Thomas Harriot and His World : Mathematics, Exploration, and Natural Philosophy in Early Modern England

This second volume of papers on Thomas Harriot edited by Professor Robert Fox is based on the annual Harriot lectures delivered at Oriel College, Oxford between 2000 and 2009. It complements the previous volume, published as Thomas Harriot: An Elizabethan Man of Science in 2000. The focus in several of the papers is on Harriot's outstanding achievements as a mathematician; others consider why he has never received the recognition accorded to his great contemporary, Galileo; others again examine his association with his entrepreneurial patron Walter Ralegh and his contributions to the intensely practical world of exploration and seamanship, as exemplified in his voyage to the coast of present-day North Carolina in 1585. The volume adds significantly to our understanding of a true Renaissance man who wrote accomplished Latin, earned the respect of Europe's leading mathematicians and astronomers, and moved easily in circles close to the English court and whose 'Brief and true report of the new found land of Virginia' (1588) was the first detailed description of America to be published in the English language. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Figures Notes on Contributors Preface Thomas Harriot Lectures 1990–2009 Introduction: The Many Worlds of Thomas Harriot 1 Thomas Harriot and the Great Mathematical Tradition 2 Chymicorum in morem: Refraction, Matter Theory, and Secrecy in the Harriot–Kepler Correspondence 3 Reconstructing Thomas Harriot’s Treatise on Equations 4 Harriot on Combinations 5 Thomas Harriot as an English Galileo: The Force of Shared Knowledge in Early Modern Mechanics 6 Why Thomas Harriot Was Not the English Galileo 7 Patronizing, Publishing and Perishing: Harriot’s Lost Opportunities and His Lost Work ‘Arcticon’ 8 Last Act? 1618 and the Shaping of Sir Walter Ralegh’s Reputation 9 Thomas Harriot and the Mariner’s Culture: On Board a Transatlantic Ship in 1585 Appendix A: The ‘Perfect’ Harriot/de Bry: Cautionary Notes on Identifying an Authentic Copy of the de Bry Edition of Thomas Harriot’s A briefe and true report (1590) Appendix B: Harriot’s Latin Appendix C: The Portrait of Thomas Harriot A Bibliography of Secondary Sources Relating to the Life and Work of Thomas Harriot Published Since 2000 Index A second volume of papers on Thomas Harriot that is based on the annual Harriot lectures delivered at Oriel College, Oxford between 2000 and 2009. It complements the previous volume, published as "Thomas Harriot". Edited By Robert Fox. Papers Based On The Harriot Lectures Delivered At Oriel College Between 2000 And 2009. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.