Managing Mineral Growth in Early Modern Mining

Autor(en)
Sebastian Felten
Abstrakt

This essay explores how the analogy between vegetable, animal, and mineral growth—common in early modern Europe—informed economic thinking. It proceeds by analyzing a scholarly text emerging from Central European mining, the Berg-Chronica of the Saxon court historiographer Petrus Albinus, within two contexts: natural philosophy (both learned and vernacular) and the management of mines. The provision of precious and useful metals by Nature/God was thought to occur slowly. Taking a long view on mineral provision was fostered by the increasingly bureaucratic management of mines in Central Europe.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Geschichte
Journal
Isis
Band
114
Seiten
626-630
Anzahl der Seiten
5
ISSN
0021-1753
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1086/726184
Publikationsdatum
09-2023
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
603123 Wissenschaftsgeschichte
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
History, Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), History and Philosophy of Science
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/7c35c07c-473c-4c86-bb32-bea849984e77