Magic, Science, and Religion in Early Modern Europe

An accessible new exploration of the vibrant world of early modern Europe through a focus on magic, science, and religion.

Mark A. Waddell (Author)

9781108441650, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 January 2021

300 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.2 cm, 0.317 kg

'This book is suitable for an undergraduate course in the history of science … A person with no background in the subject would also find this an accessible entry point into the subject …' Jason M. Rampelt, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith

From the recovery of ancient ritual magic at the height of the Renaissance to the ignominious demise of alchemy at the dawn of the Enlightenment, Mark A. Waddell explores the rich and complex ways that premodern people made sense of their world. He describes a time when witches flew through the dark of night to feast on the flesh of unbaptized infants, magicians conversed with angels or struck pacts with demons, and astrologers cast the horoscopes of royalty. Ground-breaking discoveries changed the way that people understood the universe while, in laboratories and coffee houses, philosophers discussed how to reconcile the scientific method with the veneration of God. This engaging, illustrated new study introduces readers to the vibrant history behind the emergence of the modern world.

Introduction
1. Hermeticism, the Cabala, and the Search for Ancient Wisdom
2. Witchcraft and Demonology
3. Magic, Medicine, and the Microcosm
4. A New Cosmos: Copernicus, Galileo, and the Motion of the Earth
5. Looking for God in the Cosmic Machine
6. Manipulating Nature: Experiment and Alchemy in the Scientific Revolution
7. A New World? The Dawn of the Enlightenment
Conclusion
Bibliographical Essays.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX], History of medicine [MBX], History of ideas [JFCX], Church history [HRCC2], History of religion [HRAX], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH]