Sammelband of Four Works Regarding Gregorian Calendar Reform
Alterum Examen Novi Pontificalis Gregoriani Kalendarii.
Tubingen: Apud Georgium Gruppenbachium, 1586.
Full Description:
MAESTLIN, Michael. Alterum Examen Novi Pontificalis Gregoriani Kalendarii... Tubingen: Apud Georgium Gruppenbachium, 1586.
First edition. Quarto (7 3/4 x 6 inches' 195 x 150 mm). [4], 66, [1, To the reader], [1, blank] pp. Maestlin's "Second Examination of the New Pontifical Gregorian Calendar." With numerous charts in the text. Woodcut initial and woodcut vignette on title-page. We could find no other copies at auction on Rare Book Hub and we could locate only one copy in the US at the Huntington. A small ink stain to top margin of a few leaves. Overall very good. Adams M84
[bound with]:
BUSAEUS [BUYS], Johannes. Pro Calendario Gregoriano Disputatio Apologetica. A Ioanne Busæo Societatis Iesu ... opposita et in Academia Moguntina anno m.d.lxxxv. Ad iii. Idus Martias publice? proposita, respondente pro prima laurea theologia consequenda, M. Petro Roestio Noviomagio. Mainz: Ex officina Gasparis Behem, 1585.
First edition. Buys "An Ppologetic Debate in Favor of the Gregorian Calendar." Quarto. 40 leaves. Title within a woodcut border. Verso of title-page with woodcut. Historiated initials. We could only find 3 other copies at auction on Rare Book Hub. Previous owner's early ink inscriptions dated 1666 on title-page. Very good.
[and]:
WOLF, Heinrich. Chronologia sive de Tempore et eius Mutationibus ecclesiasticis tractatio theologica : libris duobus comprehensa. Zurich: In officina Froschoviana, 1585.
First edition. Wolf's "Chronology, or a Theological Treatise on Time and its Ecclesiastical Changes, in two books." Quarto. [10], 156, [1], [1, errata], [2, blank ]pp. With four large folding woodcuts comprising the components of unconstructed volvelles bound between this work and the Maestlin. The copy at the Smithsonian mentions four folded pages of plates in their copy, so these presumably go with with this title. Text chiefly in Latin, with some brief Greek and Hebrew passages. We could find no copies on at auction on Rare Book Hub. Adams W230
[MAESTLIN, Michael]. [OSANDER, Lucas], et alia, Notwendige und grundtliche Bedenckhen. Heidelberg: Johann Spies, 1584.
First edition. Octavo. [8], 174 leaves. Lacking final blank. Title-page printed in red and black. Text in German. A very rare astronomical-calendrical compendium featuring contributions by Michael Maestlinus, Lucas Osiander, Tobias Moller, and L. Flor. Plieninger. We could only find one copy at auction on Rare Book Hub.
Four works bound together in one quarto volume. Full contemporary German blind-tooled vellum over wooden beveled boards. Spine with paper label, lettered in ink. With brass clasps and catches, fully intact. Central panel of front board has been neatly excised, exposing the wood. Previous owner's bookplate on front pastedown. Early ink manuscript to front pastedown. Some soiling and rubbing to binding. Overall a very good copy.
On 24 February 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued a Bull, inter gravissimas, initiating the reform of the Julian Calendar. Whilst the new Gregorian Calendar was adopted by the majority of Catholic states, it was rejected by most Protestant states. "The Gregorian reform took place during the time when the long-standing geocentric models of the solar system were being increasingly challenged." (The Pontifical Academy of Sciences).
"The Julian calendar, named for Julius Caesar, was established in the year 46 b.c., and was used subsequently throughout Europe. This calendar corrected the errors that had accumulated, used 365 days per year, and added one extra day every four years (the leap year). Under this scheme, the year was assumed to have 365.25 days. Although this is very close to the true number of 365.2422, even this small difference would amount to an appreciable error over a few centuries. This error was eventually recognized during the Middle Ages. The most recognizable problem with the calendar was that the vernal (spring) equinox, a phenomenon that could be observed by a trained astronomer, was falling a few days before the traditional date of March 21... ut in the last quarter of the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII brought together a commission of clergy, mathematicians, and astronomers to reform the calendar. That reform would bear his name: the Gregorian reform... The reform was set into effect by a papal bull- an official document of the office of the Pope- entitled Inter gravissimas. In addition, a document summarizing the reform, the Compendium of the New Plan for Restoring the Calendar, had been produced and sent to various universities to inform scholars of the changes that would take place. The reform, however, was not adopted uniformly throughout Europe. Catholic countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Poland adopted the reform immediately in 1582. Catholic regions of France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, adopted the reform within the next two years... Why was it that the reform was not universally embraced when it was originally mandated in 1582? Influenced by the Protestant Reformation, which had been underway for a number of decades, numerous Protestant rulers throughout Europe did not wish to adopt a reform dictated by the Roman Catholic Church. There was little scientific objection to the reform, as the modification of leap years accomplished the basic task of reconciling the incommensurability of the length of the day and year, while the scheme of epacts was an effective way to establish the date of Easter. Objections were most often framed in political terms stating that the Pope had no authority to enact a reform. This would remain a sticking point for a number of decades... Some prominent scientists, such as J. Scaliger and Michael Mästlin, did pose idiosyncratic objections to the reform, usually based on simplifications of astronomical calculations that the reform utilized." (Encyclopedia dot com).
Michael Maestlin was a German astronomer who taught astronomy at the University of Tübingen, in southwestern Germany. "In the 50 years that had passed since Copernicus proposed that the earth is a planet and moves around the sun, very few astronomers had fully adopted the Copernican hypothesis--just ten, to be precise. Maestlin was one of those ten. In 1591, Maestlin encountered a young theology student at Tübingen named Johannes Kepler, to whom he passed on his enthusiasm for the heliocentric system. Kepler, not yet 21 years old, took to it immediately, as often happens when the young are exposed to revolutionary ideas, and became the next member of the "ten."" (Linda Hall Library).
"Not many astronomers reacted to the reform in anything like a critical way, and when they did so, we find that their objective criticisms were often colored by personal reasons arising from their different religious and metaphysical positions. Consequently the reaction of astronomers was not uniform. With few exceptions, none had an entirely negative reaction... There were those who opposed the reform for personal reasons or on general principles like the theologians Lucas Osiander (1534-1604) and Jacobus Heerbrand (1521-1600), and the astronomers Michael Maestlin (1550-1631) and Tobias Moller (2nd half 16th c.); but there were also supporters who, nevertheless, presented suggestions for changes. Maestlin was the only astronomer to protest on general principles." (H. M. Nobis. "The Reaction of Astronomers to the Gregorian Calendar - The Calendar.")
HBS 69597.
$8,500.
Price: $8,500.00
Item #69597