Ofer Hadass - Medicine, Religion, and Magic in Early Stuart England: Richard Napier’s Medical Practice

Medicine, Religion, and Magic in Early Stuart England

THE MAGIC IN HISTORY SERIES

FORBIDDEN RITES

A Necromancers Manual of the Fifteenth Century

Richard Kieckhefer

CONJURING SPIRITS

Texts and Traditions of Medieval Ritual Magic

Edited by Claire Fanger

RITUAL MAGIC

Elizabeth M. Butler

THE FORTUNES OF FAUST

Elizabeth M. Butler

THE BATHHOUSE AT MIDNIGHT

An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia

W. F. Ryan

SPIRITUAL AND DEMONIC MAGIC

From Ficino to Campanella

D. P. Walker

ICONS OF POWER

Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity

Naomi Janowitz

BATTLING DEMONS

Witchcraft, Heresy, and Reform in the Late Middle Ages

Michael D. Bailey

PRAYER, MAGIC, AND THE STARS IN THE ANCIENT AND LATE ANTIQUE WORLD

Edited by Scott Noegel, Joel Walker, and Brannon Wheeler

BINDING WORDS

Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages

Don C. Skemer

STRANGE REVELATIONS

Magic, Poison, and Sacrilege in Louis XIVs France

Lynn Wood Mollenauer

UNLOCKED BOOKS

Manuscripts of Learned Magic in the Medieval Libraries of Central Europe

Benedek Lng

ALCHEMICAL BELIEF

Occultism in the Religious Culture of Early Modern England

Bruce Janacek

INVOKING ANGELS

Theurgic Ideas and Practices, Thirteenth to Sixteenth Centuries

Edited by Claire Fanger

THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF MAGIC

Illicit Learned Magic in the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance

Frank Klaassen

MAGIC IN THE CLOISTER

Pious Motives, Illicit Interests, and Occult Approaches to the Medieval Universe

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REWRITING MAGIC

An Exegesis of the Visionary Autobiography of a Fourteenth-Century French Monk

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MAGIC IN THE MODERN WORLD

Strategies of Repression and Legitimization

Edited by Edward Bever and Randall Styers

The Magic in History series explores the role magic and the occult have played in European culture, religion, science, and politics. Titles in the series bring the resources of cultural, literary, and social history to bear on the history of the magic arts, and they contribute to an understanding of why the theory and practice of magic have elicited fascination at every level of European society. Volumes include both editions of important texts and significant new research in the field.

Medicine, Religion, and Magic in Early Stuart England

Richard Napiers Medical Practice

Ofer Hadass

The Pennsylvania State University Press

University Park, Pennsylvania

Frontispiece: Anonymous British artist, Richard Napier, ca. 1630. Bequeathed by Elias Ashmole, 1692; WA1898.19. Image Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hadass, Ofer, 1969 author.

Title: Medicine, religion, and magic in early Stuart England : Richard Napiers medical practice / Ofer Hadass.

Other titles: Magic in history.

Description: University Park, Pennsylvania : The Pennsylvania State University Press, [2018] | Series: The magic in history series | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Summary: Explores the work of the astrologer-physician and Anglican rector Richard Napier (15591634). Examines Napiers medical and magical practices in their larger context and shows how the physician incorporated both astral and ritual magic into his medicineProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017048628 | ISBN 9780271080185 (cloth : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Napier, Richard, 15591634. | MedicineEnglandHistory17th century. | Medical astrologyEnglandHistory17th century. | MagicEnglandHistory17th century. | TheologyEnglandHistory17th century.

Classification: LCC R489.N37 H33 2018 | DDC 610.942dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017048628

Copyright 2018
Ofer Hadass

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To Inbal, Eviatar, Avishag, and Avigail

Astrological Symbols

Units of Measurement

Almost thirty years ago, the combination of an advanced course in quantum physics and Robert Pirsigs popular Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance introduced me to the philosophical quandaries of modern science. While making a career in the field of health information technology, I also embarked upon an intellectual voyage to explore my nebulous doubts. A masters degree in philosophy, guided by Ofer Gal, constituted an initial attempt to evaluate conceptions of truth. It was in one of Gals seminars that I first became acquainted with Napier and was encouraged to obtain images from his archive. Fascinated by Michael MacDonalds portrayal of a doctor who lived on the cusp between two eras, I resolved to delve into Napiers career as a litmus test for his periods interplay between magic and science. It is upon the resulting investigation that this book rests.

Three excellent mentors have guided me on this arduous road: Joseph Ziegler, who, with a steady hand and endless patience, steered my academic efforts to their fruitful end; Zur Shalev, who attentively read my many drafts and offered insightful comments and critical suggestions; and Lauren Kassell, who generously shared her expertise as a leading historian of early modern astrology and magic. Employing sharp, instructive criticism, Lauren gave me confidence throughout that my work could make a real contribution to current historical research. I would like to offer special thanks to Margaret Pelling, Nadav Davidovitch, Raz Chen-Moris, Miriam Eliav-Feldon, Naomi Tadmor, Gadi Elgazi, and the late Michael Heyd for lending an ear to my ideas and sharing with me their thoughts. The generous comments of the two anonymous readers of this manuscript are also greatly appreciated.