Art & Academe Chapter Two: Artes Liberals

The medieval tradition of splitting up formal education into seven liberal arts is carried over from the classical Roman method. By continuing this traditional division, both Boethius and Martianus Capella cemented it into the minds and curricula of medieval scholars. The trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astrology) are the two main divisions, the trivium dealing essentially with words and the quadrivium with mathematics. Students are taught the subjects of the trivium before advancing to the quadrivium’s topics. The twelfth century saw an enhanced emphasis on grammar and rhetoric, providing a strong literary foundation for the scholars of the thirteenth century.

This section augments the information about Artes Liberales found in ArM5 (page 62), expounding and explaining that section with minimal repetition.

Grammar

Grammar is the first subject taught in formal education, usually to students of a young age. Besides the basic skills of reading and writing, grammar is also the study and appreciation of classical literature. This is the foundation of academic instruction, and western teachers include examples of proper Christian living within their curriculum. Both of the authoritative authors used to teach grammar, Donatus and Priscian, use the Latin classics as examples of excellent grammatical construction. This taste for classical authors is ebbing in the thirteenth century, however, with anthologies replacing original authors. An anthology uses sections of the original author’s verse, but paraphrases and glosses large sections of the text.

Moving even further away from the classics, Eberhard of Béthune and Alexander of Ville-Dei independently wrote grammars using a new type of instruction, a metrical grammar based on Latin poems. Written near the end of the twelfth century, these new grammars offer easier instruction for the new student than the older classics. Other grammarians are following this trend, and this new wave of grammatical teaching is just entering educational institutions in 1220. Historically, by mid-century these new grammars will replace the classical authors in many northern educational institutions.

Grammarians are always looking for new sources of suitable reading material for their students. Fables, local folklore, and biblical proverbs are collected as “readers” — simple texts that younger students can use to practice reading. Teachers have found that their students are more interested in local tales than those germane to all of Mythic Europe, and are willing to do their own research to find such stories. This often involves scouring the countryside, visiting local villages and roadside inns, ever hopeful that they will hear a new story for their growing collection. Rumors of a collection of scholars living in a remote tower could well prompt a curious grammarian to visit.

Besides the basic texts and the readers, grammarians write vocabularies (Latin: vocabularii) and dictionaries (Latin: dictionarii) to aid their students. Both terms refer to the same type of text, one that explains complicated Latin terms in easier words and phrases. Some dictionaries even translate Latin terms into the vernacular, resembling a modern-day language dictionary. In game terms, dictionaries are equivalent to tractatus, the relevant Ability being Latin. The New Aristotle has led to a new type of grammar, called speculative grammar, which is heavily influenced by logic and dialectic ideas. According to practitioners, grammar is a mirror of universal structures that, if properly studied, bring understanding of the nature of thinking and ultimately that of being. Speculative grammar claims to mimic the divine structure placed by the Creator in all His works.

New Virtues This chapter contains two new Virtues, both of which are primarily useful only for academic characters. Aristotelian Training General, Minor The character is trained in the New Aristotle, having received his instruction from a teacher using recently translated texts of Aristotle in preference to the normal curriculum. The character gains a +1 bonus on Artes Liberales rolls for grammar, logic, and rhetoric, as well as a +1 bonus when calculating Disputatio Totals. A magus with this Virtue may add +1 to his Lab Totals if attempting to synthesize the New Aristotle with Magic Theory (see Chapter One: Hermetic Magic and Philosophical Breakthroughs). This Virtue is compatible with Puissant Artes Liberales. Academic Concentration (Subject) General, Minor The character has concentrated in one of the seven subjects of Artes Liberales, in preference to the other six. He may add +3 to his Artes Liberales score for that subject. However, he must subtract 1 from Artes Liberales rolls and totals for the subjects he did not concentrate in. Include the bonus and penalty modifier in every total that Artes Liberales is used for, including writing books. This Virtue is incompatible with the Virtue: Puissant Artes Liberales. Puissant Artes Liberales means a character is particularly adept with all seven liberal arts, while Academic Concentration means the character focused on one liberal art in preference to the others. With troupe approval, this Virtue could be extended to Philosophiae. It is not allowed for any other Ability besides Artes Liberales and Philosophiae.

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the intelligent arrangement of sentences and facts to form a persuasive argument. Lauded in the Greek philosophical schools and the Roman senate, rhetoric holds a prestigious place in the seven liberal arts. The tool of orators and lawyers, rhetoric made a man wealthy and famous in years past. In the Middle Ages, rhetoric has lost the political function it had in the Roman Empire. It is now used to write formal documents and as the foundation for the verbal debates of medieval scholars.

Cicero is the authority, with his De inventione and Ad Herennium. De inventione focuses on politics, and how rhetoric is properly practiced in the political arena. Ad Herennium focuses on styles of argument and their elocution. (Ad Herennium is by Cicero in Mythic Europe, as everyone in 1220 accepted his authorship. In the real world, it is known to be by another, anonymous, writer.)

The large demand for written documents, epistles, wills, land grants, papal decrees, correspondences, and records of inheritances has led to the creation of the art of letter-writing, called ars dictaminis, and the art of writing documents, ars dictandi. Both these arts use formalized styles of composition for the proper construction of a document, including stylized introductions, bodies, and closings. With the increase in secular litigation, the exact wording of a document is especially important. Increasingly elaborate rules of cultural etiquette demand that letters and correspondences adhere to formal patterns as well. It sometimes happens that a rhetorician who composed a letter is asked to deliver it as well. Entrusted to write the letter for a superior, it is natural that the same man is trustworthy enough to deliver it. Academics and ecclesiastics can often travel more easily than others, their status as clerics offering them a measure of protection.

Preaching

Rhetoric had a profound effect on the early Christian Fathers, especially St. Augustine, who used argumentative styles as a way to preach. In the thirteenth century, several texts exist that expound upon these ideas, showing a preacher how he can more effectively influence his audience. Books about preaching are popular with the new mendicant order, the Dominicans, who have been charged with teaching the Christian faith to the laity.

Preaching is a Profession (Type) Ability that characters can use to emotionally influence an audience. It can also serve as an educational tool, teaching a listener about various aspects of their religious faith. In 1220, preaching is almost exclusively the domain of Dominican friars. This sort of preaching does not happen at church, where parish priests lead Mass and give sermons in Latin. To be effective, the audience must have a Living Language score of at least 4 to understand the preacher’s sermon.

Preachers may influence the emotions of an audience to induce a specific behavior or course of action in the group. To do this, a character delivers a sermon, after which the player makes a Communication + Preaching + stress die roll against an Ease Factor of 12. If successful when preaching to a group, the group will follow the preacher’s instructions for a limited time. Failure means that the group listens but takes no action, and botching the roll means that the group reacts negatively to the preacher, perhaps even removing him from the premises. The behavior has to be one that the group might practice under its own volition: following religious doctrines, not eating meat on Good Friday, or traveling to a distant land to fight God’s heathen enemies. The storyguide should make the Ease Factor higher for behaviors or actions that seem counter to the tenets of the preacher’s religion. The group can be no larger than the character’s Leadership score times ten.

Giving a Sermon

Communication + Preaching + Stress Die Vs. 12

A preaching character can also instruct his listeners, teaching them Theology. Listeners must attend weekly sermons preached during an entire season to receive instruction in this way. Those who attend receive 1 experience point in Theology, in addition to whatever other experience points they may be eligible for according to their seasonal activities, although this may not raise their score above that of the preacher.

Story Seed: The Sons of the Peters, filii petrorum The Sons of the Peters are a group of northern speculative grammarians who claim superiority over other academic instructors, insisting that their grammatical method is nearer and dearer to God, and should be taught exclusively. They base their studies on the various manners, or modes, of language. They are a small group, who have based their theory on two latetwelfth-century scholars (Peter Helias and Peter of Spain). They are tight-knit and argumentative, and steadfast in their opinions. They are also expert disputers, so far winning every disputatio that has made claims against their notions. Hermetic thinkers wonder if the Sons of the Peters’ claims are true, that their speculative considerations of language reflect a more comprehensive understanding of reality. The Sons have been influenced by the New Aristotle. Reading a summa or tractatus written by one of them will grant Breakthrough Points to a magus trying to synthesize the New Aristotle with Magic Theory, 1 point per summa or tractatus read. Gaining access to such books is difficult, due to the restrictive mindset of the group. On the whole, however, the Sons of the Peters are wrong. Their theory is reflective only of the grammatical properties of Latin, and any individual theorem does not necessarily correlate to another language, or to reality itself. Their boastfulness has led to pride, and Satan has “rewarded” the group, secretly, with the ability to win many of their disputationes. A specially commanded group of demonic tempters (see Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 43) has been sent to clandestinely accompany the most renowned members, each demon having the power to grant a recipient an Infernally tainted Puissant Artes Liberales Virtue, which is usually enough to allow the recipient to win his dispute.

Logic

Also called “dialectic,” logic is a method of reasoning, of building truthful statements based on previously disclosed truths, and of discerning true from false reasoning. There are two types of logic. Much like the various parts of speech, medieval teachers deconstruct logic in various parts of arguments and thinking. Besides the syllogism and causality, instruction in logic teaches students about definitions, divisions, homonyms, moods, figures of speech, and probable reasoning. Formal logic is the practical application of syllogisms and other logical reasoning, and theoretical logic is the use of reasonable deliberations on physics and metaphysics. Artes Liberales only teaches formal logic, making a clear distinction between the two types, and leaves the second to philosophers and theologians.

The authorities used prior to the rediscovery of Aristotle — Boethius and Porphyry — teach only formal logic. With the infusion of translated works in the mid-twelfth century, Aristotle replaced the former authorities as the preeminent logician. While not making the same distinction as Boethius and Porphyry, Aristotle still views logic as merely a tool useful for metaphysical speculation. Despite this, Aristotle’s works on logic far surpass those of others. The logica nova, the new logic, offers a more complete understanding of both causality and syllogisms. The incomplete teaching of the logica veta, the old logic, led to misinterpretations. While Aristotle’s logical metaphysics are unorthodox and disputed by the Church, his treatment of formal logic is readily accepted in medieval educational institutions. This does not mean that every instructor in 1220 uses the New Aristotle, but that most academics agree that the Philosopher is the authority on logic.

Arithmetic

According to scholastics, arithmetic is superior to the remaining three fields of the quadrivium because the other three depend upon arithmetic for their foundation. Academic arithmetic is only marginally concerned with computational mathematics, leaving that to accountants and merchants. Instead, scholastic arithmetic focuses on number theory — the division of numbers into even and odd, perfect and prime, plane and solid. Highly theoretical, it does not step completely into number mysticism, which is practiced by Jewish Cabalists and certain Mystery Cults within the Order of Hermes, although this distinction is sometimes difficult to find.

Arithmetic is based on Boethius’ De Arithmetica and draws heavily on the twelfth-century Heptateuchon, a compilation by Thierry of Chartres of Ptolemy, Aristotle, Euclid, and the famous encyclopedias of Isidore of Seville and Cassiodorus. Numbers are ordered, definable, and concrete, and serve as an example for the other liberal arts, whose suppositions and theories should be just as regular. Many numbers have superior attributes. 6 is a perfect number because it can be divided by 1, 2, and 3, the sum of which also add up to 6. Other perfect numbers are 28, 496, and 8,128. Even and odd numbers can be further categorized as even even numbers, and even odd numbers. An even even number is one whose factors are all even numbers (16), while an even odd number contains even and odd factors (14).

Although arithmetic has remained unaffected by the New Aristotle, the translations of the twelfth century did introduce Hindu Arabic numerals to the west. Roman numerals are cumbersome for mathematical calculations, even with the aid of Gerbert of Aurillac’s abacus. Hindu-Arabic numerals, including 0, allow swift calculations of even the largest numbers. Hindu-Arabic numerals are more popular with merchants than scholars, but they are slowly being included in the scholastic curriculum. One of the most influential proponents of the new numerals is Leonardo of Pisa (see inset).

Story Seed: An Authoritative Voice A local parish priest is becoming concerned with the active preaching of a new Dominican friar, worried that the preacher is delivering sermons that sound odd. Rather than extolling Christian virtues, the friar preaches about loyalty and the audiences’ commitment to tell him of any heretical thinkers in the vicinity. Knowing that a group of odd scholars live in a nearby tower, the priest is afraid that the Dominican will get the wrong idea about them. The scholars are magi, who have a pleasant relationship with the priest and the village. The new friar could upset that. If he hears about them, he will demand to visit them, read through any books they might have, and conduct extensive interviews with their servants. The priest worries that this will upset the friendship between them and his flock. The friar’s vehement sermons could even push the villagers to aggression. The friar seems to have a supernatural command over the villagers when he is speaking. Indeed, the friar may have been possessed by a demon to use his authoritative preaching for ill ends. Can the player characters discover the infernal controller and save the friar along with themselves, or will they fall prey to the demon’s devious plan? Even more difficult, the friar may be pious, sincere, and a little over-zealous, but completely free of infernal influence. Story Seed: The Golden Section Besides nature, Leonardo’s golden section also shows up in magic, buried but present in Bonisagus’ Hermetic theory and in plants growing in magic realms. It is a simple process to apply Leonardo’s observations to Herbam magic. Any character who reads Liber abbaci or receives instruction from Leonardo himself, and then spends a season studying Herbam, may add +1 to future Lab Total that includes the Art of Herbam. Based on countless observations, Leonardo’s work can be used by a magus wishing to create the Aristotelian Magic Theory breakthrough (see Chapter One: Introduction). Researchers would need to read the Liber abbaci first before experimenting with Herbam effects to achieve Breakthrough Points. Since Leonardo is relatively unknown in Mythic Europe as a whole, discovering his text or residence is difficult.

Music

In academia, music is studied theoretically, mathematically analyzing ratios and intervals of sound through harmony and rhythm. Using Boethius’ De institutione musica as the authority, music is classified into three main categories. Musica mundana is the harmony of the world, the sounds emitted by the heavenly spheres as they make their orbits, and unheard by human ears because of man’s imperfect nature. Musica humana is the harmony of the body, the relationship between the body and the soul, and taking into account the humors and other medical theories. Musica instrumentalis is the harmony of instruments, including singing.

The main instrument used for studying music is the monochord, a single string stretched across a hollow, wooden chamber with a bridge that moves back and forth along its length. Sliding the bridge lengthens or shortens the string and produces different notes. These notes are studied as ratios to each other; an octave has a ratio of 2:1, a fifth note 3:2, and a fourth note 4:3. Ratios between scales are also studied. This complex analysis of ratios is thought to mirror reality and influence human emotion.

Musicians are categorized into classes. Servants play instruments, but are separated from the intellectualized study of music because they lack reason. Inventors create songs through speculation rather than rational thought. Judges intellectually understand the value of mood, rhythm, and melody, knowledge that can only be gained through academia. These elitist demarcations are hazy, owing to the interwoven nature of education and religion. Ecclesiastics who understand music theory also create hymns and antiphons for religious services, including mass, feast days, and the daily offices. Such pieces will be performed, crossing the classical distinction between performed music and formal theory. Various styles of musical notation are popular, which allow religious songs to be recorded in song books. To retain homogeneity in religious services, these song books are sent throughout western Christendom. More about medieval music can be found in chapter eight.

Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa Characteristics: Int +4, Per +1, Pre –2, Com +5, Str –4, Sta –1(1), Dex +1(1), Qik –1 Size: 0 Age: 50 (50) Decrepitude: 1 (0) Warping Score: 0 (0) Confidence Score: 1 (3) Virtues and Flaws: Gentleman; Academic Concentration (arithmetic), Educated, Free Expression, Good Teacher, Great Communication (x2), Great Intelligence, Privileged Upbringing, Well-Traveled; Curse of Venus, Driven; Ability Block (Arcane), Poor Hearing, Poor Strength, Reclusive Personality Traits: Driven in Mathematics +3, Reclusive +2, Humble +2 Combat: Dodge: Init –1, Attack n/a, Defense –1, Damage n/a Soak: –1 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11– 15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+) Abilities: Arabic 5 (mathematical terms), Artes Liberales 7 (arithmetic), Awareness 2 (hostels), Bargain 3 (foreign merchants), Bugia Lore 3 (merchant quarter), Carouse 2 (staying sober), Greek 5 (mathematical terms), Etiquette 3 (merchant guild dinners), Folk Ken 5 (Arab merchants), Italian 5 (accounting terminology), Latin 6 (Roman numeral terms), Merchant Guild Lore 3 (usury laws), Pisa Lore 4 (merchant quarter), Profession: Accountant 5 (abacus calculations), Profession: Scribe 5 (binding), Teaching 1 (single student) Equipment: Black scholar robes and a leather satchel containing quills, pen knives, ink pots, and parchment. At home, a large study with a sizable library collection. Encumbrance: 0 (0) Appearance: Leonardo is a thin to average-build man, with dark eyes, heavy eyebrows, and a prominent nose. He wears the black robes of a scholar and often wears a white or light-colored cloth cap. His fingernails are permanently stained black from writing, and his hands and face are dotted with small smudges of ink. Leonardo of Pisa was born in Pisa in 1170. His father served as a customs official in the Algerian port of Bugia for the merchant’s guild of Pisa. Leonardo was privately educated in North Africa and started helping his father at an early age. He took swiftly to numbers and accounting, developing a life-long fondness for numbers and their practical application. In Bugia, he was introduced to “Hindu numbers,” whose use over Roman numerals made his calculations much faster. At the age of twenty he traveled around the Mediterranean basin, studying with Arab mathematicians and synthesizing their ideas into his own. A mathematical genius, Leonardo seeks to turn the theoretical study of numbers to practical applications. Leonardo returned to Pisa in 1200, living off a family stipend and continuing his studies. In 1202 he wrote a book, Liber abbaci, which focused on calculating interest, the square roots of numbers whose square roots are not whole numbers, and the accurate percentages of silver and copper used to form the alloys of different nations’ coins. While working on this book, he discovered a sequence of numbers he called, “the golden section,” a revolutionary theory of sequential numbers. Leonardo wondered, if a farmer had a closed pen of one male and one female new-born rabbits (1 pair), which can produce offspring after one month, then how many rabbits would the farmer have in a year. The answer, 466 (233 pairs), was found after he determined the pattern of numbers associated with this problem: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233. This sequence of numbers continues infinitely. Leonardo also discovered that this pattern of numbers appears throughout nature, in plant leaves, seed heads, pinecones, and a plethora of growing plants. Continuing this and other mathematical experiments, Leonardo lives in Pisa, a self-declared recluse who would rather calculate and write than interact with almost anyone. He is a shy man, more comfortable at home than with his neighbors. As a historical note, Leonardo, better known as Fibonacci, was a real man, living from 1170 to 1250. Around the time a canonical Ars Magica saga begins, his work will be noticed by Frederick II of Sicily and his court astrologer, Michael Scot. Frederick will invite Fibonacci to his court and offer him a post at the University of Naples, which Fibonacci will decline. Historically, Fibonacci and his work were largely ignored until the sixteenth century. Leonardo’s book, Liber abbaci, is a tractatus on Artes Liberales (arithmetic), Quality 14.

Musica Mundana Academically-minded magi have invented a spell that allows a listener to hear the normally “unheard” sounds of the orbiting planets. Having heard these sounds, a person can then compose divinely inspired church music, or gain a better understanding of the heavenly bodies. This spell is problematic; Hermetic magic easily augments human hearing, but is stunted by the Limit of the Lunar Sphere. Emanating from the heavens, the sounds’ volume may not be affected, but a listener can be made more receptive to them. Hearing the Silent Chorus Intellego Imaginem 15 R: Per, D: Conc, T: Hearing This spell allows the recipient to barely hear the unheard sounds of the planetary orbits. Interpreting the sounds depends upon the listener, whose player makes an Intelligence + Artes Liberales + stress die roll against an Ease Factor of 12. If successful, the player gains a +3 to the next astrology roll her character makes, or +3 to the next song the character composes. If the roll botches, the listener gains a Warping Point per zero on the botch dice. This spell only affects the specified astrology activity or song composition once; repeated castings for that activity are not effective. (Base 3, +1 Conc, +3 Hearing,)

Geometry

Geometry is the study of immovable magnitude — lines, angles, figures, volume, and area. Study is broken into three subcategories: Theoretical geometry concerns geometric proofs and measures distances through speculative reasoning; Practical geometry surveys surfaces, calculates areas, and measures volume; Constructive geometry covers the type of geometry used by artisans and craftsmen, and is ignored by academic instructors. Because Boethius’ authoritative commentary on Euclid’s Elements doesn’t contain geometrical proofs, he inadvertently placed practical geometry above theoretical. This situation is still maintained in most universities, bolstered by several books written on practical geometry, most titled Practica geometriae. Academics do not write books about constructive geometry, although various craftsmen do (City & Guild, page 73). While containing geometric calculations, a craft manual can not be read to increase a character’s Artes Liberales score.

Theoretical geometry measures the earth and the stars, circumferences, distances, and orbits. Since no one can touch the stars to actually measure them, this remains a speculative art, based on classical authors and geometric theorems. Practical geometry, on the other hand, has realistic uses. Using a short measuring stick and an astrolabe, an academic can determine the distance, height, depth, area, and/or volume of a surface or figure. For example, he can calculate the height of a castle wall by comparing the length of the wall’s shadow to the length of the shadow cast by his stick, which is of a known height. Calculating the ratio will tell him how high the wall is.

By 1220, Euclid’s Elements has been completely translated, as have the Greek mathematician Archimedes’ works. In circulation for 50 years, they have not yet made any real impact on university instructors. The few men who have incorporated these more elaborate theories into geometry, Jordanus Nemorarius and Leonardo of Pisa for example, have so far gone unnoticed.

Astronomy

Astronomy is the study of movable magnitude, the orbits of the planets and the fixed stars. The authorities are Ptolemy’s Almagest, as translated by Gerard of Cremona in the last century, and Plato’s Timaeus, especially Macrobius’ treatment of it in his Commentary on the Dream of Scipio. Both texts accurately describe the physical heavens, but disagree on the order of Mercury and Venus in the heavenly hierarchy.

The heavens are a sphere, as is evident from observation. The outermost sphere is the celestial sphere, home of the fixed stars, girdled by the Milky Way — more philosophically correctly called the Milky Circle — a stream of stellar heat. The celestial sphere is further banded by ten circles that are incorporeal and can only be comprehended by the mind. The first of these bands, the zodiac, is the only one that can be considered to have breadth, with the other bands consisting of length only. The zodiac has breadth so that the errant planets can move through and linger in it. Five of the circles are called parallels, which bisect the zodiac obliquely. The middle parallel is the equinoctial. Two bands closer to the north and south poles are called the septentrional and the austral, and between them and the equinoctial are two more, called the tropics. Two other bands, called the colors, cross the upper half of the celestial sphere at the north pole, running in perpendicular directions to divide the five greater parallels into four equal quadrants. The remaining three bands are not fixed in location in the celestial sphere: These are the meridian, the point at which the sun is directly over the head of an individual; the visible horizon, which is personal to each specific viewer; and the celestial horizon.

The celestial sphere is unchangeable and moves from east to west. The five errant planets and the two brilliant planets move in the opposite direction, from west to east, at amazing speed. Below the celestial sphere is Saturn, which makes one complete revolution in thirty years. Second is Jupiter, with an orbit of twelve years. The ruddy sphere of Mars is next; its orbit is two years. Below Mars is Mercury then Venus, according to Plato, or Venus then Mercury, according to Ptolemy. In Mythic Europe, Ptolemy is right and Plato is wrong, a fact that disturbs many Neoplatonists, who refuse to accept Ptolemy’s version. Both Venus and Mercury have an orbit of about a year.

Below Mercury is the sun, the heart of the errant planets according to poets. The sun is twice the diameter of the earth in size, and 523,230 miles from the earth. It has light, obviously, as do the planets above it, each generating their own light but to a lesser degree than the sun. The sun is the demarcation between the lunar sphere, below it, and the celestial sphere, above it. Above, everything is fixed, immutable, and unchangeable. Below the sun, everything is mutable, changeable, and impermanent. The lowest planet, the moon, orbits the earth every 28 days, making thirteen orbits in a year. It does not have its own light but shares the sun’s.

Story Seed: Flying to the Moon The ancients amazingly calculated the diameter and circumference of the earth and moon, as well as the distance from the earth to various celestial bodies, by using geometric measurements of shadows. They expressed these distances in “stades,” a measurement ambiguous to thirteenth-century scholars, who prefer to express distances in miles walked in a day. Historically, Roger Bacon will calculate in the 1250s that, walking 20 miles a day, it would take a man 14 years, 7 months, and 29 days to theoretically walk to the moon. This conforms to the ancients’ measurements, and places the moon 105,600 miles away from earth. The sun is 523,230 miles from earth, and the fixed stars are 6,506,125 miles removed. Some Hermetic thinkers have already determined this distance, and think it is possible to fly to the moon. Their reasoning is as follows: Wings of the Soaring Winds allows a maga to move at 40 miles per hour, meaning she could travel 320 miles in an eight-hour day. Flying from sunup to sundown, she could cover 480 miles in a 12-hour day. Using this second calculation, it would take her 7 months and 10 days to fly to the moon. Flying constantly, it would only take her 3 months and 20 days. Most magi find this idea lunacy. Such an expedition would be a serious challenge, as a magus must fly through the sub-lunar spheres of water, air, and fire. Hermetic thinkers differ on their understanding of the Limit of the Lunar Sphere, with some saying magic will extend to the moon and others claiming it stops just outside the sphere of fire. Even if arriving is possible, nothing would keep a man standing on the moon. Since the natural place of the human body is the earth, a magus would fall right off the moon’s surface. See Astronomy (below) for more information on the cosmos. Some Hermetic thinkers postulate that a magus would only have to make this trip once, taking a piece of the moon to use as an arcane connection and then inventing a spell similar to The Leap of Homecoming to instantly transport him to the moon. Others say this wouldn’t work: since Hermetic magic cannot affect the lunar sphere, a piece of the moon cannot serve as an arcane connection. Does magic work on the moon? While it cannot affect the moon, can it affect a man who stands on the moon? Is the moon inhabited? Aristotle speculated that, since there were animals on earth that lived on earth, air, and water, there must be animals on the moon that lived on fire. These are unanswered questions, and no magus has attempted such a trip. Such a saga should have many difficulties, to ensure that reaching the moon is a climactic event. Meteorites and other “fallen stars” should not originate from the moon, refusing the magi a quick and easy arcane connection. The Limit of the Lunar Sphere is a real limit of Hermetic magic, so that magi cannot affect the moon or its environs. Whatever the moon is made of, it is different than earth, having been constructed out of a lighter element. Working magic on the moon would require a Hermetic breakthrough. The Lunar sphere is the division between the ethereal region and the elemental region (see below), and making magic work in the ethereal region is beyond mortal powers, at least so far.

The cosmos is also divided into the ethereal region and the elemental region, with the moon making this demarcation. Beneath the moon are the elemental spheres of fire, air, water, and earth, according to Plato’s theory of the simplest, atomic elements of the visible cosmos. They are ordered by weight and clarity. Fire, being the lightest, resides just under the moon’s sphere, followed by the less-dense air, the more-dense water, and the densest, earth. The earth itself does not move, being the very “bottom” or center of the spheres of reality, and its diameter is 8,720 miles. Being the bottom or heaviest, physical things are naturally attracted to the earth, which is the reason why earthly things fall. Heavy things fall toward the center and lighter things “fall” to the edge of the cosmos (the celestial sphere). Flames rise because fire, being lighter than earth, water, and air, “falls” to the sphere of fire, its natural home.

Astronomy touches ecclesiastical circles, because only by the stars can the exact date of Easter be determined. Disagreements over the exact dates have led to protracted arguments between church leaders, even schisms between countries. In the years to come, Roger Bacon will write the pope and ask him to reform the current Julian calendar, in hopes of resolving such arguments. In 1220, clerical authors write computi (singular computus) — astrological calculations that accurately determine Easter’s date. Named after the mathematical computations they contain, computi are useful to scholars as well as the ecclesiastical audience for whom they are meant.

The Almagest is advanced and difficult to understand, but it contains the most correct theories and predictable patterns for astronomic calculations. The New Aristotle makes understanding astronomy easier, but presents a problem because it conflicts with Ptolemy’s theories. Aristotelian explanations prefer rational philosophy over observable data, and any intelligent scholar can witness that the stars do not move exactly as Ptolemy proposes. Scholastics invent a variety of solutions to correct the difference between the two authorities. This is less of a problem in the north, where teaching the New Aristotle is restricted.

The best source of current astronomical information is by the Arab scholar Mashal allal, and several of his tractatus exist in 1220. They have yet to be translated, but can be found in libraries in Spain and the Levant. Along with Arabic texts, the astrolabe has been reintroduced to western Mythic Europe. This device is used to determine celestial altitudes and tell time, as well as being useful for surveying by determining the depth of wells and the height of objects. Alongside the astrolabe, the quadrant and the portable sundial have likewise been introduced to the west.

Writing Systems

Besides indicating the particular subjects of the liberal arts known to a character, the Artes Liberales Ability also covers his ability to read and write. Each point of a character’s Artes Liberales score allows him to use one writing system, defined as a separate alphabet and script as well as a separate language. Several languages can use the same writing system. For example, knowing the Latin alphabet allows a character to write in most of the vernacular languages of Western Mythic Europe. Naturally, a character must also be able to speak the language he wishes to write in.

Historically, vernacular languages are undergoing great changes during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. English is changing from Old English (the language of Beowulf) to Middle English (the language of Chaucer). This change is not constant, so that the English of northern England is again different from the English of southern England. Every country is undergoing this process, with France being especially divided between the language of the north, langue d’oïl, and the Occitan language of the south, langue d’oc. While the writing systems of all of these languages have subtle differences, they are all close enough to the Latin writing system to fall within it.

There are several writing systems in Mythic Europe, each with its own separate alphabet and script. Certain writing systems — Latin, Greek, and Arabic — are popular with western academics who use foreign texts to augment their own knowledge. Eastern scholars prefer Greek, Arabic, and Persian. Hermetic magi, as is their wont, are often interested in a wide variety of writing systems. The existing writing systems in Mythic Europe are:

Arabic – Used for the language of the Muslim people in the Near East and Spain.

Aramaic – Used for an ancient language, believed to be the language of Jesus, and still in use in Assyria.

Armenian – Developed in the fifth century, for the language of Armenia.

Coptic – Used for a religious and spoken language found only in Egypt, presently fading out of usage.

Cyrillic – Based on Glagolitic and used in Bosnia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, parts of Russia, Serbia, and the Ukrainian countries.

Glagolitic – Created by the brothers St. Cyril and St. Methodius around 860 to write the Bible into a Slavic language; still used in some Slavic countries.

Gothic – Used for the language of the Goths and Visigoths of the fourth through sixth century, now nearly extinct.

Greek – Used for the language of the ancient philosophers and the official language of the Byzantine Empire.

Hebrew – Derived from Aramaic, used for the language of Jewish scholars and clerics.

Latin – Used for most languages of western Mythic Europe, most notably Latin itself, which, in its medieval version, differs somewhat from the classical.

Mongolian – Developed in 1208 by a captured scribe and based on the Syriac writing system, this is the writing system of the Mongol tribes. Historically, it is changed again in 1269, by order of Kublai Khan.

Ogham – The effectively extinct system of the Celts, which flourished from the fourth to the sixth century in Ireland and Wales.

Persian – The writing system used for the language of Persia.

Runes – The nearly extinct writing system of Germany and Scandinavia, called the “Futhark.”

Syriac – Used for the religious writings of Christian living in Syria.

Each time a character increases her Artes Liberales score, she can learn a new writing system. She must have a source — either a teacher or a bi-lingual text. Sources for learning Latin, Arabic, and Greek are common, but sources for other writing systems are not. Access depends on where a character is located. It is much easier to learn Coptic in Egypt than anywhere else, for example. If a player wants his character to learn an uncommon writing system, the storyguide can insist that the character spend some in-game time acquiring an appropriate source.

Attribution

Attribution Based on the material for Ars Magica, ©1993-2024, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("CC-BY-SA 4.0"). Ars Magica Open License Logo ©2024 Trident, Inc. The Ars Magica Open License Logo, Ars Magica, and Mythic Europe are trademarks of Trident, Inc., and are used with permission. Order of Hermes, Tremere, Doissetep, and Grimgroth are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with permission.