Details

Standardized Title:

Sphaera mundi. Hebrew

Subjects:

Astronomy -- Early works to 1800.
Astronomy.
Cosmography -- Early works to 1800.
Cosmography.
Jewish philosophy -- Early works to 1800.
Jewish philosophy.

Form/Genre:

Codices.
Diagrams.
Treatises.
Manuscripts, Hebrew.
Manuscripts, Renaissance.

Language:

Hebrew.

Summary:

Hebrew translation of a fundamental treatise on medieval astronomy and cosmology that describes and illustrates the Ptolemaic model of a spherical earth divided into climactic zones at the center of the concentric spheres of the universe. Followed by Ruaḥ ha-ḥen, a 13th-century philosophical work that was a popular introduction to science, here attributed to Yehudah ibn Tibon. It has also been attributed to Jacob ben Abba Mari ben Samson Anatoli and Zeraḥyah ha-Yeṿani. Occasional marginal notes. Final page contains Hebrew notes and pen trials by various hands (f. 22v).

Contents:

1. f.1r-11v: [Marʼeh ha-ofanim / Joannes de Sacro Bosco]
2. f.12r-22r: [Ruaḥ ḥen / Judah ibn Tibbon]

Notes:

Ms. codex.
Title supplied by cataloger.
Foliation: Paper, iii (modern) + 22 + xxxv (modern); 1¹² 2¹⁰; [1-22], modern foliation in pencil, upper left recto.
Layout: Written in 31-34 long lines; ruled in faint ink for horizontals with vertical bounding lines in lead.
Script: Written in Ashkenazic semi-cursive script by 2 hands (f. 1r-11v, 12r-22r).
Decoration: 3 astronomical diagrams (f. 1v, 2v, 10r); occasional manicules (f. 9v, 13r).
Watermark: Briquet Tête de boeuf à yeux 14871 (Brescia, 1434-1445).
Binding: 20th-century half morocco over cloth; gatherings sewn on stubs.
Origin: Written in northern Italy in the second quarter of the 15th century (based on watermark information).

Local notes:

Lawrence J. Schoenberg & Barbara Brizdle Manuscript Initiative.

Penn Provenance:

Possible ownership inscription: Mazliah Finzi (possibly Mazliah ben Zacharias Finzi of Parma, f. 22v).
Formerly owned by Polish scholar and bibliophile S. J. Halberstam (ms. 244, Montefiore label inside upper cover; number in pencil, f. 1r).
Sold as part of Halberstam's library to Judith Montefiore College (Ramsgate, England), after 1887, ms. 424 (label inside upper cover, Montefiore MS. 424; gilt number on spine; stamps, f. 1r, 22v; number in pencil, f. 1r).
Placed on deposit at Jews' College (London) as part of the Montefiore Endowment, 1899.
Sold at auction at Sotheby's (New York) as part of a collection of manuscripts from the Montefiore Endowment, 27 Oct. 2004, lot 309.
Sold by Les Enluminures (Paris and Chicago) to Lawrence J. Schoenberg, August 2008.
Deposit by Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle, 2013.
Gift of Barbara Brizdle Schoenberg, 2021.

Cited as:

LJS 494

Contributor:

Avigdor, Solomon ben Abraham, 1384- translator.
Tibon, Yehudah ibn, approximately 1120-approximately 1190, attributed name.
Finzi, Mazliah, former owner.
Halberstam, S. J. (Solomon Joachim), 1832-1900, former owner.
Judith Montefiore College (Ramsgate, England), former owner.
Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Contains:

Ruaḥ ḥen.

OCLC:

847855346

Web link:

The Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle Manuscript Initiative Fund Home Page