Peregrinus of Maricourt, Peter

Peregrinus of Maricourt, Peter

French scientist
French  Pierre Pèlerin de Maricourt,  Latin  Petrus Peregrinus de Maharncuria (“Peter the Pilgrim from Maricourt”)  
flourished 13th century

      French crusader and scholar who wrote the first extant treatise describing the properties of magnets (magnet).

      Almost nothing is known about Peregrinus' life, except that he wrote his famous treatise while serving as an engineer in the army of Charles I of Anjou that was besieging Lucera (in Italy) in August 1269 in acrusadesanctioned by the pope. Peregrinus' abilities as an experimenter and technician were highly praised by his contemporary Roger Bacon.

      Peregrinus' letter on the magnet, Epistola Petri Peregrini de Maricourt ad Sygerum de Foucaucourt, militem, de magnete (“Letter on the Magnet of Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt to Sygerus of Foucaucourt, Soldier”), commonly known by its short title, Epistola de magnete, consists of two parts: the first treats the properties of the lodestone ( magnetite, a magnetic iron oxide mineral), and the second describes several instruments that utilize the properties of magnets. In the first part, Peregrinus provides the first extant written account of the polarity of magnets (he was the first to use the wordpolein this regard), and he provides methods for determining the north and south poles of a magnet. He describes the effects magnets have upon one another, showing that like poles repel each other and unlike poles attract each other. In the second part of his treatise he treats the practical applications of magnets, describing the floating compass as an instrument in common use and proposing a new pivoted compass in some detail.

      In the Epistola Peregrinus added his own fundamental observations to the existing contemporary knowledge of magnets and organized the whole into a body of scholarship that formed the basis of the science of magnetism. It is widely regarded as one of the great works of medieval experimental research and a precursor of modern scientific methodology.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Peter Peregrinus de Maricourt — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Peter Peregrinus de Maricourt; en francés Pierre Pèlerin de Maricourt; Latina Petrus Peregrinus de Maharncuria) (fl. 1269) fue un estudioso francés del siglo XIII que realizó experimentos sobre magnetismo y escribió… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Peter of Maricourt — (Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt; [Edward Grant, “Peter Peregrinus,” Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York: Scribners, 1975), 10: 532. Ron B. Thomson, “Peter Peregrinus,” Medieval Science, Technology and Medicine. An Encyclopedia , ed.… …   Wikipedia

  • Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt — Trockenkompass mit frei drehbarer Magnetnadel. Abschrift der Epistola de magnete aus dem 14. Jh. Petrus Peregrinus de Maharncuria (Frz. Pierre Pèlerin de Maricourt; deutsch Peter der Pilger von Maricourt) war ein französischer Gelehrter des 13.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Peter — is a popular male given name. It comes from the Greek word πετρος (petros) meaning rock . Peter could refer to the following:* Peter (name), the name itself. People The following people are known primarily by the name Peter :Religion* Saint Peter …   Wikipedia

  • Maricourt — No debe confundirse con Peter Peregrinus de Maricourt. Maricourt …   Wikipedia Español

  • Petrus Peregrinus — Trockenkompass mit frei drehbarer Magnetnadel. Abschrift der Epistola de magnete aus dem 14. Jh. Petrus Peregrinus de Maharncuria (Frz. Pierre Pèlerin de Maricourt; deutsch Peter der Pilger von Maricourt) war ein französischer Gelehrter des 13.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Pierre de Maricourt — • Article on this 13th century theorist of optics and magnetism, written by Pierre Duhem Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Pierre de Maricourt     Pierre de Maricourt   …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Pierre de Maricourt — Trockenkompass mit frei drehbarer Magnetnadel. Abschrift der Epistola de magnete aus dem 14. Jh. Petrus Peregrinus de Maharncuria (Frz. Pierre Pèlerin de Maricourt; deutsch Peter der Pilger von Maricourt) war ein französischer Gelehrter des 13.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Pierre de maricourt — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Maricourt. Pierre de Maricourt, surnommé Pierre le Pèlerin, ((la) Petrus Peregrinus) est un savant du Moyen Âge …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Pierre de Maricourt — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Maricourt. Pierre de Maricourt, surnommé Pierre le Pèlerin, ((la) Petrus Peregrinus) est un savant du Moyen Âge …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
https://universalium.en-academic.com/282982/Peregrinus_of_Maricourt%2C_Peter Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”