• “Images, Talismans and Medicine in Gaffarel” in: Jacques Gaffarel between Magic and Science (Rome: Serra, 2014), 73-84.

    Author(s):
    Hiro Hirai (see profile)
    Date:
    2014
    Subject(s):
    Science, History, Medicine, Renaissance--Study and teaching, Intellectual life, Jews--Study and teaching
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    History of science, History of medicine, Renaissance studies, Intellectual history, Jewish studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/ch8v-tc83
    Abstract:
    In 1629, a strange treatise, entitled "Curiositez inouyes," or, "Unheard-of Curiosities," was published in Paris. Its author was Jacques Gaffarel, a French orientalist and a friend of atomist Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655). This work of over six hundred pages in octavo was devoted to the astrology, horoscope and talismans of the Orientals, that is, the "Eastern" Peoples. Originally written in French, it was more widely diffused after being translated into English in 1650 and into Latin in 1676. Its success lasted at least until the early eighteenth century, the dawn of the era of the Enlightenment. In this article I will focus on the second part of his treatise, which is the longest section and which establishes the theoretical foundation of Gaffarel’s science of figures and images. Through this analysis I wish to explore his ideas on the power of images to operate and their eventual relationship with the medical current of his time.
    Metadata:
    Published as:
    Book chapter    
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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