Meet the Real Nicolas Flamel ⚗️
Don’t feel like reading? Listen to the Strange as Fiction podcast episode Nicholas Flamel and the Philosopher’s Stone instead!
The mysterious Nicolas Flamel makes numerous appearances in some of today’s most popular works including Michael Scott’s New York Times Best Seller “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel” series, Dan Brown’s the Davinci Code and of course, most famously — Harry Potter.
In Harry Potter, Nicolas Flamel is the creator of the Philosopher’s Stone, a ruby red object that can turn metal into gold and most powerfully, grants its owner immortality with its Elixir of Life. Because of this Nicolas and his wife are some 600 years old. Voldemort greatly desired to get his hands on the stone to restore himself to strength and grant him ultimate power.
While these literary interpretations do take inspiration from the real life French bookseller — they of course, do not tell the real story. However, the real life story of Nicolas Flamel is no less fantastical.
Likely born in Pontoise (just outside of Paris) in 1330. The bookseller married Perenelle who was already twice widowed and brought with her fortunes from both of her previous marriages. This wealth helped them obtain several properties and earn a reputation as prolific philanthropists, donating money to the Catholic church and other causes.
According to the record, Nicolas owned two shops as a scribe, died in 1418 and was buried beneath a headstone of his own making which was carved with the images of Christ, St. Peter, and St. Paul.
Okay, so how did he go from being a bookseller who was charitable and built his own headstone to a legendary figure who is synonymous with alchemy and is worth talking about nearly 700 years later? Here’s where things get murky…
Many people don’t believe that he died at all. Rather he and Perenelle faked their deaths and fled to India, using their alchemical knowledge to fend off death.
It is said that a stranger appeared to Flamel with a rare manuscript which Flamel recognized from his dreams where an angel had appeared and told him: ‘One day you will see in it that which no other man will be able to see…’
The manuscript written by Abraham the Jew is what sparked his curiosity in alchemy. It was written in Greek, Hebrew and other languages. Most curiously were the alchemical symbols that dotted the document. If you’re a fan of Led Zeppelin, you’ll know exactly what some of those symbols look like.
After 21 years of trying to decipher the document, Flamel went to Leon Spain to confide in the Jewish scholar, Maestro Canches. Canches was able to translate some of the document but died before being able to finish. Fortunately, as the story goes, Flamel was able to learn enough from the scholar to finish translating the rest of the book.
Through the 21 page book, it is said Flamel mastered the mystical art of Hermeticism. Hermeticism was a tradition inspired by the Hermes Trismegistus who is said to be a mythical combination of both a Greek and Egyptian god and is responsible for many hermetic and esoteric spiritual texts that serve as the foundation for Hermeticism.
Hermes makes an appearance in Islamic tradition and was also referenced by Plato who saw the figure as evil and said thus: On evil’s pillow, / Satan Trismegistus rocks our spirits — enchanted by / the subtle chemist, the will’s / precious metals turn to vapor.
The Hermetica text was very popular during the Middle Ages and Renaissance but died out in 1614 when a scholar wrote a convincing book proving that Hermes could not have been a contemporary of Moses as everyone had thought, and that the texts had to of come after Christ. It was a damning argument for the alchemists who subscribed to this idea.
Regardless of these later historical events, during his era, Flamel was said to have mastered the Hermetical arts and created a philosopher’s stone which granted him the powers of immortality and the ability to turn any metal into gold. The timeline synced up with his ascendence to wealth and even prompted an investigation from King Charles the VI.
Others say he was not involved in alchemy at all, and that these were fabrications from 17th century booksellers hoping to push more copies of alchemical texts. A sort of uncouth PR tactic to drive up demand, after all who wouldn’t want the power to turn any metal into gold or live as long as they please?
But for one reason or another, Flamel’s name kept popping up throughout history. People reported to have seen him and the genius Isaac Newton referenced Flame’s alchemical skills.
In the 1800s, Victor Hugo made mention of him in his famous work, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
While the mystical claims about Nicolas Flamel remain just that, “claims” — physical objects remain as proof of his existence. The headstone he created bearing his name was eventually turned into a cutting board for a Parisian grocery. And one of Nicolas Flame’s Parisian houses he built to house the homeless still stands and is the oldest stonehouse in the city. The homeless were allowed to stay there so long as they prayed for the souls of the dead. An inscription on the wall reads — “We, plowmen and women living at the porch of this house, built in 1407, are requested to say every day an ‘Our Father’ and an ‘Ave Maria’ praying God that His grace forgive poor and dead sinners.”
In 2008, the bottom floor was converted into a restaurant.
Want more stories like this? Subscribe to the Strange as Fiction Podcast! 🎙️
