Arcana Disclosed: The Advent of Printing, the Books of Secrets Tradition and the Development of Experimental Science in the Sixteenth Century

Eamon, William

doi:10.1177/007327538402200201

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Manuscripts and printed treatises on craft practices were produced and circulated in ever greater numbers in sixteenth-and seventeenth-century Europe, and allegedly revealed to literate audiences 'the secrets of the arts' which had formerly been hidden within artisanal work sites. 50 Texts on craft secrets were part of a diverse genre of 'books of secrets', which included, but was not limited to, 'directives to make everyday foodstuffs and medicines or a set of alchemical instructions or technical trade know-how'. 51 As Pamela Smith has suggested, 'books of secrets … were an articulation of the experiential knowledge of craftspeople and practitioners that was "hidden" in the things of nature or in the material craft'.…”

Section: Knowledge Communities and Manuscript Culturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘A place of great trust to be supplied by men of skill and integrity’: assayers and knowledge cultures in late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century London

Kilburn-Toppin

2019

Br J Hist Sci

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This article suggests that institutional workshops of assay were significant experimental sites in early modern London. Master assayers at Goldsmiths’ Hall on Foster Lane, in the heart of the city, and at the Royal Mint, in the Tower, made trials to determine the precious-metal content of bullion, plate and coinage. The results of their metallurgical experiments directly impacted upon the reputations and livelihoods of London's goldsmiths and merchants, and the fineness of coin and bullion. Engaged in the separation and transformation of matter, assayers and the affairs of their workshops were also a curiosity for those interested in the secrets of nature. Making use of a wide-ranging body of sources, including institutional court minutes, artisanal petitions, mercantile guidebooks, recipe books and natural-philosophical treatises, this article uncovers a complex culture of metropolitan expertise. We first examine the workshop spaces in which assayers undertook their professional activities, and their secretive corporate cultures. We turn next to the manuscript culture through which assayers codified and communicated knowledge, ‘secrets’ and techniques to broader urban audiences. Finally, we assess exchanges and tensions between assayers and the wider community of Londoners engaged in scientific knowledge production and dissemination.

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Section: Knowledge Communities and Manuscript Culturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘A place of great trust to be supplied by men of skill and integrity’: assayers and knowledge cultures in late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century London

Kilburn-Toppin

2019

Br J Hist Sci

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“…Desde a invenção da imprensa em 1480 e gradual disseminação desta tecnologia, um dos tipos de conhecimento que rapidamente encontra lugar nas trocas e circulações de texto que se iniciam são os chamados "segredos" (EAMON, 1984), como se chamam as receitas de artes práticas como a metalurgia, a perfumaria, a ourivesaria, a alquimia e a magia natural. Elas começam, assim, a circular e constituir um corpo de conhecimento que reúne experimentos e relatos de um público cada vez mais amplo.…”

Section: áTomos E Letrasunclassified

Condillac e a história da química: de Newton a Lavoisier

Silva

2018

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Abordamos aqui a influência do método de Condillac sobre a história da química. Partindo da confessada dívida de Lavoisier com o abade, propomo-nos a avaliar o aporte que o método condillaquiano terá para a filosofia natural da segunda metade do XVIII, colocando-a primeiramente na perspectiva da onda newtoniana que contaminou progressivamente as ciências a partir do fim do XVII. Mostramos então como o método de Newton, via alquimia, é capaz de inserir aspectos alheios ao mecanicismo estrito nas discussões, o que garantirá à química legitimidade para se valer de conceitos como atrações e afinidades. Mais tarde, ao constituir e sistematizar um método geral de conhecimento marcado pelo modelo newtoniano, Condillac legará aos naturalistas meios para ordenar proficuamente novas regiões de conhecimento. Quando adequadamente adaptado por Lavoisier aos problemas químicos, este método promoverá a “revolução” da química, ou seu estabelecimento definitivo como ciência positiva.

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“…The handwritten compilation proves to be a 1 According to Eamon, secrets cannot be interpreted as "The lore of ancient sages or magi, but recipes, formulae, and 'experiments', often of a fairly conventional sort, associated with one of the crafts or with medicine: e.g., quenching waters for hardening steel, recipes for dyes and pigments, instructions for making drugs, and 'practical alchemical' formulae such as a jeweller or tinsmith might use" (1985,27). For further details on the book of secrets, see Eamon (1984;1985). dynamic artifact which is personalized to suit the compiler's needs and ultimately becomes an independent new product.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Secrets of Alexis in Glasgow University Library MS Ferguson 7

Hopkins

2020

Sederi

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This article deals with a handwritten, hitherto unexplored copy of a printed text, The Secrets of Reverend Alexis of Piedmont, held in Glasgow University Library, MS Ferguson 7, which dates to 1565. The manuscript includes a collection of secrets by an anonymous compiler from the English translation of De’ Secreti del reverendo donno Alessio de Piemontese, a highly popular book of secrets published in Venice in 1555 and immediately rendered into other languages, including English. The handwritten compilation proves to be a dynamic artifact which is personalized to suit the compiler’s needs and ultimately becomes an independent new product. KEYWORDS: early modern manuscript studies; Books of Secrets; MS Ferguson 7; Secrets of Alexis of Piedmont; Girolamo Ruscelli; William Warde.

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Arcana Disclosed: The Advent of Printing, the Books of Secrets Tradition and the Development of Experimental Science in the Sixteenth Century

Cited by 17 publications

References 9 publications

‘A place of great trust to be supplied by men of skill and integrity’: assayers and knowledge cultures in late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century London

‘A place of great trust to be supplied by men of skill and integrity’: assayers and knowledge cultures in late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century London

Condillac e a história da química: de Newton a Lavoisier

The Secrets of Alexis in Glasgow University Library MS Ferguson 7

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