A Chymical Dictionary

Salamandri

Spirits celestial influences and signs · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. Spirits or fiery men associated with residence in fire.

In the book. Sagani supplies a collective elemental class.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 41; facsimile PDF page 369.

Historical Definition

Salamandri are spirits dwelling in fire, or fiery men.

Meaning

The gloss gives a dwelling and two ways of naming its inhabitants. Its fiery men belong to the dictionary’s account of spirits, rather than to its account of workers who tend a furnace. The distinction matters because another entry, Vulcanii, concerns those continually occupied about fire.

Use in the Book

Sagani supplies a collective elemental class. Saldini is expressly equated with Salamandri, while Trifertes is also described through dwelling in fire. The comparisons show overlapping descriptions; only Saldini is explicitly presented here as the same name.

Places to Read

Sagani. A collective name for elemental spirits.

Saldini. An alternative name for the fire-dwelling Salamandri.

Trifertes. A fire-dwelling spirit name.

In This Edition

The plural forms are retained so that the names remain recognizable in the historical text. The article follows the reported kind of being without supplying an anatomy or a modern zoological identity.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 41; facsimile PDF page 369 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Salamandri; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 369; compare Sagani, Saldini, Trifertes, Vulcanii

See also. Sagani; Saldini; Trifertes; Vulcanii