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Historical person

Roger Bacon

Roger Bacon was a thirteenth-century English Franciscan philosopher whose work ranged across optics, language, mathematics, theology and the study of nature. In the Opus Majus and related writings prepared for Pope Clement IV, he argued for linguistic training, practical observation and the reform of learning. Later legend transformed him into a magician and inventor far beyond what the evidence supports.

Bacon argued that linguistic study, mathematics and direct observation were essential tools for serious learning, though his reputation as a uniquely modern experimental scientist can be overstated. Much of his work was framed by theological and Franciscan concerns and by the intellectual programme of the medieval universities. His writings nevertheless became important to later histories of optics, scientific method and the transmission of Arabic and Greek learning.

In Ian Morson’s Falconer and the Death of Kings, while Edward I travels towards his coronation, an assassin wounds him with a poisoned knife. Troubled by earlier deaths in his family, the king orders William Falconer—already in Paris to help Roger Bacon—to determine who is attacking the royal household. In Ian Morson’s Falconer and the Face of God, A theatrical performance ends in a real killing when an actor is stabbed on stage. Soon after, a troupe of jongleurs arrives in Oxford, and a second performer dies during another play. Falconer investigates the company’s rivalries while also pursuing a cryptic request from Roger Bacon concerning an alchemist. Religious drama, relics, royal authority and forbidden inquiry converge as Falconer tries to identify why the actors are being targeted before the troupe’s final performance. Roger Bacon is treated fictionally in Paul Doherty’s The Magician’s Death, Julian Stockwin’s The Powder of Death, and Ian Morson’s Falconer’s Judgement.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Roger Bacon (3 series)

Hugh Corbett Mysteries in Order

by Paul Doherty 24 books 4.4(54,121)

The Hugh Corbett Mysteries follow a royal clerk, diplomat and Keeper of the Secret Seal from the reign of Edward I into the troubled rule of Edward II. Corbett investigates murders that threaten royal government, foreign negotiations and the security of the crown. His work takes him from…

All books in this series

William Falconer Medieval Mysteries in Order

by Ian Morson 9 books 4.2(1,415)

The William Falconer mysteries follow a Regent Master at the early University of Oxford between 1261 and 1275. Falconer approaches murder through observation, logic and experiment at a time when natural philosophy, Aristotelian teaching and church authority are contested. His cases involve students, clerics, royal officials, theatrical companies,…

All books in this series

Moments of History in Order

by Julian Stockwin 2 books 4.1(434)

The Moments of History series uses self-contained historical adventures to explore discoveries and technologies that changed the balance of power between societies. Each novel follows fictional travellers and craftsmen whose ambitions place them beside documented rulers, scholars and military events at a decisive historical turning point. The Silk…

All books in this series