Description
Map of the heavens with the twelve signs of the zodiac and 25 constellations. (BSB)
The planisphere is part of the Salzburg Compilation of 810–818: Liber calculation is in three blocks. The map is placed between the first (ff. 112v) and second block (ff. 114r–129r). The first two chapters of the second block are 1) Excerptum de astrologia (ff. 114r–115r) and 2) De ordine ac positione stellarum in signis (ff. 115r–121r) which is illustrated by coloured drawings. The planisphere is executed in colour, with orange, brown, black, and white predominating. The background colour to the page is dark olive green and the painterly figures stand out against it—as if against a dark night sky. Some of the circles are marked very lightly in whitish green, including the circle identified here as the (misplaced) Equator. The northern and southern boundaries of the zodiacal band (ecliptic) are marked in orange and the Milky Way is highlighted in bright white. At the edge of the map there is a bright orange border.
CARTOGRAPHY: The planisphere has a grid consisting of four concentric circles centered on the celestial pole. From inside to outside, they successively represent the ever-visible circle, the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn, and the ever-invisible circle. When expressed as a fraction of the radius of the (misplaced) Equator, the radii of the Tropics of Cancer and of Capricorn are 0.65 and 1.41, respectively. The radii of the ever-visible and ever-invisible circles are 0.35 and 1.63, respectively. In addition, there are four eccentric circles. Two of them represent the northern and southern boundaries of the zodiacal band. The other two circles represent the Milky Way and the (displaced) Equator. The center of the two boundary circles, that is the ecliptic pole, is located inside the every visible circle. The Tropic of Cancer touches the northern boundary circle of the zodiacal band. The Tropic of Capricorn touches the southern boundary circle of the zodiacal band. When expressed as fractions of the radius of the (displaced) Equator, the distance of the ecliptic pole from the centre of the map amounts to 0.27. The radii of the boundaries of the zodiac are 0.91 and 1.15 and the radius of the Milky Way is equal to 1.00. There also appear to be some ‘ghost lines’ or false starts on the map. For example, there is a pale white line running slightly inside of the circle of the Milky Way, which can be seen most clearly beneath the body of Hydra and near the body of Cancer, but it doesn’t seem to continue past this point.
CONSTELLATIONS: The presentation is in sky-view. Of the 47 Aratean constellations to be expected, 43 are presented on the planisphere: Corona Austrinus, Lepus, Sagitta, and Triangulum are missing. In addition, there is a tiny leaf-like object between Cancer and Gemini. All constellations are presented face-on, with the left and right characteristics as defined by Hipparchus’s rule.
DESCRIPTIONS: ANDROMEDA wears a long, orange robe and stretches her arms to either side. The figure is labeled: ANDROM (with a line over the M). AQUARIUS is nude, except for his black shoes. He faces towards the viewer. He holds an upturned urn in front of his body that pours water into a stream that flows north. Another ‘stream’ starts at the middle of his back and flows towards the mouth of Piscis Austrinus. AQUILA is upside-down. He has his wings outstretched and his head is turned backwards. ARA is a brown and white, square, three-story structure with flames on top. ARGO NAVIS is a partly visible, brown ship, without sails. It has five oars. ARIES is a large white ram with orange and black markings. He leaps westwards while looking back over his left shoulder, eastwards. He has horns and a long tail. AURIGA stands facing the viewer and wears a short, brown tunic that leaves his right shoulder exposed. His right hand is extended in front of him and his left hand rests on his hip. BOOTES faces the viewer and holds both arms out to the side. In his left hand, he holds an orange sickle-shaped crook. He is dressed in a short orange and white tunic that seems to leave his shoulders and chest exposed. The figure is labeled in orange: BOOTES. CANCER is a black flea-like crab with two large front claws and six legs and faces eastwards. CANIS MAIOR is a white dog with a long tail. He runs westwards. CANIS MINOR is a white dog with a very long tail that curves upwards at the end. CAPRICORNUS has a white body and two large, curved white horns. There is one coil in his body and a long tail that ends in a trefoil. CASSIOPEIA is dressed in a long white and orange robe and has black hair. She stretches her arms to either side. There is an incomplete orange label near her knees: CAS [. .]. CENTAURUS faces eastwards. He is nude, but he seems to carry a cloth or skin, which flows behind him. He holds a brown animal by its heels in his right hand in front of him, and a stick in his left hand. The figure is labeled in orange: CENTAUR (with a line over the R). CEPHEUS is facing the viewer and stretches his arms out to the sides. He is dressed in a short orange, white, and black tunic with black and white leggings and black hair. CETUS is a sea monster, swimming eastwards. It turns its head back over its shoulder westwards. It has a dog-like face and, possibly, wings on his shoulders, one coil in his body, paws for feet, and a long tail that ends in a feathered crescent. CORONA BOREALIS consists of a black, leafy wreath with ribbons. CORVUS is a blackbird, facing backwards towards the tail of Hydra and pecking at its body. CRATER is an orange vase hovering above the first bend of Hydra. CYGNUS is an upside-down white swan with wings outstretched to either side. DELPHINUS is depicted as a long-bodied white fish (somewhat like a pike), with an orange and brown back and with straight stick-like fins. He is upside-down. The figure has an orange label: DELPHINUS. DRACO is black and white with orange dots and has four bends in its body. Its tail passes below Ursa Maior, ending beneath her hind feet. ERIDANUS is depicted as an orange stream or cord. GEMINI are nude and stand facing the viewer, embracing each other with their inner arms. HERCULES stands upside-down. He is nude, may carry a lion’s skin on his left arm, and holds a long stick in his right hand, resting it on his right shoulder. There is a label, but it is mostly illegible: HE[. .]CU[. . .]. HYDRA is a black and white snake, with its head south of Leo and its tail below Libra. The figure is labeled in orange: HYDRA. LEO leaps westwards with his head and tail held high. He has a white and orange body and an orange tongue hanging out. He is set within the zodiacal band. LIBRA is a pair of scales, set within the zodiacal band with the pans placed towards Virgo’s feet instead of the claws Scorpius. LUPUS is a brown animal held by Centaurus. LYRA is a U-shaped lyre with three strings. There is a label, but it is mostly illegible: L [. . .]. OPHIUCHUS is nude, faces the viewer. He does not stand on Scorpius. The Serpens passes in front of his body. There is an orange label: SERPENT (line over T). ORION is facing the viewer. He wears a short brown tunic, which exposes his right shoulder and has a cloak that completely covers his left arm and shoulder. He holds a curved staff in his right hand and there is a white scabbard on his left side. The figure is labeled in orange: ORION. PEGASUS is depicted as half a brown horse without wings. He is upside down. PERSEUS is nude, faces the viewer and holds Medusa’s head in his extended left hand. There is an orange label near his feet: PERSEUS. PISCES are swimming in the same direction (towards Aries), and both their backs face to the south. PISCIS AUSTRINUS is a white and orange fish with a black backbone that swims upside-down, with its back towards the south. Its mouth is connected to the stream of Aquarius. SAGITTARIUS is depicted as a centaur, leaping westwards. He holds his bow in his outstretched left hand and pulls back its string with his right. His human part appears to be nude. SCORPIUS is black, with two long claws, no legs, and a segmented tail. SERPENS is held by Ophiuchus. Its raised head is close to Corona Borealis. TAURUS is depicted as half a white and orange bull, facing eastwards, with his right leg stretched out in front of him and his left one bent under his body. URSA MAIOR is a black bear, looking into the third bend of Draco. It is back-to-back with Ursa Minor. URSA MINOR is a black bear, looking into the second bend of Draco. VIRGO is a female figure without wings. She faces the viewer and wears a long orange and white dress, exposing her left leg. She holds a leafy plant in her right hand.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES: There is a tiny leaf-like object is set in the zodiacal band between Cancer and above the head of the left twin (Gemini). The MILKY WAY bisects Cassiopeia from her head to her feet, bisects Auriga from his head through his left foot, and passes through the left arm and head of the advanced twin. It touches the southern legs of Cancer and passes below the feet of Centaurus. It continues through the middle of Sagittarius, the feet of Aquila, the forefeet of Pegasus, right hand of Andromeda, and left hand of Cepheus. (Dekker, 2013)
Additional Information
Clm 210 contains a collection of astronomical-computational and scientific texts called the "Liber calculationis" (Book of Calculation) - the most extensive compilation of such texts in the Carolingian period. It was produced around 818 in the Salzburg area, probably at the suggestion of Archbishop Arn of Salzburg (bishop since 785). Most of the texts are based on the "Aachen Encyclopedia". Scholars had dealt with questions of chronology in connection with the Aachen Imperial Synod of 809. In addition to a calendar and sections with tables and instructions for calculations, e.g. for the date of Easter, the compilation also contains chapters on the twelve signs of the zodiac, the course of the moon through the constellations, the four seasons, the stars and their order, positions and orbits of the planets, explanations of meteorological questions, of measures and weights, and the like. The entire manuscript is interspersed with drawings and miniatures that are of the greatest interest to the history of art. The most magnificent miniature shows a map of the heavens with the twelve signs of the zodiac and 25 constellations. In addition, there are twelve monthly pictures with peasant monthly work in colored pen and ink drawings. The Munich manuscript was already in the Benedictine monastery of St. Emmeram in Regensburg in the 9th century; in 1488 it came into the possession of Hartmann Schedel and with his library in 1571 into the Munich court library. // Karl-Georg Pfändtner, Elisabeth Wunderle, 2016. (https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb00047183?page=1)
In 1571 the book was given together with the rest of Hartmann Schedel's library to the ducal court library (Herzogliche Bibliothek München), Munich, Germany.