The Magic Circle of Rudolf II: Alchemy and Astrology in Renaissance Prague - Hardcover

Marshall, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802715516 ISBN 13: 9780802715517

Publisher: Walker Books, 2006

Synopsis

Rudolf II―Habsburg heir, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Hungary, Germany, and the
Romans―is one of history's great characters, and yet he remains largely an unknown figure. His reign (1576–1612) roughly mirrored that of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and while her famous court is widely recognized as a sixteenth century Who's Who, Rudolf 's collection of mathematicians, alchemists, artists, philosophers and astronomers―among them the greatest and most subversive minds of the time―was no less prestigious and perhaps even more influential.

Driven to understand the deepest secrets of nature and the riddle of existence, Rudolf invited to his court an endless stream of genius―Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, German mathematician Johannes Kepler, English magus John Dee, Francis Bacon, and mannerist painter Giuseppe Archimboldo among many others. Prague became the artistic and scientific center of the known world―an island of intellectual tolerance between Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam.

Combining the wonders and architectural beauty of sixteenth century Prague with the larger than-life characters of Rudolf's court, Peter Marshall provides an exciting new perspective on the pivotal moment of transition between medieval and modern, when the foundation was laid for the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Marshall has written widely on cultural and intellectual history. He is the author of numerous books, including The Philosopher's Stone, William Godwin, and Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism. He lives in England.

Reviews

When Rudolf II was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1576, he quickly filled his castle with artistic and scientific treasures. Marshall returns repeatedly to Rudolf's attempt to create a "theatre of the world" in Prague Castle and how it transformed the city into the last great cultural center of the Renaissance. Rudolf himself is relegated to the sidelines for much of the book's middle section, as the focus turns to the brilliant minds attracted to Prague's climate of intellectual openness. The emperor, says Marshall, had a sincere but undiscriminating thirst for knowledge, open to both "fact and fantasy"; thus the community deftly sketched includes alchemists and prophets like John Dee as well as scientists like Kepler and Brahe and artists like Arcimboldo. Marshall, a cultural historian (The Philosopher's Stone), also explores Rudolf's apparent madness, concluding the emperor suffered from manic-depression, and while "eccentric and insecure," he was not insane. The final chapters depict the dwindling of Rudolf's kingdom, as he sank further into melancholy; prolonged conflict with the Vatican over his tolerance of "heretics" (such as Protestants and Jews) led to political intrigues against him. Yet, Marshall argues convincingly, his intellectual legacy bridged the gap between the medieval and modern worlds. 25 b&w illus. (Aug.)
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Rudolf II of the mighty Hapsburg dynasty ruled the Holy Roman Empire (1583-1612) not from the empire's traditional capital, Vienna, but from a satellite one, Prague. Rudolf was a collector at heart and reclusive by nature, but by the quirks of his personality--"directed towards the cultivation of art and the discovery of knowledge"--and by virtue of his powerful position and facility for patronage, he rendered Prague the major cultural center of learning of the Europe of his day. With considerable yet arresting detail, Marshall gives concrete evidence of the eccentricity--and cultural significance--of this odd royal figure, at the same time individualizing the peculiarities and contributions to art and science of the men Rudolf drew into his circle. The emperor's collection of art ranked as superb, but he was not content with that; his gathering of books and "rare and exotic items" also fed his need to understand the universe. As a politic ruler, he was inadequate, but the virtual recluse of Prague Castle made his mark in his own fashion. Brad Hooper
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Edition details

• Publisher: Walker Books
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802715516
• ISBN 13: 9780802715517
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 276