Learning
Alfonsine astronomy is a specific tradition of mathematical astronomy that was dominant in Latin Europe from the beginning of the 14th century to the mid 16th century. In this series of trails you will be able to follow some of the main historical episodes through which Alfonsine astronomy was created and progressively came to flourish in universities and learned centers all around Europe.
Transition to the printing world
From the mid 15th to the mid 16th century Alfonsine astronomy took part in the major evolution of Europe's intellectual landscape. First the confrontation with emerging humanist values and a growing social demand for accurate astronomical prediction changed progressively the way astronomers read the ancient astronomical sources (e.g. the Almagest) and thought about their computation (Bianchini). Second, the emergence of printing techniques changed the way astronomers could publish their ideas and share them with the public. In this trail you are going to discover through manuscripts some of the important characteristics of this moment of the history of Alfonsine astronomy.
Paris university
After their birth in the royal context of the castilian court of King Alfonso the wise in the last quarter of the 13th century Alfonsine astronomy began to circulate, possibly through diplomatic channels, in different learned centers for instance in Florence. It was not until it reached the University of Paris a little before 1320 that this astronomy really began to gain visibility. A group of important astronomers there among which John of Lignières, John of Murs, John of Saxony or Vimond made important contributions in the forms of texts and tables. In this trail you are going to discover some of the key manuscript sources documenting this essential moment in the history of Alfonsine astronomy.
Fostering astronomical activities around Europe
Following the Parisian moment, Alfonsine astronomy was quickly diffused in England, in German lands, in central Europe or in Italy. In each of these different milieus the Alfonsine tables met a group of astronomers that reworked the texts, tables and instruments so as to adapt them to their needs and ways of understanding astronomy. In the course of this circulation many new astronomical texts were written which enriched the corpus of Alfonsine astronomy and progressively shaped a kind of community of alfonsine astronomers which were fostering a common view of the discipline all around Europe. In this trail you are going to discover some of the key manuscript sources documenting this progressive diffusion, enrichment and transformation of Alfonsine astronomy from the mid 14th to the mid 15th century.
