[The Zurich Paracelsus Project. Legends, controversies and prospects for current Paracelsus research]

The research on the life and teaching of Theophrastus of Hohenheim (1493/94-1541), called Paracelsus, offers a broad variety of problems still to be solved. In comparison to being well-known and having written the most voluminous 16th century professional literature next to Luther, the scientific edition of his works remains badly neglected. About a quarter of them, mostly theological ones, are widely scattered around the world in manuscript form and still await their edition. The ones being already edited lack the critical apparatus satisfying modern standards, including a dictionary for the specific Paracelsian expressions and a general index. The Zurich Paracelsus Project now offers a possible way to manage the problems. Microfilms of important manuscripts will be collected and united at a central place. The mass of the edited texts will be electronically recorded and analysed according to various criteria. On the basis of these preparatory work an index will be produced and building stones for a Paracelsus dictionary will be made available. A homepage (http:/(/)www.mhiz.unizh.ch/Paracelsus.html++ +) will present the state of the art and will serve to coordinate further activities.