Czech-2013-Prague-Astronomical clock face

Jan Šindel (1370s – between 1455 and 1457), also known as Jan Ondřejův ( or ''Joannes de Praga''), was a

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, ...

medieval

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

and

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

. He was a professor at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and became the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the university in 1410. He lectured on

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

and was also a personal astrologer and physician of kings

Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; cs, Václav; german: Wenzel, nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he w ...

and his brother

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

Life

Jan Šindel was born in

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 ...

probably in the 1370s. As a young man he came to Prague to study at Charles University. In 1395 or 1399 he became the Master of Arts at Prague University. In 1406 he worked at the parish school of the St. Nicolas Church in

Malá Strana Malá Strana (Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or more formally Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant center o ...

in Prague. Later he worked as a teacher of mathematics in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he also studied medicine. Then he came back to Prague and became the professor of astronomy at Charles University, where he became Doctor of Medicine and rector of the university in 1410. At the beginning he was a supporter of

John Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspi ...

but later he stayed

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He avoided religious disputes and preferred science. In 1418 he became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

of Prague

St. Vitus Vitus (), whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian martyr from Sicily. His surviving hagiography is pure legend. The dates of his actual life are unknown.Basil Watkins, ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical D ...

Chapter. Because of the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

he had to leave Prague and came to

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on th ...

. In 1423–1436 he worked in

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 ...

as a physician. In 1432 he became the personal physician of the Emperor

. In 1441 he became the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the

Vyšehrad Chapter The Vyšehrad Chapter ( cs, Vyšehradská kapitula), officially the Royal Collegiate Chapter of Ss. Peter and Paul at Vyšehrad ( cs, Královská kolegiátní kapitula sv. Petra a Pavla na Vyšehradě), is a collegiate chapter established at the c ...

in Prague. He had a good relationship with Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (later

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

), their correspondence from the years 1445–1447 has been preserved. He died probably between 1455 and 1457 in Prague.

Legacy

Šindel's astronomical tables and maps were allegedly still used by

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 ...

. He had a special liking for astronomical devices. Based on his suggestion and calculations,

Mikuláš of Kadaň Mikuláš of Kadaň ( cs, Mikuláš z Kadaně) (born 1350, Kadaň – died 1419, Prague) was an Imperial clockmaker. The oldest part of the Orloj (which also known as Prague Astronomical Clock), the mechanical clock and astronomical dial, dates ...

constructed the Prague Orloj clock in 1410. The

Šindel sequence In additive combinatorics, a Šindel sequence is a periodic sequence of integers with the property that its partial sums include all of the triangular numbers. For instance, the sequence that begins 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2 is a Šindel sequence, with the t ...

s in mathematics are named from the appearance of one of these sequences in this clock. In 1982, an asteroid ( 3847 Šindel) was named after him.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sindel, Jan 1370 births 1457 deaths Czech astronomers Academic staff of Charles University 15th-century physicians 15th-century mathematicians 15th-century astronomers Medieval Czech physicians Czech mathematicians