Christoph Rothmann’s Discourse on the Comet of 1585: An Edition and Translation with Accompanying Essays

396 Pages·2014·1.82 MB·English

by  Miguel A Granada, Adam Mosley, Professor of History and Philosophy of the Sciences Nicholas Jardine, Christoph Rothmann

Christoph Rothmann’s Discourse on the Comet of 1585
History of Science
andMedicine Library
volume 44
Medieval and
Early Modern Science
Editors
J.M.M.H. Thijssen (Radboud University Nijmegen)
C.H. Lüthy (Radboud University Nijmegen)
P.J.J.M. Bakker (Radboud University Nijmegen)
Editorial Consultants
Joël Biard (University of Tours)
Simo Knuuttila (University of Helsinki)
Jürgen Renn (Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science)
Theo Verbeek (University of Utrecht)
volume 22
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/mems
Christoph Rothmann’s Discourse
on the Comet of 1585
An Edition and Translation with Accompanying Essays
By
Miguel A. Granada
AdamMosley
Nicholas Jardine
leiden | boston
Cover illustration: W. Schickard, Cometenbeschreibung in zwen underschidliche Partes abgetheilt.
Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, Cod. math. qt. 43, f. 77v/old Pag. 140.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rothmann, Christoph, active 16th century.
Christoph Rothmann's Discourse on the comet of 1585 : an edition and translation with accompanying
essays / by Miguel A. Granada, AdamMosley, Nicholas Jardine.
pages cm – (History of science and medicine library ; volume 44. Medieval and early modern science,
ISSN 1567-8393 ; volume 22)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-26034-4 (hardback : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-90-04-26035-1 (e-book)
1. Comets–1585–Early works to 1800. 2. Astronomy, Medieval–Early works to 1800. 3. Cosmology,
Medieval–Early works to 1800. I. Granada, Miguel Angel, 1949- II. Mosley, Adam, 1974- translator. III. Jardine,
Nicholas, translator. IV. Rothmann, Christoph, active 16th century. Dialexis cometae. V. Rothmann,
Christoph, active 16th century. Dialexis cometae. English. VI. Title. VII. Title: Discourse on the comet of 1585.
QB721.R6813 2014
523.6'4–dc23
2014011554
This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering
Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more
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issn 1567-8393
isbn 978-90-04-26034-4 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-26035-1 (e-book)
Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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This book is printed on acid-free paper.
To the memory of Alain-Philippe Segonds
(1942–2011)
∵
Contents
Preface xi
Miguel A. Granada
1 Introduction 1
Miguel A. Granada
1 Christoph Rothmann and Astronomy in Wittenberg 1
2 Astronomy in Kassel: Landgrave Wilhelm IV and His Programme of
Stellar Astronomy 19
3 The Comet of 1585 and the Dialexis cometae 24
4 Phases of Composition of the Dialexis cometae 30
5 Rothmann’s Cosmological Innovations in the Dialexis cometae 36
6 The Status of Astronomical Hypotheses 55
7 The Title of the Work 64
2 Dialexis Cometae qui Anno Christi M.D.LXXXV.mensibus Octobri et
Novembri apparuit 67
Latin text prepared by Miguel A. Granada
ADiscourse on the CometWhich Appeared in theMonths of October and
November of 1585 67
Translation by Nicholas Jardine and AdamMosley, with annotations
by Miguel A. Granada, Nicholas Jardine and AdamMosley
Chapter 1. On the Observations of This Comet 78
Chapter 2. Concerning the Motion of This Comet in Longitude and
Latitude 92
Chapter 3. Whether This Comet Had Parallax 104
Chapter 4. In Which Sphere This Comet Was 114
Chapter 5. Since It Is Commonly Believed That the Spheres of the
Planets Are Solid Bodies, How Could the Comet Have Progressed
in Them? AndWhat Is to Be Thought on This Question? 120
Chapter 6. A Refutation of Some Opinions Concerning Comets;
Namely, That They Are Neither Species Appearing without Matter,
Nor Perpetual Bodies Together with the Rest of the Stars, Nor
Vapours Ignited in the Air 146
Chapter 7. The Opinion of the Author about the Matter and Essence
of Comets 164
viii contents
Chapter 8. The Uses of the Examination of Comets 178
Chapter 9. That That Matter Flowing around the Planets Differs Not
at All from Pure Sublunar Air, andWhere, Moreover, the Contrary
Arguments Are Refuted 186
Description of the Comet Which Shone in the Year 1596 in the Month
of July, but Set Out in a Fuller Form from the Papers of the Same
Rothmann 202
3 Appendices: Related Texts and Translations 207
Miguel A. Granada, Nicholas Jardine and AdamMosley
1 Letters of Christoph Rothmann to Landgrave Wilhelm IV of
Hesse-Kassel, 1585–1586 208
2 Letter of Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Kassel to Heinrich Rantzau, 20 October
1585 246
3 Letter of Wilhelm IV to Christoph Rothmann of 18 November 1585,
Authorising the Drafting of a scriptum on the Comet 250
4 Elias Olsen Morsing’s Account of the Comet of 1585 252
4 How to Present a Copernican Comet: The Form and Tactics of Christoph
Rothmann’s Dialexis on the Comet of 1585 258
Nicholas Jardine
1 Introduction 258
2 Disciplines: Mathematics vs. Philosophy 260
3 Disciplines: Theology 262
4 Genres: Dialexis, ‘Critical Doxography’, Historia, Observationes 267
5 Persuasive Tactics 273
6 Comets as Boundary Objects 280
5 The History and Historiography of Early Modern Comets 282
AdamMosley
1 1577 and All That: What Every Historian of Astronomy Knows 282
2 Historia: Comets, Astronomy, and Historical Astrology 287
3 1577 and All That Revisited 323
6 A Brief Note on Cometary Parallax 326
AdamMosley
1 Tycho, Regiomontanus, and the Problems of Parallax 326
2 Rothmann and the Parallax of the Comet of 1585 334
3 Conclusion 339
contents ix
Bibliography 341
Index of Persons 367
Index of Places 373
Index of Subjects 374