From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance - a change in scientific culture

by: Emily Hart

The changes that occurred in astronomy from the middle ages to the renaissance were certainly changes in scientific culture. Information that had been locked away for centuries was brought back and given to the public, sparking interest in old teachings of Greek and Roman intellectuals. All over Europe, new methods of science were being developed, and the ability to question and expand upon the ideas of ancient Greek and Roman scholars eventually led to the modern age. The renaissance was a time of influential astronomers including Nicolaus Copernicus and the “first modern scientist”Galileo Galilei, and can be thought of as one of the most important turning points in history.

The Middle Ages are known as the period of time from the fall of the Roman Empire (around 476 A.D.) to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. This period, often called the “dark ages,”reflected the loss of Greek culture and scientific interest in Europe at the time. This loss was largely due to the lack of books, libraries, and universities, as well as the enforcement of strict rules by the catholic church. During this period, development of new and useful scientific theories slowed down tremendously, and many irrational theories took the place of and threatened science as a whole. Some examples of this threat are that astronomy was challenged by astrology, medicine was replaced by magic, and natural science was substituted by alchemy. (Alchemy is a practice of solving problems without using any form of the scientific method. Some practices include making remedies that would “cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely”and having the ability to transform “any metal”into gold or silver). Society was much more interested in the heavens and astrology than it was in new methods of explaining, and expanding upon old

scientific theories.

Astronomy was not completely lost in the middle ages however, and many people believe that to call this time the “dark ages”would be an ignorant statement. Of course, people did have ideas about the world around them. They believed in a geocentric universe where paradise was beyond the last of the fixed stars, hell lay in the earth’s core and purgatory existed between the earth and the moon. In the west, astronomy also consisted of scientists trying to discern relationships between planets based on their different rotations. Tools such as the astrolabe and maps of the stars were used. (The astrolabe was an “ancient computer”which allowed for the sky to be seen as it would be at a certain place and time. It allowed for very visual solutions to astronomical problems of the time). In Arabic countries, astronomy was especially not lost. For instance, Islamic astronomers used careful observations in order to create remarkably accurate star catalogs. The continued astronomical interest in Arabic countries reflected the fact that they had preserved and translated Greek writings, and then employed those methods of reasoning and logic to their understanding of science. Around the thirteenth century A.D., universities began to arrive in Europe, once again igniting the desire for deeper knowledge. Many new ideas came along with these universities, setting the path for the renaissance.

The Renaissance, French for “rebirth”is known as the transitional period between the middle ages and the modern age. It began with the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and was a time which is now characterized by its new way of thinking, which emphasized experimentation and reason. When Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, fell to the Islamic Turks, Greek literature which had been hidden from western culture for more than one thousand years found its way to Europe. The renaissance therefore, was not a time full of new ideas and discoveries as much as it was a time where Greek and Roman knowledge was rediscovered and expanded upon. This rebirth of old information was largely aided by the development of the printing press during the 1450's which allowed for large and relatively quick transfer of these documents to different universities and countries around the world.

As people in Europe began to study the works of ancient astronomers such as Aristotle and Ptolemy, they found that their teachings did not always match everyday observations. Scholars started to question these ancient works and wanted to expand upon and challenge them. This willingness to question previously held beliefs was the beginning of what we now call the “scientific revolution”which was a major turning point in history. This questioning mentality led to new beliefs in experimentation and also to serious doubts about things as concrete(at the time) as Ptolemy’s geocentric model! During the renaissance many advancements were achieved in the field of astronomy by scientists who spoke out against, and proved false, the ideas and beliefs which had been accepted for more than two thousand years.

Many new technologies and beliefs came out of this period of rebirth. The advancements (although not thought of “advancements”at the time), turned out to be very valuable to modern astronomy and to the modern age. Although many scientists were persecuted and tormented for their new discoveries, we can certainly appreciate their conviction to believing in and searching for the truth.

One of the biggest changes that occurred during the renaissance was the acceptance of the heliocentric model of the universe. In 1514 A.D. Nicolaus Copernicus released a little handwritten book to some of his friends. The book, which didn’t include his name, set out his theory of the universe. There were seven principles in this “Little Commentary”(as it came to be called). These principles were: There is no one center in the universe, The earth’s center is not the center of the universe, the center of the universe is near the sun, the distance from the earth to the sun is imperceptible compared with the distance to the stars, the rotation of the earth accounts for the apparent daily rotation of the stars, the apparent annual cycle of movements of the sun is caused by the earth revolving round it, and the apparent retrograde motion of the planets is caused by the motion of the earth from which one observes. In this fascinating document, Copernicus presented these principles to show that they would form the basis for all of his conclusions.

It is important to recognize that Copernicus was strongly influenced by neoplatonism which is a combination of Christianity and Platonism. Copernicus believed that the sun was a “material copy”of God, because it gave us warmth and light which we need in order to live. Because of his religious beliefs, he placed the sun(God) at the center of the universe, and at the center of his model, the heliocentric model of the universe. We must also recognize that Copernicus was not the first to come up with the idea of heliocentricity. Thinkers from far before him had already toyed with this idea. Aristarchus of Samos who lived from 310 to 230 B.C.E. had thought of heliocentricity many years before Copernicus was even thought of. None the less, Copernicus’further development of these ideas proved to be very important and influential, later inspiring astronomers like Galileo Galilei.

Perhaps the most influential of Copernicus’achievements, and his clearest declaration of heliocentricity came from his book De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium which means “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Orbs”. Published in 1543, this book explained many of his theories. In the first book Copernicus had three main points. The first being that the sun was the center of the universe. This was an important observation which was picked up by many renaissance thinkers. The second was a simple and “elegant”explanation of retrograde motion. Retrograde motion is an optical illusion which you can experience while passing cars on a highway. The third thing he did was to settle the order of the planets, which had been a convention in the work of Ptolemy. Reactions to this book were mixed. While some found it impossible to believe others admired and applied elements from the book. It’s not difficult to understand why people found the ideas in De Revolutionibusto be outrageous. First of all, common-sense and imbedded beliefs kept them from embracing the ideas. It would be similar to someone telling society today that the earth is indeed the center of the universe. No one would believe this because we have been taught for generations that this is not true. Also, believing in this book meant abandoning the work of Aristotle, a very famous and esteemed astronomer of the past, who taught a geocentric universe. A third large contributing factor to skepticism and disbelief in Copernicus’work was that it tended to clash with biblical passages. The church did not agree with anything that went against the Bible, and people who followed the church therefore could not embrace many of Copernicus’ideas. Those who admired De Revolutionibus did so because it was the most sophisticated extensive written account of astronomy in a long time. Many people used the book to aid in their understanding of mathematics as well as their understanding of astronomy.

Many achievements of the renaissance were made by astronomers other than Copernicus. In a time full of such an interest in science and a desire for knowledge, it’s easy to understand why so many advancements in astronomy can be attributed to this time period. We can not talk about new inventions and technologies however, without including another very influential astronomer of the renaissance, Galileo Galilei, who was an great thinker, inventor, and astronomer of the time. One very important invention of Galileo’s was the pendulum clock which he developed from fascination about, and studies of, the pendulum. This clock allowed for a much more accurate sense of time. He invented this after recognizing that the period of the pendulum’s swing did not depend on the swing of the arc(the amplitude). Therefore, the pendulum kept consistent time intervals and could be relied upon for this consistency. Galileo also made tremendous advances with the telescope. Before his telescopes, people had thought of ways to “magnify”objects and had experimented with lenses, but Galileo’s achievements allowed for a significantly better view of outer space. He made his first telescope in 1609, which magnified objects twenty times. With this “strong”magnification, Galileo was able to look relatively closely at the moon, to discover the four satellites of Jupiter, and to discover sunspots, along with other things. (Sunspots are dark areas of irregular shape on the surface of the sun). One of Galileo’s most famous contributions to science was his idea about motion. He questioned Aristotelian physics which taught that heavy objects fell faster than light ones, even though this is what he had learned in university. Galileo believed that all objects fell at the same rate in a vacuum, and went through many experiments to prove his theory. Most people know the story of Galileo dropping objects from the leaning tower of Pisa in an effort to prove his theory. Although this might be a made up story, it shows the importance and notability of such a discovery and of Galileo Galilei himself.

Again, we must remember that although both Copernicus and Galileo were very important and influential astronomers of their time, they were not the only ones who contributed to the increased understanding of astronomy that came out of the renaissance. Now, we will go through some of the other achievements made during this time period. One such achievement was a series of drawings showing telescopic views of the moon, drawn by Thomas Harriet who studied the moon for many years. Harriet also discovered what we now know as “Snell’s Law”which studies the refraction of light through different media, before Willebrord van Roijen Snell did. Another astronomer and intellectual of the time, Johannes Kepler, made a particularly significant discovery when he applied physics to astronomy. By doing this, he discovered that planets must move in elliptical orbits rather than circular ones. He also correctly placed the sun as one of the foci for each of these orbits. Along with his discovery of elliptical planetary orbits, Kepler also calculated that the Christian calendar was off by five years, and that Jesus had actually been born in 4 B.C. which is now a universal belief and understanding. Sir Isaac Newton came up with the universal law of gravitation by following ideas from the scientific revolution. Everyone knows the story of the apple falling on Newton’s head, and him realizing the idea of gravity. Again, like the story of Galileo this may be a false story, but again it proves how significant some of the scientific results from this period are. The universal law of gravitation basically states that every object in the universe attracts and is attracted to every other object. Using this, he recognized the gravitational attraction that exists, for instance, between the moon and planet earth.

There are more theories and astronomers from the renaissance (both of which were significant and influential) than can be talked about in one essay. The truly important message to recognize about the renaissance is that it was a turning point in history. This turning point, known now as the scientific revolution, changed our view of the world, revised our beliefs, and opened the door for future exploration and experimentation. Scientists could now use experimentation and physical evidence to prove their ideas, and because of this, they got closer to the truth.

Some of the most important concepts to come out of the renaissance were the heliocentric model of the universe, the property of gravity, and better understanding of planetary orbits. We also received new help from things like telescopes, clocks, diagrams, and extensive works of literature which would all prove very influential to the future of astronomy. It is hard to think about where we would be today without these inventions and conclusions. The things we know about astronomy today are all significantly influenced by scientists like Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton, and their fame reflects this importance.

In studying the shift of scientific understanding from the middle ages through the renaissance, we recognize why it is one of the most important shifts in all of history. People began to question authority and history itself. The new ability to challenge conventional beliefs and to experiment in order to prove theories led directly to the scientific method and to everything that we base science upon today. Obviously this turning point was one of great change and of extensive significance to the understanding of our world.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Encyclopedia:

Christian Amalvi "Middle Ages" Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. Ed. André Vauchez. © 2001 by James Clarke & Co. Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages (e-reference edition). Distributed by Oxford University Press. University of Toronto Libraries. 8 November 2005 entry=t179.e1858>

Emmanuel Poulle, Anne Tihon "astronomy" Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. Ed. André Vauchez. © 2001 by James Clarke & Co. Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages (e-reference edition). Distributed by Oxford University Press. University of Toronto Libraries. 8 November 2005 entry=t179.e259-s1>

Websites:

http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Science/Copernicus.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages_in_history

http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/observations/moon.html

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Copernicus.html

http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/distance/strobel/history/historyb.htm

http://phyun5.ucr.edu/~wudka/Physics7/Notes_www/node40.html

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/platonism/