Jan 11 2006
Descartes body… separate from his… ….skull
“One secret enemy, a physician named Weulles, secretly poisoned Descartes, under the cover of medicine. The great mathematician was buried in Sweden, but his head was severed from his body. ” (Source)
There is even a book that refers to the missing skull as part of a conspiracy that isn’t called “The Descartes Code“… Lets put the Skull on hold for a moment and follow the body’s journey as detailed on internet pages:
“As a Catholic in a Protestant nation, he was interred in a graveyard mainly used for unbaptized infants in Adolf Fredrikskyrkan. ” (source)
“In 1667, his remains were taken to Paris and buried in the Church of St. Genevieve-du-Mont.” (source)
Burial # 3: Paris, Pantheon
“During the French Revolution, his remains were disinterred for burial in the Pantheon among the great French thinkers.” (source)
“The French treasurer general, who supervised the move of the body, kept the bones from Descartes’ right hand as a personal souvenir. About this, the great mathematician Jacobi said, “It is often more convenient to possess the ashes of great men than to possess the men themselves during their lifetime.” (source)
Burial # 4: Paris, St. Germain-des-Pres
“His tomb is now in the church of St. Germain-des-Pres.” (source)
Museum of Natural History in France.” (source)
“they lie in separate locations: his body in a crypt and his skull on display in a tawdry museum.” (Source)
There is a macabre irony in the possibility that since death his head has never been united with his body.
This entry was inspired by a marvellously entertaining (fictional) discussion in the excellent novel I’m reading; Malcom Bradbury’s ‘The Hermitage“.
W
write the first thought on Descartes body… separate from his… ….skull
