Anna Maria Zieglerin (c. 1550-1575) serves as an illuminating example of how most women alchemists bridged the space between spiritual and physical alchemy.
She was said to have survived a premature birth in which she had been wrapped in an unusual blanket consisting of some unfortunate woman donor’s skin, for a period of 12 weeks (Nummedeal, 2001). This bizarre incubation technique was thought to have allowed her to maturate into a viable baby.
Anna Maria’s family was of German nobility, although not of the highest rank. In addition to her remarkable birth story, Anna Maria had not begun menstruating, even by her early teen years, causing her to believe she carried a special kind of purity. Tragically, she was raped by a potential suitor, Nikolaus von Hamdorff, when she was 14-years-old and became pregnant, which possibly explains why despite her supposed absence of a menstrual cycle, she carried this virginal self-image of being other-worldly, pure, and chaste. The baby was born at term but was allegedly drowned by Anna Maria and her nurse.
Anna Maria’s first marriage was a disaster. At the age of 16 years, she was widowed after only nine weeks from her first husband, who died in a riding accident. She was then coerced into marrying a very unpleasant fellow, Heinrich Schombach, who is described as a “cross-eyed court jester” (Nummedal, 2001, p. 59). Heinrich must have been a less than charming suitor as he was also known as “Harry the Squint” (Federmann, 1964, p. 171). The marriage was not a congenial one.
In the course of their chaotic relationship, the couple met an alchemist, Philipp Sömmering for whom Heinrich became an assistant. By 1571, Anna Maria was 21-years-old and accompanied her husband to join Sömmering in his alchemical work for Duke Julius of Braunschweig- Wolfenbüttel. Their task was to create the Philosopher’s Stone in order to subsequently create gold and gemstones.
There are some discrepancies in the stories surrounding Anna Maria’s true motives for her alchemical work; however, Sömmering was a criminal and saw this scheme as a way to make money in the tradition of many alchemical swindlers (Federmann, 1964). Heinrich Schombach was a willing participant in this plan of action along with another fellow villain, Sylvester Schulfermann of Lübeck. Schulfermann was later accused of the rather suspicious murder of a courier who had been about to deliver information that would have been damaging to the group’s plans.
Yet, amidst all this scheming, it appears that in the beginning of this intrigue, Sömmering truly believed that Anna Maria knew how to produce the Philosopher’s Stone. Eventually, he concluded that no stone was going to appear. He became anxious considering the potential consequences of being found out by his benefactor and requested to be released from these labors with his colleagues, Anna Maria and Harry. However, when the Duke asked for repayment of the 2000 talers he had already paid them, Sömmering fled, incriminating the group and leading to the their arrest.
The threesome found themselves on trial in 1574 for a number of crimes including: “murder of a courier, attempted poisoning of Duchess Hedwig, and copying keys to the Duke’s chambers with intent to steal some papers” (Nummedal, 2001, p. 56). However, their real crime seems to have been the inability to produce a genuine Philosopher’s Stone, as well as the subsequent attempt at a cover-up. Nummedal notes that confessions to all charges were tortured out of the three defendants. They were put to death on February 7, 1575. The two men were burned with tongs repeatedly and quartered. Anna Maria was burned alive, “strapped to an iron stool” (p. 56). She was 25-years-old.
