Investigating the Practice of Astronomy in the High Middle Ages
When: Friday, 24 September; 18:00 - 19:00 IST
The high Middle Ages were a watershed period for the development of mathematical astronomy in Latin Europe, which was characterized by the transfer of knowledge from sources originally in Arabic, Hebrew, or Greek.
While this historical picture can be regarded as securely established in its basic outlines, there are currently still major gaps in our understanding of how these translations impacted the ways in which the discipline was actually practiced by Latin scholars.
Philipp's research project, “Transformations of Latin Astronomy” (TraLA), supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship, uses unstudied and neglected manuscript sources to provide new insights into the ways in which Graeco-Arabic astronomy impacted Latin Europe during the period from 1000 to 1250. Its particular focus is on the practical aspects of medieval astronomy, as he seeks to provide fresh evidence of Latin astronomers’ active engagement with computational tables, instruments, and empirical measurement.
Join Philipp on European Researchers' Night for a talk about his work!