author
active 13th century de Maricourt Pierre
Known from a single remarkable work, this 13th-century French scholar helped turn the study of magnetism into a hands-on science. His famous letter on magnets blends careful experiment, clear explanation, and a strikingly practical mind.
1 Audiobook
The Letter of Petrus Peregrinus on the Magnet, A.D. 1269
by active 13th century de Maricourt Pierre
About the author
Pierre de Maricourt, also known as Petrus Peregrinus of Maricourt, was a 13th-century French scholar remembered for writing one of the earliest and most important works on magnetism. He is usually dated by his surviving book rather than by a full life story: his Epistola de magnete was written in 1269.
That treatise, addressed as a letter, describes the properties of magnets through observation and experiment. It is especially noted for its discussion of magnetic poles and for an early detailed account of the freely pivoting compass needle. Because so little is known for certain about his life, his reputation rests above all on the clarity and originality of this work.
Later writers, including Roger Bacon, referred to him with respect, and modern historians still see him as an important medieval investigator of nature. For readers today, Pierre de Maricourt stands out as a rare figure from the Middle Ages whose voice comes through directly: curious, practical, and eager to test how the physical world really works.