“Trite and fruitlesse Rhapsodies”? The Rise of a New Genre in the Light of National Identity: Vernacular Science Writing in Early Modern England

Abstract

The rise of vernacular science writing in early modern England coincided with the negotiation of a national identity. It reflects the appropriation of “matters scientifical” at a time when England emerged as a nation proud of its cultural achievements. Only by resorting to the vernacular was it possible to turn the matters discussed into a truly national affair. However, vernacular science writing was not merely a medium to appropriate and disseminate knowledge. As a genre it narrowed the gap between oral and literate culture, enabled virtuosi and practitioners to engage with the scientific debates and thus substantially supported a gradual move towards experimental and practical science. Thus vernacular writing conceptualized a social and intellectual space for the engagement with natural philosophy. In comparing textbooks covering the mathematical sciences, foremost Blundeville's Exercises (1594), with proto-encyclopedic texts in the field of knowledge about plants and animals, Turner's Herbal (1568) and Topsell's The Historie of Four-Footed Beastes (1607), the creation of such a conceptual space is shown to be a decisive generic feature of vernacular science writing.