ENGLISH

Science and the Secrets of Nature: Books of Secrets in Medieval and Early Modern Culture

By William Eamon

Book information

Publisher
Princeton University Press
Year
2020
ISBN
9780691214610
DOI
10.1515/9780691214610
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
57 MB (60182221 bytes)
Pages
512\504
Library
degruyter.com
Time added
2023-08-26 04:29:21

Description

By explaining how to sire multicolored horses, produce nuts without shells, and create an egg the size of a human head, Giambattista Della Porta's Natural Magic (1559) conveys a fascination with tricks and illusions that makes it a work difficult for historians of science to take seriously. Yet, according to William Eamon, it is in the "how-to" books written by medieval alchemists, magicians, and artisans that modern science has its roots. These compilations of recipes on everything from parlor tricks through medical remedies to wool-dyeing fascinated medieval intellectuals because they promised access to esoteric "secrets of nature." In closely examining this rich but little-known source of literature, Eamon reveals that printing technology and popular culture had as great, if not stronger, an impact on early modern science as did the traditional academic disciplines.

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