Cyprián Karásek Lvovický (of Lvovice) (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

: ''Cyprián Karásek Lvovický ze Lvovic'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Cyprian von Leowitz'',

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''Cyprianus Leovitius'') (born July 1514/1524,

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; german: Königgrätz) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

– died 1574,

Lauingen Lauingen ( Swabian: ''Lauinga'') is a town in the district of Dillingen in Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the left bank of the Danube, 5 km west of Dillingen, and 37 km northeast of Ulm. In June 1800, the armies of the French Fir ...

) was a

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

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 ...

and

astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

Career

Most of the information about Lvovický's life comes from his memoirs.Lvovický, C. K.
''Opus insigne''
( Wittebergae: Excudebat Matthaeus Welack, 1586). Cyprian Karásek was born in 1514 (some sources claim 1524) into the family of a long-time town councillor and later mayor of

named Jan Karásek (Lvovický after ennoblement). He received his elementary education in the Hradec Králové town school and then moved on to study abroad. In 1540, Lvovický studied in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

(Breslau), in 1542 in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and later astronomy and mathematics in

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

. In 1547, he moved to

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, then to

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

, to the court of

Fuggers The House of Fugger () is a German upper bourgeois family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and vent ...

. After 1556 Otto Henry,

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

Palatinate-Neuburg Palatinate-Neuburg (german: Herzogtum Pfalz-Neuburg) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km², with a population of ...

(later

Elector Palatine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...

), named Lvovický professor of astronomy and mathematics at the Latin "particular school" in

. Lvovický later became the director of that school, working there until 1566. From 1565 through 1568, he visited Bohemia several times and planned to return to Hradec Králové, but he died before that plan was realized. Lvovický published several astronomical works in Latin. Being both an astronomer and an astrologer, he tried to base

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

on solid mathematical and astronomical ground. His first published work was ''"Tabulae eclipsum"'', predicting (within a few minutes) the start and the duration of

lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. Such alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Earth ...

s until 1605, including towns where it would be observable. These tables were based on the work of

Erasmus Reinhold Erasmus Reinhold (22 October 1511 – 19 February 1553) was a German astronomer and mathematician, considered to be the most influential astronomical pedagogue of his generation. He was born and died in Saalfeld, Saxony. He was educated, und ...

. In 1564, by order of Maximilian II, he published detailed

ephemeris In astronomy and celestial navigation, an ephemeris (pl. ephemerides; ) is a book with tables that gives the trajectory of naturally occurring astronomical objects as well as artificial satellites in the sky, i.e., the position (and possibly vel ...

tables for the sun, moon and other celestial bodies covering the years 1564 - 1574 in 10-day intervals and titled ''"De coniunctionibus magnis insignoribus superiorum planetarum, solis defectibus, et de cometis effectum historica expositione"''. In this book, recorded astronomical phenomena were linked with historical events (e.g. death of

John of Luxembourg John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of ...

with a comet appearing in 1347). The work ''"Tabulae Peuerbachii Alphonsiane"'' from 1556 earned the respect of

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was k ...

; they met in 1569 and corresponded thereafter.

Personal life

Lvovický married Diana Clelius (died 24 November 1581, aged 47), widow of Heinrich Elephantius, a former councilor to Elector Otto-Henry. After his death, she married for a third time, to

Peter Agricola Peter Agricola (June 29, 1525 – July 5 or 7, 1585) was a German Renaissance humanist, educator, classical scholar and theologian, diplomat and statesman, disciple of Martin Luther, friend and collaborator of Philipp Melanchthon. Successively t ...

, in 1575 at Lauingen.

Literature

*František Jáchym: ''Cyprián Lvovický ze Lvovic - matematik, astronom, astrolog''
Matematika-fyzika-informatika
14 2004/2005 (in Czech). Other publications by Jáchym may cover Lvovický as well.
Lvovický's life in Lauingen
Hradec Králové astronomical journal
Povětroň
', 2004, No 1, p. 16. (in Czech)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lvovicky, Cyprian Karasek 16th-century births 1574 deaths Scholars from Bohemia Astronomers Mathematicians Scientists from Hradec Králové