John of Rupescissa and the states of nature: Science, apocalypse, and society in the late Middle Ages

To those of us living in the twenty-first century, the distinction between science and religion may appear to be clear. In recent debates over medical ethics and technological advance, science and religion have come to represent separate—and often contrary—approaches to truth. This project explores the historical context of this dichotomy by showing how religious concerns, particularly fears of an approaching apocalypse, led to intensified study of the natural world during the fourteenth century. I focus on the writings of John of Rupescissa (c.1310–c. 1364), a Franciscan friar whose work proved to be a major influence on later generations of physicians and natural philosophers. I argue that Rupescissa's apocalyptic fears led him to imagine alchemy, medicine, and astrology as means to counteract the apocalyptic disasters that he believed were imminent. Rupescissa used familiar religious terminology and imagery to illustrate chemical and biological processes; he also advocated the study of nature as a means to reform Christian society and prepare for a post-apocalyptic “state” of history, in which humans would enjoy a utopian paradise on earth. For Rupescissa, spirituality was embedded both in the mechanisms of natural processes and in the value of their study. Although historians of science have long noted Rupescissa's work as key to the development of medical pharmacology, they have not given adequate attention to his religious writings. As a result, no one has recognized the centrality of Rupescissa's apocalyptic and utopian concerns to his naturalist theories. This dissertation examines how religion and nature intersected in the late Middle Ages, and it furthermore argues that one must consider both spirituality and naturalism in order to understand the originality and the appeal of John of Rupescissa's ideas.