Frankenstein revealed: Johann Conrad Dippel real story .

Frankenstein revealed: Johann Conrad Dippel story

Most people who read the novel "Frankenstein" the British writer Mary Shelley (an opera classic of the genre) have been fascinated and terrified in equal measure the story of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the monster that it created. Despite the fame won for short story - thanks to its numerous screenings - few people suspect that Mary Shelley was inspired to design his sinister monster and his creator, the life and works as a character is very real and believable. Moreover, the personality of Johann Conrad Dippel was built entirely fictional correspondent height.


Castle of Frankenstein exist !

In all the movies that bring to the screen story by Mary Shelley published in 1818 image transpires already become a classic, a dangerous and unpredictable scholar, also touched the wing of madness and genius. Anxious character - and eventually odious - terrifying experiments lead, which violates ethics laws and human morality.

At that led to the creation of this character was a man of extraordinary personality and aspirations.
This is Joseph Konrad Dippel, an alchemist, physician and scholar of German pietist. "Scientist cursed", as it was called then, saw daylight on August 10, 1673 in Castle Frankenstein, a fortress medivală located about 5 km south of Darmstadt and whose ruins can be visited and admired today. In fact, thanks to the novel and movie fame, the castle quickly became a tourist attraction sought full advantage of "brand" Frankenstein.

Naturally curious, restless, challenging and equally bold, Johann Conrad Dippel thoroughly studied theology, philosophy and alchemy at the University of Giessen, receiving a prestigious master's degree in theology, around the year 1693.


Attracted to the religious dimension of everyday life, controversial character later published numerous works were the subject of theology, as the christianus Democritus, many of them keeping it up today. Was restless and curious nature to thrust into many ideological disputes, such as those of the years 1700-1702, the time Conrad was engaged in a heated controversy with influential figure of the time, Conrad Broeske, Reformed preacher of the Court Offenbach.

Although, initially, Dippel shared the same vision and hope for millennial inspiration in the awaited revival of Christianity, with its rival Conrad Broeske, the friendship between the two theologians ended abruptly. Dippel openly accused the authorities Broeske compromise, after the latter refused to publish incendiary manifesto, entitled more than suggestive "papistic scourge of Protestants".

Theologian's controversial reputation has earned him both Dippel opponents and supporters throughout Western Europe. Famous Emanuel Swedenborg began as a supporter of his ideas Dippel, ending finally in the role of its fierce opponent, characterizing it with phrases like "the devil who tried things feared witchcraft". Swedenborg said he was at first a supporter of writings with a rich emotional and Dippel's claimed his ideas on the dissolution of traditional church beliefs in favor of a freer and more personal. Swedenborg claimed and rejected the Bible as a credible source of the word of God, another extreme idea promoted by Dippel.
 

But then, all Swedenborg described as a man "without principles, a fire which was opposed to everything and everyone, who rejected any principle of faith, becoming angry at anyone attempting to coerce him in any way". Swedenborg to religious intuition as an opportunist who used his charisma to theological and ideological self-interest financial and social influence. A dangerous man, who had the power to divert them from others-traditional dogmatic faith, after taking advantage of them, leaving behind only a sadness and religious delusions.




Father of Prussian blue?

Dippel had an adventurous life, often reaching the middle of trouble, mainly because of his controversial ideas and virulent, and because of financial problems. At one point he reached the prison, was condemned for heresy.

Dark side was not mellowed at all the experience behind bars, so that after release they start to create a mixture of animal fats, known among occultists as "Dippel's oil." Our character claimed grease produced by him was neither more nor less than a true "Elixir of Life", an original version miraculous elixir properties, sought for centuries by alchemists.

Dippel was so confident in the "elixir" of his, that at one point tried to buy Castle Frankenstein in return for his formula. Obviously, he was refused ...

According to some authors, Johann Dippel and an obscure manufacturer of pigments, called Diesbach were used grease in question, which was added potassium carbonate to obtain a dye in a new shade of red. To the surprise of both, the mixture came in the form of a blue pigment, known then as the names of Prussian blue and Prussian Blue and used until today in painting.

Adventurous and occult: a dangerous mixJohann Dippel has remained a passionate search and travel into the unknown. While they lived in Castle Frankenstein dealt serious personal further research in alchemy and human and animal anatomy.Legend says that it would have taken away any dangerous experiments, as for example one in which he worked with nitroglycerin, and the experiment would have ended with a powerful explosion that destroyed one of the towers of the castle. The event is treated today as a myth, based on obvious facts: nitroglycerin had not been discovered while living Dippel, and the castle archives never mentions anywhere of any destruction of the tower.Other rumors about it spread to the area with a macabre air inventive fantasy.For example, it seems that Johann Dippel had done many terrible experiments on cadavers, experiments in which lunatics character tried to transfer the soul of a dead body in the other.Although attempts to transfer his soul into the bodies was a basic component of activity alchemists of the time, no clear evidence on Dippel's involvement in such experiments, except zvonisticii weather and local folklore.There is no written evidence on his expulsion from the castle and town after rumors about his activities reached the ears of the authorities since.However, fame has already spread to Europe, as some countries such as Sweden and Russia they had already injunction on their territory. His writings outrageous and religious controversies caused by his ideas is already transformed into an undesirable character.Although there is no evidence to involve him in experiments on human cadavers, Dippel has made many such actions on the bodies of animals. Known as a passionate dissection, Dippel argued in his dissertation entitled "Diseases and Remedies of Life hidden in meat," that he found himself Elixir of Life, and effective methods of exorcism of demons, all made it through potion - concoctions of meat and animal bones that dissect and study.

Johann Heinrich Jung, one of his contemporaries claimed that towards the end of his life, Dippel had lost all trace of Christian faith, mainly because it considered acidic dispute with various officials of the Church.

Christ called him "a being indifferent" Dippel and energy channeled exclusively towards his experiments with the occult, alchemical flavor. Înjeghebat has its own laboratory in Wittgenstein, lab finally reached a pub will be called after him, Dippelshof. Since then, reports on its activities become more vague and difficult to follow. At that time, Dippel was repeatedly accused of robbing graves, experiments on human cadavers and, especially, by working closely with the Devil ... Obviously, given the social climate of the times and his exploits, Dippel could not miss such an accusation!

Dippel has been faithful to their convictions and experiments, some authors claiming that the rumors deliberately maintained the fact that he sold his soul in exchange for secret knowledge Evil prohibited ordinary mortals.

In the same vein, Dippel did not hesitate to cultivate the aura of black magician, who prepared him to succeed among those willing to pay in exchange for access to the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life.

Thread of his life ended abruptly on April 25, 1734. Probably the most controversial German occultist, Johann Conrad Dippel died Wittgenstein Castle near Bad Laasphe. The exact cause of his death, some sources indicate a stroke, while others suggest poisoning. In more than ironic, one year before he died, Dippel note in a pamphlet that has just discovered an elixir that would be allowed to reach the age of 135 years ...

Dippel and Frankenstein

Dippel's connection with the Castle Frankenstein gave rise to the theory that the controversial theologian occultist was inspirational model of the novel Frankenstein, although the idea itself remains open to debate.

Who first suggested this hypothesis was historian and researcher Romanian Radu Florescu, who in his In Search of Frankenstein, in 1975, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin suggested that the author (the future Mary Shelley, by marriage) visited the castle respectively, while traveling on the Rhine in the company of Percy Shelley, who was to become his spouse. Then, it seems that the two would have heard local stories about the life and works of Johann Dippel.




Victor Frankenstein's monster, here in the filming of the famous novel, played by actor anybody else Boris Karloff

An expert in local history, Walter Scheele, believes that the photos remain in villages around the castle were transmitted by Jacob Grimm Mary Jane Clairmont, who first translated into English Brothers Grimm stories. Coincidentally or not, Mary Jane Clairmont was stepmother author Mary Shelley.

Drawing obvious parallels, it seems that the myth about Johann Dippel as the man behind the character Victor Frankenstein is somewhat similar to forced connection is still where Dracula and Vlad Tepes historical character.

Although several non-fiction works support the hypothesis historian Radu Florescu, debate on the relationship between Victor Frankenstein and Johann Conrad Dippel is still open. In any case, Dippel remains an interesting character, a rebel original in its way, a personality whose life deserves thorough and researched today.