Mercury and his Children - Framed Manuscript Illustration

The personification of the planet mercury with the people that are under his influence from the Hausbuch von Schloss Wolfegg, Germany, ca. 1470. The seven metals of medieval alchemy corresponded to the five known planets, the sun, and the moon. Mercury was associated with quicksilver, rationality, logic, and wit, but also with lies, cheating, gossip, and unreliability. Professions under his charge included fortune-tellers, philosophers, astrologers, writers, teachers, and secretaries.