EXHIBITS
The Book of Secretes: What is a Book of Secretes?
What is a Book of Secretes?
A Do-It-Yourself Hand Book For The Renaissance
Everything from medicine and food, to inks and dyes, and metals and gems, The Secretes of the Reverende Mayster Alexis of Piemount (hereafter referred to as The Book of Secretes) has the answer you seek.
This book was written by Girolamo Ruscelli under the pseudonymn of Alexis of Piemount. It was written originally in Italian and published in Venice in 1556. The second edition was translated from Italian to French and published in Paris. The third edition was translated from French into English and published in London. This exact copy of the book was translated by Wyllyam Warde, a physician for Queen Elizabeth I, and published by Henry Sutton in 1559.
A book of secrets would have generally been written for the common, middle class person. People inclined to pick up this book would mostly have been scholars, up and coming elites, or the average person who wanted to increase their knowledge. These books had a big appeal for the middle classes because they layed out methods of improving one's life whether through heatlh, wealth, or perception of status. Books of secrets were also an early example of the scientific revolution, as they contained examples of experimentation and a search for knowledge.
This specific book of secrets is divided into two parts, with six books (or sections) in the first part. Each section contains differing recipes pertaining to medicine, food, beauty products, inks, dyes, metals, and gems. This exhibit explores the topics portrayed in each section and expounds on how these topics pertain to Renaissance life. The pages are layed out in the same order of the sections within The Book of Secretes.
Natural Magic
Natural magic is not so much about spells and hexes, as it was about study and manipulation of the natural world. Scientists were highly intrigued by the natural world during this time. They sought to find connections to the secrets that the natural world held in store. Humanists and the educated nobles began studying plants, stars, and anatomy to have a better understanding of the natural world in which they lived. Yet they did not simply study and observe, but experiment as well. The results of these direct observations and experiments were written in books of secrets. These books held a rich encyclopedic knowledge of recipes for medicine, cookery, perfumes, pastes, soaps, inks, dyes, liquors, and even gem manipulation or alchemy.
Printing Books
With the invention of the printing press in 1450, books became more accessible and cheaper to make and buy. With greater access to books, there was a growth in the number of readers from the urban middle class as well as universities and humanists [1].
In order to make a manuscript prior to the printing press a long and involved process was followed. First, a leather worker would purchase vellum and parchment in its crude state before thinning by stretching, shaving off hair, and bleaching the skin. A scribe would then copy the text of the manuscript onto the vellum paper, followed by a rubricator who would add the decorative large initial letters at the beginning of text blocks and chapter headings. Finally an illuminator would add any images to the pages [2].
Paper was first introduced by way of trade from China through the Arabs [3]. This paper was made from old linen and rags that had been steeped until they fermented and were able to be beaten into a pulp. This pulp was then spread over a frame with perpendicular running wires along the bottom and drained. This would leave the pulp resting in a sheet across the wires which was then dried and coated with a glaze to help ink stick. This was the common practice to make paper for printing until wood pulp was discovered and became the new standard [4].
Marginalia in Books
Many books that have been passed down through the years often have little messages and notes scattered throughout the pages. These scribbles often rang from comments on the text itself all the way to random pen scratches that have no discernable meaning. The most common form of marginalia is a stamp of possession or ownership [5]. The ownership marginalia can take the form of bookplates, signatures, stamps, initials, amoung others. The two most common are a bookplate stuck inside the front and initial or a signature written in the top right corner of the first blank page [6]. The marginalia of a book effectively create a recognizable unique marking that becomes an identity for the book [7].
Within the body of the book, marginalia comes in the form of reader comments on the text of the book. The comments are usually found along the side margins close to where they refer to in the text. These side margin comments can take the form of reader reactions or further notes on the topic. These notes can also inform future owners and readers of other sources on the subject matter they may be interested in [8]. Making marginalia notes is a way for the reader to feel that they identify with the text [9].
Works Cited
[1] Pamela O. Long. "Books and Printing" in Technology, Society, and Culture in Late Meieval and Renaissance Europe, 1300-1600. (Washington, DC: Society for the History of Technology and the American Historical Association, 2000), 49-51.
[2] Long, "Books and Printing", 49-51.
[3] Long, "Books and Printing", 49-51.
[4] Long, "Books and Printing", 49-51.
[5] H. J. Jackson, "Physical Features" in Marginalia. (Yale University Press, 2001), 18-43.
[6] Jackson, "Physical Features", 18-43.
[7] Deneen M Senasi, "Beyond Recognition: Mutilation, Marginalia, and the Vicissitudes of Reading." Renaissance Papers 1-14. 2016. Humanities International Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed November 14, 2017)
[8] Senasi, "Beyond Recognition: Mutilation, Marginalia, and the Vicissitudes of Reading." 18-43.
[9] Jackson, "Physical Features", 18-43.