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Source Description

In the diagram in the top half of the page, the observer's point-of-view is the North Pole. This diagram is similar to the one in the lower part of fol. 6v of this same manuscript, except that it also shows the Riphaean Mountains – a mythical range of peaks thought to mark the boundary between Asia and Europe, and the Arctic and North temperate zones -- represented as seven abstract, colored silhouettes resembling triangular game-pieces. The diagram in the bottom half of the page charts the course of the Moon through the zodiac, correlating the lunar or synodic months and the zodiacal signs. According to the De natura rerum (On the nature of things) of the English scholar, Bede (d. 735 CE), the Moon journeys through the zodiac thirteen times in twelve lunar months; thus, it runs through each zodiacal sign in a little over two days and six hours.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
27469
label
Diagrams of the Terrestrial Climate Zones with the Riphaean Mountains and the Circuit of the Moon in the Zodiac
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
27469
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Diagrams of the Terrestrial Climate Zones with the Riphaean Mountains and the Circuit of the Moon in the Zodiac
description
In the diagram in the top half of the page, the observer's point-of-view is the North Pole. This diagram is similar to the one in the lower part of fol. 6v of this same manuscript, except that it also shows the Riphaean Mountains – a mythical range of peaks thought to mark the boundary between Asia and Europe, and the Arctic and North temperate zones -- represented as seven abstract, colored silhouettes resembling triangular game-pieces. The diagram in the bottom half of the page charts the course of the Moon through the zodiac, correlating the lunar or synodic months and the zodiacal signs. According to the De natura rerum (On the nature of things) of the English scholar, Bede (d. 735 CE), the Moon journeys through the zodiac thirteen times in twelve lunar months; thus, it runs through each zodiacal sign in a little over two days and six hours.
provenance
Gruel and Englemann Collection, Paris [1]; acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1903; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.[1] no. 131, bookplate on inside upper board
date
late 12th century
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
illuminated manuscripts
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
26.7
height
15.5
dimensionsRaw
H: 10 1/2 × W: 6 1/8 in. (26.7 × 15.5 cm)
Source extras
style
Romanesque
med
ink and pigments on medium-weight parchment
creator_ids
8737
6197
collection_ids
MSS
exhibition_ids
162
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
f1356eda82dc917f