Georg Tannstetter - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Georg Tannstetter also called Georgius Collimitius, was a humanist

Humanism

Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....

teaching at the University of Vienna

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

. He was a medical doctor, mathematician

Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....

, astronomer

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

, cartographer

Cartography

Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...

, and the personal physician of the emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

s Maximilian I

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...

and Ferdinand I

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...

. He also wrote under the pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

of "Lycoripensis". His Latin name "Collimitius" is derived from limes meaning "border" and is a reference to his birthtown: "Rain" is a German word for border or boundary.

Born in Rain am Lech in Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, he studied in Ingolstadt

Ingolstadt

Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...

. In 1503, he followed a call of Conrad Celtis to the University of Vienna

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

, where he taught mathematics. He soon became a leading figure amongst the humanist

Humanism

s in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. In 1510, he became the personal physician of emperor Maximilian I

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

, who would six years later ennoble him with the predicate "von Thanau".

He travelled with his student Joachim Vadian

Joachim Vadian

Joachim Vadian , born as Joachim von Watt, was a Swiss Humanist and scholar and also mayor and reformer in St. Gallen.-Biography:...

to Buda

Buda

For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...

in 1518. After his earlier work in c. 1527 he edited a map of Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, today known as Tabula Hungariae

Tabula Hungariae

Tabula Hungariae is the earliest surviving printed map of Hungary, which has supposedly been made by Hungarian Lázár deák before 1528. It was inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2007. -Description:...

, from the manuscript of Lazarus Secretarius, a Hungarian clerk. The map was published by Johannes Cuspinianus, printed 1528 in Ingolstadt

Ingolstadt

by Petrus Apianus

Petrus Apianus

Petrus Apianus , also known as Peter Apian, was a German humanist, known for his works in mathematics, astronomy and cartography.The lunar crater Apianus and minor planet 19139 Apian are named in his honour....

; its unique copy is in the National Library of Hungary. It is generally praised for its details (c. 1300 settlements) and the relative accuracy of the distances between the settlements. It was one of the very first regional maps, included a scale but the manuscript was seriously reshaped, so it is uneasy to recognize the geography of Hungary. Tannstetter is also considered a pioneer of the history of science with his work Viri Mathematici, containing biographies of mathematicians at the University of Vienna from the 15th century.

In 1530, he moved to Ferdinand's court at Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

, where he died five years later.

Selected works

Librum consolatorium contra opiniones de diluvio et aliis horrendis periculis anni 1523, Vienna 1523. A tract to counter the Flood hysteria of that year.
Viri Mathematici
Tabula Hungarie ad quatuor latera
Tabula Hungariae
Tabula Hungariae is the earliest surviving printed map of Hungary, which has supposedly been made by Hungarian Lázár deák before 1528. It was inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2007. -Description:...

, The Lazarus map of Hungary. Ingolstadt 1528.
Artificium De Applicatione Astrologiae ad Medicinam..., 1531.

Selected works

Further reading