Astrolabium Planum of Heidelberg
The Astrolabium Planum of Heidelberg is surely one of the most famous manuscripts in the history of illumination! Probably originating in Regensburg ca. 1491, the Astrolabium Planum of Heidelberg was the commission of a wealthy patron, presumably Philip the Upright, Elector Palatine and his wife Margaret of Bavaria-Landshut. The Regensburg master Berthold Furtmeyr and his workshop made the completed the manuscript’s artistic furnishings, a gorgeous rotatable astrolabe. The various astronomical-astrological treatise, which are assembled here with high-quality illustrations allow for an inside view into this wondrous and interesting theme of the 15th century.
Astrolabium Planum of Heidelberg
The Astrolabium Planum of Heidelberg is surely one of the most famous manuscripts in the history of illumination! Probably originating in Regensburg ca. 1491, the Astrolabium Planum of Heidelberg was the commission of a wealthy patron, presumably Philip the Upright, Elector Palatine and his wife Margaret of Bavaria-Landshut. The Regensburg master Berthold Furtmeyr and his workshop made the completed the manuscript’s artistic furnishings, a gorgeous rotatable astrolabe. The various astronomical-astrological treatise, which are assembled here with high-quality illustrations allow for an inside view into this wondrous and interesting theme of the 15th century.
A Coveted Collectible
The Astrolabium Planum of Heidelberg is named after its current – and historic! – repository: the Universität Heidelberg’s library, the successor of the famous Biblioteca Palatina**. The unique manuscript originated in Regensburg ca. 1491, presumably at the behest of Philip the Upright, Elector Palatine and his wife, Margaret of Bavaria-Landshut, which is indicated in the book by the escutcheons of the Palatine and Bavaria. The bibliophile jewel already found itself in the possession of Pope Gregory XV (1554–1623) in the following century. From there it came to the Biblioteca Palatina in Heidelberg. Coming into papal possession in turn after 1623 – Gregory XV – the manuscript returned to its former locale in Heidelberg, the Biblioteca Palatina, in 1816.
Astrological Scholarship
Cod. Pal. Germ. 832 of the university library in Heidelberg counts among the most significant manuscripts of the 15th century. The famous Astrolabium Planum of Heidelbergcombines various astronomical-astrological texts on 542 pages, including an astrological hunting treatise, the geomancy of Johannes Hartlieb, and an astrological calendar. Additionally, it provides various calendar information for the calculation of the correct date for bloodletting or the phases of the moon, for example. Human destiny can also be calculated with the help of the constellations!
An Artistic Gem
This text on astronomy and astrology with instructions on the use of the tables and aids presented was decorated in an impressively artistic manner in the Heidelberg manuscript. The altogether 380 miniatures are a work of the Regensburg miniaturist Berthold Furtmeyr and his workshop. Originating from the master’s hand, inter alia, is an exceptional feature of the manuscript: a flat, rotatable astrolabe painted in opaque colors on a gold background for the calculation of cosmic constellations. The gorgeous miniatures, e.g. of zodiac signs, but also of complex tables and instructions, are mostly mustered against a gold background. They lend the famous Astrolabium Planum of Heidelberg its unique and prominent position within the history of illumination!
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Astrolabium planum in tabulis
Heidelberger Schicksalsbuch
Heidelberg's Book of Fate - Size / Format
- 542 pages / 36.0 × 26.0 cm
- Origin
- Germany
- Date
- Around 1491
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Illustrations
- 380 miniatures in square form for illustration of zodiac signs and other astrological themes
- Content
- Astrological calendar with treatments on topics of astrology and astronomy
- Patron
- Philip the Upright, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (1448–1508) and his wife Margaret of Bavaria (1456–1501)
- Artist / School
- Johannes Hartlieb and others (authors)
Workshop of Berthold Furtmeyr (illuminators) - Previous Owners
- Pope Gregory XV (1554–1623)
Biblioteca Palatina (Heidelberg, Germany)
Astrolabium Planum of Heidelberg
Gaining Wealth
Appearing under the sign of Virgo, two well-dressed merchants gesticulate toward one another as though they were negotiating. The man on the left is dressed in a green cloak with red boots and a hat while the bareheaded man on the right wearing a red-orange cloak holds a bulging bag of coins. They stand on a tiled floor before a brick wall with an embroidery hanging in front of it and the artist has created a window by applying gold leaf and then applying a diamond pattern to mimic the framework in which the glass is set.

Astrolabium Planum of Heidelberg
Cancer
At the top of the page, the zodiac symbol Cancer appears in a blue-framed miniature with a gold background. The three images below depict (from left to right): a woman standing in front of a wall covered with a brocade blanket and holding a flower, a woman sitting at a table with a man and caressing his shoulder, and an elaborately dressed hunter armed with a spear blowing his horn as his dog bounds alongside him.
The image on the bottom-left of the page shows a man and a woman standing in front of a gold leaf background and holding hands, possibly in a garden. On the right, two women stand in an interior room while the one dressed in pink rests a hand on her pregnant belly. The dark window indicates that it is night, unlike the other images on the page that have gold leaf backgrounds.

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