The secrets of nature's alchemy captivated both the scientific and literary imagination of the Middle Ages. This book explores Chaucer's fascination with earth's mutability. Gabrovsky reveals that his poetry represents a major contribution to a medieval worldview centered on the philosophy of physics, astronomy, alchemy, and logic.

Autorentext

Alexander N. Gabrovsky holds a PhD in Medieval Literature from Cambridge University, UK and received an MD from VCU School of Medicine, USA. He specializes in alchemical manuscripts, paleopathology, and the history of occult and natural philosophy in the Middle Ages. He has published various journal articles related to disease in mummies, the medical field, history of art and medieval cryptography. He is a physician in Kansas City, USA.

Inhalt

PART I: PHYSICS 1. Introduction: Chaucer's Sublunar Region of Mutable Forms 2. Thought Experiments in Geffrey's Dream: The Poetics of , Measurement, and Relativity in the PART II: ALCHEMY 3. Alchemical Allegory and Transformative Action in the 4. 'As licour out of a lambyc ful faste': Love and Alchemy in PART III: LOGIC 5. Counterfactual Conditionals in the Avian Debate: and Possible Worlds Semantics in the 6. Conclusion: Chaucer and the Reality of Change