Szydlo, Andrew Zbigniew; (1992) The life and work of Michael Sendivogius (1566-1636). Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Preview

Text The_life_and_work_of_Michael_S.pdf Download (9MB) | Preview

Abstract

Despite the great popularity of the works of the Polish alchemist Michael Sendivogius through the seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth century, historians of chemistry have paid little attention to the ideas contained in them or attempted to establish why the work continued to find a wide readership well into the period increasingly dominated by the mechanical philosophy. The neglect of Sendivogius is due, in part, to the romantic legends, which are only now being replaced by a more reliable biographical account. In this thesis a revised biography, hitherto accessible only in recent Polish works, introduces an extended analysis and reevaluation of the central concepts of Sendivogius' major work, the Novum Lumen Chymicum (1604). The work, based on practical laboratory experience and centred on a grand theory involving nitre, played a significant role in shifting the attention of chemists and natural philosophers towards a study of air and its role in manifold processes on the earth, particularly in combustion and respiration. A new and extensively revised bibliographical examination of Sendivogian works has been undertaken, with particular reference to French language editions: i. The Treatise on Salt is analysed, and reasons suggested for its recognition as a genuine Sendivogian work. ii. The Statutes of the Unknown Philosophers is translated and analysed, and the significance of its publication during the period of the Rosicrucian manifestos discussed. An analysis of the ideas of John Mayow (1641-1679) in his Tractatus Quinque (1674) is undertaken to illustrate the continuing influence of Sendivogius' ideas, and similarities and contrasts between Mayow's 'nitro-aerial spirit' and Sendivogius' 'Central Nitre' theory are examined. The thesis presents new evidence for the recognition of Sendivogius' ideas as important for the emergence of a number of seminal modern concepts regarding nitre, air, combustion and respiration.

Download activity - last month

Export as JSONXMLCSV

Download activity - last 12 months

Export as JSONXMLCSV

Downloads by country - last 12 months

Export as CSVXMLJSON

Archive Staff Only

View Item