Research talks

MediMath Research Talks

 

Monday 14 December 2026, 16:15 – 18:00

Leila Hamouda (Tunis El Manar University): Traditions of Extracting Roots of Degree Four and Five: An Example from Abū al-Majd ibn ʿAṭiyya (d. before 1136)

Abstract forthcoming.

Room: S121, Lerchenweg 36, 3012 Bern 

Zoom link: please write a message to medimath.momug@unibe.ch 

Thursday 26 November 2026, 16:15 – 17:45 within the frame of the Berner Mittelalter Zentrum Ringvorlesungen HS26

Sabine Rommevaux-Tani (CNRS-Ausonius, Université de Bordeaux): Can we Speak of a Measure of Speed in 14th-century Physics?

Thomas Bradwardine, a Master of Arts at Oxford in the 14th century, sets out, in his Tractatus proportionum, a rule of motion which is translated as follows by H. Lamar Crosby: ‘The proportio of the speeds of motions varies in accordance with (sequitur) the proportion of motive to resistive forces, and conversely’. This rule was unanimously adopted by natural philosophers until the emergence of modern physics. To express the dependence of speed on the ratio between motive force and resistance, authors use the verb ‘sequitur’, but also the expression ‘attenditur penes’, translated by H. L. Crosby as ‘is to be determined by’, and by Edward Grant as ‘is a function of’, as well as ‘is measured by’ or ‘is attended, i.e. is measured by’. I therefore propose to characterise the relationship between speed and the ratio of power to resistance by asking whether, and in what sense, one can speak of a measure of speed.

Room: Hauptgebäude | Hörsaal 22 

Livestream-Link at www.bmz.unibe.ch, luca.blum@unibe.ch 

Friday 30 October 2026, 10:15-12:00

Florence Somer (Karabakh University/ Observatoire de Paris): Mathematics and the Stars in 9th-Century Baghdad

Astral sciences were inherently quantitative, relying on astronomical observations, geometric models, algebraic methods, numerical tables, and computational tools to predict celestial positions, events, and influences. Synthesizing Hellenistic, Persian, Indian, and Aristotelian elements, Abū Maʿshar al-Balkhī (d. 886) developed in his major works Kitāb al-madkhal al-kabīr ilā ʿilm aḥkām al-nujūm (The Great Introduction to Astrology), Kitāb taḥwīl sinī al-mawālīd (On the Revolutions of the Years of Nativities / Solar Returns), and Kitāb al-adyān wa-l-duwal (Book on Religions and Dynasties, on historical astrology) systematic quantitative techniques such as profections, primary directions, firdāriyyāt (planetary periods), transits, lots (including planetary lots), ninth-parts, and solar revolutions (annual return charts interpreted alongside the nativity). This presentation examines some of these computational methods and their transmission. Reading materials will be provided a few days before the session.

Room: S121, Lerchenweg 36, 3012 Bern 

Zoom link: please write a message to medimath.momug@unibe.ch 

Flyer (PDF, 1.1 MB)

Thursday 29 October 2026, 16:15-17:45 within the frame of the Berner Mittelalter Zentrum Ringvorlesungen HS26

Florence Somer (Karabakh University/ Observatoire de Paris): Quantifying the Heavens: Mathematical Techniques in Astral Sciences and the Transmission of Abū Maʿšar’s (Albumasar’s) Methods to the Latin Medieval West

This presentation investigates the transmission of Abū Maʿshar al-Balkhī’s (d. 886) theories and practices of nativity astrology (ʿilm al-mawālīd) as presented in his Kitāb al-madkhal al-kabīr ilā ʿilm aḥkām al-nujūm (The Great Introduction to Astrology). It examines the mathematical and computational techniques developed in Arabic/Persian for generating astrological judgments (planetary positions, lots, profections, solar returns) and their subsequent reception and adaptation in the Latin West during the twelfth-century translation movement.

Room: Hauptgebäude | Hörsaal 22 

Livestream-Link at www.bmz.unibe.ch, luca.blum@unibe.ch 

Monday 19 October 2026, 16:15-18:00 (hybrid form)

Corina Liebi (Institute of History, University of Bern): From Arithmetic Knowledge to Accounting Practice: Currency Conversions and Exchange Rates in Late Medieval Franconia

Currency conversion in the late Middle Ages required practical mathematical skills: calculating exchange rates, converting between different currencies, and solving exercises designed to train these operations. Drawing on such examples, the presentation traces how this learned arithmetic was transferred into administrative bookkeeping in Franconia. It further examines how the distinction between money of account and coins in circulation shaped calculation, record-keeping, and everyday financial practice. Reading materials will be provided a few days before the session.

Room:  S121, Lerchenweg 36, 3012 Bern  

Zoom link: please write a message to medimath.momug@unibe.ch 

Flyer (PDF, 696KB)

Wednesday 12 November 2025, 16:15-17:45 (hybrid form)

Emanuele Rovati (University of Zürich and Abbey Library of Saint Gall): Pseudo-Ptolemy's Centiloquium: The Rise of an Astrological Bestseller

The Centiloquium is the most influential collection of astrological aphorisms in the history of premodern science. Falsely attributed to the Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, the text is first attested in Arabic in 10th-century Egypt and subsequently gained prominence as it was transmitted across languages and cultures. This talk examines the ways in which Muslim, Jewish, and Christian scholars addressed some of the text’s problematic features, in particular its complex relationship to Ptolemy’s authentic works. A comparative analysis of their interpretations — marked by striking convergences as well as notable divergences — demonstrates the value of a cross-cultural approach to the history of science in the Mediterranean and beyond.

Room: F -105 Lerchenweg 36, 3012, Bern
If you wish to attend the meeting online, please write an email to medimath.momug@unibe.ch

Flyer (PDF, 408KB)

Wednesday 14 May 2025, 16:15-17:45 (hybrid form)

Julia Tomasson (Columbia University), Polygons and Polyphony: Geometry after the so-called Islamic Golden Age

Recent trends in post-classical (~14th-18th centuries CE) Islamic intellectual history have sought to reclaim this period as intellectually dynamic, with a set of epistemic priorities that were coherent, albeit different from our own. In this talk, I examine a set of post-classical geometric manuscripts to demonstrate that these were not “mere commentaries” nor merely Greek mathematics in Arabic. Rather, these texts show that in the postclassical period, there was a distinct shift away from Greek epistemologies and discursive traditions to new Islamic ones into which they wrote their achievements.

Room: F -105 Lerchenweg 36, 3012, Bern

If you wish to attend the meeting online, please write an email to medimath.momug@unibe.ch

Wednesday 5 March 2025, 16:00-18:00 (hybrid form)

Zehra Bilgin (Istanbul Medeniyet University/Institute of the History of Science), Risāla dar ʻIlm-i Hisāb: Alī Qūshjī’s First Work on Mathematics

Alī Qūshjī (d. 879/1474), an astronomer, mathematician, theologian and linguist of fifteenth century, has a key role in the formation of scientific life in the Ottomans. Risāla dar ʻIlm-i Hisāb, which is the first of two mathematical works by Alī Qūshjī, was written in Persian, probably in Samarkand before h.861/1456. It consists of three chapters; on Indian arithmetic, sexagesimal arithmetic (arithmetic of astronomers) and applied geometry. In this talk, I will discuss the writing process of the book and Alī Qūshjī’s motivations on writing it. Besides, as an example of the content, I will give the method of finding the quadratic root of integers.

Room: F -105 Lerchenweg 36, 3012, Bern
If you wish to attend the meeting online, please write an email to medimath.momug@unibe.ch