The Count of Saint Germain

 

An engraving of The Count of Saint Germain by Nicolas Thomas.

The Count of Saint Germain was born into a royal, European family. Researchers are unsure of many facts and truths about the Count of Saint Germain due to his story being told so many times and his mysterious way of life. Researchers estimate the Count of Saint Germain was born around the late 1600’s or the early 1700’s and then went on to live for many years to follow. According to the article “Who was the Count of Saint Germain” written by Shelly Barclay, the Count of Saint Germain displayed many talents throughout his many years of life including composing musical pieces, playing the violin, speaking multiple languages, and combining many small diamonds to make one large diamond. One talent of his that was controversial was his ability to stop his own aging. In his article titled “Saint-Germain: The Immortal Count,” Stephen Wagner states that many accounts from the Count’s vast range of years of life always have him appearing to be around forty-five years old. Due to his ability to live for what seemed like forever, researchers refer to the Count of Saint Germain as “the man who never dies.”

While he was living his years of life, the Count traveled to many different countries to visit royal Europeans during his time. The Count’s many talents grabbed the attention of both commonfolk and royal figures. Some of the most famous Europeans the Count visited throughout his travels in Europe were King Louis XV and Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (Wagner). These royals not only enjoyed the Count being around for his talents, but they were also intrigued by his charming personality. 

Due to the mysteriousness about the Count of Saint Germain and all the unknowns about his life, there are many different claims bystanders made about him. When it comes to his immortality, his ability to live forever, many bystanders claim that the Count of Saint Germain would “drink special tea frequently” and make comments about his age that seemed a little odd. He would reference things long before his time as if he was there, and he went around telling others that it was very possible for him to live more than one hundred years (Barclay). Some others claim that once the Count of Saint Germain did pass away, he came back from the dead and there were many more accounts of him. The Count was seen by others all the way up until the early 1970’s, still looking to be about forty-five years old, almost three hundred years old. 

Who really was the Count of Saint Germain? Is he still around today? Will we ever know the complete truth about him and his life?

Works Cited: 

Barclay, Shelly. “Who was the Count of Saint Germain?” June 25, 2010. Historic Mysteries. https://www.historicmysteries.com/saint-germain/.

Thomas, Nicolas. “Count of St Germain.” Wikimedia Commons, 1783, https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conde_de_Saint_Germain#/media/Archivo:Count_of_St_Germain.jpg. Accessed 20 Oct. 2022.  

Wagner, Stephen. “Saint-Germain: The Immortal Count.” December 29, 2018. Liveabout dotcom. https://www.liveabout.com/saint-germain-the-immortal-count-2594421

 

Links for further research:

New Editions, The Music of the Count of St. Germain: An Edition, http://ichriss.ccarh.org/Germain.pdf. This entry on the Count of Saint Germain by Ilias Chrissochoidis emphasizes the Count’s admiration from other historical figures during his time due to his well-known musical compositions and performances.

  The Count of Saint-Germain, http://davidpratt.info/st-germain1.htm. This entry on the Count of Saint Germain by David Pratt highlights the many events and acknowledgements of the Count of Saint Germain’s life due to his high praises from others, based on his many talents, possessions, accomplishments, or personality traits.

Count of St. Germain: The Man That Never Dies, https://owlcation.com/humanities/Count-of-St-Germain-That-Man-Never-Dies. This entry by Dean Traylor depicts the life of the Count of Saint Germain by explaining what both the commonfolk and royals of his time thought of him.

The Count of Saint-Germain

 By D. Caughman 

There are many accounts of supernatural occurrences, people “find” bigfoot once every couple of years, and some think vampires walk the streets at nighttime. These accounts are usually fake; however, The Count of Saint-Germain was very real! He was born in 18th century Europe, into a royal family. Researchers are still learning about his life, as he was very mysterious.  

Near the end of his life, the Count revealed that he was the son of Prince Francis Rákóczy of Transylvania. (Pratt, 2012). This confirms his identity as royal, at the very least. Some said the Count was over 500 years old and could flawlessly practice the ways of Alchemy, turning ordinary metal into diamonds! Others claimed he was a charlatan and a conman. The Count of Saint-Germain was very well known by royals and commoners alike, having a reputation of being exceptionally generous and having a strong charm about him. A man who brought happiness to many, and yet we know so little of his life.

This is one of the only depictions of the Count that is known to be accurate

As he was a man with many identities, the Count also balanced many talents. One Horace Walpole, a Whig politician, recounted; “He sings, plays on the violin wonderfully, composes, is mad, and not very sensible. He is called an Italian, a Spaniard, a Pole; a somebody that married a great fortune in Mexico, and ran away with her jewels to Constantinople; a priest, a fiddler, a vast nobleman...” (Pratt, 2012).  

In 1745, the Count was visiting London when he was suddenly arrested under the accusation of being an enemy spy. He was in jail for less than a month and was released without charges. The Count then disappeared for about 12 years. He was never reported missing, however his story takes a hiatus at this point. His own statements indicate that he was probably developing various manufacturing techniques in Germany, mainly in the area of dyeing (Pratt, 2012). In 1755, he was involved with the sharing of information about a new French-made cleaning and deepening machine for waterways, estuaries, and ports.  

Saint-Germain returned to France in 1757, when the country was under political stress and was a very close friend to the King (King Louis XV). After most of the political discourse dissipated (approximately 1774) the Count’s life would stay interesting, he kept changing lives, making memories, and staying mysterious until his supposed death in 1784. Although an accurate death date was never recorded... 

Works Cited:

 Pratt, David. “The Count of Saint-Germain." http://davidpratt.info/st-germain1.htm, part 1 of 2, David Pratt, September 2012. Accessed 8 October 2021. David Pratt self publishes this website as a source of obscure knowledge. He has university level qualifications and writes detailed summaries on mostly unknown topics such as Theosophy. This article is about the life of the legendary Count of St. Germain. It contains details about his rumored immortality, his works in alchemy, his puzzling family, and much more. This article is an informational piece meant to educate readers on what information is available on The Count’s life. I chose this source because it had appealing information about my topic.

 Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. "Comte de Saint-Germain". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Apr. 2015, https://www.britannica.com/biography/comte-de-Saint-Germain. Accessed 19 October 2021. Britannica is a Scottish encyclopedia that is over 250 years old. The encyclopedia’s content variety is vast, as any higher encyclopedias would be. This article pertains to the more logical side of The Count of St. Germain’s life. The source is an educational resource, it informs the reader about The Count. I chose this source because I trust the validity of Britannica’s information. The article is targeted towards a collegiate audience, potentially high school as well. The purpose of this source and my plan for using is to show a more realistic side of The Count of St. Germain’s life.



Links for further research:

https://www.liveabout.com/saint-germain-the-immortal-count-2594421

http://ichriss.ccarh.org/Germain.pdf

http://www.jstor.org/stable/739641

The Fountain of Youth

Author:  Matthew Mollo

Nothing seems to captivate the human race more than the idea of eternal life.  Nowhere is this fascination more evident than the idea of The Fountain of Youth.  The Fountain of Youth, a mystical water well that grants rejuvenated youth, is a myth that has consumed people since ancient times.  Even today retailers claim certain lotions and body products will make you look younger or even compare their product to The Fountain of Youth itself.  Centuries after the creation of this myth people are still in search of the fountain and, despite its many rumored locations, still seem to come up empty. Hollywood has even had a hand in adding a new aspect of the myth is the fountains appearance in the modern day blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. 

Perhaps the most elusive of facts involved with The Fountain of Youth myth is the location.  The location of the fountain has been rumored to be in every corner of the world.  People have placed the fountain in: America, a Caribbean Island called Bimini, India, Shangri-La, and even Ethiopia.  Due to exploration in search of the fountain many believe Florida, and other parts of the Americas disputably discovered by Juan Ponce De Leon, were accidentally found by him on a quest while in search of The Fountain of Youth. 

The first mention of The Fountain of Youth, historically speaking, was by the Greek Historian Herodotus who believed the fountain was in Ethiopia.  Throughout time many people have searched for the fountain even some very famous historical figures.  Because of The Alexander Romance, the great Macedonian ruler, Alexander the Great has a link with The Fountain of Youth.  A great part of the popularity of The Fountain of Youth myth is due in part to The Alexander Romance and its great popularity during medieval times.  The greatest figure associated the fountain of youth may not have even been in search of it at all.  Juan Ponce De Leon who, by popular belief, has been thought of for many years as the “father of the fountain” is, it seems, falsely associated with the fountain of youth. 

Juan Ponce De Leon in all his glory

The long held notion that Juan Ponce De Leon’s journey to the Americas was in search of The Fountain of Youth has been proven false.  Due to the fact that the association between Ponce De Leon and the fountain wasn’t published or mentioned until long after his death many historians believe that, like most conquistadors of his day, Ponce De Leon was greedily in search of gold and other worldly riches rather than a magical fountain.  Historians even debate on whether or not Ponce de Leon’s greatest achievement, the discovery of Florida, can be attributed to him.  Despite the false associations with Ponce De Leon and The Fountain of Youth there is an archaeological park founded on the aforementioned disputed facts.

Located in St. Augustine, Florida, The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park  is founded on the seemingly false idea that Ponce De Leon discovered Florida and that his expedition was fueled by his desire to become younger.  There is even a mock Fountain of Youth where thousands of people flock year after year to drink the fabled waters.

The Fountain of Youth myth is one that will outlive us all along with the obsession of becoming younger.  Whether it’s from a face lift or a magical fountain people will always long for youth and rejuvenation as they grow older; and as long people have this desire the concept of The Fountain of Youth will be very real.

Works cited:

 “A Brief History of Immortality.” Popular Science 279.2 (2011): 52-57. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Oct. 2012 

“Engraving of Juan Ponce de Leon” 1858 Engraving. Wikimedia. 25 Feb. 2011. Web. Oct. 23 2012.

"Florida Fountain of Youth Ponce De Leon." Florida Fountain of Youth Ponce De Leon. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.

Jennifer. “fountain-of-youth” Photograph. 450 Years. 5 December 2011. 23 October 2012

Lord, Lewis. "In Search of a Passage.” U.S. News & World Report 136.7 (2004): 52-53. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Oct. 2012.

Peck, Douglas T. “Anatomy of An Historical Fantasy: The Ponce de Leon-Fountain of Youth Legend” The Pan American Institute of Geography and History  No. 123  (Jan. - Dec., 1998): 63-87.JSTOR. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.

Sopp, Brian. "Places of Our Dreams.” U.S. News & World Report 141.6 (2006): 73. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Oct. 2012.

“The Quest For The Fountain of Youth” Ancient Mysteries. A&E, 1995. Web

Links for Further Research:
Youtube.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouri5f261oM

This video disproves the common association between The Fountain of Youth and Florida with Juan Ponce De Leon.