Camilla Erculiani

Camilla Erculiani (also known as Camilla Herculiana, died after 1584) was an Italian apothecary, writer, natural philosopher, and a women's advocate during the early modern period. This "self-described pharmacist" published a book, in the form of letter-essays, about her views on topics of science and natural philosophy. Erculiani's Lettre di philosophia naturale or Letters on Natural Philosophy was published in 1584. Due to some of the unconventional theories presented in her work, she was put on trial by the Roman Inquisition on charges of suspected heresy—for the "blurring of boundaries between natural philosophy and theology." Although the trial records are lost, it is speculated that Erculiani was likely pardoned.

Life Many of the specifics of Erculiani's personal life are unknown. This female apothecary resided in Padua, in what is now Italy; a community that was particularly active in medical and scientific pursuits in the early modern era.

Erculiani was the daughter of spice merchant Andrea Greghetti, a "fairly wealthy" man in society who owned multiple plots of land and houses. Erculiani was herself one of six children. She had two brothers—Andrea and Giorgio—and three sisters—Isabella, Lucrezia, and Pulisena. The details and date of her death remain a mystery, yet it is likely that she died post-1584. These products were formed from "ingredients such as rosewater, lavender, oatmeal, lemons, almonds, elderflower, water and even sugar". Most of the apothecary shops were located in areas that had a small plot of land in order to build a garden, allowing immediate access to growing herbs and plants for the remedies. Typical diseases that the general population sought remedies for were "dropsy, pox, worms, rickets, scurvy, numerous skin problems and gout..." Despite her use of this title in the introduction to her published work, Erculiani was not an officially listed member of the apothecaries guild. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientists that debated over various topics ranging from biology to physics. Both of these philosophers ended up having a major impact on Erculiani’s work and the apothecary field. The early modern pharmacy was a popular location to spread new ideas, including religious dissent, and it was frequently on watch lists during the Inquisition. This indicates the atmosphere of freedom Erculiani likely experienced in her life as an apothecary and the access she had to new ideas.

Although most apothecaries were women, there was “no formal recognition of women working”, regardless if they worked with familiar individuals or not. This was believed to have happened because women had such a low status economically and legally. They were heavily involved in both dispensing medications and providing medical advice. These methods reflect practices passed on to the field of Pharmacy as the Modern Period.

"Principia Philosophia" In her work "Principia Philosophia," Erculiani addresses several topics, all the while repeatedly hitting on the intelligence and true equality of ability possessed by women. In explaining a cycle where by the death of man replenishes the element earth back to the planet, she postulated that a detriment existed in the supply of earth available to the Earth at the time of the flood. This factor allowed the water element to "take over" and engulf the land. This explanation was contrary to that put forth by several natural philosophers of the time, who explained that only divine intervention could cause another such flood due to the "natural stasis of elements." The focus on finding natural, scientific reasoning for Biblical events was very important during this period. Erculiani's understanding of elements through her pharmaceutical work shines through this explanation in particular, and also shows her understanding of the four major pillars of Paracelus's theory of medicine. Later in the text, she again diverges from the largely accepted views of, this time, Aristotle with regards to rainbows. With her strong familial and intellectual connections to Italy, Queen Anna had a reputation as an advocate for women's educational pursuits within the scientific disciplines. Although there was an upsurge of female authors engaged in scientific debate during the late sixteenth-century, Erculiani's letter-treatise is likely "the earliest sustained published exercise in natural-philosophical writing by an Italian woman." Within this scientific discourse, formed into a collection of four letters, she explored alternate theories in the realm of natural philosophy. Erculiani questioned established scientific and theological doctrine with various debates regarding meteorology, the position of Venus, astrology, the scientific cause of the Biblical flood, Paracelsian medicine, alchemy, and the formation of rainbows. In addition, Letters on Natural Philosophy served an additional purpose than just explaining a new scientific theory but allowed to demonstrate that "women could participate in the discourses of science and philosophy as equals to men." In an excerpt from Erculiani's letter to Garnero, she speculated that the Biblical flood occurred because of an imbalance between earth and man: Erculiani later followed up the statement within her fourth letter, addressed to Queen Anna's "chancellor for Transylvania", Martin Berzevicy (1538-1596), who visited Padua in 1568. She expressed her belief that God and nature work in unison: "it is true that the doctors of the church and the divine theologians have put forth different causes and reasons; but for me, it is enough to say that God and Nature herself do not contradict those causes, but He makes use of her in His works."

Erculiani also took advantage of her literary platform to advocate for the recognition of women as adept contributors to the scientific community. She was provoked by the querrelle des femmes (debate on women): a literary and philosophical debate about the intellectual capacities of women, which focused heavily on the women of her region. This European debate, which lasted from the "medieval to the early modern period," covered multiple issues ranging from women’s involvement in politics to the value and worth of women in society. Erculiani became a strong proponent in voicing her opinion about the debate, expressing that women have the same capabilities as men when it comes to science. Erculiani explained her position whilst referring to well-known women that she admired: In addition to this reaction to querrelle des femmes, Erculiani introduced her book with two prefatory letters of dedication in defense of women. Within the first, to Queen Anna of Poland, she wrote, "I don't know what malignant star causes [men] to refuse to recognize greatness, except in the things they accomplish themselves." Within the second, to her readers, Erculiani stated, "It will undoubtedly amaze some that I, a woman, have set myself to write and publish on a subject that does not belong to women (according to the custom of our age); but...you will find that women are not without the same abilities and virtues as men."

Despite her continual focus on the equality of men and women in intellect, the very differences between the two sexes as seen by society are perhaps what saved her from the Inquisition. Although Erculiani caught the eye of the Inquisition on numerous occasions, she managed to still be able to publish her writings by deciding to publish in Poland instead of Italy. This allowed her to become one of the first women philosophers to devote a book "to questions of natural philosophy and [promote] her own original theories."