Dangerous Drugs: The Self-Presentation of the Merchant-Poet Joannes Six van Chandelier (1620-1695) (1) (Amsterdam Studies in the Dutch Golden Age)

By: Ronny Spaans

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Synopsis: In the 17th century, the Dutch Republic was the centre of the world trade in exotic drugs and spices. They were sought after both as medicines, and as luxury objects for the bourgeois class, giving rise to a medical and moral anxiety in the Republic. This ambivalent view on exotic drugs is the theme of the poetry of Joannes Six van Chandelier (1620-1695). Six, who himself ran the drug shop 'The Gilded Unicorn' in Amsterdam, addresses a number of exotic medicines in his poems, such as musk, incense, the miracle drug theriac, Egyptian mumia, and even the blood of Charles I of England. In Dangerous Drugs, these texts are studied for the first time. The study shows how Six, through a process of self-presentation as a sober and restrained merchant, but also as a penitent sinner, thirsting for God's grace, links early modern drug abuse to different desires, such as lust, avarice, pride and curiosity. The book shows also how an early modern debate on exotic drugs contributed to an important shift in early modern natural science, from a drug lore based on mythical and fabulous concepts, to a botany based on observation and systematic examination.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
Book Size:: 456 Pages
ISBN-13:: 9781040799024
Related ISBNs:: 9781040793237, 9781041177906, 9789462982543, 9781003693642
Publisher:: Taylor & Francis
Date of Addition:: 10/01/25
Copyrighted By:: R. Spaans / Taylor & Francis Group
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: History, Nonfiction, Literature and Fiction, Language Arts, Medicine
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.