Christian of Prachatice ( cz, Křišťan z Prachatic) (1360–1368,

Prachatice Prachatice (; german: Prachatitz) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administrative parts Prac ...

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

– 4 September 1439,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Kingdom of Bohemia) was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Bohemian

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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

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 former

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 ...

who converted to the

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

movement. He was the author of several books about

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

and herbs, and contributed to the field of

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

with many papers and data recordings.

Biography

Christian of Prachatice was born in the 1360s, perhaps 1366 or 1368. In 1386 he matriculated at Charles University, where he earned a bachelor's degree two years later and a master's degree in liberal arts in 1390. He later taught at the university and counted

Jan 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 insp ...

among his students. In 1403 he served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and 1405 as

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 1405 he was appointed pastor of The Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Prague's Old Town; it is not known where he was ordained. Together with Johannes Cardinalis von Bergreichenstein, he attended the

Council of Pisa The Council of Pisa was a controversial ecumenical council of the Catholic Church held in 1409. It attempted to end the Western Schism by deposing Benedict XIII (Avignon) and Gregory XII (Rome) for schism and manifest heresy. The College o ...

in 1409. In 1415 he defended Jan Hus at the Council of Constance. Returning to Prague, he served as dean of the Faculty of Philosophy from 1417. Ten years later, in 1427, he was forced to flee from the radical

Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

. He returned two years later and in 1434 he converted back to

Catholicism 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 ...

was once again elected rector. Christian of Prachitice died on 4 September 1439, a victim of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

epidemic.

Writings

Christian of Prachatice produced numerous treatises, primarily in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. His theological writings survive only in a few fragments. His works survive in manuscript copies at the

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the bigg ...

, the library of Saint Peter's Abbey, Salzburg, and the Königsberg State and University Library, as well as the

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...

Latin

* ''De composicione astrolabii'', on the composition of the astrolabe; * ''De utilitate (usu) astrolabii'', on the use of the astrolabe; * ''Regula ad fixanda festa mobilia''; * ''Algorismus prosaycus'', on translating Roman numerals into Arabic numerals; * ''Computus chirometralis'', an aid to counting on fingers; * ''Antidotar''; * ''Herbularium'', an

herbal A herbal is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their medicinal, tonic, culinary, toxic, hallucinatory, aromatic, or magical powers, and the legends associated with them.Arber, p. 14. A herbal m ...

; * ''De sanguinis minucione'', treatise on bloodletting.

Czech

* ''Lékařské knížky'';Zdeňka Tichá, ''Lékařské knížky Mistra Křišťana z Prachatic'' (Prague: Avicenum, 1975). * ''Knihy o mocech rozličného kořenie'', an

German

* ''Theriak-Pest-Traktat''; * ''Arzneibüchlein des Magisters Christian von Prachatitz''.

References

External links

MacTutor Entry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian of Prachatice 1360s births 1439 deaths People from Prachatice Hussite people Czech mathematicians 14th-century mathematicians 15th-century mathematicians Czech astronomers 14th-century Bohemian people 15th-century Bohemian Roman Catholic priests 14th-century Roman Catholic priests Catholic clergy scientists Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism