Medicine, Religion, and Magic in Early Stuart England:: Richard Napier's Medical PracticeThe astrologer physician Richard Napier (1559 1634) was not only a man of practical science and medicine but also a master of occult arts and a devout parish rector who purportedly held conversations with angels. This new interpretation of Napier reveals him to be a coherent and methodical man whose burning desire for certain, true knowledge contributed to the contemporary venture of putting existing knowledge to useful ends. Originally trained in