"As stiffe twin compasses”: Allegory and Sciences, 1300–1700, Warburg Institute, October 24, 2025
Zodiac Man as medical microcosm, Christ’s limbs symbolising chapters of the Bible, alchemical androgyne embodying sulphur and mercury, four demons representing cardinal winds, compass legs as lovers, the labyrinth as a path to divine truth — there are many examples illustrating how pre-modern sciences employed allegory to visualise and organise knowledge.
This conference investigates the multifaceted roles of allegory within scientific and intellectual traditions from the Late Middle Ages to the Early Modern period in Europe. Focusing on a wide range of disciplines — including anatomy, astrology, alchemy, botanics, magic, medicine, mathematics, zoology, and theology — we will examine how allegorical modes of representation functioned not only as a tool for conveying abstract ideas and encoding practical knowledge but also as a means of reinforcing the authority of a discipline.
Allegory helped shaping the conceptual frameworks through which knowledge was produced, transmitted, and legitimised in various sciences. By examining allegorical imagery and textual strategies, we will consider how scholars adapted this rhetorical or iconographical device to communicate across different audiences, from learned circles to broader publics. Through comparative analysis, we aim to uncover common patterns, disciplinary crossovers, and shifts in the use of allegory over time.
Special attention will be given to the interplay between text and image, the transmission of allegorical motifs, and the role of print and manuscript cultures in shaping allegorical traditions of sciences. Ultimately, the conference seeks to provide new insights into the intellectual history of allegory and its enduring impact on the representation of knowledge. By bringing together scholars from across fields and regions, we seek to advance a deeper understanding of allegory’s place in the intellectual history of premodern Europe.
Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
- Epistemic Functions: How did allegory serve to encode and transmit scientific knowledge? What forms of reasoning did it support or obscure?
- Cross-Disciplinary Currents: How was allegory used to mediate between different branches of knowledge — for instance, theology and natural philosophy, or magic and medicine?
- Audiences and Authority: How did allegorical modes reinforce the authority of certain disciplines or figures? How were allegories tailored for elite, learned, or popular audiences?
- Transmission and Variation: How did allegorical forms travel across manuscripts, printed books, and other media? What kinds of variation do we see in their visual or textual expression over time?
We encourage proposals from scholars working in history of science, intellectual history, art history, manuscript and book studies, and adjacent fields. PhD students and ECRs are also welcome to apply.
Organiser: Sergei Zotov (Frances Yates Fellow, Warburg Institute)