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Michael Maestlinâs Manuscript Treatise on the Comet of 1618
An Edition and Translation of Manuscript WLB Stuttgart, Cod. Math. 4 15b, Nr. 8
Series: - Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy and Science, Volume: 33
Michael Maestlin (1550â1631), professor of mathematics at the University of Tübingen, was a leading protagonist of the astronomical and cosmological revolution that began with Copernicus. Famous for first introducing Copernicanism to Kepler, Maestlin also wrote important treatises on the supernova of 1572 and the comet of 1577 that mark significant steps in the elimination of celestial immutability and the reinforcement of the Copernican worldview. This first critical edition of Maestlinâs German manuscript treatise on the comet of 1618 is accompanied by an English translation and a thorough commentary. An extensive introduction situates Maestlinâs treatise in the broader context of the contemporary politico-religious conflict and cosmological discussion newly expanded to the debate on sunspots discovered with the telescope.
Miguel Ã. Granada is Emeritus Professor of History of Renaissance Philosophy at the University of Barcelona. His publications include El debate cosmológico en 1588: Bruno, Brahe, Rothmann, Ursus, Röslin (Bibliopolis, 1996), the edition of Christoph Rothmannâs Discourse on the Comet of 1585 (Brill, 2014) with Adam Mosley and Nicholas Jardine, and Giordano Bruno, âDe immensoâ: Letture critiche (Fabrizio Serra, 2020), coedited with Dario Tessicini.
Patrick J. Boner is a Visiting Scholar in the School of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America. He is the author of several studies on early modern science, including Keplerâs Cosmological Synthesis: Astrology, Mechanism and the Soul (Brill, 2013) and Keplerâs New Star (1604): Context and Controversy (Brill, 2021).
Patrick J. Boner is a Visiting Scholar in the School of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America. He is the author of several studies on early modern science, including Keplerâs Cosmological Synthesis: Astrology, Mechanism and the Soul (Brill, 2013) and Keplerâs New Star (1604): Context and Controversy (Brill, 2021).
Preface
List of Figures
Symbols of Planets and Zodiacal Signs: Criteria of This Edition
Introduction
âMiguel Ã. Granada
â1âThe impact of the Comet of 1618 in Europe and Württemberg
â2âMaestlinâs Treatise on the Comet of 1618
â3âThe Comets of 1618â1619 and Maestlinâs Observations
â4âThe Treatises of 1578 and 1580: A Mathematical and Astronomical Approach
â5âFrom 1578 to 1618
â6âBartholomaeus Keckermann and His Assault on Celestial Comets
â7âMaestlinâs Reply to Keckermann and the Partial Preservation of Aristotle
â8âSunspots and the Telescope Appear on the Scene
â9âMaestlin, Schickard and Habrecht on Faulhaber and the Rosicrucians
Michael Maestlin, Astronomischer Discurs von dem Cometen, so in Anno 1618, im Nouembri zu erscheinen angefangen und bis inn Februar dis 1619 Jars am Himmel noch gesehen wirt
âCritical edition by Miguel Ã. Granada
Michael Maestlin, Astronomical Discourse on the Comet that First Appeared in November 1618 and Can Still Be Seen in the Sky in February of this Year 1619
âTranslation by Patrick J. Boner, notes by Miguel Ã. Granada and Patrick J. Boner
âChapter 1. More Than One Comet Appeared in the Previous Year 1618
âChapter 2. On the First Emergence and Appearance of This Comet
âChapter 3. On the Course of This Comet, and the Signs and Constellations through Which It Passed
âChapter 4. That the Philosophers Are Divided in Opinion over Whether Comets Are Elementary or Ethereal, That Is, Whether They Are Generated and Brought into Being Here Below in the Air or High above in the Heavens
âChapter 5. Whether and How We May Find a Solution for the Two Opposing Opinions
âChapter 6. Whether Our Present Comet Possessed Any Sensible Parallax or Not, and How Far Away It May Have Been from the Earth
âChapter 7. That before This Time Many Other Comets Appeared and Were Observed Not in the Air, but in the Upper Heaven
âChapter 8. What Aristotle and Other Philosophers Might Have Been Missing That Led Them to Think About Comets the Wrong Way
âChapter 9. Several Questions Concerning Comets in General, and What Follows from Them
âAppendix 1. Can Comets Be Predicted?
âAppendix 2. Draft of a Letter to Duke Johann Friedrich to Apologize for the Delay in Presenting the Requested Report
Bibliography
Index of Biblical Passages
Index of Names
List of Figures
Symbols of Planets and Zodiacal Signs: Criteria of This Edition
Introduction
âMiguel Ã. Granada
â1âThe impact of the Comet of 1618 in Europe and Württemberg
â2âMaestlinâs Treatise on the Comet of 1618
â3âThe Comets of 1618â1619 and Maestlinâs Observations
â4âThe Treatises of 1578 and 1580: A Mathematical and Astronomical Approach
â5âFrom 1578 to 1618
â6âBartholomaeus Keckermann and His Assault on Celestial Comets
â7âMaestlinâs Reply to Keckermann and the Partial Preservation of Aristotle
â8âSunspots and the Telescope Appear on the Scene
â9âMaestlin, Schickard and Habrecht on Faulhaber and the Rosicrucians
Michael Maestlin, Astronomischer Discurs von dem Cometen, so in Anno 1618, im Nouembri zu erscheinen angefangen und bis inn Februar dis 1619 Jars am Himmel noch gesehen wirt
âCritical edition by Miguel Ã. Granada
Michael Maestlin, Astronomical Discourse on the Comet that First Appeared in November 1618 and Can Still Be Seen in the Sky in February of this Year 1619
âTranslation by Patrick J. Boner, notes by Miguel Ã. Granada and Patrick J. Boner
âChapter 1. More Than One Comet Appeared in the Previous Year 1618
âChapter 2. On the First Emergence and Appearance of This Comet
âChapter 3. On the Course of This Comet, and the Signs and Constellations through Which It Passed
âChapter 4. That the Philosophers Are Divided in Opinion over Whether Comets Are Elementary or Ethereal, That Is, Whether They Are Generated and Brought into Being Here Below in the Air or High above in the Heavens
âChapter 5. Whether and How We May Find a Solution for the Two Opposing Opinions
âChapter 6. Whether Our Present Comet Possessed Any Sensible Parallax or Not, and How Far Away It May Have Been from the Earth
âChapter 7. That before This Time Many Other Comets Appeared and Were Observed Not in the Air, but in the Upper Heaven
âChapter 8. What Aristotle and Other Philosophers Might Have Been Missing That Led Them to Think About Comets the Wrong Way
âChapter 9. Several Questions Concerning Comets in General, and What Follows from Them
âAppendix 1. Can Comets Be Predicted?
âAppendix 2. Draft of a Letter to Duke Johann Friedrich to Apologize for the Delay in Presenting the Requested Report
Bibliography
Index of Biblical Passages
Index of Names
All those interested in the history of astronomy and cosmology, especially cometary theory, in the early modern period, and anyone concerned with the Copernican revolution and its religious context.