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Medium-weight parchment; shows heavy wear from use
A title, added in the thirteenth century, reads “Tractatus de sphera;” at the center of the diagram: “Terra”; in the fourth ring, the twelve months of the year; in the rim of the wheel, an inscription, beginning at ten o'clock: "hec tempora queque sidera septena per signa gerunt duodena in celo cursus eadem repetentia rursus per signum quodque retinent," or "The times carry the seven planets through the twelve constellations in the heavens. Their courses retain them [the planets], returning again through each constellation."
The signs of the zodiac were developed in the ancient Near East as navigational aids and entered the medieval repertoire through the intermediary of classical art. Although Greco-Roman traditions of representation carried considerable authority, medieval depictions of the zodiacal signs often departed from their classical models. Here, the twins of Gemini are portrayed not as nude youths but as armed, mail-clad soldiers carrying a single shield. Rather than eight legs and two claws or pincers, the scorpion of Scorpio has the wings of a bird or dragon and a pair of long, curving necks, each terminating in a snake-like head. For a scorpion with a dragon’s head and wings and a tail ending in three heads, see the Calendar of an early twelfth-century English manuscript containing Isidore of Seville’s Homilies, Cambridge, St. John’s College, MS B. 20, fol. 2v.
The zodiacal signs in their trapezoidal compartments are rendered in brown outline and flat blocks of pigment, their simplicity of execution being typical of illustrated scientific compilations produced in the monastic context. The schematic looping, V-shaped folds of the garments of Virgo and especially Aquarius compare with manuscript illumination and metalwork produced in England and on the Continent in the last decades of the twelfth century.
In the earth at center: “Asia,” “Europa,” “Affrica.” In the bands encircling the busts, the winds’ Latin names, with the Greek names given in the narrower, uncolored ring within. Beginning at the left (the North) and moving clockwise: “Septentrio vel Aparctias;” “Aquilo vel Boreas;” “Vulturnus vel Calcias”; “Subsolanus vel Apeliotes;” “Eurus vel;” “Euroauster;” “Auster vel Nothus;” “Austro vel” (for “Austroafricus”); “Affricus vel Lyps;” Zephirus vel Favonius;” “Chorus vel Argystes;” “Circius vel Tracias” (for “Thracias”), or “Septentrio or Aparctias;” “Aquilo or Boreas;” “Vulturnus or Calcias;” “Subsolanus or Apheliotes;” “Eurus or;” “Euroaster;” “Auster or Nothus;” “Austro or;” “Affricus or Lyps;” “Zephirus or Favonius;” “Chorus or Argystes;” “Circius or Tracias.” In the spokes, beginning at left (the North) and moving clockwise: “Frigora conficio,” or "I bring cold." “Constringo nubes,” I bind together/wring out the clouds." “Omnia desicco,” I dry up everything completely." “Subte phebe tono,” or "I thunder from beneath the [rising] Sun." “Flatus nubes gigno,” or "I cause the clouds to blow." “Tellus denique calescit,” or "The Earth finally becomes warm." “Pluuias cum fulmine initio,” or "I begin rain and lightning." “Magnos educo calores,” or "I draw out great warmth." “Crebra crebro fulmina iacto,” or "I hurl thunderbolts one after another." “Tellurem floribus orno,” or "I adorn the Earth with flowers." “Susstando (?) nubila pando,” or "Supporting, I spread out the clouds." “De me grando uenit,” or "From me comes hail."
The T-O map is a conceptual diagram intended to show the relative positions of the three continents. The T, the Mediterranean Sea, separates Asia, Europe, and Africa, while the O is the surrounding ocean. Although the origins of the T-O map lie in the literature of classical antiquity, some of the earliest surviving pictorial examples occur in early medieval manuscripts of the works of Isidore of Seville. The Middle Ages inherited from the Greco-Roman world both the twelve-wind scheme and the convention of its representation in diagram form. In medieval wind diagrams, the winds may be represented as frontal or profile animal or human masks, sometimes winged; as busts; or as nude or clothed personifications. For a precedent for the wind rota in W.73, see the Winchcombe Computus, an early twelfth-century manuscript made for St. Kenelm's Abbey, Winchcombe; London, British Library, Cotton MS Tiberius E. IV, fol. 30r.
The artist rendered the wind busts in simple brown outline, employing touches of red or brown on their brows, cheeks, jaws, and chests to suggest the contours of their faces and torsos.
While Aristotle and other ancient authorities characterized wind as a dry exhalation, Isidore defined it as air that is stirred up and moved. The depiction of the breath of the winds here appears to evoke both of these traditions. The red quatrefoils adorning the green spandrels between the framed busts and the diagram’s overall design are reminiscent of the tracery designs in contemporary rose windows, such as the early thirteenth-century rose on the western façade of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Chartres.
In the earth at center: “Asia,” “Europa,” “Affrica.” In the outer ring, beginning at the left (North), the names of the winds in colored capitals: “Septentrio” (North), “Aquilo,” “Vulturnus,” “Subsolanus” (East), “Eurus,” “Euroauster,” “Auster” (South), Euronothus,” “Affricus,” Zephirus” (West), “Chorus,” “Circius.” In the twelve corresponding sectors, beginning at left (North), the characterizations of each wind: “Ventorum primus cardinalis Septentrio qui et aparcias fri[gi]dus et niualis flat rectus ab axe. et facit arida. et frigora. et siccat nubes,” or “Septentrio (North Wind), the first of the cardinal winds, which is also called Aparcias, is cold and snowy. It blows straight from the North Pole and makes [everything] dry and cold and dries out the clouds.” “Aquilo ventus qui et boreas ex alto flat gelidus atque siccus et sine pluuia. quia non discutit nubes sed constringit,” or “Aquilo, the wind that is also called Boreas, blows from high up [i.e., the North]. It is icy and dry and without rain, because it does not disperse the clouds but binds them together/wrings them out.” “Vulturnus qui et boetias uocatus. dexter est Subsolani hic dissoluit omnia atque desiccat,” or “Vulturnus, which is also called Boetias, and is to the right of Subsolanus, scatters and dries up everything.” “Secundus cardinalis subsolanus qui et afeliotes. hic ab ortu intonat et est temperatus. Dicitur autem subsolanus ab ortu solis,” or “The second cardinal wind is Subsolanus (East Wind), which is also called Apeliotes. It thunders from the rising [of the Sun] and is temperate. Moreover, it is called Subsolanus [because it arises] beneath the rising of the Sun.” “Eurus ex sinistro latere ueniens subsolani. orientem nubibus irrigat Eurus dictus eo quod ab euro flat. id est ab oriente,” or “Eurus comes from the left side of Subsolanus and waters the East with clouds. It is called Eurus because it blows out of Euro, that is, the East.” “Auroauster [Euroauster] a dextris intonat Austri. Euroauster dictus quod ex una parte habeat eurum ex altero austrum,” or “Auroauster [Euroauster] thunders from the right of Auster. It is called Euroauster because it has on one side Eurus and on the other Auster.” “Tertius cardinalis uentus Auster qui et nothus. meridiane plage. humidus atque fulmineus generans largos imbres. et pluuias latissimas,” or “The third cardinal wind is Auster (South Wind), which is also called Nothus. It is from the South, and is moist and full of lighting, generating abundant clouds and widespread rain.” “Euronothus uentus temperatus et calidus. a sinistra parte austri spirat,” or “Euronothus is a temperate and warm wind. It blows from the left side of Auster.” “Affricus qui et lyps ex zephiri dextro intonans. generans tempestates et pluuias. nubium collisiones. tonitrua fulgura. fulminorum impulsus,” or “Affricus, which is also called Lyps, thunders from the right of Zephirus, generating tempests and rain. The pressure of the blows of clouds are thunderbolts and flashes of lightning.” “Quartus cardinalis zephirus qui et fauonius ab occidente interiore flat. hic hiemem frigore relaxat flores producit,” or “The fourth cardinal wind is Zephirus (West Wind), which is also called Favonius. It blows from the midst of the West. It eases the harshness of winter and produces flowers.” “Chorus qui et argestes ex sinistra parte fauovnii aspirat. et flante in oriente. nubile sunt in india serena,” or “Chorus, which is also called Argestes, blows from the left side of Favonius. It blows bearing clouds in the East, and tranquil weather in India.” “Circius qui et tracias a dextris septentrionis intonans facit nubes grandinumque coagulationes. circius dictus est eo quod euro sit iun[g]etus,” or “Circius, which is also called Tracias, thunders from the right of Septentrio. It makes clouds and coagulated (frozen?) hail. It is called Circius because it is joined with Euro (should be “Chorus”).”
The T-O map is a conceptual diagram intended to show the relative positions of the three continents. The T, the Mediterranean Sea, separates Asia, Europe, and Africa, while the O is the surrounding ocean. Although the origins of the T-O map lie in the literature of classical antiquity, some of the earliest surviving pictorial examples occur in early medieval manuscripts of the works of Isidore of Seville. The Middle Ages inherited from the Greco-Roman world both the twelve-wind scheme and the convention of its representation in diagrammatic form. The earliest extant manuscripts containing circular tables of the Latin and Greek wind names equipped with both the Isidorian text and the T-O map at center date to the ninth century; see for example an early ninth-century manuscript of the second book of Cassiodorus’s Institutiones, Bern, Burgerbibliothek, MS 212/I, fol. 109r.
Top: In the earth at center: “Terra." In the planetary bodies, moving outward: “Luna,” “Mercurius,” “Venus,” “Sol,” “Mars,” “Iupiter,” “Saturnus.” In the outer band, the zodiacal signs, from the top: “Libra,” Scorpio,” “Sagittarius,” “Capricorn,” “Aquarius,” “Pisces,” “Aries,” “Taurus,” Gemini,” “Cancer,” “Leo,” “Virgo.” Bottom: In the earth at center: “Terra,” or “Earth.” From the outer ring, moving inward: “Saturnus fertur explere circulum suum per annos triginta,” or “Saturn is said to complete its circuit in thirty years.” “Phethon currit circulum suum per annos duodecim,” or “Phaethone [Jupiter] runs its circuit in twelve years.” “Vesper peragere dicitur circuli sui partes quindecim annis,” or “Vesper [should be “Mars”] is said to pass through its circuit in fifteen years.” “Sol fertur circulum suum explere per annos viginti,” or “The Sun is said to complete its circuit in twenty years.” “Lucifer percurrit circulum per annos novem,” or “Lucifer [Venus] runs through its circuit in nine years.” “Mercurius peragit cursum suum viginti annis,” or “Mercury passes through its course in twenty years.” “Luna cursum suum perlustrat xix annis,” or “The Moon traverses its course in nineteen years.”
A diagram of planetary cycles similar to the one at the bottom of W.73, fol. 2v occurs in the St. John’s Computus, an English manuscript made ca. 1110 at the monastery of Thorney in Cambridgeshire; see Oxford, St. John’s College, Ms. 17, fol. 37v. In the St. John’s College manuscript, the periods of the planetary orbits are not the usual ones given in Bede’s De natura rerum XIII and other sources, but the unusual intervals given in Isidore of Seville’s De natura rerum XXIII, 1-4. In W.73, the periods of the orbits for Saturn, Jupiter, and Mercury accord with Isidore’s numbers; the intervals for the other planetary bodies diverge from both the Isidorian and Bedan traditions.
In the earth at center: “Terra;” in the circles that surround it: “Hic ortus pandit quoque casus circuli. Loca signat per tempora queque horarumque" or "Here the sunrise spreads through the calendar. It shows the places through the times and hours (?)". In the yellow discs representing the solstitial and equinoctial sunrises and the midday suns, in red: “Sol.” Alongside sunrise at the summer solstice: “Ortus solsticii estiui,” or "[Sun]rise at the summer solstice." Alongside sunset at the summer solstice: “I solsticii?” or "In the solstice?" and “Occasus estiui solsticii,” or "[Sun]set at the summer solstice." Alongside the equinoctial sunrise: “Ortus solis in equinoctio,” or “Sunrise at the equinox.” Around the equinoctial sunset: "hic solis occasus," or "here the setting of the sun." The band connecting the equinoctial sunrise and sunset: "facit hic etiam." Alongside the band: "in equinoctio solis in equinoctio (?)" Alongside the lines on either side of the midday Suns, from left: “Hora iii equinoctio,” or "The third hour at the equinox." “Hora iii in equinoctio,” or "The third hour at the equinox. “Hora iii in hiemilis solsticio,” or "The third hour at the winter solstice." “Hora ix in solsticio hiemalis,” or "The ninth hour at the winter solstice." “Hora ix in equinoctio,” or "The ninth hour at the equinox." “Hora ix in Estiuo equinoctio,” or "The ninth hour at the summer equinox." On the band to the left of the midday Suns: “Hic semper medii tempus,” or “Here it is always midday.” To the right: "Sic nato vici," or “Thus, with a change arisen.” On the straight bands beneath the central circles: “Nocto profundam,” or “Boundless night” and "hic semper media noctem," "here it is always the middle of the night." In the arced band connecting the solstitial and equinoctial suns (at left): “Hic estiualis ortus patet. Hic hiemalis,” or “Here opens (begins?) the summer [Sun]rise. Here [opens/begins] the winter [[Sun]rise].” At right: “Hic estiualis occasus. Et hic hiemalis,” or “Here is the summer [Sun]set. And here is the winter [[Sun]set].”
The oldest known version of this diagram occurs in the eighth-century C.E. Calendar of St. Willibrord, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. lat. 10837, fol. 42r. In that manuscript, the diagram is called a horologium or sundial, and it also incorporates a compass figure and the face of a clock. Variant versions of this diagram are a common feature of the cosmographical sections of computus manuscripts. For a similar diagram of the sunrises and sunsets see the example in the St. John’s Computus, an English manuscript made ca. 1110 at the monastery of Thorney in Cambridgeshire; Oxford, St. John’s College, Ms. 17, fol. 35v.
In the earth at center: “Terra,” or “Earth.” In the large yellow discs representing the Sun: “Sol” and “Sol XXX,” or “Sun,” “Sun thirtieth [day].” In the discs representing the Moon, starting from upper right (approximately 2 o’clock) and moving counterclockwise: “Monoides,” “Diatomos,” “Amphicirtos,” “Luna XV,” “Amphicirtos,” “Diatomos,” “Monoides,” or “crescent Moon,” “half Moon,” “gibbous Moon,” “Moon fifteenth [day],” “gibbous Moon,” “half Moon,” “crescent Moon.” In the half-circle directly above the Earth: “Emisperium superius per quod luna a sole recedit que a nobis tota uidetur,” or “The hemisphere above the Earth is the one through which the Moon moves away from the Sun and is all that part [of the sky] that is seen by us.” And above that: “Emisperium dimidia pars spere est. Emisperion supra terram et ea pars celi,” or “The hemisphere is half of the sphere. The hemisphere is that part of the heavens above the Earth.” In the half-circle directly below the Earth: “Emisperium inferius per quod luna appropinquat soli. Emisperion sub terra est que uideri non potest quamdiu sub terra fuerit,” or “The hemisphere under the Earth is the one through which the Moon approaches the Sun. The hemisphere under the Earth is [the part] that cannot be seen as long as it is under the Earth.”
For a more schematic version of this diagram, see the example in the St. John’s Computus, an English manuscript made ca. 1110 at the monastery of Thorney in Cambridgeshire, Oxford, St. John’s College MS 17, fol. 38v.
In the illustration of the harmony of the spheres, from left to right: “Saturnus;” “Semitonium.” “Iuppiter;” “Semitonium.” “Mars;” “Tonus.” “Sol;” “Tria Semitonia.” “Venus;” “Semitonium.” “Mercurius;” “Semitonium.” “Luna.” In the diagram of the planetary orbits: In the earth at center: “Terra.” The planetary bodies, moving out from center: “Luna,” Mercurius,” “Venus,” “Sol,” “Mars,” Iupiter,” “Saturnus.” In the frame the names of the zodiac, from the top: “Capricornus,” “Aquarius,” “Pisces,” “Aries,” “Taurus,” “Gemini,” “Cancer,” “Leo,” “Virgo,” “Libra,” “Scorpio,” “Sagittarius.”
Along the vertical, from the bottom: “Luna,” "Iuppiter,” “Mars,” "Saturn,” “Sol,” “Mercurius,” “Venus.” Along the horizontal, at top, from left to right: “Aries,” “Taurus,” “Gemini,” “Cancer,” “Leo,” “Virgo,” “Libra,” “Scorpio,” “Sagittarius,” “Capricornus,” “Aquarius,” “Pisces.” Along the bottom, reading from left to right, beginning with “Tellus” (Earth): “Tellus. Tonus. Luna. Semiton(ium). Mercuri(us). Semiton(ium). Venus. Tria Semi(tonia). Sol. Tonus. Mars. Semiton(ium). Saturnus. Tria Semi(tonia). Signifer.” Along the bottom, reading from right to left, beginning with “A Terra”: “A Terra usque ad Lunam CXXV stadiorum. A Luna ad Sole(m) duplu(m). Hinc ad XII signa triplicatum,” or “From the Earth all the way to the Moon is 125,000 stadia, and double that from the Moon to the Sun, and three times that [from the Sun] to the zodiacal signs.”
A similar version of this diagram occurs in the Winchcombe Computus, an early twelfth-century manuscript made for St. Kenelm's Abbey, Winchcombe; see London, British Library Cotton MS Tiberius E. IV, fol. 142r. In the St. John’s Computus, an English manuscript made ca. 1110 at the monastery of Thorney in Cambridgeshire, the graph is rectangular rather than square; see Oxford, St. John’s College MS 17, fol. 38r.
The artist colored some of the individual squares and triangles within the diagram for decorative effect.
A “stade” equaled 600 Greek feet, a distance estimated to be the equivalent of anywhere from 517 to 607 feet.
In the center of the upper diagram: “Emerinos latine dicitur dies atque nox,” or “Emerinos in Latin is called the day and the night.” In the “petals” of the diagram, beginning at lower left: “Primus cyclus Arcticos frigore inhabilitabilis,” or “The first zone, the Arctic, is cold and uninhabitable.” “Secundus thermos temperatus habitabilis,” or “The second [zone] is warm, temperate, and habitable.” “Mediuus ysemerinos torridus inhabitabilis,” or "The middle zone is torrid and uninhabitable.” “Quartus exemerinos temperatus habitabilis,” or "The fourth zone is temperate and habitable.” “Quintus cyclus Antarcticos frigidus inhabitabilis,” or "The fifth zone, the Antarctic, is cold and uninhabitable.” In the lower diagram, at center: “Ethiopum Terra," or “The land of Ethiopia.” Within or along the arcs and in the circle at the bottom of the diagram, reading from top down: “Circulus Australis qui est frigore inhabitabilis,” or “The southern cycle, which is cold and uninhabitable.” “Circulus inter frigus et calorem habitabilis,” or “The cycle between the cold and hot is habitable.” “Circulus solis ardore torrens et inhabitabilis,” or "The circle of the heat of the Sun (the equatorial circle) is torrid and uninhabitable.” “Circulus inter calorem et frigus habitabilis,” or “The circle between the hot and cold is habitable.” “Circulus inhabitabilis frigore,” or “The (Arctic) circle is uninhabitable on account of cold.”
Diagrams of the celestial climate zones appear frequently in scientific manuscripts from the ninth century; see for example a computus manuscript made after 861 at Fleury or Nevers in northeast France; London, British Library Harley MS 3017, fol. 90v. In a tenth-century manuscript of Isidore’s De natura rerum, the diagram’s resemblance to a flower is emphasized; see Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France MS latin 6649, fol. 8v. The two climate diagrams on W.73, fol. 6v also appear together in the St. John’s Computus, an English manuscript made ca. 1110 at the monastery of Thorney in Cambridgeshire, and in the Peterborough Computus, produced at Peterborough ca. 1122-1135; see Oxford, St. John’s College MS 17, fol. 40r and London, British Library Cotton Tiberius MS C. I, fol. 11v.
In the upper diagram, at center: “Riphei Montes,” or “The Riphaean Mountains.” Within or along the arcs and in the circle at the bottom of the diagram, reading from top down: “Circulus Australis qui est frigore inhabitabilis,” or “The southern cycle, which is cold and uninhabitable.” “Circulus inter frigus et calorem habitabilis,” or “The cycle between the cold and hot is habitable.” “Circulus solis ardore inhabitabilis,” or "The circle of the heat of the Sun (i.e., the equatorial circle) is uninhabitable.” “Circulus habitabilis inter frigus et calorem habitabilis,” or “The circle between the cold and heat is habitable.” “Circulus frigore inhabitabilis,” or "The [Arctic] circle is cold and uninhabitable.” Around the rim of the diagram: “Ethereus zonis quint[i]s accingitur orbis,” or “The circle [of the world] girded by the five celestial zones.” Below the Riphaean Mountains, in red: “Quintus,” or “Five.” In the lower diagram, reading outward: Innermost ring: “Cursus lune per duodecim signa,” or “The course of the Moon through the twelve zodiacal signs.” In the third ring from center: The first letters of the names of the twelve months of the year, reading counterclockwise from the top and beginning with “A” for April. In the fourth ring: The number of lunar days in each month -- either XXIX or XXX. In the fifth ring: The days of a single siderial month, numbered I-XXX and reading counterclockwise from the top. The numbers in this ring are the days of the siderial month in which the Moon is in the zodiac sign named in the corresponding sector of the sixth ring (the next ring out). In the sixth ring: The twelve names of the zodiac, reading counterclockwise from the top, beginning with Aries. In the outer ring, beginning at bottom left: “Hic qualem mensis fert lunam quisque uidebis. Unus ter denam fert alter et unde tricenam. Et lune cursus per singula signa notabis,” or “Here you will see what sort of moon each month brings. The one moves three times ten, the other, and whence thirty (?). And you will note the course of the Moon through each zodiacal sign.” At the bottom, a small inscription describes the middle of the moon's monthly course: "Diametrum vocatur locus ubi xv erit luna vel ideo Diane terminum (?) dicitur quia ibi est dimidium men[s]ium celi."
In the version of the diagram of the terrestrial climate zones in the St. John’s Computus, an English manuscript made ca. 1110 at the monastery of Thorney in Cambridgeshire, the Riphaean Mountains are represented as a zig-zag; see Oxford, St. John’s College MS 17, fol. 87v. The St. John’s Computus contains a similar diagram of the Moon’s circuit through the zodiac, as does the Winchcombe Computus, an early twelfth-century manuscript made for St. Kenelm's Abbey, Winchcombe; see Oxford, St. John’s College MS 17, fol. 77v and London, British Library Cotton MS Tiberius E. IV, fol. 62r.
A sidereal month is the time the Moon takes to complete one full orbit of the Earth in relation to the background stars. A sideral month lasts about 27 1/3 days, while a synodic or lunar month – the period of the Moon’s phases – is about 29 ½ days. A synodic month is longer than a sideral month on account of the fact that the Earth orbits the Sun: as a result, the Moon must travel slightly more than one full orbit of the Earth to get from one new moon to the next.
In the upper diagram, in the center square, moving clockwise from left: “Hec figura solida est secundum geometriciam rationem,” or "This solid figure is according to the rule of geometry." “Ennagonus Sol,” or "The seven-fold Sun." “Ignis. Tenuis. Acutus. Mobilis,” or "Fire. Light (Weightless). Sharp. Mobile." “Aer. Mobilis. Acutus. Crassus,” or "Air. Mobile. Sharp. Dense." “Aqua. Crassa. Obtunsa (for "Obtusa"). Mobilis,” or "Water. Dense. Dull. Mobile." “Terra. Crassus. Obtusas. Immobilis,” or "Earth. Dense. Dull. Immobile." “Eptagonus Luna,” or "The seven-fold Moon." In the lower diagram, at center: “Mundus. Homo. Annus,” or “World. Man. Year.” Beginning at the top of the diagram, the outer ring and “bars” of the cross, moving clockwise: “Ignis. Siccus. Calidus: Estas, colera rubea,” or "Fire. Dry. Warm: Summer, angry bile." “Aer. Calidus. Humidis: Ver, sanguis,” or "Air. Warm. Moist: Spring, blood." “Aqua. Humida. Frigida: Hiemps phlegma,” or "Water. Moist. Cold: Winter, phlegm." “Terra. Frigida. Sicca: Autumnus. Colera. Mela[ncholia],” or "Earth. Cold. Dry: Autumn, [black] bile, melancholy."
Versions of the cube diagram occur in London, British Library Harley MS 3017, fol. 90v, a computus manuscript made after 861 CE at Fleury or Nevers in northeast France; and the St. John’s Computus, an English manuscript made ca. 1110 at the monastery of Thorney in Cambridgeshire, see Oxford, St. John’s College MS 17, fol. 39r. The diagram of the microcosmic-macrocosmic harmony also appears in the St. John’s Computus; see Oxford, St. John’s College MS 17, fol. 39v.
The cube illustrates the mathematical equilibrium believed to exist among the different degrees of angularity, density, and mobility of the four created elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
In the top diagram, at center: “Annus cuius communionis hec est figura.” or "The year, of whose communion this is the figure." Starting at the top and moving clockwise: “Ver oriens iiii Kalends Martii. ix.? Diebus. ii,” or "Spring East 4 Kalends March 9 days 2." “Calidus,” or "Warm." “Estas meridies viii Kalends Iunius. Diebus. xv,” or "Summer South 8 Kalends June 15 days." “Sicca,” or "Dry." “Autumnus occidens x Kalends Septembrio Diebus xviii,” or "Autumn West 10 Kalends September 19 days." “Frigidus,” or "Cold." “Hiemps septemtrio viii Kalends Octobrio Diebus xx,” or "Winter North 8 Kalends October 20 days." “Humida,” or "Moist." In the bottom diagram, at center: “Communio elementorum mundi temporum anni humorumque corporis humani,” or “The communion of the elements of the world, the seasons of the year, and the humors of the human body.” Starting at the top and moving clockwise: “Ignis calidus et siccus estas calida et sicca,” or "Fire is warm and dry, summer is warm and dry." “Aer calidus et humidus ver humidus et calidus,” or "Air is warm and moist, spring is moist and warm." “Aqua humida et frigida hyemps humida frigida,” or "Water is moist and cold, winter is moist and cold." “Terra frigida et sicca Autumnus frigidus et siccus,” or "Earth is cold and dry, Autumn is cold and dry." “Colera rubuea sicca et calida,” or "Red, angry bile (or yellow bile) is dry and warm." “Sanguis humidus et calidus,” or "Blood is moist and warm." “Flegma humidum et frigidum,” or "Phlegm is moist and cold." “Melancolia humida et frigida,” or "Black bile is moist and cold."
For simpler versions of the two diagrams on W.73, fol. 8r, see London, British Library Cotton MS Vitellius A. XII, fols 50v and 52v, a late-eleventh-century manuscript with twelfth-century additions made in Salisbury, England.
In the band around the diagram’s circumference: “Mare lune altum luci flue sic obsequitur,” or "The deep sea complies with the light of the flowing moon." At the center: “Asia. Europa. Affrica.” In the band around the center: “Partibus his terris totus distin[g]uitur orbis,” or "The whole orb is divided into parts by these lands." In the twelve sectors, beginning at left (the North): “Ventorum primus cardinalis Septentrio frigidus et niualis facit frigora et niues,” or “The first of the cardinal winds, Septentrio, is cold and snowy and makes cold and snow.” “Aquilo sinister Septentrionis gelidus atque siccus non discutit nubes sed distringit,” or “Aquilo, to the left of Septentrio, is icy and dry. It does not disperse the clouds but draws them apart.” “Vulturnus qui et calcias dextrior Subsolani hic dissoluit cuncta et desiccat,” or “Vulturnus, which is also called Calcius, is to the right of Subsolanus. It breaks up and dries out everything.” “Secundus cardinalis Subsolanus ab ortu intonat Solis et est temperatus,” or "The second cardinal [wind], Subsolanus, thunders from [beneath] the rising of the Sun and is temperate.” “Eurus sinister Subsolani orientem nubibus semper irrigat,” or “Eurus, to the left of Subsolanus, always waters the East with clouds.” “Euroauster calidus ventus a dextris intonat Austri,” or “Euroauster is a warm wind. It thunders from the right of Auster.” “Tertius cardinalis Auster humidus calidus atque fulmineus,” or “The third cardinal wind, Auster, is moist, warm, and bears lightning.” “Euronothus ventus temperatus calidus a sinistris Austri aspirat,” or “Euronothus is a temperate and warm wind. It blows from the left of Auster.” “Affricus dexter zephiri generat tempestates et pluuias et facit fulminum impulsus,” or “Affricus to the right of Zephirus generates storms and rain, and makes lightning strikes.” “Quartus cardinalis zephirus hiemem resoluit floresque producit,” or “The fourth cardinal wind, Zephirus, breaks winter and produces flowers.” “Chorus qui et argestes ex sinistra parte fauonii aspirat,” or “Chorus, which is also called Argestes, blows from the left side of Favonius.” “Circius dexter Septrionis facit niues et gra[n]dinum coagulationes,” or “Circius to the right of Sept[ent]rio makes snow and coagulations of hail.” In the moon-discs at the corners, beginning at upper right and moving clockwise: “Luna v incipit ledona,” or "The fifth lunar day begins the lesser tide." “Luna xiiii incipit malina,” or "The fourteenth lunar day begins the greater tide." “Luna xx incipit ledona,” or "The twentieth lunar day begins the lesser tide." “Luna xxviii incipit malina,” or "The twenty-eighth lunar day begins the greater tide." Around the sides of the page, beginning at upper right: “Monstrant ledones hoc iugiter atque maline scilicet accessus maris assiduusque recessus ens egit lune tumidum mare cedit exoritur luna mox effluit et maris unda occidit et luna refluendo recurrit,” or "The greater and lesser tides show this continually [and] of course the constant ebb and flow of the sea... The moon arises and soon recedes and the swell of the sea diminishes, and the moon returns flowing back."
The T-O map is a conceptual diagram intended to show the relative positions of the three continents. The T, the Mediterranean Sea, separates Asia, Europe, and Africa, while the O is the surrounding ocean. Although the origins of the T-O map lie in the literature of classical antiquity, some of the earliest surviving pictorial examples occur in early medieval manuscripts of the works of Isidore of Seville. Simple versions of the tidal diagram occur in scientific manuscripts from the Carolingian period on. The tidal rota on W.73, fol. 8v is a hybrid that fuses the basic tidal diagram with early wind rotae. This combination reflects Bede’s assertion that the winds effect the movement of the tides. For a tidal diagram similar to the one in W.73, see London, British Library Harley MS 3017, fol. 135r, a computus manuscript made after 861 CE at Fleury or Nevers in northeast France.
At the center of the diagram: “Vox filii utriusque sexus.” In the band around the center, beginning at top: “Vox sobolis patris prolis vox ista que matris.” In the surrounding bands, the inscriptions describe and name the various relations that an individual might have, e.g.: “Genitores patris mei et et matris mee avi mihi sunt,” or “The parents of my father and mother are my grandparents”; “Proamita est proavi paterni soror,” or “[My] paternal great-aunt is the sister of [my] paternal great-grandfather”; “Filii matertere mee ad se germani et ad me fratrueles,” or “The children of my aunt are brothers to themselves and cousins to me.” They are arranged into ten categories, beginning at the top and proceeding clockwise: father and mother and their parents; from maternal uncles and aunts and their children; maternal uncles and aunts and their parents; maternal cousins; nephews and nieces; sons and daughters and their children; aunts and uncles; paternal cousins; paternal uncles and aunts and their parents; paternal uncles and aunts and their children.
In medieval scientific manuscripts, material on consanguinity was presented in three formats: as a tree diagram, a step diagram, and as a wheel-shaped diagram, as in W.73, fol. 9r. The tree diagram was the most popular schema. A tenth-century manuscript made at Saint-Martial, France, contains all three types of diagram; see Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. latin 5239, fols. 163r-166r. In some scientific and legal manuscripts, the table of consanguinity is superimposed on a human figure. In a manuscript of Isidore’s Etymologiae made ca. 1160-65 at the German monastery of Prüfening, the consanguinity chart becomes the body of Adam; see Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 13031, fol. 102v. In a manuscript of the Decretals of Gregory IX made in Paris or Sens ca. 1170-80, the consanguinity table is superimposed on the image of God; see Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XIV 2, fol. 227v.
Bound in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century by Léon Gruel in Paris; brown calf over mill-board, scorched line border, gold fillet on board edges, three gold fillets on turn-ins; title scorched in spine "Cosmographia"