Introduction
editConrad Tockler was born in Nuremberg, Germany to a wealthy family.[1] Coming from an affluent family, Tockler was able to attend Leipzig University at age 13.[1]
Works
editHe was the author of many almanacs in German.[1] These almanacs' main purpose was to explain the dates of the important ceremonial festivals.[1] Another purpose of these books was to help individuals make decisions about their well-being, such as through bloodletting, which was a common practice.[1] Bloodletting was bleeding an individual to increase their wellness.[2] The books show that there were decisions for every day.[1] He wrote a 1507 almanac for Leipzig that explained how to read an almanac.[1] It included a legend.[1] Every day of 1507 had a corresponding symbol in this almanac.[1] There was a symbol for each phase of the moon as well as for a no or moderate amount of recommended bloodletting for each day.[1] The almanac was published in other languages, such as Czech.[1] This action most likely happened because numerous immigrants spoke Czech.[1] Therefore, at first, it was difficult for many of these Czechs to live in Germany. Nevertheless, their language spread very well. Additionally, Tockler's almanacs were written in Latin.[1] This showed that his almanacs were wanted by so many readers. Tockler's 1511 almanac in Latin has a very detailed legend, which showed that he was more knowledgeable than before.[1] It was obvious that his almanacs were very impactful to their readers. However, it was mostly likely that some of these almanacs were demolished.[1] It is also likely that their paper was used for other purposes.[1] Because he helped produce similar types of works, he had good status in Leipzig, which was the highest between 1503 and 1514.[1] His works showed that he was very intellectual because they included mathematics and astronomy.[1] Including mathematics, it is highly probable that Tockler believed that he was mainly intellectual in medicine and astrology because he focused on them in many of his works.[1] Later, it was clearly shown, such as by his almanacs, that his favorite field was astrological medicine.[1] Tockler made a commentary on Perspectiva communis.[1] This book, written by John Peckham, was about optics.[1] Tockler's commentary included diagrams that he colored.[1] He used Iamblichus Platonicus's studies on optics to guide his commentary.[1] Sometime later, Tockler published two textbooks, which were about arithmetic.[1] Arithmetic changed a lot in the late Middle Ages.[1] Tockler's textbooks helped introduce the number theory.[1] The number theory was taught by many universities.[1] Even today, a lot of universities teach it.[1] Therefore, Tockler played an important role.
Teaching
editEven though music was not considered as intellectual as these other subjects, Tockler decided to still teach it for the first couple of years.[1] For ½ or ¾ of a year, he taught geometry to his students.[1] Additionally, he taught common perspectives for 12 to 14 weeks, and he taught music for 3 to 4 weeks.[1] He taught astronomy, including cosmology, for 5 to 6 weeks, and he taught arithmetic for 3 to 4 weeks.[1] Almost every semester, Tockler talked to his students about Euclid’s works.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah Valleriani, Matteo; Citron, Nana (2020), Valleriani, Matteo (ed.), "Conrad Tockler's Research Agenda", De sphaera of Johannes de Sacrobosco in the Early Modern Period, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 111–136, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-30833-9_5, ISBN 978-3-030-30832-2, retrieved 2023-04-29
- ^ "The Long, Respected History of Bloodletting". Duke Today. Retrieved 2023-04-29.