The Codex Sangallensis 250 is a manuscript which was compiled in the latter half of the 9th century at the

abbey library of Saint Gall The Abbey library of St Gall () is a significant medieval monastic library located in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 1983, the library, as well as the Abbey of St Gall, were designated a World Heritage Site, as "an outstanding example of a large Caro ...

, where it remains today. It is an

astronomical Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...

and computistical, 645-page-long encyclopedia written in Latin. The pages are made of parchment with a height of 24.7 cm and a width of 18 cm. The text was structured in a single column, with approximately 23 or 24 lines per page. It was mostly written in

Carolingian minuscule Carolingian minuscule or Caroline minuscule is a script which developed as a calligraphic standard in the medieval European period so that the Latin alphabet of Jerome's Vulgate Bible could be easily recognized by the literate class from one ...

, though the titles were either in

rustic capitals Rustic capitals () is an ancient Roman calligraphic script. Because the term is negatively connoted supposing an opposition to the more 'civilized' form of the Roman square capitals, Bernhard Bischoff prefers to call the script ''canonized capi ...

uncial script Uncial is a majuscule script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters were used to write Greek and Latin, as well as Gothic, and are the current style for ...

. Both the texts and the illustrations in the

codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

were created by multiple scribes, as can be seen by the differing handwritings and drawing styles. The manuscript was most likely compiled under the supervision of

Notker Balbulus Notker the Stammerer ( – 6 April 912), Notker Balbulus, or simply Notker, was a Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Saint Gall active as a composer, poet and scholar. Described as "a significant figure in the Western Church", Notker made substa ...

during his time as a librarian, and the margins of page 28 feature some glosses written by him.

Historical background

The didactic poem ''Phainomena'' ("Appearances") by the Greek poet

Aratus Aratus (; ; c. 315/310 240 BC) was a Greek didactic poet. His major extant work is his hexameter poem ''Phenomena'' (, ''Phainómena'', "Appearances"; ), the first half of which is a verse setting of a lost work of the same name by Eudoxus of Cn ...

constitutes the basis of the Codex Sangallensis 250. The original ''Phainomena'' is divided into two parts, the first of which deals with astronomical phenomena. The second part is concerned with

meteorological Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agriculture ...

events. The popularity of the ''Phainomena'', particularly of its astronomical texts, led to a variety of Latin translations. One such translation was the '' Aratus Latinus,'' which was created in the early 8th century''.'' The '' Recensio Interpolata'', a revision of the ''Aratus Latinus'', was produced sometime in the latter half of the 8th century. The ''Recensio'' is ultimately the version of Aratus translations that the Cod. Sang. 250 would incorporate. In the ''Recensio'', some philosophical and astrological passages were replaced with astronomical excerpts to make the text as a whole appear more coherent and intelligible. However, what ultimately set the ''Recensio'' apart from other versions was the fact that illustrations were added to accompany the text. Though the Codex Sangallensis 250 was based on the ''Recensio Interpolata'', it is not a direct copy. Rather, the Cod. Sang. 250 was based on the Codex Sangallensis 902, which is a manuscript of the ''Recensio'' that was created in St. Gallen mid-9th century.

Content

The manuscript is a collection of a variety of texts. Aside from the ''Recensio Interpolata,'' it contains three scientific works by

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

('' De natura rerum, De temporibus,'' und '' De temporum ratione''), the ''

De astronomia __NOTOC__ ''De astronomia'' (; ''Concerning Astronomy'') is a book of stories written in Latin, probably during the reign of Augustus ( 27 BC AD 14). Attributed to "Hyginus", the book's true author has been long debated. However, the art histor ...

'', a work attributed to the Roman writer

Gaius Julius Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Augustus, and reputed author of the '' Fabulae'' and the '' De astronomia'', although this is disputed. Life and works ...

, as well as the

martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...

by the Benedictine monk Wandalbert. Furthermore, the manuscript contains a multitude of

annals Annals (, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction betw ...

, verses, computi, und other text excerpts. The Cod. Sang. 250 does not only distinguish itself by its extensive collection of texts, but also by its numerous, detailed illustrations. They include drawings of

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

s and of the

astrological sign In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up ecliptic, Earth's 360-degree orbit around the Sun. The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the Equinox (c ...

s, as well as illustrations of

celestial globe Celestial globes show the apparent positions of the stars in the sky. They omit the Sun, Moon, and planets because the positions of these bodies vary relative to those of the stars, but the ecliptic, along which the Sun moves, is indicated. ...

s. Additionally, the manuscript contains a multitude of diagrams of elements such as

planetary orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an obje ...

s or the seasons. Since some illustrations in the Codex Sangallensis 250 differ from those in the Codex Sangallensis 902, it is assumed that the scribes of the Cod. Sang. 250 consulted another source during the creation of the manuscript.

References

External links

Digital facsimile of the Codex Sangallensis 250 with a standard description in e-codices

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Cite book , last=Von Euw , first=Anton , title=Die St. Galler Buchkunst vom 8. bis zum Ende des 11. Jahrhunderts , publisher=Verlag am Klosterhof , year=2008 , isbn=978-3-906616-85-8 , location=St. Gallen , pages=449-454 , trans-title=St. Gallen Book Art from the 8th to the end of the 11th Century Abbey library of Saint Gall Medieval documents 9th-century manuscripts