Star Lore Art Aberystwyth Folios 11th Century

In 4 AD, Roman general and poet Germanicus wrote a Latin version of the Phenomena, an an introduction to the constellations written by Greek poet Aratus in the third century BC. Germanicus' treatise became the base of some of the oldest illuminated copies of astronomical text. Most famous one of all of these copies is the Leiden Aratea, created in the region of Lorraine in 816. There have been a number of other copies preserved. The one presented here was probably produced in Limoges during the early years of the 11th century. It contains several celestial maps and an incomplete text of the Germanicus Aratea with illustrations of the constellations in sepia ink with color washes and the stars marked. The manuscript is now kept at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. The copies presented here were all taken from the public domain at Wikimedia. A detailed description of all folios can be found at The Saxl Project. We also included a print published by fineartamerica.com, only titled "13th century medieval constellations." It is not part of the Aberystwyth Folios, but displays striking similarities.

Folio 4r - Two Hemispheres

Folio 5r - Winter Hemisphere

13th-century manuscript from fineartamerica.com

Folio 13r Draco, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor

Folio 13v Hercules

Folio 14v Serpentius (Ophiuchus) and Scorpius

Folio 15r Boötes

Folio 16r Virgo

Folio 17r Gemini and Cancer

Folio 17v Leo

Folio 18v Taurus

Folio 19r Cepheus

Folio 19v Andromeda

Folio 19v Cassiopeia

Folio 20r Pegasus

Folio 20v Aries

Folio 21r Hydra, Crater, Corvus, Canis Minor

Folio 21v Five Planets

Some of the drawings are very similar to those of the Leiden Aratea, but it should be noted that contrary to the earlier Leiden Aratea, some of the constellation figures in the Aberystwyth collection are depicted back to front, as they would appear on a celestial globe.

Aries in Leiden Aratea

Aries in Aberystwyth Folios

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