The Mercurial Emperor: The Magic Circle of Rudolf II in Renaissance Prague

by Peter H. Marshall

In the late 16th century the greatest philosophers, alchemists, astronomers, painters, and mathematicians of the day flocked to Prague to work under the patronage of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, an emperor more interested in the great minds of his times than in the exercise of his immense power. Rarely leaving Prague Castle, he gathered around him a galaxy of famous figures: among them the painter Arcimboldo, the astronomer Tycho Brahe, the mathematician Johannes Kepler, the philosopher Giordano Bruno and the magus John Dee.





Fascinated by the new Renaissance learning, Rudolf found it nearly impossible to make decisions of state. Like Faust, he was prepared to risk all in the pursuit of magical knowledge and the Philosopher's Stone which would turn base metals into gold and prolong life indefinitely. But he also faced threats: religious discord, the Ottoman Empire, his own deepening melancholy and an ambitious younger brother. As a result he lost his empire and nearly his sanity. But he enabled Prague to enjoy a golden age of peace and creativity before Europe was engulfed in the Thirty Years' War.





Filled with angels and devils, high art and low cunning, talismans and stars, The Mercurial Emperor offers a captivating perspective on a pivotal moment in the history of Western civilisation.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Alchemy, Science, Renaissance, Chemistry

Kindle Edition

First published May 25, 2006

About the author

Peter Hugh Marshall (born 23 August 1946, Bognor Regis, England) is an English philosopher, historian, biographer, travel writer and poet. He has written fifteen books which are being translated into fourteen different languages. He wrote, presented and partly filmed the 6-part HTV series 'Voyage Around Africa', first shown in 1994. He also wrote and presented the two-part series 'Celtic Gold: A Voyage around Ireland' for BBC Radio Wales in 1995, which later became a book.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's very interesting to learn about all of the people associated with Rudoplh, such as Johannes Kepler, John Dee, Guiseppe Arcimboldo, et al, but Peter Marshall repeats whole sentences multiple times in the book and makes the strangest word choices throughout. This book could be about half its length and there wouldn't be any information missing. I'm glad that I learned about this intriguing and enigmatic figure, but a much better book is either still to be written or, at least, yet to be translated.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book three stars because it had enough meat to get me through it but the writing is definitely a two star effort and GoodReads doesn't allow me to assign a half-star.

I was very disappointed in this book. The writing is dry and technical with little love or verve on the subject. Some of the chapters were fantastic, as was the one on John Dee, but the latter part of the book focuses on Rudolf's decline and it reads like a rendition of a list of facts.

I wanted more. More on the alchemists. More on the astrologers. More on their culture and their books. More on some of the local players and politics. More on the Church and the Counter-Reformation. More on the Jesuits and the Capuchin Monks!

There's just not enough meat on this book for me to recommend it. For a vague overview of this period in Prague's history it's fine, but for more on Alchemy and Astrology in Renaissance Prague, it means looking for other sources.

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having read Peter Marshall's book about Alchemy, 'The Philosophers Stone', which was bursting with factual inaccuracies and wildly credulous, unreferenced assertions, I did not have the highest hopes for this, but I attempted it because I wanted to read a biography of the eccentric Holy Roman emperor Rudolf ii. Where at least his 'Philosophers Stone' book had a certain amount of verve despite its many flaws, 'The Magic Circle' (my copy was titled the Theatre of the World), felt like it had been cobbled together to fulfill contractual obligations to a publisher. It reads like a bad undergraduate essay. It has no narrative thread. Marshall repeats the same information over and over again. The overview on Neoplatonism was amongst the worst I have ever read. Even worse, what little information there is feels like a tired regurgitation of far better books - especially by Frances Yates. I am amazed it is possible to write such a poor book about the esoteric under currents in 16th Century Prague, which is such a fascinating subject. I gave up in despair before the end, but I felt like I had learned nothing about Rudolf as a human being at all. Avoid.

[Skallagrimsen]

Emperor Rudolf II is important to the history of culture as a patron of artists, philosophers and scientists; Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, John Dee and Giordano Bruno were among the many luminaries to grace his Renaissance court in Prague. Rudolf is even more important to geopolitical history, as the ruler whose mental illness contributed to the destabilization of Germany and thereby helped to create the conditions for the catastrophic Thirty Years War. Historically literate people should know who he is.

While not exceptionally well written or deeply insightful, The Magic Circle at least fills the need for an accessible English language book about emperor Rudolf. (Rudolf II and His World: A Study in Intellectual History by, R.J.W. Evans, is magisterial, but too dense and academic to appeal to most non-specialist readers.)

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh what a time to have been alive! When Prague was a bigger city than London or Paris, filled with interesting people. Arguably the concentration of talent that Rudolf collected in Prague during his reign sparked the Scientific revolution as well as a revolution in art.

Peter Marshall's book does justice to this extraordinary character, painting him in the larger than life colours he deserves. A must read for anyone interested in the period.

[Chris Feldman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Highly flawed, with a number of factual errors followed by unsupported hypotheses. Not recommended.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it surprisingly bland. It was a straight-forward narrative though it picked up a bit at the end when Marshall discusses the connection between the alchemists and later science.

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book three stars because its subject matter is fascinating and the writing is not bad. The author, however, is not a historian and often falls into old-fashioned and misleading generalizations about what he sees as the enlightened Renaissance, the superstitious Middle Ages,fanatical Spain, obscurantist Catholicism, and tolerant Protestantism. He also is guilty of errors subtle (the meaning of the term "Utraquist") and obvious (he says that Carlos V expelled the Jews from Spain in 1492, when every schoolboy knows it was his grandparents Fernando and Isabel). The book also suffers a bit from repetition and superficiality.

[federico garcía LOCA · Rating 3 out of 5]

bought this book and a bar of lead hoping to turn it into gold only to find that it's the wrong season - now i got this lead sitting under my bed and i can't use it outside until winter solstice...thanks a lot

[Douglas Summers-Stay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a difficult time finding any books about Prague at the end of the 1500s but this one satisfied my curiosity thoroughly. Rudolf II gathered all the big names in alchemy and astrology to his capital of the Holy Roman Empire. John Dee and his earless criminal companion Kelley (who broke his legs trying to escape Rudolf's tower), Tycho Brahe and Kepler, Bruno and Scotus were all there. One of the alchemists greatest successes was creating oxygen from saltpeter and using it in a submarine. It was the end of the magical age and the beginning of the scientific one, all in a jumble. Rudolph himself, by his disinterest in exercising power, postponed a war between the Catholics and Protestants for 60 years. The writing quality is only workmanlike-- Marshall is clearly fascinated, but he doesn't do a great job of communicating the fascination to the reader and is often repetitive. But as I said, I had very few choices on the subject and was delighted to find anything at all that wasn't written by unreliable alchemy fans.
I should mention that the reason I sought out this book was that I knew so little about Prague before visiting it. All of Eastern Europe, really, is a hole in my education. I was fascinated by the richness of the city and the strange, mystical nature of its history. I noticed that all the sharply peaked roofs with peaks on their peaks looked like evil wizard towers, but I hadn't realized before that the whole notion of what wizard towers look like comes from Prague.

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I wrote for my Amazon review: If the reader expects to learn much about "Alchemy and Astrology in Renaissance Prague" that reader is in for a disappointing read! As another reviewer noted, each chapter seems to be written to stand alone and there is much repetition from chapter to chapter and the story seemed to loop back onto itself much too much. The reader, for example, is REPEATEDLY REPEATEDLY AND REPEATEDLY told what "Kunstkammer" means and REPEATEDLY REPEATEDLY AND REPEATEDLY told who the Utraquists were! That got to be a source of irritation! As a history of Rudolf's reign, okay, but since I was interested in the other angle, I was not impressed. It is to be hoped that a better book on the subject is out there somewhere.

[Laura Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I did find at least two chronological errors -- "Sunday, 13 February 1592," could not have been "the centenary of the great expulsion of the Jews from Spain by Rudolf's grandfather, Charles V" (95) as Charles V wasn't born until 1500, and "the Edict of Nantes of 1608" (220) was, in fact, in 1598 -- which means there were probably a bunch more I didn't catch. But on the whole, I did enjoy this book -- lot of fun tidbits about Tycho Brahe's metal nose made of electrum and the supposed powers of the Ainkhuern, a six-foot long horn, probably from a narwhal, which Rudolf would place by his side as he sat inside a magic circle in order to protect himself from his enemies.

[Juliet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good explanation of Prague's diversity, why the Holy Roman Emperor lived in Prague rather than Vienna, how Rudolf provided a welcoming environment for scientists (and "scientists") and artists. How, in fact, he helped usher in the Age of Reason. All while juggling the pressures of the Vatican, various branches of Protestants, and the increasing threats from the Ottoman Empire.

[Celeste · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with some of the other reviews here. Fairly bland read for such an interesting time in history, with such interesting people. It started off stronger than it finished. Some chapters felt more like a listing of people involved, not a lot of depth. Oh well!

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This feels like two books smashed together - a biography of Rudolf II and a history of 16th century sciences. Even though many of the events are taking place in Prague, Rudolf is noticeably absent. Other than two factual inaccuracies that made me go "huh?" it was a pretty good account of it's chosen topics, even though they were completely disjointed.

[Kadri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book. I did like the parts about Brahe and Kepler and how Rudolf's rule brought artists and scientists etc to Prague. Did not like the parts that sounded as if the author believed in horoscopes as much as Rudolf II did. Fascinating emperor though.

[Eduardo Shanahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are lots of names in this book. I was not aware of the history of Rudolph II. Prague is a beautiful city and the next time I visit there I will have a number of things to view.
The best part for me was the epilogue, where the author gives his own view of the time and characters.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting insights

I am not really interested in royalty generally but this was a fascinating insight into the man who created a unique time and space for creativity and inquiry. I would have liked more narrative on a personal note, to make it flow more easily.

[jenwalk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This account of the life of Rudolph was very interesting. I found myself pausing frequently to research some person or belief that caught my curiosity.

[AphroPhantasmal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall I liked the book. I thought the writing had a nice flow to it and found learning about an eccentric slice of Holy Roman Empire history to be engaging and worthwhile in and of itself. There were, however, certain points that were driven home to the point of being repetitive. How many times do we really need to be told that Rudolf II was melancholic and may well have suffered from manic depression? How often do we need to be reminded that he was more concerned with his curiosities than his duties as head of state? There were a few times where my inner dialogue was "Okay! We get it!"

And while the author does mention a few of the key alchemists, charlatans, and astrologers Rudolf came to depend on and learn from; the book doesn't really SEEM to match the title. I was expecting it to be about these individuals themselves; details about their discoveries, theories, failures and practices as well as their machinations in Rudolf's court. Instead we're treated to a micro-history on Rudolph himself which, while interesting enough in its own right, deviates from my expectations.

But my inability to grasp the actual purpose of the text does not divert from how well it was written. Nor do I think the author would have been able to cover much material in the short amount of space given. A great book overall. The ending can seem like a bit of a trudge but if you can make it through that, you'll have had a memorable reading experience.

[Charlene Mason Gallego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being in Prague, I wanted to educate myself on the history of the place, without getting buried in a tome. This was the perfect history read. It was interesting and entertaining and has given my visit to Prague much more depth.

[James Mclallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it for pleasure and it delivers the goods. It's a fine jumping off point for a larger set of ideas. The bibliography is quite valuable in that respect. The negative comments here seem to expect more than the book is capable of delivering.

[Umberto Tosi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marshall brings Rudolf II and his circle alive in this assiduously researched, well written history of Rudolf's complex, obsessive visionary reign that presaged modernity - little known among English speaking readers, yet formative of our own history.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not well written, but a good portrait of the time and place.

[Shane Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging look at one of history's more tragic and misunderstood monarchs. To Rudolf II we owe so much.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absorbing look at how the strange, insular Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II laid the foundations for modern science.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title says it all, or rather most of it.

[Peter Larsson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Full av irriterande småfel, träaktigt skriven...

[Peter Kolesnikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. Moves fast and covers interesting topics. The works cited are very useful for further research. Loved it.

[Nix von Feratu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. Moves fast and covers interesting topics. The works cited are very useful for further research. Loved it.