José Chabás

Essays on Medieval computational astronomy

In Essays on Medieval Computational Astronomy the authors provide examples of original and intelligent approaches and solutions given by medieval astronomers to the problems of their discipline, mostly presented in the form of astronomical tables.

The astronomical tables of Giovanni Bianchini

Preface Introduction 1. Giovanni Bianchini: Life and work 2. Analysis of the tables 2.1. Introduction 2.2. Tables in ed. 1495 2.3. Other tables in the manuscripts and ed. 1526, but not included in ed. 1495 2.4. Other tables in ed. 1526 or in MS Nu that are not included in ed. 1495 or in MS Na Notation References Index

Chapter Sixteen Fixed Stars

This is a survey of the numerous astronomical tables compiled in the late Middle Ages, which represent a major intellectual enterprise. Such tables were often the best way available at the time for transmitting precise information to the reader.

The Legacy of Alfonsine Astronomy

In chapter 5 we discussed the astronomical works produced under the patronage of Alfonso X of Castile. In this chapter we focus on the diffusion of the Alfonsine Tables after their compilation in Toledo in about 1270. Surprisingly, very few references to them are preserved in the astronomical literature prior to their adaptation in Paris in the 1320s. This state of affairs has led some scholars to claim that the Parisian astronomers in the 1320s had no intellectual debt to the astronomers who worked for Alfonso. We will argue, however, that this claim is unfounded and based on several unwarranted assumptions. The fundamental text for the Parisians was the Alfonsine Tables in Castilian of which only the canons survive (see chapter 2). Although the transmission of these tables from Castile to Paris has not been documented, the fact remains that they indeed reached Paris. Given this gap in the historical record, it was perhaps inevitable that the character of the Castilian Alfonsin Tables would be disputed and, indeed, their relationship with the Parisian Alfonsine Tables has been the subject of controversy. Poulie (1984) restricted the Parisian Alfonsine Tables to those that correspond to the canons of John of Saxony (1327), leaving only chronological tables, radices, as well as mean motions and equations for the Sun, Moon, and planets. He excluded tables concerning the daily rotation, equation of time, syzygies, eclipses, planetary latitudes, and planetary velocities, among others, that we believe belong to the Alfonsine corpus in Latin for reasons that will become clear in this chapter. Poulie has also argued for the independence of the Parisian Alfonsine Tables, i.e., that they did not originate in Castile, remarking that “all we know for sure about the new Alfonsine astronomy is that it had Paris as its birthplace and 1321 as its birthdate”, and calling the attribution to Alfonso a “literary fiction” (Poulie 1988, pp. 105, 110; Poulie and Savoie 1998, p. 201). But, in our view, the Parisian version of the Alfonsine Tables has strong roots in Castile, and the astronomical tradition of Castile is evident throughout it.

Chapter Two Trigonometry and Spherical Astronomy

This is a survey of the numerous astronomical tables compiled in the late Middle Ages, which represent a major intellectual enterprise. Such tables were often the best way available at the time for transmitting precise information to the reader.

Chapter Nineteen Miscellaneous Tables

This is a survey of the numerous astronomical tables compiled in the late Middle Ages, which represent a major intellectual enterprise. Such tables were often the best way available at the time for transmitting precise information to the reader.

Chapter Eight Velocity

This is a survey of the numerous astronomical tables compiled in the late Middle Ages, which represent a major intellectual enterprise. Such tables were often the best way available at the time for transmitting precise information to the reader.

Chapter Thirteen Syzygies

This is a survey of the numerous astronomical tables compiled in the late Middle Ages, which represent a major intellectual enterprise. Such tables were often the best way available at the time for transmitting precise information to the reader.

Chapter Fifteen Eclipses

This is a survey of the numerous astronomical tables compiled in the late Middle Ages, which represent a major intellectual enterprise. Such tables were often the best way available at the time for transmitting precise information to the reader.

Chapter Five Mean Motions and Radices

This is a survey of the numerous astronomical tables compiled in the late Middle Ages, which represent a major intellectual enterprise. Such tables were often the best way available at the time for transmitting precise information to the reader.