ALFA internal seminar: readings and research on the alfonsine corpus

Org. Laure Miolo, Nick Jacobson, Samuel Gessner, Matthieu Husson


Observatoire de Paris

77 avenue Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 Paris

These seminars are open to the public

For security reasons please registrate at least 24 hours in advance

Contact: pascale.baudoin@obspm.fr
And present yourself with an ID


Argument

Each morning session of this seminar will be divided into a reading part and a workshop part. During the reading part we will study and compare two prominent canons of the Parisian Alfonsine tradition: John of Saxony canons of 1327 and John of Lignères canons of 1322. We will focus on the way computations are organised, prescribed and grounded by the two texts and progressively address the main topics of planetary motions and eclipses. The workshop part will the occasion to discuss the research of the ALFA project postdocs in an open and constructive way. Occasionally early afternoon sessions will be organised where a conference paper will be presented on the study of mathematical astronomy. In these afternoon session we will seek to invite both specialists presentation on the Alfonsine tradition and also scholars looking into pertinent approaches and topics in different traditions of mathematical astronomy.

The different parts of a seminar day can be attended independently; they are open to the public but registration is compulsory for security reason and to obtain entry at the Observatoire gate. If you want to participate please send an email to Pascale Baudoin at Pascale.baudoin@obspm.fr mentioning your name and the seminar session to which you want to attend at the latest 24h before the seminar day.

 


Program

  • Friday, February 8, salle du levant

15h00-16h50, Reading session

Computing the true position of the sun

Laure Miolo (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on John of Saxony, Nick Jacobson (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on John of Lignères

17h10-18h30, Workshop session

Samuel Gessner (Postdoc ERC ALFA), Material cultures of Alfonsine astronomy: a sketch

 

  • Thursday, March 14, salle du levant

9h30-10h50, Reading session

Computing the true position of the Moon

Laure Miolo (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on John of Lignères, Samuel Gessner (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on John of Saxony

11h10-12h30, Workshop session

Nick Jacobson (Postdoc ERC ALFA), Canons in the alfonsine tradition 1: Questioning the Accuracy of the Calculations of the Alfonsine Tables (The Case of Nicholas of Cusa)

Presentation session 14h-15h30

Sho Hirose (Postdoc, Zurich), The third dimension in the manuscript: An analysis of co-planar and multi-planar configurations described in the fifteenth century Sanskrit text Goladīpikā and the usage of the armillary sphere therein

 

  • Tuesday, April 16, salle du conseil

9h30-10h50, Reading session

Computing planetary true position

Samuel Gessner (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on John of Lignères, Nick Jacobson (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on John of Saxony

11h10-12h30, Workshop session

Laure Miolo (Postdoc ERC ALFA), Eclipse computation by John of Genoa 1

Presentation session 14h-15h30

José Chabas and MM Saby

 

  • Friday May 17, salle Danjon

9h30-10h50, Reading session

Computing true syzygies

Nick Jacobson (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on John of Lignères, Laure Miolo (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on John of Saxony

11h10-12h30, Workshop session

Samuel Gessner (Postdoc ERC ALFA), Planetary instruments in the Alfonsine corpus

Presentation session 14h-15h30

Richard Kremer

 

  • Thursday, June 27, salle du levant

9h30-10h50, Reading session

Computing Eclipses 1

Samuel Gessner (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on Eclypsis solis quantitatem et durationem per tabulas invenire (Ps-John of Saxony, 1332), Laure Miolo (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on John of Lignères

11h10-12h30, Workshop session

Nick Jacobson (Postdoc ERC ALFA), Canons in the alfonsine traditions 2: Questioning the Accuracy of the Calculations of the Alfonsine Tables (The Case of Nicole Oresme and Jean de Murs

Presentation session 14h-15h30

Karine Chemla

 

  • Thursday, July 18, salle du levant

9h30-10h50, Reading session

Computing Eclipses 2

Nick Jacobson (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on Eclypsis solis quantitatem et durationem per tabulas invenire (Ps-John of Saxony, 1332), Samuel Gessner (Postdoc ERC ALFA) on John of Lignères

11h10-12h30, Workshop session

Laure Miolo (Postdoc ERC ALFA), John of Genoa eclipse computations 2

Discussion session 14h-15h30

Organisation of the following seminar year