Peter Martyr Vermigli and the European Reformations: Semper Reformanda

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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Publications & Services> Books> Book Series> Peter Martyr Vermigli and the European Reformations: Semper Reformanda

Peter Martyr Vermigli and the European Reformations: Semper Reformanda

Edited by Frank A. James III

Books

Available
Publication year: 2004


Series:	Studies in the History of Christian Traditions, 115
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 13914 5
ISBN-10:	90 04 13914 1

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	xxvi, 334 pp.

List price:	€ 99.00 / US$ 147.00

Table of contents

Preface
Dedication. In Memoriam: Heiko Augustinus Oberman, 1930–2001
Abbreviations

Introduction: Nunc Peregrinus Oberrat – Peter Martyr in Context, Frank A. James III

PART I. REFORMERS IN COMMUNITY
1. Praeceptor Carissimus: Images of Peter Martyr in Girolamo Zanchi’s Correspondence, John L. Farthing
2. Strangers in a Strange Land: The English Correspondence of Martin Bucer and Peter Martyr Vermigli, N. Scott Amos
3. Peter Martyr and the Church of England after 1558, Gary Jenkins
4. The Early Reformed Covenant Paradigm: Vermigli in the Context of Bullinger, Luther and Calvin, Peter A. Lillback
5. Sacramental Continuity among Reformed Refugees: Peter Martyr Vermigli and John Calvin, Richard Gamble

PART II. BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS
6. Vermigli on Tradition and the Fathers: Patristic Perspectives from his Commentary on I Corinthians, Douglas H. Shantz
7. Patriarchy and Prophetesses: Tradition and Innovation in Vermigli’s Doctrine of Woman, John L. Thompson
8. And All Israel Shall Be Saved: Peter Martyr and John Calvin on the Jews according to Romans, Chapters 9, 10 and 11, Dan Shute
9. Christological Currents in Vermigli’s Thought, John Patrick Donnelly, S.J.
10. Nature, Virtue, and Humanism: Cross-Disciplinary Reflections on Vermigli’s Romans Commentary (10–16), Norman Klassen

PART III. CHURCH AND REFORM
11. Sacrifice and Sacrament: Another Eucharistic Contribution from Peter Martyr Vermigli, Donald Fuller
12. Valdés and Vermigli: Spirituality and the Degrees of Reform, Joseph C. McLelland
13. The Preces Sacrae of Peter Martyr Vermigli, Emidio Campi
14. Law and Order: Vermigli and the Reform of Ecclesiastical Laws in England, John F. Jackson
15. Peter Martyr Vermigli and Pope Boniface VIII: the Difference Between Civil and Ecclesiastical Power, Torrance Kirby

Notes on Contributors
Bibliography
Index

Reviews

'Frank James's collection of essays on Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562) places the thought of the Italian reformer within the plurality of European reformations. It provides a helpful understanding of Martyr vis-à-vis Protestant and Catholic reform, as well as more general movements such as humanism, scholasticism, and canon law revision...Overall, the collection nicely documents a transition in Martyr scholarship...a welcome addition to a body of literature that recognizes theological diversity and ecumenical nuances within sixteenth-century reform.'
Jeffrey Mallinson, Renaissance Quarterly, 2005.

Readership

All those interested in European intellectual history, the history of the church in the late medieval and Reformation Periods, as well as theologians and social historians of the sixteenth century.

About the author(s)

Frank A. James III, D.Phil. (1993) in History, Oxford University & Ph.D. (2000) in Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary, is President of Historical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary/Orlando. He has published extensively on the Reformation, including Peter Martyr Vermigli and Predestination (1998).

Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562) was one of the early members of the abortive Italian reform movement as well as one of the formative shapers of Reformed Protestantism. Through its focus on Vermigli, these essays illuminate new dimensions to the various Reformations in sixteenth-century Europe, both Catholic and Protestant. Vermigli's work is considered under three rubrics: his relationship to other Reformers, an analysis of his more provocative theological ideas and his contributions to church reform. Particularly notable is the breadth of his interests, which ranged from his view of women, prophecy and papal power, to the early church fathers and his revision of ecclesiastical laws in the Church of England. Each of these depicts a vital aspect of Vermigli's contribution to the European Reformations.

Contributors include: Scott Amos, Emidio Campi, John Patrick Donnelly, John Farthing, Don Fuller, Richard Gamble, John F. Jackson, Gary Jenkins, Torrance Kirby, Norman Klassen, Peter A. Lillback, Joseph C. McLelland, Douglas H. Shantz, Dan Shute, and John Thompson.

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