Summary
InFullmetal Alchemist, the character known as Van Hohenheim serves a major role in not only the developments that take place over the course of the series, but is also a huge catalyst in the creation of the various developments of the central world of the story.
As the father of Elric brothers, Van Hohenheim exercises immense influence over their journey and is the reason they began practising alchemy to begin with. Most fans of the series don’t realize this, but the name granted to Van Hohenheim bythe Dwarf in the Flaskis one that encapsulates the role that he has in the overallFullmetal Alchemiststory.
… It is the one thing that binds All together… That is alchemy itself…One is All, All is One.
Slave #23
The Disappearance of the Kingdom of Xerxes
Van Hohenheim’s golden hair and eyes, which his sons have inherited, is a characteristic that was normal for the citizens of the Kingdom of Xerxes, which existed in the desert to the east of what later became Amestris around 400 years prior to the events ofFullmetal Alchemist. At some point in history, the once bustling civilization vanished, leaving behind only ruins, and fragmented historical reports of an ancient land. Xerxes was an intellectual country that pursued fields like language and alchemy.
Eventually, one of the king’s alchemists managed to create a Homunculus; one withextensive knowledge of alchemy. With expertise far beyond any of the scholars of alchemy that stood before it, the aging king saw the Homunculus as his ticket to immortality, making it his primary advisor in all matters related to alchemy specifically with applications related to immortality.
Based on the creature’s suggestion, the king ordered the construction of an array that encompassed the entire country. The citizens were unaware of what was happening. The king, believing that he was sacrificing the citizens to gain immortality, did not realize until the very end that the Homunculus had not ordered the construction of the transmutation circle according to the right specifications, granting itself the immortality that the king was so desperate to gain.
Ultimately, the Dwarf in the Flask had betrayed the court and bestowed immortality unto himself, and his caretaker, Slave #23. This processsacrificed the entire population of Xerxes, turning both Hohenheim and the Dwarf in the Flask into collections of a vast number of souls – human-shaped Philosopher’s Stones. Throughout the period leading up to the activation of the transmutation circle, Slave #23 had forged a kind of relationship with the strange creature, talking to it about a great number of topics, including freedom. Solidifying the relationship between himself and the unknowing slave, long before the tragedy, the Homunculus opted to grant him a name: Van Hohenheim.
Let no man belong to another who can belong to himself.
The Father
The Origins of “Van Hohenheim”
The name wasn’t the first one that the Homunculus considered, first trying out “Theophrastus Bombastus”, which Slave #23 didn’t like because it was too long. The next name he tried out was Van Hohenheim; however, this whole interaction is genius for one interesting reason.Theophrastus BombastusvonHohenheim, also known as “Paracelsus” (1493 - 1541), was a Swiss physician with a huge title: he is the father of toxicology, the discipline that studies the effects of chemical substances on living organisms. Paracelsus is seen as a pioneer of various advancements during the medical revolution of the Renaissance, with his most important contribution being the idea that physicians need a working understanding of chemistry, and that a substance’s toxicity is dependent on dosage.
Beyond that, Paracelsus also had an interest in alchemy and other disciplines like philosophy and theology and, because he believed that everything was inter-related, he thought the cures for various ailments existed in plants, minerals and chemical combinations of the two, and also that things with similar structure to internal organs had healing properties. In a time when knowledge of health was limited, Paracelsus pioneered the concept of clinical diagnosis (at least in his context) and the use of specific treatments rather than cure-all solutions. He is also said to have believed that diseases were entities unto themselves,a thought which predated germ theory; the currently accepted model of disease pathology.
The Name Is Not Where The Similarities End
The Philosopher of the West
Now, how real-life Paracelsus fits intoFullmetal Alchemistis layered. Between his pioneering in the medical field, and his dogged pursuit of knowledge; particularly the pursuit of a “universal knowledge”, Paracelsus' influence was significant, and he’s one of the first, if not the first, to mention “the Alkahest” – a theorized “universal solvent” capable of separating any composite material into its fundamental components without altering or destroying them. This had immense medical applications in a time when alchemy itself was immensely popular, and Paracelsus is said to have believed the Alkahest to be the fabled Philosopher’s Stone.
Essentially, Van Hohenheim became known as “the Philosopher of the West"as he established Alkahestry, which, instead of being a method through which matter can be manipulated, made use of a “life pulse” that flowed throughout the earth – which is why Alkahestry has far greater medical application than its western equivalent, and has the ultimate goal of the creation of the “Elixir of Life” capable of granting immortality. So, it’s not just a name: in theFullmetal Alchemistuniverse, Van HohenheimisParacelsus.
