John of Tynemouth (geometer)

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.[1]

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.[1]

Certain stylistic choices in De curvis suggest that John was also responsible for a number of other works:[2]

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.[1]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Knorr "Tynemouth, John of (fl. early 13th cent.) also including John of Tynemouth (d. 1221)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. ^ Edited in Clagett, Marshall (1984). Archimedes in the middle ages, quasi-archimedean geometry in the thirteenth century. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. ISBN 0871691574.
  3. ^ Busard, H. L. L. (1980). "Der Traktat De isoperimetris, der unmittelbar aus dem Griechischen ins Lateinische versetzt worden ist". Mediaeval Studies. 42: 61–88. doi:10.1484/J.MS.2.306255.
  4. ^ Knorr, Wilbur R. (1990). "Paraphrase Editions of Latin Mathematical Texts: De figuris ysoperimetris". Mediaeval Studies. 52: 132–189. doi:10.1484/J.MS.2.306377.

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Further reading

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