The image of the world in Gregor Reisch’s Margarita philosophica
Abstract
This article proposes an interpretation of the differences among the cosmological diagrams in the Renaissance editions of Margarita philosophica, the encylopedical treatise written by the Carthusian monk Gregor Reisch (c. 1467-1525). Considering the Medieval discussions on the ordering of four elements in the Aristotelian cosmological system, it is stated that Reisch tried to combine the Classical distinction of elementary spheres, the Ptolemaic conception of a unique globe of water and earth, and the Scholastic theories that distinguished the Earth’s center of gravity from the Earth’s center of magnitude. Whereas the illustrations of the official editions show a careful ambiguity that preserve the traditional model, in non-authorized versions the diagrams are sometimes contradictory and incorporate geographical innovations.
Keywords: Gregor Reisch, Aristotelian cosmology, terraqueous globe.
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