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Most professional historians see the relationship between pre-modern and modern alchemy as one of discontinuity and contrast. Mike A. Zuber challenges this dominant understanding and explores aspects of alchemy that have been neglected by recent work in the history of science. The predominant focus on the scientific aspect of alchemy, such as laboratory experiment, practical techniques, and material ingredients, argues Zuber, marginalizes the things that render alchemy so fascinating: its rich and vivid imagery, reliance on the medium of manuscript, and complicated relationship with religion. Spiritual Alchemy traces the early-modern antecedents of modern alchemy through generations of follo...
Jacob Böhme (1575–1624) has been recognized as one of the internationally most influential German authors of the Early Modern period. Even today, his writings continue to impact fields as diverse as literature, philosophy, religion and art. Yet Böhme and his reception remain understudied. As a lay author, his works were often suppressed and circulated underground. Borrowing Böhme’s idea of “three worlds” or planes of existence, this volume traces the transmission of his thought through three stations: from his first underground readers in Central and Eastern Europe, to the Netherlands, where most of his writings were first published, to Britain, where early translations made him a...
Introduction: A Royal Visit -- 1:Lorenz Heidenreich (1480-1557), Oswald Pergener (1490s-1546) and the Many Faces of the Lusatian Reformation -- 2:Johannes Hass (c. 1476-1544): History Writing and Divine Intervention in the Early Reformation -- 3:Andreas Günther (1502-1570): Religion, Politics and Power in the Lusatian League -- 4:Bartholomäus Scultetus (1540-1614): Learning, Teaching and Remembering in the Towns of the Lusatian League -- 5:Johann Leisentrit (1527-1586): Redefining Catholicism in a Lutheran Region -- 6:Sigismund Suevus (1526-1596): Sharing Spaces and Objects -- 7:Martin Moller (1547-1606): Possibilities and Limits of Toleration -- 8:Friedrich Fischer (1558-1623): Repositioning Lutheranism and Negotiating Ways Forward -- Conclusion: The Lusatian Reformation.
Between 1355 and 1806 the title of Poet Laureate was bestowed on around 1500 persons in the territories of the Holy Roman Empire. In some cases the title was conferred by the Emperor himself, on his own initiative or in response to a petitioner. In others the title was granted by a count palatine acting upon the Emperor's behalf, but an even larger number had the title bestowed on them by various German universities exercising this privilege under the Emperor's authority. The lives and publications of 1340 of these poets were detailed in the four-volume Poets Laureate in the Holy Roman Empire: A Bio-bibliographical Handbook published in 2006. This supplementary volume provides similar information about some 130 further poets who have come to light since that work was published. Furthermore, it updates, augments and - where necessary - corrects details relating to the poets covered in the previous volumes. In particular, it includes extensive new information about the two dozen women poets who were laureated in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Poets Laureate in the Holy Roman Empire: A Bio-bibliographical Handbook, Volume 1–4 is still available for purchase.
Staging History unites essays by nine specialists in the field of late medieval and early Renaissance drama. Their focus is on English, Dutch and Humanist German drama, as well as on a modern Swiss adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry V. Featuring prominently in this book are plays by, among others, John Bale, Jacob Schoepper, Johannes Agricola and Jacob Duym. Special attention is also paid to the Croxton Play of the Sacrament and the Dutch abele spelen. So far this topic has not received wide attention within the world of medieval and early Renaissance studies. This exploration aims at arousing more interest in this field by scholars working on European drama from the late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance.
In his famous argument against miracles, David Hume gets to the heart of the modern problem of supernatural belief. 'We are apt', says Hume, 'to imagine ourselves transported into some new world; where the whole form of nature is disjointed, and every element performs its operation in a different manner, from what it does at present.' This encapsulates, observes Peter Harrison, the disjuncture between contemporary Western culture and medieval societies. In the Middle Ages, people saw the hand of God at work everywhere. Indeed, many suppose that 'belief in the supernatural' is likewise fundamental nowadays to religious commitment. But dichotomising between 'naturalism' and 'supernaturalism' is actually a relatively recent phenomenon, just as the notion of 'belief' emerged historically late. In this masterful contribution to intellectual history, the author overturns crucial misconceptions – 'myths' – about secular modernity, challenging common misunderstandings of the past even as he reinvigorates religious thinking in the present.
An award-winning historian’s revisionary account of the early modern world, showing how apocalyptic ideas stimulated political, religious, and intellectual transformations “A masterful synthesis of the prognostications of faith, knowledge, and politics on a global stage. Martin’s book illuminates one of the enduring themes that shaped the medieval and early modern world.”—Paula E. Findlen, Stanford University In this revelatory immersion into the apocalyptic, messianic, and millenarian ideas and movements that created the modern world, John Jeffries Martin performs a kind of empathic time travel, entering into the psyche, spirituality, and temporalities of a cast of historical acto...
This volume explores individual responses to the problem of discernment of spirits, and the adjacent problem of true and false holiness in the period following the European Reformations.
Hugh Trevor-Roper was one of the most gifted historians of the twentieth century. His scholarly interests ranged widely – from the Puritan Revolution to the Scottish Enlightenment. Yet he was also fascinated by the events of his own lifetime and wrote widely on issues of espionage and intelligence, as well as maintaining a fascination with the workings – and personalities - of Nazi Germany. In this volume, a variety of contributors – many of whom knew Trevor-Roper personally – engage with his scholarship and analyse his greatest achievements as an historian. Covering the full range of Trevor-Roper's interests, this volume will be essential for anyone who wishes to better understand this great historian and his work
This study examines the darker side of England's culture of economic improvement between 1640 and 1720. It is often suggested that England in this period grew strikingly confident of its prospect for unlimited growth. Indeed, merchants, inventors, and others promised to achieve immense profit and abundance. Such flowery promises were then, as now, prone to perversion, however. This volume is concerned with the taming of incipient capitalism - how a society in the past responded when promises of wealth creation went badly wrong. It reveals a history of numerous visible hands taming incipient capitalism, a story that Adam Smith and his admirers have long set aside. The notion of 'projecting' p...