The close intertwining of text and images in Fludd’s principal work Utriusque cosmi historia (The History of the Two Worlds), combined with the conceptual captioning of the images, indicates that Fludd played an active role in realising his works as physical entities. His participation in the printing process and his interaction with publishers, artists and assistants (known as amanuenses) will be explored in this project by looking at relevant sources and a recently discovered printer’s copy.

Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) – Temporary position
Duration: May 2023 – April 2026

Image: Handwritten note by Johann Theodor de Bry on the reverse of a pen-and-ink drawing in Ms. lat. qu. 15, Robert Fludd: De technica microcosmi historia. With kind permission of the Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg (Johann Christian Senckenberg University Library) in Frankfurt, fol. 57.