Collection ID: 0001 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Astronomical compendium

Call number

LJS 490
(3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6206., University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 9951856793503681
• http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122614654
• http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/5185679

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania

Language

Latin, with some words in German (f. 54r, 55r, 89r)

Origin

Date

ca. 1450

Place

Germany

Summary

Collection of astronomical and astrological texts. Includes tables of solar declination (f. 13r), fixed stars (f. 22r), elevation of the pole star in various cities (f. 26r), new and full moons (f. 83r-84v), sightings and transits or eclipses of Venus and Mercury (f. 87r), and the position of the sun in the ecliptic (f. 87v); treatises on instruments, such as the astrolabe (f. 17r-22r, 29r-33v, 43r-49r, 50r-50v), the sundial (f. 23r-25v), the quadrant (f. 27r-28v, 78v), the Jacob's staff (baculus, f. 45r-49r, 79r, 91r), and the chilinder or traveler's dial (f. 77r-78v); treatises on other scientific subjects, such as practical geometry (f. 41r-42v), determination of the date of Easter (computus, f. 64v-67v, 70v-75r, 89r-90v), and analysis of urine (f. 68r-70r); digressions on the work of Johannes Sacrobosco (f. 35r-39r); and excerpts from the Compilatio de astrorum scientia of Leopold of Austria (f. 80r-81v). Cities in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany are mentioned frequently, along with major cities in Europe, especially Italy.

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• Title supplied by cataloger.
   

Watermark

Similar to Briquet Raisin 12995 (Eberbach, 1443-1449; Eppelsheim, 1445) and Tête de boeuf 15106, 15109, and 15110 (various German cities, 1452-1469).

Extent

91 leaves : 213 x 145 (172 x 115) mm. bound to 217 x 158 mm

Collation

Paper, i (modern) + 91 + i (modern); 1¹⁶ 2-6¹² 7¹⁶(-1); [1-91], modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto. Earlier modern foliation in pencil suggests that gatherings are missing at the beginning (the manuscript's extant first folio is numbered 36); between the third and fourth gatherings (where the earlier modern foliation skips from 75 (f. 40) to 113 (f. 41)); and between the fourth and fifth gatherings (where the earlier modern foliation skips from 124 (f. 52) to 155 (f. 53).

Support

Paper

Binding

Modern quarter parchment with pasteboards.

Layout

Written in 33-35 long lines.

Decoration

Numerous diagrams (astronomical, f. 3r, 3v, 9v; related to sundials, f. 24v-25v; of quadrants, f. 62v, 63v; geometric, f. 41r-42v, 48r-48v, 51r-52v; astrological, f. 58r, 64r, 70v), mostly in ink, a few with red ink as well; rubrication and underlining in red and initials slashed with red in much of the manuscript (but not f. 26r-27v, 42v-52v, 63v-79v, 80v-91v); manicule (f. 10v).

Script

Written in cursive Gothic script by multiple hands.

Provenance

• Sold by Sam Fogg Ltd. (London) to Lawrence J. Schoenberg, Jan. 2008.
   
• Deposit by Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle, 2011.
   

Subjects topical

• Astrolabes--Early works to 1800
• Astrology--Early works to 1800
• Astronomy--Early works to 1800

Genres

• Codices
• Anthologies
• Diagrams
• Tables (documents)
• Treatises
• Manuscripts, Latin--15th century
• Manuscripts, German--15th century
• Manuscripts, Renaissance

Keywords

• Anthology
• 15th century
• Astronomy
• Diagrams
• Germany
• German
• Astrology
• Paper

Licenses

• Text

  These images and the content of Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts LJS 490: Astronomical compendium are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

• Text

  Metadata is © and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Decorations

• fol. 3r — Diagram, f. 3r
• fol. 3v — Diagram, f. 3v
• fol. 5r — Table, f. 5r
• fol. 5v — Table, f. 5v
• fol. 8v — Table, f. 8v
• fol. 9v — Diagram, f. 9v
• fol. 9v — Table, f. 9v
• fol. 10v — Table, f. 10v
• fol. 10v — Manicule, f. 10v
• fol. 11v — Table, f. 11v
• fol. 24v — Diagram, f. 24v
• fol. 25r — Diagram, f. 25r
• fol. 25v — Diagram, f. 25v
• fol. 27r — Table, f. 27r
• fol. 27v — Diagram, f. 27v
• fol. 28v — Diagram, f. 28v
• fol. 37r — Table, f. 37r
• fol. 41r — Diagram, f. 41r
• fol. 41v — Diagram, f. 41v
• fol. 42r — Diagram, f. 42r
• fol. 42v — Diagram, f. 42v
• fol. 45r — Table, f. 45r
• fol. 48r — Diagram, f. 48r
• fol. 48v — Diagram, f. 48v
• fol. 49r — Table, f. 49r
• fol. 51r — Diagram, f. 51r
• fol. 51v — Diagram, f. 51v
• fol. 52r — Diagram, f. 52r
• fol. 52v — Diagram, f. 52v
• fol. 53v — Table, f. 53v
• fol. 56v — Table, f. 56v
• fol. 58r — Diagram, f. 58r
• fol. 58r — Table, f. 58r
• fol. 64r — Diagram, f. 64r
• fol. 64v — Table, f. 64v
• fol. 67v — Table, f. 67v
• fol. 70v — Diagram, f. 70v
• fol. 77r — Table, f. 77r
• fol. 77v — Table, f. 77v
• fol. 79v — Table, f. 79v
• fol. 81r — Diagram, f. 81r
• fol. 83r — Table, f. 83r
• fol. 83v — Table, f. 83v
• fol. 84r — Table, f. 84r
• fol. 84v — Table, f. 84v
• fol. 86v — Table, f. 86v
• fol. 87r — Table, f. 87r
• fol. 87v — Table, f. 87v
• fol. 88v — Table, f. 88v
• fol. 89r — Table, f. 89r