The Venetian Notebook of Michael of Rhodes: The World View of a 15th-Century Mariner

FAIN: RZ-50047-03

Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology (Cambridge, MA 02142)
Alan M. Stahl (Project Director: September 2002 to November 2006)

The transcription, translation, and scholarly interpretation of a manuscript notebook of the 15th-century merchant mariner Michael of Rhodes. (24 months)

This application requests support for the preparation of a scholarly edition of the 15th century Venetian holograph notebook of Michael of Rhodes. This unique and never published manuscript has been recognized as a foundational document in the history of naval architecture, navigation and commercial mathematics. It has been held in private hands, unavailable to scholars since the 16th century. The Dibner Institute has secured exclusive rights to publish this long lost manuscript which promises to shed light on the history of urbanism, early merchant commerce, capitalism and sea-faring, while providing a crucial chapter in the early history of science and technology in Venice, Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean Basin.

Associated Products

The Book of Michael of Rhodes, A Fifteenth-Century Maritime Manuscript: Volume 1, Facsimile (Book)
Title: The Book of Michael of Rhodes, A Fifteenth-Century Maritime Manuscript: Volume 1, Facsimile
Author: Michael of Rhodes
Editor: Franco Rossi, transcription
Editor: Pamela O. Long
Editor: David McGee, volume editor
Editor: Alan M. Stahl
Abstract: In the fifteenth century, a Venetian mariner, Michael of Rhodes, wrote and illustrated a text describing his experiences in the Venetian merchant and military fleets. He included a treatise on commercial mathematics and treatments of contemporary shipbuilding practices, navigation, calendrical systems, and astrological ideas. This manuscript, "lost," or at least in unknown hands for over 400 years, has never been published or translated in its entirety until now. Volume 1 is a facsimile of the manuscript, reproduced in full color. The text is written out by hand and beautifully illustrated (probably at least in part by Michael himself), featuring color diagrams and illustrations of naval architecture, original drawings of astrological signs, calendrical charts, and a coat of arms Michael devised for himself.
Year: 2009
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/book-of-michael-of-rhodes-vol-1-facsimile/oclc/699037050&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: WorldCat listing
Secondary URL: http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11985
Secondary URL Description: Publisher's listing
Publisher: The MIT Press
Type: Translation
Type: Scholarly Edition
ISBN: 9780262135030
Translator: Alan M. Stahl

Prizes

J. Franklin Jameson Award
Date: 11/1/2011
Organization: American Historical Association
Abstract: The prize is awarded every five years in odd-numbered years for outstanding achievement in the editing of historical sources.

The Book of Michael of Rhodes, A fifteenth-Century Maritime Manuscript: Volume 2, Transcription and Translation (Book)
Title: The Book of Michael of Rhodes, A fifteenth-Century Maritime Manuscript: Volume 2, Transcription and Translation
Author: Michael of Rhodes
Editor: Franco Rossi, transcription
Editor: Pamela O.Long
Editor: David McGee
Editor: Alan M. Stahl, volume editor
Abstract: In the fifteenth century, a Venetian mariner, Michael of Rhodes, wrote and illustrated a text describing his experiences in the Venetian merchant and military fleets. He included a treatise on commercial mathematics and treatments of contemporary shipbuilding practices, navigation, calendrical systems, and astrological ideas. This manuscript, "lost," or at least in unknown hands for over 400 years, has never been published or translated in its entirety until now. Volume 2 contains a transcription of the handwritten text in the medieval Venetian dialect of Italian and, on facing pages, its translation into modern English. Michael's book includes the first extant treatise on naval architecture, a 200-page treatise on mathematics in the tradition of medieval and Renaissance abacus manuscripts, texts on navigation including portolans (sailing directions), and Michael's autobiographical service record—unique for Venice in this period and noteworthy for being the personal record of a man of non-noble status and foreign birth.
Year: 2009
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/book-of-michael-of-rhodes-a-fifteenth-century-maritime-manuscript-2-transcription-and-translation/oclc/552198787&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: WorldCat listing
Secondary URL: http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11986
Secondary URL Description: Publisher's listing
Publisher: The MIT Press
Type: Translation
Type: Scholarly Edition
ISBN: 9780262195904
Translator: Alan M. Stahl

Prizes

J. Franklin Jameson Award
Date: 11/1/2011
Organization: American Historical Association
Abstract: the prize is awarded every five years in odd-numbered years for outstanding achievement in the editing of historical sources.

Eugene S. Ferguson
Date: 11/5/2011
Organization: Society for the History of Technology
Abstract: The Ferguson Prize is awarded every two years by SHOT to honor outstanding and original reference works that will support future scholarship in the history of technology.

The Book of Michael of Rhodes, A Fifteenth-Century Maritime Manuscript: Volume 3, Studies (Book)
Title: The Book of Michael of Rhodes, A Fifteenth-Century Maritime Manuscript: Volume 3, Studies
Author: Michael of Rhodes
Editor: Franco Rossi, transcription
Editor: Pamela O. Long, volume editor
Editor: David McGee
Editor: Alan M. Stahl
Abstract: In the fifteenth century, a Venetian mariner, Michael of Rhodes, wrote and illustrated a text describing his experiences in the Venetian merchant and military fleets. He included a treatise on commercial mathematics and treatments of contemporary shipbuilding practices, navigation, calendrical systems, and astrological ideas. This manuscript, "lost," or at least in unknown hands for over 400 years, has never been published or translated in its entirety until now. In volume 3, nine experts, including the editors, discuss the manuscript, its historical context, and its scholarly importance. Their essays examine the Venetian maritime world of the fifteenth century, Michael's life, the discovery of the manuscript, the mathematics in the book, the use of illustration, the navigational directions, Michael's knowledge of shipbuilding in the Venetian context, and the manuscript’s extensive calendrical material.
Year: 2009
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/book-of-michael-of-rhodes-a-fifteenth-century-maritime-manuscript-3-studies/oclc/552198798&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: WorldCat listing
Secondary URL: http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11987
Secondary URL Description: Publisher's listing
Publisher: The MIT Press
Type: Edited Volume
Type: Scholarly Edition
ISBN: 9780262123082
Translator: Alan M. Stahl

Prizes

J. Franklin Jameson Award
Date: 11/1/2011
Organization: American Historical Ass
Abstract: The prize is awarded every five years in odd-numbered years for outstanding achievement in th editing of historical sources.

Michael of Rhodes: A Medieval Mariner and his Manuscript (Web Resource)
Title: Michael of Rhodes: A Medieval Mariner and his Manuscript
Author: Michael of Rhodes Project
Abstract: In 1401 a young man named Michael of Rhodes joined the Venetian navy as a lowly galley oarsman. Over the next four decades, he sailed on more than 40 voyages and took part in five major sea battles, rising through the ranks to become a trusted galley commander. Michael documented his life and knowledge in a remarkable manuscript. Only recently rediscovered, it chronicles Michael's service record and includes more than 200 pages of commercial and calendrical computations, a beautifully illustrated section on astrology, some of the earliest surviving portolan aids to navigation, and the world's first known treatise on shipbuilding. The interactive website allows users to explore Michael's world.
Year: 2005
Primary URL: http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/michaelofrhodes/
Primary URL Description: Project website

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