An approach to Bede’s treatises on Computus
Keywords:
Computus, Science, Middles AgesAbstract
This paper deals with the scientific work of Bede, specifically his treatises on the computus, with the aim of showing how important they were in the world of computistics: the utilization of the ecclesiastical calendar. The use of calendar, which became the norm after Bede, caused changes not only in everyday life, but also in science, specially in astronomy and mathematics. This paper represents, therefore, an addition to the relative small group of studies devoted to the «computus» in medieval times. Bede wrote his Liber de temporibus in 703, confirming Dennis the Little’s system and making use of the annus domini. In 725 he wrote an longer version, De temporum ratione, subsequently used as a manual in almost all European monasteries as the existence of several copies from before the 9th century demonstrates. These copies provide further evidence of the great popularity of Bede’s works in the Late Middle Ages and of his influence as a historian, since both treatises include a chronicle of the six ages of the world.
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