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Article: Maria Cunitz

Article additions for Maria Cunitz[edit]

Maria Cunitz or Maria Cunitia
A memorial to Maria Cunitz in Świdnica, Poland.
Born1610
Wohlau, Silesia
DiedAugust 22, 1664
Pitschen, Silesia
NationalityGerman or Polish
EducationTutored by Dr. Elias von Löwen
Known forUrania propitia
Spouse
(m. 1623)
(m. 1630)
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy, Mathematics


Second husband Elias von Lowen was also known as Elie de Loewen was a physician at Pitschen and studied astronomy. [1] Elias von Lowen was Maria's tutor[2] and encouraged Maria to pursue astronomy before their marriage in 1630. [1] Together they made observation of Venus on December 14, 1627 and Jupiter on April 1628. [1] Other areas of study included medicine, poetry, painting, music, mathematics, ancient languages, and history. [3] Alynbrwn (talk) 00:29, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

Urania propitia was privately published and as of 2016 there are nine physical copies in the world[1] along with multiple online copies.[4] Physical copies can be found in the Library of the Astronomical Observatory of Paris,[1] Library of the University of Florida,[1] and in the exhibit of Galileo and Kepler at the University Libraries in Norman, Oklahoma.[5] Prior to June 10, 2004 the first edition of Urania propitia was located at The Library of The Earls of Macclesfield in the Shirburn Castle: Part 2 Science A-C section.[6] The book was sold at the Sotheby's auction house for $19,827 USD.[6] Alynbrwn (talk) 00:29, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

Copies found in:

Located in the exhibit of Galileo and Kepler at the University Libraries in Norman, Oklahoma. [5]

Prior to June 10, 2004 the first edition of Urania propitia was located at The Library of The Earls of Macclesfield in the Shirburn Castle: Part 2 Science A-C section. [6] The book was sold at the Sotheby's auction house for $19,827 USD. [6]

In the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

Link to an online copy: https://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/18066#info


Drafts[edit]

The Cunitz crater on Venus is named after her. The minor planet 12624 Mariacunitia is named in her honour.[5] (copied from article. cite 5 is website list of minor planets)  

Asteroid 12624 Mariacunitia and the Cunitz crater on Venus are named after Maria Cunitz. [1] Alynbrwn (talk) 00:29, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

Maria's most significant work was composed on the estate of the Cistercian convent in Łubnice under Ołobok near Kalisz, Poland where, with her husband, she had taken refuge at the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War (they were of Protestant religion; her siblings, who stayed in Silesia, converted to Roman Catholicism). After their return to Silesia, they published, at their own expense, Maria's book in 1650. The work was dedicated to Holy Roman emperor Ferdinand III. In 1655, a catastrophic fire of Pitschen [13](Polish: Byczyna) destroyed their scientific papers, and also the instruments and chemicals used for making many types of medicines.[14] This undercut their source of income. Maria became a widow again in 1661, and died at Pitzen on August 22, 1664. [11,15] (copied from article- Life section. cite 14 reroutes to empty Wiki page)

During the Thirty Year's War from 1618 to 1648 Maria and Elias von Löwen[7] stayed in the Cistercians convent of Olobok, Poland. [1] While at the cloister in Poland, Cunitz expanded her astronomical tables to include all of the planets at any moment in time. [7] At the end of the Thirty Year's War the couple returned to their home at Pitschen in Silesia. [1] In 1650, Maria privately published of her own expense Urania propitia in German and Latin as a dedication to Emperor Ferdinand III. [1] Urania propitia was a simplification of Kepler's Rudolphine Tables due to their difficulty of producing calculations and applications, because the use of logarithms. [8] In the evening of May 25, 1656 in Pitschen, Silesia a large fire destroyed most of the homes in the city, including Maria's home, Maria lost astronomical instruments and Elias lost medical instruments. [1] The fire consumed Maria's books, letters, and more than 200 records of astronomical observations. [1] Maria became a widow again in 1661, and died at Pitzen on August 22, 1664. [11,15] Alynbrwn (talk) 00:29, 14 March 2020 (UTC)


The publication of the book Urania propitia (Olse, Silesia, 1650) gained Cunitz a European reputation. She was acclaimed as the most learned woman in astronomy since Hypatia of Alexandria. Significantly for a technical publication of that period, her book was written both in Latin and German (stating that it was to increase the accessibility to her work). Urania propitia was a simplification of the Rudolphine Tables. Cunitz's husband, Elias von Löwen, wrote a preface in Urania propitia to cast out any rumors that it was Elias von Löwen that computed the tables and to show support for his wife. Urania propitia provided new tables, new ephemera, and a more elegant solution to Kepler's Problem, which is to determine the position of a planet in its orbit as a function of time. Today, her book is also credited for its contribution to the development of the German scientific language. Because of her many talents and accomplishments, Cunitz was called the "Silesian Pallas". In his 1727 book Schlesiens Hoch- und Wohlgelehrtes Frauenzimmer, nebst unterschiedenen Poetinnen..., Johan Caspar Eberti wrote that (Maria) Cunicia or Cunitzin was the daughter of the famous Henrici Cunitii. She was a well-educated woman, like a queen among the Silesian womanhood. She was able to converse in seven languages, German, Italian, French, Polish, Latin, Greek and Hebrew, was an experienced musician and an accomplished painter. She was a dedicated astrologist and especially enjoyed astronomical problems.

Clean up[edit]

Reference 3 goes to an error page, "This resource does not exist". To keep the information we can recite it with [1] Alynbrwn (talk) 00:29, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

Review by K8shep (talk) 15:07, 23 March 2020 (UTC)[edit]

1. What does the article do well? Is there anything from your review that impressed you? Any turn of phrase that described the subject in a clear way?
Great job so far. You've pin-pointed where you want to make changes and you're clearly moving along well with them. I like that you've focused on a few main points that you want to add.

2. What changes would you suggest the author apply to the article? Why would those changes be an improvement?
What are the other libraries that hold the Urania Propitia? You might link to other pages--not just widow, but Silesia, Rudolphine Tables, and more. If you're looking for more to add, you might think about adding something more about Urania Propitia. Just a thought.

3. What's the most important thing the author could do to improve the article?
Keep up the good work! You've got good sources and I think you've got a handle on it.

Article Evaluation[edit]

Maria Cunitz

Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you? The Nationality section seems to be off topic. It is giving information about Poland before and after Maria's birth and death dates. I'm not sure if that is relevant information to know about her.

Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames , that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? There are parts that seem unbiased for instance naming her the "most notable female astronomer" and "most learned woman in astronomy." Other than those instances the article seems neutral.

Are there viewpoints that are over represented, or underrepresented? All contents on this article seem to be lacking.

Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article? Most links seem to work. Of the ones I checked one book link did not work or perhaps the domain was taken over by something else not relevant to the article.

Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? Doesn't seem that all facts are sourced. Most sources are from books that seem to be reliable. Some books and websites are in a different language, therefore it is difficult to determine how reliable the sources are.

Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added? The page could use an overview box to the right, one that has all the important information listed and usually with a picture at the top of the box. There is a lot missing. There is not certain birth year, there is nothing noted between potential birth year of 1610 and 1650.

Check out he Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? Lot of talk if she is Polish or not and the origin of her name or alternative name. Other wikipedia articles cannot be a source.

How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? It is rated C-class with low or mid-importance. It is apart of several WikiProjects such as Biography/Science and Academia, Women's History, Women scientists, Astronomy, Silesia, Germany, Poland.

How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? The birth date matches to the one told in class but it strange that they have no reliable source for it. The article seems to have nothing about how she lived compared to in class it was mentioned how she was criticized for acting like a man.

References:[edit]

[9] Transits in the Seventeenth Century and the Credentialling of Keplerian Astronomy (2013)


  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Bernardi, Gabriella (2016). The Unforgotten Sisters. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. pp. 61–66. ISBN 978-3-319-26125-6.
  2. ^ Ogivie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science. New York and London: Routledge. pp. 308–309.
  3. ^ Ogilvie, Marilyn (1986). Women in Science. Massachusetts: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. pp. 63–64. ISBN 0-262-15031-X.
  4. ^ Cunitz, Maria (1610-1664) (1650). "Urania propitia sive Tabulae Astronomicae mire faciles [...]" (in Polish). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b "The Generous Muse of the Heavens". University Libraries The University of Oklahoma. June 23, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b c d "Cunitz (Cunitia), Maria (c. 1604-1664)". Sotheby's est. 1744. April 12, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b van Schurman, Anna Maria (1998). Whether a Christian Woman Should Be Educated and Other Writings from Her Intellectual Circle. University of Chicago Press. p. 217. ISBN 9780226849980.
  8. ^ Rohrbach, Augusta (2014). Thinking Outside the Book. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 147. ISBN 9781625341259.
  9. ^ Gingerich, Owen (2013). "Transits in the Seventeenth Century and the Credentialling of Keplerian Astronomy". Journal for the History of Astronomy. 44, no. 3 (3): 303–312.