care of his grandsons, among whom was one called Meino, a courier, who afterwards became warden of Arezzo.

Suffice it, the fright had been so great, that soon after the poor old fellow died. This is usually stated as the actual cause of Piero’s death, and I have myself oft times heard it narrated.

So, the devices mentioned are blue fire and sulphur lights. Let’s explore those. I presume one is a cool fire created using a high proof alcohol. Sulphur lights I’ll need to research and report back on.

***

In his chapter on white rubies, Cellini says

“I have oft found many such in the bellies of wild fowl, so also the loveliest of turquoises. I used to be very fond of going out shooting, I made my own powder, and became such a fine shot that I should be ready to stand any test you like. I always shot with the simple ball and as for powder…it was quite different rom the powder commonly used. In this wise did I march over the Roman Campagna, at the time when the birds of passage return, and in their bellies I found stones of all sorts, turquoises, white and coloured rubies, also emeralds and every now and again a pearl. But, as I said, these white rubies are of very little use; you only know them for rubies because of their great hardness.

So, to some presumptions:

The stones in the entrails of birds are, I presume, gastroliths. These are abrasives held in the craw to help the birds mechanically process food. I’d note there’s some evidence of dinosaurs having gastroliths, and quite large ones at that, so its possible you could kill a dragon and find huge, tumbled rocks inside. I’ve used draconic gastroliths in my games as sharpening stonews for magic weapons, and magical millstones. We’ve used every other bit of the dragon for treasure, why not digestive rocks? Sapphires make a lot of sense as gastroliths, because they are about as hard as you are going to find in nature. Presumably the birds have picked them up in fantastic foreign climes.

I presume the thing he’s talking about here is what I’d call a white sapphire, and I’m surprised they are useless, because here, in Australia, they are used as a relatively inexpensive diamond simulant. It’s not like simulants are rare in European royal jewellery: there are a lot of rubies which are actually spinels, for example.

The odd thing is his mention of the occasional pearl. Cellini knows full well pearls are an excretion of shellfish. It seems an odd inclusion. It touches a theory I’ll propound next time we visit Cellini, which is that, in our games, he has the Sight but doesn’t know it.