John of Tynemouth (geometer)
{{Other uses|John of Tynemouth (disambiguation){{!}}John of Tynemouth}}
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{{short description|13th-century English mathematician}}
John of Tynemouth was a 13th-century mathematician and geometer.
Little is known of John's background, but he authored De curvis superficiebus or Liber de curvis superficiebus Archimenidis, a tract about Archimedes' measurements of spheres. This is an important work in the history of medieval geometry, as it helped transmit Archimedes' ideas to other medieval scholars. The work itself follows closely Archimedes' own reasoning, but with enough differences to lead modern historians to believe that John's work was dependent on a Greek text from late antiquity.Knorr "Tynemouth, John of (fl. early 13th cent.) also including John of Tynemouth (d. 1221)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
De curvis survives in over 12 manuscripts, and was used by a number of other medieval scholars, including Robert Grosseteste, Jordanus de Nemore, Gerard of Brussels, and Roger Bacon.
Certain stylistic choices in De curvis suggest that John was also responsible for a number of other works:Edited in {{cite book|last1=Clagett|first1=Marshall|title=Archimedes in the middle ages, quasi-archimedean geometry in the thirteenth century|date=1984|publisher=American Philosophical Society|location=Philadelphia|isbn=0871691574}}
- De circulo quadrando, a revision of another of Archimedes' works, the De quadratura circuli, which is now in Florence at the Biblioteca Nazionale;
- De quadratura circuli;
- De figuris isoperimetris, now in Oxford University's Bodleian Library as manuscript Digby 174;{{cite journal|last1=Busard|first1=H. L. L.|title=Der Traktat De isoperimetris, der unmittelbar aus dem Griechischen ins Lateinische versetzt worden ist|journal=Mediaeval Studies|date=1980|volume=42|pages=61–88|doi=10.1484/J.MS.2.306255}}{{cite journal|last1=Knorr|first1=Wilbur R.|title=Paraphrase Editions of Latin Mathematical Texts: De figuris ysoperimetris|journal=Mediaeval Studies|date=1990|volume=52|pages=132–189|doi=10.1484/J.MS.2.306377}}
- a paraphrase of Euclid's Elementa from the translation of Adelard of Bath, later cited by Roger Bacon;
- Quaelibet media proportionalia.
Knorr, writing in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, considers that John of Tynemouth (geometer) may be the same person as John of Tynemouth (canon lawyer). Knorr regards this as possible, but unlikely.
Citations
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References
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- {{cite encyclopedia |author= Knorr, Wilbur R. |title=Tynemouth, John of (fl. early 13th cent.) also including John of Tynemouth (d. 1221)|encyclopedia= Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher= Oxford University Press|year= 2004 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/52685|format=fee required| accessdate=8 January 2011}} {{ODNBsub}}
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Further reading
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- {{cite journal |author=Clagett, M. |title=The Medieval Latin Translations from the Arabic of the Elements of Euclid, with Special Emphasis on the Versions of Adelard of Bath|journal=Isis |volume=44 |year=1953 |pages=16–42 |doi=10.1086/348186|s2cid=144041493 }}
- {{cite journal |author=Knorr, W. R. |title=John of Tynemouth, alis John of London: Emerging Portrait of a Singular Medieval Mathematician|journal=British Journal for the History of Science |volume=23 |year=1990 |issue=3 |pages=293–330 |doi=10.1017/s0007087400044009|s2cid=144172844 }}
- {{cite journal |author=Knorr, W. R. |title=On a Medieval Circle Quadrature: De Circulo Quadrando |journal=Historia Mathematica |volume=18 |year=1991 |issue=2 |pages=107–128 |doi=10.1016/0315-0860(91)90495-j|doi-access=free }}
- {{cite journal |author=Knorr, W. R. |title=Paraphrase Editions of Latin Mathematical Texts: De Figuris Ysopherimetris |journal = Mediaeval Studies |volume=52 |year=1990 |pages=132–189|doi=10.1484/J.MS.2.306377 }}
- {{cite book |author=Knorr, W. R. |title=Textual Studies in Ancient and Medieval Geometry |url=https://archive.org/details/textualstudiesin0000knor |url-access=registration |year=1989 }}
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Category:13th-century writers in Latin