This study focuses on two areas: alchemy (Part I) and rituals of initiation (Part II) in the works of Miguel de Cervantes, focusing on Don Quijote de la Mancha as my main case study. The first part analyses the function of alchemy and how it can be interpreted throughout the works and various literary genres of Cervantes. It will demonstrate that the texts of Cervantes contain both explicit and implicit allusions to, as well as different aspects of alchemy, such as operative and spiritual alchemy and how these are ultimately used by Cervantes as a means of expression. The author draws from this rich source and modifies these means of expression in order to achieve various results: sometimes with wit or in relation to fraud; at other times it focuses on inner alchemy relating to chivalry in what I have called spiritual chivalry, which has the aim of self-improvement and ultimately, gnosis. Regarding the chivalric rituals of initiation, according to this investigation chivalry serves as both satire and representation of the alchemical process in the case of Don Quijote, which finds its key moments during the rituals. In this sense alchemy and chivalry are studied as two sides of the same coin, in which the search for something higher, an object (the philosopher stone, the beloved), subjects the protagonist to continuous transmutations and puts him in contact with the transitory, that is, liminal states, people and spaces. From this perspective Don Quixote de la Mancha is built upon liminal poetics. My approach, which follows the tenets of analogical hermeneutics, is included within the framework of the Western Esotericism Studies. The 16th and 17th centuries were a fertile age for alchemy throughout Europe. In Spain, alchemy and other esoteric disciplines co-existed with the Spanish Inquisition and its body for the control of ideas and texts: censorship. By being ambiguous and putting into dialogue different ideas of alchemy, Cervantes not only allowed readers to reach their own conclusions, he also protected his work from censorship.

Este trabalho se propõe a elaborar uma tradução comentada de um tratado médico de Paracelso, importante ator na individualização de diversas áreas modernas de conhecimento a partir da Alquimia. A imagem geralmente associada a ele se mostra marcada pelas campanhas difamatórias havidas que, provavelmente, facilitaram que a influência de suas ideias fosse progressivamente diminuída e posta de lado. Especificamente na esfera da língua portuguesa, a disponibilidade de textos seus é limitada, sendo, essencialmente, restrita a algumas (poucas) traduções indiretas. O corpus para a tradução propriamente dita compõe-se de três versões, num corte diacrônico, do tratado Von den ersten drei Essentiis: a edição de 1589, pouco após a morte de Paracelso, a edição de 1930, ainda em Frakturschrift e muito parecida com a de 1589, e a edição de 1965, apresentada já em alemão moderno e em fonte Antiqua. No cotejo destas edições observaram-se diferenças sugestivas da existência de propostas (escopos) individuais para cada edição. A primeira como texto técnico, a segunda como texto de divulgação, de cunho histórico, e a terceira, de cunho também histórico, mas voltada para o público moderno. Para a chamada Skopostheorie, o escopo ocupa posição central numa tradução e em seu redor, e diretamente condicionadas por ele, gravitam todas as decisões tradutórias. Por esta valorização dada ao escopo, que, para este trabalho, foi diverso daqueles apresentados no corpus, optou-se pela Skopostheorie como balizamento teórico dos trabalhos. Assim, o escopo regeu a definição das soluções propostas para os diversos desafios de tradução encontrados. Dentre eles estão as mudanças linguísticas decorrentes da passagem do tempo, a presença de elementos do latim no texto-fonte (na forma de palavras e presença de declinação) e os variados recursos que Paracelso empregou para contornar limitações linguísticas impostas pelo Frühneuhochdeutsch (tais como neologismos e germanizações, com diferentes graus de preservação e incorporação efetiva no alemão moderno). / This paper proposes to elaborate a commented translation, from German to Portuguese, of a medical treatise of Paracelsus, an important actor in the individualization of several modern areas of knowledge from Alchemy. The image usually associated with him is strongly influenced by defamatory campaigns moved against him by his contemporary peers and that have made it easier for the influence of his ideas to be progressively diminished and set aside. Specifically in the sphere of the Portuguese language, the availability of his texts is limited, being essentially restricted to (a few) indirect translations. The corpus for the translation itself consists of three versions, in a diachronic section, of the treatise Von den ersten drei Essentiis: the 1589 edition, shortly after the authors death, the 1930 edition, still in Fraktur type font and very much like the one of 1589, and the edition of 1965, already presented in modern German and Antiqua font. In the comparison of these editions, were found differences suggestive of the existence of individual purposes (scopes) for each edition. The first one as a technical text, the second as a text of divulgation, of a historical nature, and the third, also historical, but aimed at the modern public. Within the chosen theoretical framework, known as Skopostheorie, the scope occupies a central position in a translation and around it, and directly conditioned by it, gravitate all the translation decisions. This importance attached to scope was decisive as the scope for this work, was different from the others presented in the corpus. Thus, the scope governed the definition of the solutions proposed for the various translation challenges encountered. Among them are linguistic changes deriving from the passage of time, the presence of Latin elements in the source text (in the form of words and presence of declination) and the varied resources that Paracelsus used to circumvent language limitations imposed by the Frühneuhochdeutsch (such as neologisms and germanizations, with different degrees of preservation and effective incorporation into modern German).

This study focuses on two areas: alchemy (Part I) and rituals of initiation (Part II) in the works of Miguel de Cervantes, focusing on Don Quijote de la Mancha as my main case study. The first part analyses the function of alchemy and how it can be interpreted throughout the works and various literary genres of Cervantes. It will demonstrate that the texts of Cervantes contain both explicit and implicit allusions to, as well as different aspects of alchemy, such as operative and spiritual alchemy and how these are ultimately used by Cervantes as a means of expression. The author draws from this rich source and modifies these means of expression in order to achieve various results: sometimes with wit or in relation to fraud; at other times it focuses on inner alchemy relating to chivalry in what I have called spiritual chivalry, which has the aim of self-improvement and ultimately, gnosis.  Regarding the chivalric rituals of initiation, according to this investigation chivalry serves as both satire and representation of the alchemical process in the case of Don Quijote, which finds its key moments during the rituals. In this sense alchemy and chivalry are studied as two sides of the same coin, in which the search for something higher, an object (the philosopher stone, the beloved), subjects the protagonist to continuous transmutations and puts him in contact with the transitory, that is, liminal states, people and spaces. From this perspective Don Quixote de la Mancha is built upon liminal poetics. My approach, which follows the tenets of analogical hermeneutics, is included within the framework of the Western Esotericism Studies. The 16th and 17th centuries were a fertile age for alchemy throughout Europe. In Spain, alchemy and other esoteric disciplines co-existed with the Spanish Inquisition and its body for the control of ideas and texts: censorship. By being ambiguous and putting into dialogue different ideas of alchemy, Cervantes not only allowed readers to reach their own conclusions, he also protected his work from censorship.