Here we present Grosseteste’s treatise On the Sphere in the Ordered Universe translation, made and prepared by Sigbjørn Sønnesyn, based on the current critical edition, taken from the second volume of Grosseteste’s Scientific Works – Mapping the Universe. The translation represents a considerable amount of work and time, and expertise, to render both Grosseteste’s meaning but also a readable text. The text has a clear structure, but this is the medieval universe (based on ancient Greek and medieval Islamicate models). There are no telescopes, certainly no satellites, so this is looking up and out at the universe from earth. Enjoy the text – and we have something else for you below.
The second part of this material is a weblink to a model of Grosseteste’s On the Sphere created by Jack Smith, together with Clive Siviour, Hannah Smithson, and Tom McLeish of the University of York, with additional help from Giles Gasper and Sigbjørn Sønnesyn. More detail on how to use the model is provided in Mapping the Universe and uploaded here.
The model presents the treatise in a simulated form – which may make it easier to visualise what he describes in words in his treatise. And this is a model that you can manipulate too – find out about trepidation, the (medieval) movements of the sun, the zodiac and so on. Take a tour of the medieval cosmos!
