Message #72876

[Bianca]

Introduction



Henry Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim was born on September 14, 1486 in Cologne. He died in Grenoble or Lyons in 1534 or 1535.

Unlike Marsilio Ficino, for example, Agrippa never had the benefit of long term patronage. He was
never able to stay long in one place and pursued many different professions serving as a soldier, physician, ambassador, and university lecturer. He was made a knight by the Emperor Maximilian.

 
In 1509 Agrippa wrote De nobilitate et praecelentia foemini sexus , (the nobility of the female sex
and the superiority of women over men), which was not published until 1532. In 1509 Agrippa also began writing his magnum opus, Three Books of Occult Philosophy which was finally published in
1531.

In 1530 Agrippa published De incertitudine & vanitate scientiarum & artium, (the vanity and uncer-
tainty of the arts and sciences). He also wrote a commentary on the Ars Brevis of Raymond Lull, as well as treatises on, marriage, the plague and geomancy. As is clear from the long delay between the writing and publishing of many of his works throughout his life Agrippa was dogged by ill luck and opposition to his ideas and works.