Oresme plus Shirakatsi

[Linda]

Others have noted similarities with diagrams from a 1420s Arnenian manuscript with the vms, which includes astronomy texts by Shirakatsi as well as later compilations which might include reference to his works. It is mentioned on Rene's and David's sites as well. Here is an image compilation by Marco:



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I agree that Shirakatsi would be a good possible reference. He was also a geographer (and his map has been compared with the Rosettes page) but there are some problems in attributing the moon diagram as the exemplar for the vms cosmos.

1. Mirror image
2. 4 spokes not attached to central circle
3. No moon or sun
4. Possibility of having seen exemplar?

I couldnt find much about other copies, the one from which this animation is made appears to originate from a Russian -Armenian encyclopedia. It is not from the 1420s compilation.



Some possible answers to the problems:

1. Mirror image could have been used with regard to sky vs earth turning idea presented by Oresme. 

2. Possibly the 4 spokes attached to the cloudband could mean to say that both the earth turns and other things move as well, like the planets, as well as the constellations (through precession) over a much longer period of time.

3. It could be that the symbol for eternity is simply used, to denote consistent continuous movement. This symbol has been used in various cultures over time. There are many other curved spoke diagrams in the 1420s compilation although most of the others do not have 8 spokes. There was also a perpetual motion machine outlined in 10th century India that also looks similar.

4. I did see that Shirakatsi's works were included in textbooks, so there would presumably be many copies made over time.

The problem remains that until we can read the vms text there is no way to prove the connections one way or another.