A revolutionary book about mnemonic techniques, and their relation to culture as a whole, which is itself hard to forget. The ancient Greeks, to whom a trained memory was of vital importance -- as it was to everyone before the invention of printing -- created an elaborate memory system, based on a technique of impressing 'places' and 'images' on the mind. Inherited and recorded by the Romans, this art of memory passed into the European tradition, to be revived, in occult form, at the Renaissance, and particularly by the strange and remarkable genius, Giordano Bruno. Such is the main theme of Frances Yates's unique and brilliant book, in the course of which she sheds light on such diverse subjects as Dante's Divine Comedy, the form of the Shakespearian theatre and the history of ancient architecture. Aside from its intrinsic fascination, The Art of Memory is an invaluable contribution to aesthetics and psychology, and to the history of philosophy, of science and of literature.

Originally published: London : Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966.

Preface -- The three Latin sources for the classical art of memory the art of memory in Greece : memory and the soul -- The art of memory in the Middle Ages -- Medieval memory and the formation of imagery -- The memory treatises -- Renaissance memory : the memory theatre of Giulio Camillo -- Camillo's theatre and the Venetian Renaissance -- Lullism as an art of memory -- Giordano Bruno : the secret of shadows -- Ramism as an art of memory -- Giordano Bruno : the secret of seals -- Conflict between Brunian and Ramist memory -- Giordano Bruno : last works on memory -- The art of memory and Bruno's Italian dialogues -- The theatre memory system of Robert Fludd -- Fludd's memory theatre and the Globe Theatre -- The art of memory and the growth of scientific method.