1
20
21
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/1f837b6d6faa13d623b62f9b3fc311cb.jpeg
e03f432cfc1d1c96cb2fc20308a94e15
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
LJS 463
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/96a8428ca394c98fc2f02d6a9f7a4c3d.jpeg
16ad8c819fa6f972ca055c4ac051f6b0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Almanacs and Astrology
Manuscript
Place of Origin
England and Spain
Materials
Parchment
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 226
Number of Leaves
7
Dimensions
170 x 130 mm
Provenance (Ownership History)
Richard Chamberlain; Johannes Lethe; Sir John Chetwode of Oakley Hall, Staffordshire; Lawrence J. Schoenberg.
Further Reading
Crofton Black, ed., <em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg</em> (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 69.
Binding
19th-century quarter-marbled paper over cardboard
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/jc-3d5-OCo0">LJS 226 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9950511113503681">LJS 226 on Penn in Hand</a>
Language(s)
Latin
Pages Displayed
4v-5r
Date
Circa 1410
Description
Assembled c. 1861 (fol. 1r), this compilation of three earlier manuscripts testifies to both the diverse practical applications of medieval astronomy and the nineteenth-century interest in collecting medieval illustrations. The first three leaves are drawn from an early fifteenth-century English manuscript, and include a blank horoscope template, a zodiac calendar, and these two Kabbalistic diagrams. This text also contains a Latin inscription that sheds light on its own production, including the price for a manuscript of twenty-five gatherings (“bought from Master Richard Chamberlain for 16 shillings and 8 pence”). The next leaf comes from a different manuscript, and includes diagrams of the celestial spheres and elemental spheres. The last leaf, from a Spanish manuscript, demonstrates how to write astronomically large numbers in Arabic numerals. A drawing of a labyrinth, with an English real estate transaction on the reverse, is inserted at the back.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Certain Astrological and Astronomical Figures
Description
An account of the resource
Dated 1861, this compilation of three earlier manuscripts testifies to both the diverse practical applications of medieval astronomy and the nineteenth-century interest in collecting medieval illustrations. The first three leaves are drawn from an early fifteenth-century English manuscript, and include a blank horoscope template, a zodiac calendar, and these two Kabbalistic diagrams. This text also contains a Latin inscription that sheds light on its own production, including the price for a manuscript of 25 gatherings (“bought from Master Richard Chamberlain for 16 shillings and 8 pence”). The next leaf comes from a different manuscript, and includes diagrams of the celestial spheres and elemental spheres. The last leaf, from a Spanish manuscript, demonstrates how to write astronomically large numbers in Arabic numerals. A drawing of a labyrinth, with an English real estate transaction on the reverse, is inserted at the back.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Circa 1410
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/ea42dce39bdac2f815cb8a7b72019ae5.jpeg
36354e9d93fcd6c5752089c9dbca9e5a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Treatises on the Astrolabe
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 478
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9949213493503681">LJS 478 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
72v-73r
Author(s)
Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Bīrūnī (973–1048), Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh Nasṭūlus
Place of Origin
Persia or Anatolia
Language(s)
Arabic
Materials
Paper
Number of Leaves
87
Dimensions
252 x 171 mm
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenber</em><span>g (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 53-4; Sheila R. Canby, Deniz Beyazit, Martina Rugiadi, and A.C.S. Peacock, <em>Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs</em> (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016), 192.</span>
Binding
13th-century leather, blind-stamped, with replacement flap
Date
Jumadi II 625 AH (May 1228)
Description
<p>This manuscript begins with a treatise by the renowned mathematician al-Bīrūnī <b></b>addressing variants of the astrolabe that include updates to its standard discs (which represent projections of the northern sky). He discusses the “crab” and “drum” astrolabes invented by Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh Nasṭūlus, maker of the oldest surviving astrolabe (dated A.H. 315 or 927/928 AD). He also describes Nasṭūlus’s “huqq al-qamar” (“box for the moon”), a mechanism that could be added to an astrolabe to represent phases of the moon. <span>Two treatises on “crab” and “drum” astrolabes follow al-Bīrūnī’s<b></b> texts; these works were unknown before this manuscript was described and are now attributed to </span>Nasṭūlus. <span>Other texts in this compilation address an instrument for finding the qibla (direction of Mecca) and the compass. </span></p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Astronomical Anthology (Astrolabe, etc.)
Description
An account of the resource
<p>This manuscript begins with a treatise by the renowned mathematician al-Biruni addressing variants of the astrolabe that include updates to its standard discs (which represent projections of the northern sky). He discusses the “crab” and “drum” astrolabes invented by Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh Nasṭūlus, maker of the oldest surviving astrolabe (dated A.H. 315 or 927/928 AD). He also describes Nasṭūlus’s “huqq al-qamar” (“box for the moon”), a mechanism that could be added to an astrolabe to represent phases of the moon. <span>Two treatises on “crab” and “drum” astrolabes follow al-Biruni’s texts; these works were unknown before this manuscript was described and are now attributed to </span>Nasṭūlus. <span>Other texts in this compilation address an instrument for finding the qibla (direction of Mecca) and the compass. </span></p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Jumadi II 625 AH (May 1228)
Astrolabe
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/927c27eb9f763d94e3a1e9ba81cc5167.jpeg
2379a0ebd1118cbe44be479dedb0ca94
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Treatises on the Astrolabe
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 194
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/03hoIef6ayg">LJS 194 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9948120243503681">LJS 194 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
54v-55r
Author(s)
Pope Sylvester II (aka Gerbert of Aurillac, c. 945-1003)
Place of Origin
Bavaria (probably modern northern Austria)
Language(s)
Latin
Materials
Parchment
Number of Leaves
56
Dimensions
144 x 106 mm
Binding
18th-century blind-stamped calf
Provenance (Ownership History)
M. Haimmiller; Hieronymus Wilhelm Ebner von Eschenbach; John Bohn; Sir Thomas Phillipps; Harrison D. Horblit; John D. Stanitz; Lawrence J. Schoenberg
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenber</em><span>g (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 36.</span>
Date
Circa 1125-1175
Description
<p>This collection of mathematical texts was copied by two twelfth-century scribes and annotated by readers in the twelfth century and the fifteenth (or early sixteenth). It includes sections from Pope Sylvester’s <em>Isagoge geometriae</em>, his letter to Adelbold of Utrecht (c. 970-1026) on the area of equilateral triangles with Adelbold’s response, and a short text of less certain authorship on the construction of the planispheric astrolabe (composed of overlaid full discs, as opposed to the <a href="http://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/items/show/5">quadrant</a>), on display here.</p>
The work on the astrolabe exemplifies both the early history of this device in Western Europe and the complementary nature of the seven liberal arts, being placed among texts on geometry. Sylvester was a prominent mathematician before becoming the first French Pope in 999, having studied the trivium at the monastery of St. Gerald in Aurillac and the quadrivium in Spain. Regardless of whether he wrote this particular treatise, he is known to have lectured on the use of the astrolabe, and is likely the first person to have brought this knowledge into Christian Europe. In these regards he resembles the literary figure Geoffrey Chaucer, who also traveled extensively and cultivated an interest in astronomical methods.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
De Geometria and other texts
Description
An account of the resource
<p>This collection of mathematical texts was copied by two twelfth-century scribes and annotated by readers in the twelfth century and the fifteenth (or early sixteenth). It includes sections from Pope Sylvester’s <em>Isagoge geometriae</em>, his letter to Adelbold of Utrecht (c. 970-1026) on the area of equilateral triangles with Adelbold’s response, and a short text of less certain authorship on the construction of the planispheric astrolabe (composed of overlaid full discs, as opposed to the <a href="http://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/items/show/5">quadrant</a>), on display here.</p>
The work on the astrolabe exemplifies both the early history of this device in Western Europe and the complementary nature of the seven liberal arts, being placed among texts on geometry. Sylvester was a prominent mathematician before becoming the first French Pope in 999, having studied the trivium at the monastery of St. Gerald in Aurillac and the quadrivium in Spain. Regardless of whether he wrote this particular treatise, he is known to have lectured on the use of the astrolabe, and is likely the first person to have brought this knowledge into Christian Europe. In these regards he resembles the literary figure Geoffrey Chaucer, who also traveled extensively and cultivated an interest in astronomical methods.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Circa 1125-1175
Geometry
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/922db73ebd19071977506ad04aed0968.jpeg
4887174ae5bd062485847b51e7ac1bb9
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Almanacs and Astrology
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 463
Video Orientation
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmZh4woQEX4">LJS 463 Video Orientation (long-form)</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9948425633503681">LJS 463 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
41v-42r
Author(s)
Heinrich Stegmüller
Place of Origin
Buchau, Germany
Language(s)
German
Scribe(s)
Heinrich Stegmüller
Materials
Parchment
Number of Leaves
72
Dimensions
230 x 163 mm
Binding
Pressed pigskin with clasps
Provenance (Ownership History)
Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Hofbibliothek; Lawrence J. Schoenberg
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenber</em><span>g (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 70; Heinrich Jerchel, “Spätmittelalterliche Buchmalerei am Oberlauf des Rheins,” <em>Oberrheinische Kunst: Jahrbuch der oberrheinischen Museen</em> 5 (1932): 63-5, 75.</span>
Date
1443
Description
<p>This codex contains a Latin calendar for the diocese of Constance in southern Germany; a text on the zodiac; a treatise on the planets and their “children” (the zodiac signs that they rule); medical texts on the four temperaments, bloodletting, bathing, and powder making; and finally, notes in a different hand on the genealogy of the Gundelfingen family. Most of the manuscript is illustrated with vivid pen and ink drawings, including the appropriate zodiac sign and labor for each month of the calendar, a depiction of bloodletting (<a href="http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/medren/pageturn.html?id=MEDREN_9948425633503681&rotation=0&currentpage=107">fol. 52r</a>), and a zodiac man (<a href="http://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/fullsize/1f837b6d6faa13d623b62f9b3fc311cb.jpg">fol. 54v</a>). The pages on display are part of a short treatise on the skies, with an image showing two astronomers comparing their astrolabe readings to the information in a sturdy tome; the treatise on the humors begins on the next page. The diversity of texts in this volume speaks to the holistic medieval view of the universe, in which one’s work, body, and soul are all affected by the movement of celestial bodies.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Medical and Astrological Miscellany
Description
An account of the resource
<p>This codex contains a Latin calendar for the diocese of Constance in southern Germany; a text on the zodiac; a treatise on the planets and their “children” (the zodiac signs that they rule); medical texts on the four temperaments, bloodletting, bathing, and powder recipes; and finally, notes in a different hand on the genealogy of the Gundelfingen family. Most of the manuscript is illustrated with vivid pen and ink drawings, including the appropriate zodiac sign and labor for each month of the calendar, a depiction of bloodletting (<a href="http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/medren/pageturn.html?id=MEDREN_9948425633503681&rotation=0&currentpage=107">fol. 52r</a>), and a zodiac man (fol. 54v). The pages on display are part of a short treatise on the skies, with an image showing two astronomers comparing their astrolabe readings to the information in a sturdy tome; the treatise on the humors begins on the next page. The diversity of texts in this volume speaks to the holistic medieval view of the universe, in which one’s work, body, and soul are all affected by the movement of celestial bodies.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1443
Astrology
Calendar
Medicine
Miniatures
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/c75343c89c0b2af88540678c04c6c7e3.jpeg
4c83bd2ac84b6124b92609e9102c5ee5
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Almanacs and Astrology
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 434
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9948287273503681">LJS 434 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
4v-5r
Place of Origin
Eastern Persia (Timurid Empire)
Language(s)
Persian
Materials
Paper
Number of Leaves
7
Dimensions
220 x 140 mm
Binding
19th-century morocco
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenber</em><span>g (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 78.</span>
Date
Circa 912 AH (1507 AD)
Description
<p>Included in this fragmentary t<span>aqwīm, or almanac, are</span>half of a world map; a diagram of the Earth’s climatic zones; and half of a horoscope diagram for a location in present-day Afghanistan (26°21’ N,92°30’ E),dated Friday, 27 Shawwāl 912 (12 March 1507). The illustrations on display represent ikhtiyārāt (elections) for the moon in one of the zodiacal signs. Electional astrology was used to determine auspicious times for performing certain actions, and was a more common pursuit among Islamic and Indian astronomers than among their Christian counterparts. Yet while this manuscript exemplifies the differing emphases of astronomical science across the medieval world, it also reveals the theoretical principles that were shared among cultures, including the belief that celestial bodies exerted influences on the world below.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Taqwīm
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Included in this fragmentary t<span>aqwīm, or almanac, are</span>half of a world map; a diagram of the Earth’s climatic zones; and half of a horoscope diagram for a location in present-day Afghanistan (26°21’ N,92°30’ E),dated Friday, 27 Shawwāl 912 (12 March 1507). The illustrations on display represent ikhtiyārāt (elections) for the moon in one of the zodiacal signs. Electional astrology was used to determine auspicious times for performing certain actions, and was a more common pursuit among Islamic and Indian astronomers than among their Christian counterparts. Yet while this manuscript exemplifies the differing emphases of astronomical science across the medieval world, it also reveals the theoretical principles that were shared among cultures, including the belief that celestial bodies exerted influences on the world below.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Circa 912 AH (1507 AD)
Almanac
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/37ee1337a2869900537fba2d96b2bb00.jpeg
cd0754312e611d0bfbf3c77227719565
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 64
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/mA-lCGaG3Mw">LJS 64 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9948093793503681">LJS 64 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
4v-5r
Author(s)
Georg von Peuerbach (1423-1461)
Place of Origin
Padua (?), Italy
Language(s)
Latin
Materials
Paper
Number of Leaves
39
Dimensions
288 x 214 mm
Binding
Original morocco tooled in silver gilt
Provenance (Ownership History)
Francesco Rolandi of Turin; Pietro Giuseppe Ignati Mattei Cattochii of Vicus Lancesium (Viù, near Turin; Robert B. Honeyman; Lawrence J. Schoenberg.
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg</em><span> (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 59.</span>
Date
1525-1575
Description
<p><span>Created to accompany Georg von Peuerbach’s <em>Theoricae novae planetarum </em>(1454), this codex attests to the enduring relevance of Ptolemaic astronomy in the early Renaissance. The volvelles (rotating discs) on these pages represent the solid “orbs” associated with the sun; like Ptolemy, Peuerbach believed that celestial bodies orbited within spherical shells. Page 7 shows the deferent orb of the sun (the circle around which its epicycle moves) between the two deferent orbs of the sun’s apogee (the point in its orbit at which it is furthest from the Earth)</span><span>. Page 8 combines the two deferent orbs on the middle disc, showing that they are concentric with the outermost sphere of the world (<em>Primum Mobile</em>). These delicate constructions of paper and thread are rarely as well preserved as in this manuscript. </span></p>
<p><span>Peuerbach’s text is essentially an updated version of the anonymous thirteenth-century <em>Theorica planetarum</em>, a popular university text often bound with Sacrobosco’s <em>Tractatus de sphaera </em>(as in MS. Codex 1881). The <em>Theoricae novae planetarum</em>, which incorporates information from the Alfonsine Tables,was first printed in 1472 under the supervision of Peuerbach’s student Regiomontanus; nearly sixty editions followed before the spread of heliocentric astronomy in the seventeenth century. Supplementary volvelle manuscripts such as this one may have been inspired by Peuerbach’s <em>Speculum planetarum, </em>a short text on astronomical volvelles.</span></p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Illustrations to the Theoricae novae planetarum
Description
An account of the resource
<p><span>Created to accompany the <em>T</em><em>heoricae novae planetarum</em> (1454) by Georg von Peuerbach, this codex attests to the enduring relevance of Ptolemaic astronomy in the early Renaissance. The volvelles, or rotating discs, on these pages represent the deferent orb of the sun (the smallest disc) and the two deferent orbs of the sun’s apogee (the point in its orbit at which it is furthest from the Earth). These delicate constructions of paper and thread are highly susceptible to damage, and are rarely as well preserved as in this manuscript. </span></p>
<p><span>Peurbach’s text is essentially an updated version of the anonymous thirteenth-century <em>Theorica planetarum</em>, a popular university text often bound with Sacrobosco’s<em> Tractatus de sphaera</em>. The <em>Theoricae novae planetarum</em>, which incorporates information from Alfonsine Tables produced in the fourteenth century, was first printed in 1472 under the supervision of Peurbach’s student Regiomontanus; nearly sixty editions, including the 1542 one on display here, followed before the emergence of heliocentric astronomy in the seventeenth century. Supplementary volvelle manuscripts such as this one may have been inspired by Peurbach’s <em>Speculum planetarum, </em>a short text on astronomical volvelles.</span></p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1525-1575
Volvelles
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/206aed57adeafca5762c564bfae0c71f.jpeg
af4c391858c34b05aefeeaed7cf19a64
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 300
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/yucPKby5B_Y">LJS 300 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9949184223503681">LJS 300 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
14v-15r
Author(s)
Regiomontanus (Johannes Müller von Königsberg, 1436-1476)
Place of Origin
Lambach (?), Upper Austria
Language(s)
Latin
Materials
Paper and parchment
Number of Leaves
377
Dimensions
162 x 120 mm
Binding
Original leather over wooden boards, blind-stamped with cornerpieces, bosses, and two clasps. Bound at the Benedictine abbey in Lambach.
Provenance (Ownership History)
Benedictine abbey of Lambach; Duke Gabor Festetics von Tolna; Harrison D. Horblit; Irene and Peter Ludwig; J. Paul Getty Museum; Lawrence J. Schoenberg
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenber</em><span>g (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 74.</span>
Date
1500
Description
<p>A major figure in fifteenth-century German astronomy, Regiomontanus achieved such wide renown that he appears in Schedel’s 1493 <em>Nuremberg Chronicle </em>holding an astrolabe. He was a friend and collaborator of Georg von Peuerbach, completing Peuerbach’s abridgment of the <em>Almagest </em>in addition to publishing his own works on arithmetic, trigonometry, and astronomy. This lavish manuscript was produced after the first edition of the <em>Calendarium </em><em>and Ephemerides </em>in 1476, and may reflect a patron’s desire for a more deluxe object. The <em>Calendarium </em>includes information on lunar and solar eclipses, variations in day length, and the zodiac and planets for 1475-1530. The <em>Ephemerides </em>provides positions for the sun, moon, and planets for each day of the year from 1480 to 1506, with a pink finding tab at the beginning of each year. A liturgical calendar at the beginning of the manuscript includes customized additions to the printed text that suggest a patron monastery in southern Germany or Austria, most likely the Benedictine abbey in Lambach due to the inclusion of its patron saint, Kilian (feast and translation, 7 and 14 July). On display are some of this manuscript’s eclipse diagrams, which appear at the beginning of the <em>Calendarium </em>(fols. 12r-16v) and on the first page of most years in the <em>Ephemerides</em>.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Calendarium and Ephemerides
Description
An account of the resource
<p>A major figure in fifteenth-century German astronomy, Regiomontanus achieved such wide renown that he appears in Schedel’s 1493 <em>Nuremberg Chronicle </em>holding an astrolabe. He was a friend and collaborator of Georg von Peuerbach, completing Peuerbach’s abridgment of the <em>Almagest </em>in addition to publishing his own works on arithmetic, trigonometry, and astronomy. This lavish manuscript was produced after the first edition of the <em>Calendarium </em><em>and Ephemerides </em>in 1476, and may reflect a patron’s desire for a more deluxe object. The <em>Calendarium </em>includes information on lunar and solar eclipses, variations in day length, and the zodiac and planets for 1475-1530. The <em>Ephemerides </em>provides positions for the sun, moon, and planets for each day of the year from 1480 to 1506, with a pink finding tab at the beginning of each year. A liturgical calendar at the beginning of the manuscript includes customized additions to the printed text that suggest a patron monastery in southern Germany or Austria, most likely the Benedictine abbey in Lambach due to the inclusion of its patron saint, Kilian (feast and translation, 7 and 14 July). On display are some of this manuscript’s eclipse diagrams, which appear at the beginning of the <em>Calendarium </em>(fols. 12r-16v) and on the first page of most years in the <em>Ephemerides</em>.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1500
Calendar
Eclipse diagrams
Tables
-
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9d59b585a63680385692d7c51a9dacb6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 408
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9948262793503681">LJS 408 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
42v-43r
Author(s)
Qāḍī Zāda al-Rūmī (1364-1436); Maḥmūd ibn Muḥammad ibn Umar al-Jighmīnī (d. ca. 1221)
Place of Origin
Samarqand, Uzbekistan
Language(s)
Arabic with some Persian
Materials
Paper
Number of Leaves
65
Dimensions
168 x 117 mm
Binding
Morocco, gilt-tooled
Provenance (Ownership History)
Ḥaydar ibn Shāhī Hamdānī; Lawrence J. Schoenberg
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenber</em><span>g (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 56.</span>
Date
End of Ramadan 830 AH (25 July 1427 AD)
Description
<p>This manuscript contains a commentary on a very popular Arabic astromical text, <em>Mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʼah</em> (<em>Epitome of Astronomy</em>). Little is known of this text's author, Maḥmūd ibn Muḥammad al-Jighmīnī (d. c. 1221), except that he was a Persian physician who also wrote an epitome on Avicenna’s <em>Canon of Medicine</em>. His astronomical text became very popular in the Arabic-speaking world during the late fourteenth century, and its methods of calculating longitude inspired numerous commentaries, many of which were widely distributed in their own right. <br /><br />One such commentary was that of Qāḍī Zāda al-Rūmī, a Turkish mathematician and astronomer at the Samarqand Observatory established by Ulugh Beg, the Timurid governor of Transoxiana to whom this text is dedicated. This manuscript, which contains twenty-three astronomical diagrams, was produced during his lifetime; indeed, the copyist claims in a marginal note to have heard one part directly from the author (fol. 59).</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Sharḥ al-mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʼah
Description
An account of the resource
<p>This manuscript contains a commentary on a very popular Arabic astromical text, <em>Mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʼah</em> (<em>Epitome of Astronomy</em>). Little is known of this text's author, Maḥmūd ibn Muḥammad al-Jighmīnī (d. c. 1221), except that he was a Persian physician who also wrote an epitome on Avicenna’s <em>Canon of Medicine</em>. His astronomical text became very popular in the Arabic-speaking world during the late fourteenth century, and its methods of calculating longitude inspired numerous commentaries, many of which were widely distributed in their own right. <br /><br />One such commentary was that of Qāḍī Zāda al-Rūmī, a Turkish mathematician and astronomer at the Samarqand Observatory established by Ulugh Beg, the Timurid governor of Transoxiana to whom this text is dedicated. This manuscript, which contains twenty-three astronomical diagrams, was produced during al-Rūmī’s lifetime; indeed, the copyist claims in a marginal note to have heard one part directly from the author (fol. 59).</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
End of Ramadan 830 AH (25 July 1427 AD)
Commentary
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https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/d04e3c0edd5b2ff1c190e6e9aac07e1c.jpeg
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Almanacs and Astrology
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 191
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/y56nAXn-FZM">LJS 191 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9950320043503681">LJS 191 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
2v-3r
Place of Origin
England
Language(s)
English
Materials
Paper
Number of Leaves
18
Dimensions
190 x 140 mm
Binding
Modern calfskin
Provenance (Ownership History)
James Alleyn; Marquesses of Bute; John D. Stanitz; Lawrence J. Schoenberg
Further Reading
Crofton Black, ed., Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 75.
Date
1496
Description
<p>This slim codex approaches astronomy from both theoretical and practical angles. The main text includes nine chapters on such varied topics as ephemerides (the positions of celestial bodies at given times), signs of the zodiac, planets and planetary aspects, the fixed stars, and meteorology. The pages on display, from the third chapter on the “dispositions of the xii signs,” include a table of essential dignities, or the relative strengths of the planets’ positions (first row, beginning with Saturn) in relation to signs of the zodiac (first column). The manuscript ends with three short texts on auspicious times for bloodletting and other medical treatments as well as planting (fols. 15r-18v). The chapter on stars identifies the date of composition as 1496 (fol. 8v), and a later inscription on the end flyleaf describes weather conditions from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Treatise on Astronomy and Astrology
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Written in English, this slim codex approaches astronomy from both theoretical and practical angles. The main text includes nine chapters on such varied topics as ephemerides (the positions of celestial bodies at given times), signs of the zodiac, planets and planetary aspects, the fixed stars, and meteorology. The pages on display, from the third chapter on the “dispositions of the 12 signs,” include a table of essential dignities, or the relative strengths of the planets’ positions (first row, beginning with Saturn) in relation to signs of the zodiac (first column). The manuscript ends with three short texts on auspicious times for bloodletting and other medical treatments as well as planting (fols. 15r-18v). The chapter on stars identifies the date of composition as 1496 (fol. 8v), and a later inscription on the end flyleaf describes weather conditions from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1496
Astrology
Medicine
Tables
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https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/dac78772de41b2eabcb856a69b65e767.jpeg
04229366cf2c776b1cfe4352e3b35981
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 174
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/CrgNuBFGeOI">LJS 174 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9950293063503681">LJS 174 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
68v-69r
Author(s)
Toledo School of Translators; John, of Saxony (fl. 1327-1355); Māshāʼallāh (משאללה, c. 730-c. 815); Jean de Lignières; Henricus Selder
Place of Origin
Prague, Czech Republic
Language(s)
Latin
Materials
Paper
Number of Leaves
142
Dimensions
295 x 225 mm
Binding
Original limp vellum; lower cover originally wrapped around upper cover with remnants of string ties; leather spine with title Astronomica manuscripta and leather button at head
Provenance (Ownership History)
Counts of Ortenburg at Tambach Castle; John D. Stanitz; Lawrence J. Schoenberg
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg</em><span> (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 68-9.</span>
Date
1401-4
Description
<p>Created from 1262 to 1272 by the Toledo School of Translators, a scholarly organization established by King Alfonso X of León and Castile (1221-1284) to translate scientific texts from Arabic to Castilian, the Alfonsine Tables contained data required to calculate the position of the planets, sun, and moon in relation to the fixed stars. A team led by Jehuda ben Moses Cohen and Isaac ben Sid produced this updated version of the Toledan Tables (completed by Arabic scholars c. 1080), which circulated widely in Europe after being translated into Latin in Paris during the 1320’s.</p>
<p>This manuscript contains the complete Alfonsine Tables <span>(including average planetary motions, solar and lunar conjunctions, geographic coordinates of cities, and eclipses) and supplementary texts by the fourteenth-century astronomers John of Saxony, Jean de Lignières, and Henricus Selder. It also contains emendations made to the tables for use in Prague, and a short passage on weather prediction by the Baghdad-born Jewish astronomer Māshāʼallāh (משאללה</span>; c. 730-c. 815). Bound in contemporary limp vellum with string ties, this manuscript shows signs of frequent use, with five leaves that have been completely or partially removed (two after fol. 12; fol. 84; two at end), as well as <span>two pages of notes laid in after fol. 1.</span></p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Alfonsine Tables
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Created from 1262 to 1272 by the Toledo School of Translators, a scholarly organization established by King Alfonso X of León and Castile (1221-1284) to translate scientific texts from Arabic to Castilian, the Alfonsine Tables contained data required to calculate the position of the planets, sun, and moon in relation to the fixed stars. A team led by Jehuda ben Moses Cohen and Isaac ben Sid produced this updated version of the Toledan Tables (completed by Arabic scholars c. 1080), which circulated widely in Europe after being translated into Latin in Paris during the 1320’s.</p>
<p>This manuscript contains the complete Alfonsine Tables <span>(including average planetary motions, solar and lunar conjunctions, geographic coordinates of cities, and eclipses) and supplementary texts by the fourteenth-century astronomers John of Saxony, Jean de Lignières, and Henricus Selder. It also contains corrections made to the tables for use in Prague, and a short passage on weather prediction by the Baghdad-born Jewish astronomer Māshāʼallāh (משאללה</span>; c. 730-c. 815). Bound in contemporary limp vellum with string ties, this manuscript shows signs of frequent use, with four leaves that have been completely or partially removed (two after fol. 12; fol. 84; two at end), as well as <span>two pages of notes laid in after fol. 1.</span></p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1401-4
Tables
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/b38b07a9477943cf6a8e32dc7bf4b339.jpeg
d94856e5039abb8edc7bfb8a4b5589c4
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn Ms. Codex 1881
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/CgxneI1KFGU">Ms. Codex 1881 Video Orientation</a>
Author(s)
Johannes de Sacrobosco (c. 1195–c. 1256), Gerard de Sabloneta (13th c., attributed), John of Saxony (c. 1300-1380)
Place of Origin
Southeastern Germany
Language(s)
Latin, with a Hebrew alphabet and a few Hebrew words (fol. 95v)
Materials
Paper, with some parchment volvelles
Number of Leaves
93
Pages Displayed
35v-36r
Dimensions
307 x 205 mm
Provenance (Ownership History)
Erik von Scherling; Charles D. Humberd; Conception Abbey (Conception, Missouri).
Further Reading
Nicholas Herman, "Manuscript Monday: Ms. Codex 1881 – Astronomical treatises and tables." <a href="https://schoenberginstitute.org/2018/02/18/manuscript-monday-ms-codex-1881-astronomical-treatises-and-tables">https://schoenberginstitute.org/2018/02/18/manuscript-monday-ms-codex-1881-astronomical-treatises-and-tables</a>.
Date
1481
Description
<p><strong>*NEW Aug. 2019:* </strong><a href="http://aylinmalcolm.com/sacrobosco/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The World of the Sphere: Diagrams from De Sphaera Mundi</a><br /><br />This extensively glossed astronomical miscellany, the only item in this exhibit not from the <a href="https://www.library.upenn.edu/collections/special/groups/lawrence-j-schoenberg-collection">Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection</a>, was acquired by the Kislak Center in 2017. It contains a selection of Latin astronomical texts, including the widely disseminated <em>Theorica planetarum </em>(the basis for Peuerbach’s <em>Theoricae novae planetarum</em>), Sacrobosco’s <em>Tractatus de sphaera</em>, and a copy of the Alfonsine Tables. The Tables have calculations added in the bottom margins for specific cities, mostly in Germany, and the <em>Tractatus de sphaera </em>concludes with a colophon dated 30 December 1481 (fol. 36v). On the final leaf are a Hebrew alphabet in a cautious hand and a reference to Magdeburg (fol. 95v).</p>
<p>Many of this manuscript’s diagrams are painstakingly annotated, reflecting an accretion of knowledge that continued after the first copyist; for instance, a climate zone diagram includes a number of place names written into the appropriate zones (fol. 33v). This codex also contains six volvelles, including larger ones depicting planetary movements as well as small, marginal volvelles illustrating geometric principles. <span>Yet this manuscript’s late date of production, after the birth of Copernicus and the first printed edition of Sacrobosco's text, points to the transience of its educational value.</span></p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Theorica planetarum, Tractatus de sphaera, and other texts
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1481
Description
An account of the resource
<p><strong>*NEW Aug. 2019:* </strong><a href="http://aylinmalcolm.com/sacrobosco/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The World of the Sphere: Diagrams from De Sphaera Mundi</a><br /><br />This extensively glossed astronomical miscellany was acquired by the Kislak Center in 2017. It contains a selection of Latin astronomical texts, including the widely disseminated <em>Theorica planetarum </em>(the basis for Peuerbach’s <em>Theoricae novae planetarum</em>), Sacrobosco’s <em>Tractatus de sphaera</em>, and a copy of the Alfonsine Tables. The Tables have calculations added in the bottom margins for specific cities, mostly in Germany, and the <em>Tractatus de sphaera </em>concludes with a colophon dated 30 December 1481 (fol. 36v). On the final leaf are a Hebrew alphabet in a cautious hand and a reference to Magdeburg (fol. 95v).</p>
<p>Many of this manuscript’s diagrams are painstakingly annotated, reflecting an accretion of knowledge that continued after the first copyist; for instance, a climate zone diagram includes a number of town names written into the appropriate zones (fol. 33v). This codex also contains six volvelles, including larger ones depicting planetary movements as well as small, marginal volvelles illustrating geometric principles. Yet this manuscript’s pedagogical value would have been short-lived given the date of its creation, during the lifetime of Copernicus.</p>
Tables
Textbook
Volvelles
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/882ca5db4de5cef8df6bfb6bc7086d02.jpeg
df1b1965109c74eeb924e1f1852e94ec
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 494
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9959630913503681">LJS 494 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
1v-2r
Author(s)
Johannes de Sacrobosco (c. 1195–c. 1256); Solomon ben Abraham Abigdor (translator, b. 1384); Yehudah ibn Tibon (attributed, c. 1120-c. 1190)
Place of Origin
Northern Italy
Language(s)
Hebrew
Materials
Paper
Number of Leaves
22
Dimensions
209 x 151 mm
Binding
20th-century half morocco over cloth
Provenance (Ownership History)
Mazliah Finzi (Mazliah ben Zacharias Finzi of Parma ?); S. J. Halberstam; Judith Montefiore College; Jews' College (London); Lawrence J. Schoenberg
Date
Circa 1425-1450
Description
<p>This is one of approximately forty copies of the only known Hebrew version of the <em>Tractatus de sphaera</em>, which was translated as <em>Mareh ha-Ofanim </em>by the Provençal physician and mystic Solomon ben Abraham Abigdor (b. 1384; translation completed 1399). Although less ornate than the thirteenth-century copies in the Schoenberg collection, this manuscript includes three diagrams, the largest of which (shown here) depicts the celestial and elemental spheres. This codex also includes <em>Ruaḥ Ḥen </em>(fols. 12r-22r), a popular thirteenth-century introduction to Aristotelian science, which it attributes to Yehudah ibn Tibon.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Tractatus de sphaera, Ruaḥ Ḥen
Description
An account of the resource
<p>This is one of approximately forty copies of the only known Hebrew version of the <em>Tractatus de sphaera</em>, which was translated as <em>Mareh ha-Ofanim </em>(The Indicator of the Spheres) by the Provençal physician and mystic Solomon ben Abraham Abigdor (b. 1384; translation completed 1399). Although less ornate than the thirteenth-century copies in the Schoenberg collection, this manuscript includes three diagrams, the largest of which (shown here) depicts the celestial and elemental spheres. This codex also includes <em>Ruaḥ Ḥen </em>(fols. 12r-22r), a popular thirteenth-century introduction to Aristotelian science, which it attributes to Yehudah ibn Tibon.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Circa 1425-1450
Textbook
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/e729292a4a178350d675764d84fceb58.jpeg
05e88602b6b2eb0adde28c06acdc9ee0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 216
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/GH3x7wbe-Ko">LJS 216 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9948124823503681">LJS 216 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
28v-29r
Author(s)
Johannes de Sacrobosco (c. 1195–c. 1256)
Place of Origin
Paris, France (?)
Language(s)
Latin
Materials
Parchment
Number of Leaves
58
Dimensions
165 x 110 mm
Binding
Modern velvet
Provenance (Ownership History)
Robert B. Honeyman; John D. Stanitz; Lawrence J. Schoenberg
Further Reading
Crofton Black, ed., <em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg</em> (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 39-40.
Date
Circa 1256-1270
Description
This striking manuscript includes three historiated initials that have been linked to the style of the Bari workshop in Paris (1250-70), all showing Sacrobosco teaching astronomy to tonsured students (fols. 1r, 29r, 43v). In addition to the diagrams of eclipses and solar and lunar motion that it shares with <a href="http://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/items/show/9">LJS 26</a>, as well as a richly colored diagram of the Earth’s climates (fol. 16v), it also contains a circular table of solar conjunctions (fol. 40r) and an ouroboros (fol. 36r). The third text in this volume describes the computation of civil and ecclesiastical calendars. <br /><br />Little is known about Sacrobosco’s life apart from his tenure as a professor of mathematics at the University of Paris, beginning in the 1220’s. He may have been born in Holywood, Yorkshire, and he was known during his lifetime for criticizing the imprecise Julian calendar, which had developed a total error of about ten days by the late thirteenth century.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Tractatus de sphaera, Algorismus, Computus lunaris
Description
An account of the resource
This striking manuscript includes three historiated initials that have been linked to the style of the Bari workshop in Paris (1250-70), all showing Sacrobosco teaching astronomy to tonsured students (fols. 1r, 29r, 43v). In addition to the diagrams of eclipses and solar and lunar motion that it shares with LJS 26, as well as a richly colored diagram of the Earth’s climates (fol. 16v), it also contains a table of solar conjunctions (fol. 40r) and an ouroboros (fol. 36r). The third text in this volume, which is absent from LJS 26, describes the computation of civil and ecclesiastical calendars. <br /><br />Little is known about Sacrobosco’s life apart from his tenure as a professor of mathematics at the University of Paris, beginning in the 1220’s. He may have been born in Holywood, Yorkshire, and he was known during his lifetime for criticizing the imprecise Julian calendar, which had developed a total error of about 10 days by the late thirteenth century.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Parchment, 58 ff, 165 x 110 mm
Language
A language of the resource
Latin
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Circa 1256-1270
Eclipse diagrams
Tables
Textbook
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/4cec911923d523eee4f121ce08a2497e.jpeg
9957f32356e404f9a5b9e7917f5d4a65
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 26
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9946463483503681">LJS 26 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
28v-29r
Author(s)
Johannes de Sacrobosco (c. 1195–c. 1256)
Place of Origin
Italy
Language(s)
Latin
Materials
Parchment
Number of Leaves
31
Dimensions
180 x 134 mm
Binding
Modern morocco (1997)
Provenance (Ownership History)
Brother Pietro di Santo Giovanni (?); Lawrence J. Schoenberg
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenber</em><span>g (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 57-8.</span>
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/NanOR3x2iAY">LJS 26 Video Orientation</a>
Date
Circa 1225-1275
Description
<p>The <em>Tractatus de sphaera </em>(or <em>De sphaera mundi) </em>was the most important Latin medieval text on Ptolemaic astronomy, and the Kislak Center is fortunate to have four copies, two of which (LJS 26 and <a href="http://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/items/show/10">LJS 216</a>) were produced during or soon after Sacrobosco’s lifetime.Likely a composite of information from the <em>Almagest</em>, Arabic commentaries by al-Battānī and al-Farghānī, and earlier Latin sources such as Macrobius, this widely disseminated university text described the division of the “sphere of the world” above the Earth into nine parts: the <em>primum mobile </em>(“first moved”), fixed stars, planets, sun, and moon. </p>
<p>Like LJS 216, this manuscript also contains Sacrobosco’s <em>Algorismus</em>, a practical arithmetic manual that was the first text to use Hindu-Arabic numerals in a European scholastic context. The <em>Tractatus </em>contains eleven diagrams and illustrations, which include the celestial spheres, the Earth’s climatic zones, the motion of the sun and moon, and eclipses (shown here). There are marginal notes in the same ink as the main text, as well as notes and an added bifolium in a later cursive hand (fols. 23-24). An annotation dated 1399 indicates that this manuscript was used by Pietro di Santo Giovanni, a physics student in Florence (fol. 9v).</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Algorismus, Tractatus de sphaera
Description
An account of the resource
<p>The <em>Tractatus de sphaera </em>(or <em>De sphaera mundii) </em>was the most important Latin medieval text on Ptolemaic astronomy, and the Kislak Center is fortunate to have four copies, two of which (LJS 26 and <a href="http://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/items/show/10">LJS 216</a>) were produced during or soon after Sacrobosco’s lifetime.Likely a composite of information from the <em>Almagest</em>, Arabic commentaries by al-Battānī and al-Farghānī, and earlier Latin sources such as Macrobius, this widely disseminated university text described the division of the “sphere of the world” above the Earth into nine parts: the <em>primum mobile </em>(“first moved”), fixed stars, planets, sun, and moon. </p>
<p>Like LJS 216, this manuscript also contains Sacrobosco’s <em>Algorismus</em>, a practical arithmetic manual that was the first text to use Hindu-Arabic numerals in a European scholastic context. The <em>Tractatus </em>contains 11 diagrams and illustrations, which include the celestial spheres, the Earth’s climatic zones, the motion of the sun and moon, and eclipses (shown here). There are marginal notes in the same ink as the main text, as well as notes and an added bifolium in a later cursive hand (fols. 23-24). An annotation dated 1399 indicates that this manuscript was used by Pietro di Santo Giovanni, a physics student in Florence (fol. 9v).</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Circa 1225-1275
Eclipse diagrams
Textbook
-
https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/b9dc6aeac056c49b71dd99abefde8c11.jpeg
31c0653a4558fabb891a5f44fb98879c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 384
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9946262693503681">LJS 384 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
10v-11r
Author(s)
William of Conches (c. 1080-1154), Hugh of Saint-Victor (c. 1096-1141)
Place of Origin
Germany
Language(s)
Latin
Materials
Parchment
Number of Leaves
21 leaves
Dimensions
206 x 146 mm
Binding
Modern parchment
Provenance (Ownership History)
Charles Joseph Singer; William A. Foyle; Lawrence J. Schoenberg.
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenber</em><span>g (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 132; Ralf M. W. Stammberger, “The Liber Sermonum Hugonis: The Discovery of a New Work by Hugh of Saint Victor,” <em>Medieval Sermon Studies</em> 52.1 (2008): 63-71.</span>
Date
Circa 1150
Description
<p>William of Conches was a philosopher, teacher (tutor to Henry II of England), and member of the Cathedral School of Chartres, one of the leading educational institutions in eleventh- and twelfth-century Europe. In this four-book <em>summa </em>of philosophical knowledge, he moves down through the celestial spheres, from God and Creation to astronomy, geography, meteorology, and finally human medicine. The Kislak Center’s copy includes sixteen diagrams, including the sketchy drawings of eclipses on these pages, while much of the section on human procreation has been cancelled by a later reader (fols. 15v-16r). This codex concludes with an otherwise unknown text on the Gospels attributed to the Saxon theologian Hugh of Saint-Victor, which may be the fourth volume of his <em>Liber sermonum</em>.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
De philosophia mundi, Expositio Hugonis de Evangeliis
Description
An account of the resource
<p>William of Conches was a philosopher, teacher (tutor to Henry II of England), and member of the Cathedral School of Chartres, one of the leading educational institutions in eleventh- and twelfth-century Europe. In this four-book <em>summa </em>of philosophical knowledge, he moves down through the celestial spheres, from God and Creation to astronomy, geography, meteorology, and finally human medicine. The Kislak Center’s copy includes 16 diagrams, including the sketchy drawings of eclipses and lunar phases on display, while much of the section on human procreation has been cancelled by a later reader (fols. 15v-16r). This codex concludes with an otherwise unknown text on the Gospels attributed to the Saxon theologian Hugh of Saint-Victor, which may be the fourth volume of his <em>Liber sermonum</em>.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Circa 1150
Eclipse diagrams
Sermon
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https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/78b1e44d2ad7bdec97e92ab62ecde9a2.jpeg
7d7ffb420bfa1148844873fc98dc32eb
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 268
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/c4aVqLpYoPk">LJS 268 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9950583033503681">LJS 268 on Penn in Hand</a>
Pages Displayed
61v-62r
Author(s)
Claudius Ptolemy (c. 100-168 CE)
Place of Origin
Andalusia, Spain
Language(s)
Arabic
Scribe(s)
Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Salāmah Sanhaja
Materials
Paper
Number of Leaves
177
Dimensions
280 x 215 mm
Binding
Morocco, blind-stamped with a medallion and blind-and gilt-tooled, with flap.
Provenance (Ownership History)
Imam Aḥmad ibn Mubārak Lutfullāh; Muḥammad al-Raʼīs; Imam Muḥammad ʻAbd al-Kathīr al-Kinānī; Misjo Rinijo (Monsieur Rinillot?); Lawrence J. Schoenberg
Further Reading
<span>Crofton Black, ed., </span><em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenber</em><span>g (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 52.</span>
Date
783 AH (1381 AD)
Description
<p>With its rare Arabic copy of the <em>Almagest</em>, this manuscript is a clear example of the intercultural transmission of Ptolemy’s text. A colophon (fol. 185r) identifies the copyist as the Muslim astronomer Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Salāmah Sanhaja, who produced this manuscript for his Jewish teacher, Qursunna al-Isrāʼīlī, astronomer to Pedro IV of Aragon. It is dated according to Muslim, Jewish, and Christian calendars (783, 5141, and 1381).</p>
<p>Originally called <em>Μαθηματικὴ Σύνταξις </em>(Mathematical Syntaxis), the <em>Almagest </em>summarizes ancient astronomy in thirteen books, including planetary orbits, eclipses, and retrograde motion. The <em>Almagest</em>was translated into Arabic in the ninth century; indeed, its English name derives from the Arabic “al-majisṭī.” The most influential Latin translation was produced by Gerard of Cremona in 1175, while he was employed at the Toledo School of Translators.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Almagest
Description
An account of the resource
<p>With its rare Arabic copy of the <em>Almagest</em>, this manuscript is a clear example of the intercultural transmission of Ptolemy’s text. A colophon (fol. 185r) identifies the copyist as the Muslim astronomer Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Salāmah Sanhaja, who produced this manuscript for his Jewish teacher, Qursunna al-Isrāʼīlī (Jacob ben Isaac Corsono), astronomer to Pedro IV of Aragon. It is dated according to Muslim, Jewish, and Christian calendars (783, 5141, and 1381).</p>
<p>Originally called <em>Μαθηματικὴ Σύνταξις </em>(Mathematical Syntax), the <em>Almagest </em>presents a summation of ancient astronomy in thirteen books, including planetary orbits, eclipses, and retrograde motion. The <em>Almagest </em>was translated into Arabic in the 9<sup>th </sup>century; indeed, its English name derives from the Arabic “al-majisṭī.” The most influential Latin translation was produced by Gerard of Cremona in 1175, while he was employed at the Toledo School of Translators.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
783 AH (1381 AD)
Almagest
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https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/d6959e29c23cbe8109d5d20866ff1755.jpeg
9426eebf5da151e9191b9b9b6d3a8753
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Medieval manscript on parchment
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 57
Place of Origin
Catalonia, Spain
Materials
Parchment
Number of Leaves
114
Dimensions
275 x 204 mm
Binding
Modern blind-stamped morocco with two clasps.
Scribe(s)
Moshe (?)
Provenance (Ownership History)
David Solomon Sassoon; Carl Alexander Floersheim Trust for Art and Judaica; Lawrence J. Schoenberg.
Further Reading
Crofton Black, ed., <em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg</em> (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 66; Elly Dekker, <em>Illustrating the Phaenomena: Celestial Cartography in Antiquity and the Middle Ages</em> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 458-61; Thomas F. Glick, “Science in Medieval Spain: The Jewish Contribution in the Context of Convivencia,” <em>Convivencia: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Medieval Spain</em>, eds. Mann, Glick, and Dodds (New York: G. Braziller, 1992), 86.
Video Orientation
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHpn3DmfOaM">LJS 57 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9948521743503681" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LJS 57 on Penn in Hand</a>
Author(s)
Jacob ben David ben Yom Tov, Abraham Ibn Ezra, Claudius Ptolemy
Language(s)
Hebrew
Pages Displayed
56v-57r
Date
Circa 1361
Description
<p>Attesting to the central role of Jewish astronomers in medieval Spain, this volume begins with a treatise on the calendar compiled in 1361 by Jacob ben David ben Yom Tov for Pedro IV of Aragon. It also contains four astrological treatises by the twelfth-century philosopher Abraham Ibn Ezra, including discussions of Indian, Persian, and Babylonian astronomy, and a Hebrew translation of Ptolemy’s <em>Almagest </em>with this remarkable constellation map in ink and gouache. Later folios bear illuminated polychrome constellation images and intricately ornamented tables.</p>
<p>Fewer than thirty-five astronomical maps are known to survive from the Middle Ages, and this example, which shows the northern and southern celestial hemispheres and may have been copied from a globe, offers an especially rare glimpse into medieval Jewish celestial cartography. As Elly Dekker has observed (<em>Illustrating the Phaenomena </em>458-61), the depictions of certain constellations (e.g. Aquila upside down and standing on Sagitta) and the presence of the Coma Berenices asterism above Leo resemble Islamic maps, while the human figures are drawn in Western European styles.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Astronomical Anthology (Almagest, etc.)
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Attesting to the central role of Jewish astronomers in medieval Spain, this volume begins with a treatise on the calendar compiled in 1361 by Jacob ben David ben Yom Tov for Pedro IV of Aragon. It also contains four astrological treatises by the 12<sup>th</sup>-century philosopher Abraham Ibn Ezra, including discussions of Indian, Persian, and Babylonian astronomy, and a Hebrew translation of Ptolemy’s <em>Almagest </em>with this remarkable constellation map in ink and gouache. Later folios bear illuminated polychrome constellation images and intricately ornamented tables.</p>
<p>Fewer than 35 astronomical maps are known to survive from the Middle Ages, and this example, which shows the northern and southern celestial hemispheres and may have been copied from a globe, offers an especially rare glimpse into medieval Jewish celestial cartography. As Elly Dekker has observed (<em>Illustrating the Phaenomena </em>458-61), the depictions of certain constellations (e.g. Aquila upside down and standing on Sagitta) and the presence of the Coma Berenices asterism above Leo resemble Islamic maps, while the human figures are drawn in Western European styles.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Circa 1361
Almagest
Astrology
Constellations
Tables
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https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/e012c5440a3ebaa16f8c0675335132ff.jpeg
3953ad99e84c74744159d5ab8855ebc5
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Treatises on the Astrolabe
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 497
Video Orientation
<a href="https://youtu.be/YtFb_WZ_2kk">LJS 497 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9949151873503681">LJS 497 on Penn in Hand</a>
Place of Origin
Southern Italy
Language(s)
Latin
Materials
Paper
Number of Leaves
28
Dimensions
207 x 145 mm
Binding
Bifolium from a 12th-century southern Italian manuscript of Augustine's <em>In Iohannis evangelium tractatus</em> (text in two columns, in the Bari type of Beneventan script, with majuscule initials highlighted in red and green).
Pages Displayed
4v-5r
Date
Circa 1502
Description
<p>This elegant codex on the functions of the astrolabe quadrant includes computational methods for determining altitude, latitude, the positions of stars, and the twelve houses of the horoscope. It is open to a diagram depicting the quadrant’s use in locating a star, including an appropriately positioned astronomer in the margin, and two tables indicating the ascensions of the zodiac signs and the attributes of the fixed stars.</p>
<p>Other illustrations and tables in this manuscript include the back of the quadrant (fol. 5v), two diagrams showing how to measure the height of a tower (fols. 21v, 23v), a square diagram showing the computation of the astrological houses for Nov. 14, 1501 (fol. 16v), and tables providing the hours of day and night (fol. 10r) as well as sunrise and sunset (fols. 15r-15v) at 45°N. Written in Southern Italy, it is bound in a reused leaf from a twelfth-century copy of Augustine’s <em>In Iohannis evangelium tractatus</em>, written in the Bari form of Beneventan script.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Canones vel operationes in operando quadrante
Description
An account of the resource
<p>This elegant codex on the functions of the astrolabe quadrant includes computational methods for determining altitude, latitude, the positions of stars, and the twelve houses of the horoscope. It is open to a diagram depicting the quadrant’s use in locating a star, including an appropriately positioned astronomer in the margin, and two tables indicating the ascensions of the zodiac signs and the attributes of the fixed stars.</p>
<p>Other illustrations and tables in this manuscript include the back of the quadrant (fol. 5v), two diagrams showing how to measure the height of a tower (fols. 21v, 23v), a square diagram showing the computation of the astrological houses for Nov. 14, 1501 (fol. 16v), and tables providing the hours of day and night (fol. 10r) as well as sunrise and sunset (fols. 15r-15v) at 45°N. Written in Southern Italy, it is bound in a reused leaf from a 12<sup>th</sup>-century copy of Augustine’s <em>In Iohannis evangelium tractatus</em>, written in the Bari form of Beneventan script.</p>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Circa 1502
Astrolabe
Beneventan
Geometry
Sermon
Tables
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https://aylinmalcolm.com/astro/files/original/0b27f8035db9b90112d980a0fb57cc0a.jpeg
a733c86086e70b4650f82c51215f63b1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Scholarly Tradition
Manuscript
Call Number
This is the unique identifier used to refer to a manuscript at the institution where it is housed.
UPenn LJS 392
Video Orientation
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_FEhx58xmw">LJS 392 Video Orientation</a>
Full Digitization
<a href="http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9950804433503681" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LJS 392 on Penn in Hand</a>
Author(s)
Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī (aka Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, 1201-1274), Nizam al-Din Hasan al-Nisaburi (Commentator, d. 1328/9), Claudius Ptolemy
Place of Origin
Persia (?)
Language(s)
Arabic
Scribe(s)
Muḥammad Ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ḥasan
Materials
Paper
Number of Leaves
213
Dimensions
264 x 166 mm
Binding
17th-century morocco with flap and blind-stamped medallion
Further Reading
Crofton Black, ed., <em>Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Lawrence J. Schoenber</em>g (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), 54-5.
Pages Displayed
156r-157v
Date
13 Dhu’l Qa‘da 813 AH (9 March 1411 AD)
Description
Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī was a prolific philosopher, scientist, and theologian who is often considered to have created the discipline of trigonometry. His 150 compositions and translations include a work on the astrolabe, an Arabic version of Euclid’s <em>Elements</em>, and the <em>Tadhkira fi ‘ilm al-ha’a</em> (<em>Memorandum of Astronomy</em>), in which he corrected inconsistencies in the Ptolemaic system. In this thirteenth-century recension of the <em>Almagest</em>, he updates several of Ptolemy’s methods, substituting later trigonometric equations for Ptolemy’s chord calculations and condensing the calculation of each planet’s equant (the point around which its epicycle revolved) into a single example with variable parameters. Also included in this codex is the 1304-5 commentary on this text by Iranian astronomer Niẓām al-Dīn al-Nīsābūrī. Many of the diagrams in this manuscript are illuminated, with gold leaf often extending beyond the precise outlines of the under-drawings (e.g. fols. 4v, 37r, 168r).
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Tahrir al-Majisti
Description
An account of the resource
Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī was a prolific philosopher, mathematician, and theologian who is often considered to have created the discipline of trigonometry. His 150 compositions and translations include a treatise on the astrolabe, an Arabic version of Euclid’s <em>Elements</em>, and the <em>Tadhkira fi ‘ilm al-ha’a</em> (<em>Memorandum of Astronomy</em>), in which he corrected inconsistencies in the Ptolemaic system. In this 13th-century recension of the <em>Almagest</em>, he updates several of Ptolemy’s methods, substituting more advanced trigonometric equations for Ptolemy’s chord calculations and condensing the calculation of each planet’s equant (the point around which its epicycle revolves) into a single equation with variable parameters. Also included in this codex is the 1304-5 commentary on this text by Iranian astronomer Niẓām al-Dīn al-Nīsābūrī. Many of the diagrams in this manuscript are illuminated, with gold leaf often extending beyond the precise outlines of the under-drawings (e.g. fols. 4v, 37r, 168r).
<div><span></span></div>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
13 Dhu’l Qa‘da 813 AH (9 March 1411 AD)
Almagest