Sacrobosco and His Commentators

In conjunction with History of Science 323, The Scientific Revolution, as taught by Prof. Florence Hsia and Dr. Robin Rider, the Department of Special Collections, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison, has digitized selected pages and illustrations from each of its editions of the works of Sacrobosco (Joannes de Sacro Bosco, or John of Holywood, fl. 1230), for use in class presentations.

The Max Planck Institute for History of Science in Berlin has since undertaken a project entitled The sphere, including a database of “359 books printed between 1472 and 1650, which contain the text of or are closely related to John of Sacrobosco’s treatise De sphaera mundi.” See the description of the Corpus for the five book types represented in the database. The site also includes more information about persons associated with the books in the corpus.

Additional information from another survey of editions is available at the Web site Johannes de Sacrobosco Tractatus de Sphaera, now maintained by the Group of History, Theory of Science and Science Teaching, State University of São Paulo, Brazil.

• 1482

  Sacrobosco. Nouicijs adolesce[n]tib[us] ad astronomica[m] remp. capessenda[m] aditu[m] impetra[n]tib[us] p[ro] breui rectoq[ue] tramite a vulgari vestigio semoto, Ioannis de Sacro Busto Sph[a]ericu[m] […]

• 16th-Century Manuscript

  [Sacrobosco.] Annotationi sopra la sferette. Manuscript, 16th C. Call number: MS 83  (Images identified by leaf numbers in pencil.) The full manuscript has […]

• 1518

  Sacrobosco. Sphera mundi nouit’ recognita cu[m] co[m]me[n]tarijs & authorib[us] in hoc volumine co[n]te[n]tis vz. [Venetijs, L.A. de Giu[n]ta, 1518.] 879620 noncurrent (oversize)

• 1550a

  Sacrobosco and O. F. Mauro. Annotationi sopra la lettione della Spera del Sacro Bosco, doue si dichiarano tutti e principii mathematici & […]

• 1550b

  Sacrobosco. Libellus de sphaera: accessit Computus ecclesiasticus et alia quaedam in studiosorum gratiam edita. Cum Praefatione Philippi Melanthonis. [Impressum Vuitebergae, apud Iohannem […]

• 1551

  Sacrobosco. Libellvs de anni ratione, sev Computus ecclesiasticus. [Antwerp]: Ioannem Richardum, 1551. 818490 noncurrent

• 1562

  Sacrobosco. Sphaera Ioannis de Sacro Bosco, emendata. Eliae Vineti Santonis scholia in eandem Sphaeram, ab ipso authore restituta…. [Venice]: Apud Hieronymum Scotum, […]

• 1564

  Sacrobosco. Sphaera Ioannis de Sacro Bosco emendata. Cum additionibus in margine, indice rerum locorum memorabilium, familiarissimis scholijs, nunc recenter compertis, collectis, à Francisco […]

• 1568

  Sacrobosco. Libellus de sphaera: Accessit eivsdem avtoris Computus ecclesiasticus, et alia quaedam. Cum praefatione Philippi Melanchthonis. [Vitebergae: Excudebat Iohannes Crato, Anno 1568.] […]

• 1620

  Sacrobosco. Sphaera Ioannis de Sacro Bosco, emendata. Eliae Vineti Santonis scholia in eandem Spaeram, ab ipso authore restituta. [Venice]: Apud Haeredem Hieronymi […]

• Clavius (1596)

  Christoph Clavius. Christophori Clavii … In Sphaeram Ioannis de Sacro Bosco Commentarius. [Venice]: Apud Bernardum Basam sub signo solis, 1596. 971626  noncurrent