Tag Archive: harry potter
By Elizabeth Bland
The week before the July 21, 2007, release of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was an exciting one for fans all over the world, including some of the staff of the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine.
To coincide with the release of the book, a coworker and I were asked to create — in only seven days — a two-case exhibition displaying materials from our rare book collection having a connection to Harry Potter. Before this project, I, like many Harry Potter fans, had been surprised to learn that the series not only included well-known creatures from historical lore, such as dragons and unicorns, but also historical figures, such as Nicolas Flamel, Paracelsus, and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim. Do Mandrakes Really Scream? Magic and Medicine in Harry Potter proved to be popular with visitors and stayed on display until January 2008.
Because of the success of Do Mandrakes Really Scream? Magic and Medicine in Harry Potter, we decided to create a traveling banner exhibition to further explore the connection between Harry Potter and history. With this new exhibition, Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine, I was able to describe the historical figures, concepts, and lore that appear in Harry Potter, and also to delve into how they are used to explore topics such as the desire for knowledge, the effects of prejudice, and the responsibility that comes with power.
In addition to the six-banner exhibition, we created an accompanying website and education resources, including lesson plans, a bibliography, and a higher education resource developed by the project’s historical consultant, Dr. Mark A. Waddell. Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine recently began to tour libraries across the United States and will be traveling through 2012.
Elizabeth Bland is the Exhibition Coordinator for the National Library of Medicine
IMAGE: Illustration of an owl by Konrad Gesner from Historiae Animalium, 1551 Courtesy National Library of Medicine
By Elizabeth Bland
In 1997, British author J. K. Rowling introduced the world to Harry Potter and a literary phenomenon was born. Although a fantasy story, the magic in the Harry Potter books is partially based on Renaissance traditions that played an important role in the development of Western science, including alchemy, astrology, and natural philosophy. At the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry not only learns magic spells, charms, and potions, he is also taught about the natural world and its uses. This knowledge helps Harry and his friends survive innumerable adventures and ultimately defeat the villainous Lord Voldemort. For example, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry’s knowledge that the fangs from a basilisk can destroy the hidden fragments of Voldemort’s soul helps the young wizard ensure that, in their final battle, his opponent will lose his immortality.
Like Harry’s professors at Hogwarts, 16th-century Swiss naturalist and physician Konrad Gesner appreciated the knowledge gained by studying nature. Although Gesner is not mentioned in the Harry Potter series, many creatures the naturalist studied are. Gesner’s most famous work, Historiae Animalium, is considered one of the first examples of modern zoology. Unique to its time, the book included Greek and Biblical descriptions of animals, and also information Gesner had gained from dissections. Like many of his contemporaries, the naturalist believed that basilisks and dragons existed and he catalogued their medicinal uses alongside those of their reptile cousin, the snake. Of the basilisk, Gesner wrote that the “King of Serpents” could kill with its deadly stare, a trait re-imagined in Harry Potter.
To learn more about other Renaissance thinkers, practices, and lore that appear in the Harry Potter series, please visit the National Library of Medicine’s traveling exhibition website, Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine.
Elizabeth Bland is the Exhibition Coordinator for the National Library of Medicine
IMAGE: Illustration of Konrad Gesner Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Do Mandrakes Really Scream? This was a question that the National Library of Medicine posed in their magnificent “Magic and Medicine in Harry Potter” exhibit awhile back. The exhibition takes a close look at the facts, fictions, and legends in references to the healing arts in Harry Potter. Very nicely done.
By the way, if you haven’t yet explored the NLM’s online exhibitions, you really should! Among the many highlights, is the “Dream Anatomies” exhibition. A visually stunning and informative look into early anatomy and dissection.
Another NLM favorite for us here at Wonders & Marvels is the “Turning the Pages” project. Where else can you flip through a copy of Conrad Gesner’s Historiae animalium while stretched out on your couch, laptop in hand? The image quality is extraordinary.
And to answer the question about whether mandrakes scream…first-hand experience suggests they don’t. We tried it out at a local nature preserve, where mandrakes grow freely in the lush hills of the south. Darn!
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