Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy pp 1–5Cite as

Clavius, Christophorus

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 152 Accesses

Abstract

Christophorus Clavius (25 March 1537/8 – 6 February 1612) was a Jesuit mathematician from Bamberg who defended Ptolemaic astronomy. At the same time, he confirmed Galileo’s contradicting observations, such as the moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus. However, he was hesitant to interpret them. As an expert mathematician, he contributed to the reform of the Gregorian calendar. His largest success was the promotion of mathematical studies in European and even Chinese Jesuit chairs and colleges. During his life he was famous for his commentary on Euclid’s Elementa.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

Primary Literature

  • 1. Lists of Clavius’ Works:

    Google Scholar 

  • Delambre, J. – B. J 1821 Histoire de l’astronomic moderne, t 2, 48–75 (analysis of Clavius works)

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller, A. 1908. Christopher Clavius. The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 4, http://www.newsadvent.org/cathen/04009a.htm

  • Knobloch, E. 1990a. Christoph Clavius. Ein Namen- und Schriftenverzeichnis zu seinen ‘Opera mathematica’. Bollettino di Storia delle Scienze Matematiche 10(2): 135–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knobloch, E. 1995b. L’oevre de Clavius et ses sources scientifiques. In Les jésuites à la Renaissance: Système éducatif et production du savoir; ed. L Grand, 263–283. Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sommervogel, C. 1891. Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus; ed. A. Backer (description of Clavius works and editions). Vol. II. Bruxelles-Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • 2. Digital Editions:

    Google Scholar 

  • http://library.nd.edu/mathematics/clavius/

  • 3. Modern Reprints:

    Google Scholar 

  • Clavius, C. 1999a. Commentaria in Euclidis Elementa geometrica (ed. and pref. E. Knobloch. Repr. 1611). Hildesheim.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clavius, C. 1999b. In Sphaeram Ioannis de Sacro Bosco commentarius (ed. and pref. E. Knobloch. Repr. 1611). Hildesheim.

    Google Scholar 

  • 4. Critical Editions:

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldi, B. 1998. Le vite de’ matematici. Edizione annotata e commentata della parte medievale e rinascimentale (a cura di Elio Nenci), 558–577. Milano (an annotated and commentated edition of Baldi’s description of Clavius’ life).

    Google Scholar 

  • Clavius, C. 1992a. Corrispondenza (edizione critica a cura di Ugo Baldini e Pier Daniele Napolitani. 7 Volumes). Pisa (a critical edition of Clavius’ correspondence).

    Google Scholar 

  • http://echo.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/content/mpiwglib/clavius

  • Clavius, C. 1992b. Theorica solis. In Legem impone subactis. Studi su filosofia e scienza dei Gesuiti in Italia, 1540.1632 (U. Baldini). Rome (a collection including the surviving text of Clavius’s solar theory).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kepler, J. 1866, Operd omnid, ed. C. Frisch, vol. VI.

    Google Scholar 

Secondary Literature

  • 1. Biographies:

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruhns, K.C. 1876. Clavius, Christoph. Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 4, 298–299. https://de.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=ADB:Clavius,_Christoph&oldid=1699378

  • Freudig, D. 1996. Christoph Clavius. Lexikon der Naturwissenschaftler. Heidelberg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knobloch, E. 1990b. Christoph Clavius – Ein Astronom zwischen Antike und Kopernikus. Vorträge des ersten Symposions des Bamberger Arbeitskreises „Antike Naturwissenschaft und ihre Rezeption“(AKAN) (eds. K. Döring and G. Wöhrle.), 113–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamalle, E. 1957. Clavius, Christoph. Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) 3, 279. http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd118880632.html

  • Lattis, J. M. 1994. Between Copernicus and Galileo: Christoph Clavius and the collapse of Ptolemaic Cosmology. Chicago. (a detailed overview of Clavius’ life and work in connection with the cosmological debates of his time).

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, J.J., and E.F. Robertson. 2008. http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Clavius.html

  • Sigismondi, C. 2013. Christopher Clavius Astronomer and Mathematician. Nuovo Cimento della Societa Italiana di Fisica C 36(1 Suppl 1), 231–236.

    Google Scholar 

  • The Galileo Project 1995. http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/clavius.html

  • 2. On Clavius and his Times:

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldini, U. 1995. Christoph Clavius e l'attività scientifica dei Gesuiti nell'età di Galileo: atti del convegno internazionale, Chieti 28–30 aprile 1993. Roma.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jardine, N. 1979. The forging of modern realism: Clavius and Kepler against the sceptics. Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science 10: 141–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, M.-P. 1995. L’entrée de Tycho Brahe chez les jésuites ou le chant du cygne de Clavius. In Les jésuites à la Renaissance. Système éducatif et production du savoir, ed. L. Giard, 145–185. Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romano, A. 1996. La compagnie de Jesus et la révolution scientifique: constitution et diffusion d’une culture mathématique jésuite à la Renaissance (1540–1640). Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rommevaux, S. 2005. Clavius. Une clé pour Euclide au XVIe siècle. Paris (Clavius sources, translation of book V and structure of the Commentary).

    Google Scholar 

  • Smolarski, D.C. 2002. The Jesuit Ratio studiorum, Christopher Clavius, and the study of mathematical sciences in universities. Science in Context 15: 447–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 3. On Clavius’ Work:

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldini, U., and J. Casanovas. 1996. La sfera celeste di Cristoforo Clavio. In Osservatorio astronomico di Capodimonte. Almanacco 1996, eds, L. Boriello and G. Longo, 175–182. Naples.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claessens, G. 2009. Clavius, Proclus, and the Limits of Interpretation: Snapshot-Idealization versus Projectionism. History of Science XLVII: 317–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Echeverría, V.I., and G.I. Amunátegui. 2013. La théorie des éléments de Christophorus Clavius et l’idée du globe terraqué. Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte 36: 211–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knobloch, E. 1995a. Sur le rôle de Clavius dans l’histoire des mathématique S. Jn. Christoph Clavius e l’attività scientifica dei Gesuiti nell’età‘ di Galileo atti del convegno intenationale, Chieti 28–30 aprile 1993 ed, U. Baldini. Roma, 35–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pantin, Isabelle. 2013. Francesco Giuntini et les nouveautés celestes. In Biblioteca di Galilaeana III. Celestial Novelties on the Eve of the Scientific Revolution 1540–1630, eds. Dario Tessicini and Patrick J. Boner, 85–104. Firenze.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sasaki, C. 2003. The mathematical thought of Christoph Clavius S. Jn. Descartes’ mathematical thought, Dordrecht, 45–93. Descartes’s mathematical thought. Dordrecht.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snow, J. ed. 2005. Proceedings of the symposium on Christoph Clavius (1538–1612). University of Notre Dame.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Boltzmannstraße 22, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Johanna Biank

Authors
  1. Johanna Biank
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Johanna Biank .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Verona, Mantova, Italy

    Marco Sgarbi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this entry

Cite this entry

Biank, J. (2015). Clavius, Christophorus. In: Sgarbi, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_54-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_54-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation