Gerardus Feltrensis, Summa de astris

  • Gerardus Feltrensis (Gerardo da Feltre, b. 1218?; formerly known as Gerardus de Silteo; Gerardus de Sileto), Dominican friar.
Date:
Late 15th Century
Reference:
MS.308
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Gerardus Feltrensis, <i>Summa de astris</i>. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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Contents

Gerardus Feltrensis, Summa de astris, Parts I-II only, written in a cursive humanistic hand and illustrated with pen-drawn astronomical diagrams in northern Italy (Veneto?) in the late 15th century.

Gerardus compiled the Summa about 1263-68 and dedicated it to the General of the Dominican order John of Vercelli (1264-1283). Naming Ptolemy, Albumasar, Alfargani, Omar, Zahel and Masshallah as his sources, he divided the text into three parts: in Part I he described astronomy; he dedicated Part II to astrology; in Part III he highlighted the differences between the two disciplines in order to refute judicial astrology on theological and philosophical grounds.

In the 15th century the text was studied by Pico della Mirandola and influenced the work of Marsilio Ficino. It was never published in print, though, and is now known from five manuscripts, including the present one. The four other manuscripts are as follows: Bologna, Biblioteca Comunale dell'Archiginnasio, MS. A. 539, 1r-95r, second half of the 13th century; Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, MS. C 245 Inf., end of 13th century; Poland, Kraków, Biblioteka Jagielloska, MS. 610, 15th century; Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS. Pal. Lat. 1388, ff. 37r-110r, 15th century.

The present manuscript only includes the preface (ff. 1r-2v), Part I (ff. 3v-66v) and Part II (ff. 67r-115v), each part preceded by an index (ff. 2v-3r, 66v). The dates given as chronological examples at the beginning of the text and for the passage of a comet differ from those given in the other manuscripts: '… Anno domini 1263 tercia die intrante nouembri … Anno domini 1268 28 die Augusti … Anno domini 1265. 12a die octobris … Anno domini 1266 prima die octobris …' (f. 4r); 'Ego autem cum multis aliis anno ab incarnatione domini 1268 in Lombardia vidi cometem' (f. 65r: the comet is attested here in 1268 instead of 1264). For the other manuscripts, see Thorndike, Latin Treatises on Comets, pp. 185-195, in particular p. 193; Zambelli, The 'Speculum astronomiae' and its Enigma, chapter 6, 'Astrology in the Early Dominican School and Gerard of Feltre', pp. 153, 158-159.

f. 11r Incipit: [I]ESU*CrISTI*GRATIA*PREVE/niente ac subsequente summa hec de / astris compilata et scripta est, ex dictis / Ptolomei. Albumasar. Alfragani. Alca/bicii. Oamar. Zahel et Masala qui fuerunt / Auctores et magistri astrorum ...

f. 115v Explicit: ... Ad cognoscendum assumpta/Arbitrentur./ LAVS DEO.

Publication/Creation

Late 15th Century

Physical description

1 volume

On paper. Watermark: a bird (goose) (c. 43 x 33 mm; distance between chain lines 48 mm [25 + 23 mm]) throughout, similar to Briquet 12125 (Vicenza, 1459), 12127 (Verona, 1467 and 1476-1492) and 12132 (Vicenza, 1480), and with a different orientation from Briquet 12128 (Verona, 1472) and 12130 (Verona, 1475).

10 blank leaves (unfoliated), 120 leaves (the last 5 leaves blank) with old foliation '1-90' in grey ink, 17th [?] century, supplemented by modern foliation '91-120' in pencil [this overall foliation scheme is followed here]; one contemporary parchment flyleaf at the beginning (unfoliated) and one at the end (foliated 121). 210 x 150 mm; written area 148 x 90 mm, dry-ruling with hard point (from the central bifolium of each quire, and therefore on verso of leaves in the first half of each quire and on recto of leaves in its second half) for single column with single vertical and double horizontal bounding lines, 28 ruled horizontal lines for 27 written lines (below top ruled line) to a column; no trace of pricking.

Collation: 110, 2-1112; vertical catchwords in the lower margin of the last verso of each quire, descending inside the vertical bounding line at the right-hand side of the written space; no trace of original quire signatures.

Secundo folio: Primi egyptii.

Written in a small humanistic cursive hand, with some Gothic features such as round 2-shape 'r' after round letters.

Scribal marginal occasional notation of passages worth of notice and addition (f. 11r).

Decoration: Ornamental seven-line initial 'I' on first leaf of text, in red with reserved decoration and pen-work decoration in light brown ink, extending into the inner margin; 2-4-line chapter capitals in red; text initials occasionally highlighted in yellow; some paragraph marks in red or yellow (see index on ff. 2v-3r); tables in red and black (ff. 7r, 8v, 9r, 30r, 30v, 40r, 42v, 54v, 68v, 75v, 85v); name list for stars (ff. 35r-36v); fourteen pen-drawn astronomical diagrams in red, black and yellow (ff. 12v, 14r, 17r, 18v, 24v, 29r, 46v, 49v, 51r, 57v, 58v, 60r, 60v, 63r).

Occasional annotations in humanistic hand in black ink, late 15th century.

Binding: 19th-century brown morocco cover over 15th-century wooden boards (beech wood), slightly bevelled along edges of inner face, sawn on two double alum-tawed-skin spine bands, with endbands of alum-tawed-skin core and cotton thread. Traces of a square groove at the centre of the upper board fore-edge to accommodate a leather strap for the fastening clasp, and traces of pin securing the catch at the centre of the lower board fore-edge, all wanting. First and last blank leaves defective and restored; slightly damp-stained throughout.

Acquisition note

Purchased at Sotheby's 17/2/1931, Lot 212.

Biographical note

The author was formerly known as Gerardus de Silteo or Gerardus de Sileto [see 'Gerard of Silteo (Sileto)', in Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 5 (Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008), p. 361, downloaded from Gale Virtual Reference Library, 28 July 2016], the toponyms Silteo and Sileto probably deriving from incorrect reading.

Finding aids

Database description transcribed from S.A.J. Moorat, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1962-1973), pp. 195-6.

Ownership note

Marked 267 in pencil on f. 1r.

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Accession number

  • 56314