Portrait of Girolamo Ruscelli

Books of secrets were documents that in modern vernacular would be a how-to book, a recipe book, or even an encyclopedia. These books held an abundance of material, but they did not include more depth than a paragraph of information on each. The 'secrets' of the book are representative of the secrets of nature and the beginning of scientific experiments, leading into the world of scientific exploration.[1]

Book making and printing were expensive at the time. Books were considered a luxury item rarely owned by common people and usually only in the possession of people of some wealth. These books, however, would occasionally land in the hands of the middle class because of their usefulness with medicines, house hold hints, and recipes.

These books became more popular towards the end of the 16th century. At this time they also began to include fewer magical potions and more scientifically developed recipes. These types of books were popular because they were useful to people in any status in life.

Little is known of the Reverende Mayster Alexis of Piemount aside from a mysterious story regarding his life. He was believed to have been a well-traveled man of noble birth who collected recipes and knowledge from around the world. He refused to reveal his secrets until a man died because a local doctor was wary of turning over care of his patient to the Mayster . Full of sorrow from the loss of this man, he retired and decided to reveal his secrets to the world. Many believe, however, that the Reverende Mayster Alexis of Piemount is a pseudonym for Girolamo Ruscelli, who made up the entertaining story in order to sell more books.[2][3]

Girolamo Ruscelli was a respected Italian writer. Most of his writings were light readings meant for enjoyment by the upper and middle class readers of Venice. Ruscelli's goal in writing this book of secretes was to "reduce secrets to certainty." Ruscelli collected and tested the recipes in this book and only included the ones that had passed the trials. This particular book was one of the most popular and was reprinted in several languages up through the 18th century.[4]

[1] William Eamon, Science and the Secrets of Nature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994), 27.

[2] William Eamon, Science and the Secrets of Nature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994), 140.

[3] Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, ed., The Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, vol. 1, part 2. (London), 827.

[4] William Eamon, Science and the Secrets of Nature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994), 147.