fur serving as the element of combustibility in matter.
While man cannot live, he argued, without earth, water, or
air, “it is well possible for a man to be bred, and to live
without fire.” CARDANOwas equally dismissive of Aris-
totelian theory. He accepted the elemental nature of earth,
air, and water but insisted, perceptively, that fire was sim-
ply a mode of motion, a view repeated later by Francis
BACONin his Novum organum (1620). It did not, however,
persist; Robert Boyle (1627–91) and later generations of
chemists rejected Bacon’s view and argued instead for the
separate existence of particles of fire.
firearms Portable weapons from which projectiles are
fired by an explosion (compare CANNON). The earliest
firearms, the arquebuses, emerged in the late 14th century.
They were merely long, smooth-bored barrels, with a
touch-hole through which a hot iron ignited the priming
powder. So cumbersome were they, and so prolonged was
the loading process, that they initially required the pro-
tection of an equal number of pikemen. These weapons
were soon replaced by matchlocks operating on the more
convenient principle of firing the gun with the aid of spe-
cially prepared, smouldering rope. The matchlock, despite
such disadvantages as being difficult to fire in the rain,
was unchallenged throughout the 15th century. Shortly
after 1500, however, there arose competition from the
wheel-lock, designed, according to one tradition, by
LEONARDO DA VINCI. In this case a piece of iron was held
against a spring-loaded wheel; when the trigger was
pulled the wheel revolved and the resulting sparks from
the iron were directed into the priming pan. The principle
was simplified in the flintlock, which began to appear
from about 1620 and, in one form or another, survived
until the development of the percussion cap in 1807. One
further improvement was the introduction of rifling in
about 1500. Although used initially in hunting weapons,
rifling was put to military use by Christian IV of Denmark
early in the 17th century.
Firenzuola, Agnolo (Michelangelo Girolamo) (1493–
1543) Italian writer
Firenzuola was born in Florence and after studying law, he
became a monk in 1517. He was released from vows in
1526 after visiting the papal court in Rome, where his lit-
erary friends included ARETINO, BEMBO, DELLA CASA, and
others. He returned to Florence in 1534 and spent the rest
of his life as abbot of a church near Prato. His posthu-
mously published works were widely known in manu-
script during his life. He wrote two comedies, translated
Apuleius (Asino d’oro, 1550), and wrote treatises on fe-
minine beauty and orthography. His major works are
Ragionamenti d’amore (Discourses on love; 1548), com-
prising an uncompleted group of novelle imitating the
DECAMERON, and Prima veste dei discorsi degli animali
(First version of the animals’ discourses; 1548), a faithful
rendering of the Spanish version of tales from India, the
Panchatantra.Fischart, Johann (“Der Mentzer”) (1546–1590) German
writer
His byname might indicate that he was born in Mainz.
Following several years traveling and studying in France,
Holland, England, and Italy, Fischart gained his doctorate
in law at Basle in 1574. For a time he worked as a proof-
reader for his brother-in-law, a Strasbourg printer, before
taking a post as magistrate near Saarbrücken in 1580. Fis-
chart’s writings include translations and paraphrases of
Greek, Latin, French, Dutch, and earlier German works,
and also many didactic satires, such as Till Eulenspiegel
(1572), a verse account of the folk hero’s adventures. As a
Protestant, he frequently used satire to attack the Roman
Church. Although Fischart belongs in the German satiri-
cal tradition of BRANTand MURNER, his style also owes
much to RABELAIS, the first book of whose Gargantua et
Pantagruel he paraphrased in German. His most acclaimed
original work is the poem Das glückhafft Schiff von Zürich
(1576), describing a day’s boat journey; it is modeled on
classical epic.Fisher, St. John See JOHN FISHER, STFitzwilliam Virginal Book A manuscript collection of
English Renaissance keyboard music, named for Richard,
Viscount Fitzwilliam, who bequeathed it to Cambridge
University in 1816. It was collated and transcribed by
Francis Tregian the younger (c. 1574–1619) who copied
out this and other collections while in the Fleet Prison,
London, for recusancy (1609–19). Most of the composers
in the volume are Catholics: William BYRDfeatures promi-
nently, as do Peter PHILIPSand John BULL, both then living
in exile. For many years the book was known as “Queen
Elizabeth’s Virginal Book” owing to an error by music his-
torian Charles Burney in his General History of Music
(1776–89).Flecha, Mateo, the Younger (c. 1530–1604) Spanish
composer and churchman
His uncle of the same name was also a composer. He en-
tered the service of Maria of Hungary, wife of Emperor
Maximilian II, and later became her chaplain. He traveled
to Italy and was also attached to the courts of Prague and
Vienna. In 1568 he became abbot of Tihany in Hungary.
He eventually returned to Spain in 1599, dying as abbot of
a monastery there. Like his uncle, he composed ensaladas
(literally, “salads”), compositions consisting of four-line
stanzas, often utilizing material from popular songs in var-
ious poetic meters; he included some of his own work in
the publication of his uncle’s ensaladas (1581) while in
Prague. Flecha also published collections of motets and
madrigals (Il primo libro de madrigali, Venice, 1568).FFlleecchhaa,, MMaatteeoo,, tthhee YYoouunnggeerr 1 18811