Re: [HM] quadrivium
c.czinczenheim (c.czinczenheim@mail.ac-lille.fr)
Tue, 27 Apr 1999 09:29:57 +0200
An object held by "astronomia" and looking like a rosary could be an
astrolab (I am not sure of the English spelling), an multi-purpose
instrument widely used in the Middle Ages. With the plane astrolab, you
could tell the hour at night, find the height of a monument, and solve many
theoreticals problems.
Claire Czinczenheim
----------
> De : Julio Gonzalez Cabillon <jgc@adinet.com.uy>
> A : historia-matematica@chasque.apc.org
> Objet : Re: [HM] quadrivium
> Date : samedi 10 avril 1999 04:25
>
>
> At 09:02 AM 25/03/1999 -0500, Eisso J. Atzema wrote:
>
> > Dear list members,
> >
> > here is a question that has been bothering me somewhat:
> >
> > While explaining about trivium and quadrivium in my History of
Mathematics
> > class, I showed my students the picture of the quadrivium included in
Roger
> > Cooke's History of Mathematics (p.285). According to the caption, this
> > picture is taken from Boethius' Arithmetica and it shows the familiar
> > representation of the four artes comprising the quadrivium by four
female
> > figures. Each can be readily identified by their attributes. Besides,
the
> > text above their heads (which is mirrored, suggesting that the whole
> > picture is mirrored -- an oversight, Roger?) identifies them as well.
>
> The picture is indeed reversed (an editor's oversight).
>
> > Now, Arithmetica clearly betrays herself by representing a number with
> > her one hand (the number 5, if I go by Menninger's History of Numbers).
>
> Yes, I think so.
>
> > In her other hand, she holds something that looks like an oversized
> > rosary and I suppose this object would have been typical of her "trade"
> > as well. Is there anyone who might be able to say something sensible
> > about what this object is that she holds? While we are at it, I was
> > also wondering what object it is that astronomia/astrologia is holding.
>
> Eisso, there *surely* are members of this list who are able to say
> something thoughtful about what object is held by 'astronomia'. No
> question about it. So ...
>
> Best regards,
> Julio Gonzalez Cabillon
>
> >
> > ===============================================
> >
> > Eisso Atzema, Ph.D.
> > Department of Mathematics & Statistics
> > University of Maine
> > Orono, ME 04469
> > tel.: (207) 581-3928 (off.)
> > (207) 990-4680 (home)
> > e-mail: atzema@gauss.umemat.maine.edu (preferred)
> > eisso.atzema@umit.maine.edu (FirstClass)