Michał Sędziwój (Michael Sendivogius) (1566 - 1636) was a Polish alchemist, philosopher, medical doctor.

Pioneer of chemistry, he developed ways of purification and creation of various acids, metals and other chemical compounds. He assumed that air contains oxygen, 170 years before Scheele and Priestley, by warming nitre (saltpetre). He thought of the gas given off as "the elixir of life".

As many other alchemists, he supposedly owned the philosopher's stone. Due to this he was imprisoned several times by various German princes, who used tortures to force him to divulge his secrets. In Poland he appeared on the royal court of Zygmunt III Waza around year 1600. After short time he had become an important person on the court, as king Zygmunt was an alchemy enthusiat himself and even experimented himself with Sedziwoj.

In the Cracow's castle (Zamek Wawelski) the chamber where the expermients was carried is still intact. Jan Matejko, famous Polish painter, has dedicated one of his paintins to show Sędziwój at work.

His works and books were written in a secret code, understandable only to other alchemists. They contain various scientific, pseudoscientific and philiosphical theories.

Near the end of his life, Sędziwój settled in Prague, on court of Rudolf II, where he gained even more fame as a designer of metal mines and foundries.

Sędziwój in fiction

Michał Sędziwój appears in several books by Polish writer Andrzej Pilipiuk (Kuzynki, Księzniczka).

References

• Michael Sendivogius, The Alchemical Letters of Michael Sendivogius to the Rosicrucian Society, Holmes Pub Group Llc, ISBN 155818404X
• Zbigniew Szydlo, Water which does not wet hands. The alchemy of Michael Sendivogius, London-Warsaw 1994
• Rafal T. Prinke, MICHAEL SENDIVOGIUS and CHRISTIAN ROSENKREUTZ The Unexpected Possibilities, The Hermetic Journal, 1990, 72-98

External links

• MICHAEL SENDIVOGIUS and CHRISTIAN ROSENKREUTZ The Unexpected Possibilities online
• LETTERS OF MICHAEL SENDIVOGIUS TO THE ROSEYCRUSIAN SOCIETY FOUND IN AN OLD MANUSCRIPT BY EBENEZER SIBLY M.D. 1791
• A letter from Michael Sendivogius to Vincenzo II Gonzaga, duke of Mantua (1562-1612)