Robert Fludd
Encyclopedia
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) was a prominent English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Paracelsian
Paracelsus
Paracelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, astrologer
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
, mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, cosmologist, Qabalist
Hermetic Qabalah
Hermetic Qabalah is a Western esoteric and mystical tradition...
, Rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
apologist. He was not a member of the Rosicrucians, as often alleged, but he defended their thoughts in the Apologia Compendiaria of 1616.
Life
He was the son of Sir Thomas Fludd, a high-ranking governmental official (Queen Elizabeth I's treasurer for war in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
).
He obtained an MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
Between 1598 and 1604, Fludd studied medicine, chemistry and the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
on the European mainland, but he is best known for his research in occult philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. He had a celebrated exchange of views with Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his eponymous laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican...
concerning the scientific
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
and hermetic
Hermeticism
Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...
approaches to knowledge.
Works
Fludd's works are mainly controversial: in succession he defended the Rosicrucians against Andreas LibaviusAndreas Libavius
Andreas Libavius was a German doctor and chemist.-Life:Libavius was born in Halle, Germany, as Andreas Libau. In Halle he attended the gymnasium and studied from the year 1576 in University of Wittenberg. From 1577 on he studied in the University of Jena in the faculties of philosophy and history...
, debated with Kepler, argued against French natural philosophers including Gassendi
Gassendi
* Pierre Gassendi was a French philosopher, scientist and mathematician* Gassendi is a large crater on the Moon named after him...
, and engaged in the discussion of the weapon-salve.
His philosophy is presented in Utriusque Cosmi, Maioris scilicet et Minoris, metaphysica, physica, atque technica Historia (The metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, physical, and technical history of the two worlds, namely the greater and the lesser, published in Germany between 1617 and 1621); according to Frances Yates
Frances Yates
Dame Frances Amelia Yates DBE was a British historian. She taught at the Warburg Institute of the University of London for many years.She wrote extensively on the occult or Neoplatonic philosophies of the Renaissance...
, his memory
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
system (which she describes in detail in The Art of Memory, pp. 321–341) may reflect the layout of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
(The Art of Memory, Chapter XVI).
In 1618, Fludd wrote De Musica Mundana (Mundane Music) which described his theories of music, including his mundane (also known as "divine" or "celestial") monochord
Monochord
A monochord is an ancient musical and scientific laboratory instrument. The word "monochord" comes from the Greek and means literally "one string." A misconception of the term lies within its name. Often a monochord has more than one string, most of the time two, one open string and a second string...
.
In 1630, Fludd proposed many perpetual motion machines. People were trying to patent variations of Fludd's machine in the 1870s. Fludd's machine worked by recirculation by means of a water wheel
Water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...
and Archimedean screw. The device pump
Pump
A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, gases or slurries.A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. Pumps fall into three major groups: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps...
s the water back into its own supply tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
.
Views
Fludd was one of the first persons to discuss the circulation of the blood, and did in fact arrive at the correct conclusion (Miguel Servet explain this idea on Book V of his "Christianismi Restitutio" of 1553). His conclusion was based on the macrocosm-microcosmMacrocosm and microcosm
Macrocosm and microcosm is an ancient Greek Neo-Platonic schema of seeing the same patterns reproduced in all levels of the cosmos, from the largest scale all the way down to the smallest scale...
analogy, a theory in which all occurrences in the microcosm (man) are influenced by the macrocosm (the heavens). His theory was that the blood must circulate because the heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
is like the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
and the blood like the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s and, by this time, it was known that the planets orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
the sun. William Harvey
William Harvey
William Harvey was an English physician who was the first person to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart...
later explained the circulation of blood in more modern and experimental terms, though still referring to the macrocosm-microcosm analogy of Fludd.
The soul is described as being present in all the three parts of the psych, always as the intersection between a pair of psychological faculties. Conscience and reflection are also attributed rational, intellectual and human qualities.
The frontal lobe is the residence of science and imagination that perceive the 'first element' of sense and image. The 'intellectual realm penetrates' to the centre and is grasped by conscience and reflection through their three qualities. At the back of the head, memory is dependent on motive to perceive 'fact' as sensible from the partially 'guarded' memory and vision.
The 'connection' between the head and the rest of the psyche in the body 'happens through the spinal cord'.
In popular culture
In conspiracy theories, such as the one promoted in The Holy Blood and the Holy GrailThe Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail is a book by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln....
, Fludd has been alleged to be the sixteenth Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion.
Robert Fludd is an important secondary character in Mary Gentle
Mary Gentle
-Literary career:Mary Gentle's first published novel was Hawk in Silver , a young-adult fantasy. She came to prominence with the Orthe duology, which consists of Golden Witchbreed and Ancient Light ....
's novel A Sundial in a Grave: 1610.
Robert Fludd's Sephirothic Tree is used in the Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion
, commonly referred to as Evangelion, is a commercially and critically successful Japanese anime series that began airing in October 1995. The series was highly influential, and launched the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. It garnered several major animation awards...
and the Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist
, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution...
anime and/or manga series.
Further reading
- Allen G. DebusAllen G. DebusAllen George Debus was an American historian of science, known primarily for his work on the history of chemistry and alchemy. In 1991 he was honored at the University of Chicago with an academic conference held in his name. Paul H...
, The English Paracelsians, New York: Watts, 1965. - Tita French Baumlin, "Robert Fludd," The Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 281: British Rhetoricians and Logicians, 1500–1660, Second Series, Detroit: Gale, 2003, pp. 85–99.
- James Brown CravenJames Brown CravenArchdeacon James Brown Craven was author of the History of the Church in Orkney and several other works on ecclesiastical history...
, Doctor Fludd (Robertus de Fluctibus), the English Rosicrucian: Life and Writings, Kirkwall: William Peace & Son, 1902. - Joscelyn GodwinJoscelyn GodwinJoscelyn Godwin is a composer, musicologist and translator, known for his work on ancient music, paganism and music in the occult....
, Robert Fludd: Hermetic Philosopher and Surveyor of Two Worlds, London: Thames and Hudson, 1979. - Frances A. Yates, The Art of Memory, London: Routledge, 1966.
- William H. Huffman, ed., Robert Fludd: Essential Readings, London: Aquarian/Thorsons, 1992.
- Johannes Rösche, Robert Fludd. Der Versuch einer hermetischen Alternative zur neuzeitlichen Naturwissenschaft (Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008).
External links
- Robert Fludd biography at Levity
- Fludd's magnum opus, 'Utriusque Cosmi maioris salicet et minoris metaphysica..' (1617–1619) is available as ZIPZIP (file format)Zip is a file format used for data compression and archiving. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size, or stored as is...
or PDF download. - A large section of 'Utriusque Cosmi maioris salicet et minoris metaphysica..' is available as page images at the University of Utah.
- Online originals of works by Robert Fludd
- JR Ritman Library: Treasures from the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica
- Robert Fludd chronology
- Utriusque Cosmi maioris salicet et minoris metaphysica (1617) at the Internet Archive
- Article by Urszula Szulakowska on the religious imagery of Utriusque Cosmi, including gallery and links to online public domain copies.