Christian Wurstisen ( la, Christianus Urstisius) (23 December 1544 – 29 March 1588) was a

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, theologician,

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

from

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

. His name is also given as ''Wursteisen, Wurzticius, Ursticius, Urstisius'', or ''Urstis''.

Life

In 1565, he became professor of mathematics at the

Basel University The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universitie ...

, and in 1585 professor of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. The next year, the city

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

appointed him to the

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

as a town

, a position he held until his death. He was buried in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

. The second edition of

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...

De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ''De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'' (English translation: ''On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres'') is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) of the Polish Renaissance. The book, ...

had been printed in Basel. Wurstisen is credited to have first introduced Copernicus' work to

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

, while Galilei's adoption of heliocentrism was often attributed to

Michael Maestlin Michael Maestlin (also Mästlin, Möstlin, or Moestlin) (30 September 1550 – 26 October 1631) was a German astronomer and mathematician, known for being the mentor of Johannes Kepler. He was a student of Philipp Apian and was known as the teac ...

. Christian Wurstisen is mentioned by name in Galileo's ''Dialogue''. This attribution has been challenged, however, and another similarly named man,

Christopher Wursteisen The ''Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems'' (''Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo'') is a 1632 Italian-language book by Galileo Galilei comparing the Copernican system with the traditional Ptolemaic system. It was transl ...

, has been credited with introducing Copernicus's theories to Padua. His mathematical book ''Elementa arithmeticae'' was read by

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

and the Hungarian philosopher Andreas Dudith. In his chronicle of Basel from 1580, Wurstisen named the

heraldic tinctures Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

after the initials of the given colours, a principle called

tricking Tricking is a method for indicating the tinctures (colours) used in a coat of arms by means of text abbreviations written directly on the illustration. Tricking and hatching are the two primary methods employed in the system of heraldry to show c ...

. Painter

Gregorius Sickinger Gregorius Sickinger (1558–1631) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman, and engraver. Sickinger was born in Solothurn. He had 5 brothers and sisters, and was re-married after the death of his first wife. Sickinger worked primarily with woodcuts oft ...

(1558-?) from

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...

illustrated it.''Wurstisen, Christian, 1544-1628. Bassler Chronik darinn alles was in oberen Teutsche Landen/ nicht nur in der Stadt und Bistumbe Basel....'', 1. Auflage 1 Band. Basel Henric Petri um 1580 4° 655 Seiten, und vielen Textholzschnitten, Titelholzschnitt von T.Stimmer. Einband in Blindprägedruck der Zeit mit Buchschliessen. Vorsatzpapier eingefügt, einige Seiten hinterlegt, letze Seiten Wurmlöcher. Textholzschnitt und Titelholzschnitt mit Besitzervermerk. Erstausgabe der ersten gedruckten Basler Chronik, komplett mit der seltenen auf drei Teilen abgezogenen Karte von Christian Wursteisen (1544-1588). In zehnjähriger, eifriger und umsichtiger Arbeit wurden die Quellen zusammengetragen von Basler Historiker und Mathematiker Christian Wursteisen.Die Chronik stellt eine grossangelegte Heimatkunde des Raurakerlandes und dessen Nachbargebiete vor und ist ein Höhepunkt schweizerscher Historiographie des 16.Jahrhunderts. Von der Einsicht überzeugt, dass Partikularhistorisches Wissen die Grundlage für Generalhistorien bilden müssen,versucht der Autor, die Ortsgeschichte in Zusammenhang mit der eoropäischen Geschichte darzustellen. Wursteisens Kritik bleibt wach, besonders gegenüber volkskundlicher Überlieferungen, er verfolgt zäh Aberglauben und Teufelsspuk und stellt am liebsten auf Urkunden ab. (E.Bonjour).Die grosse aus drei Teilen zusammengesetzte Karte, umrahmt von einer Wappenbordüre, zeigt rechts den Plan der Stadt Basel aus der Vogelschau und in der linken Hälfte das Gebiet des Aar-und Sundgaus, sowie das Elsass und den südlichen Schwarzwald. Die vom Solothurner Maler und Formschneider

Gregor Sickinger Gregor is a masculine given name. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Gregor Abel (born 1949), Scottish footballer * Gregor Adlercreutz (1898–1944), Swedish equestrian * Gregor Aichinger (c. 1565–1628), Ger ...

(1558-?) entworfene und geschnittenen Textillustrationen zeigen historische Ereignisse, Portraits und viele Wappen, bei denen erstmals die entsprechenden Farben und Buchstaben markiert sind. Wäber 112, Hironimus 552/472b,181a, Lonchamp 3314.''

Works

* Wurstisen, Ch.: ''Bassler Chronick, dariñ alles, was sich in Oberen Teutschë Landen, nicht nur in der Statt und Bistumbe Basel, von ihrem Ursprung her, ... biss in das gegenwirtige MDLXXX. Jar, gedenckwirdigs zugetragen: sonder auch der Eydtgnoschafft, Burgund, Elsass und Breissgow ... warhafftig beschrieben: sampt vieler Herrschafften und Geschlechtern Wapen und Stambäumen, etc. (Eine Missive Enee Sylvii ... darinn die Statt Basel kurtzlich beschrieben. Durch C. Wurstisen ... vertolmetscht.)''.. pp. xx. 655.

Sebastian Henricpetri Henricus Petrus (1508–1579) and his son Sebastian Henric Petri (1546, Basel – 1627, Basel) headed the printer shop of Basel (''Basilea'' in Latin), called ''Officina Henricpetrina''. Among their best known works, both of 1566, the second ...

: Basel, 1580. fol. * Wurstisen, Ch. (Urstisius): ''Elementa arithmeticae, logicis legibus deducta in usum Academiae Basiliensis. Opera et studio Christiani Urstisii.'' Basileae, 1579.

. * Wurstisen, Ch.: ''Germaniae historicorum illustrium, quorum plerique ab Henrico IIII Imperatore usque ad annum Christi, MDCCCC ... res gestas memoriae consecrarunt, tomus unus pars altera Volume 1'', apud heredes Andreae Wecheli, 1585 *

Matthias of Neuenburg Matthias of Neuenburg was a chronicler, born in 1295, possibly in Neuenburg am Rhein, in Baden; died between 1364 and 1370, probably in Strasbourg, in Alsace. He studied jurisprudence at Bologna, and later received minor orders, but never became a ...

Albert of Straßburg Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

Johannes Cuspinianus Johannes Cuspinianus (December 1473 – 19 April 1529), born Johan Spießhaymer (or Speißheimer), was a German-Austrian humanist, scientist, diplomat, and historian. Born in Spießheim near Schweinfurt in Franconia, of which ''Cuspinianus'' is ...

, Christian Wurstisen: ''Matthiae Neoburgensis Chronica, cum continatione et Vita Berchtholdi de Buchegg: Die Chronik des Matthias von Neuenburg nach der Berner- und Strassburgerhandschrift mit den lesarten der ausgaben von Cuspinian und Urstisius'', Stämpflische Buchdruckerei (G. Hünerwadel), 1866

External links

* *
Wursteisen describing how the Jewish cemetery was razed in 1349, the tombstones were used to build the town wall
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wurstisen, Christian 1544 births 1588 deaths 16th-century German mathematicians 16th-century German astronomers 16th-century German historians German heraldists 16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians German Calvinist and Reformed theologians 16th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers 16th-century German male writers People from Liestal