Aristotle, De caelo, Fragment

Type: Fragment

Date: 13th century

Setting: University (France)

Produced By/For: Unknown

Contents: Aristotle, De caelo (On the Heavens), trans. Gerard of Cremona

Shelf Mark: Fragm.Lat.5

Location: Shelf 02/B/20 (Acc. 2006-023)

Description and Transcription by Martha Thompson, April 2016

Aristotle, De caelo 1.1-1.2 (single leaf, cut)
France s. XIII

Codicology

A single leaf of parchment, cut into two pieces. Edges have been trimmed, and leaf shows discoloration from previous use as a pastedown in a later binding. Other physical damage includes creasing in the lower half of leaf, with small holes (approx. 1-2mm) at lowest crease (below the cut). Cut and creases likely appear where leaf was bent around a spine in binding use.

• Dimensions of leaf: 180x160mm
• 1 column, 26 lines with glosses in bottom, left, and right margins; no pricking visible
• leadpoint ruling visible for main text block and margins; text below top line

Paleography

Main text written by one hand in a small, gothic script (France?), single column with wide margins to allow glossing. Marginal text, likely a second hand, is tiny, cursive, and more highly abbreviated. Ink has deteriorated and faded significantly in margins, but main text is mostly intact.

Decoration

Alternating red and blue paraphs in main text on both recto and verso, though blue pigment has faded. Double-line guide marks in black ink visible beneath paraphs.

Textual Remarks

Main text is from Book I of the Latin translation of Aristotle's De caelo by Gerard of Cremona (d. 1187). It begins midway through the first chapter (1.1) and ends in the opening section of the second chapter (1.2). Latin text is available in the footnotes of Paul Hossfeld’s edition of Albert the Great’s De caelo et mundo, pp. 5-11; Albert used this Aristotle translation as a source.

Provenance

Purchased through Erik Kwakkel in July 2006 from the collection of Herman Mulder (Hombeek, Belgium).

Transcription

Description and transcription* of main text completed by Martha Thompson, as part of coursework for a manuscript studies class with Dr. Adrienne Williams Boyarin (ENGL), April 2016 available here.

* Transcription conventions follow Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham, Introduction to Manuscript Studies (Ithaca, 2007), pp. 75-77.

Images

Facsimile images available through UVic Libraries Digital Collections.

Click on thumbnail for full size image.

Recto

Verso