Jacopo de Dondi

Jacopo de 'Dondi , also Jacopo Dondi dall'Orologio (* 1293 in Chioggia / Italy , † 1359 in Padua / Italy) was an Italian doctor , astronomer and watchmaker . He is the father of Giovanni de Dondi , also Giovanni Dondi dall'Orologio.

Life

Jacopo was the son of the doctor Isaac de 'Dondi. After studying at the University of Padua , he began his career as a community doctor and teacher in his hometown. In addition to his work, Jacopo dealt intensively with astronomy and clock making. In 1342 he received a professorship at the medical faculty of the University of Padua. He was married and had at least one child. Jacopo was buried in the family crypt in Padua, where his son Giovanni was later buried.

Works

Print edition Frankfurt 1610

In his apartment opposite the Pozzo Mendolo, he developed the construction plans for a large striking clock for his patron Ubertino von Carrara . This clock was built into the tower of the Palazzo del Capitanio in 1344. Presumably it indicated the hours from 1 to 24 o'clock with different beats. At the same time, it showed the phases of the moon and the position of the sun in the star circles. Both the clock and the tower were destroyed in 1390 when the Milanese conquered the city. A clock in the clock tower in Padua is said to be a copy of the first clock that was destroyed. However, the authorship is disputed; the design of the clock that is still in existence may have been made by Jacopo's son Giovanni.

In addition to his work as a watchmaker, Jacopo remained active as a scientist . He published books on philological and pharmacological subjects, as well as a treatise on the seas . Little is known about his philological works.

His most important publication was a book on pharmacology , the Aggregator Medicamentorum, Seu de Medicinis Simplicibus, written in 1355 . This groundbreaking work became a standard work for medical professionals and as late as 1470, over a hundred years later, it was listed at universities as a useful book for budding medical professionals and was reissued again and again well into the 16th century. Edition of 1543 Digitized edition .

His treatise on the seas, De fluxu et refluxu maris , deals with the different tide levels in the course of the lunar cycle . He described the tide height as a function of the position of the sun and moon in relation to each other and came to the conclusion that the moon has a greater effect on the level of the tides than the sun. This fact, which we take for granted today, was a sensational discovery for the people of the Italian Renaissance.

literature

• Tiziana Pesenti, “Dondi dall'Orologio, Iacopo”, in “Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani”, 41, Roma, Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 1992, pp. 104-111.
• Paolo Revelli, Il trattato della marea di Jacopo Dondi, introduzione, testo latino e versione italiana, Rivista geografica italiana, XIX (1912), 200-283.
• Vittorio Lazarini, "Il preteso documento della fondazione di Venezia e la cronaca del medico Iacopo Dondi", "Atti dell ' Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti ", LXXV (1915-16), pp. 163-81, poi in Vittorio Lazzarini, "Scritti di Paleografia e Diplomatica", 2a ed. Ampliata con sei saggi, Padova, Antenore, 1969, pp. 99-116.
• Vittorio Lazzarini, "Di una carta di Jacopo Dondi e di altre carte del padovano nel Quattrocento", in Vittorio Lazzarini, "Scritti di Paleografia e Diplomatica", 2a ed. Ampliata con sei saggi, Padova, Antenore, 1969, pp. 117-122.

Web links

• Search for Jacopo de Dondi in the SPK digital portal of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation

Individual evidence

• Il testo dell'opera sulle maree di Jacopo Dondi (PDF file; 8.75 MB)