Astronomical Texts

Astronomical Texts

The codex known as Lat. Oct. 44 in the State Library in Berlin consists of 24 pages in a handy format of 15.5 x 11 cm. This manuscript with the title Planetarum et Asteriscorum Coeli figurae et Virtutes Astronomicae is a compendium of astronomical texts along with visual décor. This treatise, probably a 15th century French manuscript, delights with its sound knowledge, which indicates a well-educated author. The unknown writer of the Astronomical Texts of the State Library of Berlin was probably a man who was well-versed in the knowledge of astronomy and astrology as well as the practical application thereof.

Magnificent Artistic Furnishings

44 wonderful representations of the constellations illustrate the manuscript. The marvelous, brightly-colored pen drawings present star signs and symbols, mythical figures, but also depictions that arose from the time. Meanwhile, the individual stars are highlighted as shiny, golden circles. Mysterious tables and diagrams round out the manuscript, e.g. the twelve zodiac signs and their corresponding effects. A table lists the names of the planets in Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic—a helpful reference for multilingual readers and a subtle reminder of the diverse, transcultural sources of knowledge of medieval astronomy. A lunary, descriptions of the star signs of the Ptolemaic celestial charts and a description of the celestial and meteorological phenomena in the course of the twelve months of a year are also contained therein along with an astrolabe.

The Famous Aratea

The main section is an adaptation of the third book of Hyginus’ (c. 60 B.C.–after A.D. 4) De astronomia or Poetica astronomica. Composed at the end of the 1st century BCE, the work incorporates, among other sources, the famous Phainomena by Aratus of Soloi (c. 310 BCE–245 BCE) and was already widely cited by Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636). Hyginus’s text describes the constellations and the number and positions of the stars within them with great precision. This precision was no longer of great importance to the compiler of the late medieval adaptation and its accompanying illustrations. Instead, priority seemed to be given here to the fact that the positions of the individual stars form the shapes after which the constellations are named. The Berlin manuscript thus combines an artistic approach with centuries-old knowledge of the celestial bodies.