Prosdocimus de Beldemandis
Encyclopedia
Prosdocimus de Beldemandis (or Prosdocimo de' Beldomandi) (died 1428) was an Italian
mathematician
, music theorist
, and physician
.
He studied at the University of Padua
and the University of Bologna
. The earliest works by him date from the early 15th century. He took the doctorate in arts at Padua on 15 May 1409, and received a physician's license on 15 April 1411. In 1412 he stayed in Montagnana
, where he wrote a number of treatises. From c. 1420/22 to 1428, the year of his death, Prosdocimus taught a wide variety of subjects at Padua. His was interested in, among other things, arithmetic
, music, astronomy
, and astrology
; this range of interests, however, was common for a Paduan doctor of his day. He was held in high regard long after his death: some of the treatises were reprinted in the 16th century, and Luca Pacioli
ranked him alongside Euclid
and Boethius.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
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....
, music theorist
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
, and physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
.
He studied at the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
and the University of Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
. The earliest works by him date from the early 15th century. He took the doctorate in arts at Padua on 15 May 1409, and received a physician's license on 15 April 1411. In 1412 he stayed in Montagnana
Montagnana
Montagnana is a town and comune in the province of Padova, in Veneto . It is bounded by other communes of Saletto, Megliadino San Fidenzio, Casale di Scodosia, Urbana, Bevilacqua, Pojana Maggiore and Noventa Vicentina...
, where he wrote a number of treatises. From c. 1420/22 to 1428, the year of his death, Prosdocimus taught a wide variety of subjects at Padua. His was interested in, among other things, arithmetic
Arithmetic
Arithmetic or arithmetics is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple day-to-day counting to advanced science and business calculations. It involves the study of quantity, especially as the result of combining numbers...
, music, astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, and astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
; this range of interests, however, was common for a Paduan doctor of his day. He was held in high regard long after his death: some of the treatises were reprinted in the 16th century, and Luca Pacioli
Luca Pacioli
Fra Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli was an Italian mathematician, Franciscan friar, collaborator with Leonardo da Vinci, and seminal contributor to the field now known as accounting...
ranked him alongside 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...
and Boethius.
Selected writings
- Expositiones tractatus pratice cantus mensurabilis Johannis de Muris (c. 1404)
- Tractatus pratice cantus mensurabilis (1408)
- Brevis summula proportionum quantum ad musicam pertinet (1409)
- Contrapunctus (1412)
- Tractatus pratice cantus mensurabilis ad modum Ytalicorum (1412)
- Tractatus plane musice (1412)
- Parvus tractatulus de modo monacordum dividendi (1413)
- Tractatus musice speculative (1425)