The 2nd International Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Symposium on History of Science in Islam Proceedings Book

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DOI :10.26650/PB/AA08.2023.002.014   IUP :10.26650/PB/AA08.2023.002.014    Full Text (PDF)

Possible Origins of the 14/15th-Century English Navicula Sundial in Islamic Civilization

W. F. De Graaf

Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin was always very keen on tracing back the scientific interactions between the Islamic world and medieval Europe. Among the many scientific instruments he had reconstructed for the museum in the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science in Frankfurt there is one small peculiar sundial, called a navicula. Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin reconstructed this navicula in order to facilitate research into the possible origins of this sundial that was first manufactured and written about in 14th- and 15th-century England. After explaining the modus operandi of the navicula, we present new perspectives on possible historic relationships between this European sundial and the Islamic scientific tradition.


Keywords: Navicula sundial, universal horary dial, astronomy in 14/15th-century England, Islamic scientific tradition, second declination

References

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