Andreas Stöberl (c. 1464 Grössing, Helmuth: "Stiborius, Andreas", pp.261f. in Henschel, Christine; Jahn, Bruno (eds.): ''

Killy Literaturlexikon The ''Killy Literaturlexikon - Autoren und Werke des deutschsprachigen Kulturraumes'' is an author's lexicon of German language literature. The latest edition of twelve volumes was published between 2008 and September 2011 by De Gruyter. A registe ...

'' Vol 11: Si–Vi, 2nd ed.; de Gruyter 2011, . in Pleiskirchen near

Altötting Altötting (, , in contrast to "Neuötting, New Ötting"; , ) is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, capital of the Altötting (district), district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in ...

– September 3, 1515 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

), better known by his

latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

ised name Andreas Stiborius (Boius), was a German

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

, and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

working mainly at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

Life

Stöberl studied from 1479 on at the

University of Ingolstadt The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of four faculties: theology, law, artes liberales and medicine, all of w ...

, where he became a magister in 1484,Schöner, Christoph: "Andreas Stiborius", in Boehm, L.; Müller, W.; Smolka, W.J.; Zedelmaier, H. (eds.): ''Biographisches Lexikon der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität'', Pt. I: "Ingolstadt-Landshut 1472–1826", Berlin, 1998, p. 419f. . and subsequently a member of the Faculty of

Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

. At

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

, he met and became a friend of

Conrad Celtis Conrad Celtes (; ; 1 February 1459 – 4 February 1508) was a German Renaissance humanist scholar and poet of the German Renaissance born in Franconia (nowadays part of Bavaria). He led the theatrical performances at the Viennese court and re ...

, an eminent advocate of humanism who lectured there between 1492 and 1497.Grössing, Helmuth: ''Humanistische Naturwissenschaft. Zur Geschichte der Wiener mathematischen Schulen des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts'', Saecula Spiritalia 8, Baden-Baden 1983, pp. 147ff. . When Celtis moved to Vienna in 1497, Stöberl followed his mentor. Stiborius was a member of the

Sodalitas Litterarum Danubiana Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana ("Literary Sodality of the Vistula") was an international academic society modelled after the Roman Academy, founded circa 1495 in Kraków by Conrad Celtes, a German humanist scholar who also founded the Sodalitas Lit ...

, a circle of humanists founded by Celtis. In 1502 he became one of two professors for mathematics (the other was

Johannes Stabius Johannes Stabius (Johann Stab) (1450–1522) was an Austrian cartographer and astronomer of Vienna who developed, around 1500, the heart-shape (cordiform) projection map later developed further by Johannes Werner. It is called the '' Werner map ...

, his friend from IngolstadtGrössing, Helmuth: "Stabius (Stöberer), Johannes", in Worstbrock, Franz Josef (ed.): ''Deutscher Humanismus 1480–1520: Verfasserlexikon'', Berlin: de Gruyter 2012, p. 949. .) at the ''Collegium poetarum et mathematicorum'',Grössing, Helmuth: "Johannes Stabius", in ''Mitteilungen des Oberösterreichischen Landesarchivs, Band 9'', 1968, pp. 239–264; here p. 245f founded on Celtis' initiative by emperor Maximilian I the year before, as a part of the University of Vienna. At the ''Collegium'', he taught courses in

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

, as he did later at the University, where he got a chair at the ''Collegium ducale'' in 1503.Hayton, Darin:
Instruments and demonstrations in the astrological curriculum: evidence from the University of Vienna, 1500–1530
, in ''Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 41'' (2010), pp. 125–134.
Abstract
URLs last accessed 2012-11-02. Stiborius was a gifted teacher and well-liked by his students.Kaiser, H.K.
Geschichte der Mathematik in Österreich
", TU Vienna, 1989, p. 3.
published
in
Didaktikheft No. 17 of the Österreichische Mathematische Gesellschaft
', pp. 55–71, 1989.) URLs last accessed 2012-11-03. In 1507 or 1508 he became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

at St. Stephen's, and until his death in 1515 in Vienna he was also

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

Stockerau Stockerau () is a town in the district of Korneuburg (district), Korneuburg in Lower Austria, Austria. Stockerau has 16,974 inhabitants, which makes it the largest town in the Weinviertel. Stockerau is also called "Lenaustadt" (Lenau Town) because ...

, where he was buried.

Works

At Vienna, Stiborius worked with

Georg Tannstetter Georg Tannstetter (April 1482 – 26 March 1535), also called Georgius Collimitius, was a humanist teaching at the University of Vienna. He was a medical doctor, mathematician, astronomer, cartographer, and the personal physician of the empero ...

, who came to Vienna from Ingolstadt in Autumn 1502.Graf-Stuhlhofer, Franz: ''Humanismus zwischen Hof und Universität. Georg Tannstetter (Collimitius) und sein wissenschaftliches Umfeld im Wien des frühen 16. Jahrhunderts'', Vienna: WUV Universitätsverlag 1996, p. 40. . Together they became the most prominent exponents of the "Second Viennese School of Mathematics" (the first having been the circle around Johann von Gmunden,

Georg von Peuerbach Georg von Peuerbach (also Purbach, Peurbach; ; 30 May 1423 – 8 April 1461) was an Austrian astronomer, poet, mathematician and instrument maker, best known for his streamlined presentation of Ptolemaic astronomy in the ''Theoricae Novae Planetar ...

, and

Regiomontanus Johannes Müller von Königsberg (6 June 1436 – 6 July 1476), better known as Regiomontanus (), was a mathematician, astrologer and astronomer of the German Renaissance, active in Vienna, Buda and Nuremberg. His contributions were instrument ...

). Tannstetter, in his ''Viri Mathematici'' names both Stabius and Stiborius as his teachers. As editor, Stiborius published an edition of

Robert Grosseteste Robert Grosseteste ( ; ; 8 or 9 October 1253), also known as Robert Greathead or Robert of Lincoln, was an Kingdom of England, English statesman, scholasticism, scholastic philosopher, theologian, scientist and Bishop of Lincoln. He was born of ...

's ''Libellus Linconiensis de Phisicis lineis, angulis et figuris, per quas omnes acciones naturales complentur'' in 1503.Europeana
Grosseteste, Robert (author), Stiborius, Andreas (ed.):
Libellus Linconiensis de Phisicis lineis, angulis et figuris, per quas omnes acciones naturales complentur.
', Nuremberg 1503. For Tannstetter's edition ''Tabulae Eclypsium...'', which was published in 1514 and contained tables of eclipses of

and the ''primi mobilis'' tables of

, Stiborius wrote two prefaces.Hayton, p. 134. In preparation of the 10th session of the 5th council of the Lateran,

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

requested in October 1514 from various rulers to have their scientists offer proposals on the

calendar reform Calendar reform or calendrical reform is any significant revision of a calendar system. The term sometimes is used instead for a proposal to switch to a different calendar design. Principles The prime objective of a calendar is to unambiguo ...

. Emperor Maximilian gave the task to Stiborius and Tannstetter in Vienna, and to

Johannes Stöffler Johannes Stöffler (also ''Stöfler, Stoffler, Stoeffler''; 10 December 1452 – 16 February 1531) was a German mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, priest, maker of astronomical instruments and professor at the University of Tübingen. Life Jo ...

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

. Stiborius and Tannstetter proposed to omit one

leap year A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) compared to a common year. The 366th day (or 13th month) is added to keep t ...

every 134 years, and to drop the 19-year

metonic cycle The Metonic cycle or enneadecaeteris (from , from ἐννεακαίδεκα, "nineteen") is a period of almost exactly 19 years after which the lunar phases recur at the same time of the year. The recurrence is not perfect, and by precise obser ...

used by the Church to calculate the

Easter date As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as – often simply ''Computus'' – or as paschalion particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the ...

. Instead of the metonic cycle, they proposed to simply use the true astronomic calculation for the full moon dates to determine

Paschal Full Moon An ecclesiastical full moon is formally the 14th day of the ecclesiastical lunar month (an ecclesiastical moon) in an ecclesiastical lunar calendar. The ecclesiastical lunar calendar spans the year with lunar months of 30 and 29 days which are in ...

. Furthermore, they pointed out that the true astronomic

March equinox The March equinox or northward equinox is the equinox on the Earth when the subsolar point appears to leave the Southern Hemisphere and cross the celestial equator, heading northward as seen from Earth. The March equinox is known as the ver ...

and full moons, on which the whole calculation of the Easter date and thus other Church holidays was based, would occur at different times, sometimes even different dates in places at different

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

s around the globe, leading to Church holidays falling on different days in different places. They recommended to use universally the equinox at the

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

.Kaltenbrunner, Ferdinand:
Die Vorgeschichte der Gregorianischen Kalenderreform
in ''Sitzungsberichte der Philosophisch-Historischen Classe der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Band 82, Jahrgang 1876, Heft III'', Vienna 1876, pp. 289–414. On Tannstetter and Stiborius, see p. 385ff. URL last accessed 2012-11-03. Tannstetter and Stiborius's calendar reform proposal was published as ''Super requisitione sanctissimi Leonis Papae X. et divi Maximiliani Imp. p.f. Aug. De Romani Calendarii correctione Consilium in Florentissimo studio Viennensi Anustriae conscriptum et aeditum'' ca. 1515 by the printer

Johannes Singriener Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, '' Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Ye ...

in Vienna.Graf-Stuhlhofer, p. 125ff. As it turned out, the whole topic of the calendar reform was not even discussed at the fifth Lateran Council.Kaltenbrunner, p. 397. Tannstetter gives in his ''Viri Mathematici'' a list of books in Stiborius's library, and also a list of works written by the latter himself. He mentions a five-volume ''Opus Umbrarum'' ("Work of Shadows"), in which Stiborius treated various astronomical and mathematical topics such as cartographic projections, the theory and use of the

astrolabe An astrolabe (; ; ) is an astronomy, astronomical list of astronomical instruments, instrument dating to ancient times. It serves as a star chart and Model#Physical model, physical model of the visible celestial sphere, half-dome of the sky. It ...

, including the saphea, the construction of

sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...

s, and others. The work was the basis of his lectures in Vienna;Hayton, p. 126. it appears never to have been published though.Grössing (1983), p. 175. A partial copy made in 1500 of these lecture notes has survived.

Legacy

The lunar crater Stiborius is named after him.

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

(IAU), Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Stiborius on Moon
URL last accessed 2012-11-08.

Footnotes

References

Literature

*Schöner, Christoph: ''Mathematik und Astronomie an der Universität Ingolstadt im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert'', Ludovico Maximilianea. Forschungen; Vol. 13, Berlin : Duncker und Humblot, 1994. . In German. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoberl, Andreas 1464 births 1515 deaths 16th-century Austrian astronomers Austrian mathematicians Austrian Renaissance humanists 15th-century German astronomers 16th-century German astronomers 15th-century German mathematicians 16th-century German mathematicians