Format:
Online-Ressource (xv, 279 p.)
,
ill., facsims.
Edition:
Online-Ausg.
ISBN:
1441181830
,
9781441142788
,
9781441181831
Content:
Alchemists did more than try to transmute base metals into gold: they studied planetary influences on metals and people, refined plants and minerals in the search for medicines and advocated the regeneration of matter and spirit. This book illustrates how this new branch of thought became increasingly popular as the practical and theoretical knowledge of alchemists spread throughout England.Adopted by those in court and the circles of nobility for their own physical and spiritual needs, it was adapted for the diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of the illnesses of the body politic and its head, the king. This is the first work to synthesize all aspects of alchemy and show its contribution to intellectual, social and political life in the fourteenth century. Hughes explores a rich body of manuscripts to reveal the daily routines of the alchemist and his imaginative mindscape, and considers the contribution of alchemy to the vernacular culture and political debate, leading to a reassessment of the intellectual life of the middle ages.
Content:
Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- Foreword -- Part 1 Alchemy and the Occult in English Cultural and Political Life -- 1 Introduction: Alchemy and the Occult in England -- 2 The Origins of English Alchemy and Sources for the Study of Alchemy in Fourteenth-Century England -- Part 2 The Astrology of the Earth: The Intellectual Impact of Alchemy in Fourteenth-Century England -- 3 Alchemy and Science and Philosophy -- 4 Alchemy and the Church -- 5 The Cultural Impact of Alchemy -- Part 3 The Political Signifi cance of Alchemy -- 6 The Accession of Edward III -- 7 Alchemical Themes in the Kingship of Edward III -- 8 Richard II the Magus and Boy King -- 9 Richard II and the Occult -- 10 Conclusion: The Lancastrian Reaction -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.
Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index. - Electronic reproduction; Palo Alto, Calif; ebrary; 2011; Available via World Wide Web; Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9781441178046
Additional Edition:
Erscheint auch als Druck-Ausgabe ISBN 9781441178046
Language:
English
Keywords:
Electronic books
URL:
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