Ordering the heavens : Roman astronomy and cosmology in the Carolingian renaissance / / by Bruce S. Eastwood.

• Superior document: History of science and medicine library, v. 4
• Author: Eastwood, Bruce.
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: History of science and medicine library ; v. 4.; History of science and medicine library. Medieval and early modern science ; v. 8.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (477 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary Materials /; Chapter One. Introduction /; Chapter Two. Macrobius’s Commentary On Scipio’s Dream: Its Carolingian Uses For Astronomy And Cosmology /; Chapter Three. Pliny The Elder’s Natural History: Encyclopedia For Carolingian Astronomy And Cosmology /; Chapter Four. Martianus Capella’s Synopsis Of Astronomy In The Marriage Of Philology And Mercury And Its Major Carolingian Commentaries /; Chapter Five. Using Calcidius’s Commentarius In Carolingian Astronomy /; Chapter Six. Carolingian Diagrams For Astronomy And Cosmology /; Appendix: Content Of The Paragraphs On Astronomy And Cosmology In Calcidius’s Commentarius /; Bibliography /; Index /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• ISBN: 1281936561; 9786611936563; 9047431073
• ISSN: 1872-0684
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by Bruce S. Eastwood.

The astronomy of the Carolingian era has commonly been represented as concerned exclusively with computus , the science of calendar construction as well as arithmetical calculation in general. This volume shows the error of that portrayal by exploring the study and teaching of four Roman texts on astronomy and cosmology in the Carolingian world and the diagrams connected to those texts. As each of these works came into use over the Carolingian era, its contributions merged into a progressively more ordered picture of the heavens. Both eccentrics and epicycles appeared by the 840s. These techniques were subsequently introduced clearly and qualitatively to complete the Carolingian enterprise. The primary tool for understanding this effort is the analysis of their diagrams. Medieval and Early Modern Science , volume 8