2020 Essays
Dragon's Blood
This essay explores the uses of a resinous material known as “dragon’s blood” in Ms. Fr. 640. Placing the relevant entries from the manuscript—including among others fols. 29v and 38v—in the context of sixteenth-century discussions of dragon’s blood in botany and medicine, it shows that its applications as a remedy and a colorant were informed by its material properties and symbolic correspondences between red, gold, and blood. An experimental exploration of its properties suggests possible explanations for its uses as a remedy and as an ingredient in colored varnishes.
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More About This Work
- Academic Units
- Center for Science and Society
- The Making and Knowing Project
- Series
- Secrets of Craft and Nature
- Published Here
- July 23, 2026
