Star Lore Art Sternzeichenkalender Constellations Calendar Attributed to Regiomontanus, 1512

In the category Books by Regiomontanus, Wikimedia displays a large number of woodcuts belonging to an astronomical calendar published in 1512. The collection is titled Calendarius teusch Maister Joannis Küngspergers, translating to German Calendar by Master Joannis Küngsperger. Küngspergers is an antiquated spelling of the name Königsberg - Johannes Müller von Königsberg, to be precise. Von Königsberg was a mathematician, astrologer and astronomer of the German Renaissance who lived from 1436 to 1476 and was active in Vienna, Buda and Nuremberg. His contributions were instrumental in the development of Copernican heliocentrism in the decades following his death. Regiomontanus wrote under the Latinized name of Ioannes de Monteregio,or Regio Monte, meaining King's Mountain, which in German is Königsberg. The adjectival Regiomontanus was first used by Philipp Melanchthon in 1534. According to Wikimedia. the Constellation Calendar was published in 1512, 36 years after Regiomontanus' death. Most likely, it used some of the astronomer's earlier writings.

Title Page

The illustrations are strikingly similar to those of an unknown artist commissioned by Erhard Ratdolt for his 1482 issue of Hyginus’s Poeticon Astronomicon. Like in the earlier publication, the artist used a lot of creative freedom regarding the true positions of the stars. In addition, some of the images in the calendar are mirror images of the previous illustrations in Poeticon Astronomicon The Wikimedia site also includes two other sets of illustrations attributed to the writings of Regiomontanus and (according to Wikimedia) also published in 1512. All of them seem to have been done by the same, unknown artist. One set shows illustrations of the five known planets, the sun and the moon; the other set is a so called farmer's calendar (Bauernkalender in German), showing the signs of the Zodiac and the farm-work associated with that particular part of the year. Although the illustrations are astronomically largely inaccurate and the provenance is sketchy, they are still a great visualization of the astronomical understanding of people during the early Renaissance era. Wikimedia credits the art collection Deutsche Fotothek with the original images. Click on the pictures for larger images.

Regiomontanus; Wikipedia

The Constellations

Andromeda

Aquarius

Aquila (Vultur Volans)

Ara

Argo Navis

Aries

Auriga

Boötes

Cancer

Canis Major

Canis Minor

Capricornus

Cassiopeia

Centaurus

Cepheus

Cetus

Corona Borealis

Cygnus

Delphinus

Draco, Ursa Maj., Ursa Min.

Equuleus

Eridanus

Gemini

Hercules

Hydra, Crater, Corvus

Leo

Lepus

Libra

Lyra

Lyra (as Vultur Cadens)

Milky Way

Ophiuchus (Serpentarius)

Orion

Pegasus

Perseus

Pisces

Pisces Australis

Sagittarius

Scorpius

Taurus

Triangle

Virgo

Other Objects

The Sun

The Moon

Mercury

Venus

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

The Comet of 1472

Farming Calendar

The Farming Calendar section consisted of several pages describing the constellations of the Zodiac and several pages describing the farm work performed during those particular times. Below are teo examples of Zodiac descriptions and two examples of farm tasks.

More examples are provided by Wikimedia.

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