Lapidary by Alfonso X the Wise

Zodiac signs, constellations, heavenly bodies and their movements: the science of astrology was an ambitiously practiced field of research. Theories both new and forgotten were thought out and investigated with respect to ancient authors before they were finally recorded in precious manuscripts. The connection with minerology was a particular area of this work with astrological phenomena. In the so-called lapidaries – scientific treatises on this theme – the importance and effect of stones and gems and their relationship to astrology was recorded.

The Learned King as Author

Even King Alfonso the Wise occupied himself with this field of research lying between astrology and the natural sciences. The Castilian King Alfonso X (1221–1284) earned his epithet because of his fame as a scholar. He was an enthusiastic scholar and poet, who came into contact with numerous new fields of knowledge through the Moors in particular. Alfonso X not only founded a school for translators in Toledo and was a patron of art and science, but was also himself the author of a few papers and books. As a result, his thematic areas ranged from history, cosmology, and philosophy to astronomy and mathematics.

A Gorgeous Manuscript between Art and Science

The manuscript with the Lapidary by Alfonso X the Wise originated in 1253. Having said this, the impressive parchment manuscript amazes not only with of its substantial scholarly content, but also with its exceptionally beautiful artistic design. The exuberant illumination consists of luminously colorful miniatures, which visualize the theories in gorgeously ornamental depictions, e.g. with astrological tables. Additionally, artful historiated initials can be found with gorgeous scenic depictions, and at the beginning of the manuscript, there is a miniature of its presentation to the King.