A Virtuoso's History

Antiquarianism and the Transmission of Knowledge in the Alchemical Studies of Elias Ashmole

Bibliographic Data

ID5305484
AuthorsBruce Janacek (North Central College, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume69
Issue3
Pages395-417
Publication date2008-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the History of Ideas (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-5037 • E-ISSN: 1086-3222
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/jhi.0.0007
PMID19127856
OpenAlexW1978272310
LanguageEN
References cited11

This article examines how the seventeenth-century antiquary, Elias Ashmole (1617-1692) used antiquarian techniques to demonstrate the historical veracity of alchemy. Ashmole published three alchemical volumes and collected thousands of pages of alchemical manuscripts. He also wrote several antiquarian treatises and collected manuscripts and printed volumes on astrology, political and ecclesiastical history, heraldry, medicine, devotional treatises. Ashmole's virtuoso perspective allowed him to view knowledge as unified, even traditions that appear to be as discrete as alchemy and antiquarianism. By examining how these two traditions were related to one another, we also see how knowledge was conveyed from one generation to the next

Alchemy · Ancient history · Art · Astrology · Epistemology · Heraldry · History of science · Literature · Mythology · Classics · Historical and Literary Studies · History · History of Science and Medicine · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices

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