In 1084 AD, St. Bruno of Cologne formed an order of silent monks called the Carthusians. They resided in a valley of the Chartreuse Mountains, a region of the French Alps, near Voiron. By 1605, they were a large, well-respected order, and King Henri IV’s Marshal of Artillery presented the Carthusians with an ancient alchemical manuscript. It contained a recipe for an elixir that would prolong life. But after looking over the document, even the most learned of monks were at a loss. The concoction called for 130 different plants….
