Critical Analysis of The Alfonsine Tables in the Fourteenth Century: The Parisian Expositio Tabularum Alfonsii of 1347

Abstract

An important text to shed light on the reception of the Alfonsine Tables during the early-to-mid-fourteenth century is the Expositio tabularum Alfonsii, a trenchant critique of their parameters written in Paris in 1347 and variously attributed to Henri Bate, John of Murs, or Geoffrey of Meaux. The article provides the first in-depth analysis of this hitherto neglected text, showing how it can offer new insights into late medieval thought about the role and foundations of computational astronomy and the transmission of Alfonsine astronomy from Spain to France. It also addresses the question of authorship.