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Richard Dove of Buckfast, a fifteenth-century
scholar
(2/3)
More than a third of Dove’s notebook is concerned
with the pseudo-sciences, such as astrology, astronomy, chiromancy and physiognomy. In the Middle Ages, these topics were closely
related to medicine, rather than the Black Arts. That is not to
say that Richard Dove was preparing
himself for the post of infirmarer;
this choice of subject-matter is most likely a reflection of his
personal interests and would thus suggest that scholars could exercise
considerable independence over the choice of topics that they studied.(42) That
Dove was indeed intrigued with predicting
the future is reinforced by his inclusion of seventy-four English
verses on ‘Rules for judging of future fortune by casts of dice’ [below
right]. This interest was evidently shared by other Cistercians,
and in 1361 the monks of Roche Abbey,
Yorkshire, were reprimanded for throwing dice. Dove also reveals
an interest in alchemy, the art of turning
metal
into gold. He includes illustrations of the instruments required
to perform this operation [below left] and recipes
for gilding rings.
His fascination with alchemy was not uncommon amongst the Cistercians
at this time and the Order in England incurred considerable debt
when one Irish
monk at Oxford, Richard Archebold, pursued the unattainable.
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