Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Art of Memory

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences

Synonyms

Ars memorativa; Ars memoriae; Mnemonics

Definition

The art of memory is an art that supports memory by means of images and places.

The Art of Memory

In classical writings on rhetoric (see “Rhetoric”), the process of developing a speech is divided into five phases. After inventing arguments for a certain cause (inventio), the orator has to arrange his arguments in such a way that his audience will easily follow his reasoning (dispositio). Then he has to sculpt and polish his sentences into their most desirable form (elocutio). In the end, the entire speech has to be learned by heart (memoria) before it can ever be delivered in a convincing way (actio). For this memorizing practice, the art of memory can be of great help. The orator has to place images that reminded him of his arguments alongside a track through a well-known building. In delivering his speech, he goes for an imaginary walk through the building and, encountering the images, is sure not to forget his arguments...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bolzoni L (1995) La Stanza della memoria. Modelli litterari e iconographici nell’eta della stampa. Einaudi, Milano

    Google Scholar 

  • Carruthers M (1990) The book of memory: a study of memory in medieval culture. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Engel WE, Loughnane R, Williams G (eds) (2016) The memory arts in renaissance England. A critical anthology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuwakino K (2003) Renaissance garden as a locus amoenus and the art of locational memory: through the analysis of the mnemonic spatial structure and the representation of encyclopedic knowledge in the ideal garden project of Agostino Del Riccio. J Archit Plan 68(569):239–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neuber W, Berns JJ (eds) (1993) Ars memorativa: Zur kulturgeschichtlichen Bedeutung der Gedächtniskunst 1400–1750. De Gruyter, Tübingen

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossi P (1960) Clavis Universalis. Arti della memoria e logica combinatioria da Lullo a Leibniz. Ricciardi, Napoli

    Google Scholar 

  • Yates FA (1966) The art of memory. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sarton Centre for History of Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Manuel Mertens

Authors
  1. Manuel Mertens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manuel Mertens .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Dana Jalobeanu

  2. Dept. of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University Dept. Philosophy & Moral Sci, Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

    Charles T. Wolfe

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Mertens, M. (2020). Art of Memory. In: Jalobeanu, D., Wolfe, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_320-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_320-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation