|
Date: |
|
Description: | Made in France, probably in Rheims, about 820-840, this manuscript has a copy of a famous poem on the constellations and planets. The result of several layers of translation and being added to, the poem is a late Roman version of a Latin translation done in the 1st century BCE by Cicero. Cicero had translated a Greek poem written in the 3rd century BCE by Aratus. Hence, it was known as the 'Aratea'. The illustrations which accompany it in medieval manuscripts follow what was probably an ancient tradition. This manuscript is known to have been at St Augustine's monastery, in Canterbury, by the end of the 10th century. By that time, Anglo-Saxon interest in natural science, which can be seen three centuries earlier in Bede's writings, had gained widespread support by Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastics in their program to elevate the level of education for clergy and monks. Natural science was understood with the framework of Christian doctrine, although it represented a secular facet of their knowledge.
In this copy of the 'Aratea', the bodies of the constellations are formed of the words of the 'scholia', a later addition to the poem's illustrations which is always written within the figures. This Carolingian 'Aratea' manuscript always has the scholia written in the style of a type of ancient Roman handwriting. Lepus was the favourite prey of the hunter Orion and is located beneath his feet. As in other illustrations in this book, the animal's head and paws are painted, and the stars are represented by red circles. In the 'Aratea' verses below, an Anglo-Saxon reader has written a correction between the lines. | 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 |
|
|