Ancient Greece, geometric minerals and their possible impact on medieval art
and design.
Perhaps, at first sight, an odd subject for the mining-history list but this
is the reasoning behind a recent request on list for a primer on ancient
Greek mining. Mike Bispham <[log in to unmask]>, the originator of the
request, asks for comments or criticisms on the following background to that
request.
>
>I'm trying to flesh out a theory that suggests that the design systems 'ad
>quadratum' and 'ad triangulum', used in mediaeval art and architecture, can
>be seen as containing references to contemporary theories of the nature of
>matter. There are several pointers that suggest this is so, not least of
>which is the observation that the use of these schemes results in buildings
>(mostly abbeys and cathedrals) that have cubic and hexagonally ordered
>structures. Another pointer is the point-line-surface-solid account of the
>process of divine creation found in 12th C. quabbalist and neoplatonic
>writings (and quoted in modern masonic rites) that also describes the
>geometer/stonemason's art. Again, arguments about the nature of matter
>(mostly in the shape of atomism vs Hylomorphism) were at the forefront of
>medieval theological debate. All of which suggests that there is at least a
>case to be explored. At the moment I'm getting to grips with relevant
>Aristotlian argument, and it seems appropriate to work from the understanding
>that in Greece geometric minerals were so common that the geometric nature of
>matter was probably taken for granted. In which case, the Greek Atomisms and
>Hylomorphism probably developed as ways of accounting for the nature of these
>geometric minerals -something which appears to have been lost to modern
>understanding.
>
______________________________________________
Peter Claughton, Blaenpant Morfil, Rosebush, Clynderwen,
Pembrokeshire, Wales SA66 7RE.
Tel. 01437 532578; Fax. 01437 532921; Mobile 07831 427599
University of Exeter - Department of History
School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Co-owner - mining-history e-mail discussion list.
See http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/mining-history/ for details.
Mining History Pages - http://www.exeter.ac.uk/~pfclaugh/mhinf/
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