Thomas Harriot and His World

Robert Fox is Emeritus Professor of the History of Science at the University of Oxford, UK

• Contents: Preface; Thomas Harriot Lectures 1990-2009; Introduction; the many worlds of Thomas Harriot, Robert Fox; Thomas Harriot and the great mathematical tradition, Jon V. Pepper; Chymicorum in morem: refraction, matter theory, and secrecy in the Harriot-Kepler correspondence, Robert Goulding; Reconstructing Thomas Harriot's treatise on equations, Jacqueline Stedall; Harriot on combinations, Ian Maclean; Thomas Harriot as an English Galileo: the force of shared knowledge in early modern mechanics, Matthias Schemmel; Why Thomas Harriot was not the English Galilieo, John Henry; Patronizing, publishing, and perishing: Harriot's lost opportunities and his lost work 'Arcticon', Stephen Pumfrey; Last act? 1618 and the shaping of Sir Walter Ralegh's reputation, Mark Nicholls; Thomas Harriot and the mariner's culture on board a transatlantic ship in 1585, Pascal Brioist; Appendices: The 'perfect' Harriot/de Bry: cautionary notes on identifying an authentic copy of the deBry edition of Thomas Hariot's A Brief and True Report (1590), Larry E. Tise; Harriot's Latin, Charles Fantazzi; The portrait of Thomas Harriot, Diccon Swan; A bibliography of secondary sources relating to the work and life of Thomas Harriot, published since 2000, Daniel Jon Mitchell; Index.

'Fox's Thomas Harriot and His World continues to develop a more complete and nuanced portrait of Harriot's manner of thinking and of the quality of his work, particularly in mathematics. The contributions to this volume also demonstrate that the further examination of Harriot sheds light on many other aspects of early modern science ...' Aestimatio '[The book] has a good index and will be of interest to scholars of Harriot and early modern mathematics and mathematical physics.' Sixteenth Century Journal '... we can expect more work on this intriguing figure, and more searching questions of the kind raised by this excellent volume.' Renaissance Quarterly