Tuesday, May 02, 2006

The Medical Astrology Calendar of 1487

Zodiacal man; zodiac combined with parts of the human body

Jupiter and his children ~ Pisces and Sagittarius

Phlegmatic temperament ~ making music; musician with instrument

Chronology 1, 2 (I pasted these 2 together)

August and its labours ~ harvest

Saturn and his children ~ Aquarius and Capricorn

The nude human figure ~ anatomy

Blood-letting with the aid of cupping glasses

Taking a bath ~ lovers courting, flirting

The twelve zodiacal signs together

There are ~60 illustrations in this rather enigmatic astro-encylopedic seasonal incunabulum [Iatromathematische Hausbuch] at the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich. It comes from the Augsburg printery of Johann Schönsperger.

The italicized text under the images here is the english iconographic description provided with each woodcut.

The translation of the bibliographic description from this page:
"The 'Iatromathemati house book' is to be understood as astro+medical manual. It was written over or 1400 ago briefly by a layman physician from the upper-German area, which perhaps worked in Nuernberg. The text treats humans in the medieval cosmos from the point of view of layman-astrological world view and contacts the astro+medically interested house father. The work is arranged into seven main parts, in those the twelve months with komputistischem calendar and monthlyreferred health rules, which are treated twelve tierkreiszeichen and the planet children.

After these sky teachings and temper teachings follow, which a diaetetischer section follows. The different texts of ikonographischen cycles of the monthly pictures, tierkreiszeichen, planets and tempers as well as of single representations are accompanied. As sources above all volkssprachige writings became from 12. to 14. Century (Lucidarius, "rule of the health") and only within the komputistischen range latin technical literature consulted. Due to the different sources the "house book" forms a mixture made of encyclopedia, medical text book, diaetetischem treatise and different small literary works."

2 comments :

zazie said...

Je crois que j’ai déjà dit mais il faut le répéter, vous avez un merveilleux blogue

misteraitch said...

Fascinating stuff: & just one of a whole shelf of books at that same site…

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