Bernardo Pérez de Vargas facts for kids
Bernardo Pérez de Vargas was a Spanish writer who lived and worked in the 1500s. He wrote about many different subjects, including space, chemistry, and especially mining. His most important book, De re metalica (published in 1569), was all about mining and how to work with metals. He used many ideas from books written by others. He called himself a "magnificent knight," but we don't know much else about his personal life.
Contents
About Bernardo Pérez de Vargas
Early Life
Bernardo Pérez de Vargas was born in Madrid, a big city in Spain. However, he grew up in a smaller town called Coín, which is in the Málaga region. His father worked there, possibly collecting taxes for a powerful noble called the Marquis of Villena. The Marquis was also the lord of other towns like Monda and Tolox. Bernardo Pérez de Vargas said his parents were Bernardo Pérez (or maybe Juan) de Vargas and Guiomar de Cárdenas (or Torres). Both of his parents were from Madrid.
His Books and Ideas
Bernardo Pérez de Vargas wrote several important books during his lifetime.
De re metalica: Mining and Metals
His main work was De re metalica, published in 1569. This book was very important because it explained a lot about mining and how to process metals. He included translations and ideas from other famous writers. For example, he used information from Georgius Agricola, who also wrote a book called De re Metallica in 1556. He also used ideas from De la pirotechnia (1540) by Vannoccio Biringuccio.
Only about seven copies of his book are known to exist today. It was printed in Madrid by a French printer named Pierres Cosin. Cosin opened the first printing press in Madrid in 1566 with a bookseller named Alonso Gómez. Later, in the mid-1700s, Bernardo's book was translated into French.
Other Interesting Books
Besides his book on mining, Bernardo Pérez de Vargas wrote other interesting works:
- In 1545, he wrote a book about knights and chivalry. It was called Los cuatro libros del valeroso Caballero D. Cirongilio de Tracia. This book was printed in Seville.
- In 1563, he wrote a book about astrology, which is the study of how stars and planets might affect people's lives. This book was titled La Fabrica del Universo o Repertorio Perpetuo, which means "The Factory of the Universe or Perpetual Repertoire." It was published by Juan de Ayala. This book is even mentioned in the famous funny story Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. In the story, it's found in the library of an innkeeper named Palomeque.
