Through an examination of the Opus maius, Roger Bacon's great scientific work of 1267, this book offers insight into Bacon's understanding of the role of science in society and the study and practice of science in the later Middle Ages.
Meagan S. Allen is a historian of science, specializing in the medical alchemy of the later Middle Ages. Her research interests lie at the intersection of alchemy, pharmacology, and theology, especially in the writings of the thirteenth-century polymath Roger Bacon. She is the author of Roger Bacon and the Incorruptible Human: Alchemy, Pharmacology, and the Desire to Prolong Life (2023), which examines Bacon's desire to use alchemy to create a medicine that would extend human life by centuries. Allen is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of the History of Science and Technology at Johns Hopkins University, USA.
