Awards

• Winner of 2011 Eugene S. Ferguson Prize, presented by the Society for the History of Technology 2011
• Winner of 2011 Eugene S. Ferguson Prize, presented by the Society for the History of Technology</PrizeName> 2011
• Winner of 2011 J. Franklin Jameson Prize, presented by the American Historical Association 2011
• Winner of 2011 J. Franklin Jameson Prize, presented by the American Historical Association</PrizeName> 2011
• Winner of <PrizeName>2011 Eugene S. Ferguson Prize, presented by the Society for the History of Technology</PrizeName> 2011
• Winner of <PrizeName>2011 J. Franklin Jameson Prize, presented by the American Historical Association</PrizeName> 2011

Overview

"Essays explore the world of Michael of Rhodes, examining the historical context, the discovery of his manuscript, and Michael's knowledge of mathematics, shipbuilding, navigation, and other topics.In the fifteenth century, a Venetian mariner, Michael of Rhodes, wrote and illustrated a text describing his experiences in the Venetian merchant and military fleets. He included a treatise on commercial mathematics and treatments of contemporary shipbuilding practices, navigation, calendrical systems, and astrological ideas. This manuscript, ""lost,"" or at least in unknown hands for over 400 years, has never been published or translated in its entirety until now. In volume 3, nine experts, including the editors, discuss the manuscript, its historical context, and its scholarly importance. Their essays examine the Venetian maritime world of the fifteenth century, Michael's life, the discovery of the manuscript, the mathematics in the book, the use of illustration, the navigational directions, Michael's knowledge of shipbuilding in the Venetian context, and the manuscript's extensive calendrical material."

Full Product Details

9780262123082

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Reviews

In this volume of essays, meant to accompany the first published edition of Michael of Rhode's remarkable maritime manuscript, an international community of scholars offers a brilliant assessment of the context and significance of Michael's surprisingly rich compendium of writings on mathematics, astronomy, shipbuilding, and his own life. Not only is this collection a model of collaborative scholarship; it also opens a window onto the highly textured world of a mariner whose curiosity and genius will do no less than transform our understanding of the Renaissance. That Michael started out his career as an oarsman for the Venetian fleet is only one of the surprises in the life of this extraordinary intellectual. --John Jeffries Martin, professor of history, Duke University -- John Martin [A] fascinating document concerning the life, interests, and skills of an early modern sailor. --David Elton Gay, Journal of Folklore Research In this volume of essays, meant to accompany the first published edition of Michael of Rhode's remarkable maritime manuscript, an international community of scholars offers a brilliant assessment of the context and significance of Michael's surprisingly rich compendium of writings on mathematics, astronomy, shipbuilding, and his own life. Not only is this collection a model of collaborative scholarship; it also opens a window onto the highly textured world of a mariner whose curiosity and genius will do no less than transform our understanding of the Renaissance. That Michael started out his career as an oarsman for the Venetian fleet is only one of the surprises in the life of this extraordinary intellectual. John Jeffries Martin , professor of history, Duke University

In this volume of essays, meant to accompany the first published edition of Michael of Rhode's remarkable maritime manuscript, an international community of scholars offers a brilliant assessment of the context and significance of Michael's surprisingly rich compendium of writings on mathematics, astronomy, shipbuilding, and his own life. Not only is this collection a model of collaborative scholarship; it also opens a window onto the highly textured world of a mariner whose curiosity and genius will do no less than transform our understanding of the Renaissance. That Michael started out his career as an oarsman for the Venetian fleet is only one of the surprises in the life of this extraordinary intellectual. --John Jeffries Martin, professor of history, Duke University The book of Michael of Rhodes, a Greek by birth who integrated within Venetian society, is a unique document. It offers an exceptionally precious insight into the life, interests, and knowledge of a mariner whose career in the Venetian navy, on state missions and commercial expeditions extended from 1401 to 1443. In his numerous sailings between Venice, England, Egypt, and the Black Sea he gathered extensive data about shipbuilding, navigation, time reckoning, ports, maritime transportation, commodities, trade, and commercial calculation. This book will appeal to scholars of economic, maritime, and cultural history of the late Middle Ages. --David Jacoby, Department of History, Hebrew University The Book of Michael of Rhodes provides a remarkable glimpse into the individual life of a mariner, the harsh conditions of his service at sea, the material conditions of Venetian trade, the making of knowledge in Renaissance culture, and the fraught process for a vernacular author of transforming his lived experience into the written word. This collection is a marvel. --Pamela H. Smith, Department of History, Columbia University

Author Information

Pamela O. Long is an independent historian who has published widely in medieval and Renaissance history of science and technology. Pamela O. Long is an independent historian who has published widely in medieval and Renaissance history of science and technology. Alan M. Stahl is a medieval historian specializing in Venice and is Curator of Numismatics at Princeton University. McGee, Stahl, and Long are codirectors of the Michael of Rhodes project. David McGee, formerly Research Associate and Head of Secondary Acquisitions at the Dibner Institute's Burndy Library, is an independent scholar, working recently with the Canadian Science and Technology Museum.

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