Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (born in
Köln 1486 or
1487 - died
1535) was a
magician and
occult writer and
alchemist. He may also be considered as an early
feminist.
Cornelius Agrippa as portrayed in "Libri tres de occulta philosophia" |
During his wandering life in Germany, France and Italy he worked as theologian, physician, legal expert and soldier.
He is most known for his books:
- De incertitudine et vanitate scientiarum (printed in Köln 1527) a satire of the (according to Agrippa) sad state of science.
- Libri tres de occulta philosophia[?] or Three Books of Occult Philosophy (printed in Paris 1531 and in Köln 1533) a book about magick and cult-classic for practitioners of this art to this day.
- Declamation on the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex a book on the equality of women.
(A complete collection of his writings were also printed in Lyon in 1550.)