The Melanchthon Circle was a 16th-century

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

intellectual network centred on the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

in Germany and its leading theologian

Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the L ...

. It was identified as significant for its interests in

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science. From the ancien ...

by Lynn Thorndike, in a chapter "The Circle of Melanchthon" in his multi-volume ''History of Magic and Experimental Science''. Among this circle were found many of the most important early proponents of the

heliocentric model Heliocentrism (also known as the Heliocentric model) is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the universe. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth a ...

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 canon, who formulat ...

. They included

Caspar Peucer Caspar Peucer ( , ; June 1, 1525 – September 25, 1602) was a German reformer, physician, and scholar of Sorbian origin. Personal life Early life Caspar Peucer was born on June 1, 1525, in Bautzen, (Sachsen, Germany) and died on Septembe ...

who became Melanchthon's son-in-law, Erasmus Reinhold, and

Georg Joachim Rheticus Georg Joachim de Porris, also known as Rheticus ( /ˈrɛtɪkəs/; 16 February 1514 – 5 December 1576), was a mathematician, astronomer, cartographer, navigational-instrument maker, medical practitioner, and teacher. He is perhaps best known for ...

. Patronage came from Albert, Duke of Prussia.

Melanchthon's views in natural philosophy

In lecturing on the ''Librorum de judiciis astrologicis'' of

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

in 1535–36, Melanchthon expressed to students his interest in

Greek mathematics Greek mathematics refers to mathematics texts and ideas stemming from the Archaic through the Hellenistic and Roman periods, mostly extant from the 7th century BC to the 4th century AD, around the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean. Greek mathe ...

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 ...

and

astrology 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. Di ...

. He considered that a purposeful God had reasons to exhibit

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

s and

eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three c ...

s. He was the first to print a paraphrased edition of Ptolemy's

Tetrabiblos ''Tetrabiblos'' () 'four books', also known in Greek as ''Apotelesmatiká'' () "Effects", and in Latin as ''Quadripartitum'' "Four Parts", is a text on the philosophy and practice of astrology, written in the 2nd century AD by the Alexandrian ...

in Basel, 1554. Natural philosophy, in his view, was directly linked to

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, a point of view that was influential in curriculum change after the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

in Germany. In the period 1536–9 he was involved in three academic innovations: the refoundation of Wittenberg along Protestant lines, the reorganisation at Tübingen, and the foundation of the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

Network around Melanchthon

The "Circle" was constituted in various ways: collegial and master–student relationships, compliments and favours, and career help. Typically

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

demonstrative methods, based around publications, were frequently seen. Rheticus became a great giver of books. Before receiving a call to Wittenberg, Melanchthon had taught at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...

. There he had been tutored in

Johannes Stöffler Johannes Stöffler (also ''Stöfler, Stoffler, Stoeffler''; 10 December 1452 – 16 February 1531) was a German mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, priest, maker of astronomical instruments and professor at the University of Tübingen. Life Jo ...

. The network included

Simon Grynaeus Simon Grynaeus (born Simon Griner; 1493 – 1 August 1541) was a German scholar and theologian of the Protestant Reformation. Biography Grynaeus was the son of Jacob Gryner, a Swabian peasant, and was born at Veringendorf, in Hohenzollern-Si ...

who remained at Tübingen; Melanchthon dedicated to him his 1531 edition of the ''

De sphaera mundi ''De sphaera mundi'' (Latin title meaning ''On the Sphere of the World'', sometimes rendered ''The Sphere of the Cosmos''; the Latin title is also given as ''Tractatus de sphaera'', ''Textus de sphaera'', or simply ''De sphaera'') is a medieval ...

''. Melanchthon advocated astrology often: in 1531 in defending to

Joachim Camerarius Joachim Camerarius (12 April 150017 April 1574), the Elder, was a German classical scholar. Life He was born in Bamberg, in the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg. His family name was Liebhard, but he was generally called Kammermeister, previous member ...

the work of the court astrologer

Johann Carion Johann Carion (22 March 1499 – 2 February 1537) was a German astrologer, known also for historical writings. Life He was court astrologer to Elector Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg. A prognostication he published in 1521 gained him a later re ...

, which he would later develop into a Lutheran historical chronicle; in a dedication to

Luca Gaurico Luca Gaurico (in Latin, Lucas Gauricus) (Giffoni March 12, 1475 – March 6, 1558 in Rome) was an Italian astrologer, astronomer, astrological data collector, and mathematician. He was born to a poor family in the Kingdom of Naples, and studi ...

for a 1532 work by Camerarius on portents; in 1535 in an introduction to

Jacob Milich Jacob (or Jakob) Milich (also Mühlich; January 24, 1501 – November 10, 1559) was a German mathematician, physician and astronomer. He was born in Freiburg im Breisgau, where he received his education starting in 1513. He studied at Albert ...

's edition of

Georg von Peuerbach Georg von Peuerbach (also Purbach, Peurbach; la, Purbachius; born May 30, 1423 – April 8, 1461) was an Austrian astronomer, poet, mathematician and instrument maker, best known for his streamlined presentation of Ptolemaic astronomy in the ''Th ...

's ''Planets'', used again in 1542 with Reinhold's edition with a poem by Stigelius ( Johannes Stigel); in 1537 in a lecture printed with his edition of the ''Rudimenta'' of

Alfraganus Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī ( ar, أبو العبّاس أحمد بن محمد بن كثير الفرغاني 798/800/805–870), also known as Alfraganus in the West, was an astronomer in the Abbasid court ...

, stating the necessity of astrology for physicians. Gaurico reciprocated, in 1540 printing eclipse observations from Melanchthon and his circle in a partial edition of Lorenzo Bonincontri.

Hieronymus Wolf Hieronymus Wolf (13 August 1516 – 8 October 1580) was a sixteenth-century German historian and humanist, most famous for introducing a system of Roman historiography that eventually became the standard in works of medieval Greek history. Lif ...

, a philologist, passed through Wittenberg in the 1540s and was helped by Melanchthon. Stifelius ( Michael Stiefel) had a preface for his 1543 arithmetic book; he had predicted the end of the world in 1533, had lost his living as minister in consequence, and had been found another by Melanchthon.Thorndike, pp. 392-3. Others mentioned by Thorndike are Vitus Amerbach, David Chytraeus, Joachim Cureus, Achilles Gassar, Joachim Heller, Johannes Hommel or Hummel, Johannes Mathesius, Johannes Mercurius Morshemius, and Johannes Schöner.

References

* Lynn Thorndike, in a chapter "The Circle of Melanchthon" in his multi-volume ''History of Magic and Experimental Science''. It appears as Chapter XVII in wha
Google Books
has as Part 9, but that is from a paperback edition not respecting the original structure of 8 volumes.

Notes

{{reflist Reformation in Germany 16th century in science