Legacy
The influence of Peregrinus' astrolabe was virtually nil. His reputation derives mainly from his work on magnetism. The De magnete became a very popular work from the Middle Ages onwards, as witnessed by the large number of manuscript copies.
The first printed edition of it was issued at Augsburg, in 1558, by Achilles Gasser. In 1572, Jean Taisner published from the press of Johann Birkmann of Cologne a work entitled Opusculum perpetua memoria dignissimum, de natura magnetis et ejus effectibus, Item de motu continuo. This is considered a piece of plagiarism, as Taisnier presents, as though his own, the Epistola de magnete of Pierre de Maricourt and a treatise on the fall of bodies by Gianbattista Benedetti.
William Gilbert acknowledged his debt to Peregrinus and incorporated this thirteenth-century scientist's experiments on magnetism into his own treatise, called De magnete.
The Epistola de magnete was later issued by Guillaume Libri (Histoire des sciences mathématiques en Italie, vol 2, pp. 487–505), but, based on only one manuscript, this edition was full of defects; corrected editions were published by Timoteo Bertelli (in Bulletino di bibliografia e di storia delle scienze matematiche e fisiche pubblicata da B. Boncampagni, 1 (1868), 70-80) and G. Hellmann (Rara magnetica 1269-1599, ) .
The modern critical edition was prepared by Loris Sturlese and appears in Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt, Opera (Pisa, 1995), pp. 63–89.
A translation into English has been made by Silvanus P. Thompson ("Epistle of Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt, to Sygerus of Foucaucourt, Soldier, concerning the Magnet", ); by Brother Arnold ("The Letter of Petrus Peregrinus on the Magnet, A. D. 1269", with introductory note by Brother Potamian, ); and H. D. Harradon, (“Some Early Contributions to the History of Geomagnetism - I,” in Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity 48, 3-17 ).
The modern critical edition of the astrolabe text was prepared by Loris Ron B. Thomson and appears in Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt, Opera (Pisa, 1995), pp. 119–196.
The European Geosciences Union (EGU) established the Petrus Peregrinus Medal in recognition for outstanding scientific contributions in the field of magnetism.
Read more about this topic: Petrus Peregrinus De Maricourt
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)