[Medical and astronomical miscellany].

Format:

• Book
• Manuscript

Contributor:

• Albertus, Magnus, Saint, 1193?-1280, attributed name.
• Zaël, attributed name.
• Labbey-de-Billy, Nicolas-Antoine, 1753-1825, former owner.
• Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

• German
• Latin

Subjects (All):

• Astrology--Early works to 1800.
• Astrology.
• Medical astrology--Early works to 1800.
• Urine--Analysis--Early works to 1800.
• Wine--Therapeutic use--Early works to 1800.
• Precious stones--Early works to 1800.
• Precious stones.
• Wine--Therapeutic use.
• Urine--Analysis.
• Medical astrology.

Genre:

• codices (bound manuscripts)
• diagrams.
• illuminations.
• pen and wash drawings.
• Tables (Data)
• treatises.
• Almanacs.
• Calendars
• Manuscripts, Latin -- 15th century.
• Manuscripts, German -- 15th century.
• Manuscripts, Renaissance.

Penn Provenance:

• Formerly owned by Nicolas-Antoine Labbey-de-Billy (1753-1825, stamp, Ex bibliotheca Billiana, f. 1r); sold as part of that collection in Besançon, 1 May 1826.
• Sold at auction at Ader, Picard, Tajan, 19 May 1976, lot 44.
• Sold at auction at Sotheby's, 22 June 1982, lot 61.
• Appeared in the catalog Illumination and the word, issued by Roth Horowitz, Ferrini & Biondi in cooperation with Jörn Günther, Jul. 26-Aug. 23, 2002, no. 6.
• Appeared in the catalog Princely magnificence: an exhibition of illuminated manuscripts and printed books from the 13th to the 16th century, issued by Ursus Books Ltd. (New York) in cooperation with Jörn Günther, 1997, no. 12.
• Appeared in Jörn Günther's cat. 5 (1997), no. 21.
• Appeared in Sam Fogg's catalog, 30 Apr. 2003; sold to Lawrence J. Schoenberg, May 2003.
• Deposit by Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle, 2011.

Physical Description:

36 leaves : paper, color illustrations ; 294 x 210 (205 x 132-142) mm bound to 300 x 220 mm

Production:

[Germany], [circa 1446]

Language Note:

Latin and German (lower Alemannic with middle German idioms).

Summary:

Compilation of Latin and German texts concerning astronomy, astrology (including resources for the determination of favorable and unfavorable days and a brief treatise on the astrological properties of precious stones attributed in the manuscript to the 8th/9th-century Jewish astrologer Zaël, but also known as the lapidary of Techel), and medicine (including a brief treatise on wine used for medical purposes, attributed in another manuscript to Albertus Magnus).

Contents:

• 1. f.1r-1v: [Circular diagrams of the celestial spheres and the directions]
• 2. f.2r-7v: [Calendar]
• 3. f.8r-11v: [Astrological and astronomical tables and diagrams]
• 4. f.12r-22v: [Treatise in German on favorable and unfavorable days for various activities]
• 5. f.23r-25r: De urina.
• 6. f.25v-26r: [Treatise in German on bloodletting]
• 7. f.26v-28r: In dem Lentzen.
• 8. f.28v: Dies periculosi.
• 9. f.29r-29v: [Latin treatise on veins]
• 10. f.30r-32r: De proprietatibus vini / [elsewhere attributed to Albertus Magnus]
• 11. f.32v-36v: Libellus magnus atque preciosus ... sigillorum / Cheel [Zaël]

Notes:

• Ms. codex.
• Title supplied by cataloger.
• Foliation: Paper, i (later paper) + 36 + i (later paper); [1-36]; 1¹²(-12) 2-3¹² 4²(-2); modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto.
• Layout: Written in 36-42 long lines (f. 2r-23v, 26v-28r) or lines in 2 columns (f. 24r-26r, 28v-36v); frame-ruled in faint ink.
• Script: Written in bâtarde script.
• Decoration: 36 miniatures in ink with colored washes, 8 to 30 lines in height, including calendar miniatures of the labors of the months (f. 2r-7v), astrological images (f. 12r-21v), and medical illustrations (f. 23v, 26v-28r); 13 circular diagrams (f. 1r-1v, 9r-11v), some with color; 1 7-line initial in red ink with flourishing in green (f. 12r); rubrics and paragraph marks in red, initials touched with red.
• Watermark: Similar to Briquet Tête de boeuf 14964 (1444) and 15054 (1441).
• Binding: Contemporary parchment, restored.
• Origin: Written in southwestern Germany, ca. 1446.

Local Notes:

Lawrence J. Schoenberg & Barbara Brizdle Manuscript Initiative.

Cited in:

Described in Transformation of knowledge: early manuscripts from the collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg (London: Paul Holberton, 2006), p. 70, 72 (LJS 449).

Publications about:

Mesler, Katelyn. "The medieval lapidary of Techel/Azareus on engraved stones and its Jewish appropriations." In Aleph: Historical studies in science & Judaism 14.2 (July 2014), pp. 75 ff., 106 ff.; LJS 449 listed in Appendix D.

Cited as:

Medical and Astronomical Miscellany (Oversize LJS 449). Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

OCLC:

793016675

Online:

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