Johann Konrad Dippel, also spelledJohann Conrad Dippel (10 August 1673 – 25 April 1734), was a GermanPietisttheologian,physician, andalchemist.
Dippel was born atCastle Frankenstein nearMühltal andDarmstadt, thus, when he entered school, the addendumFranckensteinensis was attached to his name, and once at university, the addendumFranckensteina-Strataemontanus was used.
He studiedtheology,philosophy andalchemy at theUniversity of Giessen, obtaining a master's degree in theology in 1693. He published many theological works under the nameChristianus Demócritus, and most of them are still preserved. Around 1700, he turned toHermetic studies and alchemy as a key to nature. Between 1700 and 1702, he engaged in a bitter dispute with the Reformed Court Preacher Conrad Broeske in Offenbach, with whom he sharedmillenarian hopes for soon-coming renewal in Christendom. He accused Broeske of compromise and collusion with the authorities after Broeske refused to publish Dippel's "The Scourging Papacy of the Protestants" on the Offenbach press.
Dippel's reputation as a controversial theologian earned him both defenders and enemies throughout all of Europe.Emanuel Swedenborg was probably both his most notable supporter and, later, staunch critic: Swedenborg began as a disciple of Dippel, but eventually dismissed him as a "most vile devil ... who attempted wicked things." Swedenborg clarified that he was at first enamored by Dippel's emotionally charged writings and agreed with his attempts to dissolve traditional churches for a more personal faith and rejection of theBible as the literal Word of God; however, he eventually criticized Dippel as "bound to no principles, but was in general opposed to all, whoever they may be, of whatever principle or faith ... becoming angry with any one for contradicting him." Swedenborg went so far as to suggest that Dippel was merely acultish opportunist who used his theological charisma for his own financial gain and social influence, actively leading people away from traditional faith in order to "take away all their intelligence of truth and good, and leaving them in a kind of delirium."[1]
Dippel led an adventurous life, often getting into trouble because of his disputed opinions and his problems with managing money. He was eventually imprisoned forheresy, where he served a seven-year sentence. He created an animal oil known as "Dippel's oil," which was supposed to be the equivalent to the alchemists' dream of the "elixir of life." At one point, Dippel attempted to purchaseCastle Frankenstein in exchange for his elixir formula, which he claimed he had recently discovered; the offer was turned down.[2]
According to Stahl, Dippel and the pigment maker Diesbach usedpotassium carbonate contaminated with this oil in producing red dyes. To their surprise, they obtained a blue pigment "Berliner Blau," also called "Preussisch Blau" or "Prussian blue."[3]
There are claims that during his stay at Castle Frankenstein, he practicedalchemy andanatomy. He was allegedly working withnitroglycerin, which led to the destruction of a tower at the Castle Frankenstein. But this seems to be a modern myth, for it is ananachronism. Nitroglycerin hadn't been discovered in Dippel's time. And although the history of the castle during Dippel's lifetime is well documented, the destruction of a tower – though surely a remarkable event – is nowhere mentioned.
Other rumours about Dippel appear to be modern inventions, too. For example, that which said he performedexperiments with cadavers, in which he attempted to transfer thesoul of onecadaver into another.Soul-transference with cadavers was a common experiment among alchemists at the time and was a theory that Dippel supported in his writings, thus making it possible that Dippel pursued similar objectives,[4] but there is no direct evidence to link him to these specific acts. There is also no evidence to the rumour that he was driven out of town when word of his activities reached the ears of the townspeople — though he was often banned from countries, notablySweden, for his controversial theological positions. He also eventually had to flee toGiessen after killing a man in a duel.[5]
Dippel did, however, experiment quite frequently with dead animals, of which he was an "avid dissector."[6] In his dissertationMaladies and Remedies of the Life of the Flesh, Dippel claims to have discovered both theelixir of life and the means toexorcize demons throughpotions that heconcocted from boiled animal bones and flesh. This is the same essay in which Dippel claimed to believe that souls could be transferred from one corpse to another by using afunnel.[7]
Some of Dippel's contemporaries, notablyJohann Heinrich Jung, believed that toward the end of his life, Dippel lost his faith altogether after years of bitter disputes with other Christian leaders. Calling Christ "an indifferent being,"[8] Dippel shifted all of his energy exclusively on his alchemical experiments. He set up a lab near Wittgenstein (which was eventually converted into a pub named after him, Dippelshof[9]), and at this point in his life historical records are vague on his activities and thus grew folkloric in nature.[10] During this time, at least one local minister apparently accused Dippel ofgrave-robbing,experimenting on cadavers, and keeping company with theDevil.[11] For the most part, Dippel kept to himself and his work; he perhaps even actively perpetuated the rumours that he hadsold his soul to the Devil in exchange forsecret knowledge, as relying on his reputation as adark sorcerer better enabled him to find audiences with those willing to pay for his knowledge of thephilosopher's stone and theelixir of life.[12]
He died atCastle Wittgenstein nearBad Laasphe, probably from astroke, though some contemporaries suspected poisoning.[13] A year before his death, he wrote a pamphlet in which he claimed to have discovered an elixir that would keep him alive until the age of 135.[10]
Dippel's connection to the Castle Frankenstein gave rise to the theory that he was a model forMary Shelley's 1818 novelFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, although that idea remains controversial. This hypothesis was probably first suggested byRadu Florescu in his bookIn Search of Frankenstein (1975), which speculated that Shelley (then Mary Godwin) visited the castle during her travels on theRhine withPercy Shelley, where they might have heard local stories about Dippel, which by then would have grown legendary and notorious. Florescu also notes that the Shelleys reference a brief interaction while touring the countryside around Castle Frankenstein with students of theUniversity of Strasbourg, of which Dippel was once a student; these students could have told them stories about the infamous alumnus. In addition, the Shelleys knew several members of the so-called "Kreis der Empfindsamen," a literary circle that met in Darmstadt from 1769 to 1773; Castle Frankenstein was frequently used as a location for their public readings, thus making it possible that Dippel's legends could have come up during conversations between those in the circle and the Shelleys.[10]
A local historian, Walter Scheele, believes that the legends told in the villages surrounding the castle were transmitted byJacob Grimm to Mary Jane Clairmont, translator of Grimm's fairy tales and stepmother ofMary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Scheele also claims that, in 1814, Mary, her stepsisterClaire Clairmont, andPercy Bysshe Shelley are said to have visited Castle Frankenstein, on their way to Lake Geneva. Other historians, whether their field of research is Grimm, Shelley, or the Castle Frankenstein, do not see any evidence for this. Scheele's claimed letter of Grimm is nowhere to be found. And no evidence can be found that Clairmont was considered the translator forGrimm's Fairy Tales.[14]
Several nonfiction books on the life of Mary Shelley also confirm Dippel as a possible influence.[15][16] In particular,Miranda Seymour finds it curious that Mary speaks of "gods [making entirely] new men" in her journal so soon after her travels through the regions surrounding Castle Frankenstein;[17] if rumors indeed existed throughout the area that Dippel experimented on cadavers in an attempt to create life, Seymour argues, Mary's phrasing could be more than merely coincidental. In his bookFrankenstein: The First 200 Years,Christopher Frayling refers to a passage in Mary's diaries later in her life in which she expresses a desire to return to the region surrounding Castle Frankenstein to take in more of its folklore—implying that she is already familiar with at least some of the local legends.[18] For now, however, the connection remains a subject of an ongoing debate.[19]
Regardless of the historical validity of the connection, however, Dippel's status as Frankenstein's prototype seems assured in currentpopular culture (similar toCount Dracula's equally controversial interchangeability with the historicalVlad the Impaler[20]). In addition to Florescu's speculative work, the Dippel/Frankenstein merging has appeared in several works of fiction:Robert Anton Wilson's fantasy novelThe Earth Will Shake features Dippel as a monster-making, globe-hopping magician who calls himself Frankenstein;[21] thescience fiction novelThe Frankenstein Murders portrays Dippel as an assistant toVictor Frankenstein;[22]Topps' three-partcomic bookminiseriesThe Frankenstein-Dracula War lists Dippel as one of Dr. Frankenstein's chief inspirations;[23]Warren Ellis'sgraphic novelFrankenstein's Womb hypothesizes that Shelley indeed visited Castle Frankenstein and heard of Dippel before writing her famous work;[24]Christopher Farnsworth's debut novelBlood Oath features a vampire trying to stop an immortal Dippel (who had once worked forAdolf Hitler) from creating a Frankenstein-like army;[25] G.M.S. Altman's novelDippel's Oil features a kindhearted Dippel living in modern times, bemused at his influence on the Frankenstein myth;[26] Larry Correia's novelMonster Hunter Vendetta makes reference to Dippel as the creator of an enigmatic character, 'Agent Franks';[27]Kenneth Oppel's 2011 novelThis Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein includes several homages to Shelley's influences, including the naming of Victor Frankenstein's twin brother Konrad, after the alchemist;[28] Stan Major's novelRimms of Khaos features Dippel as an immortal criminal mastermind, forced to make Frankensteinian monsters for a master vampire bent on world domination.[29] Johann Dippel is mad-doctor Lord Hervey's hero in theFrankenstein Chronicles TV series, and Dippel's reanimated son becomes Hervey's partner in crime. Also more recently in Jeanette Winterson's 2019 novelFrankissstein, which dramatizes the Shelleys' visit to Castle Frankenstein, where they hear the story of Conrad Dippel's determination to learn the secret of life in order to reanimated his beloved deceased wife.[30]
Johann Dippel is mentioned as the teacher of one of the characters in the episode "Lost and Found" of the TV seriesThe Frankenstein Chronicles (2015). In season 2,Laurence Fox plays Dippel's son, who is involved in resurrections, but he is not mentioned as having met the Shelleys.
Dippel appears as a minor character inLarry Correia'sMonster Hunter series of novels as Konrad Dippel. He is credited with the creation of the Frankenstein monster, and contrary to Mary Shelley's novel, he is credited with teaching the monster human mannerisms and the German language.
Dutch symphonic black metal bandCarach Angren released aconcept album inspired by Dippel, titledFranckensteina Strataemontanus, in 2020.[31]
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