Symbol Infancy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Mazur
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Symbolic Manipulation ◽  
Arithmetic Operations ◽  
Symbolic Algebra ◽  
First Approximation

This chapter discusses the evolution of symbolic algebra that began in the first half of the sixteenth century. Algebra was not always called algebra. In the mid-fifteenth century some Italian and Latin writers called it Regula rei e census. The twentieth-century mathematician and science fiction author Eric Temple Bell allegedly remarked that in the mid-seventeenth century, mathematicians were able to introduce negative and rational exponents because symbolic manipulation liberated their thinking from the wilderness of words. The chapter considers the contributions of the Arab algebraist al-Qalasādi, who used letters of the Arabic alphabet to denote arithmetic operations and whose notation was clearly an attempt at symbolizing algebra through abbreviations, a first approximation to what we would consider true symbols. It also examines how Italy cultivated the seeds of algebra, citing in particular Gerolamo Cardano's Ars Magna.

scholarly journals U traganju za povijesnim, kulturnim i umjetničkim identitetom umjetnika Schiavona: crtice iz povijesti njihove recepcije u 16. i 17. stoljeću

Ars Adriatica ◽  
2014 ◽  
pp. 313
Author(s):  
Ivana Prijatelj Pavičić
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
Giorgio Vasari ◽  
Late Fifteenth

The author of the paper demonstrates how sixteenth- and seventeenth-century historiography applied a number of identity stereotypes which were linked to the Slavs, Dalmatians, Illyrians, Morlachs, and Croats in contemporary literature and scholarship to three well-known Schiavoni artists: Andrea Meldola (Andrija Medulić), Niccoló dell’Arca and Giulio Clovio (Julije Klović). For example, the qualifier ‘barbaric’, used to denote the work of Niccoló dell’Arca in sixteenth-century historiography from Bologna, represents one of the stereotypical characteristics about the Schiavoni which were frequent at the time.The first part of the article focuses on sixteenth-century interpretations of the Croatian and Macedonian identity (origin) of the famous painter of miniatures, Giulio Clovio (Julije Klović) in the works of his contemporaries such as Giorgio Vasari and Francisco de Holanda, followed by those in the nineteenth- and twentieth-century works of Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski, Ivan Golub and Milan Pelc. Particular attention is given to the currently prevailing hypothesis that the Macedonian origin of Giulio Clovio (Julije Klović) might have been invented with the aim of testifying to his artistic and ancestral rootedness in the classical world.The second part of the article deals with records about Andrea Meldola and Niccoló dell’Arca in the writings of Italian historiographers Girolamo Borselli, Cherubino Cherardacci, Carlo Ridolfi and Marco Boschini, all of whom tried to interpret specific stylistic features in the works of these two artists as a consequence of what one can call their genotype and phenotype. The author of the article draws particular attention to the appearance of the ideologeme concerning the barbaric character of Niccoló dell’Arca in the records of Girolamo Borselli (late fifteenth century) and Cherubino Cherardacci (sixteenth century).

scholarly journals “Turkish” Textiles in South-Eastern and East-Central Europe in the Early Modern Period: The Evidence of Transylvanian Customs Accounts

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 363-382
Author(s):  
Mária Pakucs-Willcocks
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Serial Data

Abstract This paper analyzes data from customs accounts in Transylvania from the middle of the sixteenth century to the end of the seventeenth on traffic in textiles and textile products from the Ottoman Empire. Cotton was known and commercialized in Transylvania from the fifteenth century; serial data will show that traffic in Ottoman cotton and silk textiles as well as in textile objects such as carpets grew considerably during the second half of the seventeenth century. Customs registers from that period also indicate that Poland and Hungary were destinations for Ottoman imports, but Transylvania was a consumer’s market for cotton textiles.

scholarly journals Life under another Sun: From Science Fiction to Science

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-39
Author(s):  
Michaël Gillon
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Major Theme ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Copernican Revolution ◽  
The Universe

Initiated in the sixteenth century, the Copernican revolution toppled our Earth from its theological pedestal, revealing it not to be the centre of everything but a planet among several others in orbit around one of the zillions of stars of our Universe. Already proposed by some philosophers at the dawn of this major paradigm shift, the existence of exoplanets, i.e. planets in orbit around stars other than our Sun, remained suspected but unconfirmed for centuries. It is only in the last decade of the twentieth century that the first of these extrasolar worlds were found. Their seminal discoveries initiated the development of more and more ambitious projects that led eventually to the detection of thousands of exoplanets, including a few dozen potentially habitable ones, i.e. terrestrial exoplanets that could harbour large amounts of liquid water – and maybe life – on their surfaces. Upcoming astronomical facilities will soon be able to probe the atmospheric compositions of some of these extrasolar worlds, maybe performing in the process the historical detection of chemical signs of life light-years away. But while the existence of extraterrestrial life remains pure speculation for now, it has been a major theme of science fiction for more than a century. By creating countless stories of encounters between humans and alien forms of life, science-fiction authors have pursued, in a sense, the Copernican revolution, confronting us with the idea that not only could life be widespread in the Universe, but also that our species may be far from the Cosmic pinnacle in matters of intelligence and technological development.

The Date and Significance of the Imbangala Invasion of Angola

1965 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Birmingham
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
African History ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Late Fifteenth

The study of Central African history is still in its infancy. Valuable indications can, however, be obtained by combining the study of oral traditions with that of Portuguese documentary evidence for events taking place near the coasts. It has long been known, for instance, that the overthrow of the powerful Songye rulers of the Luba country indirectly caused long-distance migrations, one of which, that of the Imbangala, came into contact with the Portuguese in Angola. Previous analyses of this migration have suggested that it culminated in the early seventeenth century. In this paper an attempt has been made to show that the Imbangala arrived in Angola much earlier, probably by the mid sixteenth century and certainly before 1575. This date indicates that the Luba invasion of Lunda, which was the direct cause of the migration, probably took place in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Finally, it has been tentatively suggested that the overthrow of Songye rule and the establishment of a new, expansionist Luba empire might have taken place as much as a century earlier, from the fourteenth to the fifteenth century.

scholarly journals Renaissance Anatomy: The Path from Ars to Scientia with a Focus on Anatomical Works of Johannes Jessenius

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-115
Author(s):  
Tomáš Nejeschleba
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Andreas Vesalius ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
University Of Padua ◽  
The University

Johannes Jessenius (1566–1621) became known by his contemporaries mostly as an exponent of the Italian anatomical Renaissance in Central Europe at the end of the sixteenth and at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The image of Jessenius in the twentieth century was also created with respect to his activities in the area of anatomy in Wittenberg and Prague in particular. The aim of this article is to put Jessenius into the context of the development of anatomy in the sixteenth century. An important point in this progression can be seen in the change of the definition of anatomy from the art (ars) of dis- secting bodies and a “method” of instructing students to the way of acquiring knowledge (scientiaa) of bodies and nature. The crucial role in this process played anatomical writings of the second half of the 16th century and the development seems to be connected with methodological discussions at the University of Padua. Jessenius, in his anatomical writings, primarily followed the Paduan anatomist Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), whose work De humani corporis fabrica (1543) expresses the fundamental change in Renaissance anatomy. In addition, the methodological background of the anatomical Renaissance, which Jessenius became acquainted with during his studies in Padua, also echoes in Jessenius’ works.

Fantasy Worlds

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward James
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Turn Of The Millennium ◽  
Major Point ◽  
Point Of Interest ◽  
Fantasy Novels ◽  
The Way

This chapter focuses on Bujold's fantasy novels. Since the turn of the millennium Bujold has produced seven fantasy novels and just three science fiction novels. Her first fantasy novel was The Spirit Ring (1992), inspired by Agricola's treatise on metallurgy and the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, both written in the mid-sixteenth century. Her next fantasy venture was the Chalion trilogy (2001–2005), modeled on fifteenth-century Europe. Chalion is a disorienting version of Castile, in the generation before a queen of Castille set about the unification of Spain through a marriage alliance. With many fantasy novels, the way the author has developed a unique magical system is often the major point of interest; with Chalion, however, it is Bujold's imaginative theological system that sets it apart from its rivals: Chalion and its neighbors worship five gods who form a family.

Wangara, Akan and Portuguese in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. I. The matter of Bitu

1982 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivor Wilks
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The World ◽  
Early Modern Times ◽  
Late Fifteenth

In late medieval and early modern times West Africa was one of the principal suppliers of gold to the world bullion market. In this context the Matter of Bitu is one of much importance. Bitu lay on the frontiers of the Malian world and was one of its most flourishing gold marts. So much is clear from sixteenth- and seventeenth-century writings, both African and European. A review of this body of evidence indicates that the gold trade at Bitu was controlled by the Wangara, who played a central role in organizing trade between the Akan goldfields and the towns of the Western Sudan. It is shown that Bitu cannot be other than Bighu (Begho, Bew, etc.), the abandoned Wangara town lying on the northwestern fringes of the Akan forest country, which is known (from excavation) to have flourished in the relevant period. In the late fifteenth century the Portuguese established posts on the southern shores of the Akan country, so challenging the monopolistic position which the Wangara had hitherto enjoyed in the gold trade. The Portuguese sent envoys to Mali, presumably to negotiate trade agreements. The bid was apparently unsuccessful. The struggle for the Akan trade in the sixteenth century between Portuguese and Malian interests will be treated in the second part of this paper.

A new view of medieval Persian history

1989 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-121
Author(s):  
J. M. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Conspicuous Feature ◽  
Ottoman History ◽  
The Right ◽  
As If ◽  
New View

A conspicuous feature of Ottoman history from the sixteenth century onwards, or even of fifteenth-century Mamluk Egypt, is that the mass of surviving administrative documents, well complemented by European sources, makes it possible to apply a range of economic and social concepts to illuminate their economy and society. For Persia the documents are far fewer and, even where, as in seventeenth-century Iṣfahān, the extant Safavid documents are exceptionally well complemented by European source material, doubts, often of a Marxian or Braudelian order, on the legitimacy of applying European concepts to Persian society are often entertained. In other periods the paucity of material is compounded by ethnic diversity – tribal versus settled populations; Turks versus Iranians or Iranians versus Turco-Mongols, all with deeply rooted authentic traditions – which is rarely documented, let alone explained, by the contemporary historians. It is almost as if the right kind of anthropologist could do more than the historian to exploit what material there is.

Introduction: The Ottoman Empire and its Frontiers

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. S. PEACOCK
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Middle Ages

Stretching across Europe, Asia and Africa for half a millennium bridging the end of the Middle Ages and the early twentieth century, the Ottoman Empire was one of the major forces that forged the modern world. The chapters in this book focus on four key themes: frontier fortifications, the administration of the frontier, frontier society and relations between rulers and ruled, and the economy of the frontier. Through snapshots of aspects of Ottoman frontier policies in such diverse times and places as fifteenth-century Anatolia, seventeenth-century Hungary, nineteenth-century Iraq or twentieth-century Jordan, the book provides a richer picture than hitherto available of how this complex empire coped with the challenge of administering and defending disparate territories in an age of comparatively primitive communications. By way of introduction, this chapter seeks to provide an overview of these four themes in the history of Ottoman frontiers.

Does Analogy Work in Demonstration?

2021 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-60
Author(s):  
Domenic D’Ettore ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Jacques Maritain

Thomas de Vio Cajetan produced a highly influential Thomistic treatise on analogy entitled De nominum analogia. The merits of this work have been contested since the sixteenth century. Notable twentieth-century Thomists who adopted many of the teachings of De nominum analogia include Jacques Maritain and Yves Simon. Joshua Hochschild’s The Semantics of Analogy highlighted the significance of chapter ten, where Cajetan applies his theory to resolve the problem of demonstrations that use analogous terms, with the explicit purpose of addressing a serious challenge from Scotists regarding the use of analogy in metaphysics. This paper examines the criticism of Cajetan’s way of using analogous terms in demonstrations by the seventeenth-century Franciscan Scotist Bartolomeo Mastri. It shows how the Thomist differs from the Scotist and analyzes these rival positions.

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