Orateur
Description
The first half of the 14th c. CE was a time of great intellectual life in Byzantium, especially when it comes to the scientific disciplines of the Quadrivium. Although we are still missing important pieces of information, we are able to put some pieces of the puzzle together to gain some insight into the practices of teaching and learning mathematical sciences, especially those of astronomy and musical theory. Some of the most prominent scholars of this time happen to be linked by a probable or certain teacher-student relationship, and they all studied both disciplines : Georgios Pachymeres, Manuel Bryennios, Theodoros Metochites and Nicephoros Gregoras. This paper aims at providing first an overview of the extant texts and testimonies regarding these four scholars, their teaching and their discussions of astronomy and harmonics. Furthermore, I wish to present how astronomical knowledge, and perhaps debates, were incorporated into the Harmonica of Manuel Bryennios, and to contrast his writing with those of his fellow scholars.
