Given at the Helena Avelar Seminar on Astronomy and Ancient Astrology of the University of Lisbon on November 23, 2023
Abstract: The observation and representation of comets has intertwined the history of art and science since ancient times. Comets were observed and recorded as exceptional phenomena and from very early on they were linked to catastrophes, such as earthquakes, pestilences, or royal deaths. Codes were defined to decipher the message they announced depending on their appearance, location in the celestial vault and proximity to planets. Hence, their representation was a fundamental aspect that will be analyzed in this presentation through the examples of various Late Medieval treatises on comets, like the Liber de significatione cometarum (c.1238), which were illuminated in manuscripts dated in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Searching for comets in Late Medieval manuscripts
Lecture by Nerea Maestu Fonseca
Given at the Helena Avelar Seminar on Astronomy and Ancient Astrology of the University of Lisbon on November 23, 2023
Abstract: The observation and representation of comets has intertwined the history of art and science since ancient times. Comets were observed and recorded as exceptional phenomena and from very early on they were linked to catastrophes, such as earthquakes, pestilences, or royal deaths. Codes were defined to decipher the message they announced depending on their appearance, location in the celestial vault and proximity to planets. Hence, their representation was a fundamental aspect that will be analyzed in this presentation through the examples of various Late Medieval treatises on comets, like the Liber de significatione cometarum (c.1238), which were illuminated in manuscripts dated in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Nerea Maestu Fonseca is a PhD student at Complutense University of Madrid.
Top Image: Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, Ms-5206 réserve, fol. 152r
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