The seventeenth century in Western Europe remains the key time and place for the development of modern science; the basic theme of this book is what the nature of seventeenth-century archives can tell us about this development, through a series of case studies (Boyle, Galileo, Huygens, Newton included).
Manuscript collections created by the individuals and institutions who were responsible for the scientific revolution offer valuable evidence of the intellectual aspirations and working practices of the principal protagonists. This volume is the first to explore such archives, focusing on the ways in which ideas were formulated, stored and disseminated, and opening up understanding of the process of intellectual change. It analyses the characteristics andhistory of the archives of such leading intellectuals as Robert Boyle, Galileo Galilei, G.W. Leibniz, Isaac Newton and William Petty; also considered are the new scientific institutions founded at the time, the Royal Society andthe Académie des Sciences. In each case, significant broader findings emerge concerning the nature and role of such holdings; an introductory essay discusses the interpretation and exploitation of archives.
MICHAEL HUNTERis Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. Contributors: MICHAEL HUNTER, MASSIMO BUCCIANTINI, MARK GREENGRASS, ROBERT A. HATCH, FRANCES HARRIS, JOELLA YODER, DOMENICO BERTOLONI MELI, ROB ILIFFE, JAMES G.O'HARA, MORDECHAI FEINGOLD, CHRISTIANE DEMEULENAERE-DOUYRE, DAVID STURDY
- ISBN10 0851155537
- ISBN13 9780851155531
- Publish Date 7 May 1998
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
- Imprint The Boydell Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 221
- Language English