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Description: | The scribes of Anglo-Saxon England copied books on scientific as well as religious subjects in the expansion of learning that had begun under Alfred the Great and continued, fed by increasing contacts with the continent, through the 10th and 11th centuries. This is a copy of one of the most well-known scientific books of the day, 'On the nature of things', on physical science, by Isidore, bishop of Seville, who lived in the late 6th and early 7th century. Written in an elegant script (style of handwriting) which was based on Carolingian styles, the small book is illustrated with diagrams labelled with capital letters in a style that looks back to types of Roman handwriting.
Most medieval copies of 'On the nature of things' include diagrams of some kind. In his chapter, 'About the names of the winds', Isidore produces a kind of hierarchy of winds and relates them to the months of the year. This wheel-like diagram illustrates his discussion. Most of the diagrams in the book are circular because Isidore writes about the world as a unity, a divine creation, so that most natural phenomena can be arranged in a circular scheme. | License: | http://www.bl.uk/services/copy/permission.html | Rights holder: | British Library | Source: | Collect Britain | Identifier: | http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personal... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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