Esitelmät ja keskustelutilaisuudet

TUCEMEMS monthly talk: Between Science and Magic: Alchemical language use in medieval and early modern England

Welcome to the TUCEMEMS October monthly talk!

Sara Norja will be presenting her topic: ”Between Science and Magic: Alchemical language use in medieval and early modern England”. The presentation is in English.

12.10. from klo 4:15 pm at the University of Turku, Arcanum seminar room A355/357.
Registration for remote attendance: https://konsta.utu.fi/Default.aspx?tabid=88&tap=16695

Abstract: Alchemy was popular in medieval and early modern England, but English-language alchemical manuscript texts have remained an understudied resource for linguists. However, researching alchemical texts can provide valuable insights into the development of scientific language. My postdoctoral research in the project TiTaRa (Between Science and Magic) explores the vernacularisation and manuscript contexts of this early science. How to approach alchemical texts as research material? Can we examine the values placed on alchemy by studying the visual aspects of alchemical manuscripts? What was the Latin influence on Middle English alchemical terminology? In my presentation, I will go through some strands of my postdoctoral research to give an overview of studying English alchemy through a philological lens.

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Image: Trinity College, Cambridge MS O.5.31, f. 11v. Copyright the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge (käytetty Creative Commons BY-NC -lisenssin luvalla). Saatavilla Wren Digital Librarysta: https://mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/Manuscript/O.5.31/