Lumos: Renaissance Thinkers Behind the Magic
On his eleventh birthday, Harry Potter learns that he is part of a magical world and is quickly launched into a world with spells, charms, potions, and curses. Did you know that this fictional world in Harry Potter series has many similarities with Renaissance traditions?
Learn about several historic Renaissance men who studied the magical properties of elements, explored connections between humanity and nature, and weighed the responsibility of the power and peril of magic. Their practices in alchemy, astrology, and natural philosophy shaped the development of western sciences, as well as shaped the magical and perilous world of Harry Potter.
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1. Nicolas Flamel (1330–1417)
Nicolas Flamel from a 1971 facsimile of Bibliotheca Chemica (Chemical library), 1727
Creator: E. Roth-Scholtz
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Nicolas Flamel was a French scribe, best known for his work in alchemy, the transmutation of metals. Flamel was rumored to have created the mythological Philosopher’s Stone, believed to be able to turn all metals into gold and produce an elixir granting eternal life.
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2. Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (1486–1535)
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (1486–1535)
Creator: Theodor de Bry
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim was a German occultist who wrote about ancient magic and its practical uses in De Occulta Philosophia, published in 1533. Agrippa believed that magic could benefit humanity if used respectfully and unselfishly.
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3. Konrad Gesner (1516–1565)
Konrad Gesner from Konrad Gessner als Gärtner (Konrad Gesner as a gardener), 1948
Creator: Diethelm Fretz
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Konrad Gesner was a Swiss naturalist whose 1551 publication, Historiae Animalium, is considered one of the first examples of modern zoology. Unlike earlier thinkers, Gesner included not only Greek and Biblical descriptions of animals in his writings, but also information that he had gained from dissection.
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4. Ambroise Paré (1510–1590)
Ambroise Paré, 1584
Creator: Giullus Horbeck
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Ambroise Paré was a French surgeon whose less invasive surgical techniques were extremely influential in the development of modern surgery. Paré believed that studying nature was important to understanding the world and included all manner of odd and unusual creatures in his works.
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5. Paracelsus (1493–1541)
Paracelsus from Philosophiae Magnae (Great philosophy), 1567
Creator: Paracelsus and Balthasar Flöter
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
A Swiss physician Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim, better known as Paracelsus, was among the first to use chemicals and minerals in his remedies. Paracelsus also argued that medical treatment should be a basic right.
