Pivoting compass needle in a 14th century handcopy of Peter's Epistola de magnete (1269)

Peter of Maricourt (Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt;^[1] French Pierre [Pèlerin] de Maricourt; Latin Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt) (fl. 1269) was a 13th century French scholar who conducted experiments on magnetism and wrote the first extant treatise describing the properties of magnets. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. In Physics, magnetism is one of the Phenomena by which Materials exert attractive or repulsive Forces on other Materials. A magnet (from Greek grc μαγνήτης λίθος " Magnesian stone" is a material or object that produces a Magnetic field. His work is particularly noted for containing the earliest detailed discussion of freely pivoting compass needles, a fundamental component of the dry compass soon to appear in medieval navigation. A compass, magnetic compass or mariner's compass is a navigational instrument for determining direction relative to the earth's Magnetic poles It consists ^{[2] [3] [4]} He also wrote a treatise on the construction and use of a universal astrolabe. The astrolabe is a historical Astronomical instrument used by classical astronomers, Navigators

Peter’s text on the magnet is titled in many of the manuscipts as Epistola Petri Peregrini de Maricourt ad Sygerum de Foucancourt, militem, de magnete ("Letter on the Magnet of Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt to Sygerus of Foucaucourt, Soldier"),^[5] but it is more commonly known by its short title, Epistola de magnete. Peter's letter is thus addressed to an otherwise unknown Picard countryman named Sygerus (Sigerus, Ysaerus) of Foucaucourt, possibly a friend and neighbor of the author; Foucaucourt borders on Peter's home area of Maricourt, in the department of the Somme, near Péronne. Picardie ( English: Picardy is one of the 26 regions of France. Foucaucourt-en-Santerre is a commune in the Somme département in the Picardie region of France. The Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. Péronne is a commune of the Somme département, in France. It is close to where the Battles of the Somme took place

The letter also bears the closing legend (but in only one of the 39 manuscript copies) Actum in castris in obsidione Luceriæ anno domini 1269º 8º die augusti ("Done in camp during the siege of Lucera, August 8, 1269"), which might indicate that Peter of Maricourt was in the army of Charles, duke of Anjou and king of Sicily, who, in 1269, laid siege to the city of Lucera. Lucera is a town and Comune in the Province of Foggia, in the Apulia region of Italy. Charles I ( 21 March 1226 &ndash 7 January 1285) commonly called Charles of Anjou, was the King of Sicily by conquest But given that only one manuscript attests this, the argument is weak. ^[6] There is no indication of why he received the sobriquet Peregrinus ("pilgrim") but it suggests that he may have been either a pilgrim at one point or a crusader; and the 1269 attack on Lucera had been sanctioned as a crusade by the Pope. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and So Peter of Maricourt may have served in that army.

"You must realize, dearest friend," Peter writes, "that while the investigator in this subject must understand nature and not be ignorant of the celestial motions, he must also be very diligent in the use of his own hands, so that through the operation of this stone he may show wonderful effects. " ^[7]

The content of the Epistola de magnete

Peter's letters explain how to identify the poles of the compasses. He also describes the laws of magnetic attraction and repulsion. Electromagnetism is the Physics of the Electromagnetic field: a field which exerts a Force on particles that possess the property of Electric charge is a fundamental conserved property of some Subatomic particles which determines their Electromagnetic interaction. The letters also contain a description of an experiment with a repaired magnet, as well as a number of compasses, one of which "you will be able to direct your steps to cities and islands and to any place whatever in the world. " Indeed, the increasing perfection of magnetic compasses during the thirteenth century allowed navigators such as Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi to strike out on voyages to unknown lands. Vandino (sometimes Vadino or Guido) and Ugolino Vivaldi (fl 1291 were two brothers and Italian explorers and merchants from Genoa

Maricourt's magnetic "perpetual motion machine"

The Epistola de magnete is divided into two parts. Part One (10 chapters): This is a section that serves as a model of inductive reasoning based on definite experiences, and setting forth the fundamental laws of magnetism. Induction or inductive reasoning, sometimes called inductive logic, is the process of Reasoning in which the premises of an argument are believed He did not discover these laws, but presented them in logical order. Part One discusses the physical (but not the occult) properties of the lodestone and provides the first extant written account of the polarity of magnets. Magnetite is not to be confused with Magnesite or Maghemite. Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic Mineral with chemical He was thus the first to use the word “pole” in this context. He also provides methods for determining the north and south poles of a magnet. He also describes the effects magnets have upon one another, showing that like poles repel each other and unlike poles attract each other. He also treats the attraction of iron by loadstones the magnetization if iron by loadestones; and the ability to reverse the polarity in such an induced magnet. Pierre attributed the earth's magnetism to the action of celestial poles, rather than to the terrestrial poles of the planet itself. ^[8]

Part Two (three chapters): This section describes three devices that utilize the properties of magnets. He treats the practical applications of magnets, describing the “wet” floating compass as an instrument in common use, and proposing a new “dry” pivoted compass in some detail. He also attempts to prove that with the help of magnets it is possible to realize perpetual motion (see History of perpetual motion machines). The term perpetual motion, taken literally refers to movement that goes on forever The history of perpetual motion machines dates back to the Middle Ages. His device is a toothed wheel which passes near a lodestone so that the teeth are alternately attracted by one pole and repelled by the other.

The universal astrolabe text

Part of the engraving on the back-side of Maricourt's universal astrolabe

The Nova Compositio Astrolabii Particularis (found in only 4 manuscripts) describes the construction and use a universal astrolabe which could be used at a variety of latitudes without changing the plates. The astrolabe is a historical Astronomical instrument used by classical astronomers, Navigators Unlike al-Zarqālī’s more famous universal astrolabe in which vertical halves the heavens were projected onto a plane through the poles, this one had both the northern and southern hemispheres projected onto a plane through the equator (which was also the limit of projection). There are no known surviving astrolabes based on this treatise. The use of such an astrolabe is very complicated, and since it is probable that most sophisticated users were not frequent travelers, they were more likely happier with the traditional (and simpler) stereographic planispheric astrolabe.

Roger Bacon

The literature often mentions that Peter was praised by Roger Bacon, who called him a “perfect mathematician” and one who valued experience over argument. For the Nova Scotia premier see Roger Bacon (politician. Roger Bacon, O But the association of the praise with Peter de Maricourt appears only in a marginal gloss to Bacon’s Opus tertium and only in one of the five manuscripts used in the critical edition, which leads us to conclude that it was a later comment added by someone else. That Bacon’s praise is for our Peter is open to serious debate.

Legacy

The influence of Maricourt’s astrolabe was virtually nil. His reputation derives mainly from his work on magnetism. The De magnete became a very popular work from the Middle Ages onwards, as witnessed by the large number of manuscript copies.

The first printed edition of it was issued at Augsburg, in 1558, by Achilles Gasser. Augsburg is an independent City in the south-west of Bavaria. Georg Joachim von Lauchen, also known as Rheticus ( February 16 1514 &ndash December 4 1574) was a Mathematician, ^[9] In 1572, Jean Taisner published from the press of Johann Birkmann of Cologne a work entitled Opusculum perpetua memoria dignissimum, de natura magnetis et ejus effectibus, Item de motu continuo. Jean Taisner ( Taisnier) (in Latin, Johannes Taisnerius) was a priest This is considered a piece of plagiarism, as Taisnier presents, as though his own, the Epistola de magnete of Peter of Maricourt and a treatise on the fall of bodies by Gianbattista Benedetti. Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work Giambattista (Gianbattista Benedetti ( August 14 1530 &ndash January 20 1590) was an Italian mathematician from Venice

William Gilbert acknowledged his debt to Peter of Maricourt and incorporated this thirteenth century scientist's experiments on magnetism into his own treatise, called De magnete. William Gilbert, also known as Gilbard ( Colchester, England, May 24, 1544 &ndash London, England, November 30 De Magnete Magneticisque Corporibus et de Magno Magnete Tellure ( On the Magnet and Magnetic Bodies and on That Great Magnet the Earth) is a scientific ^[10]

The Epistola de magnete was later issued by Guillaume Libri (Histoire des sciences mathématiques en Italie, vol 2 [Paris, 1838], pp. 487-505), but, based on only one manuscript, this edition was full of defects; corrected editions were published by Timoteo Bertelli (in Bulletino di bibliografia e di storia delle scienze matematiche e fisiche pubblicata da B. Boncampagni, 1 (1868), 70-80)^[11] and G. Hellmann (Rara magnetica 1269-1599 [Neudrucke von Schriften und Karten über Meteorologie und Erdmagnetismus, 10], [Berlin, 1898]) . ^[12]

The modern critical edition was prepared by Loris Sturlese and appears in Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt, Opera (Pisa, 1995), pp. 63-89.

A translation into English has been made by Silvanus P. Thompson ("Epistle of Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt, to Sygerus of Foucaucourt, Soldier, concerning the Magnet", [London: Chiswick Press, 1902]); by Brother Arnold [=Joseph Charles Mertens] ("The Letter of Petrus Peregrinus on the Magnet, A. D. 1269", with introductory note by Brother Potamian [= M. F. O’Reilly], [New York, 1904]); and H. D. Harradon, (“Some Early Contributions to the History of Geomagnetism - I,” in Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity [now Journal of Geophysical Research] 48 [1943], 3-17 [text pp. 6-17]).

The modern critical edition of the astrolabe text was prepared by Loris Ron B. Thomson and appears in Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt, Opera (Pisa, 1995), pp. 119-196.

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) established the Petrus Peregrinus Medal in recognition for outstanding scientific contributions in the field of magnetism. The European Geosciences Union (or EGU) is an interdisciplinary learned non-profit association open to individuals who are professionally engaged in or associated [1]

References

External links

• Encyclopædia Britannica: Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Pierre de Maricourt
• Peter Peregrinus at www.iee.org
• The letter of Petrus Peregrinus on the magnet, A.D. 1269 (translated 1904)
• Andreas Kleinert, Wie funktionierte das Perpetuum mobile des Petrus Peregrinus?, in NTM N. S. 11 (2003), 155–170, abstract

This article incorporates text from the entry Pierre de Maricourt in the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia