>>Thank you for joining me in the History of Science Collections of the University of
Oklahoma Libraries. Let's look at some treasures from the vault that throw light on the story
of science in early medieval Europe.
First, convents were places where anyone could come for healing, and in this book the Abbess
Hildegard of Bingen explained their herbal remedies and medical procedures.
In addition to this work on medicine, Hildegard wrote works on cosmology and theology, corresponded
in nearly 400 letters with abbots, popes and emperors, and created at least 70 musical
compositions, many of which you can download on iTunes. Does this look like any student
you know after final examinations?
In October of 2012, Pope Benedict XVI declared Hildegard of Bingen a Doctor of the Church,
the fourth woman of 35 persons honored by that title in the Roman Catholic Church.
This is not the oldest book in the History of Science Collections, but it is one of my
favorites. The style of the binding indicates that it comes from German-speaking parts of
Europe around 1600, but that's more than a century after the book was printed. The original
binding of brushed vellum is preserved inside. The squiggles above the lines of text are
markings for Gregorian chant. This original binding is a 10th century Easter chant over
a thousand years old. 500 years later it was recycled as the original binding for this
book when it was printed.
Here is the first page, printed with movable type but illuminated by hand with gold leaf
and artistic flair. This is the earliest published work on agriculture. It is a manual for running
a feudal estate. It is an ancestor to the herbal, and explains what plants one must
cultivate to be able to make the common remedies.
Albertus Magnus, or Albert the Great, teacher of Thomas Aquinas and Doctor Universalis,
commented upon the full spectrum of Aristotelian science. He updated each topic he considered
with evidence gathered from other writers and from his own extensive observations. Albert's
treatise on animals includes, for example, a section displaying impressive knowledge
of falcons, discussing how to train them for hunting and methods for treating their injuries
and illnesses.
This is the first part of the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, the angelic doctor.
Aquinas represents the ultimate medieval reconciliation of science and religion, as he affirmed the
unity of truth and refuted apparent conflicts between philosophical truth and Christian
faith. Wormholes appear on the cover of this otherwise well-preserved medieval masterwork
of theology.
In university study, the most common introduction to the geocentric cosmos was De Sphaera, On
the Spheres, a medieval work by Sacrobosco. This cosmic section by Peter Apian illustrates
the traditional Aristotelian/Ptolemaic understanding of the universe. The spherical earth lies
in the center, surrounded by the regions and the sublunar elements. Rotating heavenly spheres
carry the planets and stars, nesting one within the other all the way out to the empyrean
heaven.
The significance of Dante's Divine Comedy for conveying an imaginative appreciation
of medieval geocentric cosmology cannot be overstated. For example, "star" or stella
is the final word of each volume. This 5-volume set is the first edition of Dante's collected
works, including the Divine Comedy as well as Dante's minor works. Dante's minor works
include a poem on gems and minerals, and a discourse on the formation of the Earth. Science
is a story. What stories do you want to hear and tell about medieval science?