Vitello (; ; – 1280/1314) was a Polish

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

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 ...

natural philosopher Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the developme ...

and an important figure in the history of philosophy in Poland.

Name

Vitello's name varies with some sources. In earlier publications he was quoted as Erazmus Ciolek Witelo, Erazm Ciołek, Vitellio and Vitulon. Today, he is usually referred to by his Latin name Vitello Thuringopolonis, often shortened to Vitello.

Life

Vitello's exact birth-name and birthplace are uncertain. He was most likely born around 1230 in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, in the vicinity of

Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...

. His mother came from a Polish knightly house, while his father was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

settler from

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. He called himself, in

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 ...

, "''Thuringorum et Polonorum filius''" — "a son of

Thuringians The Thuringii, or Thuringians were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who lived in the kingdom of the Thuringians that appeared during the late Migration Period south of the Harz Mountains of central Germania, a region still known today as Thur ...

and

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

." He studied at Padua University about 1260, then went on to

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

. He became friends with

William of Moerbeke William of Moerbeke, Dominican Order, O.P. (; ; 1215–35 – 1286), was a prolific medieval translator of philosophical, medical, and scientific texts from Greek into Latin, enabled by the period of Latin Empire, Latin rule of the Byzanti ...

, the translator of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

from Greek language into Latin. Vitello's major surviving work on

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

, ''Perspectiva'', completed in about 1270–78, was dedicated to William. In 1284 he described the reflection and

refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one transmission medium, medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commo ...

of light.Joe Rosen; Lisa Quinn Gothard.
Encyclopedia of Physical Science
'. Infobase Publishing; 2009. . p. 691.

''Perspectiva''

Vitello's ''Perspectiva'' was largely based on the work of the

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

Alhazen Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham ( Latinized as Alhazen; ; full name ; ) was a medieval mathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age from present-day Iraq.For the description of his main fields, see e.g. ("He is one of the princ ...

(

Ibn al-Haytham Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham (Latinization of names, Latinized as Alhazen; ; full name ; ) was a medieval Mathematics in medieval Islam, mathematician, Astronomy in the medieval Islamic world, astronomer, and Physics in the medieval Islamic world, p ...

; d. ca. 1041) and

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 ...

, and he in turn influenced later scientists, in particular

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...

. Vitello's treatise in optics was closely linked to the Latin version of Ibn al-Haytham's Arabic opus: '' Kitab al-Manazir'' (''The Book of Optics''; ''De aspectibus'' or ''Perspectivae''), and both were printed in the

Friedrich Risner Friedrich Risner (Latin: Fridericus Risnerus; c.1533 – 15 September 1580) was a German mathematician from Hersfeld, Hesse. He was an assistant to Petrus Ramus (from around 1565) and was the first chair of mathematics at Collège Royale ...

edition ''Opticae thesaurus'' (Basel, 1572). Vitello's ''Perspectiva'', which rested on Ibn al-Haytham's research in optics, influenced also the Renaissance theories of perspective.

Lorenzo Ghiberti Lorenzo Ghiberti (, , ; 1378 – 1 December 1455), born Lorenzo di Bartolo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, a key figure in the Early Renaissance, best known as the creator of two sets of bronze doors of the Florence Baptister ...

's ''Commentario terzo'' (''Third Commentary'') was based on an Italian translation of Vitello's Latin ''Perspectiva''. Vitello's treatise also contains much material in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

, outlining views that are close to modern notions on the association of ideas and on the

subconscious In psychology, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is not currently of focal awareness. The term was already popularized in the early 20th century in areas ranging from psychology, religion and spirituality. The concept was heavily popu ...

. ''Perspectiva'' also includes Platonic

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

discussions. Vitello argues that there are intellectual and corporeal bodies, connected by causality (corresponding to the

Idealist Idealism in philosophy, also known as philosophical realism or metaphysical idealism, is the set of metaphysical perspectives asserting that, most fundamentally, reality is equivalent to mind, spirit, or consciousness; that reality is entir ...

doctrine of the universal and the actual), emanating from

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

in the form of Divine Light.

Light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

itself is, for Vitello, the first of all sensible entities, and his views on light are similar to those held by

Roger Bacon Roger Bacon (; or ', also '' Rogerus''; ), also known by the Scholastic accolades, scholastic accolade ''Doctor Mirabilis'', was a medieval English polymath, philosopher, scientist, theologian and Franciscans, Franciscan friar who placed co ...

, though he is closer in this to

's legacy.''Ibid'', El-Bizri, 2005

Other works

In ''Perspectiva'', Vitello refers to other works that he had written. Most of these do not survive, but ''De natura daemonum'' and ''De primaria causa paenitentiae'' have been recovered.

Legacy

The

lunar crater Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated. History The wo ...

'' Vitello'' is named after him.

Notes

References

Vitello and his thoughts * ''Witelonis Perspectivae Liber Primus: Book I of Vitello's Perspectiva'', edition and English translation by Sabetai Unguru, with introduction and commentary, Warsaw, The Polish Academy of Science Press, Studia Copernicana, vol. XV, 1977. * ''Witelonis Perspectivae Libri Duo - Liber Secundus et Liber Tertius: Books II and III of Vitello's Perspectiva'', edition and English translation by Sabetai Unguru, with introduction and commentary, Warsaw, The Polish Academy of Science Press, Studia Copernicana, vol. XXVII, 1991. * ''Witelonis Perspectivae Liber Quartus: Book IV of Vitello's Perspectiva'', A Critical Edition and English Translation with Introduction, Notes and Commentary by Carl J. Kelso, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. * ''Witelonis Perspectivae Liber Quintus: Books V of Vitello's Perspectiva'', edition and English translation by Mark A. Smith of the First Catoptrical Book of Witelo's Perspectiva, with introduction and commentary, Warsaw, The Polish Academy of Science Press, 1983. Studies * Clemens Baeumker, "''Witelo: Ein Philosoph und Naturforscher des dreizehnten Jahrhunderts''," ''Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters'', part 3, no. 2, Münster, Aschendorff, 1908. *

Władysław Tatarkiewicz Władysław Tatarkiewicz (; 3 April 1886 – 4 April 1980) was a Polish philosopher, historian of philosophy, historian of art, esthetician, and ethicist. Early life and education Tatarkiewicz began his higher education at Warsaw University ...

, ''Historia filozofii'' (History of Philosophy), 3 vols., Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1978.
Jerzy Burchardt, "The Discovery of the Rainbow in Crystal by Witelo"

External links

Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries
High resolution images of works by and/or portraits of Witelo in .jpg and .tiff format. * Erasmus Ciołek Witelo monument in the Żórawina village, Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, SW Poland

{{Authority control People from Silesia Polish historians of philosophy Natural philosophers 13th-century mathematicians Catholic clergy scientists 13th-century Polish historians Polish Roman Catholic theologians Medieval Polish scientists Polish philosophers Medieval Polish mathematicians 13th-century German scientists German physicists Canons of Wrocław 13th-century German writers Medieval German mathematicians 13th-century writers in Latin People from Legnica Scholastic philosophers Year of birth uncertain 1280 deaths 13th-century Polish clergy University of Padua alumni 13th-century German philosophers