This book examines the Franciscan alchemist Roger Bacon’s (1220-1292) interest in the role of alchemy in medicine, and how this interest connected with the thirteenth-century milieu in which he was writing. Though twelfth-century Latin alchemy had largely been concerned with transmuting base metals into noble ones, Bacon believed that the natural principles taught in alchemy would be better used in medicine. In an age where many physicians were theorizing about ways to prevent the effects of aging, Bacon held that combining alchemy and humoral medicine would allow one to extend their life by decades, even centuries. By examining Bacon’s alchemical, medical, and mathematical works, this book argues that Bacon combined a number of sources to create a unique plan for prolonging human life. His understanding of disease and aging was ultimately Galenic in nature, and his understanding of how pharmaceuticals work can be traced back to his mathematical theories, especially that of the multiplication of species. The book provides a new system for organizing Bacon’s alchemically-produced medicines, and explains what Bacon saw as the difference between each, and how they could have different physiological effects. Bacon is situated within the thirteenth-century contexts in which he was writing – that of the university-educated and newly professionalized medical practitioners, who were invested in finding ways to extend human life; and the Franciscan order, with their understanding of the innate goodness of the physical body, the resurrection, and corporeal union with God. Filling a major lacuna in scholarship on the history of medieval medical writings, this book provides vital reading for historians of medicine, pre- and early modern European science, and medieval philosophy and religion.
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This book examines the Franciscan alchemist Roger Bacon’s (1220-1292) interest in the role of alchemy in medicine, and how this interest connected with the thirteenth-century milieu in which he was writing.
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1. Introduction.- 2. Roger Bacon and the Unnatural State of Man.- 3. Learning to Prolong Life.- 4. The Corpus Equale.- 5. Medicines and their Effects on the Body.- 6. Debate and Authority in the Reshaping of Medicine.- 7. Franciscan Understanding of the Ideal Human Body.- 8. Conclusion.
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This book examines Roger Bacon’s alchemical theories, and explains how he believed that the key to extending life lay not in the curricula as taught in the medical faculties of the universities, but in the study of alchemy. Though twelfth- and thirteenth-century alchemy was generally concerned with the transmutation of metals, Bacon’s alchemy was a much larger area of study, and encompassed the generation and corruption of all material things in the sublunary world. It was this aspect of alchemy, which Bacon referred to as speculative alchemy, that explained how the four elements of fire, air, water, and earth interacted with each other to make the basis of reality as man could know it. Thus, the study of alchemy in conjunction with humoral medicine could explain not only how the human body worked, but how it interacted with the materials around it, illuminating the method of prolonging life to extreme lengths. 
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“This is a very comprehensive and careful study of the Medical Writings of Roger Bacon. This study for the first time fills a major lacuna in the scholarship on the history of medieval medical writings.” (Jeremiah Hackett, Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy, University of South Carolina)“Roger Bacon is a remarkable figure of perennial interest to a wide range of readers. Allen’s book provides a fresh and comprehensive view of Bacon’s endeavor to reextend human lifespans to those of the Biblical patriarchs by means a new approach to medicine based in alchemy, experimental observation, and Franciscan spirituality and theology. This book represents an important and new contribution to scholarship.” (Lawrence M. Principe, Johns Hopkins University)
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Contributes to medieval medical research by exploring a remarkable figure within the history of alchemy Frames Bacon’s understanding of natural philosophy within the cultural milieu in which he was writing Includes three appendices, including a comprehensive list of Bacon’s works on medicine and alchemy
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9783031129001
Publisert
2024-01-03
Utgiver
Vendor
Palgrave Macmillan
Høyde
210 mm
Bredde
148 mm
Aldersnivå
Research, P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet

Forfatter

Om bidragsyterne

​Meagan S. Allen is the 2021-2023 Cain Postdoctoral Fellow at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia, PA. She has previously held a visiting fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin and a Huntington Exchange Fellowship at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.