Majd al-Din al-Firuzabadi (1329-1415) : a polymath on the eve of the early modern period /
:
In Majd al-Dīn al-Fīrūzābādī (1329-1415): A Polymath on the Eve of the Early Modern Period , Vivian Strotmann provides a detailed reconstruction of the famous lexicographer's and travelling scholar's life and works. The 'author of the Qāmūs al-muḥīṭ ' is widely known for his Arabic lexicon, which overshadows the astounding breadth of his writing. This polymathic aspect is elucidated through detailed reconstruction of al-Fīrūzābādī's corpus, including examination of works that were considered lost and misapprehensions concerning ascriptions of authorship. Through minute analysis of biographical sources, the book shows al-Fīrūzābādī's development as a scholar, his central role in the defence of Ibn al-ʿArabī's teachings and thereby his importance as a powerful intellectual in Timurid times and for developments during the Early Modern Period.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004305403 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Licit magic : the life and letters of al-Ṣaḥib born ʻAbbad (d. 385/995) /
:
In Licit Magic: The Life and Letters of al-Ṣāḥib born ʿAbbād (d. 385/995) Maurice A. Pomerantz explores the biography and literary output of a major tenth-century Muslim statesman, literary patron, and intellectual. His nearly two-decade reign as vizier on behalf of two Buyid amirs was an important period for the flowering of Arabic letters, Muʿtazilī theology and Shīʿism in Western Iran. Making use of Ibn ʿAbbād's large corpus of letters ( rasāʾil ), Pomerantz explores the role that eloquence played in the conduct of administration, the maintenance of social networks of elites, and persuasion. Licit Magic argues that the eloquent expression that Ibn ʿAbbād displayed in his letters was central to his exercise of power.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004348042 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The life and works of W.G. Collingwood : a wayward compass in Lakeland /
:
This well researched biography provides a comprehensive account of the life and works of William Gershom Collingwood (1854-1932), a 19th century polymath whose story should be better known. He was a noted friend and colleague of John Ruskin, whose secretary he later became.
:
Previously issued in print: 2018.
Includes index. :
1 online resource (xii, 254 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour). :
Specialized. :
9781784918729 (ebook) :
A study of the life and works of Athanasius Kircher, "Germanus incredibilis" : with a selection of his unpublished correspondence and an annotated translation of his autobiography...
:
Athanasius Kircher, a German Jesuit in 17th-century Rome, was an enigma. Intensely pious and a prolific author, he was also a polymath fascinated with everything from Egyptian hieroglyphs to the tiny creatures in his microscope. His correspondence with popes, princes and priests was a window into the restless energy of the period. It showed first-hand the seventeenth-century's struggle for knowledge in astronomy, microscopy, geology, chemistry, musicology, Egyptology, horology... The list goes on. Kircher's books reflect the mind-set of 17th-century scholars - endless curiosity and a substantial larding of naiveté: Kircher scorned alchemy as the wishful thinking of charlatans, yet believed in dragons. His life and correspondence provide a key to the transition from the Middle Ages to a new scientific age. This book, though unpublished, has been long quoted and referred to. Awaited by scholars and specialists of Kircher, it is finally available with this edition.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004216327 :
1871-1405 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.