A Book for the King: John Geddy's Methodi sive compendii mathematici (1586)

Abstract

A remarkable little-known manuscript, Methodi sive compendii mathematici, was written by John Geddy (or perhaps Geddie) in St Andrews in 1586. This purports to be the first book of four, but no others are known to exist. It was composed for King James VI of Scotland, then aged twenty, who in 1603 would also become King James I of England. Prefaces extol the King and refer to Geddy's time in Paris, while the main text is devoted to arithmetic. The whole is written in beautiful calligraphy, with many letters highlighted in gold and with ornate capitals. This work and its context are described.

Acknowledgements

I am most grateful to Dr Norman Reid and other staff at Special Collections, University of St Andrews, for providing me with a digitized copy of the Geddy manuscript, for permission to reproduce illustrations and to publish translated extracts from it, and for other useful comments; to my wife, Professor Elizabeth Craik for much-needed help with Latin and Greek translations; to Dr David Kiltz for his comments on the Syriac and Phoenician tables of numbers; to Dr Catherine Cobham and her colleagues for remarks on the title page's Arabic inscription; to Dr Catherine Goldstein for information about Paris mathematicians and for other comments; and to Dr Robert N Smart for many helpful comments on a previous draft, and for information about Geddy's parentage and his association with William Welwood. The resources of the British Library are also gratefully acknowledged.

Notes

¹ John Geddy is referred to as ‘Geddes’ only in some English sources and is incorrect: the family name was usually spelt ‘Geddy’ or ‘Geddie’. But in the St Leonard's College Matriculation and Graduation Rolls he appears as ‘Joannes Geddye’ (1572) and ‘Joannes Gedde’ (1574): see (Anderson 1926). His parents were Charles Gedde, a citizen of St Andrews, and Margeret Lawmond (Lamont), third daughter of Allane Lawmond and Helen Melvill (Clark 1900, 2: 157). (Information kindly supplied by Dr R N Smart.)

² I gratefully acknowledge the considerable help of my wife, Professor Elizabeth Craik, with Latin and some Greek translations. But Geddy's Latin is at times cryptic or ambiguous and so open to interpretation: any surviving errors and misunderstandings are my own. Copies of the original Latin extracts here translated are available from the author: e-mail [email protected].

³ Welwood occupied the chair of law from 1587 to 1611, apart from a three-year suspension during 1597–1600, the turbulent circumstances surrounding which are fully described in Cairns (1998). Subsequently, he went to London, where he produced several legal publications. He died in the mid-1630s. Much of this information about Welwood was kindly supplied by Dr R N Smart.

⁴ On Ramus’ mathematics teaching, see Pantin (2004, 2006). The surviving evidence on the colleges of Paris at this time is sparse and later accounts are sometimes contradictory. Though it is often said that Ramus taught at the Collège royal, (Couzinet and Mondosio 2004) observe that the Collège royal had no physical existence until 1610 (although it was founded in 1530). Rather, the royal professors and lecturers taught, together with other colleagues, at various Paris colleges. The early Collège royal may be thought of as comprising this élite group of scholars supported by the King.

⁵ I am grateful to Dr David Kiltz of St Andrews University for commenting on these tables.