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Source Description
The wheel diagram at the top of the page shows the Earth at center, with the seven heavenly bodies--the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn--orbiting in concentric rings. The zodiacal names are given in the diagram's frame. As had the ancients, medieval authorities believed that the Earth lay at the center of the universe, and that the Sun, Moon, and planets circled it. Also following ancient writers, medieval authors called the planets "wandering stars" because of their eccentric orbits: the word "planet" derives from the Greek "planetoi," for "wanderers." Their orbits were calculated according to the length of time it took them to complete one circuit of the zodiac. In the wheel diagram in the bottom half of the page, the Earth at center is surrounded by concentric bands containing the names of the heavenly bodies and the intervals of their orbits.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
1944
label
Diagram of the Planetary Orbits and Zodiac and Diagram of the Planet Cycles
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
1944
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Diagram of the Planetary Orbits and Zodiac and Diagram of the Planet Cycles
description
The wheel diagram at the top of the page shows the Earth at center, with the seven heavenly bodies--the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn--orbiting in concentric rings. The zodiacal names are given in the diagram's frame. As had the ancients, medieval authorities believed that the Earth lay at the center of the universe, and that the Sun, Moon, and planets circled it. Also following ancient writers, medieval authors called the planets "wandering stars" because of their eccentric orbits: the word "planet" derives from the Greek "planetoi," for "wanderers." Their orbits were calculated according to the length of time it took them to complete one circuit of the zodiac. In the wheel diagram in the bottom half of the page, the Earth at center is surrounded by concentric bands containing the names of the heavenly bodies and the intervals of their orbits.
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
citationUrl
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
125
115
3231
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
49b2e9d7b7c28f1b