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Miscellany: Anatomical-Physiological Description of Men; Liber Synonimorum; Descriptions of Planets, Zodiacs, and Comets; Treatises on Divination from Names, etc.

Date

shortly after 1464

Medium

Watercolor and ink

Culture

German

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

A miscellany is a manuscript containing a collection of different texts, and this fifteenth-century German example comprises several works related to medicine, astronomy, and magical practices like divination (methods for telling the future). The decorative program consists of representations of various astronomical phenomena, including comets; personifications of the known planets and celestial bodies; zodiac symbols; Christian cosmological images; and diagrams of the days of the week. The images were executed in pen and ink and were colored using a consistent palette of bright reds, greens, and yellows, with the occasional use of blue and gray wash. They visually distill the complicated and often interrelated concepts discussed in the text, making it both more memorable and easier to navigate. The section on anatomy and physiology features no images. Astrological and astronomical texts and images are often found side-by-side in medieval manuscripts, as the two were a single field of study during this period. Moreover, neither ran counter to Christian doctrine, although divination was considered problematic and questionable because its practitioners presumed to know God’s plans for the future. According to medieval scientific theory, the alignment and movement of celestial bodies had direct impacts on the human body, and overall health could be influenced by someone’s zodiac sign, which was based on their birth month. Certain disasters also might be linked to the observation of astronomical events like meteors.

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