Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision in the 16th Century

Author(s): Bruce T. Moran

Source: Sudhoffs Archiv , 1977 3. QUARTAL, Bd. 61, H. 3 (1977 3. QUARTAL), pp. 209-
228
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20776477

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 Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision
in the 16th Century*

By Bruce T. Moran

In his Scholarum mathematicarum (Basil, 1569) the French philos

opher and educational reformer Petrus Ramus (1515-1572) observes
that "Germany is especially fortunate and happy in its learned and
erudite princes", and expresses further his delight upon discovering
"to what degree the princes of Hesse, Saxony and Austria have become
captivated by the study of mathematics"1. The mathematical and
astronomical instruments of the Landgraf Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Kassel
(1532-1592) - "who seems to have come as Ptolemy from Egypt to
Germany with his armillaries and rules" - particularly gained the
excited recognition of the Parisian scholar2. "The Landgraf Wilhelm
appears to have transported Kassel to Alexandria", Ramus continues,
"he has so furnished Kassel with the makers of instruments necessary
for observing the stars."3 Of the varied instruments produced by the
Kassel court mechanicians however, a device to which Ramus refers
as an astrarium automaton was by far the most curious and intriguing.
Ramus' observations are apt. During the second half of the 16th
century, astronomical clocks and celestial spheres, which simulated the
motions of the heavens by means of clock-work mechanisms, became
popular at many courts throughout Europe and were particularly well
represented at the courts of German princes. Although there exist
medieval, not to say ancient precedents for instruments of this type,
it was not until the 16th century that such vigorous attention was
given to their construction by princely patrons4. So intense was the

* I am indebted to Professor Robert S. Westman of the University of California,

Los Angeles, my mentor, who recommended this contribution for the celebration of
Dr. Bernhard Sticker's 70th birthday. I wish also to acknowledge the kindness and
generosity of the curators of the 'Adler Planetarium' in Chicago, Mr. and Mrs.
R. S. Webster. A shorter version of this article was presented before a session
entitled: "Science and Society in the 16th Century" as part of the Medieval Institute's
Eleventh Conference on Medieval Studies sponsored by the Society for Reformation
Research in May, 1976.
1 P. Kami Scholarum mathematicarum Libri unus et triginta. Basilae 1569. p. 67.
2 Ibid. 3 Ibid.
4 At the end of the 15th century a planetary horologe was prepared by Lorenzo
delta Volpaia for Lorenzo De'Medici "which not only marked the hours of the day,
but the motions of the sun and of the planets, the eclipses, the signs of the zodiac

15 Sudhoffs Ardiiv, Band 61, Heft 3 (1977)

? Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH, D-6200 Wiesbaden

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210 Bruce T. Moran

interest in the description of planetary movement that the numbers of

astronomical globes and clocks produced roughly between 1550 and
1630 remained unequaled until the development of three dimensional
planetaria over 150 years later5. During this period the workshops of
the Landgraf Wilhelm IV became recognized centers for the production
of clockwork driven celestial spheres and astronomical clocks, enter
taining interested visitors and manufacturing celestial automata for
emperors, electoral princes and neighboring territorial sovereigns.
The mechanical operations of celestial globes and astronomical clocks
are themselves significant features in the history of horology. Yet,
while the developments in horological movement which pertain to such
astronomical machines have frequently provoked scholarly attention,
the social basis for their construction has been largely ignored. By
focusing upon the relation of princes themselves to the manufacture of
celestial automata, and by underscoring the activities of three im
portant German princes in the preparation of mathematical instru
ments, an important social perspective is obtained in the general pro
duction of mechanical devices in the 16th century.
The revival of the mathematical and technical works of classical
authors, coupled with a growing polemic against the a priori construe

and the whole revolutions of the heavens." See William Roscoe: The Life of Lorenzo
De'Medici Called the Magnificent. London 1889, tenth ed. Chap. VII, p. 267. Also,
SilvioBedini and FrancisMaddison: Mechanical Universe: The Astrarium of Giovanni
de'Dondi. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new series 56 (1966),
pp. 32, 40n and 63. Around 1545 an astronomical clock was prepared for Albert IV
of Brandenburg which is mentioned in E. Bassermann-Jorden: Die Geschichte der
Raderuhr unter besonderer Beriicksichtigung der Uhren Bayerischen Nationalmuseum.
Frankfurt/Main 1905. pp. 8 and 45. The sketch for this device is pictured as plate
11 in Klaus Maurice: Von Uhren und Automaten. Das Messen der Zeit. Miinchen
1968. Another well known planetary constructed arround 1553 by Oronce Fine for
Charles of Lorraine has been described in detail by D. Hillard and E. Poulle: Oronce
Fine et L'Horologe Planetaire de la Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve. Bibliotheque
D'Humanisme et Renaissance 33 (1971), 311-349. Besides the planetary clocks
manufactured in the 16th century for the Emperor Charles V, Wihelm IV of Hesse
Kassel, August of Saxony and Ott-Heinrich of the Palatinate which shall be
mentioned hereafter, significant astronomical machines were also produced at the
courts of Christian and Frederick II of Denmark, Maximilian II, Ferdinand of the
Tyrol, Rudolf II in Prague and Albrecht and Wilhelm V of Bavaria.
5 cf. H. von Bertele: Globes and Spheres. Globen und Spharen. Globes et Spheres
(Part of a lecture at the Royal Society of Arts). Lausanne 1961. p. 8. Here Professor
von Bertele describes the last half of the 16th century as the "heyday" of mechanical
globes.

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 Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision in the 16th Century 211

tions of scholastic Aristotelianism, contributed to the establishment of

an intellectual framework during the Renaissance which emphasized
the practical operations of artisans and technicians as important
elements in the investigation of nature6. Nevertheless, much of the
attention given by mechanicians to the manufacture of precision instru
ments and machines arose in response to practical problems. In the
broadest sense, these problems evolved from technical requirements
which accompanied far ranging exploration, economic expansion and
political consolidation. Within this general context however, the special
interests and independent activities of princes directly stimulated
mechanical achievement and technical innovation.
The mechanical activities of the Emperor Charles V (1500-1558)
influenced the preparation of two instruments which pertain specifi
cally to the increased attention among princes in the construction of
planetary automata. Already in 1540 the prototype of many later
astronomical clocks was provided by Peter Apianus (1495-1552),
professor of mathematics at the University of Ingolstadt and court
astronomer to the Emperor. In an elegant volume known as the
Astronomicum Caesareum (Ingolstadt, 1540) Apianus contrived,
through the utilization of numerous sets of rotating paper discs, to
provide a solution to the problem of predicting the positions of the
heavenly bodies by means of a calculating machine. The essential
purpose of the work was to make the study of the heavens more
accessible, especially for those who, like his patrons Charles V and
King Ferdinand of Spain, had been deterred from the study of astron
omy because of the tedious mathematical calculations required for the
determination of planetary movement7. The key to understanding the
heavens was therefore "reduced to instruments without the use of
numbers [i. e. mathematics] or calculations"8.
From the late 16th century the mathematical education of princes
and gentlemen became associated more and more with mechanical
calculators, the utilization of which avoided theoretical principles,
substituting a simple set of manual procedures in the solution of prac
tical problems9. Like these later devices, the paper constructions of
the Astronomicum Caesareum, which made it possible to determine or

6 See especially Paolo Rossi: Philosophy, Technology and the Arts in the Early
Modern Era. trans. Salvator Attanasio. New York 1970. pp. 10 f.
7 P. Apianus Astronomicum Caesareum. Ingolstadt 1540. lectori. 8 Ibid.
9 A. J. Turner: Mathematical Instruments and the Education of Gentlemen.
Annals of Science 30 (1973), 51-88.

15*

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212 Bruce T. Moran

reconstruct stellar and planetary positions at any given time, proved

enticing to princes, some of whom, like the Landgraf Wilhelm IV of
Hesse-Kassel and the Elector Ott-Heinrich of the Palatinate (1502
1559), were motivated to produce further astronomical machines based
upon the model manufactured by Apianus.
Yet, however much Apianus' cardboard assemblies may have turned
the attention of princes to the mechanical calculation of celestial move
ment, the foundation for the expanded production of clockwork-driven
planetary machines in the 16th century was provided, also around
1540, by the creation of a tool used for the cutting of gear wheels. The
development of this tool, which afforded a greater dimension of
accuracy and uniformity in the manufacture of the wheels essential
to clock movement while dramatically decreasing the necessary time
to produce them, was influenced as well by the mechanical interests
of the Emperor.
While visiting Pavia in 1529, Charles V became interested in the
restoration of the famous 14th century astrarium manufactured by the
Paduan professor of medicine, Giovanni de* Dondi (1318-1389). For
the project the talented Italian clockmaker Gianello Torriano of
Cremona (1501-1575) was recommended to the Emperor, and having
entered the service of Charles V, the clockmaker returned to Spain in
the imperial company10. Attempts to repair the de5 Dondi mechanism
however proved futile and Torriano consequently was set upon the
task of producing a new astronomical device for his patron. Writing in
1575, the Spanish chronicler Ambrosio Morales described Torriano's
celestial machine, recounting that within the device
one could discern the motion of the primum mobile with its contrary move
ment, the eighth sphere with its trepidation, the motion of the seven planets
with all their anomalies, the positions of the sun and the moon and the
designation of the zodiac with many principal stars11.

Both the imagination and the artistry of the clockmaker were taxed by
the construction of the astrarium. Special difficulties were encountered
in representing the movements of the primum mobile and the planet
Mercury and in depicting the varying positions of the moon. Yet such
complexities inspired technical innovation. Thus Morales recalls that

10 H. von Bertele and E. Neumann: Die Kaisermonument-Uhr: Monographic einer

historisch bedeutungsvollen Figurenuhr aus der Spatzeit Kaiser Karls V (1500-1558).
Luzern 1965. p. 60. See also, Bedini and Maddison (1966), 37-40.
11 Ambrosio de Morales: Las Antigiiedades de las ciudades de Espana. In: Cronica
de Espana. Madrid 1792. vol. IX. pp. 337 f. First published at Alcala in 1575.

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 Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision in the 16th Century 213

in order to overcome such complications, and to represent within the clock

the precise motion [of the planets] with their irregular movements, he
[Torriano] claims that he made his skill reach where number [i. e. the
mathematical design] would not12.

It was while engaged in the production of the Emperor's planetary

that Torriano conceived and built his machine which partially elimi
nated the laborious hand filing of individual gear teeth. By the time of
Morales' description, the machine had become common in Spain and
respresented a major element in the refinement of clockwork mech
anisms.
As he told me, it took him twenty years to imagine and complete the
design [of the clock] and because of the intensity of thought given to
considering the plan, he himself became ill during that time and was carried
to the point of death. Having taken so long in conceiving it however, he did
not take more than three and one half years in constructing [the device]
with his hands. This was a large undertaking for the clock has 1800 wheels
without mentioning the many other parts made of iron and brass which
intervene. So it was necessary every day (except for holidays) to make three
wheels which were different in size, in the number and form of the teeth and
in the manner in which they fitted together. While his diligence was indeed
marvelous, we are amazed even more by the ingenious lathe which he invented
(as we see them at present) making it possible to work wheels with a file and
obtain the exact uniformity and dimensions of the teeth which might be
required. With all this, and with the understanding that he worked it all
with his hands, it should not cause surprise when Janelo says, as he does,
that no wheel was made twice because it always came out the first time as
it should13.

There can be little doubt that the possession of beautifully con

structed and elaborately engineered planetary clocks helped to satisfy
some of the personal needs and ambitions of princes14. Yet the length
of time needed to produce such instruments, the extreme degree of
mechanical understanding and technical skill required for their produc
tion (not to mention the financial expense involved in their manu
facture) far exceeded the conditions necessary for the satisfaction of
the passing whims of princely dilettantes. What then were the reasons
for the manufacture of such instruments? What were the purposes for
which they were used?
Three powerful incentives often worked together to influence the
construction of astronomical clocks at princely courts in the 16th
12 Ibid. pp. 338 f.
13 Ibid. Also quoted in Robert S. Woodbury: History of the Gear-Cutting
Machine: A Historical Study in Geometry and Machines. Cambridge Mass. 1958.
pp. 45 f. 14 von Bertele (1961), loc. cit.

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214 Bruce T. Moran

century. The first of these may be described as an attempt to provide

a physical model of the orderly operations of the heavens. Such a desire
for the precise representation of planetary interrelationships led to
the creation of the famous Wilhelmsuhr15 which was manufactured for
Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Kassel by the Marburg mechanician Eberhart
Baldewein (1525-1592) in 1561.
The well known astronomical observations of Wilhelm IV, which
have been described in part by Professor Sticker16, were among the
most exact of the 16th century17. Together with the observations of
the Danish astronomer Tycho Brake (1546-1601), with whom the
Landgraf maintained a close correspondence, Wilhelm's astronomical
measurements provided essential information for those who sought the
dissolution, during this period, of the Aristotelian view of the physical
world. How the Landgraf's observations were made to support natural
conceptions which were themselves derived from specific metaphysical
assumptions becomes evident within the writings of the Italian
natural philosopher Giordano Bruno (c. 1548-1600). Like Peter
Ramus, Bruno found much to praise in the mathematical and astro
nomical interests of German princes. The observations of Wilhelm IV,
however, complemented Bruno's own theoretical views and became
therefore especially significant.

15 The Wilbelmsubr is preserved among the instruments of the 'Staatliche Kunst

sammlungen' in Kassel. Descriptions of the planetary clock may be found in: August
Coster: Ober die grofie astronomische Kunstuhr in dem Kasseler Museum. Zeitschrift
des Vereins fiir Hessische Geschichte und Landeskunde. N. F. 5 (1874), 293-328.
Henri Martin: Die Uhrmacherkunst am Hofe zu Kassel um 1570. Die Uhrmacher
Woche 21 (1914), 59-61. and 71-74. The most detailed representations of the clock
are produced by H. Allen Lloyd: Some Outstanding Clocks Over Seven Hundred
Years 1250-1950. London 1958. pp. 46-60. Important studies relating to the
Wilbelmsuhr have been provided also by Paul Adolf Kirchvogel: Astronomisch
mechanische Kunstwerke in Kassel aus der Zeit der Spat-Renaissance. Hessenland
50 (1939), 69-78. And: Landgraf Wilhelm IV von Hessen und sein astronomisches
Automatenwerk. Index zur Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaften und Technik
1 (1953), 12-18.
16 Bernard Sticker: Landgraf Wilhelm IV und die Anfange der modernen astro
nomischen Mefikunst. Sudhoffs Archiv 40 (1956), 15-25. Also: Die Wissenschaftlichen
Bestrebungen des Landgrafen Wilhelm IV. Zeitschrift des Vereins fiir Hessische
Geschichte und Landeskunde 67 (1956), 130-137.
17 cf. Galileo Galilei: Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems -
Ptolemaic and Copernican. trans. Stillman Drake. Berkeley 1967. p. 295.

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 Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision in the 16th Century 215

Among the Germans we find not only princes who care enough to foster
the study of astronomy in general ... but also, above all, we find the
rescuer of [astronomical learning], the great Landgraf Wilhelm of Hesse.
Rather than alienating his senses and the intelligence of his eyes [this prince]
learns astronomy by experience [callet astronomiam] and not through the
exorbitant peripetetic philosophy attached to the Ptolemaic theory. He rejects
the adoption of orbs and spheres with affixed or embedded stars. [18] He knows
that comets are of the same substance as other stars and that they pervade
through the extent of the aetherial region, bearing witness, for that reason,
to one continuous heaven without a level of air and a level of aether. [He
has also observed] that the newly appearing stars . . . penetrate and pass
through these unsuitable spheres. From whence it follows that such a region
with its impenetrable, indivisible and unalterable Quinta essentia is a
chimera19.

However the observations of the Landgraf may have been used by

others, theoretical alteration was not their primary intent. In fact, to
understand the purpose of the stellar observations undertaken at Kassel
by WilhelmIV and his mathematician Christoph Rothmann (c. 1550--C.
1605) it is necessary to view the observational activities of the court as
part of a planned program of reform. The need for the reform of
observational data became apparent to the Landgraf from the existing
inconsistencies within the Ptolemaic, Alphonsine and even Prutenic
tables. Yet in his work of restoration Wilhelm shared the procedures
and values of many naturalists in the 16th century who sought, through
the direct observation of nature and the precise description of natural
phenomena, to amend descriptive errors within classical sources20.

18 This may simply have been wishful thinking on the part of Bruno.
19 Oratio Valedictoria a Jordano Bruno Nolano D. Habita, ad amplissimos et
clarissimos professores, atque auditores in Academia Witebergensi anno 1588, 8
Marti. In: Jordani Bruni Nolani Opera Latine conscripta. Neapoli 1879. vol. I,
pars I. pp. 18 f.
20 Representative of a wide circle of naturalists in the 16th century is the French
botanist Jean Ruelle (1474-1537). In the preface to his 'De natura Stirpium libri
tres' (Parisiis 1536) Ruelle observed that the works of Theophrastus, Galen, Pliny
and even Diascorides in many respects contained conflicting accounts of herbs and
plants. "Wherefore", he writes, "the disagreement [dissidium] of such great men
impelled me to pass through empty solitudes of vast extent, to wander over
impassible mountain ridges ... or sometimes even with my small body to assail dan
gerous precipices so that even by direct observation, not to say, by immediate
acquaintance, I might perceive [comprehendere] the things themselves about which
had been written." In the same way, Christoph Rothmann reports in 1586 that due to
considerable differences in longitude and latitude evident within the observational
tables of the ancients Wilhelm IV concluded that one could understand nothing from
them and that astronomical learning depended entirely upon new astronomical

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216 Bruce T. Moran

Neither the observational programs of Wilhelm IV nor the empirical

efforts of descriptive naturalists in the 16th century were concerned
with the establishment of theoretical principles. Rather, the improve
ment and modification of the knowledge of the natural world and the
understanding of natural order were made to rest essentially upon
the collection and detailed observation of all manner of natural panic
ularia. It is by no means coincidental therefore that the manufacture
of planetary automata by the Kassel court mechanicians occured simul
taneously with the compilation of Wilhelm IV's botanical catalogs,
stellar tables and with the composition of highly specific inventories
of administrative statistics21. Each project sought, after detailed
observation, to produce a representative miniature of a much larger
world. It is this far-reaching confidence in a well defined universe
capable of encyclopedic analysis and reducible to descriptive models
which brought about the translation of macrocosmic order into
miniature mechanical analogies.
Self-operating models of planetary movement also contained a
pedagogic element, affording a visual means by which new theoretical
ideas concerning the ordering of the heavens could be made more
intelligible. Thus, Wilhelm IV's observational assistant, Christoph
Rothmann, reports in 1588 that upon learning of the geo-heliocentric
planetary theory proposed by Tycho Brahe the Landgraf instructed
his mechanician Jost Burgi (1552-1632) to provide him with a
mechanical representation of the hypothesis.
And following this method our most illustrious prince also ordered in this
past year an automaton to be constructed of wondrously small proportions,
yet exhibiting nonetheless the motions of all the planets. The small disc is
flat on both sides and scarcely six thumbwidths in diameter. On the one side
is contained the theoric of the moon with its epicycles and the Head of
the Dragon. [*] On the other side [is represented] the theories of the sun

measurements: 'Tabula Observationum Stellarum Fixarum . . . anno 1586* (Mur

hardsche Bibliothek der Stadt Kassel und Landesbibliothek, MS astron. 2? 6). A
letter from Rothmann to Wilhelm IV which is contained in this MS has been partly
transcribed by Rudolf Wolf in: Astronomische Mittheilungen 45 (1876-1879), 126 f.
To the professor of mathematics at the University of Marburg, Victorinus Schonfeld
(1525-1591), Wilhelm reported in this same year his intention to observe the fixed
stars, "for we find in the tables such great diversities of not only 5-6 but often 10-11
degrees difference". Hessisches Staatsarchiv, Marburg: 4A 31. 8.
21 See Ludwig Zimmermann: Der Okonomische Staat Landgraf Wilhelm IV.
Quellen zur Verwaltungsgeschichte Hessischer Territorien. Marburg 1933.

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 Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision in the 16th Century 217

and all the other planets. All motions, as much the mean anomalies and
centers as the true motions are displayed not only in Longitude, but for the
three superior planets, in Latitude as well22.

One of the first fully automated representations of a heliocentric

planetary system, also attributed to Jost Burgiy is preserved at the
'Kunsthistorisches Museum' in Vienna23. The device, produced pre
sumably at the court of the Emperor Rudolf II around 1608, contains
two planetary faces, one atop the other. A sun-centered planetary
configuration is portrayed in the upper dial with the earth third
removed from the center, although fixed. Lines of sight emanate out
from this position to the Zodiac. The lower dial mechanically depicts
the old geocentric order as if to allow the observer to choose either
model, whichever proved more appealing or convenient.
The application of celestial spheres and astronomical clocks to the
astrological interests of princes in the 16th century furnished a second
motivating feature for their production. As visual indicators of
planetary interrelationships, celestial automata could be utilized as
extremely well adapted mechanisms for both picturing and predicting
the various aspects of the planets which were of particular astrological
portent.
Although generally ignored by historians, Wilhelm IV himself main
tained an active interest in astrology (albeit of a very specific variety)

22 Tycho Brake: Epistolarum Astronomicarum. Tychonis Brahe Dani Opera

Omnia, ed. J. L. E. Dreyer. Hauniae 1919. vol. VI. p. 157. - Caput and Cauda
Draconis were used as designations for both the points of intersection of the course
of the moon with the ecliptic, i. e. the lunar nodes. These complete a full revolution
in regression along the ecliptic in approximately 19 years.
23 A reproduction of this clock has been published by H. von Bertele: Jost Biirgis
Beitrag zur Formentwicklung der Uhren. Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen
des Allerhochsten Kaiserhauses. N. F. 51 (1955), 169-188. - An instrument which
described the course of the planets according to both Ptolemaic and Copernican
theories was discovered by Tycho Brahe in the possession of Erasmus Schreckenfuchs
(1511-1579) in 1569. Already in 1540 an armillary sphere was constructed by
Johann Wagner in Niirnberg which represented the motion of the earth and moon
around the sun. Drawings for a Copernican machine were developed by Johannes
Kepler in 1596. The instrument was however, never constructed although the
association of Kepler with Jost Burgi at the court of Rudolf II may have influenced
the construction of Biirgi's heliocentric-geocentric astronomical clock. See Ernst
Zinner: Entstehung und Ausbreitung der Coppernicanischen Lehre. Sitzungsberichte
der Physikalisch-medizinischen Sozietat zu Erlangen 74 (Erlangen 1943), p. 390.

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 218 Bruce T. Moran

and organized astrological projects at the Kassel court24. It was,

however, one of Wilhelm's closest political and religious allies, the
Elector August of Saxony (1526-1586) who became especially intrigued
by the astrological component of planetary clocks25. August's al
chemical activities and his occult involvement in the art of geomancy26
were themselves dependent upon a knowledge of the precise configura
tions of the planets at a particular moment - the very features most
essential to a well working astronomical clock. Consequently, having
learned of August's interests in the production of such an instrument,
Wilhelm IV commissioned his own court mechanician to design and
manufacture a planetary horologe for the Elector in 1563. When the
instrument was completed finally four years later, at a cost to the
Elector of about 2000 Thaler, the Landgraf's chief mechanician at that
time, Eberhart Baldewein, traveled to Dresden in order to present the
Elector with the device and to instruct him in its operation. In this
way, Wilhelm IV was informed of August's own circle of mathematic
ians and mechanicians27 and established thereafter a significant
astronomical correspondence with one of the most important members

24 In a letter from Wilhelm IV to August of Saxony dated 2 Nov., 1576 the

Landgraf writes: "I have been occupied for some time with the maximum conjunction
of Jupiter and Saturn which will occur in a few years almost in the same point of
the heavens where the last comet appeared. This will undoubtedly bring about
changes of such a kind . . . that I intend to extract and calculate accurately the
times of convergence as well as the times of the mean and real conjunction and,
thereafter, to note the moments of historical change [which coincide] with it. This
also will allow one to conjecture more accurately since the result of these changes
and the corresponding time of the occurance in the heavens [is known]. Although
this will be a great labor, it will nevertheless be such a work the likes of which has
never been seen before." In an interesting post script Wilhelm requests that the Saxon
Elector keep his letter and project secret "since your grace knows how despicable is
this art with those who do not understand it". Hessisches Staatsarchiv, Marburg:
4F Kursachsen 60.
25 Ramus (1569), loc. cit.: ". . . the mathematical instruments of the Landgraf
have inflamed August of Saxony, the Elector, with an equal love for astrology,
already of his own will violently inflamed by Doctor Homelius."
26 See Otto Richter: Die Punktirbiicher des Kurfiirsten August von Sachsen. For
schungen zur Deutschen Geschichte 20 (1880; rept. Osnabriick 1968), 13-35. Also,
Karl von Weber: Anna Churfiirstin zu Sachsen. . . . Ein Lebens- und Sittenbild.
Leipzig 1865. 27 Hessisches Staatsarchiv, Marburg: 4A 31. 6.

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 Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision in the 16th Century 219

of that circle, the rector of the University of Wittenberg and personal

physician to the Elector, Caspar Peucer (1525-1602)28.
A third important motivating feature for the interest among princes
in the construction of astronomical clocks during this period can be
surmised by examining the relationship between the Elector Ott
Heinrich of the Palatinate and the Tubingen professor of mathematics,
Philipp Immser (at Tubingen from 1538 until after 1550). At Tubingen
Immser had initiated lectures within the university framework per
taining to the construction of mathematical instruments29. In 1554
however, the mathematician was called upon by Ott-Heinrich to
produce "a new astronomical work. . . . which shall move through
gearwork and other drives and describe all the planets in their true
course."80
An interesting aspect of the clock {Figure one), pictured in its
completed state, is that the positions of the planets may be read off a
single dial, while five dial faces describe the variations in latitude of
the planets above and below the ecliptic. The planetary itself rests in
the possession of the cTechnisches Museum fur Industrie und Gewerbe'
in Vienna31.
From the first, Ott-Heinrich emphasized that the device must exhibit
the greatest possible precision in its demonstration of planetary move
ment and promised Immser a reward of 100 gulden if the machine
could be made to indicate the correct positions of the planets continu
ally for a period of one year32. Although Immser promised the Elector
that he had completely worked out the design of the machine and was
therefore certain of its accurate performance, the process of trans
ferring this design into a working mechanical device proved too much
for the mathematician and Immser was reduced to brooding and
puzzling over the instrument's difficult construction. By 1556 Immser

28 Hessisches Staatsarchiv, Marburg: 4A 31. 12. Also, 4F Kursachsen 82. Part

of this correspondence was published by Tycho Brahe: Astronomiae Instauratae
Progymnasmatum. op. cit. vol. III. pp. 114 f. 120-123. 127-129.
29 Ernst Zinner: Deutsche und Niederlandische Astronomische Instrumente des
11.-18. Jahrhunderts. Munchen 1956. p. 397.
30 Hans Rott: Ott-Heinrich und die Kunst. Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des
Heidelberger Schlofl 5 (Heidelberg 1905), p. 117.
31 Zinner (1956), loc. cit. Also, Bruce Chandler and Clare Vincent: The Mathe
matician Philip Immser and the Clockmaker Gerhard Emmoser. Actes du Xllle
Congres International d* Histoire des Sciences 6 (1971, pub. 1974), 362-367.
32 Rott (1905), 118.

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220 Bruce T. Moran

was able only to deliver the shell of the clock to Ott-Heinrich insisting
that he had now become spiritually incapable of giving further atten
tion to its completion. Unwilling to accept only a fragment of the
instrument which Immser had promised originally, the Elector returned
the device to the mathematician, instructing him to continue his work
regardless of his mental state. However, in the hope of facilitating the
completion of the machine, the Heidelberg clockmaker Gerhard Em
moser (died 1584) was sent to Immser's workshop in order to help
materialize the mathematician's mechanical ideas.
In a word, the collaboration of mathematician and clockmaker was a
disaster. Each jealously protected his own work. Indeed, mutual antag
onisms grew to such an extent that Immser complained that at one
point the clockmaker had dismantled the astronomical mechanism
altogether and had locked some of the component parts away in a
trunk claiming that they were his alone33.
Finally, in 1557, Immser informed Ott-Heinrich of the completion
of the astronomical clock, although even now, he admitted, the courses
of the planets were not entirely accurate - a discrepancy caused, he
maintained, not by his own designs, but by the inconsistent mechanical
constructions of the clockmaker Emmoser34.
The Tubingen professor had reached the limit of his endurance.
Begging Ott-Heinrich to have mercy on his "melancholy head and
crazed senses"35, he implored his patron to be satisfied with the work
in its present state. But no! Once more the clock was returned to
Immser for further refinement of its internal mechanism. Again, at the
end of 1558, a new attempt was made by Immser to increase the
precision of the planetary, this time in the company of two astronomers
- Ott-Heinrich's court mathematician Cyprianus Leovitius (1524-15 74)
and the professor of mathematics at the University of Tubingen from
1556 to 1570, Samuel Eisenmenger (1534-1585). Now however the
calculations of the astronomers would not agree and the instrument
was left uncorrected. A renewed attempt at correction followed shortly
thereafter, but there appeared again in the device a whole series of
irregularities. Immser had had enough. Spiritually and physically ex
hausted by the work, he refused to pursue further improvements since,
"his head has been worn out to such a degree in the labor that he is

33 Letter dated 13 July, 1558 from Philip Immser to Stephan Chanberg, published
in Rott. p. 223. Chandler and Vincent (1971), loc. cit. 34 Rott (1905), 118.
35 Letter dated Nov., 1558 from Immser to Ott-Heinrich, published by Rott.
p. 224.

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 Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision in the 16th Century 221

unable to attempt the slightest thing further"86. Whatever plans Ott

Heinrich may have nurtured for pressing the Tubingen mathematician
further in the project were interrupted by the Elector's death in the
following year.
Like many princes in the 16th century, Ott-Heinrich harbored an
intense interest in astrological matters and doubtless Immser's astro
nomical clock was viewed by the Elector as a potential astrological
tool. Yet in his concern for the skillful articulation of the astronomical
instrument which he commissioned, Ott-Heinrich expressed his own
interest in the machine as a work of art.
An examination of patron-client contracts in Italy during the course
of the 15th century has recently revealed a steady qualitative change,
becoming more intense near the end of the century, from an emphasis
upon the use of precious materials and pigments in painting to an
emphasis upon the skill of a particular artist37. Similarly, in the con
struction of astronomical globes and clocks in the following century
it is the skill of the mechanician which is most important in the manu
facture of planetary Kunstuhren. In the service of princes, then,
mechanical skill was nourished as an aesthetic and cultural value. It is
this attention to constructional proficiency which helped to encourage
the activities of mechanical practitioners who in turn produced in
creasingly sophisticated machinery.
Unlike the present day consumer who often holds no common in
terests with the artist whose work he acquires, princes and mechanicians
in the 16th century often worked in very close relationships with one
another such that the manufacture of astronomical globes and clocks
was frequently due to their joint cooperation. Simply, the manufacture
of celestial automata was far too important to be left solely to mecha
nicians. The drawings of the Nova Reperta produced by the Flemish
artist Jan van der Straet (Stradanus) (1523-1605) and the engravings
provided for the Standebuch of Hans Sachs by Jost Ammans (1539
1591) visualize the interest among the nobility of this period in the
activities of the workshop - especially those projects which pertain to
the making of clockwork. Such interest was an important aspect in the
development of a social environment which promoted the activities of
mechanicians in the 16th century making their skills valuable and their
occupations highly respected.
38 Ibid. p. 119.
37 Michael Baxandall: Painting and Experience in 15th Century Italy. Oxford
1972.

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 222 Bruce T. Moran

Moreover, in certain instances princes did more than simply support

the work of mechanicians and became actively engaged in the manu
facture of mathematical instruments themselves. The paper construc
tions of the Astronomicum Caesareum influenced Wilbelm IV of
Hesse-Kassel to prepare a copper imitation of Apianus' planetary
volvelles which he was able to set in motion by means of a hand crank.
Assisted by the Nurnberg mathematician and astronomer Andreas
Schdner (1528-1590), Wilhelm IV himself helped provide the observa
tions and calculations which underlay the manufacture of his own
astronomical clock in 156198. Indeed, throughout the construction of
the automaton produced for the Elector of Saxony. Wilhelm maintained
a close working relationship with Eberhart Baldewein, the instru
ment's chief architect. Instructions and suggestions concerning the
clock's preparation, especially ideas pertaining to the driving mechan
ism of the device, passed frequently from the Landgraf to his mech
anician. Baldewein's own ideas concerning the instrument's design were
sent to Wilhelm IV in the form of sketches, while each component part
of the instrument, when completed, was submitted to Wilhelm for his
approval. For his part, Baldewein considered each of the Landgraf's
mechanical proposals, tested them, and then reported his judgments
concerning them to Wilhelm IV, bluntly assessing the effectiveness of
their mechanical operation39.
The care and precision demanded by Wilhelm IV of his own astro
nomical observations became as well the most valued feature of the
mechanical projects undertaken at the court of Hesse-Kassel. When
joined with the individual ingenuity of mechanical artisans like Eber
hart Baldewein and Jost Burgi, the programs of the Landgraf produced
important innovations in the history of fine mechanical technology.
In this regard, the production of complicated clockwork at the court
of Wilhelm IV is of special significance.
While occupied with the manufacture of an astronomical globe in
1575, Eberhart Baldewein confronted the problem of depicting simul
taneously solar and sidereal velocities. The difficulty was overcome
with the invention of a differential gear with continuously engaged
mobiles which converted 365 annual revolutions of the sun along the

38 Murhardsche Bibliothek der Stadt Kassel und Landesbibliothek: MS astron. 2?

16. Sticker (1956), 17 f.
39 Susanne Voigt: Ebert Baldewein, der Baumeister Landgraf Ludwigs IV von
Hessen-Marburg, 1567-1592. University of Marburg dissertation 1942. pp. 10 f.

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 Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision in the 16th Century 223

ecliptic into 366 annual rotations of the celestial globe - all with
uniform motion40. Differential gearing, used frequently to relate
synodic and sidereal months, became a common feature of many later
16th and 17th century astronomical clocks. As a fundamental element
of mechanical engineering, the refinement of epicyclic systems of
gearing marks one of the most important technological successes of the
Kassel court.
Furthermore, increasingly precise methods of time keeping were
influenced by the interaction of mechanical and observational pro
grams at Hesse-Kassel. Probably through his interaction with Andreas
Schoner the method of measuring increments of time in astronomical
observation came to the attention of Wilhelm IV. Confident of the
technical advantages afforded by his mechanicians, Wilhelm became
convinced of the applicability of time measurement to the accurate
observation of the heavens41. Prior to the arrival of either Christoph
Rothmann or Jost Burgi at the Kassel court, the Landgraf had success
fully employed time measurement in the observation of the new star
of 1572. When his own observations of the new star (through which
the Landgraf calculated a parallax not exceeding three minutes) were
found to differ sizeably from the observations of the Wittenberg
mathematician Caspar Peucer, Wilhelm wrote to the Elector of Saxony:
We have sent to the court mathematician of your grace [Caspar Peucer]
a beating clock [Horologium pulsatite] together with a quadrant. And such a
clock might the Wittenbergers well employ, for then with the extra truth and
exact knowledge of the middle of the sky, parallax cannot be detected 42.

The drive for precision fundamental to the observational programs

of Wilhelm IV produced corresponding improvements in the accuracy

40 For a description of Baldewein's globe see A. von Drach: Die zu Marburg im

Mathematisch-Physikalischen Institut Befindliche Globusuhr Wilhelm IV. von Hessen
als Kunstwerk und Astronomisches Instrument. Marburg 1894. Also, Lloyd (1958),
57-60. Baldewein's epicyclic gear is discussed in H. von Bertele: The Origin of the
Differential Gear and its Connection with Equation Clocks. Transactions of the
Newcomen Society 30 (1955/1957), 145-155. Derek De Solla Price: Gears from the
Greeks: The Antikythera Mechanism - A Calendar Computer from ca. 80 B. C.
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new series 64, part 7 (1974),
pp. 60 f.
41 For measuring the Right Ascension of stars Wilhelm employed the method of
measuring the elapsed sidereal time between the meridian observation of a particular
star and the observation of the meridian point of the sun or other known star.
42 Hessisches Staatsarchiv, Marburg: 4F Kursachsen 51.

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224 Bruce T. Moran

of the court's observational instruments43. In like manner, the Land

graf's interest in the method of time measurement in astronomical
observation encouraged the construction of innovative systems of
precision time keeping at Hesse-Kassel. Through the intercession of the
Nurnberg physician Joachim Camerarius the younger (1534-1598),
the Swiss clockmaker Jost Burgi entered the service of Wilhelm IV in
157944. Biirgi's skillful refinement and simplification of clockwork
mechanisms (in which the utilization of the gear cutting tool may have
played an important role)45 and particularly his invention of the "cross
beat" escapement46 in which two balances were made to act in steady
opposition, afforded the Landgraf with one of the most accurate means
of time measurement known during the 16th century. A description of
the Kassel observational instruments written by Christoph Rothmann
between 1585 and 1590 notes that three observational clocks were used
at the court. One of these, he describes,

has three hands, which indicate not only hours and minutes but also individual
seconds. . . . The escapement does not operate in the usual way. On the
contrary, it is actuated by a newly invented method, so that each movement
corresponds to one second47.

That clocks utilizing the "cross beat" principle were subsequently used
by the Landgraf in his program of stellar observation is clear from a
letter written by Wilhelm IV to his friend Tycho Brake in 1586:
We have observed the longitudes of Orion and of Canis minor and major
not only by [directly observing] the distances between themselves and the
meridian latitude, but also by means of our little minute and second clock

43 See Fritz Krafft: Tycho Brahe. In: Die Grofien der Weltgeschichte. ed. Kurt
Fassmann et al. Vol. V. Zurich 1974. pp. 299-345. Through contact with the
observatory of Tycho Brahe in Denmark, the method of accurately subdividing
degrees of arc through the utilization of transversal points became known to the
Kassel astronomers. Transversal points, as refined by Jost Burgi, were a crucial
element in the precision observation of the stars at the court of Wilhelm IV.
44 Hessisches Staatsarchiv, Marburg: 4A 31. 36. 45 H. von Bertele (1955), 178.
46 See the following articles by H. von Bertele: Precision Timekeeping in the pre
Huygens Era. Horological Journal (Dec. 1953), 794-816. Early Clocks in Denmark.
Horological Journal (Dec. 1954), 784-796; (Jan. 1955), 26-30; (March 1955), 172
176; (April 1955), 244-247 and 383-384. See also H. Grotzsch: Die Kreuzschlaguhr
und Globusuhr von Jost Burgi. Wissenschaftliche Instrumente aus dem Arbeitsgebiet
von Johannes Kepler. Actes du XHIe Congres International d'Histoire des Sciences
6 (1971, pub. 1974), 246-250.
47 Quoted by von Bertele (1953), 796.

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Figure 1. Immser clock. Techniscbes Museum fur Industrie und Gewerbe, Vienna.

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Figure 2. Sun dial plate signed "O. H. P." (Ott-Heinrich Pfalzgraf) dated 1547.
Mcnsing collection, Adler Planetarium, Chicago.

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 Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision in the 16th Century 225

which renders the most accurate possible time and which deviates not even
a minute from meridian to meridian [i. e. in 24 hours] 48.

The exchange of mathematical instruments among princes increased

with princely interest in mechanical expertise. Astronomical instru
ments were sent to August of Saxony from Wilhelm IV who sought
in return to be rewarded by the Elector with a counting instrument
which could record linear distances49. Motivated by a practical interest
in descriptive geography, the construction of clockwork instruments
used for the measurement of overland distances became the personal
concern of August of Saxony. Mathematical instruments including
numerous odometers and pedometers were commissioned by the Elector
from the workshops of Chris toph Schissler (died 1609), Thomas Ruckert,
Ulrich Klieber (died 1608) and Christoph Trechsler whose skill had es
tablished the cities of Augsburg, Nurnberg and Dresden as major centers
of mechanical artistry in the 16th century50.
The involvement of the Saxon Elector with instruments used for
distance measurement extended also to his own participation in their
construction. To an odometer manufactured by his court mechanician
Valentine Thau, August made additional mechanical improvements;
and with Thau and his predecessor Johannes Homelius (1518-1562),
the Elector himself manufactured several compasses which he then
combined with the odometer in order to produce a more versatile and
effective measuring device51. At least four additional compass dials
were made by August for use as mining instruments52. On journeys
throughout the Saxon electorate, August diligently recorded his own
land measurements and even described all that he could accomplish
and demonstrate by means of his instruments in two manuscripts which
were preserved by the Elector in his Dresden library53.

48 Epistolarum Astronomicarum. op. cit. vol. VI. p. 51.

49 Max Engelmann: Zwei Mathematische Instrumente des 16. Jahrhunderts.
Schlesiens Vorzeit in Bild und Sdirift N. F. 7 (1919), 199-215; see esp. p. 201.
50 Max Engelmann: Die Wegmesser des Kurfursten August von Sachsen. Mittei
lungen aus den Sachsischen Kunstsammlungen 6 (1915), 11-43. Alfred Beck: Vom
Zirkelschmied zum Mechanikus. Photographie und Forschung: Die Contax-Photo
graphie in der Wissenschaft 3 (Dec. 1941), 233-244.
51 Engelmann (1915), 23 f.
52 Ad. Drecbsler: Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon im Westlidien Fliigel des
Zwingers. Dresden 1874. p. 5. 53 Engelmann (1915), 33 f.

16

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226 Bruce T. Moran

Ott-Heinrich, whom we have seen in his role as a demanding patron

of mechanical artifacts also busied himself with the manufacture of
mathematical instruments. A sundial preserved in the Mensing collec
tion of the 'Adler Planetarium' in Chicago (Figure two) draws atten
tion to the fact that in the 16th century mechanical skill had acquired
a value worthy even of a prince. The signature "O.H.P." (Ott-Hein
rich-Pfalzgraf) at the bottom center of the dial face assures Ott
Heinrich credit for the device. But lest there be any doubt by whose
hand it was created, the Count Palatine signed it yet a second time on
the reverse side, "O.H.P., Auctor" with the date 1547. A second
sundial, also signed "O.H.P., Auctor, 1547" was found by Mr. and
Mrs. R. S. Webster of the 'Adler Planetarium' within a private collec
tion in Amsterdam in 1970.

It remains for us to pull together the various influences which

prompted princes in the 16th century to recognize mechanical precision
as an important artistic and cultural value, and which encouraged
princes to promote the worth of mechanical skill and accuracy both
by the organization of mechanical projects and by their own participa
tion in mechanical undertakings. Princes are seldom precursors of
changing cultural dispositions. Yet within the mechanical projects
established at the courts of Hesse, Saxony and Austria interacting
intellectual, pragmatic and technological influences may be discerned
which helped to alter traditional methodological priorities and fixed
upon precision itself as a preeminent value in the investigation of
nature.

As we have seen, the meticulous operations characteristic of the

astronomical and mechanical programs at the court of Wilhelm IV of
Hesse-Kassel are reflective of an attempt, widespread in the late 16th
century, to reform textual discrepancies extant within the writings of
ancient authorities. The underlying principal of this reform was the
composition of an empirical method which, although not as yet refined
into a philosophical system, nevertheless stressed the necessity of direct
observation and precise description as preliminary procedures in the
recovery of knowledge pertaining to the natural world.
The practical utility of precision instruments in the implementation
of projects economically and politically beneficial to the state effected
a close alliance between mechanical artisans and the Saxon court.
Mining and surveying operations were of particular interest to August
of Saxony who sought to increase the technical and economic advantage

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 Princes, Machines and the Valuation of Precision in the 16th Century 227

of his own principality through the use of new, more exact, instru
mental techniques, some of which he himself designed64.
Significant also from the point of view of princely interest in
precise technical functions are internal refinements within technology
itself which developed throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. The
works of Konrad Keysery Leon Battista Albertiy Georg Agricola,
Jacques Besson, Agostino Ramelli and Dominico da Fontana, to name
only a few of the technical authors whose treatises appeared during this
period, contributed to the growth of mechanical competence which in
turn allowed for the construction of increasingly refined mechanical
devices. Mechanicians like Gianello Torriano, Eberhart Baldewein and
Jost Burgi brought to the court considerable technical knowledge. That
their skills were not only supported, but also were enhanced by associa
tion with the court is an important social feature in the formation of
an intellectual attitude which emphasized precision and invention as
philosophical values55.
The interest among princes in the creation of mechanical artifacts is
an important aspect of the history of science during the early modern
period. Through an increased attention to mechanical devices which
described the motion of the stars and planets, the activities of princes
helped to lay the basis for a metaphor of widespread influence in the
17th century. To illustrate his use of the method of hypothesis Descartes
frequently employed the analogy of a clock56. Like the face of a watch,
Descartes argued, the image of the world lies open to us without reveal
ing its inner motive structure. Thus, because it is impossible to examine
the actual mechanisms of the world, knowledge of the internal opera
tions of nature must always remain conjectural. While the locus
classicus of the corpuscular philosophy is usually identified with the
Cartesian system, it is nevertheless important to realize that this view
of the world itself evolved from a social environment in which the
manufacture of precision machinery (composed of varying internal
mechanical designs) was a significant element57.
Furthermore, the interests of the court in the mechanical arts fostered
the values and skills of a nascent scientific technology. Precision time

54 Ibid. pp. 23 f. 55 cf. Rossi (1970), 1-62.

56 Laurens Laud an: The Clock Metaphor and Probabilism: The Impact of Des
cartes on English Methodological Thought, 1650-65. Annals of Science 22 (1966),
73-104.
57 D. J. de Solla Price: Automata and the Origins of Mechanism and Mechanistic
Philosophy. Technology and Culture 5 (1964), 9-23.

16*

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 228 Bruce T. Moran

keeping, innovative gear systems, even the gear cutting machine itself
are individual examples of a technology which evolved from the court
workshop during this time. By actively supporting mechanical projects,
the court hastened the growth of the developing association between
science and technology and helped provide thereby, the basis for those
methods and procedures which stand close to the heart of the scientific
revolution of the 17th century.

Zusammenfassung

Fiirstliches Interesse an der Erfindung mechanischer Instrumente -

vor allem in Deutschland - beschleugnigte in den Jahren 1550-1630
die Herstellung neuer mechanischer Gerate. Sowohl durch Begiinstigung
mechanischer Projekte wie auch durch eigene Teilnahme an der Herstel
lung mechanischer und mathematischer Instrumente beforderten Fursten
die Mechanik und unterstutzten grofiere Prazision im Maschinenbau.
Das Interesse des Hofes am Fortschritt der Technik bildet ein widitiges
Element in der Entwicklung der fur die Wissenschaftsgeschichte des
17. Jahrhunderts charakteristischen Anschauungen und Verfahren.

Anschrift des Verfassers:

Bruce T. Moran
University of Nevada
Department of History
Reno, Nevada 89507, USA

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