The jewel house : Elizabethan London and the scientific revolution / Deborah E. Harkness.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harkness, Deborah E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Great Britain--History.

Science.

Natural history--Great Britain.

Natural history.

London (England)--Social conditions--16th century.

London (England).

London (England)--Social life and customs--16th century.

London (England)--Intellectual life--16th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (384 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven ; London : Yale University Press, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book explores the streets, shops, back alleys, and gardens of Elizabethan London, where a boisterous and diverse group of men and women shared a keen interest in the study of nature. These assorted merchants, gardeners, barber-surgeons, midwives, instrument makers, mathematics teachers, engineers, alchemists, and other experimenters Deborah Harkness contends formed a patchwork scientific community whose practices set the stage for the Scientific Revolution. While Francis Bacon has been widely regarded as the father of modern science, scores of his London contemporaries also deserve a share in this distinction. It was their collaborative, yet often contentious, ethos that helped to develop the ideals of modern scientific research. The book examines six particularly fascinating episodes of scientific inquiry and dispute in sixteenth-century London, bringing to life the individuals involved and the challenges they faced. These men and women experimented and invented, argued and competed, waged wars in the press, and struggled to understand the complexities of the natural world. Together their stories illuminate the blind alleys and surprising twists and turns taken as medieval philosophy gave way to the empirical, experimental culture that became a hallmark of the Scientific Revolution.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CONVENTIONS

A NOTE ABOUT "SCIENCE"

PRELUDE

1. LIVING ON LIME STREET

2. THE CONTEST OVER MEDICAL AUTHORITY

3. EDUCATING ICARUS AND DISPLAYING DAEDALUS

4. "BIG SCIENCE" IN ELIZABETHAN LONDON

5. CLEMENT DRAPER'S PRISON NOTEBOOKS

6. FROM THE JEWEL HOUSE TO SALOMON'S HOUSE

CODA

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 299-329) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781494505981

1494505983

9781299463615

1299463614

9780300185751

0300185758

OCLC:

842264728