Fulcanelli (dates of birth and death unknown) is almost certainly a pseudonym assumed, in the late 19th century, by a French alchemist and esoteric author, whose identity is still debated. He is also called the Master Alchemist and sometimes the Last Alchemist, the latter because the heritage of medieval alchemic tradition seemed to have ceased with his disappearance. The appeal of Fulcanelli as a cultural phenomenon is partly due to the mystery that surrounds most aspects of his life and works; one of the anecdotes pertaining to his life retells, in particular, how his most devoted pupil Eugene Canseliet performed a successful transmutation of 100 grams of lead into gold in a laboratory near Sarcelles with the use of a small quantity of the "Projection Powder" given to him by his teacher, in the presence of several eyewitnesses. A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to his or her legal name. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... Etymology Esoteric is an adjective originating during Hellenic Greece under the domain of the Roman Empire; it comes from the Greek esôterikos, from esôtero, the comparative form of esô: within. It is a word meaning anything that is inner and occult, a latinate word meaning hidden (from which... // Transmutation is the conversion of one object into another. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish white Atomic mass 207. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... Sarcelles is a large outlying satellite town of Paris, in the Val-dOise département. ...

Life

Very little has been established with any credence about Fulcanelli's origin or life. He was undoubtedly a Frenchman, widely and profoundly educated, and learned in the ways of alchemic lore, architecture, art, and languages.

To associate Fulcanelli with any exact dates or places, excepting the dates when his books were published, would be almost certainly to identify him with a man from his milieu and the illustrator of his books, Jean-Julien Champagne; and, while it is the single most plausible disambiguation of Fulcanelli's true identity, it is not without major flaws and should certainly not be accepted for an established fact. An environment is a complex of external factors that acts on a system and determines its course and form of existence. ...

Fulcanelli wrote two books that were later to be published, and disappeared in 1926, having left his magnum opus with Canseliet. One example of a fact which is difficult to reconcile with the Champagne theory is that Canseliet referred to Fulcanelli as being an eighty-year old man at the time he disappeared, while Champagne, born in 1877, would have only been fifty at the time. Another is that in 1957, twenty-five years after Champagne's death from an excessive intake of absinthe, a new chapter (The Cyclic Cross at Hendaye) was added to the second edition of Fulcanelli's major book, The Mystery of the Cathedrals, undoubtedly written by the same man. It is unclear why Champagne would have concealed it while he was alive, or why it would have taken so long to have it published posthumously; or why Canseliet would keep denying that Fulcanelli and Champagne were the same man till his own death. Magnum opus (sometimes Opus magnum), from the Latin meaning great work, refers to the best, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author, artist, or composer. ... A reservoir glass filled with a naturally colored verte next to an absinthe spoon. ... The Great Cross of Hendaye (French: Croix dHendaye) is a stone cross located on the town square of Hendaye, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in southwestern France. ...

Other theories about Fulcanelli speculate that he was one or another famous French occultist of the time; a member of the former Royal Family (the Valois); another member of the Frères d'Heliopolis (Brotherhood of Heliopolis, a society centred around Fulcanelli which included Eugene Canseliet, Jean-Julien Champagne and Jules Boucher); etc. All of these theories are equally poorly grounded in actual fact. The Valois Dynasty succeeded the Capetian Dynasty as rulers of France from 1328-1589. ...

It is believed that on the verge of World War II, the Abwehr was in active (but fruitless) pursuit of Fulcanelli because of his alleged knowledge of the technology of nuclear weapons. Combatants Allies: Poland, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, France/Free France, United States, China, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece,Norway and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Burma, Slovakia Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead... The Abwehr was a German intelligence organization from 1921 to 1944. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ...

Finally, according to Canseliet, his last encounter with Fulcanelli happened in 1954, when he went to Spain and there was taken to a castle high in the mountains for a rendez-vous with his former master, now miraculously rejuvenated and looking Canseliet's age (about fifty). This particular account is of a highly ambiguous nature, leaving one to question its credibility.

April 14, 2006: A translation of the book by Patrick Riviere, student of Eugene Canseliet, has been released which claims, with compelling evidence, to reveal the true identity of Fulcanelli. Riviere utilizes facts, documents, photographs, as well as hints given to him by his teacher, Canseliet. The conclusion is that Fulcanelli's true identity was Jules Violle, famous French physicist. See: Fulcanelli, by Patrick Riviere: Red Pill Press, ISBN 1-897244-21-5.

Works

The two books by Fulcanelli are

• Le Mystère des Cathédrales (The Mystery of the Cathedrals), written in 1922 and published in Paris in 1929. This is considered to be his main text, whereas
• Les Demeures Philosophales (Dwellings of the Philosophers), published in Paris in 1930, more resembles a compendium of lectures.

The books are written in a cryptic and erudite manner, replete with Latin and Greek puns, alchemical symbolism, double entendres, and lectures on and in Argot and Cant. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Argot is primarily slang used by various groups, including but not limited to thieves and other criminals, to prevent outsiders from understanding their conversations. ... The word cant can mean more than one thing: Cant is insincere speech, similar to hypocrisy. ...

A third book that has also reputedly been written has more of a mythical status and is called Finis Gloria Mundi (End of the World's Glory).

Miscellaneous

There is a song entitled "but who was Fulcanelli?" on the second disc of Frank Zappa's "Guitar" album. In the DC Comics Universe, "Evan Fulcanelli" was referred to as the uncle of Zatanna. His relation to Zatara is uncertain. There is also a song entitled "Fulcanelli" on Lagartija Nick's album "Lo imprevisto". Daniel Brummel's album "Speak Easy" includes the song "Mystery of the Cathedrals." Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, guitarist, singer, film director, and satirist. ... DC Comics (originally called Detective Comics, Inc. ... Zatanna (nicknamed Zee) is a fictional character, a superheroine in the DC Comics universe. ... Giovanni John Zatara, aka simply Zatara, was a fictional magician appearing in various publications of DC Comics, beginning with 1938s Action Comics #1, which was also the first appearance of Superman. ...

Dario Argento's 1980 horror film Inferno features a book written by a mysterious architect and alchemist named Varelli, both the alchemist and the book clearly being modelled upon Fulcanelli and Le Mystère des Cathédrales. In 1989's La Chiesa (The Church), directed by Michele Soavi and produced by Argento, the main character has a copy of Le Mystère des Cathédrales, which he quotes from. Dario Argento. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Michele Soavi, sometimes known as Michael Soavi (born July 3, 1957) is an Italian filmmaker. ...

External links

• Fulcanelli Revealed English translation of Fulcanelli Revealed, the theories on Fulcanelli's identity of Patrick Rivière, former student of Eugène Canseliet.
• Laura Knight-Jadczyk, The True Identity of Fulcanelli and The Da Vinci Code
• Patric J. Smith, The Fulcanelli Mystery
• Vincent Bridges, Fulcanelli and the Mystery of the Cross at Hendaye
• Julien Champagne, [1], site devoted to the illustrator of

Fulcanelli's works

• Fulcanelli de Fulgrosse [2], the evidence of the truth: in quest of the real Fulcanelli.