Astrology and the Seventeenth Century Mind
Author: Ann Geneva
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Published: 1995
Total Pages: 328
ISBN-13: 9780719041549
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The Age of Genius
Author: A. C. Grayling
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Published: 2016-03-01
Total Pages: 455
ISBN-13: 1620403455
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Age of Genius explores the eventful intertwining of outward event and inner intellectual life to tell, in all its richness and depth, the story of the 17th century in Europe. It was a time of creativity unparalleled in history before or since, from science to the arts, from philosophy to politics. Acclaimed philosopher and historian A.C. Grayling points to three primary factors that led to the rise of vernacular (popular) languages in philosophy, theology, science, and literature; the rise of the individual as a general and not merely an aristocratic type; and the invention and application of instruments and measurement in the study of the natural world. Grayling vividly reconstructs this unprecedented era and breathes new life into the major figures of the seventeenth century intelligentsia who span literature, music, science, art, and philosophy--Shakespeare, Monteverdi, Galileo, Rembrandt, Locke, Newton, Descartes, Vermeer, Hobbes, Milton, and Cervantes, among many more. During this century, a fundamentally new way of perceiving the world emerged as reason rose to prominence over tradition, and the rights of the individual took center stage in philosophy and politics, a paradigmatic shift that would define Western thought for centuries to come.
The Starry Rubric
Author: Alexander Cummins
Publisher: Hadean Press
Published: 2012-11-01
Total Pages: 166
ISBN-13: 9781907881213
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn The Starry Rubric, Alexander Cummins shows how astrology and magic offered analysis, interpretation, and solutions - locating humanity in a shifting web of interrelation with the stars and, indeed, the cosmos as a whole. Through analysis and example, Cummins demonstrates the ways in which astrology and magic were crucial to early modern perspectives on human life, time, and meaning.
Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Enlightenment
Author: Michael R. Lynn
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2022-03-17
Total Pages: 229
ISBN-13: 1000557456
DOWNLOAD EBOOKMagic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Enlightenment argues for the centrality of magical practices and ideas throughout the long eighteenth century. Although the hunt for witches in Europe declined precipitously after 1650, and the intellectual justification for natural magic came under fire by 1700, belief in magic among the general population did not come to a sudden stop. The philosophes continued to take aim at magical practices, alongside religion, as examples of superstitions that an enlightened age needed to put behind them. In addition to a continuity of beliefs and practices, the eighteenth century also saw improvement and innovation in magical ideas, the understanding of ghosts, and attitudes toward witchcraft. The volume takes a broad geographical approach and includes essays focusing on Great Britain (England and Ireland), France, Germany, and Hungary. It also takes a wide approach to the subject and includes essays on astrology, alchemy, witchcraft, cunning folk, ghosts, treasure hunters, and purveyors of magic. With a broad chronological scope that ranges from the end of the seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century, this volume is useful for undergraduates, postgraduates, scholars, and those with a general interest in magic, witchcraft, and spirits in the Enlightenment.
Folklore, Magic, and Witchcraft
Author: Marina Montesano
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-08-19
Total Pages: 279
ISBN-13: 1000430278
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis volume offers 18 studies linked together by a common focus on the circulation and reception of motifs and beliefs in the field of folklore, magic, and witchcraft. The chapters traverse a broad spectrum both chronologically and thematically; yet together, their shared focus on cultural exchange and encounters emerges in an important way, revealing a valuable methodology that goes beyond the pure comparativism that has dominated historiography in recent decades. Several of the chapters touch on gender relations and contact between different religious faiths, using case studies to explore the variety of these encounters. Whilst the essays focus geographically on Europe, they prefer to investigate relationships over highlighting singular, local traits. In this way, the collection aims to respond to the challenge set by recent debates in cultural studies, for a global history that prioritises inclusivity, moving beyond biased or learned attachments toward broader and broadening foci and methods. With analysis of sources from manuscripts and archival documents to iconography, and drawing on writings in Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, and other languages, this volume is essential reading for all students and scholars interested in cultural exchange and ideas about folklore, magic, and witchcraft in medieval and early modern Europe.
Jesuit Astrology
Author: Luís Campos Ribeiro
Publisher: BRILL
Published: 2023-06-12
Total Pages: 704
ISBN-13: 9004548971
DOWNLOAD EBOOKConnections between the Society of Jesus and astrology used to appear as unexpected at best. Astrology was never viewed favourably by the Church, especially in early modern times, and since Jesuits were strong defenders of Catholic orthodoxy, most historians assumed that their religious fervour would be matched by an equally strong rejection of astrology. This groundbreaking and compelling study brings to light new Jesuit scientific texts revealing a much more positive, practical, and nuanced attitude. What emerges forcefully is a totally new perspective into early modern Jesuit culture, science, and education, highlighting the element that has been long overlooked: astrology.
Astrology and Popular Religion in the Modern West
Author: Nicholas Campion
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-04-15
Total Pages: 291
ISBN-13: 1317177789
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book explores an area of contemporary religion, spirituality and popular culture which has not so far been investigated in depth, the phenomenon of astrology in the modern west. Locating modern astrology historically and sociologically in its religious, New Age and millenarian contexts, Nicholas Campion considers astrology's relation to modernity and draws on extensive fieldwork and interviews with leading modern astrologers to present an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the origins and nature of New Age ideology. This book challenges the notion that astrology is either 'marginal' or a feature of postmodernism. Concluding that astrology is more popular than the usual figures suggest, Campion argues that modern astrology is largely shaped by New Age thought, influenced by the European Millenarian tradition, that it can be seen as an heir to classical Gnosticism and is part of the vernacular religion of the modern west.
English almanacs, astrology and popular medicine, 1550–1700
Author: Louise Hill-Curth
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Published: 2018-09-30
Total Pages: 296
ISBN-13: 1526129868
DOWNLOAD EBOOKEarly modern almanacs have received relatively little academic attention over the years, despite being the first true form of British mass media. While their major purpose was to provide annual information about the movements of the stars and the corresponding effects on Earth, most contained a range of other material, including advice on preventative and remedial medicine for humans and animals. Based on the most extensive research to date into the relationship between the popular press, early modern medical beliefs and practices, this study argues that these cheap, annual booklets played a major role in shaping contemporary medical beliefs and practices in early modern England. Beginning with an overview of printed vernacular medical literature, the book examines in depth the genre of almanacs, their authors, target and actual audiences. It discusses the various types of medical information and advice in almanacs, preventative and remedial medicine for humans, as well as ‘non-commercial’ and ‘commercial’ medicines promoted in almanacs, and the under-explored topic of animal health care.
Future History
Author: Kristina Bross
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2017-08-11
Total Pages: 244
ISBN-13: 0190665149
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFuture History traces the ways that English and American writers oriented themselves along an East-West axis to fantasize their place in the world. The book builds on new transoceanic scholarship and recent calls to approach early American studies from a global perspective. Such scholarship has largely focused on the early national period; Bross's work begins earlier and considers the intertwined identities of America, other English colonial sites and metropolitan England during a period before nation-state identities were hardened into the forms we know them today, when an English empire was nascent, not realized, and when a global perspective such as we might recognize it was just coming into focus for early modern Europeans. The author examines works that imagine England on a global stage in the Americas and East Indies just as--and in some cases even before--England occupied such spaces in force. Future History considers works written from the 1620s to the 1670s, but the center of gravity of Future History is writing at the mid-century, that is, writings coincident with the Interregnum, a time when England plotted and launched ambitious, often violent schemes to conquer, colonize or otherwise appropriate other lands, driven by both mercantile and religious desires.
Experimenting in Tongues
Author: Matthias Dörries
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 2002
Total Pages: 228
ISBN-13: 9780804744423
DOWNLOAD EBOOKLeading scholars in the history of science address the historical, methodological, and ideological motivation behind scientists' use of language metaphors, such as "reading" the human genome, "rewriting" the genetic code, and developing programming "language."
