William of Saint-Cloud is a French

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 ...

in the late thirteenth century. He is known for his

Almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and other ...

prepared around 1292, dedicated to Marie of Brabant, and translated for

Joan of Navarre Joan of Navarre may refer to: *Joan I of Navarre (1273–1305), daughter of Henry I of Navarre *Joan II of Navarre (1312–1349), daughter of Louis I of Navarre *Joan of Navarre (nun) (1326–1387), daughter of Joan II of Navarre and Philip III of N ...

. This almanac, one of the rare witness of astronomical observations at the end of the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

, contains

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 ...

of the sun, moon and planets and advocates also the use of the

camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a aperture, small hole or lens at one side through which an image is 3D projection, projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. ''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions su ...

to observe

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

References

Biography

William of Saint-Cloud Almanac Planetarum
Cahiers de l'Institut du Moyen-Âge grec et Latin, N° 83 2014 13th-century births 14th-century deaths Medieval French astronomers 13th-century astronomers {{France-astronomer-stub