Olaus Johannis Gutho - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Olaus Johannis Gutho was a late 15th-century student at Uppsala University

Uppsala University

Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...

, whose preserved lecture notes are one of the few sources for the curriculum of the only mediaeval Swedish university.

Biography

Olaus was a student at Uppsala University

Uppsala University

from its very first semester in 1477 until at least 1486, and later became a monk in the Brigittine Abbey of Vadstena. His name is a latinization of Olof Johansson or Olof Jonsson (or a similar form), with the byname indicating that he was from the island of Gotland

Gotland

Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

. He is mentioned as a baccalaureus in artibus in an undated note, and was a magister artium by the time he entered the monastery in 1506. However, Olaus had not yet graduated as a baccalaureus in 1486, at the time of the last dated notes, which may be explained by his young age at the time of enrollment; students could enter university as young as seven or eight years old, but were not allowed to take the baccalaureate until the age of seventeen. Olaus died in 1516 during a visit to Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

.

When entering the monastery in 1506, Olaus was required to give up all his private possessions; the notes from lectures in Uppsala which he donated to the monastery library made up seven bound volumes. These were eventually returned to Uppsala along with the rest of the library after the dissolution of the Abbey of Vadstena in the late 16th century, and they now belong to the Uppsala University Library

Uppsala University Library

Uppsala University Library at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, consists of 12 subject libraries, one of which is housed in the old main library building, Carolina Rediviva...

. The manuscripts (C 195, 242, 599, 600, 601, 602 and 627) were edited and published with an introduction by the Latinist Anders Piltz

Anders Piltz

Anders Piltz is a Swedish latinist and medievalist, a priest in the Roman Catholic church and member of the Dominican Order.Born in Ödeborg in Dalsland, Piltz studied at the University of Uppsala and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He completed his Ph.D. at Uppsala in...

in his dissertation Studium Upsalense (1977).

The earliest notes cover theology, although Olaus started his studies in the Faculty of Philosophy in 1482. The notes show a strong emphasis on Aristotelian philosophy and the influence of Albertus Magnus

Albertus Magnus

Albertus Magnus, O.P. , also known as Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, is a Catholic saint. He was a German Dominican friar and a bishop, who achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of and advocacy for the peaceful coexistence of science and religion. Those such as James A. Weisheipl...

and Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...

that pervaded education in all universities in Europe at the time. His teachers included the theologians Ericus Olai, remembered for his chronicle Chronica regni gothorum, and Peder Galle, who later became known as one of the leading opponents of the Protestant reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

in Sweden. The Uppsala curriculum also included Euclid

Euclid

Euclid , fl. 300 BC, also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of Geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I...

's mathematics and the astronomy text De sphaera mundi
De sphaera mundi
De sphaera mundi is a medieval introduction to the basic elements of astronomy written by Johannes de Sacrobosco c. 1230...

by Johannes de Sacrobosco

Johannes de Sacrobosco

Johannes de Sacrobosco or Sacro Bosco was a scholar, monk, and astronomer who taught at the University of Paris and wrote the authoritative mediaeval astronomy text Tractatus de Sphaera.-Origins:Although described as English, his birthplace is unknown because Sacrobosco is...

. The astronomy notes have influenced Uppsala astronomers to name an asteroid after him, 8869 Olausgutho

8869 Olausgutho

- External links :*...

, discovered in 1992.

Biography

Further reading