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48-513: Johannes Schöner (16 January 1477, in Karlstadt am Main – 16 January 1547, in the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg ) (aka, Johann Schönner, Johann Schoener, Jean Schönner, Joan Schoenerus) was a German polymath . It is best to refer to him using the usual 16th-century Latin term "mathematicus", as the areas of study to which he devoted his life were very different from those now considered to be

96-618: A Gothic hall church. About 1400, Karlstadt became for a short time the seat of an episcopal mint . The former Oberamt of the Princely Electorate ( Hochstift ) of Würzburg was, after Secularization , in Bavaria's favour, passed in 1805 to Grand Duke Ferdinando III of Tuscany to form the Grand Duchy of Würzburg , and passed with this to the Kingdom of Bavaria . The Jewish residents of

144-734: A letter of introduction to Philipp Melanchthon , a theologian and educator who would become a major patron, having reorganized the whole educational system of the Lutheran Protestant parts of Germany, reforming and founding several new universities during the Reformation . This relationship in particular would soon serve him well as Melanchton possibly chose him specifically for the University of Wittenberg. Rheticus studied at Feldkirch, Zürich and Wittenberg where he received his M.A. in 1536, after which Melanchthon appointed Rheticus as professor of

192-530: A passion for the study of triangles, the branch of mathematics now called trigonometry . In 1542 he had the trigonometric sections of Copernicus' De revolutionibis published separately under the title De lateribus et angulis triangulorum ( On the Sides and Angles of Triangles ). In 1551 Rheticus produced a tract titled Canon of the Science of Triangles, the first publication of six-function trigonometric tables (although

240-460: A relationship with Kunigunde Holocher in 1499, with whom he had three children: a son Johannes born on 1 February 1502, a daughter Sibilla born on 12 June 1503 and a second son Vitus born on 21 November 1504. Schöner was the owner of the only specimen of the 1507 Waldseemüller map of the world that has survived and which was rediscovered at Schloss Wolfegg in Upper Swabia in 1901. Since 2003 it

288-714: A small economic importance nowadays, but still has great cultural significance. Vineyards in Karlstadt are the Roßtal and Im Stein. There are also others in centres, especially in Stetten (Stettener Stein) and on the way from the main town out to Gambach. In 1999 the following institutions existed in Karlstadt: Georg Joachim Rheticus Georg Joachim de Porris , also known as Rheticus ( / ˈ r ɛ t ɪ k ə s / ; 16 February 1514 – 4 December 1574),

336-414: A systematic approach to the preparation of maps, distinguishing chorography from geography, discussing various methods of cartographic survey by the use of the compass as well as improvements to the aforementioned instrument) and Tabula chorographica auff Preussen und etliche umbliegende lender ( Map of Prussia and Neighboring Lands ) to Albert, Duke of Prussia . Knowing the duke had been trying to compute

384-505: A systematic defense of compatibility. Written in a moderate tone, he would suggest that the bible only contains that which is necessary for salvation, in doctrine and ethical instruction. Considering this tenet, scripture would then lack reference to any specific matter that may be studied by science, such as the movement of the earth with respect to the sun, with the exception being those facts of nature outside mankind's ability to investigate. Rheticus would further argue that biblical language

432-455: A twin purpose. While in Danzig, Rheticus interviewed maritime pilots to learn about their problems in navigation . Rheticus also visited Copernicus' friend Tiedemann Giese , who was Bishop of Chełmno (Culm) and further encouraged him to publish the former's work. At some point, he would additionally become a patron. In August 1541, Rheticus presented both a copy of Chorographia (containing

480-477: A would-be attempt to avoid censorship, explicitly describing the theory discussed therein as a model of pure hypothesis predicated on assumptions that are coincidentally consistent with the calculations. Towards this, Rheticus would allegedly deface every such copy he came across. Copernicus' major work would eventually be published shortly before his death in 1543. In a work now properly attributed to Rheticus tentatively titled Epistolae de Terrae Motu (Letter on

528-698: Is believed to have persuaded him. From Johannes Petreius Rheticus was given works by Regiomontanus and others, intended as presents for Copernicus. He went on to Peter Apian at the University of Ingolstadt and Joachim Camerarius at the University of Tübingen , then to his hometown when Rheticus would present Gasser with an edition of Sacrobosco. From Feldkirch he set out on his journey to visit Copernicus in Frombork . In May 1539, Rheticus arrived in Frauenburg (Frombork), where he spent two years with Copernicus. Despite

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576-530: Is in possession of the Library of Congress . No diary exists after 1506, and up to 1515 there are only indirect traces of Schöner's existence in the financial records of the bishopric and in the correspondence of Lorenz Beheim (?1457 – 1521), who after 24 years in Rome as chamberlain to Pope Alexander IV had returned to Bamberg in 1505 as a canon of the cathedral. In 1526, he was called to Nürnberg, by Philip Melanchthon, as

624-463: Is known about his parents or his early life. All that is known is that he had a brother, Peter, to whom he addressed his "Arzneibuch" in 1528. Quite detailed information for Schöner's adult life, at least up to 1506, has been preserved in his own marginalia in his copy of Regiomontanus ' printed Ephemerides , which he used as a diary. He matriculated at the University of Erfurt in the winter semester 1494/5 and graduated Baccalaureus on 21 March 1498. He

672-625: Is named in his honor. From the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection at the Library of Congress : Karlstadt am Main Karlstadt lies on the River Main in the district (Landkreis) of Main-Spessart , roughly 25 km north of the city of Würzburg . It belongs to the Main-Franconian wine-growing region . The town itself is located on the right bank of the river, but the municipal territory extends to

720-622: Is remembered as an influential pioneer in the history of globe making, and as a man who played a significant role in the events that led up to the publishing of Copernicus's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium , 'On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres'; in the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg in 1543. Schöner was born on 16 January 1477 in Karlstadt am Main in Lower Franconia . As with most Renaissance scholars nothing

768-511: Is said to have founded and named the town (Charlemagne is called Karl der Große in German). The next seal after this one also bore Charlemagne's likeness, and this appeared on town seals until the 18th century. However, in 1544 the town began using a quartered shield as its arms. This is thought to have come from the banner of state borne by the Prince-Bishopric ( Hochstift ) of Würzburg, to which

816-527: The Catholic Church . As this was well received, Copernicus finally agreed to publish his main work, and Rheticus prepared Copernicus' manuscript for printing. In Nürnberg, Schöner published in 1544 the astronomical observations of Regiomontanus and Walther, as well as manuscripts of Regiomontanus, which had been in the hand of Walther, as Observationes XXX annorum a I. Regiomontano et B. Walthero Norimbergae habitae, [4°, Norimb. 1544]. A crater on Mars

864-673: The University of Wittenberg , Georg Joachim adopted the toponym Rheticus, a form of the Latin name for his home region, Rhaetia , a Roman province that had included parts of Austria, Switzerland and Germany . In the matriculation list for the University of Leipzig his family name, de Porris, is translated into German as von Lauchen. The lunar crater Rhaeticus as well as asteroid 15949 Rhaeticus were named for him. After Georg Iserin's death, Achilles Gasser took over his medical practice, helping Rheticus to continue his studies and supporting him, eventually going so far as to furnish him with

912-647: The Motion of the Earth), he attempts to reconcile Copernicanism with scripture by employing St. Augustine 's principle of accommodation . According to historian Robert Westman, the Epistolae or also known as the Opusculum , published posthumously and anonymously in 1651, demonstrates that Copernicus and Rheticus recognized the problem of conflict between their finding of earthly motion and biblical scripture, and had therefore developed

960-520: The University of Prague, primarily applying his skills toward treatment of patients without any appreciable contributions to the field. Then in 1553, he was offered a position in mathematics at Vienna where he would travel to ultimately decline the appointment, instead relocating to Kraków in 1554 for the next 20 years as a practicing doctor. While there, he continued his work within mathematics and astronomy, further compiling his calculations of trigonomic functions with funding from Emperor Maximilian II with

1008-459: The aid of numerous assistants. The canon of Warmia Georg Donner and the bishop of Warmia Johannes Dantiscus were both patrons of Rheticus. Rheticus was also commissioned to make a staff for King Sigismund II of Poland, while he held a position as teacher in Kraków for many years. From there he went to Košice in the Kingdom of Hungary , where he died. For much of his life, Rheticus displayed

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1056-546: The best introduction to Copernicus' work, would he then give Rheticus further permission to edit and publish his work in full. In this, Rheticus would prove integral in utilizing previously forged social connections as well as strategically cultivating new ones just to bring it to publication. It was thus only because of this fortuitous meeting that the heliocentric theory, a concept that would still not be accepted for decades to come, would ultimately be brought to light. In September 1539, Rheticus went to Danzig (Gdańsk) to visit

1104-512: The book. The novel itself is less about Copernicus's work than about his life and the 16th century world in which he lived. The episode " Claudia " of the U.S. science fiction series Warehouse 13 references a teleportation device in the form of a compass said to have been built by Rheticus. Rheticus is referenced several times in the song "Like Rheticus" on the 2004 album Place by British songwriter Owen Tromans . Dava Sobel 's 2011 book A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized

1152-494: The castle and the village of Karlburg were destroyed in the Rieneck Feud. In 1244, winegrowing in Karlstadt was mentioned for the first time. From 1277 comes the earliest evidence of the town seal. In 1304, the town fortifications were finished. The parish of Karlstadt was first named in 1339. In 1369 a hospital was founded. Between 1370 and 1515, remodelling work was being done on the first, Romanesque parish church to turn it into

1200-615: The community, that was destroyed in the German Peasants' War in 1525. In 1202, Karlstadt itself was founded by Konrad von Querfurt, Bishop of Würzburg . The town was methodically laid out with a nearly rectangular plan to defend Würzburg territory against the Counts of Rieneck . The plan is still well preserved today. The streets in the old town are laid out much like a chessboard, but for military reasons they are not quite straight. In 1225, Karlstadt had its first documentary mention. In 1236,

1248-427: The domain of the mathematician. He was a priest , astronomer , astrologer , geographer , cosmographer , cartographer , mathematician , globe and scientific instrument maker and editor and publisher of scientific texts. In his own time he enjoyed a Europe-wide reputation as an innovative and influential globe maker and cosmographer and as one of the continent's leading and most authoritative astrologers. Today he

1296-458: The effort invested thus far, Copernicus had not finished a manuscript of his work, apparently choosing to not seek publication, presumably due to issues reconciling such findings with the historically held religious attitudes at the time. Eventually though, he would be swayed to allow Rheticus to author an abstract on his research despite being well aware of the criticism and controversy it could bring. Only following its reception, widely considered

1344-511: The exact time of sunrise, Rheticus made an instrument that determined the length of the day, and through this favor obtained from him a recommendation to Wittenberg that De revolutionibus be published. Albrecht asked Rheticus to end his travels and return to his teaching position. Rheticus returned to the University of Wittenberg in October 1541, then elected dean of the Faculty of Arts as well as joining

1392-839: The first professor of mathematics at the newly founded gymnasium Aegidianum , a post he held till one year prior to his death. At the same time, he converted to Protestantism and married. Already in Bamberg, he owned his own printing company and published many maps and globes . He produced the first ever printed celestial globe in his workshop in 1517, as a matching pair to his printed terrestrial globe from 1515. He made another globe in 1520. Schöner had also made still unpublished data of Mercury observations from Walther available to Copernicus, 45 observations in total, 14 of them with longitude and latitude. Copernicus used three of them in " De revolutionibus ", giving only longitudes, and falsely attributing them to Schöner. The values differed slightly from

1440-422: The hand computation of approximately 100,000 ratios to at least ten decimal places. When completed in 1596, the volume, Opus palatinum de triangulis, filled nearly 1,500 pages. Its tables were accurate enough to be used in astronomical computation into the early twentieth century. Rheticus narrates the third part of John Banville 's 1975 novel Doctor Copernicus , relating how he convinced Copernicus to publish

1488-400: The latter. By 1551, he would publish some of his work in mathematics, trigonometric tables containing all six functions defined directly in terms of right triangles instead of circles, the first of its kind. While serving in this position, he simultaneously pursued other scholarly interests such as releasing a calendar and ephemeris in 1552 as well as the subsequent year. Then in 1552, Rheticus

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1536-499: The left bank. Since the amalgamations in 1978, Karlstadt's Stadtteile have been Gambach, Heßlar, Karlburg, Karlstadt, Laudenbach , Mühlbach, Rohrbach, Stadelhofen, Stetten, and Wiesenfeld. From the late 6th to the mid-13th century, the settlement of Karlburg with its monastery and harbor was located on the west bank of the Main. It grew up around the Karlsburg, a castle perched high over

1584-583: The lower mathematics, arithmetic and astronomy, at the Wittenberg University. Two years later, Melanchthon arranged a two-year leave for Rheticus to study with noted astronomers. Leaving Wittenberg in October 1538, he first went to Nuremberg to visit the professor of mathematics at the Eigidien Oberschule, Johannes Schöner . In Nuremberg he also made the acquaintance of other mathematicians such as Georg Hartmann and Thomas Venatorius as well as

1632-444: The mayor, who gave him financial assistance to publish his Narratio Prima ( First Report ) of Copernicus' forthcoming treatise. Rhode in Danzig published Narratio Prima in 1540. Unexpectedly, it also contains a eulogy of Prussia. In it, the origins, flora, and fauna of the country are discussed as well as descriptions for several of its cities, regarding their commerce and history, demonstrating that his travels frequently served

1680-458: The ones published by Schöner in 1544. In 1538, Georg Joachim Rheticus , a young professor of mathematics at Wittenberg and former assistant of Copernicus, stayed for some time with Schöner who convinced him to visit Nicolaus Copernicus in Frauenburg . In 1540, Rheticus dedicated the first published report of Copernicus work, the Narratio prima , to Schöner, to test the waters of the reaction by

1728-510: The printer-publisher Johannes Petreius . During his journey, probably in Nuremberg, Rheticus heard of Copernicus and decided to seek him out. It is unknown whether he had access to Copernicus' Commentariolus , an unsigned, unpublished outline of Copernicus' revolutionary heliocentric theory that Copernicus distributed to friends and colleagues three decades before he published De revolutionibus , prior to this or perhaps on consulting Schöner who

1776-467: The recommendation of Joachim Camerarius in conjunction with Melanchthon was then appointed professor of higher mathematics at Leipzig. Rheticus ended up taking another leave of absence in 1545, departing for Italy although the specifics of his itinerary remain unknown. In 1546–47, he would suffer from some unspecified severe mental disorder in Lindau, but recovered enough to return to teaching at Constance towards

1824-528: The square in front of the town hall where they were burned, and the Jews living in the town were beaten. The mayor of Karlstadt is Michael Hombach (CSU), elected in 2020. The council is made up of 24 council members, excluding the mayor. (as of 2 March 2008) The town's coat of arms might be described thus: Quarterly, first and fourth azure, second and third argent a fleur-de-lis gules . The town's earliest seal, from 1277, showed an effigy of Charlemagne , who

1872-453: The theological faculty. In May 1542, he traveled to Nürnberg to supervise the printing by Johannes Petreius of the first edition of De revolutionibus in which he included tables of trigonometric functions he had calculated in further support of Copernicus' work, but had to leave in fall to take a position at the University of Leipzig, and Andreas Osiander replaced him. A theologian, Osiander would use this role to add an unauthorized preface in

1920-518: The town had a synagogue as early as the Middle Ages . The town's synagogue was destroyed on Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass, 9 November 1938) by Nazi SA men , SS , and Hitler Youth , as well as other local residents. Its destruction is recalled by a plaque at the synagogue's former site. The homes of Jewish residents were attacked as well, the possessions therein were looted or brought to

1968-721: The town once belonged. The fleurs-de-lis were added in the early 19th century, and they refer to Charlemagne. Local industry includes Düker Ironworks, the Schwenk Cement Works, and the Kohl Wood Veneer Factory. Besides these three large industrial plants, many handicraft businesses have also set up shop in Karlstadt. Another big employer is the Main-Spessart Landratsamt (district administration). Many inhabitants commute to Würzburg , 25 km away, or Lohr am Main , 18 km away. Winegrowing has only

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2016-407: The town physician as well as a government official. He was educated by his father until the age of 14 when Georg (Iserin) abused the trust of many of his patients, stealing belongings and money from their homes. In 1528 he was convicted and executed for his crimes, and as a result his family was stripped of their surname . The family adopted the mother's maiden name: de Porris. Later as a student at

2064-495: The word trigonometry was not yet coined). This pamphlet was to be an introduction to Rheticus' greatest work, a full set of tables to be used in angular astronomical measurements. At his death, the Science of Triangles was still unfinished. However, paralleling his own relationship with Copernicus, Rheticus had acquired a student from Wittenberg who sought him out. Valentinus Otho , devoted to completing his teacher's work, oversaw

2112-662: Was a mathematician , astronomer , cartographer , navigational-instrument maker, medical practitioner, and teacher. He is perhaps best known for his trigonometric tables and as Nicolaus Copernicus 's sole pupil. He facilitated the publication of his master's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ( On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres ). Rheticus was born at Feldkirch in the Archduchy of Austria . Both his parents, Georg Iserin and Thomasina de Porris, were of Italian heritage and possessed considerable wealth, his father being

2160-633: Was appointed to a position in the school in Gemünden on 22 February 1499 and ordained as a Catholic priest in the Bishopric of Bamberg on 13 June 1500. On 2 February 1500 he moved to Bamberg and was appointed chaplain in Hallstatt near Bamberg on 18 April 1500. His next appointment was as vicar in his hometown Karlstadt from 4 June 1504. Between 4 May and 29 October 1506 he was again in Bamberg before he returned to Karlstadt. His diary also informs us that he entered

2208-496: Was found guilty of raping the son of Hans Meusel, a merchant, though the exact nature of this encounter has been called into question. According to Meusel, Rheticus "plied him with a strong drink, until he was inebriated; and finally did with violence overcome him and practice upon him the shameful and cruel vice of sodomy". He fled following this accusation, for a time residing in Chemnitz before eventually moving on to Prague. Rheticus

2256-503: Was then found guilty in his trial in absentia and consequently exiled from Leipzig for 101 years as well as having his possessions impounded. As a result, he would come to lose the support of many long-time benefactors including Melanchthon. Often overshadowed by the facilitative role he played in Copernicus' publications, Rheticus would continue to pursue other scientific endeavors following his exile. 1551–52 found him studying medicine at

2304-426: Was written in terms meant to be readily comprehensible to a wide audience: It borrows a kind of discourse, a habit of speech, and a method of teaching from popular usage. While relying heavily upon citations to appease religious authorities, Rheticus may have nevertheless refrained from publishing the work in his life in order to avoid angering more conservative Protestants such as Melanchthon . In 1542, Rheticus on

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