An Outline History of Alchemy in Slovakia.
An Outline History of Alchemy in Slovakia.

Author(s): Miloš Jesenský
Subject(s): Cultural history, Customs / Folklore, Middle Ages, Modern Age, Culture and social structure
Published by: Historický ústav SAV
Keywords: magic; alchemy; Slovakia; history; renaissance; natural sciences;
Summary/Abstract: The theme of the history of alchemy is usually neglected by historians in Slovakia or regarded in the context of the history of science and technology as marginal. However, irrespective of this point of view, it is possible to record the existence of alchemy, regarded in the literature of the time sometimes as an art (ars) and sometimes as a science (scientia), and its turbulent flourishing in the Renaissance period and later, whether in European or Slovak history. It had an important influence on contemporary society, including science, culture and politics and analysis of this area would require more detailed research. There are various works devoted to aspects of this problem in Slovakia, dealing with alchemy in the context of the history of the natural sciences in Slovakia, but a general work summarizing the partial findings has not been published so far, in contrast to Czech and Polish historiography.

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