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The Inaudible Music of the Renaissance: From Marsilio Ficino to Robert Fludd
Open accessAbstract
This article revaluates the significance of musical treatises written by the Ficinian physician Robert Fludd (1574–1637). By reconsidering the implications of Fludd’s interpretation of Marsilio Ficino’s musical philosophy, I propose that his “reconstruction” of the Renaissance outlook in the seventeenth century is not merely a backward-looking oddity, but is rather indicative of a long-standing and pervasive history of inaudible music (i.e., the “silent” harmony of the universe and of the human body). Music played a central role in Fludd’s polemics with the scientists Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) and Marin Mersenne (1588–1648), regarding not the composition of art music but rather the understanding of the composition of the universe itself. The societal tensions evident in Fludd’s musical books reveal that it is not only musical practice but also broad scientific, medical, and philosophical conceptions of sound that comprise musical understanding in the early seventeenth century. Cet article propose de réévaluer la signification des traités de musique du médecin ficinien Robert Fludd (1574–1637). En reconsidérant ce qu’implique l’interprétation par Fludd de la philosophie musicale de Marsile Ficin, il avance que cette « reconstruction » d’une perspective issue de la Renaissance au XVIIe siècle ne correspond pas seulement à un excentrique retour en arrière; elle réfère plutôt à la longue et omniprésente histoire de cette musique inaudible qu’est l’harmonie des sphères (comprise comme harmonie silencieuse de l’univers et du corps humain). La musique a en effet joué un rôle important dans les échanges polémiques entre Fludd, Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) et Marin Mersenne (1588–1648), qui ne portent pas tant sur la composition musicale que sur la compréhension de la composition de l’univers lui-même. Les tensions sociétales, bien perceptibles dans les traités de musique de Fludd, montrent qu’au delà de la pratique musicale, c’est une conception scientifique générale, médicale et philosophique qu’engage la pensée musicale du début du XVIIe siècle.
Overview
CoChat Summary
TL;DR
This article argues that Robert Fludd’s seventeenth-century musical treatises are not merely backward-looking oddities but a deliberate reconstruction of Marsilio Ficino’s Neoplatonic musical philosophy and the older tradition of “inaudible music” — the harmony of the universe and human body. It shows that Fludd’s polemics with Kepler and Mersenne concerned not art music but competing conceptions of the composition of the cosmos.
Key findings
- Fludd (1574–1637) retained *musica mundana* and *musica humana* from Boethius when many English contemporaries avoided such speculative topics; his works revive Ficinian ideas about music, medicine, and astrology as late as the seventeenth century.
- In *De templo musicae*, Fludd’s engraved “temple of music” is a mnemonic device placing Apollo above the monochord and quoting Ficino alongside Plato and Guido of Arezzo; Fludd describes Apollo’s harmonic soul as curing and nourishing the soul.
- Fludd’s *monochordum mundi* presents the universe as two octaves joined at the sun, with God as *pulsator monochordii*; the string symbolizes Christ and the soul’s descent and ascent.
- In polemics with Kepler (1571–1630) and Mersenne (1588–1648), Fludd treats music as physical/metaphysical rather than mathematically quantifiable: Kepler seeks harmonies only in planetary motions, while Fludd seeks them in degrees of light and darkness and “internal and essential processes of Nature.”
Methods
- Intellectual-history and close-reading study of primary musical, philosophical, and polemical texts by Marsilio Ficino (1433–99) and Robert Fludd, with contextual reference to Boethius, Kepler, Mersenne, and secondary scholarship.
- Main sources include Fludd’s *Utriusque cosmi […] historia* sections *De templo musicae*, *De musica mundana*, and *De integra microcosmi harmonia*, plus *Veritatis proscenium* (1621); Kepler’s *Harmonice mundi* (1619); and Mersenne’s *Les Préludes* (1634) and *Harmonie universelle* (1636).
- Analysis traces Fludd’s visual and textual borrowings, especially from Ficino and Francesco Giorgio’s *De harmonia mundi* (1525), and interprets Fludd’s temple, monochord, and self-playing instrument as symbols of macrocosm–microcosm harmony.
Limitations
- The paper states no limitations of its own argument. It does note that Fludd’s and Giorgio’s all-encompassing views are “somewhat disorganized and jumbled” and, per D. P. Walker, their analogies “were not meant to lead anywhere.”
- Evident from the text: the article is an interpretive case study centered on Ficino and Fludd rather than a comprehensive survey of Renaissance or seventeenth-century music theory.
- Evident from the text: it relies on selected treatises, images, and secondary interpretations, and does not present systematic reception data or quantitative evidence.
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Claims the paper makes
0 Valid · 7 Not valid · 54 Not checked · 98 Own results and interpretations
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In the paper
“Unlike his English contemporaries who avoided these subjects altogether, Fludd retained the notions of musica mundana, the inaudible music of the spheres, and musica humana, the analogous proportion and harmony of the human body.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper states — it cites no source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“But Fludd did have some knowledge of musica practica considering some of the topics he chooses to discuss in De templo musicae, including the basics of musical notation and the use of consonance and dissonance in composition.”
plainstates an association- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“in his”
- Also stated in: § Musical machines and the Renaissance garden · plain
“De motu elementari,”
- Also stated in: § Musical machines and the Renaissance garden · plain
“Fludd refers to various automata that he observed on his European tour, including the gardens of the Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome and the Villa d'Este in Tivoli”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [88]
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Also stated in: § Musical machines and the Renaissance garden · plain
In the paper
“Fludd's prime mover, consisting of ropes and counterweights, makes this string-and plectra-bearing structure descend slowly in a linear fashion, thus allowing the instrument to play without the aid of a human.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [89]
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plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The societal tensions evident in Fludd's musical books reveal that it is not only musical practice but also broad scientific, medical, and philosophical conceptions of sound that comprise musical understanding in the early seventeenth century.”
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
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Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ 34. See Mary Carruthers, The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval
“Paracelsus (1493-54)”
§ 34. See Mary Carruthers, The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval
“The writings of Theophrastus Philippus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493-1541), also known as Paracelsus”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ University of Toronto
“Robert Fludd (1574-1637)”
§ University of Toronto
“Robert Fludd (1575-1637)”
Citations
Cites
Michael Maier (1569-1622): New Bio-Bibliographical Material
Figala, K., & Neumann, U. (1990) · BRILL eBooks · doi:10.1163/9789004625709_007 · Cited by 5
Cited by
Music and Musical Instruments as Sites of Knowledge in the Early Modern Era
Cypess, R. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_259-1 · Cited by 1
Music and Musical Instruments as Sites of Knowledge in the Early Modern Era
Cypess, R. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-31069-5_259
Peranan Musikologi dalam Pencapaian Derajat Kesenimanan Seorang Gitaris Klasik
Indrawan, A. (2023) · Institutional Repository (Institut Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta)
Metadata
- Authors
- Giles, R. H.
- Corresponding author
- Giles, Roseen H.
- Venue
- Renaissance and Reformation
- Published
- 2016-07-27
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 129-166
- ISSN
- 0034-429X (ISSN-L)
- 2293-7374
- OpenAlex
- W2528002756
- Semantic Scholar
- 5b3a2dff54bf1e379c89f5005f4e642f37f6aa8b
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 4.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Renaissance and Reformation (publishedVersion)
- DukeSpace (Duke University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Érudit (Université de Montréal) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Toronto
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Music › Musicology and Musical Analysis
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Historical Philosophy and Science
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Renaissance and Early Modern Studies
- Keywords
- Robert Fludd, Marsilio Ficino, music treatises, harmony of the spheres, Johannes Kepler, Marin Mersenne, Renaissance music theory, music and medicine, early seventeenth-century music
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