Contemporary science has its roots in the work of medieval Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars who set about translating ancient texts with a view to preserving and passing on the precious knowledge they contained. A new touring exhibition by the Austrian National Library focuses on this heritage. As the organisers say, the significance of this transfer of knowledge cannot be overstated.
By Fabian Schmidt Sun, moon and stars: the illustration above was produced in Prague between 1392 and 1394, roughly a century before Copernicus discovered that the Earth moves around the sun and our planet is not the centre of the universe,
Universal knowledge: this illustration is taken from a book that was produced in what is now Hesse in Germany in 1370. It depicts twelve masters beneath the heavens.
As indicated by their headdresses, each master represents one of the great cultures of the time – from Orient to Occident,Great minds think alike: although the similarities to the previous astrolabe are striking,,,,
