Western Astrolabes
Western Astrolabes

Author: Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum

Publisher: Adler Planetarium, Astronomy

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13:

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The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum in Chicago is home to one of the world's great collections of astrolabes. Roderick and Marjorie Webster, Adler Curators Emeriti, present the Western astrolabes from the Adler's collection. The earliest of these instruments dates from the 13th century, others are from the workshops of the greatest craftsmen of the Renaissance. All are described here and illustrated lavishly with photographs showing the front, the back and additional details such as the maker's signature. Introductory essays by the Websters and Sara Schechner Genuth explain the use of the astrolabe and its role in cultural and social history, while the appendices and bibliography provide information essential to the specialist.

Eastern Astrolabes
Eastern Astrolabes

Author: Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13:

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Eastern astrolabes from the Adler's collection are described in detail with numerous illustrations.

Astrolabes in Medieval Cultures
Astrolabes in Medieval Cultures

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-01-28

Total Pages: 516

ISBN-13: 9004387862

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First 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.

Astrology through History
Astrology through History

Author: William E. Burns

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2018-07-20

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 1440851433

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Alphabetically arranged entries cover the history of astrology from ancient Mesopotamia to the 21st century. In addition to surveying the Western tradition, the book explores Islamic, Indian, East Asian, and Mesoamerican astrology. The field of astrology is growing rapidly, as historians recognize its centrality to the intellectual life of the past and sociologists and anthropologists treat its importance in a number of modern cultures. Despite the historical and cultural significance of the subject, most reference works on astrology focus on instructional techniques and are written by astrologers with little or no interest in the history of the topic. This book instead offers an objective treatment of astrology across world history from ancient Mesopotamia to the present. The book provides alphabetically arranged entries by expert contributors writing on such topics as horoscopes, court astrologers, Renaissance astrology, and comets. While it considers the Western tradition, it also treats Islamic, Indian, East Asian, and Mesoamerican astrology. In doing so, it explores the role of astrology in shaping science, literature, religion, art, and other defining cultural traditions. Sidebars offer excerpts from various historical texts, while entries provide suggestions for further reading.

Astrolabes from Medieval Europe
Astrolabes from Medieval Europe

Author: David A. King

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-10-28

Total Pages: 422

ISBN-13: 1040241824

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This is the fourth set of studies in the Variorum series by David King, a leading authority on the history of astronomy in Islamic civilization and on medieval astronomical instruments, European as well as Islamic. The first of the eleven studies collected here deals with medieval instruments in general, as precious historical sources. The following papers focus on individual astrolabes from the European Middle Ages and early Renaissance that are of singular historical importance. Two look at the origins of the simple universal horary quadrant and the complicated universal horary dial (navicula). The collection concludes with a list of all known medieval European astrolabes, ordered chronologically by region. Three "landmark" astrolabes are discussed: (1) the earliest known European astrolabe from 10th-century Catalonia, that milieu in which the astrolabe first became known to Europeans; (2) an astrolabe from 14th-century Picardy bearing numerals written in monastic ciphers as well as a later dedication mentioning two friends of Erasmus; (3) the splendid astrolabe presented in 1462 by the German astronomer Regiomontanus to his patron Cardinal Bessarion, with its enigmatic angel and Latin dedication, here presented in the context of other astrolabes of similar design from 15th-century Vienna.

The World Map, 1300–1492
The World Map, 1300–1492

Author: Evelyn Edson

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2007-07-15

Total Pages: 446

ISBN-13: 1421404303

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A history of the development of world maps during the later medieval period in the centuries leading up to Columbus’s journey. In the two centuries before Columbus, mapmaking was transformed. The World Map, 1300–1492 investigates this important, transitional period of mapmaking. Beginning with a 1436 atlas of ten maps produced by Venetian Andrea Bianco, Evelyn Edson uses maps of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries to examine how the discoveries of missionaries and merchants affected the content and configuration of world maps. She finds that both the makers and users of maps struggled with changes brought about by technological innovation?the compass, quadrant, and astrolabe?rediscovery of classical mapmaking approaches, and increased travel. To reconcile the tensions between the conservative and progressive worldviews, mapmakers used a careful blend of the old and the new to depict a world that was changing?and growing?before their eyes. This engaging and informative study reveals how the ingenuity, creativity, and adaptability of these craftsmen helped pave the way for an age of discovery. “A comprehensive and complex picture of the changing face of medieval geography. With the mastery of a formidable palette of historiographic knowledge and well-reasoned discussions of the sources, The World Map, 1300–1492 will certainly remain an important work to consult for both medieval and early modern scholars for many years to come.” —Ian J. Aebel, Terrae Incognitae