Broader and wider perspectives with three talks on the modern understanding of the universe, its formation, the notion of entropy on the one hand, and the solar system on the other. We then move back to the Middle Ages, and two aspects that tie together the very different ways in which the workings of the universe were perceived and recorded. These are alchemy (which sits with astronomy and astrology as the study of operations influenced by the planets in particular), and colour, especially as expressed in medieval manuscripts. Walker Christian and Ana Dias will take you through these subjects.
Modern Understandings of the Universe: First we have three lectures, two by Professor Richard Bower of Durham University’s Institute of Computational Cosmology. Richard compares the medieval universe, as expounded by Grosseteste in his treatise On Light which deals with the creation of the universe from a single point of light, and the formation of the nested spheres associated with the fixed stars and planets. This is the universe of On the Sphere but from a different angle as it were.
Wonders of the Universe: Tom McLeish takes us on a tour of the solar system, the planets, and their moons – further than Grosseteste could see, in a level of detail which is extraordinary.
Medieval Notions of Colour: The survival of books, documents, and artefacts of all sorts from the medieval period is remarkable in its own right; how manuscripts were conceived and produced is no less remarkable. Here, Ana Dias leads us through medieval thinking about colour, with some stunning examples.
Medieval Alchemy: Walker Christian explores the world of medieval alchemy – perhaps, alongside astrology, one of the ancient and medieval disciplines most misunderstood in popular versions of the period. Here, the complexity of the alchemical system, its connection to cosmology, its long cultural roots, and its varied purposes and practices, will tell a different story to that with which you are, perhaps, most familiar.