Essays on Medieval Computational Astronomy

During the Middle Ages and early modern times tables were a most successful and economical way to present mathematical procedures and astronomical models and to facilitate computations. Before the sixteenth century astronomical models introduced by Ptolemy in Antiquity were rarely challenged, and innovation consisted in elaborating new methods for calculating planetary positions and other celestial phenomena. Essays on Medieval Computational Astronomy includes twelve articles that focus on astronomical tables, offering many examples where the meaning and purpose of such tables has been determined by careful analysis. In evaluating the work of medieval scholars we are mindful of the importance of applying criteria consistent with their own time, which may be different from those appropriate for other periods.

José Chabás, Ph.D. (1989), University of Barcelona, Spain, now at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, has focused on the review of astronomical tables and the computational methods used to compile them, as a means to study the transmission of astronomical ideas throughout Western Europe.

Bernard R. Goldstein, Ph.D. (1963), Brown University, is University Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh. Together with José Chabás he has published several books, most recently A Survey of European Astronomical Tables in the Late Middle Ages (Brill, 2012).