Henricus Grammateus
Encyclopedia
Henricus Grammateus (1495 - 1525 or 1526) was a German
mathematician
. In 1518 he published details of a new musical temperament
, which is now named after him, for the harpsichord
. It was a precursor of the equal temperament
.
, Germany, studied in Vienna
and Cracow, and died in Vienna
.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
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....
. In 1518 he published details of a new musical temperament
Musical temperament
In musical tuning, a temperament is a system of tuning which slightly compromises the pure intervals of just intonation in order to meet other requirements of the system. Most instruments in modern Western music are tuned in the equal temperament system...
, which is now named after him, for the harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
. It was a precursor of the equal temperament
Equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
.
Biography
Henricus Grammateus was born in ErfurtErfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
, Germany, studied 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...
and Cracow, and died 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...
.
Works
- Algorithmus proportionum una cum monochordi generalis dyatonici compositione, pub. Volfgangvm De Argentina, Cracow, 1514
- Libellus de compositione regularum pro vasorum mensuratione. Deque arte ista tota theoreticae et practicae, Vienna, 1518
- Ayn new Kunstlich Buech (A New Skill Book), Vienna 1518, Nuremberg 1521 - contains the earliest-known use of the plus and minus signsPlus and minus signsThe plus and minus signs are mathematical symbols used to represent the notions of positive and negative as well as the operations of addition and subtraction. Their use has been extended to many other meanings, more or less analogous...
for addition and subtraction and is the earliest German text on bookkeeping