Owen Caerleon

From Atlantia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Photo

'
Information
Resides: Barony of Windmasters' Hill, Atlantia
Status: Active
Awards: Order of Precedence Entry
Heraldry

none

Persona

Interests

Classes Taught

  • The Astrolabe, University of Atlantia, Spring 2024, Summer 2024, War of the Wings Fall 2024
    • The Astrolabe is an astronomical instrument used to calculate the positions of the stars in the sky. Appearing before 100 BCE, it was developed significantly in the early medieval Islamic world and proliferated throughout Africa, Europe, and India. Astrolabes are a visible part of a deep tradition of science and mathematics that was known before the Middle Ages. The breadth of locations where astrolabes were constructed shows just how widespread this learning was. The astrolabe was often combined with other instruments and so could be used for many types of calculations. Metal astrolabes also became status symbols, and the beauty of their mathematical patterns were embellished by instrument makers to produce works of art that survive to this day. We’ll look at animations of the night sky to see the world as the ancient astronomers did. We’ll see the transformation of the sky that the astrolabe employs and see a bit of the mathematics necessary to construct it. We’ll see how to use an astrolabe, and how similar devices are still used today. Finally, we’ll do a survey of some interesting and beautiful examples of astrolabes from history. It’s not necessary to have an astrolabe for the class, but if you would like to play along at home, instructions for making a paper astrolabe can be found on Master Richard Wymarc’s excellent site: https://www.astrolabeproject.com/constructing-an-astrolabe/
  • Astronomy and Nobility, University of Atlantia, Spring 2024, Summer 2024
    • What did people know about astronomy in the Middle Ages? What would your SCA persona have known? How would astronomy have fit into their world view? It likely would have been more than just the use of “astrology” as we would define it today (that is, using the positions of objects in the sky for divination). Many of our personas, even going back to early in period, would have had knowledge of astronomy, sometimes more than many people know today. Later, astronomy was considered an important part of the education of a refined person. We’ll discuss what was known at the time, how that knowledge was developed, why it was considered important, and how it was shared through education and writing. We’ll hear some examples of historic people, and in particular learn about the peculiar case of the Danish nobleman-astronomer, Tycho Brahe.
  • The Universe Before the Telescope, University of Atlantia, Fall 2023
    • The class will cover astronomy as it was known in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East done entirely with the unaided eye. We will discuss the surprising amount that was known about the universe, from the discoveries made with ancient Greek and Roman logic and geometry, advancement in the Islamic and African world, and conflicting theories in European universities. The class will culminate by introducing the Copernican Revolution, and describe the conflict that occurred even before the discoveries made with the telescope. We will learn about medieval astronomical tools and techniques, see simulations of the night sky, and learn the amazing logic and thought that came out of the ancient and medieval world. As part of the class, students will make and keep a paper astrolabe.

If I am called into court

  • If I ever earn an award, I would prefer to not be called into court to receive it. If there is a scroll, please make sure their work is shown off to everybody, and please feel free to ask my partner Grissel Dhai ahead of time if she would like receive it for me.
  • If my partner Grissel Dhai is receiving an award, please secretly tell me ahead of time so I can sneak into the audience :)

Retrieved from "https://wiki.atlantia.sca.org/index.php?title=Owen_Caerleon&oldid=10183"