Some medieval antecedents of modern kinematics

This work deals with the first theoretical formulations of Kinematics, carried out mainly in the fourteenth century, at Merton College, University of Oxford, and at the University of Paris. We show how Merton’s scholars explicitly defined the kinematic problem and elaborated a theoretical framework for the quantitative treatment of movement, emphasizing the concepts of speed and acceleration. We highligth some important results obtained by these researches, such as the Theorem of Average Speed and the Theorem of Distance Traveled, both applicable to motions with constant acceleration. We see that, in the hands of the thinkers of the University of Paris, mathematical treatment acquired a greater maturity, with the introduction of graphic representations, from which the results could be more easily drawn. We also see that, despite the studies conducted at Oxford being characterized by an essentially theoretical and abstract approach, the developments carried out in Paris, shortly afterwards, were marked by a greater concern for an application of formalism to concrete problems, such as the motion of free fall and the rotation of rigid bodies.

Keywords
History of Physics; Mechanics; Kinematics; Medieval Physics