The Crowned Serpent (Mors Peccati / The Death of Sin). An alchemical manuscript attributed to Frater Ulmannus. Period: Mid-15th century (Franconia, post-1467). Medium: Opaque watercolor (Deckfarben) miniature on paper. Currently at: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, Cgm 598, fol. 78v.
This miniature comes from the Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit (Book of the Holy Trinity), one of the most original documents of Christian alchemy from the Middle Ages. The work was penned by the Franconian Franciscan monk Frater Ulmannus, and it’s estimated to have been written between 1410 and 1419.
On folio 78v, we come across a striking figure: an androgynous or hermaphroditic entity with a gold crown and a turquoise-green body. It has a human head that gradually tapers into a coiled serpent’s tail. This figure grasps a long spear with both hands, holding it diagonally from bottom left to top right. The Middle High German text at the top of the page gives us a clue: “hör ab das er erst sundigte / in den tod ewigen tod” - roughly translated: “Listen, he first sinned / unto death, eternal death.” In the lower section, there’s another textual frame: “Darnach got Jhesus Christus / ward mensch etc. Erlöste uns…” - meaning, “Thereafter God Jesus Christ became human and redeemed us.”
So, what does this crowned serpent-hermaphrodite figure symbolize?
The central theme of the Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit is equating the alchemical transformation process with the Christian Passion narrative. The serpent body itself is a deliberate choice in medieval alchemy. It represents transformation, a dualistic nature (poison and cure, death and resurrection), and the still “unfixed” mobility of physical matter. According to alchemical symbolism, the spear or lance is also identified with the instrument used to “fix” the volatile.
Combined with the miniature’s inscriptions, the theological-alchemical message is this: humanity was corrupted by original sin (the prima materia is in a raw and tainted state). A crowned serpent represents this corruption - meaning it’s a substance that possesses royal dignity but is still awaiting transformation. Christ’s redemption, meanwhile, symbolizes the completion of the Great Work - the alchemical transmutation.
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