View source for List of medieval European scientists

'''[[European science in the Middle Ages|Scientific activity in medieval Europe]]''' was maintained by the activity of a number of significant scholars, active in a wide range of scientific disciplines and working in Greek, Latin, and Arabic-speaking cultures.  This list provides a brief summary of their work.

==Early Middle Ages==
{{further information|European science in the Middle Ages}}
'''[[Anatolius of Laodicea]]''' (early 3rd century – 283), a bishop of Laodicea, one of the foremost scholars of his day in the physical sciences.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Englebert|first1=Omer|title=The Lives of the Saints|date=1994|publisher=Barnes & Noble|location=New York|isbn=978-1566195164|page=256}}</ref>

'''[[Nemesius]]''' (?-c. 390), a bishop of Emesa whose ''De Natura Hominis'' blended theology with [[Galen]]ic medicine and is notable for his ideas concerning the brain.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61183-6 |pmid=18697251 |title=Nemesius of Emesa and early brain mapping |journal=The Lancet |volume=372 |issue=9637 |pages=440–1 |year=2008 |last1=Van Der Eijk |first1=Philip }}</ref><ref name="Finger2001">{{cite book|author=Stanley Finger|title=Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_GMeW9E1IB4C&pg=PA18|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-514694-3|pages=18–}}</ref> He also may have anticipated the discovery of the [[circulatory system]].<ref>
*George Ripley And Charles A. Dana. [http://chestofbooks.com/reference/American-Cyclopaedia-8/Nemesius-Bishop-Of-Emesa.html Nemesius- Bishop Of Emesa] IN "The American Cyclopaedia".
*George Jackson Fisher [[s:Popular Science Monthly/Volume 11/July 1877/A Brief Historical Sketch of Discovery of the Circulation of the Blood|A Brief Historical Sketch of Discovery of the Circulation of the Blood]] IN Popular Science Monthly Volume 11, July 1877. 
*{{cite journal |pmid=18741297 |pmc=1657291 |year=1930 |author1=Leake |first1=C. D |title=A Note on the Medical Books of Famous Printers: Part Ii |journal=California and Western Medicine |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=106–10 }}
*HERMANN PETERS and WILLIAM NETTER (1899) [https://archive.org/stream/pictorialhistor00petegoog/pictorialhistor00petegoog_djvu.txt Pictorial history of ancient pharmacy] - Chapter II - Pharmacy in the Middle Ages. Page 21 '''Quotation''': ''Nemesius, in his work " De Natura Hominis" (300 A.D.), gives a theory of the circulation of the blood, which, imperfect though it be, is a step forward in the direction of the modern doctrine.''</ref>

'''[[Isidore of Miletus]]''' (ca. 442 – ca. 537) was a renowned Byzantine [[scientist]] and [[mathematician]]. He was one of the two main [[Byzantine Greeks|Byzantine Greek]] [[architect]]s ([[Anthemius of Tralles]] was the other) that Emperor [[Justinian I]] commissioned to design the cathedral [[Hagia Sophia]] in [[Constantinople]] from 532-537. He taught [[stereometry]] and [[physics]] at the universities, first of [[Alexandria]] then of Constantinople, and wrote a commentary on an older treatise on [[Vaulting (architecture)|vaulting]]. Isidore is also renowned for producing the first comprehensive compilation of [[Archimedes]]' work, the [[Archimedes palimpsest]].

'''[[Anthemius of Tralles]]''' (ca. 474 – ca. 534), a Byzantine professor of geometry and architecture, authored many influential works on mathematics and was one of the architects of the famed [[Hagia Sophia]], the largest building in the world at its time. His works were among the most important source texts in the Arab world and Western Europe for centuries after.

'''[[John Philoponus]]''' (ca. 490–ca. 570), also known as ''John the Grammarian'', a [[Christians|Christian]] Byzantine philosopher, launched a revolution in the understanding of physics by critiquing and correcting the earlier works of [[Aristotle]]. In the process he proposed important concepts such as a rudimentary notion of [[inertia]] and the invariant acceleration of falling objects. Although his works were repressed at various times in the Byzantine Empire, because of religious controversy, they would nevertheless become important to the understanding of physics throughout Europe and the Arab world.

'''[[Paul of Aegina]]''' (ca. 625–ca. 690), considered by some to be the greatest [[Christians|Christian]] Byzantine surgeon, developed many novel surgical techniques and authored the medical encyclopedia ''[[Medical Compendium in Seven Books]]''. The book on surgery in particular was the definitive treatise in Europe and the Islamic world for hundreds of years.

[[Image:Nuremberg Chronicle Venerable Bede.jpg|150 px|left|thumb|The Venerable Bede]]
'''[[Bede|The Venerable Bede]]''' (ca. 672–735), a [[Christians|Christian]] monk of the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow who wrote a work ''On the Nature of Things'', several books on the mathematical / astronomical subject of [[Computus#History|computus]], the most influential entitled ''On the Reckoning of Time''.  He made original discoveries concerning the nature of the tides and his works on computus became required elements of the training of [[clergy]], and thus greatly influenced early medieval knowledge of the natural world.

'''[[Rabanus Maurus]]''' (c. 780 – 856), a [[Christians|Christian]] monk and teacher, later archbishop of Mainz, who wrote a treatise on Computus and the encyclopedic work ''De universo''.  His teaching earned him the accolade of "Praeceptor Germaniae," or "the teacher of Germany."

'''[[Leo the Mathematician]]''' (c. 790 &ndash; after 869) was a [[Byzantine philosophy|Byzantine philosopher]] and [[logician]] associated with the [[Macedonian Renaissance]]. He wrote book-length works, poems, and many [[epigrams]], and was also a compiler, who brought together a wide range of philosophical, medical, and astronomic texts. He composed his own medical encyclopaedia. He was [[archbishop of Thessalonica]] and later became the head of the [[Magnaura|Magnaura School]] of philosophy in [[Constantinople]], where he taught [[Organon|Aristotelian logic]].

'''[[Abbas Ibn Firnas]]''' (810 – 887), a [[polymath]] and inventor in [[Al-Andalus|Muslim Spain]], made contributions in a variety of fields and is most known for his contributions to glass-making and aviation. He developed novel ways of manufacturing and using glass. A 17th century account states he broke his back at an unsuccessful attempt at flying in 875.

'''[[Pope Sylvester II]]''' (c. 946–1003), a [[Christians|Christian]] scholar, teacher, mathematician, and later [[pope]], reintroduced the [[abacus]] and [[armillary sphere]] to Western Europe after they had been lost for centuries following the [[Greco-Roman]] era. He was also responsible in part for the spread of the [[Hindu-Arabic numeral system]] in Western Europe.

'''[[Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti|Maslamah al-Majriti]]''' (died 1008), a mathematician, astronomer, and chemist in [[Al-Andalus|Muslim Spain]], made contributions in many areas, from new techniques for surveying to updating and improving the astronomical tables of [[al-Khwarizmi]]<ref>Sarton confirmed that al-Majriti corrected al-Khwarizmi's astronomical tables:  {{cite book |last1=Sarton |first1=George |title=Introduction to the History of Science |date=1927 |publisher=The Williams & Wilkins Company |location=Baltimore, Maryland, USA |volume=vol. 1 |page=668 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?view=image;size=100;id=uc1.b4114379;page=root;seq=684;num=668}}</ref> and inventing a process for producing [[mercury oxide]].<ref>The production of mercuric oxide was described in the ''Rutbat al-hakim'' ("The Sage's Step" or "The Rank of the Wise"), which is (dubiously) attributed to al-Majriti: {{cite journal |last1=Holmyard |first1=E.J. |title=Maslama al-Majriti and the Rutbatu'l-Hakim |journal=Isis |date=1924 |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=293–305}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}  He is most famous, though, for having helped transmit knowledge of mathematics and astronomy to Muslim Spain and Christian Western Europe.

'''[[Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi|Abulcasis]]''' (936-1013), a physician and scientist in [[Al-Andalus|Muslim Spain]], is considered to be the father of modern surgery. He wrote numerous medical texts, developed many innovative surgical instruments, and developed a variety of new surgical techniques and practices. His texts were considered the definitive works on surgery in Europe until the Renaissance.

==High Middle Ages==

'''[[Michael Psellos]]''' (ca. 1017-1078), was a [[Byzantine]] philosopher, politician and historian. He combined Platonic philosophy with Christian doctrine and initiated a renewal of Byzantine classical learning that later influenced the Italian Renaissance. He also made contributions to Byzantine culture, such of a reform of the university curriculum to emphasize the Greek classics, like the Homeric literature that, with Platonist thought, he understood as precursory to Christian revelation. He composed various treatises and poetry, on themes in theology, philosophy, grammar, law, medicine, mathematics, and the natural sciences.

'''[[Constantine the African]]''' (c. 1020&–1087), a Christian native of [[Carthage]], is best known for his translating of ancient [[Ancient Greek medicine|Greek]] and [[Medicine in ancient Rome|Roman]] medical texts from [[Arabic language|Arabic]] into [[Latin]] while working at the [[Schola Medica Salernitana]] in [[Salerno]], [[Italy]]. Among the works he translated were those of [[Hippocrates]] and [[Galen]].

'''[[Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī|Arzachel]]''' (1028–1087), the foremost [[astronomy|astronomer]] of the early second millennium, lived in [[Al-Andalus|Muslim Spain]] and greatly expanded the understanding and accuracy of planetary models and terrestrial measurements used for navigation. He developed key technologies including the [[equatorium]] and universal latitude-independent [[astrolabe]].

'''[[Avempace]]''' (died 1138), a famous physicist from [[Muslim Spain]] who had an important influence on later physicists such as [[Galileo]].<ref>Ernest A. Moody (June 1951). "Galileo and Avempace: The Dynamics of the Leaning Tower Experiment (II)", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' '''12''' (3), p. 375–422 [379].</ref> He was the first to theorize the concept of a [[reaction (physics)|reaction]] force for every force exerted.<ref>[[Shlomo Pines]] (1964), "La dynamique d’Ibn Bajja", in ''Mélanges Alexandre Koyré'', I, 442–468 [462, 468], Paris</ref>

'''[[Adelard of Bath]]''' (c. 1080 &ndash; c. 1152) was a 12th-century [[England|English]] scholar, known for his work in [[astronomy]], [[astrology]], [[philosophy]] and [[mathematics]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Haskins | first = Charles Homer | author-link = Charles Homer Haskins | title = Studies in the History of Medieval Science | place = New York | publisher = Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. | origyear = 1926 | year = 1967 | chapter = Adelard of Bath | pages = 20–42}}</ref>

'''[[Ibn Zuhr|Avenzoar]]''' (1091–1161), from [[Muslim Spain]], introduced an [[Scientific method|experimental method]] in [[surgery]], employing [[animal testing]] in order to experiment with surgical procedures before applying them to human patients.<ref>Rabie E. Abdel-Halim (2005), "Contributions of Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) to the progress of surgery: A study and translations from his book Al-Taisir", ''Saudi Medical Journal 2005; Vol. 26 (9): 1333–1339''.</ref> He also performed the earliest [[dissection]]s and postmortem [[autopsies]] on both humans as well as animals.<ref>[http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Islamic+medicine Islamic medicine], ''[[Hutchinson Encyclopedia]]''.</ref>

[[Image:grosseteste-color.png|left|150 px|thumb|Robert Grosseteste]]
'''[[Gerard of Cremona]]''' (c. 1114 – 1187) was an Italian translator working at the court of [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]] in [[Toledo, Spain]] and was a prominent figure in the [[Toledo School of Translators]] for translating [[Ptolemy]]'s ''[[Almagest]]'' as well as [[Euclid]]'s ''[[Euclid's Elements|Elements]]'' from Arabic to Latin.<ref>R. W. Southern, The Making of the Middle Ages, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953, p. 64-65; L. D. Reynolds and Nigel G. Wilson, Scribes and scholars: A guide to the transmission of Greek and Latin literatureOxford: Clarendon Press, 1974, p. 106.</ref><ref>For a list of Gerard of Cremona's translations see: Edward Grant (1974) A Source Book in Medieval Science, (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr.), pp. 35-8 or Charles Burnett, "The Coherence of the Arabic-Latin Translation Program in Toledo in the Twelfth Century," Science in Context, 14 (2001): at 249-288, at pp. 275-281.</ref>

'''[[Robert Grosseteste]]''' (1168–1253), [[Bishop of Lincoln]], was the central character of the [[England|English]] intellectual movement in the first half of the 13th century and is considered the founder of scientific thought in [[Oxford]]. He had a great interest in the natural world and wrote texts on the mathematical sciences of [[optics]], [[astronomy]] and [[geometry]]. In his commentaries on Aristotle's scientific works, he affirmed that experiments should be used in order to verify a theory, testing its consequences.  [[Roger Bacon]] was influenced by his work on optics and astronomy.<ref>A. C. Crombie, ''Robert Grosseteste and the Origins of Experimental Science 1100–1700'', (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971)</ref>
[[Image:AlbertusMagnus.jpg|right|150 px|thumb|St. Albert the Great]]

'''[[Albert the Great]]''' (1193–1280), ''Doctor Universalis'', was one of the most prominent representatives of the philosophical tradition emerging from the [[Dominican Order]]. He is one of the thirty-three [[Saints]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] honored with the title of [[Doctor of the Church]]. He became famous for his vast knowledge and for his defence of the pacific coexistence between science and religion. Albert was an essential figure in introducing Greek and Islamic science into the medieval universities, although not without hesitation with regard to particular Aristotelian theses. In one of his most famous sayings he asserted: "Science does not consist in ratifying what others say, but of searching for the causes of phenomena." [[Thomas Aquinas]] was his most famous pupil.

'''[[Johannes de Sacrobosco|John of Sacrobosco]]''' (c. 1195 &ndash; c. 1256) was a [[scholar]], [[monk]], and [[astronomer]] (probably [[English people|English]], but possibly [[Irish people|Irish]] or [[Scottish people|Scottish]]) who taught at the [[University of Paris]] and wrote an authoritative and influential mediaeval astronomy text, the ''[[Tractatus de Sphaera]]''; the ''Algorismus'', which introduced calculations with [[Arabic numerals|Hindu-Arabic numerals]] into the European university curriculum; the ''Compotus ecclesiasticis'' on Easter reckoning; and the ''Tractatus de quadrante'' on the construction and use of the astronomical quadrant.<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Pedersen | first1 = Olaf | year = 1985 | title = In Quest of Sacrobosco | journal = Journal for the History of Astronomy | volume = 16 | issue = 3| pages = 175–221 | postscript = . | bibcode = 1985JHA....16..175P | doi = 10.1177/002182868501600302 }}</ref>

'''[[Jordanus de Nemore]]''' (late 12th, early 13th century) was one of the major pure [[mathematics|mathematicians]] of the Middle Ages. He wrote treatises on [[mechanics]] ("the science of weights"), on basic and advanced [[arithmetic]], on [[algebra]], on [[geometry]], and on the mathematics of [[stereographic projection]].

'''[[Villard de Honnecourt]]''' ([[floruit|fl.]] 13th century), a French engineer and architect who made sketches of mechanical devices such as [[automaton]]s and perhaps drew a picture of an early [[escapement]] mechanism for clockworks.

[[Image:Roger-bacon-statue.jpg|150 px|left|thumb|Roger Bacon]]'''[[Roger Bacon]]''' (1214–94), ''Doctor Admirabilis'', joined the [[Order of Friars Minor|Franciscan Order]] around 1240 where, influenced by Grosseteste, [[Alhazen|Alhacen]] and others, he dedicated himself to studies where he implemented the observation of nature and experimentation as the foundation of natural knowledge. Bacon wrote in such areas as [[mechanics]], [[astronomy]], [[geography]] and, most of all, optics. The optical research of Grosseteste and Bacon established optics as an area of study at the medieval university and formed the basis for a continuous tradition of research into optics that went all the way up to the beginning of the 17th century and the foundation of modern optics by Kepler.<ref>Lindberg, David C. "Theories of Vision from Al-Kindi to Kepler" University of Chicago Press 1976 pp. 94–187</ref>

'''[[Ibn al-Baitar]]''' (died 1248), a botanist and pharmacist in [[Al-Andalus|Muslim Spain]], researched over 1400 types of plants, foods, and drugs and compiled pharmaceutical and medical encyclopedias documenting his research. These were used in the Islamic world and Europe until the 19th century.

'''[[Nicholas Myrepsos]]''' (Late 13th century) was a [[Byzantine medicine|Byzantine physician]] known chiefly for his compendium on [[Medicine|medical science]] which is still extant. He was at the court of [[John III Doukas Vatatzes]]. He compiled and revised Ancient Greek scripts including, but not limited to [[Galen]], as well as writing his own compendium on [[Medicine|medical science]], named ''[[Dynameron]]''. It consists of 48 sections, containing more than 2500 medical formulae, arranged according to their form and object. It remained the principal pharmaceutical code of the Parisian medical faculty until 1651.  He is well known for the preparation, [[Aurea Alexandrina]].

'''[[Theodoric Borgognoni]]''' (1205-1296) was an Italian Dominican friar and [[Bishop of Cervia]] who promoted the uses of both [[antiseptic]]s and [[anaesthetic]]s in surgery. His written work had a deep impact on [[Henri de Mondeville]], who studied under him while living in Italy and later became the court physician for King [[Philip IV of France]].

'''[[William of Saliceto]]''' (1210-1277) was an Italian surgeon of [[Lombardy]] who advanced medical knowledge and even challenged the work of the renowned [[Greco-Roman]] surgeon [[Galen]] (129-216 AD) by arguing that allowing pus to form in wounds was detrimental to the health of he patient.

[[Image:St-thomas-aquinas.jpg|thumb|150 px|right|St. Thomas Aquinas]]
'''[[Thomas Aquinas]]''' (1227–74), ''Doctor Angelicus'', was an [[Italy|Italian]] [[theologian]] and friar in the [[Dominican Order]]. As his mentor Albert the Great, he is a Catholic Saint and Doctor of the Church. In addition to his extensive commentaries on Aristotle's scientific treatises, he was also said to have written an important alchemical treatise titled ''Aurora Consurgens''. However, his most lasting contribution to the scientific development of the period was his role in the incorporation of [[Aristotelianism]] into the [[Scholasticism|Scholastic]] tradition.

'''[[Arnaldus de Villa Nova]]''' (1235-1313) was an alchemist, astrologer, and physician from the [[Crown of Aragon]] who translated various Arabic medical texts, including those of [[Avicenna]], and performed optical experiments with [[camera obscura]].

[[Image:JohnDunsScotus.jpg|thumb|150 px|left|Duns Scotus]]
'''[[Duns Scotus|John Duns Scotus]]''' (1266–1308), ''Doctor Subtilis'', was a member of the [[Order of Friars Minor|Franciscan Order]], philosopher and theologian. Emerging from the academic environment of the [[University of Oxford]]. where the presence of Grosseteste and Bacon was still palpable, he had a different view on the relationship between [[reason]] and [[faith]] as that of Thomas Aquinas. For Duns Scotus, the truths of faith could not be comprehended through the use of reason. Philosophy, hence, should not be a servant to theology, but act independently. He was the mentor of one of the greatest names of philosophy in the Middle Ages: [[William of Ockham]].

==Late Middle Ages==
{{further information|History of science in the Renaissance}}

'''[[Theodore Metochites]]''' (1270–1332) was a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] author and philosopher. His extant works comprises 20 ''Poems'' in [[dactylic hexameter]], 18 orations (''Logoi''), ''Commentaries'' on [[Aristotle]]’s writings on [[natural philosophy]], an introduction to the study of [[Ptolemy|Ptolemaic]] astronomy (''Stoicheiosis astronomike''), and 120 [[essay]]s on various subjects, the ''Semeioseis gnomikai''.

'''[[Mondino de Liuzzi]]''' (c. 1270-1326) was an Italian physician, surgeon, and anatomist from [[Bologna]] who was one of the first in Medieval Europe to advocate for the public [[dissection]] of cadavers for advancing the field of [[anatomy]]. Greek and Roman taboos had meant that dissection was usually banned in ancient times, but Mondino de Liuzzi produced the ﬁrst known anatomy textbook based on human dissection.

'''[[Manuel Bryennios]]''' (ca. 1275–1340) was a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] scholar who flourished in [[Constantinople]] about 1300 teaching [[astronomy]], [[mathematics]] and [[musical theory]]. His only surviving work is the ''Harmonika'' (Greek: Ἁρμονικά), which is a three-volume codification of Byzantine musical scholarship based on the classical Greek works of [[Ptolemy]], [[Nicomachus]], and the [[Neopythagoreanism|Neopythagorean]] authors on the [[Pythagorean tuning|numerological theory of music]].

'''[[William of Ockham]]''' (1285–1350), ''Doctor Invincibilis'', was an [[England|English]] [[Order of Friars Minor|Franciscan]] friar, philosopher, [[logic]]ian and theologian. Ockham defended the principle of [[Occam's razor|parsimony]], which could already be seen in the works of his mentor Duns Scotus. His principle later became known as [[Occam's Razor]] and states that if there are various equally valid explanations for a fact, then the simplest one should be chosen. This became a foundation of what would come to be known as the [[scientific method]] and one of the pillars of [[reductionism]] in science. Ockham probably died of the [[Black Plague]]. [[Jean Buridan]] and [[Nicole Oresme]] were his followers.

'''[[Jacopo Dondi dell'Orologio]]''' (1290-1359) was an Italian doctor, clockmaker, and astronomer from [[Padua]] who wrote on a number of scientific subjects such as [[pharmacology]], [[History of surgery|surgery]], astrology, and natural sciences. He also designed an [[astronomical clock]].

'''[[Richard of Wallingford]]''' (1292-1336), an English abbot, mathematician, astronomer, and [[horologist]] who designed an [[astronomical clock]] as well as an [[equatorium]] to calculate the lunar, solar and planetary longitudes, as well as predict [[eclipse]]s.

[[Image:Oresme-small.jpg|thumb|right|120 px|Nicole Oresme]]
'''[[Jean Buridan]]''' (1300–58) was a [[France|French]] philosopher and priest. Although he was one of the most famous and influent philosophers of the late Middle Ages, his work today is not renowned by people other than philosophers and historians. One of his most significant contributions to science was the development of the [[theory of impetus]], that explained the movement of projectiles and objects in [[free-fall]]. This theory gave way to the [[dynamics (mechanics)|dynamics]] of [[Galileo Galilei]] and for [[Isaac Newton]]'s famous principle of [[Inertia]].

'''[[Guy de Chauliac]]''' (1300-1368) was a French physician and surgeon who wrote the ''[[Chirurgia magna]]'', a widely read publication throughout medieval Europe that became one of the standard textbooks for medical knowledge for the next three centuries. During the [[Black Death]] he clearly distinguished [[Bubonic Plague]] and [[Pneumonic Plague]] as separate diseases, that they were contagious from person to person, and offered advice such as quarantine to avoid their spread in the population. He also served as the personal physician for three successive popes of the [[Avignon Papacy]].

'''[[John Arderne]]''' (1307-1392) was an English physician and surgeon who invented his own [[anesthetic]] that combined hemlock, henbane, and opium. In his writings, he also described how to properly excise and remove the abscess caused by [[anal fistula]].

'''[[Nicole Oresme]]''' (c. 1323–82) was one of the most original thinkers of the 14th century. A theologian and [[bishop of Lisieux]], he wrote influential treatises in both Latin and French on mathematics, physics, astronomy, and economics.  In addition to these contributions, Oresme strongly opposed [[astrology]] and speculated about the possibility of a plurality of worlds.<ref>{{Citation | last = Dick | first = Steven J. | author-link = Steven J. Dick | title = Plurality of Worlds: The Origins of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate from Democritus to Kant | place = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | origyear = 1982 | year = 1984 | pages = 35–7 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Uak5AAAAIAAJ&dq=Oresme+extraterrestrial | isbn = 978-0-521-31985-0}}</ref>

'''[[Giovanni Dondi dell'Orologio]]''' (c. 1330-1388) was a clockmaker from Padua, Italy who designed the [[astarium]], an [[astronomical clock]] and [[planetarium]] that utilized the [[escapement]] mechanism that had been recently invented in Europe. He also attempted to describe the mechanics of the solar system with mathematical precision.

'''[[Nicholas of Cusa]]''' (1401–1464) was a German philosopher, theologian, and astronomer who believed the Earth was not the center of the [[Observable universe|known universe]], that celestial bodies were [[Earth ellipsoid|not perfect spheres]], that [[Kepler's laws of planetary motion|their orbits]] were [[Circular orbit|not entirely circular]], and [[De Docta Ignorantia|advanced the idea]] of [[relative velocity]] to explain the difference between theory and appearance of celestial objects.<ref name=cathen>{{cite encyclopedia | author=Hagen, J.|title = Nicholas of Cusa | encyclopedia =The Catholic Encyclopedia | volume =11 | publisher =Robert Appleton Company | year =1911 | url =http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11060b.htm | accessdate =2008-10-13}}</ref></blockquote>

'''[[Regiomontanus]]''' (1436-1476), a German mathematician and astronomer whose works perhaps influenced the [[heliocentric model]] of the solar system established by [[Nicolaus Copernicus]] (1473-1543) and seemed to accept the findings of the ancient Greek astronomer [[Aristarchus of Samos]] that the Sun was the center of the known universe.<ref>Arthur Koestler, ''The Sleepwalkers'', Penguin Books, 1959, p. 212.</ref>

==See also==

[[Hunayn ibn Ishaq]]

== Notes ==

{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medieval European Scientists}}
[[Category:Medieval scientists]]
[[Category:Science in the Middle Ages]]