Jean Tarde, astronome de la Roque-Gageac
Introduction
I wanted to know if there were any famous French astronomers from somewhere south of Limoges, but not too far away to explore in a day from the Haute Vienne region. And during my researches I came across the 16th century vicar of Sarlat, Jean Tarde, who was, of course, more than a man of the church. He had a life-long thirst for learning a wide range of subjects, and was especially fascinated by the sun, stars and everything else that lies beyond the skies of Sarlat. Later on in his life he constructed a small observatory at la Roque-Gajeac where he studied sunspots.
Early life
Jean Tarde was a French astronomer, mathematician, historian and canon born in 1561 (or 1562) in la Roque-Gageac, a village situated 13km from Sarlat-le-Canéda. We don’t know the exact date of his birth, but we can just about work it out from a remark made in his chronicles. He states that he was about six or seven years old when he saw the protestant army coming from Quercy to the Sarlat area in 1568. Tarde was born into a middle class family from Sarlat and went to the university of Cahors before pursuing further studies at the Sorbonne, where he became interested in mathematics.
Jeunesse
Jean Tarde était un astronome, mathématicien, historien et chanoine français né en 1561 (ou 1562) à la Roque-Gageac, un village qui se trouve à 13km de Sarlat-le-Canéda. On ne sait pas la date exacte de sa naissance, mais on peut la déduire d’une remarque faite dans ses chroniques. Il a déclaré être jeune enfant de six à sept ans lorsqu’il a vu l’armée protestante, venant du Quercy, traverser le Sarladais en 1568. Il a appartenu à une famille bourgeoise de Sarlat, il a étudié à l’université de Cahors et ensuite à la Sorbonne où il s’intéressait surtout aux mathématiques.
I wanted to know if there were any famous French astronomers from somewhere south of Limoges, but not too far away to explore in a day from the Haute Vienne region. And during my researches I came across the 16th century vicar of Sarlat, Jean Tarde, who was, of course, more than a man of the church. He had a life-long thirst for learning a wide range of subjects, and was especially fascinated by the sun, stars and everything else that lies beyond the skies of Sarlat. Later on in his life he constructed a small observatory at la Roque-Gajeac where he studied sunspots.
Early life
Jean Tarde was a French astronomer, mathematician, historian and canon born in 1561 (or 1562) in la Roque-Gageac, a village situated 13km from Sarlat-le-Canéda. We don’t know the exact date of his birth, but we can just about work it out from a remark made in his chronicles. He states that he was about six or seven years old when he saw the protestant army coming from Quercy to the Sarlat area in 1568. Tarde was born into a middle class family from Sarlat and went to the university of Cahors before pursuing further studies at the Sorbonne, where he became interested in mathematics.
Jeunesse
Jean Tarde était un astronome, mathématicien, historien et chanoine français né en 1561 (ou 1562) à la Roque-Gageac, un village qui se trouve à 13km de Sarlat-le-Canéda. On ne sait pas la date exacte de sa naissance, mais on peut la déduire d’une remarque faite dans ses chroniques. Il a déclaré être jeune enfant de six à sept ans lorsqu’il a vu l’armée protestante, venant du Quercy, traverser le Sarladais en 1568. Il a appartenu à une famille bourgeoise de Sarlat, il a étudié à l’université de Cahors et ensuite à la Sorbonne où il s’intéressait surtout aux mathématiques.
La Roque-Gageac
His place of birth la Roque-Gageac is a remarkable village, and it is one of those designated, ‘most beautiful villages of France.’ The village is situated both on and at the foot of a cliff by the edge of the river Dordogne, and you can stroll through the little streets while appreciating its charm, reminiscent of a time gone by. There are tropical plants (due to its very mild almost mediterranean microclimate) near the quaint 14th century church. Then a little further on you will find the Manoir de Tarde (the Tarde family home at the beginning of the XVIIth century), which is an imposing renaissance style building with a circular tower overlooking the village. However, a tragedy struck la Roque-Gageac just over 60 years ago when on 17 January 1957 at 10am 2500m3 of rock fell from the cliff onto the village killing three residents and crushing seven houses.
La Roque-Gageac
Le lieu de sa naissance, la Roque-Gageac est un village vraiment extraordinaire, et elle fait partie de l’association ‘les Plus Beaux Villages de France.’ Le village est niché dans une falaise au-dessus de la rivière Dordogne, et on peut flâner dans les ruelles en appréciant son charme d’autrefois, en admirant la végétation tropicale et la petite église du XIVe siècle. Ensuite vous pouvez poursuivre votre promenade par une halte devant le Manoir de Tarde (la maison de famille de Jean Tarde au début du XVIIe siècle) qui est un édifice de style renaissance avec une tourelle ronde qui domine le cœur du village. Mais ce village a connu une tragédie il y a 60 ans. Le 17 janvier 1957 à 10 heures du matin, 2500 m3 de calcaire se sont détachés de la falaise avant de s’écrouler sur le village. Le drame a fait trois morts et un blessé. Six maisons et une grande ont été pulvérisées et on a entendu le bruit de la chute de Saint-Vincent-de-Cosse à Saint-Cybranet.
Jean Tarde, the astronomer
During his studies Jean Tarde became fascinated with astronomy, after discovering the Sidereus Nuntius (see note 1 below), written by Galileo, and in 1611 he decided to travel to Florence to see the Italian scientist, possibly with the hope of finding out how to make a telescope. The secrets of telescope making were not revealed to him, though Galileo did recommend that Tarde read Kepler’s book on optics for this. He also spoke with Tarde about the so called ‘Medici stars’ that he had observed around Saturn (the rings of Saturn), the phases of Venus and spots on the Sun. On his return to France in 1615 Tarde had an observatory built at la Roque-Gageac where he decided to study sunspots and also write about what he understood them to be. His resulting book Borbonia sidera (astres de Bourbon) was published in 1620, and in it he describes sunspots as bodies which orbit the Sun. Despite this mistaken theory, the book did show him to be a good researcher and well-informed thinker of the time.
Jean Tarde, l'astronome
Pendant ses études Jean Tarde est devenu passionné d’astronomie, après avoir découvert le Sidereus Nuntius, ouvrage publié par Galilée. En 1611 il a décidé de voyager à Florence pour voir l’Italien (avec peut-être l’idée de lui demander comment construire une lunette astronomique). Galilée ne lui a pas dévoilé comment fabriquer une lunette, mais il lui a recommendé le livre de Kepler sur le sujet de l’optique, Il a également parlé avec Tarde des ‘astres de Medicis’ qu’il avait vus autour de Saturne (les anneaux), les phases de Vénus et les taches solaires. Lors de son retour en France en 1615, Tarde a fait aménager un petit observatoire astronomique à la Roque-Gajeac où Ici il a étudié les taches solaires et a commencé à écrire un livre sur leurs caractéristiques. Dans ce livre, Borbonia sidera (astres de Bourbon), publié en 1620 il décrit les taches solaires comme des astres qui orbitent le Soleil. Malgré cette erreur le livre montre que Tarde était un chercheur intelligent et bien-informé.
And later on...
After his travels to Italy Tarde chose to spend the rest of his life in la Roque-Gageac as he liked the peaceful village so much. He is buried in the chapel Saint Benoît in Sarlat. Though not very famous today, his work proved that he was an intelligent and astute observer of the skies.
Et plus tard...
Après ses voyages en Italie Tarde a choisi de vivre le reste de ses jours à la Roque- Gageac. Il est enterré dans la chapelle Saint Benoit à Sarlat. Il n’est pas très cèlèbre aujourd’hui mais ses oeuvres prouvent qu’il était un homme intelligent et cultivé, et un très bon observateur du ciel.
Note 1: Sidereus Nuntius (March 1610) is a short astronomical work by Galileo and was the first published scientific work based on observations made through a telescope. It contains the results of Galileo’s early observations of the Moon, hundreds of stars that could not be seen with the naked eye, and the rings of Saturn.
His place of birth la Roque-Gageac is a remarkable village, and it is one of those designated, ‘most beautiful villages of France.’ The village is situated both on and at the foot of a cliff by the edge of the river Dordogne, and you can stroll through the little streets while appreciating its charm, reminiscent of a time gone by. There are tropical plants (due to its very mild almost mediterranean microclimate) near the quaint 14th century church. Then a little further on you will find the Manoir de Tarde (the Tarde family home at the beginning of the XVIIth century), which is an imposing renaissance style building with a circular tower overlooking the village. However, a tragedy struck la Roque-Gageac just over 60 years ago when on 17 January 1957 at 10am 2500m3 of rock fell from the cliff onto the village killing three residents and crushing seven houses.
La Roque-Gageac
Le lieu de sa naissance, la Roque-Gageac est un village vraiment extraordinaire, et elle fait partie de l’association ‘les Plus Beaux Villages de France.’ Le village est niché dans une falaise au-dessus de la rivière Dordogne, et on peut flâner dans les ruelles en appréciant son charme d’autrefois, en admirant la végétation tropicale et la petite église du XIVe siècle. Ensuite vous pouvez poursuivre votre promenade par une halte devant le Manoir de Tarde (la maison de famille de Jean Tarde au début du XVIIe siècle) qui est un édifice de style renaissance avec une tourelle ronde qui domine le cœur du village. Mais ce village a connu une tragédie il y a 60 ans. Le 17 janvier 1957 à 10 heures du matin, 2500 m3 de calcaire se sont détachés de la falaise avant de s’écrouler sur le village. Le drame a fait trois morts et un blessé. Six maisons et une grande ont été pulvérisées et on a entendu le bruit de la chute de Saint-Vincent-de-Cosse à Saint-Cybranet.
Jean Tarde, the astronomer
During his studies Jean Tarde became fascinated with astronomy, after discovering the Sidereus Nuntius (see note 1 below), written by Galileo, and in 1611 he decided to travel to Florence to see the Italian scientist, possibly with the hope of finding out how to make a telescope. The secrets of telescope making were not revealed to him, though Galileo did recommend that Tarde read Kepler’s book on optics for this. He also spoke with Tarde about the so called ‘Medici stars’ that he had observed around Saturn (the rings of Saturn), the phases of Venus and spots on the Sun. On his return to France in 1615 Tarde had an observatory built at la Roque-Gageac where he decided to study sunspots and also write about what he understood them to be. His resulting book Borbonia sidera (astres de Bourbon) was published in 1620, and in it he describes sunspots as bodies which orbit the Sun. Despite this mistaken theory, the book did show him to be a good researcher and well-informed thinker of the time.
Jean Tarde, l'astronome
Pendant ses études Jean Tarde est devenu passionné d’astronomie, après avoir découvert le Sidereus Nuntius, ouvrage publié par Galilée. En 1611 il a décidé de voyager à Florence pour voir l’Italien (avec peut-être l’idée de lui demander comment construire une lunette astronomique). Galilée ne lui a pas dévoilé comment fabriquer une lunette, mais il lui a recommendé le livre de Kepler sur le sujet de l’optique, Il a également parlé avec Tarde des ‘astres de Medicis’ qu’il avait vus autour de Saturne (les anneaux), les phases de Vénus et les taches solaires. Lors de son retour en France en 1615, Tarde a fait aménager un petit observatoire astronomique à la Roque-Gajeac où Ici il a étudié les taches solaires et a commencé à écrire un livre sur leurs caractéristiques. Dans ce livre, Borbonia sidera (astres de Bourbon), publié en 1620 il décrit les taches solaires comme des astres qui orbitent le Soleil. Malgré cette erreur le livre montre que Tarde était un chercheur intelligent et bien-informé.
And later on...
After his travels to Italy Tarde chose to spend the rest of his life in la Roque-Gageac as he liked the peaceful village so much. He is buried in the chapel Saint Benoît in Sarlat. Though not very famous today, his work proved that he was an intelligent and astute observer of the skies.
Et plus tard...
Après ses voyages en Italie Tarde a choisi de vivre le reste de ses jours à la Roque- Gageac. Il est enterré dans la chapelle Saint Benoit à Sarlat. Il n’est pas très cèlèbre aujourd’hui mais ses oeuvres prouvent qu’il était un homme intelligent et cultivé, et un très bon observateur du ciel.
Note 1: Sidereus Nuntius (March 1610) is a short astronomical work by Galileo and was the first published scientific work based on observations made through a telescope. It contains the results of Galileo’s early observations of the Moon, hundreds of stars that could not be seen with the naked eye, and the rings of Saturn.
