Harry Potter's World Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine - Unit 1

History of Medicine

Introduction Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3

Investigating Nature

1.A Exotic Flora and Fauna
1.B Microcosm and Macrocosm

Background

In the Harry Potter novels, we encounter a range of exotic flora and fauna, from unicorns and dragons to mandrakes and merpeople. The existence of such things is taken for granted by those inhabiting J. K. Rowling's magical world, but the same was also true of many Renaissance naturalists. Much of what they knew confirmed this belief: unicorns and basilisks had been described and discussed from antiquity, the fatal cry of the mandrake was widely reported, and the bodies of several presumed dragons were found and displayed in 17-century collections of naturalia. The voyages of discovery to the New World brought to light even stranger animals and plants, and many thousands of specimens were shipped back to Europe to fill museums, laboratories, and princely courts.

At the same time, the universe of Renaissance thinkers extended well beyond animals and plants: a mainstay of many philosophies was the connection between the individual and the surrounding cosmos. The individual was often seen as a microcosm, a miniature reflection of the universe or macrocosm, and the one could have a tremendous influence on the other. Astrology taught that the motions and properties of the planets directly affected life on Earth, influencing everything from behavior to health.

Thus, for many in this period, a variety of intimate connections existed between humanity and nature. The world was full of an astonishing array of strange and marvelous things, the formation and behavior of which were often dictated by the movements of the heavens. The result was a seamless conception of nature that inspired some of the most innovative intellectual changes in Western history.

“I have noticed a relationship between science and natural philosophy…those writings interest me the most which deal with minerals, plants, and animals.” —Konrad Gesner, Historiae Animalium, 1551

“Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology…where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.” —Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J. K. Rowling

Key Concepts

In the early Renaissance, authority and credibility were derived from the testimony of ancient authors, many of whom reported the existence of creatures such as unicorns and basilisks.
Slowly, however, the authority of ancient texts was replaced by the authority of observation and direct contact with nature.
The voyages of discovery exposed Renaissance thinkers to a wide range of new and unusual plants and animals.
In many esoteric philosophies, humanity and the wider universe were seen as inextricably connected—the one could have tremendous impact on the other. This notion was the cornerstone of astrology, which examined the links between human life and the motions of the heavens.
Many physicians took astrological notions into account as part of their medical practice, for example, scheduling certain procedures only when the planets were properly aligned. For some, like Paracelsus (1493-1541), the connection between humanity and the surrounding world was absolutely central to the practice of medicine.

1.A Exotic Flora and Fauna

Primary Sources:

Pliny the Elder. Natural History. Edited by John Bostock, 1855. Specifically Book VIII (“The Nature of the Terrestrial Animals”) – available at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+toc
Gesner, Konrad. Historiae animalium… (Zurich, 1551) – excerpted at http://archive.nlm.nih.gov/proj/ttp/Gesnergallery.htm

Secondary Sources:

Daston, Lorraine and Katharine Park. Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150-1750. New York: Zone Books, 1998.
Smith, Pamela H. and Paula Findlen, eds. Merchants and Marvels: Commerce, Science, and Art in Early Modern Europe. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Ogilvie, Brian W. The Science of Describing: Natural History in Renaissance Europe. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.
Gerbi, Antonello. Nature in the New World: From Christopher Columbus to Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo. Translated by Jeremy Moyle. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1985.
Daston, Lorraine. “What Can Be a Scientific Object? Reflections on Monsters and Meteors.” Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 52, no. 2 (1998): 35-50.
Ariew, Roger. “Leibniz on the Unicorn and Various Other Curiosities.” Early Science and Medicine 3, no. 4 (1998): 267-288.

Visual Resources:

Illustration of a dragon
from Konrad Gesner,
Historiae Animalium, 1551
Courtesy National
Library of Medicine

Illustration of a basilisk
from Konrad Gesner,
Historiae Animalium, 1551
Courtesy National
Library of Medicine

Illustration of a female mandrake root from Hortus Sanitatis, 1491
Courtesy National
Library of Medicine

Illustration of a male mandrake root from Hortus Sanitatis, 1491
Courtesy National
Library of Medicine

Hortus Sanitatis, 1491
Courtesy National
Library of Medicine

Discussion Questions:

Where did Renaissance naturalists turn for descriptions of exotic plants and animals? Why did they put such store in these sources?
There are still parts of the world that remain largely unexplored today; most of us, however, do not believe that these uncharted regions might contain unicorns, dragons, or other exotic creatures, as did naturalists in the Renaissance. Why is this, do you think? Do we require “hard evidence” before we believe something, and if so, is this problematic?

Suggested Student Exercise:

Study Konrad Gesner's Historiae Animalium through the “Turning the Pages” application on the NLM website, and record your impressions. In what ways does it resemble, or differ from, a modern zoological treatise?