Secrets and Knowledge in Medicine and Science, 1500–1800

Elaine Leong, University of Cambridge, UK, and Alisha Rankin, Tufts University, USA

'The collection makes a welcome and differentiated contribution to this field of research. Complemented by future studies on related aspects - such as political secrecy - this work can help us attain a better understanding of what the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann once called the 'cosmological status' of secrecy in the early modern period.' Ambix 'Clearly, while the larger subject of secrets in early modern Europe is large and diffuse, the carefully limited study of one kind - the recipes of the period - and their proliferation and use, can open our eyes to many of the intertwined relationships among words, things, and values. The fascinating details of secrets are echoed, too, in the often surprising histories offered by the authors in this collection.' Renaissance Quarterly 'These essays all offer new insight into the transmission of natural knowledge in early modern Europe... this volume should serve as a stimulus to further work on the endlessly fascinating topic of secrets.' ISIS '... a strong and well-organised collection.' Social History of Medicine 'The individual essays that make up this volume are certainly well worth reading. Many are of a very high standard, and they make important contributions to debates that would be of interest to specialists of, say, alchemy, or domestic medicine, or to those with an interest in ideals of secrecy and openness in mid-seventeenth-century England, or indeed the role played by craft knowledge during the Scientific Revolution.' British Journal for the History of Science 'This collection of essays draws welcome attention to the role of secrets in early modern ’knowledge making’, and brings together diverse work from a research field that is just beginning to realise its potential... The editors also deserve commendation for highlighting the latest research trends in their introduction as they supplement the essays’ perspectives with their own knowledge of relevant primary sources.' Sixteenth Century Studies

• Chapter 1 Introduction Secrets and Knowledge, Elaine Leong, Alisha Rankin; Part I Defining Secrets; Chapter 1a How to Read a Book of Secrets, William Eamon; Chapter 2 What is a Secret? Secrets and Craft Knowledge in Early Modern Europe, Pamela H. Smith; Part II Secrecy and Openness; Chapter 3 The Secrets of Sir Hugh Platt, Ayesha Mukherjee; Chapter 4 Robert Boyle and Secrecy, Michael Hunter; Chapter 5 Openness vs. Secrecy in the Hartlib Circle: Revisiting 'Democratic Baconianism' in Interregnum England, Michelle DiMeo; Part III Illicit Secrets; Chapter 6 Anna Zieglerin's Alchemical Revelations, Tara Nummedal; Chapter 7 Face Waters, Oils, Love Magic and Poison: Making and Selling Secrets in Early Modern Rome, Tessa Storey; Part IV Secrets and Health; Chapter 8 Keeping Beauty Secrets in Early Modern Iberia, Montserrat Cabré; Chapter 9 Secrets to Healthy Living: The Revival of the Preventive Paradigm in Late Renaissance Italy, Sandra Cavallo; Chapter 10 Secrets of Place: The Medical Casebooks of Vivant-Augustin Ganiare, Lisa Wynne Smith;