Walcher of Malvern, also known as
Walcher of Lorraine or
Doctor Walcher, was the second
Prior of
Malvern (in
England) and a noted
astronomer and
mathematician.
Walcher was from
Lotharingia and came to England about 1091. He is noted for using an
astrolabe to measure the time of several
solar and
lunar eclipses with an accuracy of about fifteen minutes. Using his early observations, he computed a set of tables giving the time of the new moons from 1036 through 1111, which he considered to be important for purposes of medical astrology. His later observations revealed significant errors in his tables, reflecting the limitations of early medieval astronomical theory.
In one of his later writings, which drew on Arabic astronomy received from Spain, he recorded angles in degrees, minutes, and seconds, although he wrote these numbers using Roman, rather than Arabic numerals.
Walcher's gravestone in
Malvern Priory Church records his abilities as an "
able astrologist and mathematician". As head of the
Priory he would have been a very influential figure in the
county of
Worcestershire.