Description
Book SynopsisFirst published as a special issue of the journal Medieval Encounters (vol. 23, 2017), this volume, edited by Josefina Rodríguez-Arribas, Charles Burnett, Silke Ackermann, and Ryan Szpiech, brings together fifteen studies on various aspects of the astrolabe in medieval cultures. The astrolabe, developed in antiquity and elaborated throughout the Middle Ages, was used for calculation, teaching, and observation, and also served astrological and medical purposes. It was the most popular and prestigious of the mathematical instruments, and was found equally among practitioners of various sciences and arts as among princes in royal courts. By considering sources and instruments from Muslim, Christian, and Jewish contexts, this volume provides state-of-the-art research on the history and use of the astrolabe throughout the Middle Ages. Contributors are Silke Ackermann, Emilia Calvo, John Davis, Laura Fernández Fernández, Miquel Forcada, Azucena Hernández, David A. King, Taro Mimura, Günther Oestmann, Josefina Rodríguez-Arribas, Sreeramula Rajeswara Sarma, Petra G. Schmidl, Giorgio Strano, Flora Vafea, and Johannes Thomann.
Table of ContentsPreface to the New Edition Ryan Szpiech Preface Astrolabes in Medieval Cultures Josefina Rodriguez-Arribas, Charles Burnett, and Silke Ackermann Introduction Hic Sunt Dragones—Astrolabe Research Revisited Silke Ackermann Astrolabes as Eclipse Computers: Four Early Arabic Texts on Construction and Use of the Ṣafīḥa Kusūfiyya Johannes Thomann The Astrolabe Finger Ring of Bonetus de Latis: Study, Latin Text, and English Translation with Commentary Josefina Rodriguez Arribas Some Features of the Old Castilian Alfonsine Translation of ‘Alī Ibn Khalaf’s Treatise on the Lamina Universal Emilia Calvo From the Celestial Globe to the Astrolabe: Transferring the Celestial Motion onto the Plane of the Astrolabe Flora Vafea Knowledge in Motion: An Early European Astrolabe and its Possible Medieval Itinerary Petra G. Schmidl A Monumental Astrolabe Made for Shāh Jahān and Later Reworked with Sanskrit Legends Sreeramula Rajeswara Sarma Saphaeae and Hay’āt: The Debate Between Instrumentalism and Realism in al-Andalus Miguel Forcada Astrolabes on Parchment: The Astrolabes Depicted in Alfonso X’s Libro Del Saber De Astrologia and Their Relationship to Contemporary Instruments Laura Fernández Fernández Fit for a King: Decoding the Great Sloane Astrolabe and Other English Astrolabes with “Quatrefoil” Retes John Davis European Astrolabes to ca. 1500: An Ordered List David A. King Too Many Arabic Treatises on the Operation of the Astrolabe in the Medieval Islamic World: Athīr al‐Dīn al-Abharī’s Treatise on Knowing the Astrolabe and His Editorial Method Taro Mimura Changing the Angle of Vision: Astrolabe Dials on Astronomical Clocks Günther Oestmann Astrolabes for the King: The Astrolabe of Petrus Raimundi of Barcelona Azucena Hernández A New Approach to the Star Data of Early Planispheric Astrolabes Giorgio Strano Epilogue Reconstruction of the Plate of Eclipses according to the Description by ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā Flora Vafea Index
