Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.52685/pihfb.50.1(99).1
Astronomical tables (ephemerides) in the Zadar calendar of saint Krševan (1322)
Dragan Roša
; Zagreb Astronomical Observatory, Zagreb, Croatia
Maksim Klarin
; Zagreb Astronomical Observatory, Zagreb, Croatia
Marijana Borić
; Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Croatia
Damir Hržina
; Zagreb Astronomical Observatory, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The manuscript we call the Zadar Calendar of Saint Krševan is the oldest known astronomical text created in the Croatian territories during the Middle Ages. It is the first written document in Croatian that provides the ephemeris of the Sun and the Moon, and the first text in Croatian that uses Arabic numerals, which is an early example of their application since they were only gradually introduced into Western European practice in that period. The manuscript was created in the scriptorium of the Benedictine monastery of St. Krševan in 1322, and today it is kept in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The calendar provides astronomical, computer, ephemeris, liturgical, astrological, alchemical, and historical data. Based on the previous research results of the Zadar Calendar of St. Krševan research, this paper presents its various contents and interprets them in the context of the development of science and the time in which they were created. Special attention is paid to the processing of the ephemeris data that the calendar provides, since their analysis provides an exact answer to key questions and doubts regarding the place and time of creation of this valuable calendar. Compared to previous research, the processing of ephemeris data related to the position of the Sun on the celestial sphere has been extended. Based on these new analyses, it is not only possible to find out the exact latitude of the places to which the ephemeris refers, but we can also judge the accuracy of the ephemeris data and verify the authenticity of the period of their creation.
Keywords
Zadar calendar from the Benedictine monastery of St. Krševan; astronomical ephemerides; history of astronomy; computus; astrology; Arabic numerals
Hrčak ID:
318155
URI
Publication date:
18.6.2024.
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