Biblical Scholarship, Science and Politics in Early Modern England

Kevin Killeen addresses one of the most enigmatic of seventeenth century writers, Thomas Browne (1605-1682), whose voracious intellectual pursuits provide an unparalleled insight into how early modern scholarly culture understood the relations of science, politics and religion. The book centres on a reassessment of Browne's most elaborate text, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, his vast encyclopaedia of error and through this explores the multivalent nature of early-modern enquiry.

Kevin Killeen is a lecturer in Early Modern English Literature at the University of York, UK.

Contents: Introduction: the thorny place of knowledge; 'The inconsiderable salarie of Judas': Biblical historiography and law; The community of this fruit: commentary, curiosa and chronology; Subtle seeds and agile emanations: natural philosophy, religion and witchcraft; 'The doctor quarrels with some pictures': Browne's fabulous animals; The politics of painting; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.