The Dragon and the Star : A Narrative History of the Scientific Revolution

The Dragon and the Star provides a narrative history of the Scientific Revolution which uses the latest scholarship and new insights to discuss how European thought about the natural world changed significantly from 1450 to 1750.It crucially presents an integrated history of knowledge producers – one that includes women, non-European and non-elites – grounding the narrative in stories that demonstrate the diversity of practitioners and places where knowledge was produced in the early modern period. Bradford Bouley incorporates a wealth of fascinating case studies to reveal a civilization in flux, striving to make sense of an abundance of new information in an increasingly globalized world.Two events from 1572 encapsulate the changes that would shake the foundations of European knowledge about the natural world over the next two centuries: Tyco Brahe’s discovery of a new star challenged the Ptolemaic-Aristotelian view of the universe, and the appearance of a “dragon” outside Bologna was part of a parade of new plants and animals that streamed into Europe from other continents now connected by overseas voyages. These case studies, along with many others, show how European knowledge about the natural world was on the brink of a profound crisis and eventual evolution in this era. The book tracks not just the intellectual trends that led to change, but also the social and cultural milieu that led to new understandings of the natural world.With 56 images and 7 maps included for added visual and geographic contexts, The Dragon and the Star is the inclusive history of the Scientific Revolution that has been lacking until now.