Medieval Views of the Cosmos: Picturing the Universe in the Christian and Islamic Middle Ages

Once upon a time the universe was much simpler. Instead of our modern concept of formless, endless space, scattered sparsely and randomly with stars, planets, and such problematic entities as black holes and quasars, there was a tightly structured, hierarchical system centred on the earth and the human race. Crystalline spheres, bearing the planets and the stars wheeled around the earth. At every level there was a moral lesson for humanity and a satisfying metaphor for the nature of God. The earth itself was the theatre of a human drama directed by the hand of God.

The medieval world system, inherited by the Christian and Islamic worlds from the Greeks and Romans and modified by the principles of both religions, was profoundly satisfying both in terms of theology and common sense, answering questions which scientists would not dare to ask today. Its overthrow in the seventeenth century caused a serious spiritual and psychological dislocation from which we have yet to recover.

Medieval Views of the Cosmos describes the world-view shared by medieval Islamic and Christian societies, whose agreements were far greater than their differences. This is an excellent introduction to the topic, which describes and beautifully illustrates a rich and harmonious universe, in which the human race has a place; and God is in control.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Introduction: The Medieval Cosmos 1. Greek and Roman Heritage 2. Science in the Islamic Regions 3. Twelfth-Century European Renaissance 4. Microcosm/Macrocosm 5. The Geographical Inheritance from Antiquity 6. Medieval Western Geography 7. Medieval Islamic Geography 8. Mapping the Earth in the European Middle Ages 9. Medieval Islamic Mapping of the World 10. Medieval Islamic Regional Mapping 11. Regional Mapping in Medieval Europe 12. Travellers and Traders Conclusion Notes Further Reading

About the Author :
Evelyn Edson is the author of 'Mapping Time and Space: How Medieval Mapmakers Viewed Their World' (British Library Studies in Map History). Emilie Savage-Smith is a Senior Research Fellow at St Cross College and Senior Research Associate at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford. She is the co-author of 'Science Tools and Magic' (OUP, 1997).

Review :
"'This book makes plain the common heritage of Christian and Islamic scientific knowledge in medieval times... and sets a vital context against which we can view many of the current conflicts in the modern world. 'Medieval Views of the Cosmos' offers the reader a chance to reassess the past, and a yardstick against which to measure the future.' - Terry Jones"