This is the first installment of a body of documentation extending to four volumes on the origins and dissemination of Paracelsianism and its roots in the controversial interrelations between science, literature and the history of late 16th century society. The critical edition of texts casting new light on this question and frequently breaking hitherto unknown terrain is accompanied by detailed commentaries and biographical material on the instigators, addressees, opponents and sympathizers of the Paracelsian reform and protest movement.