Balneum Mariæ

Operations instruments and practitioners · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A water bath used to warm vessels for several kinds of work.

In the book. Balneum roris changes the relation between the vessels and water by describing a vapour arrangement.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 10; facsimile PDF page 338.

Historical Definition

Balneum Mariæ, or Maris as many call it, is a distilling furnace containing water. Chemical vessels are placed in the warm water for putrefying the matter they contain, for separation, and for operations involving such moist ascents.

Meaning

The arrangement distinguishes the water that transmits warmth from the matter inside the chemical vessels. The vessels are placed in warm water; their contents undergo the intended process. Confusing those levels would turn an apparatus description into an instruction to mix water directly with the matter.

The entry lists several purposes, including putrefaction and separation, rather than making the bath the name of one operation. “Moist ascents” belongs to the description of the work carried on in that arrangement. The dictionary gives a configuration and a range of uses, not a single standardized temperature or vessel design.

Use in the Book

Balneum roris changes the relation between the vessels and water by describing a vapour arrangement. Comparing the two entries makes their spatial differences visible and helps a reader follow a historical heating description.

Places to Read

Balneum roris. A vapour-heated arrangement distinguished from the water bath.

Digestio. Preparation understood through digestion and the separation of pure from impure.

Cucurbita. A gourd-shaped vessel.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 10; facsimile PDF page 338 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Balneum Mariæ ; compare Balneum roris, Digestio, Cucurbita

See also. Balneum roris; Digestio; Cucurbita