October 25, 2023 by
Dr. Pamela Fuentes Peralta
Ron B. Thomson (D.Phil., Oxon), the first graduate of the Institute (M.A., 1970), has recently published his long-awaited critical edition and translation of Pseudo-Masha’allah, On the Astrolabe (composition, star lists, practica). The astrolabe was the most important astronomical instrument of the Middle Ages, and this text, full or partial, in over 200 medieval manuscript copies is the most important description of it. The 2-volume set (566 + 593 pp.) is published by Volumes Publishing in Waterloo.
Dr. Thomson, Fellow Emeritus of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, spends his winters working in Portugal, and his summers in his office in the PIMS Library.