News: Athanasius Kircher's letters to Christian V and Ferdinand III of Denmark rediscovered

August 18, 2003. Noel Malcolm has provided transcriptions and translations of three letters sent by Kircher to the Kings of Denmark. The letters are a testament to Kircher's repeated attempts to make overtures to the Danish Kings. In Kircher's first letter to Frederik III, he writes that "The magnet turns towards the north; and it is towards the King of the north, as if to some cynosure or magnet of all literature, that the hearts, efforts and pens of all writers are turned. I too turn in that direction, compelled by the attraction of some sort of hidden power", sending the Danish King a copy of the newly printed third edition of his Magnes, sive de Arte Magnetica. There is no evidence that either Danish King responded to Kircher's advances. Malcolm's full transcriptions and translations of the letters are provided below.

• Athanasius Kircher to King Frederik III of Denmark, from Rome, 14 January 1654. Transcription. English Translation.
• Athanasius Kircher to King Frederik III of Denmark, from Rome, 18 March 1655. Transcription. English Translation.
• Athanasius Kircher to King Christian V of Denmark, from Rome, 6 June 1675. Transcription. English Translation.