ABSTRACT
The medieval universe was generously proportioned. The world itself was at the physical centre of creation but was only a pale reflection of the ultimate reality of God. Its shape and structure were understood not only in the language of Christianity but also in the classical tradition of Greek and Roman science. God’s creation of the visible universe ex nihilo, poetically described in the Book of Genesis, the opening chapter of the Old Testament, was generally accepted, but an understanding of the universe’s structure and form owed more to observation than revelation. Certain key classical texts, passed on either completely or in part, gave substance to the observations of the intelligent observer. The most influential of these was the so-called Almagest (Arabic for Great Work) of Claudius Ptolemy (fl. 150 Ad) which presented the earth as a static sphere at the centre of the universe around which the heavenly bodies rotated.
