[CitsMoise17]

From what I've read, both before and after the sack of Constantinople in 1204, and continuing until the Turkish conquest in 1453, many scholars from what remained of the Byzantine empire fled to Europe with pretty much anything they could salvage from their libraries. The loss of writings wasn't just due to destruction, but to attempts at preservation.

Western Europe already had many similar writings, since the Arabs were fascinated by Greek philosophy and science (including alchemy -- the word comes from the Arabic "al-kimiya") and had already translated many Greek works, in addition to writing many of their own. Much of this learning spread into Morocco and Spain under Arab rule; when this territory was retaken, a great deal of literature was captured and eventually translated, leading eventually to the flourishing of the sciences in Europe at that time (as well as helping fuel the rise of Scholasticism).

I don't have anything to account for the period between 1000 AD and 1200 AD. Perhaps friction with the Arabs and with Europe (the Great Schism occurred during this period) distracted the attention of many who might otherwise have pursued such studies. Some of the sources I've read suggested that advances in alchemical (and other types of scientific) learning were almost exclusively in the hands of the Arabs between the seventh and twelfth centuries anyway, but I don't know how much truth or exaggeration there is in that.

In Christ,
Mike