William Eamon

Science and the Secrets of Nature (eBook, ePUB)

Books of Secrets in Medieval and Early Modern Culture

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

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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Produktdetails

• Verlag: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
• Erscheinungstermin: 30. Juni 2020
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780691214610
• Artikelnr.: 59370067

Autorenporträt

William Eamon is Professor of History at New Mexico State University.