AN INVESTIGATION OF SOME ASTRONOMICAL EXCERPTS

FROM PLINY1 S NATURAL HISTORY FOUND IN MANUSCRIPTS

OF THE EARLIER MIDDLE AGES

VERNON H. KIM>

St. John* s College

A thesis submitted for the degree of Bachelor

of Letters, University of Oxford, Michaelmas

Term, 1969

> 1-H--TO
 tl

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I should like to express my gratitude first and foremost

to my supervisor, Dr. R.W. Hunt, Keeper of Western Manuscripts

in the Bodleian Library, for ffe» suggesting the subject of

this thesis, and for his unfailing advice and encouragement

during its progress.

Secondly I should like to thank the staff of those

libraries where I was able to consult manuscripts: the

Bodleian Library, the British Museum, the Bibliotheque

Nationale, Paris, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich,
the Vatican Library, and the Biblioteca Capitolare, Monza;
also the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid for the supply of a

f»UJCT»£j t^rt, the Institut de Recherches et d'Histoire des

Textes, Paris, for lending four microfilms from their collection,
and the Warburg Institute, London, for allowing me access to
their files of photographs. Without their help, this thesis

could never have been written.

 Ill

LIST OF CONTENTS

Acknowl e dgm en t s ii
Introduction 1

The Three-Book Computus 3

The Seven-Book Computus 28
Origins 54
Later history of the excerpts up to 1200 80
Appendix - Thirteenth century and after 131
The text of the excerpts from Pliny 137

B ibl io graphy 170

INTRODUCTION

In 1888 Karl Ruck published a G-ymnasialprogramm entitled

'Auszuge aus der Naturgeschichte des C. Plinius Secundus in einem

astronomisch-komputistischen Sammelwerke des achten Jahrhunderts'
in which he described ten manuscripts which contained anonymous
excerpts from book II and XVTII of Pliny ! s Natural History.
fjt \
Ru*ck was not the first to draw attention to these e*cerpts^ ,
but before his work they had been known only in late and inaccurate
copies, and their significance had not been appreciated. But it
was Ruck who noticed the excerpts in the two beautiful sister
manuscripts, Munich 210 and Vienna 38? > both written early in the
ninth century, which made him realise that they were derived from
a manuscript of Pliny superior to any now surviving.

(1) L. von Jan named five of the manuscripts in the introduction

to his edition of Macrobius in 1848, pp, Ixiv - Ixvi, and
Ixxiii - Ixxvi: Munich 6362 (Freising 162), 6364 (Freising
164) and 14436 (St f Emmeram E 59) and Bern 265 and 347.
This seemingly passed unnoticed among Pliny scholars, since
D. Detlefsen in his article in Philologus XXVIII (1869),
pp.295-296 named only four of the manuscripts, omitting
Munich 6362, without mentioning Jan.
 Ruck returned to the subject at other times, and many references

have been made to the excerpts since then; but there has been no

attempt in the last 80 years to investigate them systematically.

During this period all aspects of manuscript studies have been

advanced considerably, and the evidence that has come to light makes
it possible to question some of the conclusions which earlier writers
have made. The present work is intended to draw together the
evidence, and to discuss again, in the light of this evidence, the
question of the origins of these excerpts, which Ruck believed he had
solved. Their later history is taken down to the end of the twelfth
century, when their active life may be said to have ended; but the
later period is considered briefly in an appendix.
Perhaps it is appropriate here to say something about the
nomenclature. The compilation in which the excerpts are found is
devoted mainly to oomputus, and has been known in the past as the
York or Northumbrian computus; other writers have spoken of the
810 compilation. These terms rashly fix the place and the date
of composition. The present writer, while fully aware of the
disadvantages of adding further to the confusing list, has decided

that it is necessary to distinguish between the two forms of the

compilation which can be distinguished. The terms adopted,

Three-Book and Seven-Book Computus, have the merit of being purely

descriptive, without imparting any disputable associations.

THE THREE-BOOK COMPUTUS

The two earliest manuscripts containing excerpts from Pliny's

Natural History noticed by Ruck were Munich 210 and Vienna 38?, both
written early in the ninth century, and, as Ruck osberved, so similar
that they must have been copied from the same exemplar. No other
manuscript has been found that is closely related to them; but the
compilation that they contain, which will be referred to as the
Three-Book Computus, is one of the two important sources for the
excerpts.
The two manuscripts were discussed in some detail by Ruck ',
(2) But in order to
who also gave a list of the chapter titles v .
make a closer comparison with the Seven-Book Computus to be discussed
in the next chapter, the contents are here set out in greater detail.
References are given to printed versions of the text where these are
known to exist.

(1) Auszuge, pp.5-13. For the Vienna manuscript see also H.Hermann,
Die fruhmittelalterliohen Handsohriften (1923), pp.145-52;
F.gaxl, Verzeiohnis II, pp.79-81. The Munich manuscript has
never been fully described, the description in the Munich catalogue
1,1 (1892) pp.45-46 being very brief.
 The contents of the Three-Book Computus are as follows:

Part I, oh.I Adbreviatio chronicae: Adam cum esset CXXX annorum

genuit Seth ... in praesentem annum DCCCVIIII incamationis Domini

IIII DCCLXTr 3 '.

II Argumentum ad annum mundi inveniendum: Si scire cupis annos

ab initio mundi ... hoc ordine deinceps servato annos mundi sine

errore repperies^ .
III Argumentum quomodo concurrentes sint inveniendi: Si

conourrentes invenire cupis, sume annos ab origine mundi ... quot

(5)
remanserit ipsi sunt concurrentes; si nihil remanserit VII erit v
IIII Argumentum de cursu lunae per XII signa in cyclo
deoennovenali: Table for finding the position of the moon in the

zodiac^ .
V Martyrologium excarpsatum cum alphabetis ad lunam inveniendam:
Calendar giving list of saints' festivals^ .
VI Ratio de lunae disoursu per signa quae ad alphabetum pertinet
priorem: Si qui vero etiam calculandi minus idoneus ... vetusta
aegyptiorum observatione traditum

(3) See Mommsen, Chronica Minora III (M.G-.H.Auct. Ant. 13), pp.349-354,
POT fcfce tteJ&s ffyen her* see beJow, &>• &~25-
(4; Florilegium Casinense, I, p.70.
(5) Cf. Patrologia Latina, XC, col. 7170.
(6) Cf. ibid, cols. 757-758.
(7) Cf. ibid. cols. 759-783.
(8) Bede, De temporum ratione, ch. XIX.
 VII Argumentum ad inveniendum qua XVIIII luna paschalis
annis singulis feria occurrit cum adscriptis regularibus sive
concurrentibus: Table listing quadragesimal, rogational, and
(9)
Pentecostal terminals, with lunar regulars and concurrents x ,
followed by instructions: Isti igitur omnes suprascripti termini ...

aut etiam pentecosten quove datarum occurrat repperies.

VIII Cyclus magnus paschalis ab anno I. ab incarnatione
domini usque ad annum domini millesimum sexagesimum tertium:
Dionysian table, in two sections, to 531, and from 532^ .

VTIII Quota sit luna in kalendis per circulum decennovenalem:

Table for finding the age of the moon.
X Item argumentum eiusdem: Prime decennovenalis circuli
anno in quo nullae sunt epactae ... usque ad terminum anni rato
atque intemerato ordine procurrat^ '.
XI Ratio quomodo per lunam kalendarum ianuariarum et per
quartam partem anni magni pascha possit inveniri: Quoniam in
prime decennovenalis cycli anno in kalendis ianuariis ... semel
tanturn quaeres nullum aliura affert errorem; followed by a table

(9) Cf. P.L. XC, cols. 715-716.

(10) Cf. ibid., cols. 825-835 and 859-878.
(11) Bede, D.T.R.. ch. XX.
(12) Cf. P.L. XC, cols. 749A-752D.
 0

XII Ratio quomodo feria qua dominus passus est invenitur:

Prima dies saeculi creditur fuisse dominica .. qua christum

orucifixum sanoti evangelii sacra testatur historia (13)
x
XIII Argumentum ad inveniendos regulares feriae kalendarum:

Annus solis habet dies CCCLXV; hos quinque dies ... per septem
fj\ i \
dimiseris sequentis mensis regularis procreabitiuv .
XIIII Argumentum ad inveniendos regulares lunae kalendarum:
Quinque residues aegyptiorum dies de quibus superius ... remanebit
tibi regularis mensis sequentis v(15}".
XV Argumentum ad epactam inveniendam: Si nosse vis quota sit
epacta, collige annos ab exordio mundi ... quod superfuerit ipsa
est epacta; si nihil remanserit nulla erit^d 6} .
XVI Concurrentes et epactae cum suis regularibus ad inveniendas
ferias sive lunas singularum kalendarum per annum: Table (17),
followed by an explanatory note: Istiagitur praescripti regulares
aegyptiorum ... uniuscuiusque kalendis est luna ita; followed by
a table of lunar epacts.

XVII Argumentum ad inveniendum quotus sit annus incarnationis

dominicae: Si vis scire quot anni sunt ab incarnatione domini ...
fiunt simul DCCCVIIII: isti sunt anni ab incarnatione domini.

(13) Flor.Cas., pp.69-70.

(14) Ibid., p.73.
(15) Ibid., pp.73-74.
(16) Ibid., p.70.
(17) Cf. P.L. XC, cols. 705C-D.
 XVIII Argumentum quotas sit annus oirculi decennovenalis:

Si nosse vis quotus sit annus oycli deoennovenalis ... remanent

XII, duodecimus ergo annus est cycli decennovenalis.

XVIIII Argumentum ad indictiones inveniendas: Si vis scire

quota sit indiotio, sume annos domini ... remanent II; II est
anni praesentis indiotio.
XX Argumentum quot sint epactae lunares: Si autem vis

oognoscere quot sint epactae, sume annos domini ... remanet I;

una est in praesenti anno epacta.
XXI Argumentum quot sint concurrentes: Si vis scire concurrentes

septimanae dies in praesenti ... non remanet aliquid quia VII sunt
concurrentes.
XXII Argumentum ad inveniendum bissextum vel annum post
bissextum: Si vis scire quando bissextus sit vel quotus etiam annus .
si autem super quartam partem nihil remanserit bdssextus erit.

XXIII Argumentum quotus sit cycli lunaris annus: Si nosse

cupis cyclus lunaris quotum agat annum ... nonus est autem cycli
lunaris qui nunc agitur.
XXIIII Ratio calculi per quam numerus in argumentis compendiose

partitur: Multiplication tables for 30, 28, 19, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11,

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4.
XXV Argumentum ad inveniendum quotus sit annus cycli Solaris:
Si vis scire quotus annus cycli Solaris sume annos ... remanent VII;

Septimus est annus cycli Solaris .

(18) Cf. Flor.Cas. I, p.84.

 8

XXVI Argumentum ad diem anni inveniendum lunamque vel feriam:

Table (19), followed by an explanatory note: Isti vero superiores

numeri specialiter diem anni demonstrant ... et inde eum diebus
singulis usque ad kalendas ianuarias intercalare.
XXVII Calculus ad feriam inveniendam cum argument© superior!

ad lunam similiter: Multiplication tables for 7 and 59

XXVIII Argumentum ad feriam inveniendam per annum: Si vis
scire hoc vel illo die quota sit feria ... diem tibi septimanae
quae sit ubicumque quaeris ostendet^ '.
XXVIIII Similiter ad lunam inveniendam: Si ergo vis scire
hoe vel illo die quota sit luna ... quod superest ipsa est luna
,. . quern quaeris
diei . "(21)
v '.
XXX Argumentum ad diem kalendarum ianuariarum invenire: Si
scire vis per singulos annos quota sit feria ... quod remanserit
ea feria sunt kalendarum ianuariarum; si hihil, sabbata sunt v(22^ .
XXXI Item argumentum ad lunam eiusdem inveniendam: Si scire
desideras quota sit luna in kalendis ianuariis, sume cyclum ...
non unum ut in reliquis sed duo semper adicere regulares

(H) Gf. &L. 2£, col.

(20) Flor.Cas. I, p. 83.
(21) Ibid., I, p.86.
(22) Ibid., p. 83.
(23) Ibid., p.86.
 XXXII Argumentum in quo puncto luna aocendatur: Si hoo
soire desideras, sume dies a kalendis ianuariis usque in diem ...

quod si minus LX inventa fuerint ipsi sunt (24) .

XXXIII Argumentum simile ad lunam inveniendam: Si vis scire
ipsius diei quota sit luna adde totidem dies ... quod vero remanserit

ipsa est aetas lunae; si nihil remanserit XXX erit luna (25)
XXXIIII Argumentum quot horis luceat luna: Tradunt quoque
veteres argumentum quo luna cuiuscumque aetatis ... quas horas

vocitemus aequas tributione findendas^(26} .

XXXV De aetate lunae si quis computare non potest: quod si
adeo quisque deses vel hebes est ut absque omni labore ... tertium
supernotatis determinandum providit antiquitas (27)
v .
XXXVI De lunae cursu per signa: Luna cotidie quattuor punctis
sive crescens a sole longius abiit ... vel aequinoctium vel solstitium
quod contra est patet esse transgressa^(28^'.
XXXVII Item de cursu lunae per signa vel quantum spatii in
unaquaque signa moratur: Quod si quis signorum nescius lunaris
tamen cursus ... remanent XCVII; in VII parte tauri moratur luna VIIII
in kalendis ianuariis (29) .

(24) Flor.Cas. I, p.86.

(25) Ibid., p.86.
(26) Bede, D.T.R., ch.XXIV.
(2?) Ibid., ch.XXIII.
(28) Ibid., ch.XVII.
(29) Cf. ibid., ch.XVIII.
 10

XXXVIII Quot diebus vel horis luna unumquodque signum pertranseat:

Luna quippe velooitate sui cursus pervolat unuraquodque signum ... de

quibus XI dies epactarum id est adiectiones lunares adcrescunt^1

XXXVIIII Quot modis soleat annus nominari: Primus modus est

de luna qui quinquefarie accipitur ... ubi primum statuta fuerint
et quingentis triginta duobus annis impletur (31) .

XL Item de anno: Annus Solaris habet IIII temp or a, menses XII,

ebdomadas LII ... momentum denique habet atomos DLXIIII^(32) .

XLI De ratione bissexti: Bissextus igitur ex quadrantis ratione

per quadriennium conficitur ... aestivum se offendisse perversus
computator horrescat (33)
x .
XLII De mensura crementi bissextilis: Sed et de mensura crementi
bissextilis dicimus ... quia hie brevier ceteris et extremus anni
mensis erat (34) .

XLIII Quod et luna quadrantem habeat: Inter haec autem meminisse

debet calculator ... ratum paschalis observantiae cursum recto a
tramite deflectat (35)
v .

(30) Cf. P.L. CI, cols. 983D-98A3.

(31) Flor.Cas. I, pp.30-81.
(32) Cf. ibid., pp.88-89.
(33) P.T.R.. ch.XXXVIII,11.12-32 (in Jones's edition);
P.L. XC, C01.591A-B.
(34) Cf. D.T.R*.oh .XXXIX.
(35) Ibid., oh .XLI,11.1-24.
 11
XLIIII Qualiter per annos IIII Mssextus adcrescit: Primo
igitur anno praeparationis bissexti prima hora noctis ... prima

hora noctis quae praecedit diem X5if kal. apr. arietem possit ingredl^
XLV In quot annis de bissextilibus unus adcrescit annus: In
quattuor annis unus, in VIII II ... annum integrum id est CCCLXVI

dies esse probantur^ .

XLVI De saltu lunari: De quo tamen saltu verisimile apparet
quod eum citior ... tres pariter menses undetricenorum computare
dierum (38) .

XLVII Item de ratione saltus lunaris: Saltus lunae crescit

singulis annis hora et X momenta et dimidium momenti et XVIIII
partem dimidii momenti.
XLVIII Item de eodem saltu: Si quis calculator subtilius de
saltu lunae investigare voluerit ... qui ultimo decennovenalis cycli
anno propter salturn lunae transiliendus est (39) .

XLVTIII Item de saltu lunae: In cyclo decennovenali sunt anni

lunares XVIIII ... cycli decennovenalis transilitur, et haec
transilitio saltus appellatur .

(36) P.L. XC, cols.357D-36lA.

(37) Flor.Cas.I. p.72.
(38) D.T.R., ch.XLII.
(39) Cf. P.L. XC, cols.473C-474C.
(40) fflor.Cas.I, p.70.
 *">
1J. *-<

L Quot annis per sal turn lunae unus subtrahatur annus: In

saltu lunae XVIIII anni unum eff iciunt diem . . . Tl DCIjpXXV anni

qui unum annum in saltu lunari efficiunt.

LI Quare luna aliquoties maior quam computatur parent:

Notandum sane quod huius ratio saltus lunaris . . . quae in eadem

(41
diversitate potissimum sit via sequenda ^
LII Argumentum ad inveniendum locum lunae XIIII. paschalis

per XVIIII annos: Constat igitur quod primo anno decennovenalis

cycli ... atque ita sequentia eodem quo prius ordine cuncta
*(42)' .
perveniant^
LIII De ratione paschali: Est etiam ratio qualiter terminus

paschalis inveniri possit . . . totidem dies infra mense habebis

terminum paschalenr .

LIIII Item de ratione paschali: Quota luna in kalendis

ianuariis eodem anno fuerit tot dies tolle . . . addis ei XIII dies
et sic Xlllam lunam sine errore repperies^ .

(41) D.T.R. , oh. XLIII.

(42) P.L. XC; cols. 499C-500C; 713C-71U.
(43) Flor. Gas. I, p. 84
(44) Ibid., p. 82.
 13

LV Item de rations paschali: Quaerenda est nativitas lunae

XIIII ab VIII id. mar. ... regulariter liana evenerit omnibus modis

celebratur .
LVI De initio quadragesimae: Sed et hoc sciendum est quot dies
ante pridias idus apriles ... fiat tibi aetas lunae, quia fit initio

quadragesimae^
LVII Item de ratione paschali: Quot diebus debemus pascha
caelebrare, id est XXXIIII ... embolismis in caelebratione paschae

observandus est.
a
LVIII Item unde supra: Si fuerit luna in XI kal. apr. XV erit
ipso anno paschalis; si plus habuerit non erit paschalis; si minus
paschalis erit.
LVIIII Unde in calculatione lunae XIIII. iftense martio XXXVT
regulares et aprilio XXXV deputentur: Martius habet dies XXXI, cui
si quinque residues aegyptiorum dies ... inveniri possit qua die vel
martiorum vel apriliorum occurrat.

(45) Cf. P.L. CXXEC, col. 1284C-1285A; Flor. Gas, p.85.

The index at the beginning of Munich 210 (f.2v) gives only one
chapter entitled Item de ratione paschali. so that the numbering
of the chapters in the index differs from that in the text from
this point until LXI which is repeated in the text. Since this
also occurs in Vienna 38? (see Saxl, Verzeiohnis II, 192?, p.80)
it must have been found in their exemplar. In this connection
it is probably significant that in the index the numbering goes
up to C although the last number is given no title.
(46) Cf. Flor. Gas.I. p.84.
 LX Contra eos qui dicunt VII kal. maias pascha fieri non posse:

A XIIII anno ante nativitatem domini terminis paschalis ... id est

die dominica evenire non possit neque in ea luna XIIII.
LXI De anno magno: Annus magnus est qui oonficitur annis
solaribus DXXXII ... sunt oyoli decennovenales XII et annus I et
oycli solares VIII et insuper anni IIII.
LXI ^ ' Unde oriuntur epaotae vel etiam quadrans: Luna siquidem
sicut diligens naturae inquisitio docet ... duodeoies semis sex faciunt
quod sunt annuae horae quadrant!s.
LXII De ratlone epactarum: Quails fuerit luna in XI kal. apr.
tales erunt epactae ... nullae epactae diountur et ex hinc XI pronuntia.
LXIII De compoto articular!: Tres digit! in sinistra manu id
est auricularis ... ambas sibi manus insertis invicem digitis
implicabis^'.

LXIIII De die: Dies est aer a sole illustratus nomen inde sumens .
a vespera in vesperam caelebrabitis sabbata vestra ^ .
LXV De nocte: Nox dicta eo quod noceat aspectibus vel negotiis
humanis ... haec et aurora pertingens usque ad solis exortunr .

(47) The numbering is repeated in the text of Munich 210 to bring it

into line with the index; see above, n.45«
(48) Cf. Flor. Gas., pp.90-91.
(49) D-T.R.. ch.V.
(50) Ibid., dh.VII.
 15

LXVI Ubi primus dies saeculi sit: Qui recte ac sincere hoc
inquirebant dicebant ... hoc est XV kalendarum earundem primum

saeculi diem esse notanduur(51) .

LXVII De ebdomada: Ebdomada graece a septenario numero nomen
accipit ... et ad omnes iuxta legem possessio revertebatur antiqua (52)
LXVIII De ebdomadibus LXX propheticis: Septima species ebdomadis
est qua propheta donihel ... sicut notissima Xlllla luna paschalis
ratio probat* .
DCVTIII De mensibus hebreorum et aegyptioruia: Menses a mensura
dicti sunt qua quisque eorum mensuratur ... bissextiles anni IIII kal.
sept, terminantur, ceteri vero V kal. sept. .
LXX De mensibus romanorum: Quare autem romani tarn diversae
longitudinis habeant menses ... intercalare constituit, id est ante
V ultimos februarii dies^ 55 '.
LXXI De kalendis nonis et idibus: Priscis temporibus pontifici
minori haec providentia delegebatur ... non alia mensium exordia quam
neomenias id est novilunia norant (56) .

(51) Cf. ibid., oh.VI.

(52) Ibid., ch.VIII.
(53) Ibid., ch.IX, 11.1-89.
(54) Cf. ibid., ch.XI.
(55) Cf. ibid., ch.XII.
(56) Ibid., ch.XIII.
 LXXII De mensibus graecorum: Sed et graeci et aegyptii nullam
in suis mensibus . ubi XII dies mensis yperberetei IIII id. oct.
(57)'*
esse memoraturw
LXXIII De signis XII mensium: Singuli autem menses sua signa
in quibus solem recipiant habere ... tantum in tredecim suis sol
(cQ\
explet mensibus^ .
LXXIIII Quando vel quare luna vel prona vel supina vel videatur
erecta: Lunae autem status idem eademque est pro variante solis
disgressu ... ad meridiem proolivior dies est, eo deiectior luna nova
oernatur (59)
LXXV Qua ratione luna cum sit situ inferior, superior sole
aliquoties videatur: Non mirari opus est cum lunam per sustralia
signa currentem ... quanto magis boreales sese recipit in partes .
LXXVI De magnitudine vel defectu solis et lunae: Plinius
secundus in opere pulcherrimo naturalis historiae ... nulli autem
dubium est paschae tempore lunam fuisse plenissimam '.
LXXV1I De interlunio: Interlunium lunae est tempus illud inter
deficientem ... eodem momento renascens paulatim ab eo recedendo
videtur^ '.

(57) Ibid., ch.XIV, 11.1-21.

(58) Ibid, ch.XVI.
(59) Ibid., ch.XXV, 11.9-37.
(60) Ibid., ch.XXVT, 11.1-29.
(61) Ibid., ch.XXVTI.
(62) Plor. Gas. I, p.80; cf. Isidore, Etymologiae. bk.III, ch.lv.
 17

LXXVIII De eclipsi soils: Eclipsis soils est quoties luna XXX

ad eandem lineam ... nam deficere nobis videtur sol dum ill! orbis

lunae opponitur .
LXXVIIII De eclipsi lunae: Eclipsis lunae est quoties in umbram
terrae luna incurrit ... omnes dies et noctes sequales exsisterent^
LXXX De effectiva lunae potentis: Beatus antistes ambrosius in
libro IIII exameron ... donee luna rursus appareat sedationem commotis
turbinibus adlatura^ '.
LXXXI De concordia maris et lunae: Maxirae autem prae omnibus
admiranda tanta oceani ... ordinem etiam maris cursus principia motus
et paria incrementa
/
recurrit^ .
LXXXII De sequinoctiis et solstitiis: De aequinoctio quod VIII
kalendarum aprilium et VIII kalendarum octobrium ... aequinoctium

autumnale XIII kal. oct., solstitium quoque brumale XIIII kal. ian.
esse aut XIII kal.
LXXXIII De quattuor temporibus, elementis,: umoribus: Tempora
anni sunt quattuor quibus sol per diversa caeli spatia ... et sterilitas
et haec quidem nostris partibus temporum vocabula congruunt^ .

(63) Flor. Gas. I, p.80; of. Isidore, bk.III, ch.lviii.

(64) Flor. Cas> I, p.80; of. Isidore, bk.III, chs.lix and 1,
(65) D.T.R. ch.XXVIII.
(66) Ibid., ch.XXIX.
(6?) Cf. ibid., ch.XXX.
(68) Ibid., ch.XXXV, 11.1-6?.
 18

LXXXIIII De circulo decennovenali: Decennovenal is circuli

ordinem primus eusebius ... sequente dominica futurus erat fao«illime

cuilibet inveniendum reliquereir .

LXXXY De embolismis et annis communibus: Dividitur autem

oirculus idem in embolismos annosque communes ... non tamen maii

mensis sed potius aprilis luna sicut semper esse dicenda est
LXXXVI De ogdoade et endecade: Est et alia praefati circuli

divisio qua in ogdoadem ... luna autem CXXXVI de numero dierum supra
dictum est^ 71 '.

LXXXVII De annis dominicae incarnationis: Primo decennovenalis

circuli versu temporum ordo praefigitur ... ac sepultum prima sabbati

(72) .
resurrexisse perhibet videatur incredulus
LXXXVIII De indietionibus: -Secundus ordo circuli decennovenalis

oomplectitur indictiones XV ... incipunt autem indictiones ab VIII

kal. oct. ibidemque terminantuov .

LXXXVIIII De epactis lunaribus: Tertis praefati circuli linea

continet epactas lunares ... hoc in luna XV usque ad XXI esse quaerendunr

(69) Ibid., ch.XLIV, 11.1-2?.

(70) Ibid., ch.XLV.
(71) Ibid., oh.XLVI.
(72) Ibid., ch.XLVII, 11.1-81.
(73) Ibid., ch.XLVIIII.
(74) Cf. ibid., ch.L-LI, Ir71.
 19

XC De epactis soils: Quarto decennovenalis cirouli tramite

designantur epaotae soils ... non minus quingentis XXX duobus annis
explicetur^ 75 '.

XCI De reditu et compoto articular! utrarumque epactarum: Verum

quod faoillime diem paschae vel ceteros temporum reoursus ... melius
(76) .
vivae vocis alloquio quam still signantis traduntur officio
XCII De cyclo lunar!: Quinta circuli decennovenalis regione
lunaris cyclus includitur ,.. quo ultimi conclusit anni metas primo
incohando principiunr .
XCIII De XIIII, luna paschae: Sextus saepi dioti circuli locus
Of
ampleotitur lunas XIIII ... invenitur frequenter in sui paschae
(~7Q\
principium sanciri praecipiunt^ .
*

XCIIII De die dominico paschae: Septimo decennovenalis circuli

titulo dies paschae dominicae comprehenditur ... sed evangelicae potius

gratiae sacramentis adimplemus (79) .
XCV De luna ipsius diei: Ultime saepe memorati circuli meta
panduntur lunae dominicae paschae ... mox ubi dominicus aderit dies
pascha legitimum dabit^ .

(75) Ibid., ch.LIII.

(76) Ibid., ch.LV.
(77) Ibid., ch.LVI.
(78) Ibid., oh.LIX, 11.1-36.
(79) Ibid., oh.LXI, 11.1-27.
(80) Ibid., oh.LXII, 11.1-24,
 20

XCVI Quid inter pascha et azima distet: Et quoniam de paschae

observatione aliquanta perstrinximus ... in diebus azimorum pascha

spiritaliter agere cognoscimur .

XCVII Typica paschae interpretatio: Nam sicut tota paschalium

observantia caeremoniarum ... legat beati aurelii augustini ad

- 4. n (82)
lanuarium epistolam '.
XCVIII De circulo magno paschae: Circulus paschae magnus est
qui multiplicato per invicem ... quando vel quales fuerint evidentius
/07\

agnoscant^ .
XCVIIII De sex huius saeculi aetatibus: De sex huius mundi
aetatibus et septima vel octava ... octavam beatae resurrectionis
/Ol \
aetatem in qua semper cum domino regent exspeotant .
Part II, oh. I Excerptum de astrologia: Duo sunt extremi vertices
(Qr\
mundi ... urnae aquarii qui ad ipsum usque decurrit accipiens ^
II De ordine ac positione stellarum in signis: Est quidem hie
(86}'*
ordo et positio siderum ... anticanis habet Stellas III

(81) Ibid., ch.LXIII.

(82) Ibid., ch.LXIV.
(83) Ibid., ch.LXV.
(84) Cf. ibid., ch.LXVI. P.L. XC 520C-521C.
(85) P.L. XC. cols.368B-369C; E.Maass, Commentariorum in Aratum
reliquiae (1898), pp.309-312.
(86) Kauffmann: Breslaver phil.Abh. 111,4 (1888), pp.LXXII-LXXVIIII.
 Ill De positione et cursu septem planetarum: Inter caelum et
terrain certis discreta spatiis ... a tricesima luce ad easdem vices

IIII De intervallis earum: Intervalla eorum a terra multi

indagare temptarunt ... ita septem tonis effici quam diapason

armoniam vocant.(88)
N .
V De absidibus earum: Tres sunt autem quas supra solem diximus

sitas ... sicut in rotis radios ut subiecta figura demonstrat^

VI De caelestibus spatiis secundum quosdam: A terra ad lunam
tonum esse pronuntiant .. summa stadiorum DCCLVI miliariorum XCIIII D

leuvarum LXIII rastarum XXXI D^° '.

VII De temporum mutatione: Cardines temporum quadripertita anni
distinctione ... hieme autem ad nos per aestivum circulum accedat (91)
VIII De praesagiis tempestatem: Etenim praedictis difficilioribus
transire convenit ... sudorem repositoriis reliquentia diram

tempestatenr(92) .

(87) From Pliny, bk.ii,£§12, 32, 34-36, 38-44. See below, pp.UJ-4.
(88) Ibid. ,§§83, 84. See below, pp.Afc*-*.
(89) Ibid.,§|59-61, 69, 70, 63, 64. See below, ppJJfc5-9.
(90) Cf. P.L., XC, cols.208D-209A; Vogels, Scholia in Ciceronis Aratea.
II. (1887), p.EC.
(91) From Pliny, bk. XVIII ,§§2 20-2 23, 225, 275-277. See below,
(92) Ibid., g340-365. See below,
 VIIII De mensuris ac ponderibus: Mensura est iuxta isidorum

quicquid pondere ... dufce leuvae sive miliarii tres apud germanos

rastam .(93)

X De ponderibus: Ponderum pars minima calculus est...

centenarius autem dicitur eo quod centum libras continet .

XI De mensuris in liquidis:Mensurarum in liquidis oochlear

(95) .
est pars minima ... II chori chulleum quod sunt modis LX
Part III (Bede: De natura Rerum): Naturas rerum varias

labentis et aevi ... atque inde africa a meridie usque ad occidentem

extenditiuv .
Argumentum ad inveniendam horam incensionis lunae: Si vis

scire certain lunaris incensionis horam ... vicesima non computanda

est quae aliis annis tricesima numeratur.
Cyclus hie est lunaris qualiter luna in circulo decennovenali
singulis annis vel mensibus sive diebus currit: Table giving the
(97) .
age of the moonv

(93) £ Hultsch, Metrologicorum scriptorum reliquiae, II (1866),

PP«135-138; of. Isidore, Etymologiae, bk.IV, ch.xxv.
(94) F. Hultsoh, pp.138-140; cf. Isidore, bk.XVI, ch.xxv.
(95) J. Hultsch, pp.140-142; cf. Isidore, bk.XVI, ch.xxvi.
(96) P.L. XC, cols.187-278.
(97) Cf. P.L. XC, cols.787-800.
 23

The dates of the two manuscripts can be1 established with

reasonable accuracy from internal evidence. In the section

Adbreviatio chronicae (1,1) , the Munich manuscript has 'et

inde domnus carlus solus regnum suscepit et deo protegente gubernat

usque in presentem annum feliciter qui est annus regni eius XLII,
imperii autem VIIII, sunt autem totius summe ab origine mundi
anni usque in presentem annum DCCCX incarnationis domini IIII
DCCLXXI1 . The dates in the first sentence, in connection with
Charlemagne's reign, refer to 809; and as will be shown later

there is considerable evidence that this was the date of an earlier

compilation which was used as a source for both this work and the
seven-book computus^(99) . But the date in the second sentence

refers to 818. Ruck maintained (100) that this must be the date
of the Munich manuscript, basing his argument on the fact that one
of the dates is written partly above the line, thus: DCCCX .

This is plausible, although it is difficult to explain why the

scribe should write the number in this way, since there is no evidence

(98) For brevity the books of the two computi are here given roman
numerals, and the individual chapters arabic numerals.
(99) See further in the following chapters. It may be mentioned
here that the date 809 also occurs in chapters 18-21 and 23
of the Three-Book Computus.
(100) Auszuge. pp.12-13.
 24

(101 )
that it was added later or v/ritten over an erasure . Another

possible explanation is that the scribe of Munich 210 made a very

careful copy of his exemplar which was itself written in 818.

In Vienna 38?, in the corresponding passage to that quoted
above, the ending appears differently: 'usque in presentem annum
XXX ^ ' ^T^T"? XXX
D CCC incarnationis domini IIII DCCLXXX "^ where both in
the first number and XX3TUJ" in the second were written over erasures,
i*
Ruck considered that the original numbers were DCCCX and DCCCLXII,
and took this to mean that the manuscript was copied in 830. But
while it is clear that it was not written later than 830, there is
strong evidence for assigning an earlier date to the manuscript.
For in the Martyrologium (f ,1lv) among the entries added in the
margin are f VII Kal. lun. - Ordinatio Arnonis ad Abbatem 1 and III
Id. lun. - Arn episcopus ordinatus 1 , referring to Arn, bishop and
later archbishop of Salzburg. According to Hermann^ ' these
are written in the same red ink and rustic capitals as the rubrics,
and were probably added soon after the manuscript was completed.
But there is one significant omission, that of the death of Arn,
which took place on January 24th, 821. This would suggest that

(101) But see further below, p.7J.

(102) Die fruhmittelalterlichen Hss.. pp.145-6.
 25

821 was the latest date for the manuscript. It may however be

earlier, since, as A. Chroust^ ' noticed, in ch. II, argumentum

ad annum mundi inveniendum, the phrase 'indictionem presentis anni

ut mine est II 1 (as it is found in Munich 210) has been altered in
Vienna 38? to 'indictionem presentis anni ut mine est XI 1 . XI could

apply either to 818 or to 833; but taken together with the other

evidence, it seems to point to 818. Thus both manuscripts may well

have been written in the same year.

The close relationship between the two manuscripts shows itself
further in the fact that both manuscripts were probably written in
Salfzburg. Swarzenski^ ' has shown in great detail that the cycle

of the months, used as an illustration to chapter 73 (Munich 210,

fol.91v; Vienna 387, fol.90v), reveals a remarkable affinity with

two of the Carmina Salisburgensia^ . The Vienna manuscript was

certainly in Salzburg by the tenth century, when the Annales

Salisburgenses were written in the margins of the decennovenal

tables^ . Munich 210, on the other hand, if it was indeed written

(103) Denkmaler der Schrifcfcbkunst des Mittelalters, Afct.I, Ser.I,

BaxJ, r, /J«f. HI.
(104) Die Salzburger Malerei, rPv1 7"?0.«
(105) M.&.H. Poetae II, pp.644-646. nos.10-11.
(106) See M.G-.H. Scriptores I, pp.89-90.
in Salzburg, must have moved to St. Ammeram at Regensburg, where
its annalistic entries were added^ .

The two manuscripts are almost identical in content, the only

important difference being that Munich 210 has, on fol.11?v. an

illustration of the northern hemisphere, not found in the Vienna
manuscript. In the sections from Pliny^ ' the two manuscripts

have generally the same errors, e.g. ii, §41 0,30) luna (correct
reading lunae); §6Ji (3, 25 ) ab is (ab his); §70 (3, 39 ) volentia

(violentia); xviii, §275 (5,28 ) magnae (magna); $277 (5,36 )

cande.is (candens). In addition they share the same lacunae and

(11 o)
changes of tense in De praesa giis tempes tatum listed by Ruck

The great degree of agreement between the two manuscripts, coupled

with the possibility that they were written in the same year and
place makes it virtually certain that they were copied directly

(107) See M.G-.H. SS XIII, pp.47-48.

B. Bischoff (Die sudostdeutschen Schreibschulen I (19&0),
p.262, n.3) seems to suggest that this manuscript may have
been written at Regensburg, when he describes it ! aus St.
Emmenw? 1 But he postpones further treatment until the second
volume.
(108) The Pliny excerpts occur as follows: Munich 210:1, '^bls.121r~
122r; 2, 122r; 3, 122r»v,; 5, 124r-v; 6, 124v-127r; Vienna
,387:1, fols 120v-121v; 2, 121v; 3, 122r~123r; 5, 124r>v; 6, 124v-127v,
(109) The references are to the paragraph in Pliny, and, in the brackets,
the number of the excerpt and line as given below on pp.
(110) Auszuge, pp.32-33.
 27

from the same exemplar. The differences are very slight, e.g.
ii, £64 (3,6^) habides in Munich 210, habide in Vienna 387;
xviii, §346 (6, 31 ) ertt ciroulus in Munich 210, oirculis erit in
Vienna 387; $355 (6, ML ) adpropinquatibus in Munich 210,
adpropin&uantibus in Vienna 387; but they are probably sufficient
u (in^
to support Ruck ! s belief that one is not a copy of the other.

(111) Ibid., p. 12.

 28

THE SEVEN-BOOK COMPUTUS

At about the same time that the Three-book computus was

composed, another work, very similar in form and content, and
probably derived, at least in part, from the same sources, was
put together. The work was arranged in seven books, as is found
(1}
today in five v ' manuscripts: Vatican Vat. Lat. 645 and Reg. Lat.

309, Madrid 3307, Monza F.9.176, and Paris Nouv. Acq. Lat. 456,
although only Reg. Lat. 309 contains the whole work.
The contents of the seven-book computus are as follows:
Book I, ch.I Rota quae continet natalicia sanctorum in
kalendis nonis et idibus per unumquemque mensem: Rota giving

saints 1 festivals.

Ch.II Argumentum de cursu lunae per duodecim signa: Table

(2}
for finding the position of the moonv '.
Ch.III Martyrologium per duodecim menses: Calendar giving

saints \ festivals '.

(1) W. Kohler (Die karolingischen Miniaturen III (1960), p.121,

n.87) mentions a manuscript in the Cathedral Library at
Freiburg-im-Breisgau, containing parts of the fifth and
seventh books, but gives no further details.
(2) Cf. P.L. XC, cols. 757-758.
(3) Cf. ibid., cols. 759-783.
 29

Ch. IIII Cycli decennovenales cum annis domini: 19-year

tables from A.D. 1-1063^.

Ch. V Adbreviatio chronicae ubi mittenda sit: Adam cum

esset centum triginta annorum genuit Seth ... sunt autem totius
summae ab origine mundi anni usque in praesentem annum IIII

Ch. VI De ortu et obitu patrum: Adam pater generis humani

dei manibus ex terra creatus ... cretensium episcopus missus ibidem
requiescit in pace .

Ch. VII Annus magnus de ccincurrentibus compo situs ad ostendendam

diversitatem nativitatis et passionis domini: Two tables giving
concurrents and paschal terminals, accompanied by three notes:
Nostrates: Ab adam usque ad nativitatem christi computantur anni
IIII DCCLII .. terminus XVII Kal. mai. et concurrentes quattuor;

Hieronimus : Si vero ab adam usque ad nativitatem domini *V CXC annos

habere volueris ... terminum IIII non. apr. et concurrentes II;
G-raeci: Si sutem ab adam usque ad christum annos "V D pronuntiaveris ...
annoque passionis terminus nonas apriles et concurrentes septem.

(4) Cf. ibid., cols. 825-844.

(5) M.G-.H* Chronica Minora III, pp. 349-354.
(6) Florilogium casinense I pp. 93-96.
 30

Ch. VIII Ratio quomodo feria qua dominus passus est invenitur:

Prima dies saeculi creditor fuisse dominica christum crucifixum

sanoti evangelii sacra testatur historia^ ''.

Ch. VIIII De ebdomadibus LXX propheticis: Septima species

ebdomadis est qua propheta danihel utitur sed diligens lector

quod magis sequendum putaverit eligat^ ' .

Ch, X Ratio quomodo per lunam kalendarum ianuarii et per

quartam partem anni magni pascha possit inveniri: Quoniam in prime

decennovenalis cycli anno in kalendis ianuariis .. semel tantum

(9)
quaeres nullum alium affert errorenr ' .
Ch« XI Item de eadem ratione per lunam kalendarum martii:
Primo decennovenalis cycli anno quando nulla epacta ponitur ...
quam summam uterque circulus per alterutrum efficit multiplicatus^ '

This and the preceding chapter are accompanied by tables for

(11)
calculating the age of the moon x '.
Book II, ch. I Argumentum ad annos ab initio mundi inveniendos:
n
Si scire cupis annos ab initio mundi multiplica CCCXVTI qu^decies .«.
et hoc ordine deinceps servato annos mundi sine errore repperies .

(7) Ibid., pp. 69-70.

(8) Bede, De temporum ratione, ch.IX.
(9) P.L., XC, col. 749A-B.
(10) Ibid., col. 751B-D.
(11) Ibid., cols. 749A-752D.
(12) Flor. Cas. I, p. 70.
 31

Ch. II Argumentum ad inveniendum annum cycli decennovenalis

per eosdem annos: Si nosse desideras quotus sit annus in cyclo
deoennovenali ... XVIIII annus cycli decennovenalis erit.
Ch. Ill Argumentum ad indictionem inveniendam: Si vis scire

quota sit indictio tene annos ab initio mundi «. quod remanet

CHZ\
ipsa est indictio; si nihil remanserit XV erit v J} .
Ch. IIII Argumentum ad epactam inveniendam: Si nosse vis

quota sit epacta collige annos ab exordio mundi ... quod super-
fuerit ipsa est epacta; si nihil remanserit nulla erit .

Ch. V Argumentum ad concurrentes inveniendos: Si concurrentes

invenire cupis, sume annos ab origine mundi ... quod remanserit ipsi
(15) .
sunt concurrentes; si nihil remanserit VTI erit
Ch. VI Argumentum qualiter cyclus lunae inveniri debeat: !&

cyclum lunae inveniri desideras tene annos a mundi initio quod

(16)
remanet ipse est cyolus; si nihil remanserit XVIIII erit
Ch. VII Argumentum ad annos domini inveniendos: Si vis scire

quot anni sint ab incarnatione domini ... fiunt simul DCCCVIIII;

isti sunt anni ab incarnatione domini.

(13) Ibid., p. 70.

(14) Ibid., p. 70.
(15) Cf. P.L. XC, col. 717D-
(16) Flor. Gas. I, p. 70.
 32

Ch. VIII Argumentum ad inveniendum annum oycli de cenno venal is:

Si nosse vis quotus sit annus cycli decennovenalis .* remanent XII;
Xllmus ergo annus est cycli decennovenalis.
Ch. VIIII Argumentum ad indictionem inveniendam; Si scire
£
cupiis quota sit indictio sume annos domini DCCJjyiIII remanent

duo; secunda est anni praesentis indictio,

Ch. X Item argumentum ad epactam inveniendam: Si autem vis
cognoscere quot sint epactae, sume annos ... remanent I; una est
in praesenti anno epacta.
Ch. XI Item argumentum ad concurrentes inveniendos: Si vis

scire conourrentes septimanae dies in praesenti quot fuerint

non remanet aliquid quia VII sunt concurrentes.
Ch. XII Item argumentum qualiter cyolus lunae inveniri debeat:
Si nosse cupis cyclus lunaris quotum agat annum ..« nonus est autem
cycli lunaris annus qui nunc agitur.
Ch. XIII Ratio calculi per quam numerus in argumentis
compendiose partitur: Multiplication tables for 2-15, 19, 28 and 30
Ch* XIIII De kalendis nonis et idibus ac diebus duodecim
mensium: lanuarius augustus et december IIII nonas habent ...
(I?")
omnes menses VIII idus habent /.

(17) Ibid., p.77; P.L. CXXIX, col. 1281C.

 33

Ch. XV Concurrent es et epactae cum suis regularibus ad

inveniendas ferias et lunas kalendarum: Various lists of solar

and lunar epacts, etc. '.

Ch. XVI Argumentum ad inveniendos regulares feriae kalendarum:

Annus solis habet dies CCCLXV; hos quinque dies ..« per septem

dimiseris sequentis mensis regularis procreabitur(19)' .

Ch. XVII Argumentum ad inveniendos regulares lunae kalendarum:

Quinque residuuos aegyptiorum dies de quibus superius fecimus
mentionem . .. remanebit tibi regularis mensis sequentis .

Ch. XVIII De diebus anni per kalendas nonas et idus:

lanuarius in kal. I, in non. V, in id. XIII ... December in kal.

CCCXXV, in non. CCCXXXVIIII, in id.

Ch. XVIIII Excerptum de calculo quot dies habeat annus per
(22}
dies ebdomadarum: Multiplication table for 7
Ch. XX Item ex calculo ad lunam inveniendam secundum victorium:
(23}
Multiplication table for 59

(18) Cf. P.L. XC, col. 706B.

(19) Flor. Gas., I, p. 73.
(20) Ibid., pp. 73-74.
(21) P.L. XC, col. 706C-D; Bede, D.T.R. XXII, 11.18-29.
(22) Cf. P.L. XC, col. 707D.
(23) Cf. P.L. XC, col. 708A.
 34

Ch. XXI Terminus quadragesimalis cum suis regularibus: List

of quadragesimal terminals^- '.

Ch. XXII Qualiter latini et graeci dissentiunt in XIII luna

paschae: Various tables.

Book III, ch. I De compoto articulari: III digiti in sinistra

manu id est auricularis ... sed ante aures retro respicientes (25)
x '.
Ch. II fte anno et partibus eius: Annus Solaris habet quattuor
tempera unum momentum habet ostentum I et dimidiunr(26)'.
Ch. Ill Quot atomos habeat annus vel partes eius: Ostentum
habet atomos CCCLXXVT ... horas VIII DCXL partes proprias CCCLX.
Ch, IIII Quot modis soleat annus nominari: Primus modus est
de lima qui quinquifarie accipitur ... ubi primum statuta fuerunt
(27)
et DXXXII annis impletur^".
Ch. V De mundano anno qui quindecim milibus solarium conficitur
annorum tullii ciceronis somnium scipionis diotantis et macrobii idem
exponentis ac senccae philosophorum auctoritas: Annus non is solus
est quern nunc communis omnium usus appellat quisquis in digitos

mittit i

(24) Cf. P.L. XC, col. 715, third section.

(25) Flor. Gas. I, pp.90-91
(26) Ibid., pp.88-89.
(27) Ibid., pp.80-81.
(28) J. Vogels, Scholia in Ciceronis Aratea, II (1887), pp.IX-X:
of. Maorobius Comm. in Somn. Scip. Bk.II, 11, §§5-17.
 35

Ch. VI De ratione bissexti: Bissextus igitur ex quadrantis

rations per quadriennum conficitur .. unde et bissextum vocant

interkalare consuerunt^ '.

Ch. VII De mensura orementi bissextilis: Sed et de mensura

crementi bissextilis ne te nostra lateat sententia ... per XV dies

quinque horas et quadrantem unius horae percurrere^ '.
Ch. VIII In quot annis de bissextilibus diebus unus annus

adorescat: In quattuor annis unus dies in octo II ... annum integrum

id est CCCLXVI dies esse probatur^ '.

Ch. VTIII Qualiter per quattuor annos bissextus acj^escat:

Primo igitur anno praeparationis bissexti prima hora noctis ...

(32}
quae praecedit XV kal. mar. arietem possit ingredi v '.
Ch. X Argumentum ad inveniendum annum bissextilem: Atmi ab

incarnatione domini anno praesenti sunt DCCXCIII ... et ideo bissextus

dicitur quia bis VI kal. mar. habet^ .

Ch. XI Argumentum ad quamlibet feriam inveniendam: Si oognoscere

cupis hoc vel illo die quota sit feria ... quod remanet diem septimae
(34) .
quae sit ubicumque quaeris ostendet v

(29) Bede, D.T.R., ch.XXXVIII, 11.12-27-

(30) Ibid., ch.XXXIX, 11.1-10.
(31) Flor.Cas. I, p.72.
(32) P.L. XC, cols.357D-36lA.
(33) Flor.Cas. I, p.81.
(34) Ibid., 8.83.
 Ch. XII Item aliud argumentum ad inveniendam feriam: Si vis

scire quota sit feria de quocumque die . . quicquid remanebit super

(35) .
VII talis &st et feria, et si nihil remanet sabbatum est v
Ch. XIII Argumentum ad feriam kalendarum ianuariarum inveniendam:
Si scire vis per singulos annos quota feria sit kalendarum ianuariarum ..
(36)'.
fiunt XV; quintus decimus annus est in cyclo solari
Ch, XIIII De ascensu ac discensu solis: Ascensus solis dicitur

augmentum lucis ... eadem ratio est in discensu solis, id est in

detrimento lucis observanda.
Book IIII, oh, I De luna quota sit in kalendis mensium per decem
et novem annos: Lunar table '.

Ch. II Argumentum in quo puncto luna accendatur vel quota sit

aetas eiusdem qualibet die: Si hoc scire desideras sume dies a kalendis
ianuariis quod vero remanserit ipsa est aetas lunae; si nihil

remanserit trigesima eriV '"

Ch. Ill Argumentum quota sit luna in kalendis ianuariis: Si hoc

scire desideras sume cyclum anni praesentis ... non unum ut in reliquis
sed duos adicere regulares (39) .

(35) Ibid., p.83.

(36) Cf. ibid., p.83.
(37) ibid., p.79.
(38) Cf. ibid., p.86.
(39) Ibid., p.86.
 37

Ch. IIII Item argumentum de qualibet lunae aetate: Si ergo vis

soire hoc vel illo die quota sit luna computa dies ... quod superest

ipsa est luna diei quern quaeris^ '.

Ch. V Argumentum quot horas luoeat luna: Si nosse vis quot

horas luceat luna quaelibet tenejaetatem lunae . .. quantum in crescendo

adicere habes tantum in decrescendo detrahere debes .

Ch. VI Argumentum quot partes luna distet a sole: Si scire cupis

luna prima quantas partes distet a sole . .. tres partes habet et quinque
puncti horam faciunt '.

Ch. VII De saltu lunae: Si vis scire unde saltus lunae adrescat

cognoscito quod luna .., et anno ultimo cycli decennovenalis transilitur.

Ch;. VIII Item de saltu lunae: In cycle decennovenali sunt anni

lunares XVTIII et haec transilitio saltus appellatmv .

Ch. VIIII Item de saltu lunae: De quo tamen saltu verisimijLe

f
apparet quod eum citior tres pariter menses undetricenorum computare

Ch. X In quot annis per sal turn lunae unus annus subtrahatur:

Item de saltu lunae XIIII anni unum diem eff iciunt . . . ~VI DCCCCXXXV
anni unum annum in saltu lunari per diem eff iciunt.

(40) Ibid., p. 86.

(41) Ibid., p. 86.
(42) Ibid., pp. 86-87.
(43) Ibid., p. 70.
(44) Bede, D.T.R.., oh.XLII, 11.1-20, 55-65-
 38

Ch. XI Quod et luna quadrantem habeat: Inter haec autem

meminisse debet calculator ... discursus lunaris mensura ad purum
dinosci queat obsistit^1 **' .

Ch. XII Cur argumentum lunae kalendarum per omnes annos circuli
decennovenalis stabilitatem suam servare non possit: Sunt autem anni
tres circuli decennovenalis in quibus idem argumentum ... rato atque
intemerato ordine procurrat^ '.

Ch. XIII Ratio XIIII lunae paschalis inveniendae: Est etiam

ratio qualiter terminus paschalis inveniri possit ... totidem dies
infra ipso mense habebis terminunr '.

Ch. XIIII Item de eadem re: Sed et hoc sciendum est ut quot dies
ante pridie idus apriles ... pridie id. apr. pascha habueris kal. mar.
( IQ \

initium quadragesimae habebis .

Ch. XV Item de eadem re: Quantas dies ante kal. apr. habueris ..,
in ipsas Xllmas kal. mar. habebis initium quadragesimae .
Ch. XVI Item de eadem re: Quota luna in kalendis ianuariis eodem
anno fuerit ... et sic Xllllmam lunam errore sublato repperies^ .
Ch. XVTI Item de eadem re: Sanctae memoriae theophilus
alexandrinus episcopus ... ad alterum diem dominicum pascha sine dubio

caelebrare conscripsit (51) .

(45) Ibid., ch.XLI.

(46) Ibid., ch.XX, 11.22-55.
(47) Flor. Gas. I, p.84.
(48) Ibid., p.84.
(49) Ibid., p084-85.
(50) Ibid., p.82.
d., p.32.
 39

Ch. XVIII Quaerenda est nativitas lunae

Item de eadem re:
(52) .
Xllllmae ... post VTI kal. mai. pascha nullatenus caelebrabis x

Ch. XVIIII Quota feria singulis annis XIIII luna paschae

oocurrat: Primo anno circuli decennovenalis XXX est luna in XI kal.

(53)
apr. ... et turn simul locum lunae aetatem citissime invenies
Ch. XX Cur XIII luna paschalis intra XII kalendas apriles et
XIIII kalendas maias in quibusdam locis evenire non possit: Constat

igitur quod primo anno decennovenalis cycli quando nulla epacta ...
atque ita sequentia eodem quo prius ordine cuncta proveniant v .

Ch, XXI Quomodo errent quidam in primi mensis initio: Sed

error eorum qui aliter sapiunt vide an ipsis saltim ... et occasionem
(55) .
pravae persuasionis amittat v

Ch, XXII Ratio contra eos qui dicunt VII kalendas maias pascha
fieri non posse: Anno XIIII ante nativitatem domini fuit terminus

paschalis .., id est die dominica fieri non possit neque in ea luna

XIIII.

(52) Ibid., p.85; P.L. CXXIX, col. 1284C-1285A.

(53) P « L * XC, cols.605-606; 710-711; CI, cols. 999-1001 (this reference
is given wrongly in Jones, Pseudepigrapha (1939), P«43, where this
passage is discussed); Pseudepigrapha, pp.104-106.
(54) P.L. XC, cols. 499C-500C; 713C-714A.
(55) Bede, D.T.R., ch.LI, 11.1-24, 64-87.
 40

Ch. XXIII Quantum spatii moretur sol vel luna in una qualibet

de triginta partibus signi ouiuslibet: Sol tarditate sui cursus

unumquodque signum XXX diebus et X semis horas perlustrat .. sol

in XXIIII horis et viginti et uno ostentis^6 '.

Ch. XXIIII De concordia Solaris cursus et lunaris: Novem
horis in luna pro^uinque diebus in sole computatis ... possunt
(57} .
nbvem horae lunares cum quinque diebus solaribus concordare
Ch. XXV Item de eadem ratione: Lunam lucere dodrantis semuncias
\
/cg\
aiunt ... quater quinque quinquies quattuor horas lucet luna quinta^ .

Ch. XXVT De concordia maris et lunae: Unius semper horae

dodrante et semuncia transmissa ... cotidie tardius veniret tardiusque

reoederet (59^
x '.
Ch. XXVII De effectiva lunae potentia: Effectiva lunae potentia

ut ait beatus ambrosius in eo maxime apparet ... donee luna rursus

appareat sedationem commotis turbinibus adlatura^ '.

Book V, Ch. I Bxcerptum de astrologia: Duo sunt extremi vertices

mundi quos appellant polos ... quae ad ipsum usque decurrit aocipiens^ '

(56) Q. P«L. CI, cols.983D-9843, which does not give the first sentence.
(57) J- Vogels, Scholia in Cioeronis Aratea II (1887), p.IV.
(58) Vogels, p.IV.
(59) P»L« XC, cols. 605D-606D; Vogels, p. IV.
(60) Bede, D.T.R., oh.XXVIII, 11.1, 14-49.
(61) P.L. XC, cols. 368B-369C; E. Maass, Commentariorum in Aratum
Reliquiae, pp. 309-312.
 41

Ch. II Est quidem

De ordine ac positione stellarum in signis:
(62]
hie ordo et positio sider um ... antic anis habet Stellas I£P .

Gh. Ill De positione et cursu septem planetarum: Inter

caelum et terrain certis discreta spatiis septem sidera pendent

a tricesima luoe ad easdem vices exit^ '.

Ch. IIII De intervallis earum: Intervalla eorum a terra multi

niam
indagare temptarunt ... ita septem tonis effioi quam diapason armo
vocant^ '.

Ch. V De absidibus earum: Tres autem quas supra solem diximus

sitas occultantur ... sicut in rotis radios ut subiecta figura

demonstrat^ '.

Ch, VI De cursu earum per zodiacum circulum: Cur autem

magnitudines suas et colores mutent * inter omnia haec sidera

martis maxime inobservabilis est cursus^ '.

Ch. VII De interlunio: Interlunium lunae est tempus illud

inter deficientem et nascentem ... eodem momento renascens paulatim

ab eo recedendo videtur^ '.

Ch. VIII De eolypsi lunae: Eclypsis lunae est quotiens in umbram

terrae luna incurrit dies et noctes aequales existerent

(62) &. Kauffmann, Breslauer phil. Afeh. Ill, 4, pp.LXII-LXVIIII.

(63) Cf. Pliny, bk.ii, §§ 12,32,34-36,38-4^-. See below, pp./#-£.
(64) Cf. ibid., $|83, 84. See below, pp. \kU~ 5.
(65) Cf. ibid., |§ 59-61, 69, 70, 63, 64. See below, pp»/4t5-<?.
(66) Cf. ibid., &62, 66-69, 71, 75-78, 80, 78, 79, 76, 77.
See below pp./4^-53
(67) Flor» Gas. I, p.80; of. Isidore, Etvmologiae bk.III, ch.lv.
 Ch. VXIII De eclypsis soils: Eclypsis soils est quotiens

luna XXX ad eandem lineam ... nam deficere nobis videtur sol dum
ill! orbis lunae opponitur^ '.

Ch. X De soils eclypsi quando sit: Anno dominicae incarnationis

DCCLX faota est eclypsis soils .. idus maias hora diei quasi septima

in XXVIII parte tauri^ 70 \

Ch. XI Dimensio caelestium spatiorum secundum quosdam: A terra
ad lunam tonum esse pronuntiant ... in his VII tonis stadia DCCLXXV
id est miliaria CVIIII et

Ch. XII De praesagiis tempestatum: Etenim praedictis

dif f ioilioribus transire convenit ... repositoriis reliquentia diras
tempe states praenuntiant (72) .
Book VI, ch. I De ratione unciarum: Scripulus sex siliquae ..,
assis sive as duodeoim unciae. Symbols for the various weights are

(69) Flor. Gas. I, p.80; of. Isidore, Etym. bk.III, ch.lviii.

(70) Loewe-Hartel, Bibliotheoa Patrum Latinorum Hispaniensis (1887),
p.415, (from Madrid 3307, formerly L95) In the list of
chapters in the manuscripts this is called Quando soils eclypsis
visa sit moderno tempore.
(71) Jo Vogels, Scholia in Cioeronis,Aratea II, p.IX.
(72) Cf. Pliny, Bk.xviii, |§ 340-365. See below,
(73) Cf. P.L. XC, col.699.
 43

Cho II De probatione auri et argenti: Orane aurum purum ouius-

libet ponderis omni argento ... sicut prima lectionis huius fronte
praefixum esV '.

Ch. Ill De mensura caerae et metalli in operibus fusilibus:

In fundendis operibus cuius ponderis metallum quotlibet ... octo
denarii quod sunt unoiae III et denarii XVI ^ .
Ch. IIII Ambrosii Macrobii Theodosii de mensura et magnitudine
terrae et circuli per quern solis iter est: In omni orbe vel sphaera
medietas centrum vocatur ... trecenties centena milia et insuper LXX

Ch. V Item eiusdem de mensura et magnitudine solis: His dictis

quibus mensura quam terrae vel ambitus vel diametros habet ... ergo
ex his dicendum solem ooties terra esse maiorenr '.
Ch. "VT Peliois Capellae de mensura lunae: Luna item circuli
sui sexcentesimam obtinet portionem ... ipsum vero circulum centies
(-7Q\
maiorem esse tellure^ '.

(74) Vitruvius (ed. Rose, 1899), pp.xxviii-xxix; Catalogue G-enfetl

des MSS, (quarto series) I (1849), p. 421.
(75) Vitruvius, pp.xxix-xxx; Cat. G-en. I, pp. 421 -422.
(76) Cf. Macrobius, Comm. in Somn. Scip., Bk.I, ch.xx, §§ 14-24.
(77) Cf. ibid., #$25-32.
(78) J. Vogels, Scholia in Ciceronis Aratea II, p. VI $ Cf . Martianus
Capella, Bk.VTII, ^860; Macrobius, Comm. I, xxi,
 44

Ch. VII Eiusdem argumentum quo magnitude terrae de_prehensa est:

Eratosthenes philosophus idemque geometra subtilissimus ... quae in

f~7Q\
caelesti circulo nullum humanae ooniecturae dimensionem admittit v '.
Book VII (Bede, De natura rerum): Naturas rerum varias labentis
et aevi . inde Africa a meridie usque ad occidentem extenditur^ '.

In addition to the chapters listed above, all the manuscripts

have some additional sections, of which a number are common to all or
most of the manuscripts, and therefore may be part of the original
work. These are as follows:
(a) A note on the declension of the words unus, solus and alter.
(b) G-enera numerorum in sensibus secundum augustinum: Progressores
in actu ... iudiciales in discretione.
These two sections are put after bk. II, ch. 12.
(c) De horologio: lanuarius et december hora prima et undecima
hora V et VTI pedes V, hora VI pedes ^ '

(d) Argumentum quot horas in unaquaque nocte luceat: Table,

accompanied by a note: Si vis scire quot horas in una quaque lucet
nocte ... per eodem gradus quibus ante ascenderat iterum descendit
computandi ratio.

(79) Vogels, .pp.VI-VII; N. Bubnov, G-erberti Opera Mathematica,

pp.362-363. Cf. Martianus Capella, Bk. VI, §595-598.
(80) P.L. XC, cols. 187-278.
(81) P.L. XC, cols.953D-956A.
 45

(e) Expositio de eadem re: Traditur autem secundum quosdam

argumentum qui horam quattuor punctis ... dodrantem pro punctis III,
semisse pro II, quadrante pro I.

(f)De ascensione lunae: Si quis nosse desiderat qua hora luna

renovetur ... in decimae horae noctis prime puncto finem accipit.

Sections (c) to (f) are found at the end of Book IV, except that
(c) is at the end of Book III in Reg. Lat. 309.

(g) De mensuris et ponderibus: Mensura est iuxta isidorum

quicquid pondere capacitate longitudine ... duae leuvae sive miliarii
tres apud germanos unam rastam efficiunt^ '.
(h) De ponderibus: Ponderum pars minima calculus est qui
constat ex : granis ciceris duobus ... centenarius autem dicitur eo
qood centum libris constet^ '.
(j) De mensuris in liquidis: Mensurarum in liquidis coclear
/-O) \
est pars minima ... duo chori chulleum quod sunt modia LX

Sections (g) to (j) are found after Bede's De natura rerum.

(82) Hultsch, Metrologicorum scriptorum reliquiae, pp.135-138;

cf. Isidore, Etymologiae, bk. IV, ch.xxv.
(83) Hultsch, pp.138-140; cf. Isidore, bk. XVI, ch.xxv.
(84) Hultsch, pp. 140-142; cf. Isidore, bk. XVI, ch.xxvi.
 46

The earliest surviving manuscript of the seven-book computus is

probably Madrid 3307 > which has been described in some detail by
W. Neuss and W. Kohler^ '. Its origins can be pin-pointed with

reasonable accuracy. It is not likely to have been written before

820, when an eclipse of the moon was entered by the first hand. The

earliest entry of the second hand is 828, but Kohler argued that this
was not necessarily a contemporary entry. He thought that the entry

for an eclipse in Ql& was more likely to be a contemporary record and

•f 0-7 \
put this as the terminus ante quern
Both authors agree that it was probably written in Metz; Neuss 1
/ oo\
argument^ ' that the entry 'Depositio s. Arnulfi confessoris 1 in the
calendar would only be intelligible in Metz was rejected by KBhler on
the grounds that since the entry is also found in Vat. Reg. 309 it
suggests only a Metz origin for their common ancestor. Kohler howev.er

admitted that on stylistic grounds it was likely to have been written

at Metz, comparing the illustrations in the Drogo Sacramentary (Paris
9428) and an Evangeliary (Paris 9388) , which he showed to have been

written there ^ '.

(85) Spanische Forschungen, VIII (1940), pp-37-64; Zeitschrift des

dt. Vereins fur Kunstwissenschaft, VIII (194-1), pp.113-140.
(86) Die karolingisohen Miniaturen, vol.Ill (19^0), pp.119-12?.
(8?) Karol. Min. Ill, pp.120.
(88) Span. Forsch., pp.61-3.
(89) Karol. Min., Ill, p.122 and note.
 47

At an unknown date, but probably before the end of the ninth

century, the manuscript came to the monastery at Prum, where the

Annales Prumienses were entered in the margins of the decennovenal

tables' 90).

The manuscript is no longer complete, and the lost parts

contain most of Book I, all of Book VI, and the greater part of
the De natura rerum. But in those parts that remain, this manu-

script presents the best testimony. It is clear that it was very

carefully copied, as is shown by the small number of errors in the

(91") .
text. The illustrations are also of a very high standard^
(92)
In the section from Pliny ' there are only four errors peculiar

to this manuscript: xviii, £344 (6,25) ocasum (occasum);

§ 349 (6, 63 ) oornus (cornu); § 352 (6, 93 ) stellarum (stellam);

§ 362 (6,/£7) graues (grues).

(90) See M.G-.H., SS. XV, 2, pp.1289-1292. The entries referring to

Priim, which begin at 828, are written in a hand of the late ninth
or early tenth century, according to Konler, Karol. Min. Ill, p.120,
(91) On the illustrations, particularly the star-drawings in bk. V,
oh. 2, see Neuss 1 article in Zelt. Ver. Kunstwiss, and Ko'hler,
pp.122-127.
(92) These occur as follows: I, fol. 63 ; 2, 63 -64 ; 3,
4, 65*-67r ; 6,
 The manuscript showing the closest connection with Madrid 3307

is Monza p.9. 176^ 95'. Florentine Mu^erich^ 9^ has pointed to

the similarity in arrangement of the text on the pages of the two

manuscripts, and suggests that this must have been taken from their
exemplar. But the Monza manuscript has one peculiarity, in that

there are two extra chapters inserted after bk.I, ch.I, the remaining
(qz\
chapters being numbered 4-13 v '.

The Monza manuscript was apparently written about 869, since

this is the date of the last annalistic entry made by the original

(93) See A. Yarisco, Rendiconti R. 1st. Lomb., ser. 2^(1896),

pp.667-677, C. Leonardi, Aevum XXXIV (1940), p.87, McG-urk
Catalogue IV (1966), pp.52-61.
(94) Karl der Grosse III (1965), p.50. This is true of the fifth
book in particular.
(95) The chapters are entitled 'De lunari circuitu si quis computari
non potest 1 and 'De aetate lunae si quis oomputari potest 1 .
They are taken from Bede's De temporum ratione, chs.XIX and
XXIII. These additional chapters also occur in the index
(fol.7r): and therefore McG-urk (Cat.IV. p*53) is incorrect
in saying that it is identical with that in Vat. Reg. Lat. 309,
although this manuscript contains these two chapters unnumbered
on fols.12v-13r.
 49

scribe. This is probably also the terminal date of the section

'Adbreviatio chronicae 1 (l,S ) . ^he annals^ ' show that
the manuscript belonged to the monastery at Lobbes (in Southern
Belgium) and it is probable that it was written there^ .
The manuscript is almost complete, although the loss of a
leaf after fol.50 has removed the end of book III and the beginning
of book IV. (99) is reasonably good
The text of the Pliny excerpts v/

although the scribe made a number of careless mistakes, e.g.

ii, §39 (1, 2^. ) hoc casum (for occasum); § 59 (3j $ ) postera
(postes) ; £"60 (3> J5 ) radios omitted after sentit; £75 (4*2? )
extu (exortu) ; and in particular two lacunae, xviii, $354 (6,//2-3) :
imbrem ... significant, and |j§355-6 (6,//&-2§ nubes ... disserenabit.
Vatican Reg. Lat. 309 was likewise written in the ninth
century, probably in the second half, although the date cannot

(96) The concluding sentence runs "Sunt autem totius summae ab

origine mundi anni usque in praesentem annum IIII DCCCXX".
(97) See M.G.H. SS I, pp.7, 9-10, 12-13, 15, 52-55.
(98) C. Leonardi (Aevum XXXIV, p.87) suggested that it came from
Lorraine, but without giving any reasons.
(99) 1: fols.69v-70v; 2: 70v-71r; 3: 71v-72v; 4: 72v-74r; 6: 75v-77r,
(100) See Saxl, Verzeichnis I, pp.59-66; A. Wilmart, Cat. God. Reg. Lat.
vol.11, pp.160-174; C. Leonardi, Aevum XXXIV, pp.466-67. Saxl
considered it to be a tenth century manuscript, and in this he
was followed by C.W. Jones (Pseudepigrapha, p.136). Hov/ever,
this cannot be correct.
 50

be established with any certainty. In bk. II, chs.7-12, the annus

praesens is 859 > whereas the other manuscripts have 809j and in
oh.6, 870 has been inserted over an erasure, probably of 859-

Wilmart^ ' observed that there was a small red mark against the
year 885 in the decennovenal tables; but it is so small that it
would be rash to draw any conclusions from this. Numerous additions
were made to the manuscript up to the thirteenth century. It is
certain that by the tenth century the manuscript was at St, Denis,
since the decennovenal tables contain annalistic entries referring
to that abbey '; but this is not sufficient evidence to say
that it was written there.
This is the only manuscript containing the complete seven-book
computus, although the beginning of the first book is slightly
confused^ 105 '. The text of the excerpts from Book II of Pliny^ 10^,
which was originally relatively free from errors, has suffered from

(101) Cat. Reg. Lat. II, p.163.

(102) See M.&.H. SS XIII, pp.718-721.
(103) The index is followed by bk.I, ch.3 (fol.6); ch.1 is found
on fol. 2v, and 2 on fol. 121.
(104) 1: fol.99v-lOOr; 2: jOOr; 3: *00r-v; 4: 100v-101r;
6: 102v-104v. See C.E. Finch, Trans. Proc. Amer. Philol. Assoc.
XCVI (1965), pp.107-117* where this manuscript is collated with
Rack's text.
 51

the hands of a corrector who introduced numerous corruptions,

doubtless by collation with another manuscript. Thus in

(1, !(. ) errent was changed to erret; §36 (2, 17 Weneris to YSflUa,'

5 43 (1,37 ) Jam vero to modo; £ 60 (3, 14 ) senis to binis;

sometimes additional words were inserted: £84 (2,9 ) (eft) vero;

§ 84 (2,/3 ) (_eo) vero; £59 (3,? ) (posteft) autem; §60 (J>,IS )

(eadem) vero. Since these errors occur also in Paris 12117, it
is likely that the Vatican manuscript is its source; see further

below^ '. The section from book xviii was not touched.
Vat. Lat. 645 is another ninth century manuscript from
Northern France. The argumenta provide no clue to its date, since

they all preserve the original 809 as the annus praesens. 825 has

been suggested as the date of its composition^ ', but without any

firm grounds; it is more likely to belong to the latter half of the

century. The fact that it contains the Annales S.QuintiniA ' in

the margins of the decennovenal tables shows that it was at St.

Quentin at an early date, but it is probable that it was not written

(105) See p.//<F-

(106) See F. Saxl, Verzeichnis I, pp.71-76; M. Vatasso and P. Franchi
de'Cavalieri, Cat. Cod. Vat. Lat., vol.1, pp.496-500;
C. Leonardi, Aevum, XXXIV, pp.475-476.
(107) C.W. Jones, Bedae' Pseudepigrapha, p.138.
(108) M.G-.H. SS XVI, pp.507-8.
there, since St. Quentin does not appear among the saints in the
Martyrology^ °9 '. B. Bischoff' 1 '10 ' has proposed the vicinity of
(111)
Reims; C.W. Jones has suggested that it came from Woyon^
The manuscript has lost a large part in the middle, which must
have contained Book IV, and the first and part of the second chapters
of Book V^ '.In addition, single folios have been lost in
(113)'
several other places. The text of the sections from Plinyv
is marred by a considerable number of careless mistakes, e.g. bk. ii,
32 (1,7 ) egredi (regredi); £ 34 (1, 9 ) oeliorem (celeriorem) ;
83 (2,/^ ) quam (quantum) ; _^60 (3>/5 ) radios omitted; xviii,

342 (6,4-5) oonfervens (non fervens); £349 (6,67 ) quarta (qua).

Paris Nouv. Acq. Lat. 456 ' is probably the latest of the

manuscripts of the seven-book oomputus. It was dated as late as

(109) Cat. Vat. Lat., I, p.76.

(110) Quoted by Leonardi, Aevum, XXXIV, p.475«
(111) Bedae Pseudepigrapha, p.138? if this is the meaning of
St. Quentin (Noyon)? 1 .
(112) It is not, however, a computus in four books, as described
by Jones, Bedae Pseudepigrapha, p.138.
(113) 1. fol. 68r~v ; 2, 69V ; 3, 69-Tp1} 4, 70* - 72r ; 6, 73r - 76V ,
C.E. Finch, Trans. Proc» Amer. Philol. Assoo. XCVI (1965),
pp. 107-117? gives a collation with Ruck's text.
(114) See/Delisle, Cat. Fonds Ljbri et Barrois, pp.80-84;
C. Leonardi, Aevum XXXIV, p.446.
 53

the "beginning of the twelfth century by Delisle, but A. Van de

( 1 16^) was undoubtedly right in considering it to be ninth or
VyvejA
tenth century in part. It came from the abbey of St. Orient at
(117) The work is almost complete except for bk. 3U, but
Auchv '.
some parts, notably the last four chapters of bk. VI, have been
added by a later hand. Bk. V, ch.2 was replaced by a more detailed
exposition on the same subject, entitled Incipit de ordine et situ
siderum.
Although this manuscript is later than the others, the text

of the Pliny excerpts ' is reasonably accurate, twice agreeing

with the Monza and Madrid manuscripts against the Vatican ones:
ii, £32 (1,6 ) ac (a); xviii, |352 (6,70) ferentur

(115) Catalogue, p. 84-

(116) Rev. Ben.. XLVII (1935), P-143- He described Paris N.A. 1615
as being a copy of this manuscript; whereas Leonard! (Aevum
XXXIV), p. 426) suggested that N.A. 456 was a copy of N.A. 1615
In fact, neither is possible; see below, p.U2.
(117) The annals are reproduced in M.G-.H. SS III, p. 171.
(118) 1: fol.134v-136r; 2: 137r; 3: 173r-174v; 4: 174v-177r;
6 : 179r-184r.
(119) On the relationship between this manuscript and Strassburg 326
see below, p./09.
Origins

Having outlined the contents of the earliest surviving forms of

computus containing excerpts from Pliny, and the manuscripts in which

they are found, it is now necessary to consider the evidence for the
origins and antecedents of the compilations.

Prom the evidence that was available to him, K. Ruck^ ' believed
that the computus found in Munich 210 and Vienna 387 was put together
in England soon after the time of 8ede. The aim of this chapter is
to show that neither the Three-book computus nor the Seven-book
computus are likely to have been composed in England, and further
that the evidence at present available suggests very strongly that
their origins are not English.
frtoo
In order to facilitate comparison between the/computi, it will
be convenient to set out what they have in common in tabular form.
Where the numbers are unbracketed the two chapters are identical or
virtually identical; where they are bracketed the chapters contain
much of the same material but are not identical.

(1) Ausziige, pp.85-88.

3-book 7-book 3-book 7-book 3-book 7-book
computus computus computus computus oomputus computus

I, 1 (1,38 rv, 23) I, 74 —

I, 5 —
2 II, 1 39 III, 4 75
3 II, 5 ( 40 III, 2) 76
4 I, 2 ( 41 III, 6) 77 V, 7
(5 I, 3) ( 42 III, 7) 78 V, 9
6 -(2) ( 43 IV, 11) 79 V, 8
(7 II, 21) 44 III, 9' (80 IV, 27)
8 I, 4 45 III, 8 81 —
9 — 46 IV, 9 82 —
(10 IV, 12) 47 83 —
11 I, 10 48 —, 84 . —.
12 I, 8 49 IV, 8 85 —•
13 II, 16 50 IV, 10 86 —
14 II, 17 51 — 87 —
15 II, 4 52 IV, 20 88 —
(16 II, 15) 53 IV, 13 89 •—
17 II, 7 54 IV, 16 90 —
18 II, 8 ( 55 IV, 18) 91 —
19 II, 9 ( 56 IV, 14) 92 —
20 II, 10 57 — 93 !———

21 II, 11 58 — 94 ———

22 —— 59 — 95 ———

23 II, 12 60 IV, 22 96 ———•

24 V, 13 61 — 97 ———

25 __ 61 bis — 98 ———

(26 II, 18) 62 — 99 ———

27 II, 19-20 ( 63 Ill, 0 II, 1 V, 1

28 111,11 64 — 2 V, 2
29 IV, 4 65 — 3 V, 3
(30 111,13) 66 — 4 V, 4
31 IV, 3 67 — 5 V, 5
32) (68 1, 9) (6 V, 11)
IV, 2 69 7
33 ) —
34 —— 70 8 V, 12
35 -(2) 71 — 9 g
36 ——— 72 — 10 h
37 ——— 73 — 11 0(3)
III, 1 VII, 1

(2) These are the two additional chapters, numbered I, 2 and 3 in

Monza P.9-176. They are also found among a number of added items
after 1,4 in Reg. Lat. 309 (fols. 12V - 13V).
(3) These are three of the additional chapters; see above, p
 It is clear from this table that they have a considerable

amount of material in common; and it will be convenient to consider

this first. It may be divided into four groups: I Adbreviatio

chronicae; II computistical argumenta; III astronomical metro-

logical excerpts; and TV Bede's De natura rerum.

I Adbreviatio chronicae occurs as ch.1 of part I of the three-

book computus and as 1,5 in the seven-book computus. As its title

implies, it is an abridgement of a chronicle, probably Bede's

Chronica Minora appended to his De temporibus, although there are
some additions. The large number of manuscripts in which it is
(V) Firstly
found ' can be divided into two clearly defined groups.
there are those which terminate in the 39th year of Charlemagne's
reign, that is 806; this is a small group of manuscripts, in which

the work is generally untitled, although some call it De aetatibus

mundi. Since in none of the manuscripts does it terminate earlier

than 806, this may well be the date of composition of the chronicle.
In the second group are those manuscripts in which the title is
Adbreviatio chronicae, which never terminate earlier than the 42nd

year of Charlemagne's reign, that is 809; many of the manuscripts

have further additions after that date.

(4) Listed by Mommsen in M.G-.H. Chron. lino III, pp.347-348.

 57

It must be observed that although Bede was used as a basis

for the chronicle, the later sections which have been added deal

exclusively with the affairs of the Frankish kings, and make no

mention of England.

II About half of the computistical argumenta found in one computus

occur also in the other; but because of the many forms in which
these, and others like them, exist, it is impossible to draw any
conclusions until considerably more work has been done on the subject^ '.

However, those argumenta which involve the use of the annus praesens
deserve further comment. These are chs. 17-21 and 23 in the three-
book computus and chs. 7-12 in book II of the other compilation. In
all of these the annus praesens is 809> significantly the same as in
the Adbrevatio chronicae. In addition book II, ch.1 gives the annus
mundi as 4761, that is A.D. 809« In the corresponding chapter of
the three-bo ok computus, 1,2, the date is 4762, but as will be shown
later, there is evidence that the original date was changed^ '.
The incidence of the date 809 in this number of cases and the occurrence

of a group of chapters in the same order in the two computi are very
cogent arguments in favour of the view that an earlier composition
was used as a common source for the two works.

(5) It is perhaps worth remarking that in three cases pairs of chapters

are found together in the same order: three-book computus I, 13-14
22-23 and 26-27 correspond to II, 16-17, 12-13 and 18-20 in the
seven-book computus.
(6) See below, p.71,
 58

Argumenta with the date 809 are found in a number of

computistical manuscripts which have no obvious connection with

those under discussion. One of the most notable is Vatican Pal.

Lat. 1448 (early ninth century from Mainz) which contains these
six chapters, but amongst a considerable amount of computistical
material it has only twelve other chapters found in the Seven-book

computus^ '. A later manuscript, Vatican Vat. Lat. 644 (twelfth

century, probably from St. &all) has the same six chapters, to-
/• Q\

gether with eleven others found in the Seven-book computus .

Recently C.W. Jones v ' has drawn attention to a text, in Oxford

Bodl. 309> in the form of questions and answers, which he calls a
'Medieval licensing examination 1 ; this again gives 809 as the

annus praesens.

(7) 3,1, 3-6, 16-17; IV,8, 20; V, 7-9. With the exception of
II, 3 and 6, these are found also in the three-book computus.
(8) n,1, 3-6; HI, 2-4; IV, 13-15.
(9) Hist. Eduo. Quart. Ill (1963), pp.19-29. In fact this text
occurs in at least two other manuscripts, Brussels 9590 (late
9th century) and Paris N.A. Lat. 1615 (first half of the 9th
century), and was published from the former by E. Dummler in
M.G-.H. Epist. IV, pp.565-7.
 59

III The greatest correspondence between the two compilations occurs

in book V of the seven-book computus and in the second part of the

other one. The first two chapters in both, Excerptum de astrologia

and De ordine ac positione stellarum in signis, both giving

descriptions of the constellations, belong to a very complicated
mediaeval tradition that has not yet been properly investigated.
Exoerptum de astrologia may be part of the lost .portion of Hyginus's

astronomical work, as E. Heydenreich suggested^ , or it could be,

with less probability, a translation of a G-reek work, as E. Maass

(11} In its existing form it seems certain to be a
maintained^ ' .
mediaeval creation, although we need not accept the theories of
(13)
C. Bursian (12}' and G-. Kauffmannv ' that it is the work of Alcuin.
It is found among the glosses of Bede's De temporum ratione, printed
in Harvagius' s and later editions '. But this is not evidence of

its English origin: for although the sources of these glosses have

(10) Die Hyginhandschrift der Freiberger G-ymnasialbibliothek (1878),

pp. 4-5 •
(11) Commentariorum in Aratum reliquiae (1898), pp.XLV-XLVI.
(12) Litterarisches Centralblatt (1861), p.854.
(13) Breslauer phil. Abh. Ill, 4 (1888), pp.74-76.
(14) Reprinted in £.L. XC, cols. 368B-369C.
 60

not been fully explained, C.W. Jones^ 1 ^ is probably correct in

thinking that most of the material came from Auxerre; in which

case this chapter may well have reached Auxerre in a manuscript

of the seven-book computus.

De ordine ac positione stellarum in signis is obviously related
(16^
to the De signis caeli printed among the works of Bede^ , but

there is no evidence at all that it is really the work of Bede.

Hervagius, who first published it, probably used a manuscript written
as late as the 13th century^ ', and in any case was not above

putting Bede's name to any anonymous work . Kauffmann considered

that this chapter was derived from the Scholia Basiliensia to

G-ermanicus ! s translation of Aratus ' which he ascribed to the

eighth century.
This section of the computi is illustrated by a remarkable series
of star-drawings, which have been analysed in considerable detail by

(15) Bedae Pseudepigrapha, pp.35-38.

(16) P.L. XC, cols.945-950. See Jones, Bedae Pseudepigrapha, p.87.
He is wrong, however, in saying that De signis caeli occurs in
Vat o Lat o 645«
(17) Jones, p. 15-
(18) 'I doubt whether any single edition of any author has ever
foisted upon the public more spurious or corrupt works without
substantiating evidence' ? 3e<nes, pJlh
(19) Breslauer phil. Abh. Ill, 4 (1888), p.77.
 61

W. Neuss^ '. The quality of the figures, as shown particularly

in Madrid 3307, shows that their source must have been either an
outstanding late antique original or at least an extremely accurate
Carolingian copy^ '. Kohler suggests that the only place where

there were artists of sufficient ability to produce work of this

standard was in the centre which produced the Vienna Coronation
(22)
G-ospels v ' ; and although the provenance of this manuscript has
not been established beyond doubt, Kohler has shown that there are
good grounds for believing that it is a product of the Imperial Palace
School at Aachen (23)
v '.
To turn next to the excerpts from Pliny. Although only four
of the six sections are common to the two compilations, it will be
convenient to consider them all together. The two works share

De positione et cursu septem planetarum, Pe intervallis earum and

De absidibus earum from Book II of the Natural History, together
with De praesagiis tempestatum from Book XVIII (Three-book computus,
j 3-5> 8; seven-book computus V, 3~5> 12). The three-book

(20) Zt. des deutschen Vereins fur Kunstwissenschaft, VIII (1940)

pp.113-140.
(21) V/. K*6hler, D|e karolingischen Miniaturen, III (1960), p.100.
(22) Now in the Schatzkammer of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna; see
Kohler, p.101.
(23) Ibid., pp.53-55-
 62

computus contains an additional excerpt from Book XVIII, De temporum

Mutatione (ll, 7); the seven-book computus has an extra passage

from Book II, De cursu earum per zodiacum circulum (V,6). The fact

that four excerpts are found in both computi strongly suggests that
they came from a common source. Whether both drew their extra

passage from the same source cannot be demonstrated. But since

these two excerpts came from the same books of Pliny as the others,
it is very likely that they did come from a common source.
( 2L}
Riick^ ' believed that the only place where the excerpts from
Pliny could have been made was in England. He observed that ALcuin
(25^
had listed Pliny among the books in the library at York v ', which
may well have been the copy that Bede used for the De natura rerum
and De temporum ratione; but he found no evidence of a knowledge of

Pliny on the continent at this period. Ruck's statements, however,

can no longer stand. We can be certain from Bede's writings that

he had first-hand knowledge of Books II-VI of Pliny, and he may have

seen some of the later books (although the evidence is not strong).
(26}
Bus as C.W. Jones has observed , it is inconceivable that Bede

(24) Auszuge, p.87.

(25) De pontificibus et sanctis ecclesiae Eboracensis v.1548
(M.G-.H. Poet. Lato med. aev. I, p.204)
(26) Bedae Opera de temporibus. p.359.
 63

knew Book XVIII, since he nowhere makes any reference to it. And

the mere mention of Pliny's name in Alcuin's poem gives no indication

of how much of his work was then available at York. A manuscript

of Pliny, which was undoubtedly written in eighth-century Northumbria,

is still in existence at Leiden. (Voss. Lat. F.4-) It may indeed

have been the manuscript used by Bede; but it is now very fragmentary,
(27) .
and does not contain anything that occurs in the computi v
The existence of Pliny's Natural History on the continent has

been rejected on insufficient grounds. The argument depends largely

on passages in some of Alcuin's letters to Charlemagne, which will

/ r)0\

need to be quoted at some length^ '. The first passage is from a

letter written in 79& or 797 in which Alcuin writes of the teaching

work he is doing at Tours:
Sed ex parte desunt mihi, servulo vestro, exquisitiores eruditionis

scholasticae libelli, quos habui in patria per bonam et devotissimam

magistri mei industriam vel etiam mei ipsius qualemcumque sudorem.
Ideo haec vestrae excellenfeiae dico, ne forte vestro placeat totius
sapientiae desideratissimo consilio, ut aliquo ex pueris nostris
remittam, qui excipiant inde nobis necessaria quaeque et revehant in
(29) .
Frantiam flores Britanniae

(27) See Lowe, C.L.A. volX, no.1578.

(28) The text is taken from Dummler's edition, in M.G-.H. Epistulae vol.IV.
(29) No.121, p.177.
 In this passage Alcuin asks for books to be brought from England

for use in Tours, but it will be observed that he mentions the names

of no authors. It must be admitted that there is a reference to

astronomy earlier in the letter when, speaking of the work he gives

his pupils, he says: quflsdam stellarum ordine ceu picto cuiuslibet

magni domus culmine inluminare gestio; but it cannot be inferred

from this that he lacked a copy of Pliny.

The second letter, which was probably written in September, 798,
deals with various astronomical problems, and contains the following
passage:
Vel quid acutius, quam quod naturalium rerum devotissimus
inventor Plinius Secundus de caelestium ratione investigare valet?
Sed nobis iter agentibus illorum, in quibus haec leguntur, librorum
deest praesentia. Nihil de vestrae sapientiae profundissimis

quaestionibus temere audemus respondere; postolantes clementiam

vestram, ut iubeatis nobis dirigere primes praefati dootoris Plinii

Secundi libellos, in quibus multiplices et obscuras argumentationes
de vario siderum cursu explanare nititurj si forte Deo donante

inde vel inde aliquid eruere valeamus, quod vestrae sontissimae

praestantiae dignum ostendi videatur '.

(30) No. 155, P-250.

 65

Here Alcuin definitely says that he does not have a copy of

Pliny with him. But his exact words are very important: nobis

iter agentibus. It is known that he went on a long tour in 798

(in the course of which he visited St. Amand)^ ', and the letter
must have been written on this journey. It is quite impossible

to interpret these words to mean 'while I am on my travels from

England 1 ; nor is it likely that the words iubeatis nobis dirigere

mean that Charlemagne should send to England for the books; they
(32} , that there was a copy
suggest rather, as M. Manitius observed^
near Charlemagne (in the vicinity of Aachen?) which he could have
sent to Alcuin.
The third passage is taken from a letter written in the
following March, in which Alcuin answers a question of Charlemagne
about the abnormal size of the moon:
Si quae vero huius diminutionis ratio verier in Plinio possit
repperiri, sive propter saltum nuper transactum sive propter bissextum
prope imminentem, deprecor ut vestra iubeat prudentia inquirers
nobisque solita benevolentiae pietate intimore studeat '.

(31) See No. 150, pp.245-246, a letter addressed to Arn, archbishop

of Salzburg.
(32) Philologus XLIX (1890), p.381; the opposite view was put,
without strong grounds, by K. Welzhofer (Abhandlungen ...
W. von Christ (1891), p.29.
(33) No. 170, p.280.
 66

In this letter Alcuin is again apparently on a journey (per

aridos Belgicae latitudinis iter agenti campos). He suggests

that Charlemagne should look into Pliny for the answer to his

problem; a remark that is only intelligible if the king possessed

a copy himself or could obtain one easily.

A greater difficulty to the existence of Pliny's work on the
continent at an early date is a passage from another letter written
to Charlemagne, by Dungal, an Irish monk living at St. Denis, on
the subject of eclipses. Referring to information about eclipses,

he says: Plinius enim Secundus et alii libri, per quos estimem

haec me posse supplere, non habentur nobiscum in his partibus^ '.

Welzhofer (35)' took this to mean that Dungal was comparing the lack
of books in France with the situation in his native Ireland. But

it is equally probable that Dungal meant that he did not know of

a copy of Pliny in the vicinity of Paris; this would not exclude

the possibility of Pliny's works being known elsewhere on the

continent. The positive evidence to support this is very slight
indeed; one leaf of a manuscript containing part of Book XVTII,

bound up in Paris 9378. The leaf was written in the sixth century,

probably in Italy, but almost certainly was later at St. Amand^ '.

(34) see M.&.H. Epist. IV, pp*570-578.

(35) Abhandlungen ... W. von Christ, pp.28-29.
(36) See E.A. Lowe, C.L.A. vol V, no.575.
 67

The presumption must be that more of it existed in the ninth century.

It must be remembered that the manuscript used for making the

excerpts was an extremely accurate one, more so than any surviving

today; and this could be a sign of its antiquity.

It is probable that the Pliny excerpts in the source of the
two computi were accompanied by illustrations, presumably those
now found in manuscripts of the seven-book computus^ . It

must be considered as certain that the first and third of these

figures (those accompanying De positione et oursu septum planetarum
£0*e
and De absidibus earum) are taken from they(source, since they are
found in both computi, although in Munich 210 and Vienna 38? the
illustration to De absidibus earum is incomplete; this diagram
is introduced by the closing words of the excerpt, "ut subiecta
figura demonstrat", which is an addition to the original Pliny
text, and occurs in all the early manuscripts of the excerpts,
including those which lack the illustration. The other two
illustrations occur only in the seven-book oomputus, and therefore
may have been devised by the compiler of that work.
Sections from Isidore's Etymologiae are found in both compilations.
Three short astronomical excerpts form chs. 7-9 of the fifth book

(37) Those from Madrid 3307 are reproduced in W. Kohler, Karol. Min.
Ill, plate 60b-e.
 68

of the seven-book computus and chs. 77-79 in Part I of the other

compilation. These sections are so brief and found in so many

manuscripts that it is impossible to discover their origin.

Three more chapters, probably derived from Isidore, form chs. 9-11
of the second part of the three-book computus, and they are found
among the additional chapters at the end of the seven-book computus,
listed above as sections (g) - (j). These also are found in a
large number of manuscripts in slightly varying forms. In the
present form they occur in Wolfenbuttel G-ud. 105 > a 10th century
manuscript of the Agrimensores; but since they are not found in
any other manuscript of this type, it is unlikely that they formed
t -70\

a regular part of the agrimensorial corpus^ '.

IV The fact that Bede f s De natura rerum is found in both compilations

is potentially a very useful tool for establishing the connection
between the two computi, and possibly their place of origin. But
no progress can be made in this direction until a critical edition
of the De natura rerum with a discussion of the manuscript tradition

(38) This is the opinion of C. Thulin (Abhand. fircus*. Akad. Wiss,

Phil.- Hist. Kl. (1911), no. 2, p. 56). He observed that
Vat. Pal. Lat, 15&4 is very similar to the Wolfenbuttel
manuscript, but does not contain these sections.
 69

has been produced. However the occurrence of this work in the

computi cannot be used as evidence for their English origin. About
40 manuscripts are known which can be dated to the ninth century (39) 9
of which all except one fragment (Bodleian, Digby 63) are continental.
It may be concluded that the De natura rerum, like many of Bede's
works, was widely disseminated from an early date.

It will be instructive now to examine those sections which are

found in one of these forms of computus only.
In the three-book computus, the most noticeable fact is the
large amount of Bede's De temporum ratione in the first part.
Ruck described this part as a revision of the De temporum ratione^ ',
and this is hardly an exaggeration, since in fact everything from
ch. 64 to 99? with the exception of the three short chapters from
Isidore (77-79)j is taken from Bede; and in total it contains all
but eighteen chapters of the De temporum ratione either complete or
in excerpt.
Ruck believed that the occurrence of so much of Bede's work in
the computus was strong evidence for an English origin for the whole
work^ '. But a close look at the evidence shows that this conclusion

(39) See M.L.W. Laistner, Handlist of Bede manuscripts (1943),

pp. 139-144-
(40) Auszuge, p.35-
(41) Auszuge. pp.85-86.
 70

is unsound. It has been shown that by the early years of the ninth

century, that is seventy years after his death, Bede's work had

achieved wide distribution over Europe , so that there is no

necessity for these chapters to have been copied from a manuscript
in England. There is, in fact, an indication of a continental
origin, although it is too slight to be called definite evidence.
It will be observed that oh. XV of the De temporum ratione, entitled
De mensibus Anglorum is omitted. This suggests either that the
compiler of the computus considered it of no importance or interest;
or that it was omitted in the manuscript he was using, a characteristic
of a number of early continental manuscripts . Such an omission
is not likely to have originated in England,
Most of the remaining chapters of the first part of the computus
are made up of computistical argumenta, of which those involving the
use of the annus praesens are significant for establishing the date
of the compilation. Those in which the year 809 occurs (17-21 and

(42) Among the manuscripts listed by Jones, Bedae Opera de temporibus

(1943), PP. 1^4-159 are Berlin Phil. 1831, c. 800, from Verona;
Cologne 103, 801-10, from Cologne; G-eneva 50, 805, from Masai;
and Wurzburg Theol. Pol. 47, 792-807, from Salzburg.
(43) Jones, p.143, lists Paris 7296 (early 9th century), British
Museum Royal 15 B XIX (late 9th century from Reims) and Paris
13403 (9th century from Corbie).
23) are also found in the seven-book computus, and have already been

considered^ '. In ohs. 22 and 25, which do not occur in the other

work, the annus praesens is given as 810. Yet this is ••* obviously not

the original reading; for the manuscripts have f sume annos domini

ut puta praesenti indictione secunda DCCCX 1 (oh. 22) and f sume annos

domini quot fuerint ut puta praesenti indictione II DCCCX 1 (ch. 25),

although the indiction for 810 was three. In addition the annus

mundi in ch. 2 is given as IIII DCCLXII, that is A.D. 810, whereas

in the corresponding passage in the seven-book computus (11,1) the
date is 47&1• It may therefore safely be assumed that these
argumenta were taken from a manuscript reading 809? but the year
was altered to suit the date at the time. It may be conjectured

that 810 was the date of composition of the whole three-book computus:
these dates were not altered when Munich 210 and Vienna 38? were copied,
apparently eight years later. In the Adbreviatio chronicae (1,1),

the dates were altered in both manuscripts. But Vienna 38? probably

had originally 810 and 47^2* ', later partially erased and changed

to 830 and 4783; and in Munich 210, the curious DCCCX VI11 ^ 'is

easier to explain if it is assumed that DCCCX stood in the exemplar.

(44) See above, pp.57-ff.

(45) This is Ruck f s opinion, see Auszu'ge. p.13-
(46) See above, pp.23-4
 72

The second part of the computus contains only one chapter not

found in the other compilation: De temporum mutatione, taken from

Book XVIII of Pliny. This is presumably taken from the common
source of the two compilations, as has already been suggested (47)

We turn now to the seven-book computus. The whole of the sixth

book is made up of chapters not found in the other work, notably the
sections from Macrobius and Martianus Capella (4-7)j to which may be
added ch. 5 of bk. Ill, De mundano anno ... tullii cioeronis somnium
scipionis diotantis et macrobii idem exponentis ao seneoae
philosophorum auctoritas, which is in fact taken from Macrobius.
It is noticeable that whereas the three passages from Macrobius are
very close to the original text, those from Martianus are free
paraphrases; and in the second excerpt only the first and last
sentences are taken from Martianus, the rest being based on Macrobius.
The fact that the name Capella occurs in the title suggests that the
passage was taken from a manuscript in which it was found as a gloss
/ iO\
on the text of Martianus '.
It is unlikely that these excerpts from Macrobius were made
in England, since no evidence has yet been found to indicate that

(47) See above, p.61.

(48) A very similar passage occurs as a gloss at this point in some
existing manuscripts of Martianus Capella. See below, pp
on Oxford Laud. Lat. 118.
his Commentary on the Somnium Scipionis was known in England at

the time. C.W. Jones has shown that Bede's direct knowledge of
(49)
Macrobius was limited to a "book of excerpts from the Saturnalia «

But there is good evidence that it was known on the continent, at

least by the beginning of the ninth century, in the letter of Dungal
to Charlemagne already referred tcA , in which he quotes extensively

from the Commentary on the Somnium Scipionis.

In the case of Martianus Capella the evidence is slighter and
more ambiguous: the earliest fragment, Karlsruhe Fragm. Aug. 13&,

from the end of the eighth century is in an insular hand, but

(51")
probably from a continental scriptoriunr ' . There is one ninth-
century British manuscript, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 153>
but this must be set against the large number of continental
(52} There is no evidence that Bede knew
manuscripts of the period^ ' .
anything of his work.
The two brief chapters on metallurgy, De probatione auri et
argenti and De mensura caerae in operibus fusilibus (2 and 3) are

5^ 6*3. Hfcfe. &v UT

(50) See above, p?66.
(51) See E.A. Lowe, C.l.A. VIII, p. 31 , no. 1129.
(52) Aevum, XXXIII, pp. 451-2 and 463-4.
Leonardi, ———
See C. Manwonpir The
Cambridge^belongs to the end of the ninth century according
to W.M. Lindsay, Early Welsh script (1912), p. 22.
 74

of unknown origin. Besides the manuscripts of the computus, they

are found in a ninth-century manuscript of Palladius (Laon 426 bis)

and a tenth-century Vitruvius (Schlestadt 1153 bis) ^

In contrast with the other compilation, the seven-book computus

has only eight chapters from Bede's De temporum rations. All of

them occur also in the three-book computus, but in only one case is
the excerpt of the same length; in four instances the excerpt in
the seven-book computus is shorter, three times longer^ . From
this it would seem very unlikely that a common source was used for
these chapters^(55)x .
One other chapter, V, 10, is of considerable significance for
the origins of the seven-book computus and is worth quoting in full:
'Anno dominicae incarnationis DCCLX facta est eclypsis solis XVTII
kal. sept, in XXVTII parte leonis hora diei quasi nona. Anno
DCCLXIIII similiter facta est eclypsis solis pridie non. iun. in

(53) See V. Rose f s edition of Vitruvius (1899), p.xxviii.

(54) The excerpts in III, 6, 7 and IV, 12, 27 are shorter than in
the three-book computus I, 41? 42, 10 and 80; I, 9, and IV,
11, 21 are longer than I, 68, 43, 89; IV, 9 is the same as
I, 46.
(55) Jones (Bedae Opera de temgoribus, p.114) described the text
as being Consistently bad 1 . This cannot be applied to the
sections in the seven-book computus; collation of Madrid 3307
with Jones's text shows it to be very accurate. But this
lack of errors makes it impossible to place the computus in
the textual tradition of Bede.
 75

XVIII parte geminorum hora diei quasi sexta. Hae duae eclypses
factae sunt tempore domini pipini regis. Item anno DCCLXXXVII
faota est eclypsis XV kal. oct. in prima parte librae hora diei

quasi secunda. Item anno DCCCVII similiter facta est eclypsis

solis III id. feb. in XXVI parte aquarii hora diei quasi sexta.
Item anno DCCCX fuit eclypsis solis VII id. iun. hora quasi secunda
in XXI parte geminorum. Item eodem anno fuit eclypsis solis prid.
kal. dec. in XIIII parte sag^arii. Item anno DCCCXI fuit eclypsis
solis V kal. mai hora diei prima completa. Item anno DCCCXII fuit
eclypsis solis id. mai. hora diei quasi septima in XXVIIII parte
tauri.'
It can "be shown by comparison with a table of eclipses that six
of the eclipses are historical, although in some cases the dates are
inaccurate; those recorded for June 810 and 811 never took place

The standard work is T. von Oppolzer's Canon der Finstemisse

(1887). This shows that the eclipse of 78? took place on
Sept. 16th, not 17th; and that of 812 on May 14th, not 15th.
The two eclipses recorded for 810 raise an interesting problem
which is outside the scope of the present work. They are
listed in a number of Carolingian annals, and they form the
subject of the long letter from Dungal to Charlemagne (see
above, p.66, n.3(t), written in 811. The question then is:
What took place on 7th June 810 that made people think there
had been an eclipse?
 With the exception of the 'eclipse 1 of 811, all of them are

referred to in various sets of annals of the ninth century, notably

in the Annales Prumienses^7 '. found in Madrid 3307, although not

in such detail. The earlier part of these annals, including all

the entries before 820, is not original to Prum, but was copied
from earlier annals, notably those of Stavelot and Saint Amand.
The Stavelot annals^ ' contain notices of all the eclipses

mentioned in Annales Prumienses, and cere probably &fc/)r source for

these items.
Enough data are given in the computus to make it possible to
calculate approximately where the eclipses were observed, provided
that the assumption is made that all the observations were made in
the same place. G-ranted this assumption, it appears likely that
the eclipses were recorded around the region where the present-day
(59^ Within this area lies
border between Belgium and G-ermany runs v '.
the origin of the Stavelot annals.
There remains one further chapter which may have some bearing
on the origins of the seven-book computus. Bk. IV, ch. 10,

Argumentum ad inveniendum annum bissextilem, opens with the words

(57) M.&.H. SS XV, 2, pp.1289-1291.

(58) M.G-.H. SS XIII, pp.39-43.
I ow» very yrafrefv/ fe M*. /~W. darke, W-^- F-K.C.S., for
ca/culations /involved
 77

'Anni ab incarnatione domini anno praesenti sunt DCCXCIII'-

Ruck' 6°), who found this in Montpellier 334, considered that this

showed that the computus was in existence by 793* but he thought

that it must have been written earlier, since he considered it
very unlikely that a work written in 793 would be revised as early

as 809• This argument is very dubious, but is in any case

irrelevant, since the date is found only in the one argumentum and
has no bearing on the date of the whole compilation.
To summarise the arguments. There appears to be no evidence
that Book XVIII of Pliny or Macrobius' Commentary on the Somnium
Scipionis were known in England during the eighth century; therefore
it is unlikely that these computi as a whole or the Pliny excerpts
in particular were compiled in England. The fact that Bede's works
occur in them could equally well point to a continental origin,
which is supported by other evidence: the latter (original) part
of the Adbreviatio Chronicae deals exclusively with continental
events; Macrobius was certainly known on the continent and Pliny
may well have been, by the beginning of the ninth century.

(60) Auszuge. pp.84-85.

 78

¥e have seen that the two oomputi have much material in common,

some of it firmly dated to 809; and it must be considered a strong

possibility that many of the common chapters, including the sections

from Pliny, were drawn from a work compiled in that year. It has

already been said that the illustrations to De ordine ac positione

stellarum in signis suggest the work of the Palace School at

Aachen, and the data on eclipses may originate from the same region.
It is tempting to see behind this the figure of Charlemagne, with
his known interest in astronomy, as witnessed by the letters from
Alcuin and Dungal already discussed. But even if the evidence is

not enough to demonstrate such an hypothesis, it is reasonable to

suppose that the right atmosphere existed in that region at that
time for the creation of such work.
It would appear that if there was a compilation of 809, it was
rapidly revised. It has been shown before that the probable date

of composition of the three-book computus is 810. The date of the

seven-book computus is harder to establish. The earliest date must

be 812, the last of the eclipses recorded; it can hardly be as late

as 82fJO, the latest date for Madrid 330?.

The earliest surviving manuscripts of the seven-book computus

appear to have been written at no great distance from Aachen: Metz,

Lobbes, Reims, the furthest is possibly Paris. The three-book

 79

computus, on the other hand, survives only in two manuscripts from

the other side of Europe. Even here, however, it is not difficult

to find a connection with the same region. The occurrence of the

( 61)
name of Archbishop Arn in the Annals has already been mentioned

Before he became bishop at Salzburg he spent a period as abbot at

St. Amand. He was himself a scholar and had a large number of
books copied for his cathedral library^(62}', doubtless with the aid
of monks from St. Amand and probably books from its library
The possibility that the exemplar of Munich 210 and Vienna 38? is
one of these manuscripts is strengthened by two facts: the
martyrology appears to be from Northern Prance ', and the style
of the illustrations is, according to G. Swarzenski , more
suggestive of that region than of S.1Y. G-ermany.
Thus it may fairly be said that there are strong indications
that the earliest form of the two computi that we can identify came
from the vicinity of Aachen. It may be that the Pliny excerpts are
older than the computi in which they are first found; but at present
there is no evidence to support this.

(61) See above, p. 2k.

(62) 'Arn episcopus ... plus quam 150 volumina iussit hie conscribi 1 :
M.G-.H* Necr. Germ. II, p.98.
(63) See E.A. Lowe, C.L.A. X, pp.viii-xviii.
(64) See A. G-oldschmitt, Die karolingisohe Buchmalerei (1928), pp.19-20,
34.
(65) Die Salzburgher Malerei (1908), p.14.
 80

Later history of the excerpts up to 1200

The life history of the Pliny excerpts found in the two

computi already discussed did not end with the ninth and tenth

century, but continued until the fifteenth century. In the

present chapter the manuscripts containing one or more of the

passages which were written "before 1200 will "be considered.

Because of the brevity of the excerpts, it is not possible

in most cases to establish the relationship between the various

manuscripts. In the following discussion, therefore, they are

generally treated in an approximate chronological order, although
this arrangement is abandoned in the case of manuscripts which

have obvious affinities.

The earliest manuscript to be considered is probably Paris

Nouv. Acq. Lat. 1615 (1) • It was written in the first half
the ninth century, probably at Auxerre (2)
v ' ; but before the end
of the century it had passed to the abbey at Fleury, and is marked
'Hie est liber sancti benedicti floriacensis 1 ^ . It contains a

(1) See L. Delisle, Cat, des MSS. Libri et Barrois (1888), pp.70-76;
C. Leonardi, Aevum XXXIV (i960), pp. 446-7.
(2) This is the conclusion to be drawn from the entries in the
calendar on fols. 4r -9 v J see Delisle, p. 70.
(3) Delisle, p. 73-
 81

large miscellany of astronomical and computistical texts, including

Bede's scientific works. About half of the remainder is taken

from the seven-book computus^ ', but the material has been

considerably rearranged, and items have been added from other

sources. The arrangement of the items in the manuscript is very

haphazard, apparently reflecting the disordered state of the

exemplar. This is shown very clearly in the case of the Pliny

excerpts: De intervallis earum breaks off in the middle on
fol.181 v , the remainder being found on fol.159r ^ • The text

It is certain that the seven-book computus was used as source,

since, although there is generally no numbering of the sections
in the manuscript, two passages do have numbers attached to
their rubrics: XIII Ratio calculi per quam numerus in argumentis
compendiose partitur (fol.155 ); XXII Qualiter latini et greci
dissentiunt in XIIII luna paschae (fol.17?V)» This is the
numbering of the same chapters in Book II of the computus.
(5) The Pliny excerpts occur as follows: 1, fols. 1^0 - ;
2, 181 V and 159r ; 3, 159V - 160P ; If, 160V - I62r ; 6, 162P -
De intervallis earum breaks off at interdum et musicana
auctoritate ..... where the part from na onwards comes from
another chapter (IV, 20 in the seven-book computus), which
v
itself breaks off on fol.169 at auctoritas dig. The excerpt
from Pliny is likewise joined on without a break to another
<*•
passage on fol.159 • This must mean that the leaves in the
exemplar were out of order. Yet another sign of confusion
may be that De mundano anno ... (ill, 5) is followed by Item
argumentum de qualibet lunae aetate (IV, 4), although item has
no meaning in this arrangement.
is frequently marred by careless mistakes, as can be demonstrated

by some examples taken from the first few lines: cursus (for

cursu septem) in the title of the first excerpt; ii, §12 (1, 5),

sumum (for summum); §34 (1, 8), indem feriorem (inde inferiorem);

(1, 9) circumagit (circumagi).

It is not possible to establish any connection between this

manuscript and any of the others. L. Traube^ ' considered that

two copies existed: Melk 4-12 (formerly G- 32) and Berne 347. The

latter is without any doubt not a copy, but will be considered

further below^ '. It may be that the Melk manuscript is in fact

partly a copy of Paris N.A.1615; but Traube is incorrect in

(8}
saying that it contains any of the Pliny excerpts^ '.

(6) Neues Arohiv. XVIII (1893), pp. 87-88 (Vorlesungen und

Abhandlungen, III (1920), p. 14^
(7) See below, ppflS-Jf-
(8) He considered that the two sections coming at the end of
Bede 1 s De temporibus, entitled De stella veneris mercurii
saturni iovis et martis and De apsidibus planet arum were
from Pliny, seemingly equating them with the first and third
excerpts. These passages are found attached to the
De temporibus in other manuscripts, for instance Harley 3091;
but they do not occur in Paris N.A. 1615 and they have no
connection with Pliny. The M&lk <mcwvscrj»fc ay*£rai*s iwfcts m
#e*nc, nJio, Traatt W/cveit, *iu$£ tave nW A/.fl. J6I$.
 83

C. Leonard!^' suggested that Paris N.A. 4-56 might have been copied

from N.A.1615; but this cannot be correct, since the former

manuscript contains the seven-book computus in its original form.

The next manuscript, chronologically, is London Harley 647,

which is the earliest of a group of manuscripts now all in the

British Museum containing Cicero 1 s Aratea - the others are Harley

2506, Cotton Tiberius B V (vol.1) and Cotton Tiberius C I. Since

these manuscripts have very close connections, it will be convenient

to consider them together, and to commence by listing those items

which are common to the manuscripts:

1) Domine deus omnipotens sancta trinitas .*• in unitate eiusdem
spiriti per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen,
2) Sancta scriptura nobis a deo ... et luminare minus ut praesset

nocti.

(9) Aeyum. XXXIV, p. 446. Similarly A. Van de: • Vyver's statement

———— Was copied Prom M.A.456
(Rev. Ben. XLVII (1935), p. 143) that N.A.l6l5y(is impossible
in view of the fact that the former manuscript is the earlier.
3) De XII signis. Primitus de ariete: Regionem XII caeli ...

christus dominus salvator mundi evertrtp '.

4) Ex opere Ciceronis de astronomia: E quibus hinc ... properant

depellere pisces^ .

5) De concordia Solaris cursus et lunaris.

6) Item de eadem re.

7) De concordia maris et lunae.

8) De praesagiis tempestatum.
9) Ambrosii macrobii theodosii de mensura et magnitudine terrae
et circuli per quern solis iter est.
10) Item eiusdem de mensura et magnitudine solis.
11) Felicis capellae de mensura lunae.
12) Eiusdem argumentum quo magnitude terrae deprehensa est.
13) De positione et cursu septem planetarum.
14) De intervallis earum.
15) De absidibus earum.
16) De cursu earum per zodiacum circulum.
17) Dimensio caelestium spatiorum secundum quosdam.
18) De mundano anno qui quindecim milibus solarium conficitur
annorum tullii ciceronis somnium scipionis dictantis et macrobii
idem exponentis ac sen<ftcae philosophorum auctoritas.

(10) These three items are printed in J. Vogels, Scholia in

Ciceronis Aratea I (1884), pp. 9-13.
(11) See Ciceron. Les Aratea (ed. V. Buescu), pp. 191-255.
 85

There are slight differences between the manuscripts in

the arrangement of the items; Cotton Tib. C.I omits the first
two; and in Harley 647 3 is put "before 1 and 2, 5-7 are omitted,
and 8 is written in the margins of 4»
It is clear that, with the exception of the first four items,
this material is all found in the seven-book computus: 5-7 = IV,
24-26; 8 = V f 12; 9-12 = VI, 4-7; 13-16 = V, 3-6; 17 = V, 11;
18 = III, 5-
In the Pliny excerpts, those from Book II (13-16) have
virtually the same readings as in the seven-book computus; there
are a few differences: §12 (1,4) erret (errent); ^43 (1> 39)
austro (austros); ^76 (4, 35) ortum (exortum). In De praesagiis
tempestatum, however, there are more variations, notably two
•omissions: f| 341-2 (6,j-&.) Etenim - exordia, and §343 (6,17-20)
Si in ortu - significabunt. In addition, the following readings
are noteworthy: ^347 (6,#? ) cornua (cornu); £343 (6, 53. )
varionem (varronem); £354 (6, lf\ ) serena ( sereno); ^359 (6
murmuraveritve (murmurabitve); ^361 (6,/59) lullago (lulligo);
§364 (6,136) avo (ova).
(12)
Harley 647 is written in a ninth century French hand;
but its precise date and provenance have not yet been established

(12) See F. Saxl-H.Meier, Verzeichnis III (1953), pp. 149-151;

C. Leonardi, Aevum, XXKIV, pp. 72-73.
 86

beyond dispute. It was assigned "by E.K. Rand^(13)

v ' to the end

of the ninth century; but F. Saxl suggested that it was

written about the middle of the century, and connected it with
the manuscript of the Aratea mentioned by Lupus of Ferribres in
a letter to Ansbald of Prunr '. He considered that it was
possible that the interlinear corrections were in the hand of
Lupus, although this has subsequently been rejected by E. Pellegrin
The manuscript reached England probably not later than the end
of the tenth century, since the first folio was replaced in an
English Caroline hand of that date; by the fourteenth century
it was at St. Augustine* s Abbey, Canterbury (17)
v .
The text of the Pliny excerpts^(18)' is reasonably accurate,
although in a number of places the scribe has apparently corrected
his own mistakes. It cannot be shown whether the errors of the
manuscript are original or go back to its exemplar. Virtually

(13) A survey of the MSS of Tours, I (1929), p. 203.

(1A-) Verzeichnis III, p. XVI, n.i».; Lectures (1951), p. 101.
(15) Quoted by Saxl, Lectures, p. 101.
(16) Bibl. E*c. Chartes, CXV (1957), p. 15, n.1.
(17) See N.R. Ker, Medieval libraries of G-reat Britain (1964-), p.^4;
M.R. James, The ancient libraries of Canterbury and Dover (1903),
p. 330, n.1164.
(18) 1, fola.18v-19r ; 2, 19r ; 3, 19r-20v ; 4, 19V-20r ; 6, I6r-v
(incomplete, begins splendidum articuli temporum, §351 (6,51 ).
 87

all of them are repeated in one or more of the other three

manuscripts. The excerpt from Book XVIII, which is now

incomplete at the beginning, owing to the loss of a leaf between

fols. 15 and 16, was written in the margins on either side of the

text of the Aratea^(19)

''.
The origins of Harley 2506^ ' likewise present problems.
It is written in a number of Caroline minuscule hands of the end

of the tenth century, but the illustrations were executed by an

artist apparently belonging to the Winchester school x(21)'. It is

therefore possible either that the manuscript was written by a

continental scribe living in England, or that it was decorated

by an English artist living on the continent. There is evidence

that the latter is more likely. Firstly the manuscript contains
the treatise of Abbo of Fleury beginning Studiosis astrologiae

primo sciendum est in which the name Berno has been substituted

for that of Abbo. A. Van de Vyver (22)' maintained that the only

place where this would have any meaning was in Fleury, where Berno,

(19) Thk strange arrangement has not been commented on; perhaps
the scribe originally left this passage out. It was not
copied in the other manuscripts, in which De praesagiis
tempestatum is placed after the Aratea.
(20) Saxl-Meier, Verzeichnis, III, pp. 157-160; C. Leonardi, pp.73-75.
(21) 0. Homburger, Die Anfange der Malschule von Winchester (1912), p.5,
fcy. Bern. S3SL(ms),y.\l&t n.Z,
 88

later abbot of Reichenau, was living at the time when the

manuscript was written. To corroborate this, P. Y/ormald (23)
has pointed to the great similarity between the illustrations
in this manuscript and those in Orleans 175, which is known
(91±\
to have been written at Fleurjr '.
Besides the items common to the group, Harley 2506 contains
Hyginus's Astronomica and Book VIII of Martianus Capella with
(25)
the commentary of Remigius of Auxerre. In the Pliny excerpts v

there are a number of variants and different readings not found

in the other three manuscripts: ii, £ 35 (1»I3 ) quinos annos

(quinos annis); $42 (1,31 ) e| (aut); $ 59 (3,2. ) esse after

diximus (also in Paris N.A. 1615); $ 59 (3, II ) vespertinas

(vespertinas in the other manuscripts of the group, but

vespertinos is the normal reading); xviii | 342 (6, 7 ) serenis

(serenis in the other three manuscripts, but serenus is the

correct reading); § 347 (6,42.) suit (sint, although Munich 210
•

and Vienna 387 have sunt); § 355 (6, H6) solo (solo). These
are probably indications that the scribe collated two manuscripts.

(24; YT. .Vatteribadh, Das Schriftwesen im Mittelalter (1958), p. 357,

called Harley 2506 English; on the other hand he described
Cotton Tib.B.V (see below) as continental with insular influence
It would appear that he had confused the two manuscripts.
(25) 1, fols. 52v-53r ; 2, 53r ; 3, 53r-v ; 4, 53V-54V ; 6, 49r-51 r .
 89

Cotton Tiberius B V (vol.i)^ ' was probably written about

the same time as Harley 2506, or in the early years of the

(27)
eleventh century, certainly in England, possibly in Winchester
A large part of it is devoted to computistical items not related
to the seven-book computus, but fols. 30-54 contain the Aratea
( 28")
and the items from Harley 647. The text of the Pliny excerpts^
is the poorest of the four manuscripts, containing considerably

more errors.
Cotton Tiberius C.!P ' (fols.2-42 only; the rest is from

another, originally separate manuscript) is the latest of the four,

having been written at Peterborough at the beginning of the twelfth
century. It is only a part of what was once a much larger
manuscript, of which another part is now Harley 3667 , and

contained a computus, with considerable excerpts from Isidore,

closely related to that in Oxford, St. John1 s College 17? written
(*i \
about the same time at nearby Thorney Abbey. The Pliny excerpts^ '

do not contain a high number of errors, although they are not as

(26) See Saxl, Verzeichnis III, pp.119-128; Leonard!, pp.70-71.

(27) 0. Homburger, Die Anfange der Malschule von Winchester (1912), p.£
(28) 1, fol. .52V ; 2, 52V ; 3, 53r-V ; 4, 53v-54r ; 6, 49v-51 r .
(29) See Saxl, Verzeichnis III, pp.128-134; leonardi, pp.71-72.
(30) See N.R. Ker, B.M. Quarterly, XII (1937-8), p. 132.
(31) 1, fols. 39V-40r ; 2, 40r ; 3, ¥)V-41 r ; 4, 41 r-V ; 6, 36v-38r .
 90

carefully copied as in Harley 2506. One alteration not found

elsewhere may be mentioned here; the substitution of stellarum

for planetarum in the title of the first passage.

It has been assumed without question that the three later
manuscripts were copied directly from Harley 647• But in the

excerpts from Pliny, at least, this view cannot be accepted;

and it is clear that there must have been at least one intermediate
copy, now presumably lost. The. grounds for this conclusion are
provided by the number of places where the three later manuscripts
have a common reading not found in Harley 647: ii> $ &0 (3> *? )
alioquibus menstris (alioqui bimenstris); § 61 (3,22 ) occasum
(occasu); § 64 (j>,^$ ) singulis (singuli sunt); § 79 (4,7 I )
contigerit omitted; xviii, § 357 (6,I3O ) promittunt (promittent);
^ 361 (6,163) clangere (clangore); £ 362 (6, 163 ) mergia natesque
(mergi anatesque); § 3^3 (6,175 ) ardeam (ardea in); § 364 (6,IS 6 )

conyersantes (concursantes).
It would be implausible to maintain that three scribes working
completely independently could make the same errors on so many
occasions. An examination of the text of the Aratea confirms
this (32).

(32) Buescu (p. 54) lists a considerable number of examples where

the three manuscripts diverge from Harley 647; but he
apparently failed to notice the significance of this.
 91

Cotton Ti"b. C. I may provide a small clue to the missing

manuscript: no fewer than four times enim is substituted for

autem (ii. §§ 61. 63 (twice), 62: 3, 19, U5,U6 ; 4, 2. ).

This suggests that the scribe had before him a manuscript written
in insular script, and that he misunderstood the normal symbol
for autem ( /v ). There is, however, no consistency here, since

on the other four occurrences of the word autem is correctly

written. The error is not found at all in Harley 2506 and
Cotton Tiberius B V, which were, however, written a century
earlier^ .
The two other English manuscripts, Oxford Digby 83 and
Bodley 614, containing closely related astronomical works, were
considered by F. Saxl^ ' to have illustrations derived from

Harley 647• They include an adaptation of some of the Pliny

excerpts, but it is reasonably certain that this was not taken
(35)
from any manuscript of the Aratea group v '.

(33) The Aratea provides no assistance, as the word autem is not

used in it.
(34) Verzeichnis III, pp. XXVT-XXX; Lectures, pp. 108-109.
(35) See further below, pp. 12.3-4.
 Paris 11130 may be connected with this group, since it has
a considerable number of common readings. The connection is,

however, not at all certain, and this manuscript can be discussed

more appropriately in its chronological position

Returning to the manuscripts of the ninth century: Montpellier

H. 334 is written in a French hand^ ' and belonged later to
the College of the Oratory at Troyes. Besides works of Hyginus,
Cassiodorus and Fulgentius, it contains parts of the seven-book
computus: III, 2-4 and 8-10, V, 1-9, 11-12, VI complete, with the
additional chapters (d)-(f). Only the introduction of V, 2 (up
to descriptio proferatur) is given. There can be no doubt that
these chapters are taken from the seven-book computus, since many
(39")
of the rubrics contain the chapter numbers of that compilationv '.

(36) See below, pp. I20-I; Buescu (pp.40-41) names two further
descendants of Harley 647; Leiden Voss. Lat. P.121 and
Cambridge, Trinity College R 15. 32, neither of which contains
any Pliny.
(37) Cat, g&i. des MSS, vol I (1£49) pp. 420-422: Ruck, Auszuge,
pp. 20-22; Leonardi, Aevum XXXIV, pp. 86-87.
(38) B. Bischoff, quoted by Leonardi, p. 86.
(39) III, 2-4, 8, 9, 13; V, V-9; VI, 2-7. Of the remainder
III, 10 is unrubricated, and was missed by Ruck.
 93

The text of the Pliny excerpts^' is reasonably free from

f i -j \
errors, although there are a number of small omissions . In
some cases where Ruck accepted its readings, it is now shown to

be incorrect: ii, $ 78 (4, ^ ) LXXVIIII (LXVIIIl); § 79 (4,67 )

locis (in loois); xviii § 359 (6,149 ) soliti (solito).

Berne 347 » another manuscript from the ninth century,

was once part of a much larger manuscript that also included
Berne 330 and 357, Paris Lat. 7665, and Leiden Voss. Lat; Q 30,
i
containing a miscellany of texts, including Nonius Marcellus
De compendiosa doctrina, the fragments of Petronius, Macrobius 1
Commentary on the Somnium Scipionis, and the four excerpts from
Book II of Pliny. It is written in a French hand of the latter
part of the ninth century, and may come from Auxerre. It is
known that Heiric was acquainted with Petronius^ '; and it is
unlikely that this manuscript is unconnected with the one he used.

(40) 1, fol. A4V-45r ; 2, 45r ; 3, 45r-46r ; 4, 46r-47r ; 6, 47V-49V .

(41) See Ruck, p. 33.
(42) See Hagen, Catalogus (1875), pp.336-7; Ruck, Ausziige, pp. 18-19;
0. Homburger, Die illustrierten Handschriften der Burger-
bibliothek Bern (1962), pp. 134-136.
(43) See E. Chatelain, Pal^ographie des class, lat. II (1900), p.16.
 94

The text of the Pliny excerpts' is generally reasonably

accurate, although it contains a number of readings that distinguish

i£ from the manuscripts of the two computi: ii, § 32 (1,5" )

sidus est (sidus); § 32 (1,6 ) ajnbire (abire); §36 (1,17 )

venus (veneris); § 70 (3,4-2. ) minime (minimaeque); § 67 (4,1 (f )

inter duas partes omitted; § 75 (4,29) exitu (exortu);

§ 76 (4,39 ) ascendant (ascenderant). It has already been

mentioned that L. Traube considered that this manuscript was

copied from Paris N.A. 1615, but a comparison of the two manuscripts
shows that this is not the case^ '.

A manuscript closely related to Berne 347 is Oxford Bodleian

Canon. Class. Lat. 279 , which was originally joined to Leiden

Voss. Lat. F.70, I. It contains Nonius Marcellus De compendiosa

doctrina, an abridged collection of Seneca1 s Epistolae Morales,

(44) 1, fol. 22V ; 2, 23r ; 3, 23V-24r ; 4, 24r-25r .

(45) Berne 347 does not reproduce any of the peculiar readings
of the Paris manuscript, e.g. ii. § 35 (1,\^ ) qui non (quinos);
§ l^ (1,/j_5) vices omitted; § 83 (2, 2. ) earum (eorum);
§ 84 (2, U ) ad solem (a_sole); § 59 (3,6 ) centrum LXXX
(CLXXX); § 63 (3,47 ) modo (fflundo); § 77 (4,71) sicut (sed);
there are many other examples, but it will be sufficient to
add that the Berne manuscript has no break in the middle of
the De intervallis earum.
See H.O. Coxe, Cat. Ill (1854), cols. 229-31.
 95

and the first four excerpts from Pliny/ ' the last one ending
at the words 'supra solem tria sidera' (ii, §T80 (l4",&0)).
It was written about 900, in northern or N.W. French, according
to L.D. Reynolds^ ', who, however, did not accept C. Beeson 1 s
suggestion^' that it came from Corbie. Chatelain^0 ' tentatively
suggested Fleury for its origins, but without strong evidence.
There can be no doubt that this manuscript is very closely
related to Berne 347; the readings in the text are almost identical
(the Oxford manuscript is slightly less accurate ^ '), and the two
manuscripts contain the same glosses in the second excerpt (52)
v .

(47) 1, fol. 32V ; 2, 32V ; ^3, 33r ; 4, 33V-34r .

(48) The medieval tradition of Seneca1 s letters (1965), pp.96-97, 152,
See also 0. Pacht and J.J.G-. Alexander, Illuminated MSS, in the
Bodleian Library, I (1966), p.33, no. 425-
(49) Class. Phil., Xtll _(1947), pp. 81-2.
(50) Rev, de Phil., NS. XXI (1897), pp. 53-4.
(51) Canon Class. Lat. 279 has the following errors not found in
the Berne manuscript: ii, § 35 (1, 15 ) unus omitted;
§ 61 (3, 19 ) duae omitted;—^ 70 (3,^-1 ) ex adverse (adverso);
% 66 (4,3 ) eius omitted; § 71 (A-, 2O) descendere omitted.
In addition it ends at supra solem tria sidera, although since
the lower half of the leaf has been cut av/ay, it is possible
that the rest of the excerpt was originally present.
(52) See Ruck, Ausziige, pp. 18-19.
 The Berne and Oxford manuscripts just considered are the
best representatives of a group of manuscripts, of which a number

had been discussed by Ruck and which formed the B group in his
classification^ ^'. The other manuscripts were Munich 6362,
6364 and 14436 and Berne 265; and to these there may now be
added Cologne, Staatsarchiv 10, Munich 14B36, Paris 16680 and

Zurich Car. C 122.

Berne 347 and Canon. Class Lat. 279 evidently belong to
this group because of a number of errors which they have in
common with the other manuscripts^- ', but they stand apart from
the rest since they preserve a better text. All the other
manuscripts of the group are apparently descended from a common
exemplar, which contained the following errors: ii,§12 (1,U )
erret (errent in the Berne and Oxford manuscripts); § 84 (2, \\ )
qua (quo); § 61 (3,30) stella added after Mercurii; § 61 (3,5 I )
possit (possint); § 64 (3,53) a centro, omitting terrae;
62 (4,3 ) eadem (eaedem); ^ 66 (4, U ) latitud^ines (latitudinis);
§ 80 (4,59 ) partibus (paribus).

(53) Ibid., pp. 26-27.

(54) Listed above, p.
 97

(55)
The earliest manuscript of the group is Zurich C 122 V ',
ascribed to the tenth century. It contains Macrobius' Commentary

on the Somnium Scipionis in a form that is apparently peculiar to

this group of manuscripts^ ', and the four excerpts from Bk.II
(57)
of Pliny, the third being placed last v -"'.
In the first, second and fourth excerpts this manuscript
contains all the errors common to its group, together with many
others. But in the third excerpt the text is much more accurate,
and contains none of the errors listed above. This fact, coupled

with the fact that it is placed apart from the other three excerpts,
strongly suggests that it was taken from a different exemplar.
Munich 1443& ' appears to be closely connected with the
Zurich manuscript. It was written at the end of the tenth and
beginning of the eleventh century, and came to Munich from the

(55) See L.C. Mohlberg, Katalog der Hss. der Zentralbibliothek

Zurich, I (1952), p. 121.
(56) This is explained in the introduction to L. von Jan1 s edition
of Macrobius, vol. I, pp. LXIV-LXV. The text starts at
Bk.I, xiv, §21; a passage at xv, § 7 is replaced by part of
xii,§ 1, and after Bk.II, ix is added Bk.I, iii, §§ 17-20,
with which the text finishes. It is significant, as Jan
noticed (p. LXXVIIl), that Leiden Voss Lat Q.2 contains Bk.I
up to xiv,§ 20 and Bk.II from x,% 1, that is, the parts
missing in this group.
I*—V I* F—V T* r»
(57) 1, fols. 39 ; 2, 20r ; 3, 43 ; 4, 40 -U .
(58) See Ruck, Auszuge, pp. 14-16; Halm, Cat.II, 2, p.
H.P. Lattin, Isis, XXXVIII (1947-43), pp.205-225.
 98

(59)
monastery of St. Emmery at Regensburg. B. Bischoff ' has
shown that it belonged to one of the monks there, named Hartwic,

who added fols. 1-33 and 83-119 to the original manuscript;

this had contained Macrobius 1 Commentary in the same form as

Zurich Car. C 122, the first three excerpts from Pliny, Boethius'

Commentary on Porphyry and Julius Severianus 1 Praeoepra artis

rhetoricae . This original part is written in a tenth-century

northern French hand, according to Bischoff^ '; and H.P. Lattin^ '

suggested that Hartwic may have obtained the manuscript while he

was studying under Pulbert at Chartres. It was apparently not

complete, because the third excerpt from Pliny was omitted and
the fourth ended at the words supra solem tria sidera (ii, § 78

(4, -£>O) although a space was left after it.

) In the remaining
three excerpts^(62}' it has many of the errors found in Zurich Car.

C. 122, e.g. ii, § 35 (1>JI ) esse meatum fmeatum esse):

(59) Stud. u. Mitt, z. &esch. des Benedikt. Ordens tl (1933), pp. 107-9
(60) Ibid., p. 108o
(61) I sis. XXXVIII,, p. 225.
(62) 1, fol. 58v-59r ; 2, 59r ; 4, 59v-6or .
 99

35 (1, /S ) intercalarius additur, omitting dies; § 66 (4, 7 )

autem (tantum); §69 (4,18 ) signiferi latitudinem (latitudinem

signiferi); §> 71 (4,22 ) quas (qua); § 75 (4,££ ) incipit after

scandere instead of following descendere; § 76 (4,35) dascendat

(descender at); § 77 (4,45 ) Her curium (Mercurii).
These two manuscripts ,are also connected with another manuscript
of this group, Berne 265^ -*' , written at the end of the tenth or
beginning of the eleventh century, and belonging at one time to
the monastery of St. Arnulf at Metsr . It contains Remigius 1

Commentaries on various works of Boethius and Martianus Capella,

the abridged version of Macrobius 1 Commentary, and the four excerpts
from Bk. II of Pliny . The state of the text has already been
considered by Ruck^ , who justly described it as the work of a
very ignorant scribe. It shares many of the errors found in
Munich 14436 and Zurich Car. C 122 listed above: §'§» 35 (both), 69,

75, 76, 77.

(63) See Hagen, Gat., pp. 298-9; Ruck, Ausz'uge, pp. 19-20;
Leonardi, Aevum XXXIV, pp. 12-13«
(64) Pol. 1 bears the words: 'Iste liber est sancti arnulphi metn'
(Hagen, p. 298).
(65) 1, fol. 58r ; 2, 58r ; 3, 58v-59r ; 4, 59r .
(66) Auszuge, p.31«
 1 00

Two manuscripts from this group come from Freising; both

were written in the eleventh century, possibly from the same
exemplar' 7 '. They are now Munich 6362 and 636V - The
latter contains only the abbreviated form of Macrobius 1 Commentary
and the four excerpts from Pliny^ 9 '. In Munich 6362 the position
is more complicated. The parts of Macrobius that occur in the
other manuscripts of this group are found on fols. 53 -74 an(i
are followed by the fourth excerpt from Pliny, only going up to
duabus ut sol ( § 67 (4, 17 ) ). Fols. 35r-53V contain the
Somnium Scipionis itself and the first part of Macrobius1 Commentary,
taken from a different examplar. Pols. 75-84 are in a different
hand from the rest, but probably of the same date; they contain
the first three excerpts from Pliny, the end of Macrobius 1 Commentary
(probably from the same exemplar as fols. 35-53)? and the remainder
of the fourth Pliny excerpt (from Tres superiores)^ . The second

(67) So Ruck, p. 15, but denied by A. Behr, Jahrfe,f,class. Phil.,

XXXIX (1893), p. 1V!.
(68) See Ruck, pp.16-17, and 13-14; Halm, Cat. I, 3 (1873), p. 97;
see also L. van Jan's edition of Macrobius, I, pp.LXIV-LXVI.
(69) 1, fol. 23V ; 2, 23V ; 3, 24r ; 4, 24r .
(70) 1, fol. 75r ; 2, 75r ; 3, 75r-V ; 4, 74V and 84r .
 101

scribe placed a mark ( •%• ) after sol on fol. 74V and "before Tres
on fol. 84r , showing that he realised the connection "between them.
(y-1)
The text of "both manuscripts is very corrupt, but Ruck has

shown that they have sufficient points in common (notably seven

lacunae) to be considered very close.
It is possible that there has survived another manuscript,
or rather a fragment, related to these two: Cologne, Stadtsarchiv 10,

discovered by A» Behr^' ' . It was written in the eleventh century,

and contains excerpts from Macrobius and Pliny. The first excerpt

from Pliny is defective owing to the loss of a folio, and starts at

quart am part em (ii, § 35 (1>14 ) )• ^ne text is very close to

that of Munich 6362*-, according to Behr^ , the Macrobius, however,

must be from a different source, since it contains parts from the

beginning of Book I and end of Book II.
Another manuscript now at Munich belongs to the same tradition
as the others. Munich 1483 6 is an eleventh- century manuscript
from St. Emmeram, Regensburg, containing a collection of texts mainly

(71) Auszttge. pp. 29-30.

(72) Jafarb. f. class. Phil., XXXIX (1893), pp. 139-43-
(73) Ibid., p. 141.
 1 02

on geometry. It has been discussed in detail by N. Bubnov^

and M. Curtze^', but both failed to notice the excerpts from

Pliny^' '. The second, third and fourth excerpts are complete,

but the first excerpt was omitted, probably because the scribe
considered it superfluous, since the subject had already been
covered in an earlier chapter De cursu VII planetarum, taken from
Isidore 1 s De natura rerum. In the Pliny excerpts it contains

the errors common to the group, but shows no obvious similarity

with any of the other manuscripts.
The remaining manuscript that can definitely be assigned to
this group, Paris 16680, belongs to the fifteenth century, and
therefore will be described in the appendix .

(74) G-erberti Opera, pp. XLVI-XLVIII.

(75) Abh. zur G-esch. d. Math., VII (1895), pp. 75-142.
(76) 2, fol. 120r ; 3, 120V-121 r ; 4, 122r-123V .
(77) See below, pp.BI-2. It is perhaps appropriate to mention
at this point Munich 14353? another eleventh-century manuscript
from St. Euvmeram, containing Macrobius' Commentary in a text
very close to Munich 6364, according to L. von Jan (his edition
of Macrobius, vol. I, p. LXXIV). On fol. 76 there is a diagram
of the planetary system, underneath which are the words "Inter
celum et terrain pendent septem sidera", the opening 7/ords of
the first Pliny excerpt.
 103

It is now necessary to go "back chronologically to another

( -7&\

manuscript of the ninth century. Bamberg H.J.IV 22 (class.55)

(79)
is probably a French manusc ript from the end of the centur y

It falls into two parts, the first (fols.1-16) containing various

works on geometry written by or ascribed to Boethius; the second

(fols, 17-40) consists of sections taken from the seven-book

computus, and includes five chapters from book III, the first
six chapters of book V, the whole of book VI, six of the
additional chapters (d-j) and the Adbreviatio chronicae,
terminating in 809- This manuscript has not received the

attention which it deserves, since in the sections from Pliny '

at least it shows a remarkable accuracy. The only errors are

ii, § J6 (4,^5 ) ortum (exortum); ii, §76 (4,?>6 ) quod (quot);

and possibly the alteration of earum to eorum in the title of

the second excerpt, if this is a contemporary change.
f QJ \
Paris 5543 is another ninth-century French manuscript.

From the fact that it contains computistical rules using the

(78) See F. Leitschuh - H. Fischer:

Bamberg, I, 2, pp.61-6; C. Leonardi, Aevum, XXXIV, p. 8.
(79) The authorities cited above, together with L. Traube (Abh. K.
Bayer, Abad. Hist. Klass, XXIV, 1 (1904), p. 10) are agreed on
this. C. Thulin, on the other hand, (G-bteborgs K. Vetens -
och Vitterh. Samhalles Handlinger, 4, XIV, 1 (1911), p. 21)
considered that it was a tenth-century South G-erman manuscript,
(80) 1, fol. 17r-v ; 2, 17V ; 3, 17V-18V ; 4, 18V-1 9V .
( 81 ) See Cat. Cod. MSS. Bibl. Reg. IV, p. 130. This manuscript
lacks an adequate description.
 1 04

date 8^7, L. Delisle^ ' concluded that it was written about

the middle of the century. But it is much more probable, as

Mile. "£. Pellegriir ^' suggested, that it comes from the end
of the century. To judge from various references in the
manuscript, it was probably written at Fleury; it was certainly
there in 1552^.
This manuscript contains Bede 1 s scientific works together
with a large amount of computistical material, probably derived
in part from the seven-book computus: this includes the second,
third and fourth of the Pliny excerpts^ -*'. The text is
reasonably accurate, and the majority of the errors in it are
not found in any of the other manuscripts, e.g. ii, § 59 (3> 3 )
meante (meantes) ; § 61 (3, 27 ) Venerisque (Veneris); § 64. (3, 5V)
in omitted before virgine and leone; ^ 78 (4,5Q ) coitu (coitum);
§ 77 (4,74 ) est omitted.

(82) Cabinet des manuscrits III (1881), p. £56.

(83) Bull, d'inf. Inst. Rech. Hist. Textes, ; , IX (19^0), p. 32.
(8A-) See C. Samaran - R. Marichal: Catalogue, II (1962), p. 275.
T**
(85) 2, fol. 133 • i"t is here entitled Item de septem planetarum
r"~v r
intervallis: 3> "132 ; 4, 131 ; this excerpt omits the
first part and begins from § 68 (4^17 ) Tres superiores.
 1 05

It is possible that Paris 5543 was the exemplar for two

small items in Oxford Bodleian Laud. Lat. 118^ '. This

manuscript of French origin, probably written at the end of

the ninth or beginning of the tenth century^ , is mainly

devoted to Martianus Capella; but three short chapters have

been added at the end (fol. 90 ) in a contemporary hand:

Ambrosii Macrobii de symphoniis musicae; De intervallis VIItern

planetarum; Item ejei septem planetarum intervallis. The second

of these is the section found in the seven-book computus under

the title Dimensio caelestium spatiorum secundum quosdem; the

third is the second excerpt from Pliny. These two items are
found together also in Paris 5543, fol. 133 > with the same
rubrics, which are not otherwise known. In addition the two
manuscripts share one interpolation not found elsewhere:

(86) See H.O. Coxe, Cat. Cod. MSS. Bibl. Bodl. II, 1, (1858),
p. 54 (where it is wrongly called eleventh-century);
Leonard!, Aevum XXXIV, p. 4 2.5 .
(87) Ninth century, according to J.G-. Pre'aux (Latomus, XIX (1953),
 1 06

/ Q0\

§ 83 (2, 2. ) guae after Intervallis eonmr '.

Paris 554-3 has been linked in the past with two other

manuscripts, Paris 5239 and Strasbourg 326. But although

these manuscripts contain a considerable amount of similar

material, they show no clear connection in the Pliny sections;
and therefore these two manuscripts need not be considered out
of chronological order.

Two manuscripts may come from the end of the ninth century,
although they have generally been dated later: Paris 8663 and

Strasbourg 326 just mentioned.

(88) It is of some interest that this manuscript belongs to a

group (also including Leiden B.P.L. 36 and 87, and Bamberg
M. V 16) which contain an interpolated passage in Book VIII,
§ 860 of Martianus Capella, based on Macrobius, Gomm. in
Somn. Scip. Book I, 21, 12. This same passage of Macrobius
is paraphrased in the seven-book computus (VI, 6) under the
title Felicis Gapellae de mensura lunae in very similar
terms, except that in the computus the verbs are expressed
in the past tense, as in the original Macrobius, whereas in
the interpolation they are put in the imperative.
 107

Paris Q66y ^ has been considered to belong to the tenth

or even eleventh century; but A. \7ilmart ^ ' observed that

the illustrations and initials point to a Carolingian model,

and it may have been written as early as the end of the ninth
century. Mme. Vernet^" ' suggested that it came from Fleury
or the vicinity. It contains only the first and third excerpts
from Pliny^ '; iQ addition it contains Hyginus 1 Astronomica
and the chapter De ordine ac positione stellarum in signis with
other sections on astronomy and music. The Pliny excerpts are
reasonably accurate, but do not show any close connection with
other manuscripts. But there is one problem: this manuscript
has the addition of sunt after tres in ii, § 59 (3? 2. ), only
found elsewhere in Munich 210 and Vienna 387. Although the
excerpts are too brief to allow any firm conclusions, this could
possibly be evidence of another manuscript outside the tradition
of the seven-book computus.

(89) See Ruck, Auszuge, pp.22-23; M.-T. Vernet, Bull, d'lnf.

Inst. Rech. Hist. Textes, VIII, (1959), pp.40-44.
(90) M.-T. Vernet, Bull, d'lnf., p. 40.
(91) Ibid.
(92) 1, fol. 24-r ; 3, 24V .
 1 08

Strasbourg 326^' was written in the tenth, or possibly

late ninth century. It contains Bede 1 s scientific works, and
a large amount of computistical material similar to that found
in Paris 5543 and Paris 5239. It also contains the commentary
on Bede 1 s De temporum ratione found in Melk 412. Since this
manuscript came from Auxerre, it is possible that Strasbourg
326 comes from the same area. Scattered among its contents
are found most of Books V and VI of the seven-book computus,
including the five excerpts from Pliny^ .
Despite the similarity of contents between this manuscript
and Paris 5543 ancl 5239, in the Pliny sections there is quite
clearly no connection at allv(95)', as the texts have nothing in

(93) See S. Wickersheimer, Catalogue ge/ne/ral des MSS., vol.

XLVII (1923), pp. 139-43-
(94) 1, fol. 121 V ; 2, 122r . 3> 123v. ^ 126^ 12?r. 6?
(95) C.W. Jones 1 suggestion (in Bedae pseudepigrapha, p. 31)
that it was copied from Paris 5239, is certainly impossible
as far as the Pliny sections are concerned.
 1 09

commoir '. But Strasbourg 326 does show a remarkably close

relationship with Paris N.A. 456. Over half the errors in

the Strasbourg manuscript are found in the other one, including

five cases not otherwise known: xviii, §344 (6,27 ) -turpidior

(turbidior); §347 (6,52) ventum (ventos); % 353 (6,/0|)

sint (sunt); § 353 (6,102) cretam (certam); § 362 (6,164)

rostros (rostro). Since Strasbourg 326 could not have been

copied from the Paris manuscript, because the latter is later

in date, it is very likely that the two were copied from the

same exemplar, that is ; a lost manuscript containing the complete

seven-book computus.

One of the survivals of the tenth century is a fragment of

(97) •
a manuscript from Fulda, now Einsiedeln 266, pp. 177-224
The first five quires are lost, and it was apparently already

(96) The Strasbourg manuscript contains none of the errors of

Paris 5543 listed above (p.l04); and in addition it has the
first excerpt omitted in that manuscript. Likewise Paris

r 9

inhibentur); § 63 (3,4-9) ideo (ideoque). Neither of the

Paris manuscripts contain the excerpt from Book XVIII.
(97) See G-. Maier, Cat, cod. MSS., I (1899), pp.239-41;
C. Leonardi, Aevum XXXIV, pp. 31-32.
 110

mutilated in 1617 when it was used by Christopher Brouwer for

the poems of Hrabanus Maurus. Pp. 177-202 contain parts of

the seven-book computus: V, 11-12, VI 2-6 and the additional

chapters (g) - (j). It is possible that the missing part

contained the rest of the computus. As it survives now the

only excerpt from Pliny preserved is that from Book XVIII

The two other tenth-century manuscripts which have to be

discussed, both now in Paris, may well be related. Paris 5239,

(99) , contains Bede's De natura rerum,
from S. Martial de Lijnoges v
De temporibus and De temporum ratione; placed between the last

two are found the first three Pliny excerpts, the third being
incomplete. The remainder of the manuscript contains a great
deal of computistical material, similar to that in Paris 5543
and in Strasbourg 326, among which is found the fourth Pliny
excerpt, incomplete at the beginning, followed by the third excerpt,
this time complete^ '.

(98) 6, PP . 177-185.
(99) See Cat. Cod. MSS. Bibl. Reg. IV, pp. 129-30. Like Paris
554-3 ) this manuscript has not yet received an adequate
description. Its provenance is shown by the annalistic
entries on fols. 6v-20r (see M.G-.H. SS_ II, pp. 251-2)
(100) The arrangement of the Pliny excerpts is: 1, fol. 38r ;
2, 38V ; 3, 38V ; (ending at §60 (3,18 ) non impleant).
and 125r-V ; 4, 122^-125r (beginning at §68 (4,17
Tres superiores).
 Ill

It appears that two different exemplars were used for

the excerpts, since in the first part of De absidibus earum

(101)
the readings of the two versions show marked differences

In the first two excerpts, the text is reasonably accurate, but

it is likely that the exemplar was related to Berne 347 a^d the

connected manuscripts, since they have a number of readings in

common: ii, £ 32 ( 1 , 5* ) sidus est ( sidus) ; § 4-3 ( 1 > *9 )

austro (austros) ; & 83 (2, 6 ) GXXV f GjQCV'l . In the later

part of the third excerpt, and in the fourth, the text shows

many signs of carelessness. It is apparently unrelated to

Berne 347; and it shows no obvious connection with Paris 5543 >

although they both omit the opening section of the fourth excerpt.
(102)
C.¥. Jones v ' had observed that the texts of the De temporum
ratione are not sufficiently close for Paris 5543 to be the
exemplar of Paris 5239*

(101) The version on fol. 38 omits the title, but otherwise

contains no errors. The second version has the title
but reads, ii, § 59 (3? 5" ) contractu (for contactu) ;
§ 59 (3, 6 ) triqueto (triquetro) ; § 60 (3, |(*. ) etiam
quadrato, omitting ex.
(102) Bedae Opera de temporibus, p. 155.
 112

Another Paris manuscript, Lat. 2236^ *', contains a

small fragment of two folios from a computistical work.

The rest of the manuscript contains an eleventh-century copy,
from St. Martial at Limoges, of St. Gregory1 s Homilies on
Ezekiel; but it is not possible to tell whether the fragment
came from the same place; it is certainly earlier, probably

tenth century. Although its contents are not given in the

Paris catalogue, they can be readily identified: fol. 1

contains chs. XIV-XVI and part of ch. XVII from Bede 1 s De

temporibus; fol. 2 has the first two Pliny excerpts, and part
of the third. The text breaks off at § 60 (3, IS ) non jjnpleant,
as in Paris 5239, before the end of the page. The text is very

close to Paris 5239? although the length of the excerpt prevents

a firm conclusion being drawn .

(103) Cat. &en. MSS. Latins. II, pp. 371-2.

(104) The two manuscripts share the readings given above, p |l|
and in addition, one error not found elsewhere:
ii, §35 (1,/3 ) anni (annis). Paris 2236 has two
mistakes riot found in the other manuscript: § 44
lune (luce) ; ^ 83 ( 2, 5" ) ad luna (ad lunam) .
 113

Passing on to the manuscripts of the eleventh century,

the first to be discussed is Madrid 9605^ , a large manuscript

devoted to computus, written in 1026, or at least not earlier,
since this date is used in the argument a/. After the Computus

Helperici are found the three sections on weights and measures

based on Isidore (additional chapters h-j in the seven-book
computus), followed, at the foot of fol. 11 V , by the rubric
De praesagiis tempestatum. No more of this chapter is to be
found in the manuscript, to judge from Cordoliani's description,
so it is probable that some leaves have been lost. On the
following folio is De absidibus earum from §63 (3, IfU) with
its opening sentence modified. The manuscript apparently
contains nothing else from the computus of 809, the remainder
being much later in date.
Paris 12117 is an eleventh-century manuscript from
St.-G-ermain-de-Pres, written probably between 1031 and 1060^ '

(105) See A. Cordoliani, Rev, arch, bibl. mus. LXI (1955), pp.435-481.
In a very full description he fails to mention the Pliny items,
which were identified from photographs in the Yfarburg
Institute, London.
(106) See Ruck, Auszuge, pp. 23-25; Co Leonardi, Aevum, XXXIV, p.
(10?) These dates are suggested by the list of French kings on
fol. 110V which ends with Henri I. The annalistic entries
terminate at 1061 (see M.G-.H. SS_ III, pp. 166-68).
 114

and possibly decorated by Ingelard, who was responsible for other

manuscripts from St. Qermain^ ° '. It contains parts of the

seven-book computus, including Adbreviatio chronicae, the decennovenal

tables, and most of the fifth and sixth books, together with
(109)
computistical works by Heiric and Abbo. The excerpts from Pliny x

may well have been copied from Vatican Reg. Lat. 309, which came
from the nearby abbey of Saint Denis; for almost all the errors

in the text of that manuscript,- including the alterations by the

second hand,are found in Paris 12117; e.g. ii, §12 (1, (*. ) erret

(errent); § 35 (1, J2 ) quartum (partium) ; §42 (1,55 ) maculosum

(maculosa) ; § 43 0,37 ) modo (iam vero) ; § 59 (3,5" ) autem added
after postea; ^ 60 (3, '6 ) binis (senis) ; in these and many other

cases the reading of Paris 1211? agrees with the second version of
(110) • In De praesagiis tempestatum, however, the
Reg. Lat. 309
Paris manuscript contains numerous alterations not found in the
(111) .
Vatican manuscript

(108) See Y. Delandres, Scriptorium IX (1955), pp. 1-13.

(109) 1, fol. 180 r ; 2, 180 r ; 3, 180r-v ; 4, 180V-181 r ; 6, 181 r-v .
The last excerpt breaks off at § 353 (6,100) austrinam aquiln.
(110) More examples are given by C.W. Finch, Trans. Proc. Am. Phil.Soc.
XCVI (1965), pp. 112-3. He gives reasons for believing that
there was one manuscript between Reg. Lat. 309 and Paris 12117.
(111) As Ruck pointed out (Ausziige, p. 33), almost all the future
tenses in this excerpt have been changed to the present in
this manuscript.
 115

One section of the Pliny excerpts is found in Paris 7299A,

an eleventh-century manuscript from Limoges, according to M.

Destembes^ '. This contains computistical material, including

part of Bede 1 s De natura rerum, and also the second Pliny excerpt
on fol. 24V , here entitled De intervallis earum hoc est VII

planetarum.
The last manuscript of the eleventh century to be discussed
is Vatican Reg. Lat 0 123 , one of the most remarkable of all

the astronomical manuscripts. It was written probably in the

Spanish monastery of Ripoll^ ', apparently in 1056^ By

the end of the twelfth century it had been taken to the abbey of
Saint Victor at Marseilles. This very beautiful manuscript contains

(112) Arch, int. d'hist. sci., LVIII-LIX (1962), p. 30. It is

called twelfth-century in the Paris catalogue, IV, p. 338.
(113) See A. Wiljnart, Cat. Cod. Reg., I, pp. 289-292; Saxl,
Verzeichnis I, pp.4-5-59•
(114) This attribution, first made by J.H. Albanes, Mel, df arch. et
d'hist. VI (1886), pp. 292-6, was questioned by P. Albareda,
Catalonia monastica I (1927), PP-4-9,57, but subsequently
reaffirmed by J. Millas VallicrosO', Estudis universitaris
Catalans, ser. mon. I (1931), FP« 236-7? and A. ViTiljnart,
Revue Benedictine XLV (1933), pp. '142-55.
(115) Against the year 1056 in the decennovenal tables is the note
"Eodem anno factus est liber iste". That this note belongs to
1056 and not the preceding year is demonstrated by V/ilmart,
Rev. Ben. XLV, p. 145, n.2.
 116

an encyclopaedia of astronomy in four books, of which most of the

first is now lost, and is made up of excerpts from Bede, Pliny,

Isidore, Macrobius, Hyginus, Dionysius, Exiguus, Fulgentius and

others. Among these are the third and sixth and part of the fourth

excerpt from Pliny^( 1 . In each case the Pliny excerpt forms

the second part of a chapter in which the first part is taken from

Bede. The titles of these chapters as given in the indexes are

instructive: Beda et macrobius de signis tempestatum vel serenitatis;

Beda et macrobius ambrosius de absidibus earum; Bedae et macrobii

(117)
ambrosii de planetis quare mutant colores v • This is the only

case in a manuscript earlier than the fourteenth century where the

excerpts are ascribed to an author; it may be reasonably concluded

that the attribution to Macrobius was made by the compiler of this

encyclopaedia. Other excerpts in this manuscript from both Pliny

and Macrobius have been ascribed to the correct authors.

(116) 3, fols. I68r-v} 4, l69r-V ;, only as far as §6? (4, 17 )

ut sol; 6, fols. 136v-138r .
(117) In the text the chapters are headed Beda de signis tempestatum
vel serenitatis. etc., followed by Item ut supra or Macrobius
ut supra.
 117

The text is reasonably accurate, and the mistakes that

do occur are generally not found elsewhere, so that it is not

possible to place the manuscript in the textual tradition.
It is not improbable that the excerpts came to Rippll from Fleury,
( 11R ^
since there were connections between the two abbeys ; but

the text does not resemble closely that of any of the manuscripts

thought to have been at Fleury.

We turn finally to the manuscripts of the twelfth century.

Oxford Bodleian Auct. P.3.15 is made up of three manuscripts,

all written in Irish hands, of which only the second is relevant

*

for the present purposes. This covers fols. 21 to 30 and consists

mainly of an anonymous astronomical work based on Isidore and Bede.

This ends on fol. 28r with the words PINIT AMEN and is followed
by a number of independent chapters, of which the first four can

(118) See R. Beer, Die Hss. des Klosters Santa Maria de Ripoll,
I (1907), pp. 75, 91-2; A. Vidier, Bull. ge*og. hist, et.
descripjb., 1911, pp. 307-8.
(119) See Summ. Gat. West. MSS., II, 1, (1937), pp. 666-7,
no. 3511.
 1 18

be identified as the four excerpts from Book II of Pliny, the

third being placed first' 120 '. The text is very corrupt, but

it cannot be related to any other manuscript; certainly it has

no connection with Berne 347 and the other manuscripts of that

( 1 21 )
group, since it has none of the errors characteristic of them
It has one surprising reading: ii, £ 83 (2, 6 ) CXXVI. obviously

for GXXVI. the correct reading in the Pliny text, but found in
none of the manuscripts of the excerpts (which have CTKY or GXXVO .
It may have been corrected from Bede' s De temporum ratione,
ch. XXVT, unless this is the single sign of a completely independent
tradition. It is possible that the manuscript was copied from a
( -\22] , in discussing a number
much earlier exemplar; for F. Shawv
of Irish glosses in the preceding astronomical work, has pointed
to one which is in Old Irish, suggesting the ninth rather than
the twelfth century.

(120) The titles are given as De absidibus earum (fols. 28 ,

col. 2 to 28, col. 1); De positione et curs (sic) planetarum
(fol. 28V , cols. 1-2); De intervallis (fol. 28V , col. 2);
/ v r
De cursu earum per zodiacum circulum (fols. 28 , col. 2-29, col.1),
(121) See above, p. 9(n
(122) In an appendix to I. P. Sheldon-Williams 1 article in
Proc. R. Irish Acad. 58C (1956-57), p. 17-
 119

Brief mention must be made of two manuscripts of New College,

(123)
Oxford, dating from the twelfth century. The first, number 104X ,

is devoted mainly to the Historia Soholastica of Petrus Comestor,

but the last leaves (fols. 121 V-122r ) contain some short notes,
among which is found De intervallis planetarum; this consists

of the second Pliny excerpt, followed without a break by the section

which in the seven-book computus is entitled Dimensio caelestium
spatiorum secundum quosdam (V, 11). Despite the brevity of the

excerpt it is quite clear that the text is closely related to

Baltimore, Vfalters Art Gallery V/".73 , since they share the

following errors: ii, § 83 (2,2. ) planet arum (eorum); § 83 (2,3 )

temptaverunt (temptarunt); § 83 (2,$ ) unde XXX (undeviginti);

§ 83 (2, 7 ) deinde (inde).

The other New College manuscript, 252^ , contains Cicero's

Philippics and various works by Seneca, but it includes also the

sixth Pliny excerpt on fols. 81 -83 omitting the title. According
( 126")', the manuscript is written in an English hand;
to A.C. Clark^
and the text of this excerpt appears to be related to Harley 647
and the manuscripts of that group: they share the following readings:

xviii, §343 (6, (if ) sparguntur (spargentur); §345 (6,29 ) rubescunt

(123) See H.O. Coxe, Cat, cod. MSB, in coll. Oxon,, I (1852),
Coll. Nov., pp. 37-38.
(124) See below, pp. Ill-2.
(125) See Coxe, Cat.. Coll. Nov., p. 90.
(126) Class. Rev. XIV (1900), p. 45.
 120

(rubescant) ; § 347 (6,45") refulserit (fulsit) ; §34-7 (6,4-9)

cornua (oornu) ; §354 (6,/06) fulget atre (fulgetrttfl. But the
connection is not very close, and there is no question that the
New College manuscript is derived from any of the others

/ >] <-)Q\
Another twelfth-century manuscript, Paris 1113CP ', contains
three works: the Imago mundi, the De philosophia of William of
Conches printed among the works of Bede; and Bede's De natura
rerunu In the last named work the scribe has inserted into
ch. XII, D.e cursu planet arum, part of the second Pliny excerpt,
commencing Pytagorqs vir sagacis animi ( § 83 (2,5" ) ) and
continuing to the end of the excerpt, where he resumed Quae
septem inter caelum from Bede. At the end of the De natura rerum
a further nine chapters were added, the first eight of which
consist of De praesagiis tempestatum, and the last is De ratione
unciarum (VI, 1 in the seven-book computus). The excerpt from
Book XVTII has been considerably altered, many words and sentences

(127) This is clear from the fact that it contains %§340-1

Etenim *-». exordia and ^343 (6,17-3$ si in ortu »^>,
significabunt, omitted in the other manuscripts.
(128) Apparently the only references to this manuscript are by
L. Delisle in the summary list of manuscripts (Bibl« illfo.
Chartes XXIV (1863), p. 220, C. T,Y. Jones, I sis XXVIJfr k. 434,
and M.L.Vf. Laistner, Hand-list of Rede manu scripts., p. 142
Jones dates it eleventh or twelfth century.
 121

being omitted, and the position of some sentences being changed;

but it is nevertheless possible to see that the text is distantly
related to the group of Harley 647; it shares with those

manuscripts the omissions inf§ 340-1 and 343; a^d some of the

errors: xviii, § 345(6, £9 ) cubes cunt (gubescant); § 357 (6,'30)

promittunt (promittent).
Three manuscripts belong to the very end of the period under
consideration. The first is Baltimore, Walters Art G-allery, W.73?
an interesting manuscript of the late twelfth century, written in
England according to H. Bober, who has analysed the contents in
(129)'. He showed that it had been compiled with considerable
detailv
care mainly from Bede, Isidore and Abbo. He pointed out the

existence of some excerpts from Pliny among the contents, but

thought that they must have come from the same source as the Bede.
But it is now clear that they must be considered as an independent
item in the compilation. . The first three excerpts from Book II

are present^- ' in a text that has not an insignificant number of

changes, but which seems to be closest to Paris 5239; thus it

shares with that manuscript the following readings: ii, 8 32 (1, 5" )

sidus est (sidus); § 69 (3,3U ) inhibente (inhibentur); § 70 (3,39 )

vapor reperoussas (vapore percussos). It has already been observed

(129) J. Walters Art G-all. XIX-XX (1956-57), pp. 65-97.

(130) 1, fols. 5r-v5. 2, 4V ; 3, 4v-5r .

 12

that the text of the second excerpt is very close to that in

New College

Vienna 1260CT * ' was written probably towards the end of

the twelfth century( 1 33) a^ the monastery of Prufening, whose

annals are written in the decennovenal tables^ . The

manuscript contains much astronomical and computistical material,
including the five passages from Pliny ^ ' found in the seven-
book computus, as well as Excerptum de astrologia and De origine
ac positione stellarum in signis (V, 1-2).
This manuscript also contains the Annales Ratisnonenses^ '.

which are found also in Munich 14733? another manuscript of the

end of the twelfth century, from St. Emmeram. This is made up
of odd scraps of parchment, with several hands, on a wide variety
of subjects, but B.J. Docen^ ' gave reasons for believing that

(131) See above, p. \\9

(132) See H.J. Hermann, Die illuminierten Hss. in Wien II (1926),
pp. 73-81; Saxl, Verzeichnis II, pp. 159-63.
(133) B. Boeckler (Die Regensburger-Priifeninger Buchmakrei (1924),
p. 76) places it as late as 1210-20.
(134) M.G-.H. Scriptores XVII. pp. 606-9.
(135) 1, fol. 26V ; 2, 27r ; 3, 27V-28r ; 4, 28r-29V ; 6, 16V-17V .
(136) M.&.H. SS XVTI pp. 577-90.
(137) Archiv, III (1821), pp.360-6l.
 123

it was the work of a group of friends, one of whom may well

have been Hugo de Lerchenfelt, canon of Regensburg cathedral.

F. Baethgen^ ^ ' considered that the Annales Ratisponenses in
this manuscript had been copied from Vienna 12600; and the same

may well be true of the De praesagiis tempestatum, found in

r v
fols. 44 -45 , since in both manuscripts the title and opening
words (to exordia) are replaced by the following sentence:
"Qui tempestatum serenitatisve presagia investigare et deprehendere
nititur".

Finally mention must be made of two English manuscripts

from the twelfth century in which parts of the Pliny excerpts
appear in a modified form. The first is Oxford Digby 83^ *°',

written about the middle of the century, and containing a work on

astronomy divided into four books. This interesting compilation,

which has been discussed by J. Millas Vallicrosfl^ ' and A. Van

de Vyver^ , contains material taken both from classical writers

and from Arabic astrology. The four excerpts from Pliny Book II

occur on fols. 32 -36 , with sections omitted and rearranged and

(138) Neues Archiv, XLV (1924), pp. 256-260.

(139) See Saxl-Meier, Verzeichnis III, pp. 345-346.
(140) Assaig d'histbria, I, pp. 259-26y.
(141) Osiris, I (1936), pp. 689-91.
 124

with much additional material. The nature of the change can

be judged from the beginning of the first Pliny excerpt; additions

and alterations are underlined: De ordine septem planetarum.

Inter ce^Lum igitur et terrain certis discreta spaciis suis imposita

et celis quemadmodum dictum est septem sidera pendent que_ ab incessu
vocamus errantia. In quorum medio quasi in medio rote posuit deus

solem tribus stellis sursum et tribus collocatis deorsum. In prime-

autem cejlo post firmamentum collocavit summum saturni sydus; ideoque

minimum videtur. Qui quoniam ampliori erat circulo hunc tricesimo

demum ad idem punctum sedis sue^ principia regredi certum est.
E. Zinner^ ' noted the occurrence of this work in three other
manuscripts: Breslau, Univ. Ac. IV 8° 11 (12th century); Erfurt,

Amplon. q 23 (12th century) and Hanover IV. 394 (13th century).

But there exists another manuscript which contains excerpts from this
work, Oxford Bodley 614 > an English manuscript from the first
half of the twelfth century. Only parts of the first and second

Pliny excerpts are present, on fol. 22, with additional material as

in Digby 83, but often in an abridged form.

(142) Verzeichnis den astron. Hss. (1925) nos. 10387-9.

(143) See Saxl-Meier, Verzeichnis III, pp. 313-6; Summ. Cat. II,
1, pp. 229-30, no. 2144, where it is described as written in
the last quarter of the century, although it belongs more
probably to the middle of the century.
 125

The thirty-eight manuscripts that have been discussed in

this chapter show the great variety of contexts in which the

Pliny excerpts are found over a period of neo-rly four hundred
years. As we have seen, their first known appearance is in
the computi of the "beginning of the ninth century; and many

of the other manuscripts of the ninth and tenth centuries in

which they occur are largely devoted to computus: Paris 5239 »

5543 and N.A. 1615, Montpellier 334 and Strasbourg 326.

These all contain many chapters found also in the seven-book
computus, even if they are not taken directly from that work;
and like the computus, these manuscripts probably served as
school textbooks.
In other manuscripts of this period the excerpts are
divorced from their original context, although many of the
earlier ones preserve the connection between the purely
astronomical sections: the excerpts from Macrobius and

Martianus Capella as well as from Pliny. These manuscripts

include Harley 647 and those derived from it, Bamberg H.J. IV 22
and Paris 8663. In the Berne 347 group, however, only the

four excerpts from Book n of Pliny are retained.

 126

Noticeable also is an increasing tendency for the

compilers of the manuscripts to use only those excerpts

which suited their purpose. The most striking fact in

this respect is that, apart from the earliest manuscripts

(Paris N.A. 1615, Harley 647, Montpellier 334), very few
contain both the excerpts from Book II and the De praesagiis
tempestatum from Book XVIII: Strasbourg 326 from the tenth
century, Vatican Reg. Lat. 123 and Paris 1211? from the
eleventh, and Paris 11130 and Vienna 12600 from the twelfth' ^
Apart from these manuscripts, De praesagiis tempestatum is
found only in Einsiedeln 266 (but this may have originally
contained the complete seven-book computus ), New College
252 and Munich 14733-
Among the excerpts from Book II we find that one or more
is frequently discarded, e.g. the first in Munich 14836 and
Paris 5543, the third in Munich 14936, the fourth in Paris 2236
and Walters 73, the second and fourth in Paris 8663. In the

(144) Perhaps Madrid 9605 should be added to this list, since

it seems to have contained originally the excerpt from
Book XVIII; see above, p. U3,
(145) See above, pp, 109-10.
 127

extreme cases, only a single excerpt is retained: Laud.

Lat. 118, Paris 7299A, New College 104. Alongside this

process there is another, whereby the excerpts are re-
incorporated into a larger work, notably in the encyclopaedia
in Reg. Lat. 123 and the computus of Walters 73 > and finally
in the complete transformation that the excerpts undergo in
Digby 83 and related manuscripts.
It has been shown in this chapter that the manuscripts
were written in places as far apart as Ireland, Austria and
Spain. But it is noticeable that the largest proportion,
including almost all of the earlier manuscripts, came from
France, and we must conclude that the excerpts had their
widest diffusion in that country. The most important centre
was apparently Fleury: Paris 5543, 8663 and N.A. 1615,
Harley 2506 and Canon. Class. Lat. 275 have all been connected
with that abbey with varying degrees of probability. In

addition, Paris N.A. 1615, Berne 347 and Strasbourg 326 seem
to have connections with Auxerre, and Paris 2236 and 5239 with
Limoges, both places not far distant from Sleury.
It has been mentioned already ' that Ludwig Traube
connected these excerpts with the name of Heiric of Auxerre,
but it was shown that the evidence he adduced was invalid.

(146) See above, p.

 128

It must, however, remain a strong possibility that Heiric

knew of the excerpts. In the case of another scholar,
Abbo of Fleury, there is more concrete evidence. The
diagrams that accompanied the excerpts in the seven-book
computus are also found in many of the later manuscripts,
sometimes in a modified form , and with one addition,
that is, another diagram illustrating De oursu earum per
zodiacum circulum, similar to the circular diagram used in
earlier manuscripts, but in the form of a graph^ .
The earliest occurrence of this diagram is in Berne 347f
in the middle of the ninth century. But it seems to have
been used by Abbo to illustrate one of his own astronomical
works, beginning t Studiosis astrologiae ...'. It is found
linked to this text in Walters 73 (which omits De cursu earum
per zodiacum circulum) , as well as in other manuscripts which
do not contain any of the Pliny excerpts: Oxford, St. John* s
College 17, Bodleidn Lyell 54, Cotton Tib. E IV and Vit. A XII.

The diagram for De intervallis earum is frequently

replaced by a simple table; this occurs in the Berne
347 group and Paris 5239.
(148) Reproduced by H.P. Lattin from Munich 14436 in Isis
XXXVIII (1947-8), p. 216; but this is a badly drawn
example.
 1 29

This same diagram seems to have become remarkably popular,

since it is also found in manuscripts of Macrobius 1 s
Commentary on the Somnium Soipionis (British Museum Add.
11943 and Bodleian Canon Class. Lat. 257, .both very crude),
and of the Liber Floridus (Leiden Voss. Lat. 3"0»
Apart from the number of manuscripts and their wide
diffusion, and the use of the diagram discussed above,
evidence for the use of the excerpts is difficult to find.
Since the text is virtually identical with that of the
original Pliny and is frequently very similar to the
language of Bede in the De natura rerum, paraphrases of
short passages could never be demonstrated, and even literal
quotations could rarely be proved. But we can find two
examples among the printed scholia of the De natura rerum.
Among the diagrams in the Vetus Commentarius attached to
ch. xiv are three taken from the Pliny excerpts^ .
Secondly, among the glosses to ch. xii, the first, beginning

(149) PJL.XC, cols. 227-230. These three diagrams and the short
gloss that goes with them ('Hie est zodiacus •••*) appear
to have no connection with the remainder of the Vetus
Commentarius, which is largely taken from Chalcidius 1
Commentary on Plato 1 s Timaeus; this fact seems to have
escaped notice before. The diagrams are found also in
the Elementa philosophiae (P^XC, cols. 1141-2, 1147-8
and 1153-4);and the graph only occurs in the glosses to
De temporum ratione, ch. xvi (JVL.XC, col5.363-4), these
are probably further examples of padding by Hervagius.
 130

'Pythagoras sagacissimus G-raecorum philosophus ... !

is almost certainly a paraphrase of two chapters from the
seven-book computus: De intervallis earum from Pliny and

Dimensio caelestiorum spatiorum secundum quosdam.

(150) P.L. XC, cols. 208D-209A.

 131

APPENDIX - THIRTEENTH CENTURY AND AFTER

The history of the Pliny excerpts continues beyond 1200 for

another three hundred years; "but it is only possible here to
give brief details of the later manuscripts in which they are
found.
It is noticeable that the excerpts from Book II seem to be
ignored completely in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries,
and reappear only in the fifteenth. De praesagiis tempestatum,
on the other hand, continued to be copied throughout the period,
and in fact twice as many manuscripts of this excerpt are known
from the period 1200-1500 as 900-1200. This is no doubt due to

the different nature of the excerpts. The purely astronomical

excerpts were of no practical value after the arrival of Arabic
astronomy in Europe, although they might appeal to the antiquarian
tastes of the fifteenth-century humanist, whereas the chapter on
weather signs was of continuing interest.
Only three manuscripts are known of the excerpts from Book II.
(1}
Paris 16680^ ', fols, 77-80, contains all four in a text that shows

(1) Only mentioned briefly in L. Delisle f s list of additions to

the Bibliotheque Nationale (Blbl. jfc r Chartes XXXI (1870), p. 158)
 132

some resemblances with Berne 265 and Munich 14436.

manuscript came from the Sorbonne, and bears the inscription
f Liber mei Luce de Canterellis de Regie decretorum doctoris 1 .
Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Magi. VIII 53 is

a miscellaneous manuscript which includes much of the fifth

and sixth books of the seven-book computus. Only the first

three Pliny excerpts are present, on fols. 84V-8yV. The third

manuscript is El Escorial ^ IV 10^ , written in an Italian

hand, and mainly devoted to Martianus Capella. It contains

the first Pliny excerpt, and possibly others, commencing on

pol. 195V.

In contrast, there are 22 manuscripts containing I)e

praesagiis tempestatum, evenly spread over the three centuries.
The thirteenth-century manuscripts are: Bruges 523 >

containing miscellaneous astrological and astronomical treatises;

(2) See C. Leonardi, Aevum XXXIV (1960), p. 51.

See G-. Antolm, Catalogo de los codices latinos-, I, pp. 300-1;
Leonardi, p. 35»
Y* T*
The Pliny excerpt occurs on fols, 64 -65 . See A, De Poorter,
Catalogue des MSS, pp. 615-8.
 133

Brussels II 2558 , and Florence, Bibl. Laurenziana, Ashburnham

1727 , containing vatficrus works by Aristotle; British Museum,

Sloane 203 (r ' , and Bodleian, e Mus. 223^ , composite manuscripts;

(9)
and Toledo 47.15 , containing works by Cicero and Avicenna.
From the fourteenth century come: Baltimore, Walters Art
G-allery 463 , containing Cicero and Seneca; Erfurt, Ampl.
fl1^ ( 1 ?^ ( '}'*>}
q. 355 , Bodleian, Digby 28 , and Vienna 243 6, containing
astronomical and astrological treatises; British Museum, Harley
9 containing miscellaneous works; New York, Pierpont

(5) Fols. 230V-232r. See J. Van den G-heyn, Catalogue des MSS de
la Bibl. Roy., IV, p.332, no. 2898; G-. Lacombe, AristoteLes
latinus. 1(1939), pp.318-9-
(6) See L. Delisle, Not. Extr. Bibl. Nat. XXXII (1886), pp. 80-81.
(7) Fols. 108V-110r. See C. Leonardi, p. 80-81; L. Thorndike and
P. Kibre, Catalogue of incipits (19^3), col. 1153.
(8) Fols. I63 r-l66r. See Summary catalogue, II, 2, pp. 673-4,
no. 3538.
(9) Fols. 103V-104r. See Lacombe, Aristota.es latinus, II (1955),
pp. 853-5; A. Cordoliani, Rev, arch, bibl. must. LVIII (1952),
PP. 338-45.
(10) Fols. 135r-14l r. See A. Boffito, Bibliofilia X (1909), pp.325-351;
S. De Ricci and W.J. Wilson, Census of medieval and renaissance
MSS, I (1935), p.836.
(11) Fol. 15. See W. Schum, Beschreibendes Verzeichnis (1887),
PP. 594-7.
(12) Fols. 136r-137V. See G.D. Macray, Catalogus (1883), cols.23-5.
(13) Fols. 138r-139r. See ThornddJce-Kibre, Catalogue, col. 392.
(14) Fol. 224r-V. See Catalogue of the Harleian MSS, III, p.100.
 134

Morgan Library M 857, Paris 6443 , and Prague L. LXXVIP 7'

containing works by Aquinas, Alkindi and Avicenna; Salamanca

2055^ ', containing various works attributed to Aristotle; and

(4Q\
Vatican, Barb. Lat. 12 V ' 9 containing Palladius and medical
treatises.
The fifteenth-century manuscripts are: Cambridge, Pembroke
College 227 , containing astrological works; Florence, Bibl.
(21) , containing various grammatical works;
Laurenziana, Edili 168
Munich 11067^ 22 ^ , Bodleian Laud. Misc. 594^ 2 , and Vatican Ottob.

(15) Fol. 69r-V. See Lacombe, pp.253-4 (under its former number,
Admont 487); W.H. Bond, Supplement to Census (1962), p. 364.
(16) Pols. 184V-l85r- see Lacombe, pp. 517-9; M.-T.
D'Alverny, Arch, hist, doct. litt. XXXVI (1961), pp. 310-4-
(17) Fols. 113 r-114V. See A. Podlaha, Soupis, II. pp. 244-5;
Lacombe, p. 329.
T* T* /
/ o.\ Fols. 13 -14 • See Lacombe. p. 843 (under former number,
^ ' Madrid, Bibl. Pal. Nac. 259;; &. Beaujouan, Manuscrits
scientifiques medieVaux de l*Univ. de Salamanque, (1962), pp.96-8,
(19) Fols. 113V-115V. See T. Silverstein, Medieval Latin scientific
\7ritings in the Barberini collection (1957)^ pp. 15-19;
S. Prete, Cod. Barb, lat., pp. 15-20.
(20) Fols. 180 r-l82v. See M.R. James, Descriptive catalogue of the
MSS in Pembroke College (1903), pp. 203-6.
(21) Fols. 9i r-92r. See A.M. Bandini, Bibl. Leopold. Laurent., I
(1791), cols. 475-80; Leonardi, pp. 43-5-
(22) Fols. 85r-86r. See C. Halm, Cat.. II, 2, pp. 6-7; K.Riick,
Sitz. Bay. Akad., phil. hist. KL. (1898), pp.204-7-
(23) Fols. 115r-1l6r. See L. Thorndike, History of magic. III
(1934), PP. 273, 707-14.
 135

Lat. 18?0 ', containing works by Alkindi and Albumasar;

Vatican, Pal. Lat. 1377^ ^', a composite manuscript.

A complete examination of the texts of the manuscripts
would probably enable us to determine their inter-relationship;
but from an examination of the opening sentences alone, it is
possible to see that they fall into three distinct groups.

Only two of the manuscripts (Walters 4^3 and Laud. Misc. 594)
retain the opening words, »Etenim predictis difficilioribus
transire convenit ad reliqua tempestatum presagia1 . Three

others (Erfurt Amplon. q. 355, Pembroke Coll. 227 and Florence

Edili 168) begin directly 'Purus oriens atque non fervens 1 .
(26)
All the other manuscripts^ ' begin with a new sentence, f D.e
(27)
tempestatum presagiis tractaturi a sole ... f

(24) Fols 107r-109r. See Thorndike, History of magic, III, pp. 273,
707-8; J. Ruysschaert, Bull. Classe Lett. Belgique, 5,
XLVI (i960), pp. 50-51.
(25) Fols. 10r~11 r. See P. Lehmann, G-eschichte der alten
Fuggerbibliotheken, II (19^0), p. 505; Thomdike-Kibre,
Catalogue, col. 392.
(26) Excluding Brussels II 2558, for which sufficient details are
not available, and Munich 11067, in which the opening section
is now missing.
(27) This group can be farther broken down into those that continue
1 sumamus exordium 1 (Bruges 523 > Bodleian e Mus. 223, Florence
Ashburnham 1727, Prague L LXXVII and Vatican Ottob. 1870), and
those that have 'capiemus exordia7 (the remainder^ Pierpont
Morgan M 257 and Vienna 2436 unknown.)
 1 36

Finally mention must be made of the one direct reference

to the work. L. Thorndike fv 28}' observed that Firminius de
Bellavalle (14th century), in his Pe mutatione aeris, cited
several times a Liber de presagiis tempestatum, without ever
mentioning an author.

(28) History of magic. Ill, p.2?3-

 137

THE TEXT OF THE EXCERPTS PROM PLINY

In the text given here, Ruck f s version has been mainly

followed, although spelling and punctuation have generally
been brought into line with Mayhoff* s edition of Pliny.
All the variant readings of the more important manuscripts

are recorded in the notes, with the exception of some very common
and generally insignificant variations, of which the following are
examples: celum or cglum for caelum; XXK or XAA for tricesimo:

tercium for terbium; interkalarius for intercalarius; pytagoras

or Pithagoras for pythagoras; assecutus for adseoutus; sydus

^or sidus; habsides for absides. In addition, irregular word

division has not generally been recorded.

The manuscripts used, the excerpts they contain, and the
symbols used for them are as follows:
Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery 73 (l-IIl) A
Bamberg H.J. IV 1$ (l-IV) B
Berne 347 (l-IV) C
London, Cotton Tiberius B V (l-IV,Vl) D
London, Cotton Tiberius C I (l-IV, VI) E
London, Harley fltf (l-IV, VI,$|~end) *
London, Harley 2506 (l-IV, VI) G-
Madrid 3307 (l-IV, VI) H
 1 38

Montpellier 334 (l-IV,Vl) I

Monza F.9.176 (l-IV,Vl) J
Munich 210 (l-III,V-Vl) K
Oxford, Canon. Class. Lat. 279 (l-IV,6o) L
Oxford, New College 252 (Vl) M
Paris 2236 (I-III) • N
Paris 5239 (l-III,IV,17-end) 0
Paris 5543 (l-III,IV,17-end) P
Paris 8663 (I,III) Q
Paris 12117 (I-IV,VI,1-100) R
Paris N.A. 456 (l-IV,Vl) S
Paris N.A. 1615 (l'.IV,Vl) T
Strasbourg 326 (l-IV,Vl) U
Vatican, Reg. Lat. 123 (lI-III,17,Vl) V
Vatican, Reg. Lat. 309 (l-IV,Vl) W
Vatican, Vat. Lat. 645 (l-IV,Vl) X
Vienna 387 (l-III,V-Vl) Y
The agreement of C and L is shown by c; that of DEPG- by g;
that of HJQUV by h; and that of K and W by k. z is used to
represent thfc-'. agreement of all or most of the following
manuscripts, whose readings are not recorded separately:
Berne 265 (l-IV), Munich 6362 (l-IV,6o), 6364 (l-IV,6o),
14436 (I-II,IV,1-60), and 14836 (II-IV), Paris 16680 (l-IV),
and Zurich Car. C. 122 (l-IV).
The readings of Berne 265 and 347 and Vienna 387 are
taken from Riick; the remainder are the result of fresh

collations.
 139

The following are the major changes from Ruck's text:

1,6: a-bire for ambire; IV, J\^: scandescere for scandere

incipiunt; IV, 38: duplato for duplicato. In these three

cases Ruck's reading is found only in cz (duplicato also in G-).

The agreement of hk in the alternative readings suggests that
they were altered in the common exemplar of cz.
IV, 63: LXVIIII for LXXVIIII; 3V, 6?: in locis for locis.

The readings accepted by Ruck are found only in I and are

invalidated by all the other manuscripts.
V, 10: bruma for bruma a. The additional a was probably an

error in the exemplar of k, the only manuscripts for this

excerpt.
^-5 13: et futuri for futuri. Ruck accepted futuri from kR
o
(it is found also in ET ) against I,"the only other manuscript
he knew; but since the et is found in h, it is certain to be
the original reading.
VT, 112: demonstravit for demonstrabit. The latter reading

is found only in I, and although it appears the more likely

reading, the agreement of all the other manuscripts suggests
that it was a correction made by the scribe of I.
 1 40

VI, 129: aut for a; VI, 168: siout formic; aut for "a.

Ruck* s readings are found only in k.

VI, 149: solito for soliti; VI, 158: qua for aqua.
The readings of I, the only manuscript available to Ruck
at this point, are clearly errors.
VI, 175: nidis suis for nidus suos. Although the latter

reading is attractive, it is found only in k, and is more

likely to have been an alteration made in their exemplar.
 1 41

I DE POSITIONE ET CURSU SEPTSM PLANETARUM

Inter caelum et terrain certis discreta spatiis 12

septum sidera pendent quae ab incessu vocamus

errantia, cum errent nulla minus illus. Quorum 32

5 summum saturni sidus ideoque minimum videri et

maximo abire circulo, ao tricesimo anno ad

brevissima sedis suae principia regredi certum est.

Inde inferiorem iovis circulum et ideo inotu 34

celeriorem duodenis circumagi annis. Tertium

10 martis sidus igne ardens solis vicinitate binis

fere annis converti. Turn solis meatum esse 35

I om. czAN, DE SEPTEM SIDERA QUAE PENDUNT INTER CABLUM ET

TERRAM 0; CURSUS J; CURSU SEPTEMj CURSUS T; PLANETARUM]
2
STELLARUM M. 4 erret fzRW . 5 sumum T, summa DSU;
-|
sidus est czANO; nimirum I. 6 maxime F I; ambire cz;
ac aQRV/X; annoJXmoV. 7 egredi X. 8 indem feriorem T;
1
mortu KT • 9 celiorem X, celiorirem W; circumagit T.
1
II ferre KY , ferme E.
 1 42

partium quidem CCCLX, sed ut observatio umbrarum

eius redeat ad notas, quinos annis dies adici

superque quartam partem diei, quam ob oausam

15 quinto anno unus intercalarius dies additur ut

temporum ratio solis itineri congruat. Infra

solem ambit ingens sidus appelatum veneris,

alterno meatu vagum; signiferi circuitum peragit 37

trecentis et duodequinquagenis diebus, a sole

20 numquam absistens partibus sex atque XL longius.
Simili ratione, sed nequaquam magnitudine aut vi, 39

proximum illi mercurii sidus inferiore circulo

fertur novem diebus otiore ambitu, modo ante
solis exortum modo post occasum splendens, numquam

25 ab eo XX duabus partibus remotior. Ideo et

peculiaris horum siderum ratio est neque communis

12 partium] quartum RW • 13 reddeat T; quinis annos G-;

7; f>arkw? yavrbun fi> <bt X. 15 a-nus a*. L;
qui non T; anni NO. 1^ super IE?/ ; / intercalarius
1 22 ctitur '^ i
intercalarus T , intercalaris zT X ; adicitur G-,/adicitur Q.
16 itineri solis Q; itineris DBF. 17 apellatum D;
2 21 vim A.
venue czRY/ . 18 signi fieri IT. 19 et om. G-.
22 inferiori R. 24 hoc casum J. 25 diabus T; et
peculiaris1 impeculiaris D.
 i 43

cum supra dictis. Nam eae et quarta parte caeli 40

a sole abesse et tertia, et adversa soli saepe

cernuntur. Sed omnium admirationem vincit 41

30 novissimum sidus terris familiarissimum lunae,

crescens semper aut senescens, modo curvata in 42

oornua facie, modo aequa portione divisa, modo

sinuata in orbem, maculosa eademque subito
praenitens, inmensa orbe pleno ac repente nulla,
35 alias pernox alias sera et parte diei solis lucem
adiuvans, deficiens et in defectu tamen conspicua,
iam vero humilis et excelsa, et ne id quidem uno 43

modo, sed alias admota caelo alias contigua

montibus, nunc in aquilonem elata nunc in austros
40 deiecta; proxima ergo cardini ideoque minimo 44

ambitu, vicenis diebus septenisque et tertia diei

parte peragit spatia eadem quae saturni sidus
altissirnum XXX ut dictum est annis. Dein morata

27 eaej me^ D, mee^ E, hej3_ Q, et eae X. 28 diversa I. 29 animi

_ <xyj; 2
rationem Q. 30 luna k. 31 autj et U, ftfc :(r. 33 maculosum RW
2
eadem X. 34 inmenso G¥ ? immense R; plena G-. 35 et solis A;
P
a lucem T, lucens X. 36 adiucians T. 37 iam vero]] modo W .
38 admoto D. 39 nu.tibus K; austro cfzANOSU. 41 die D.
jt
42 eddem spatia Ej eadem quae] eadem que CD, eademque zA INOT2;
43 de immorata A, de immorato D.
 1 44

in coitu solis -bid.uo cum tardissime.a tricesima

45 luce ad easdem vices exit.

II DE INTERVALLIS EARUM

Intervalla eorum a terra multi indagare 83

temptarunt, et solem abesse a luna undeviginti

partes quantum lunam ipsam a terra prodiderunt.

5 Sed pythagoras vir sagacis animi a terra ad lunam

CXXV stadiorum collegit, ad solem ab ea duplum,

inde ad XII signa triplicatum. Interdum et 84

musica ratione appellat tonum quantum absit a

terra luna, ab ea ad mercurium dimidium spatii,

10 hoc est semitonium, et ab eo ad venerem tantundem,

a quo ad solem sescuplum, id est tria semitonia, a

sole ad martem tonum, id est quantum ad lunam a

terra, ab eo ad iovem dimidium, et ab eo ad

44 bibuo E; cum tardissimejjcontardissime T; turn G-; ajac I;

1 2
tricessima T, tricerima W , tricesimali RW . 45 vices om. T;
exat T.
1 om. czAWOjITEM DE SEPTEM PLANETARUH INTERVALLIS P; EORUM B 2.
2 eorum]planetarum A, earum G-RT; eorum quae P; multa X.
3 temptaverunt A; undeXXX AD. 4 quam X. 5 ing'enii G-. 6 luna N;
CXXVU, CXXV zCINOS; centum vigingi quinque L. 7 deinde A.
2
8 apgfclat T; a]ad T. 9 ea vero RW ; spacimi A. 10 senitonium J.
r\

11 qua zA; a solej ad sole I, ad solem T. 13. eo vero RW ;

ad iovem 1 iovem T, om. X; ad saturnum1[ saturnum D.
 1 45

saturnum tantundem spatii, inde ad signiferum

15 sescuplum. Ita septem tonis effici quam
diapason armoniam vocant.

Ill DE ABSIDIBUS EARUM

Tres autem quas supra solem diximus sitas 59

occultantur meantes cum eo, exoriuntur vero
matutino discedente sole partibus numquam
5 amplius undenis; postea radiorum eius contactu
reguntur et in triquetro a partibus CXX
stationes matutinas faciunt, quae et primae
vocantur, mox in adverse a partibus CLXXX
exortus vespertinos, iterumque in CXX partibus
10 ab alio latere adpropinquantes stationes
vespertinas quas et secundas vocant, donee
adsecutus sol in partibus duodenis oocultet

15 sexcuplum R; ita - vocant (16) repeated L. 16 diapasson BC;

vocant armoniam L (second time).
I om. MO (1st version) TV; EARUM] ELANETARUM A. 2 tres planete
saturnus iupiter et mars supra solem site A; tres sunt kQ;
autem om. I; quasi X; sopra L; diximus esse G-T. 3 meante P.
4 discendente K 1 W, descendente T; nuquam E 1 , num T. 5 post era J;
postea autem RW ; contractu HIO (2nd version). 6 triquetrol
utroque LX, utrisque A, triqueto 0; a om. A; XX A.
7 statione P., stationis T. 8 a] ad k. 9 in om. V.
II vespertinas G-, vespertinos DEF, om. T; secundus X.
 14*

illas qui vespertini occasus appelQantur.

Martis stella propius etiam ex quadrate sentit 60

15 radios, a XC partibus ab utroque exortu; eadem
stationalis senis mensibus moratur in signis,

alioqui bimenstris, cum oeterae utraque statione

quaternos menses non impleant. Inferiores 61
autem duae occultantur in coitu vespertine
20 simili modo, relictaeque a sole totidem in
partibus faciunt exortus matutinos, ad quos
longissimis distantiae suae metis solem
insecuntur, adeptaeque occasu matutino conduntur
ao praetereunt; mox eodem intervallo vespere
25 exoriuntur usque ad quos diximus terminos; ab
his retrogradiuntur ad solem et occasu
vespertine delitescunt. Veneris stella
stationes duas matutinam vespertinamque ab

14 etiam earn J; ex om. 0(2nd version); senti V.

15 radios om. JX; CXC U, CXX E, om. W; eadem vero RW 2 .
2
16 binis RW . 17 alioqui - impleant (17) del. W 2 , om, R;
alioquibus menstris DEGKQS 1 , om. A; cerae ¥ 1 . utroque V;
stationes V; 18 quaternus \Y. 19 autem} enim E; duae om. L.
2
20 relictae quae R, relictae qua T . 22 longissimus
distante V; mentis V. insetuntur $; occasum DEG-. 26 is k.
27 verneris T, venerisque P; ab utroque om. X.
 147

utroque exortu facit a longissimis distantiae

30 suae finibus. Merourii stationes "breviori

momento quam ut depraehendi possint, cuius rei 69

ratio privatim reddenda est. Percussae in qua
diximus parte et triangulo solis radio
inhibentur rectum agere cursum et ignea vi
35 levantur in sublime. Hoo non protinus 70
intellegi potest visu nostro ideoque
existimantur stare, unde et nomen accepit
statio. Praegreditur deinde eiusdem radii
violentia et retroire cogit vapore percussas.
40 Multo id magis in vespertine earum exortu, toto

sole adverse cum in summas absidas expelluntur

minimaeque cernuntur, quoniam altissimae absunt
et minimo feruntur motu, tanto minore cum hoc in
altissimis absidum evenit signis. Absides 63

-_ _ -_
29 exortus T. 31 memento TRF ; prehendi K D; possunt B QX ,
j[
possit z, 32 ratione T; in qua][ ut G- . 33 parte diximus A.
34 inhibente AO. 35 leantur W; sublimi 0, sublima P,
sullime A* 37 exaestimantur T; statio accepit A.
38 progreditur A; radi P. 39 volentia kT, violantia D,
volantia Q; vaporem T, vaporre k; vapor repercussas AOPQ;
percussa V. 40 exortutu Q. 41 ex adverse L; in om. T;
absides A, habsides P. 42 minimeque fhAIOQRTU, minime cz^V;
-j
altisseme 0. 43 muto K Y; tantum inore V. 44 absidunt V,
om. A; invenit T; absidus T.
 1 48

45 autem dicuntur circuli earum greco vocabulo.

Sunt autem hi sui cuique earum, aliique quam

mundo, quoniam terra inter vertices duos quos
appellaverunt polos, et signiferum centrum mundi
esse videtur, ideoque unam quamque absidum a
50 proprio centre exsurgere necesse est; quapropter

diversos habent orbes motusque dissimiles, quoniam

interiores absidas constat breviores esse.
Igitur a terrae centre absides altissimae sunt 64
saturno in scorpione, iovi in virgine, marti in
55 leone, soli in geminis, veneri in sagittario,
mercuric in capricorno, mediis eorundem signorum
partibus et e contrario, id est in signis
contrariis, ad terrae centrum humillimae atque
proximae. Sic fit ut tardius moveri et minores
60 videantur cum altissimo ambitu feruntur, cum vero

45 autem] enim E. 46 autem ] enim E; his V, hi del. W ,

om. R; lii RW . 47 mundojmodo T;
suus V, om. Q; ' alii
fl'O; oijsietiift* fl, aiiifltw* R, Qb$icta.wr*. y-
vestices W; du P; quos om. I. 48 polios U.y( a om. V.
51 mottusque K 1 Y 1 . 52 habsides P. 53 terra T, om. z;
abside V. 54 scorpionem T; in virgine^ virgine P;
11
in leone] leone P. 55 sol V; veneris TV W ; sagitario S.
56 capricornio 0. 57 e] hec A, om. RW; e contrario]
etontrario 0. 58 ad] a T; terrae] etern^ D; humilimae I,
humilime T. 60 feriuntur W.
 1 49

terrae adpropinquaverint maiores esse et celerius

ferri, non quia adcelerent tardentve naturales

motus qui certi ac singuli sunt illis, sed quia

deductas a surama abside lineas coartari ad
65 centrum necesse est, sicut in rotis radios ut
subiecta figura demonstrat.

IV DE CURSU EARUM PER ZODIACUM CIRCULUM

Cur autem magnitudines suas et colores mutent et 62

eaedem ad septentriones accedant abeantque ad
austrum, latitude signiferi et obliquitas facit. 66
5 Per hunc enim illae feruntur, nee aliud habitatur
in terris quam quod illi subiacet; reliqua a
polis squalent. Veneris tantum stella excedit
eum binis partibus. Luna per totam latitudinem
eius vagatur, sed omnino non excedens eum. Ab
10 his mercurii stella laxissime, ut tamen e

61 maiores G-, maioris DP; cerius J. 62 fieri TU; qua W;

tardantve I. 63 singuli sunt3 singulis DEG-; sint 0.
64 deductas a] deductasus T; al ab G, ad S; habsides K;
coartati E, cbhortari QV . 65 ne necesse I;
ut - demonstrat (66) ora. A. 66 subiectal superposita L.
1 om. TV; CURSUS S; ZODIACUM] COTIDIAMJM RW; CIRCULUM om. cz.
2 autem] enim E. 3 eadem DIJSZ; septriones DP. 4 logitudo G-;
signifieri I. 5 ne W; aliut S. 7 squalante V; veneris
enim E; stella tantum E; stellae Vf. 8 eius latitudinem R.
9 eius om. L; exscedens D; eum ejscedit E. 10 laxisse D.
 1 50

duodenis partibus, tot enim sunt latitudinis, non

amplius octonas pererret, neque has aequaliter
sed duas medio eius et supra quattuor infra duas.
Sol deinde medio fertur inter duas partes 67
15 flexuoso draconum meatu inaequalis. Martis
stella quattuor mediis, iovis media et super earn
duabus, saturni duabus ut sol. Tres superiores 68
ab exortu matutino latitudinem signiferi 69
scandescere, id est ad aquilonem accedere, ab 71
20 exortu vero vespertine descendere, hoc est ad
austrum abire, superveniente ab alio latere solis
radio eademque vi rursus ad terras deprimente qua
sustulerat in caelum. Tantum interest subeant
radii an superveniant. Veneris stella simili 75
25 modo ab exortu matutino latitudinem scandere,
vespertine autem descendere incipit, in occasu

11 latitudines zER. 12 pererraet I, perterret T;

neque hasjnequebas T. 14 inter duas partes om. cz.
15 dracconum S. 16 quatuor G-; supra fSU. 17 ut om. D.
18 extu J; signiferis candescere DE; signiferis S.
19 scandere incipiunt cz; accendere D. 20 vero om. f;
vespertinoj matutino X; descendere om. L. 21 habire 0.
22 eandemque 0; vi] III W; ad] a T; quas fOSU.
23 sustullerat T; in in DF. 25 matitino W.
 1 5 I

vero matutino altitudinem subire et in statione

vespertina retro ire simulque altitudine degredi.

Mercurius ab exortu matutino utroque raodo
30 scandere, id est latitudine et altitudine, ab
exortu autem vespertine latitudine degredi,
consecutoque sole ad quindecim partium
interfile, consistit quadriduo prope iramobilis.
Mox ab altitudine descendit retroque graditur ab 76
35 occasu vespertine usque ad exortum matutinum.
Tantumque haec una totidem diebus quot subierat
descendit. Veneris quindecies pluribus subit
quam descenderat, saturni et iovis duplato
degrediuntur quam ascenderant, martis etiam
40 quadruplicate descendit; tanta est naturae 77
varietas. MattLs sidus numquam stationem facit;
iovis sidere in triangulo sibi posito, rare tamen

27 vero vero 0; latitudinem T; startionem 0.

28 altitudinem DO; digredi R. 29 extu J; exitu cz.
30 et altitudine om. I. 31 extu J; autemj vero R;
digredi R. 32 consecuto 0; a L. 33 invallo L.
34 ab altitudine] altitudine fSU, altitudinem 0;
descende T. 35 ortum fB; matutinam I, matutino D.
36 quod BHIJOTWX; subiit D. 38 descendat X;
duplicate czG-. 39 digrediuntur R; descende rant DRW,
ascendant cz. 40 naturae varietas tanta est z.
41 va varietas P; nuquam DE. 42 sidus 0, sider P;
instriangulo T; rate W.
 1 52

aliquando LX partibus discrete; exortu vero

simul tanturn in duobus signis cancro et leone
45 faciunt. Mercurii vero sidus exortus
vespertinos in piscibus raros facit, creberrimos
in virgine, matutinos item in aquario, rarissimos
in leone, retrogradum in tauro et geminis non
fieri, in cancro vero non citra vicesimam quintam
50 partem, Lunam bis coitum cum sole in nullo alio 78
'signo facere quam geminis, non coire aliquando in
sagittario tanturn, novissimam vero primamque
eadem die vel nocte nullo alio in signo quam
ariete conspici. Sentit quidem et ipsa 80
55 ingruentium solis radiorum differentiam. In
quadrate a sole dimidia nitet, in triangulo
tertia tanturn portione ambit, obscura in adverse
impletur, rursusque minuens easdem figuras

43 exortu D. 44 leonem X. 46 vespertino TW; rare 0;

creberrimus W. 48 taurum 0; in geminis R; non om. I.
49 citro D; vigesimam EG-, vigessimam D, vicessimam T.
50 coitu P, cortum J. 51 signo facere] signifa W;
in geminis ERT. 54 quidem om X. 59 in ingruentium EFG-,
in ingruentem D, incongruentium U; radio I. 56 solQ^ C.
57 ambit om. D; abscura D.
 1 53

paribus edit intervallis, simili rations qua

60 supra solera tria sidera. Non comparere in 78

caelo saturni sidus et martis cum plurimum diebus
CLXX, iovis XXXVI aut cum minimum denis detractis
diebus, veneris LXVIIII, aut cum minimum LII,
mercurii XII, aut cum plurimum XVII. Cur autem 79
65 non videantur, coitus solis et commissurae
absidum et extremae circulorum orbitae in causa

esse noscuntur, quoniam his tantum in locis

obscurantur, sed turn maxime pluribus diebus non
cerni sidera cum in absidum commissuris atque
70 extremitatibus circulorum stationaria esse
contigerit. Nituntur etiam in vaporem solis et 76
quamquam aegre, descendunt tamen. Sed inter 77
omnia haec sidera martis maxime inobservabilis
est cursus.

59 partibus JOTZ. 60 conparare I, parere RW.

61 plurimis PT; dieobus ¥. 62 CLX OP. 63 LXVTIIl]
LXXVIIII I, LVIIII C, LVIIII z; minum T. 64 cum om. 0.
65 coitus - noscuntur om. 0; etj aut G-. 66 eccreme D.
67 in om. I. 68 plurimis 0; diebus om. zC.
70 extremitates C; circulorum ora. E; stationalia OP.
71 contigerit om. DEG-; pavorem 0. 72 tame C; sed] sicut T,
haec omnia 0. 74 est om. P.
 154

V DE TEMPORUM MUTATIONS

Cardines temporum quadripertita anni 220

distinctione constant per incrementa lucis.

Augetur haec bruma et aequatur noctibus verno

5 aequinoctio in diebus XC et horis tribus, dein

superat noctes ad solstitium diebus XCIIII

horis XII, inde usque ad aequinoctium minuitur,

et turn aequata die praecedit ex eo ad brumam

diebus LXXXVIIII et horis tribus. Horae nunc 221

10 in omni accessione aequinoctiales non cuiusque

diei significantur. Omnesque eae differentiae

fiunt octavis in partibus signorum, bruma

capricorni ad VIII kalendas ianuarias,

aequinoctium vernum arietis, solstitium cancri,

15 alterumque aequinoctium librae, qui et ipsi dies

raro non aliquos tempestatum significatus habent.

Rursus hi cardines singulis

o anm$h
-£- articulis 222

temporum dividuntur, per media omnes dierum

spatia, quoniam inter solstitium et aequinoctium

20 autumni fidiculae occasus autmmnum inchoat die

2 quari pertita K. 12 bruma oak.

 1 55

XLVII, ab aequinoctio eo ad brumam vergiliarum

matutinus occasus hiemem die XLIII, inter brumam
et aequinoctium die XLV flatus favonii vernum
tempus aperit, ab aequinoctio verno initium
25 aestatis die XLVIII vergiliarum exortus
matutinus significat. Harum occasus matutinus 223
nubilus pluviosam hiemem significat. 225
Differentia igitur solis et lunae habetur magna 275
sed manifesta. Namque interlunio aestate 276
30 calidissima est, hieme gelida. E diverse in
plenilunio aestate frigidas facit noctes, hieme
tepidas. Causa evidens sed alia quam redditur a
faviano graecisque auctoribus, Aestate enim 277
interlunio necesse est cum sole proximo nobis
35 currat circulo. Igne eius comminus recepto
candens, eadem interlunio absit hieme quoniam et
sel abscedit; item in plenilunio aestivo procul
abeat adversa soli, hieme autem ad nos per
aestivum circulum accedat.

28 magng K, magnae Y. 29 aestate aestate k.

36 candeis k. 38 habeat k.
 1 56

VI DE PRAESAGIIS TEMPESTATOM

Etenim praedictis difficilioribus transire ron/eiv't 340

ad reliqua tempestatum praesagia, primumque a 341
sole capiemus exordia. Purus ori^ns atque non 342
5 fervens serenum diem nuntiat, at hibernum
pallidus grandinem. Si et occidit pridie
serenus et oritur tanto certior fides
serenitatis. Concavus oriens pluvias praedicit;
idem ventos, cum ante exorientem eum nubes
10 rubescurit; quod si et nigrae rubentibus
intervenerint, et pluvias; cum occidentis aut
orientis radii videntur coire, pluvias. Si 343

1 om. MV; PRESA&IS I. 2 etenim - exordia (4) om. DEG-;

at'enim M; dificilioribus V, difficioribus W.
4 exordium M; non fervensJ confervens X. 5 nuciat Vj
ad DEG-IVX; hiberno R. 6 si - serenitatis (8) om. k.
7 serenis G-, serenis D, serenitaris M; orietur V.
9 ante om. T; ea T 2 . 10 et om. DEMSU. 11 et del. T 2 .
12 orientis] occidentis k, orienus D; radividentur W.
 1 57

circa occidentem rubescunt nubes, serenitatem et

futuri diei spondent. Si in exortu spargentur

15 partim ad austrum, partim ad aquilonem, pura

circa eum serenitas sit licet, pluviam tamen
ventosam significabunt; si in ortu aut in occasu
contracti cernentur radii, imbrem. Si in ocoe.su
eius pluet aut radii nubem in se trahent, asperam
20 in proximum diem tempestatem significabunt. Cum 344
oriente radii non inlustres eminebunt, quamvis
circumdatae nubes non sint, pluviam portendent.
Si ante exortum nubes globabuntur, hiemem asperam
denuntiabunt; si ab ortu repellentur et ad
25 occasum abibunt, serenitatem. Si nubes solem
circumcludent, quanto minus luminis relinquent,

13 et om. kERT 2 . 14 ortu M; sparguntur kDE&MR,

expargentur T. 15 partim ad austrum om. E; licet
pura R. 16 sit serenitas R; licet om. R; pluviarum S.
17 ventosa Y, ventos..aIIJ<; significabitur D;
si - significabunt (20) om. DEG-; occasum S.
18 contradicti T; cernuntur R. 19 pluet om. W;
pluet aut om. R; in sej inter se M; -trahunt R;
asperum k. 20 proximam kT; di& kT ; significant kR.
21 eminent R. 22 nubes om. T; sunt SU; plubiam KY 1 ;
portendunt R, portent T1 , portant T2. 23 globantur R;
hyemen G. 24 denuntiant R, deinitiabant D; ab] ad RW;
repelluntur R; ad] at X. 25 ocasum H; abibunt] vadunt R,
ibunt E. 26 circum claudent E, circumcludunt kR;
relinquunt kR, relinquet M.
 1 58

tanto turbidior tempestas erit; si vero etiam

duplex orbis fuerit, eo atrocier. Quod si in 345

exortu aut in occasu fiet, ita ut rubescant

30 nubes, maxima ostendetur tempestas. Si non

ambibunt sed incumbent, a quocumque vente fuerint,

eum portendent; si a meridie, et imbrem. Si

oriens cingetur orbe, ex qua parte is se

ruperit, expectetur ventus. Si totus defTuxerit
35 aequaliter, serenitatem dabit. Si in ortu longe 346

radios per nubes porriget et medius erit inanis,

pluviam significabit; si ante ortum radii se
estendent, aquam et ventum; si circa occidentem

candidus circulus erit, noctis lenem tempestatem;

40 si nebula, vehementiorem; si cadente sole,

27 turpidior SU. 28 eo om, R; eo atrocior] coatrocior

DEG-HJWX, coatirwtior MT ; atracior V; quodl quo S.
29 fit R; rubescunt E&MSU, rubescnt D. 30 ostenditur IJR,
ostenderetur W. 31 ambiunt R; incumbunt R, incombent G-.
32 portendunt R; et om. E 2R. 33 cingitur MR; is] his V;
34 deflexerit I. 36 porrigit R; erit] est R.
37 significavit HJTmX, significat kR; ortu S.
38 ostendunt R; aqua M. 39 erit circulus K;
erit} fuerit R; tempestatum W, 40 vehementior est k;
candente MSw .
X is se]»
 1 59

ventum; si ater circulus fuerit, ex qua regione

is ruperit se, ventum magnum. Proxima sint iure 347

lunae praesagia. Quartam earn maxime observat
aegyptus. Si splendens exorta puro nitore
45 fulsit serenitatem, si rubicunda, ventos; si
nigra, pluvias portendere creditur in XV.
Cornua eius obtusa pluviam, erecta et infesta
ventos semper significant, quarta tamen maxime.
Cornu eius septentrionale acuminatum atque
50 rigidum ilium praesagit ventum, inferius austrum,
utraque recta noctem ventosam. Si quartam orbis
rutilus cingebit, et ventos et imbres praemonebit.
Apud varronem ita est: si quarto die luna erit 348
directa, magnam tempestatem in mari praesagiet,

o
41 quo] aqua E. 42 is om. G; eruperit T ; se ruperit R;
sunt k, sint G-, quamvis sint R; irrrae T , inre T2 ;
44 splens T; exorto J. 45 fulserit R, refulserit DEG-M;
rubicanda J. 46 pluvia E; portandere k; creditur om. k.
47 obtunsa DEG-; pluvia T; et recta V. 48 significant
semper M; significat RW. 49 cornua DEGMSU;
septrionale E. 50 frigidum E, regidum W. 51 utroque T ;
erecta E, recte T 1 , recto T2 ; ventosa M; si - est (53)
om. k. 52 rutilis DEG?M; cingebat M, cinget T 2 ,
cingit R; ventus T, ventum SU; premonet R, premovebit ET.
53 aput DG-M; varionem DEG, vassonem RW; lunam T;
est R. 54 directam T; manam G; presaget K, praesaget Y,
praesagit R.
 1 6

55 nisi coronam circa se habeat et earn sinctram,

quoniam ille mo do non ante plenam lunam hiematurum
ostendit. Si plenilunio per dimidium pura erit,

dies serenos significabit; si rutila, ventos;

nigrescens imbres. Si aliquo orbe nubem 349

60 incluserit, ventos, qua se ruperit; si/gemini

orbes cinxerint, maiorem tempestatem, et maiorem
si tres erunt, aut nigri interrupti atque
distracti, Nascens luna si cornu superiore
abatrato surget, pluvias decrescens dabit; si
65 inferiore ante pleniluftium; si in media nigritia
ilia fuerit, imbrem in pleniluni©. Si plena
circa se habebit orbem, ex qua parte is maxime
splendebit, exea ventum ostendet; si in ortu

55 sineram M. 56 plenilunium DEG-; hiemeturum D.

57 hostendit S; plenilunium ET; per om. M; est R.
58 idies D; serenus V; significabit serenos T;
signific k, significat R. 59 si nigrescens X.
60 quas eruperit DEIJMST 1UWX, qucu eruperit T2 ,
quos eruperit G-, om. R. 61 cinserint J, cincxerint V.
62 eruntl fuerint R. 63 cornus H. , fi^8^ atracto S,
abatro T^X, ab atra E, abaratro U, alSsu^fro G-; surgit R;
dabit J abibit E. 65 pleniluminum I, plenilunid^n X,
plenum luni D; in om. T. 66 inibrem M; plana T 1 ,
planum T2 . 67 circa se] cirse T; habet R ? habeat E;
quaj quarta X. 68 splendet R; ostendent V.
 161

cornua crassiora fuerint, horridam tempestatem.

70 Si ante quartam non apparuerit vento favonio

flante, hiemalis ,toto mense erit. Si XVI

vehementius flammea apparuerit, asperas

tempestates praesagiet. Sunt et ipsius lunae 350
VIII articuli, quoties in angulos solis incidat,
75 plerisque intra eos tantum observantibus praesagia
eiua, hos est III, VII, XI, XV, XVIIII, XXIII,
XXVII et interlunium. Tertio loco stellarum 351

observationem esse oportet. Discurrere hae

videntur interdum, ventique protinus sequuntur, in
80 quorum parte ita praesagiere. Caelum cum
aequaliter totum erit splendidum articuli
temporum quos proposuimus, autumnum serenum

69 orridam T. 70 haparuerit G-, aparuerit U,

appuerit T; vento - apparuerit (72; om. T. 72 flaminea DM;
asperato M. 74 articulij circuli k; quoties} quos T;
angulo MT; solidis k; incidit RT. 76 ho I;
est om. T; XIJ XII X; XXIII] XVII T. '77 XXVII) XVII DR.
78 discurere M; haej h£c D, om. VX. 79 evidentur VX;
interdumque venti R; venti quae J; seq.;u.ntur T,
secuutur M. 80 ita quidem R; cum om. k. 81 fuerit R;
spendidum K; splendidum articuli splendidum D.
82 aut tumnum J; autumnum - transierint (84) om. X.
 1 62

praesagiabitur frigidum. Si ver et aestas non

sine refrigerio aliquo transierint, autumnum

85 serenum ac densum minusque ventosum facient.

Autumni serenitas ventosQm hiemem facit. Cum 352

repente stellarum fulgor obscuratur, ut id neque

nubilo nee caligine accidat, graves denuntiantur
tempestates. Si volitare plures stellae

90 videbuntur, quo ferentur albescentes, ventos ex

his partibus nuntiabunt; aut si cura stabunt,

certos, si id in pluribus partibus fiet,

inconstantes ventos et unditi. Si stellam

errantium aliquam orbis incluserit, imbrem.

95 Sunt in signo cancri duae stellae parvae aselli 353
appellatae, exiguum inter illas spatium obtinentem

j praebcuji'UxoiLuu- 1,
83 presagitabitur K ,^presagiabitur D, presagabitur G-;
aetas F. 84 refrigerioJ frigore k; aliquo] aquo S;
autunum ET. 86 autumnum k; hiemen X, 87 repe J.
88 neque EG-SU, ne M; caligi'M; gravis T; deinitiantur D,
denuntiatur T. 89 tempestas MT; stelleae S.
90 videntur R; feruntur kRWX, ferebuntur D. 92 fit R.
93 et unditij enuntiat M; undati R; stellarum H.
94 errantiam DEF, erraticam G-; aliqua M; orbis^ morbus k.
95 sunt - aquilo om. k; parvae om. R; aselle J,
affelli M. 96 apellatae G-; exiguam T; inter illas
inter illas W; obtinente nubecula T.
 1 63

nubeculam quam praesepia appellant; haec cum

caelo sereno apparere desiit, atrox hiems sequitur;

si in alteram earum, aquiloniam, caligo abstulit,

100 auster saevit; si austrinam, aquilo. Arcus

cum sunt duplices, pluvias nuntiant, a pluviis

serenitatem non perinde certain; circulus nubis
circa sidera aliqua pluviam. Cum aestate 354

vehementius tonuit quam fulsit, ventos ex ea

105 parte denuntiat, contra si minus tonuit, imbrem.
Cum sereno caelo fulgetrae erunt et tonitrua,
abhiemavit, atrocissime autem cum ex omnibus IIII
partibus caeli fulgoravit; cum ab aquilone
tantum, in posterum diem aquam portendit; cum a
110 septentrione, ventum eum. Cum ab austro vel

97 nubicula VX, nubila J; praesepium T ; appellant}

vocant R. 98 desinit R, desit T; hiemps EFRTWX,
hyemps G, om. M. 99 aquilonium E; abstulerit R.
100 in austrinam R; austrino D. 101 sint SUV2 ;
pluvias) pluvia DF, pluviam EG-. 102 cretam SU; circulis TX.
103 aliquam T; cum - denuntiat om. U; state T.
105 denontiat G-; sin V. 106 fulget atrae FG-,
fulget atre DEM; tonitua M. 107 abiemavit M, ad
hiemavit E; IIII om. G-. 108 fulgorabit G-; fulgoravit
ventum et imbrem ex hisdem regionibus M. 109 postremum W;
portendum k. 110 septentrionali V; eum om. k.
 1 64

choro aut favonio nocte serena fulgoravit, ventura

et imbrem ex isdera regionibus demonstravit.

Tonitrua raatutina ventum significant, imbrem

meridiana. Nubes cum sereno in caelum ferentur, 355

115 ex quacumque parte id fiet venti expectentur.

Si eodem loco globabuntur adpropinquantique solo
discutientur, et hoc ab aquilone fiet, ventos, si
ab austro, imbres portendent. Sole occidente si
ex utraque parte eius caelum petent, tempestatem
120 significabunt. Vehementius atrae ab oriente in
noctem aquam minantur, ab occidente in posterum
diem. Si nubes ut vellera lanae spargentur 356
multae ab oriente, aquam in triduum praesagient.
Cum in cacuminibus montium nubes consident,

111 aut} vel MU; fabonio X; sereno hkUV; folgeravit T.

112 ex - imbrem (113) om. J; hisdem G-MSVX; demonstrabit I.
113 inbrem D, himbrem V. 114 meridia D; nubes -
disserenabit (12$) om. J: feruntur V . 116 glogabuntur
HSU; adpropinquatique HT2UVWX, adpropinquatoque T 1 ,
adpropinquantibus Y, adpropinquatibus K; solo G-, solidem M.
117 cutientur M; hoc si V; vent#s T. 119 patent G-,
penetrant k. 120 orientem X; in - oriente (123) om. M.
121 nocte fk; ab occidente om. E; ob U. 122 utj aut k,
in G-. 123 multam f; ob G-; aquam om. W. 124 acuminibus D.
catuminibus M.
 165

125 hiemabit; si cacumina pura fient, disserenabit.

Nube gravida candicante, quod vocant tempestatem

albam, grando inminebit. Caelo quamvis a sereno

nubecula quamvis parva flatum procellosum dabit.
Nebulae montibus descendentes aut caelo cadentes 357
130 vel in vallibus sidentes serenitatem promittent.
Ab his terreni ignes proxime significant,
Pallidi namque murmurantesque tempestatum nuntii
sentiuntur, pluviae iam si in lucernis fungi,, si
flexuose volitet flamma; ventum et lumina cum ex 358
135 sese flammas elidunt, aut vix accenduntur; item
cum in aeno pendente scintillae coacervantur, vel
cum tollentibus ollas carbo adhaerescit, aut cum
contentus ignis est, favillam discutit

*
125 hiemebit I, gemabit T; acumina M. 126 gavida T;
candidante &. 127 inminebat KY , inmunebit DE,
inmeinebit I; caelo om. I; a} ad W; serena G- .
128 nubiculo D; parvam T, parna M; procellorum E.
129 discendentes £h T'U; aut caelo cadentes om, I;
aut] a - k. 130 sedentes T; promittunt DEG-. . . ,.
132 tempestatem E; ninitii EF, initii D, n4ma.aevi&.
133 sentiunt k; lu lucernis G-j fingi X. 134 flamina M.
135 flamma DG-, flammis M; vixj iux P, iuxta DEG,
vi M; acceduntur HI, accendentur V. 136 in om. I;
anno W, aere G-; pendentes T, pudente M; coaccervantur M.
137 olla D. 138 contemptus TV, contentibus X;
favillamve V; discutit scintillamve om, V,
 1 66

scintillamve emittit, vel cum cinis in foco

140 concrescit et carbo vehementer perlucet. Est et 359

aquarum significatio. Mare si tranquillum in

portu cursitabit murmurabitve intra se, ventum
praedicit; si id hieme, et imbrem; litora
ripaeque resonabunt tranquillo, asperam
145 tempestatem, item maris ipsius tranquillus
sonitus spumaeve dispersae aut aquae bullantes,
Pulmonesve marini in pelago plurimum dierum
hiemem portendunt. Saepe et silentio intumescit
inflatumque altius solito iam intra se esse
150 ventos fatetur, Et quidam et montium sonitus 3&0
nemorumque mugitus praedicunt et sine aura quae
sentiatur folia ludentia, lanugo populi aut

142 murmuravitve hkU( murmuraveritve fM, murmfcrabit T;

intra} in terra D. 143 praecedit I; littora E.
144 sonabunt k, resonabunt J. 145 item - fatetur (150)
om. k. 146 spumae ut T; spunie vedisperse M;
bulantes V.lflpulnione sue T. 148 hiemen D. 149 soliti I;
intraj tra T. 150 fatetum T; et quidemj at quidem M;
et montiumJ montium V, 151 numerorumque M; rugitus k,
mugitus G- , magnus T; predicant W. 152 sentiantur Y;
laudentia E.
 167

spinae volitans aquisque plumae innatantes, atque

etiam in campanis venturam tempestatem praecedens

155 suus fragor. Caeli quidem murmur non dubiam

significationem habet. Praesagiunt et animalia:
delphini tranquillo mari lascivientes flatum ex
qua venient parte, item spargentes aquam idem
turbato tranquillitatem. Lulligo volitans,
160 conchae adherescente echini adfigentes sese aut
harena suburrantes tempestatis signa sunt.
Ranae quoque ultra solitum vocales et fulicae
matutino clangore, item mergi anatesque pinnas
rostro purgantes ventum, ceteraeque aquaticae
165 aves concursantes, grttes in mediterranea
festinantes, mergi, caviae maria aut stagna

153 spinae volitans om. E; spina kSU; aquisque?-

fragor (155) om. k; aquisque] aut quisque D, a M ;
inactantes D; atque etiam atque etiam JV^WX.
156 praesagiunt - sunt (161) om. k; etj ut J.
157 delphivi M; tranquilo G-; lasciventes D, lasciviantes W.
158 aqua I; idem} id est EG-. 159 tranquillitate G-;
lullago f. 160 echinni M, exhini T; adfingentes D;
sesej se X, esse J; aut] ad V . 161 harana M;
suburrantis J, suburantes f; tempestate in T. 162 sonitum fh
3MT, sonum U. 163 clangere DEG-; clangore significant
tempestatem k; anetesque I; pinna T. 164 rostros SU;
caeteraque W, ceteraque S, caeraeque G-; ceteraeque
aquaticae] cetera queaque quae T. 165 concurrantes D;
in mediterraneal silentio terranea D. 166 cavia k,
avie E.
 1 68

fugientes. &rues silentio per sublime volantes

serenitatem, sicut noctua in imbre garrula, aut

sereno tempestatem, corvique singultu.quodam

170 latrantes seque concutientes, si continuabunt, si

vero carptim vocem resorbebunt, ventosum imbrem.
G-raculi sero a pabulo recedentes hiemem, et albae 3^3

aves cum congregabuntur et cum terrestres

volucres contra aquam clangores dabunt
175 perfundentesque sese, sed maxime cornix; hirundo

tarn iuxta aquam volitans ut pinna saepe percutiat;

quaeque in arboribus habitant fugitantes in nidis
suis; et anseres continue clangore intempestivi,
ardea in mediis arenis tristis. Nee mirum

180 aquaticas aut in toturn volucres praesagia aeris

167 fugientes tempestatem k, fugientis M; graves H;

sublima k. 168 sTal fcj in om. K; imbrem k; aut]] a k.
169 serena k. 170 seque concutientes om. I; concutient5 D;
continuabunt serenum k. 171 resorbebis k, resorvebunt S,
resordebunt W, respondebunt X; ventorum G; inbrem H.
172 papulo E; albes k. 173 congrebuntur CT.
174 clangorem k, clangoris V. 175 perfinidentes seseque M;
sese } sepe sepe E; sed om. k. 176 tam]\ cum contra k;
iuta E; pennes I; seie G-, se k. 177 quaequeJ cetera queque
que K, cetaem quaeque que Y; fugientes DGTVP, om. E;
nidus suos k. 178 intempestivis T^. 179^ardea i
ardeam DEG-M; medus D; tristris E; nee} sic M.
 169

sentire; pecora exultantia et indecora lascivia

ludentia easdem significationes habent, et boves

caelum olfactantes seque lambentes contra pilum,

turpesque porci alienos sibi manipulos faeni

185 lacerantes, segniterve et contra industriam suam

abscond!tae, vel forraicae concursantes aut ova

progerentes, item vermes terreni erumpentes.

Trifolium quoque inhorrescere et folia contra
tempestatem subrigere certum est. Nee non et in

190 cibis mensisque nostris vasa, quibus exculentium

additur sudorem repositoriis relinquentia diras
terapestates praenuntiant.

181 peccora S;exaltantia I, ex aliantia M; lascinia M.

-j
182 significaT K. 183 caenum P , cenum M; obfactantes D,
olfactante M; sedque T; lambientes k, lampentes DF.
184 mainplos M; feoni E, om. M. 185 segniterve -
absconditae om. k; segeniterve X. 186 vel} item k;
conversantes DEG-X; ova] avo f. 187 item - erumpentes om.k.
188 tripholium k, trium folium X; inorrescere M;
folium eius k. 189 nee] eo M. 190 excirlentium M.
191 reliquentia T; diram tempestatem k.
192 pronuntiant J, om. k.
 1 70

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Manuscripts

This list contains all the manuscripts known to contain

any part of the Pliny excerpts discussed in the present work.
Those marked with one asterisk are known only from secondary

sources; those marked with two asterisks have been seen on

microfilm or photograph; the rest have been examined personally.

** BALTIMORE, Md.: Walters Art Gallery, W. 73

** BAMBERG: Staatsbibliothek, H.J.IV 22 (Class. 55)

* BERNE: Biirgerbibliothek, 265

* " " 347

* BRESLAU: Biblioteka Uniwersytecka, Ac. IV 8°. 11

* BRUGES: Stadsbibliotheek, 523

* BRUSSELS: Bibliotheque Royale de Belgique, II 2558
* CAMBRIDGE: Pembroke College, 227

* COLOGNE: Historisches Archiv der Stadt, 10

* EINSIEDELN: Stiftsbibliothek, 266

* ERFURT: Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek der Stadt, Amplon.

quarto 23
* ERFURT: ¥issenschaftliche Bibliothek der Stadt, Amplon.
quarto 355
 1 71

* ESCORIAL: Real Biblioteca, 5 IV 10

* FLORENCE: Biblioteoa Medicea-Laurenziana," Ashburnham 1727

" " Edili 168
* Biblioteca Nationale Centrale, Magi. VIII 53
* HANOVER: Niedersachsiche Landesbibliothek, IV 394
LONDON: British Museum, Cotton Tiberius B V (vol. l)
it H tt I? It C I

" " Harley 647

ti n 2506
tt 3969
" tf " Sloane 2030
** MADRID: Biblioteca Nacional, 3307
** " ii » 9605

** MONTFELLIER: Bibliotheque de la Faculte* de MeMecine,H 334

MONZA: Biblioteca Capitolare, F. 9.176

MUNICH: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 210

n « » » 6362
tt n 6364

tt 11 11067

" 14436
" 14733
11 14836
 1 7 *>
f M

* NEW YORK: Pierpont Morgan Library, M. 857

OXFORD: Bodleian Library, Auct. P. 3. 15

Bodl. 614
" M " Canon. Class. Lat. 279
" n " Digby 28
« It II H

11 " . •" Laud. Lat. 118

" " " " Misc. 594
" " " e Mus. 223
11 New College, 104
n » it 252

PARIS: Bibliotheque Nationale, lat. 2236

» ti M n 5239
•i 5543

it « «• 7299A
» » n 3553
»
•• •« " «t 12117

ii « " " 16680

» " " Nouv. acq. lat. 456
n « " » «» » 1615
 1 73

* PRAGUE: Knihovna Metropolitni: Kapitoli, L LXXVII (1323)

* SALAMANCA: Biblioteca Universitaria, 2055
** STRASBOURG: Bibliotheque Universitatire et Regionale, 326
* TOLEDO: Biblioteca del Cabildo, 47.15
VATICAN CITY: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Barb. lat. 130
* " " " " " Ottob. lat. 1820
11 " " " " Palat. lat. 1377
" " " " " Regin. lat. 123
it it » ti n n ti 309

11 " " " " Vatic, lat. 645

* VIENNA: Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek, 387
* " " " 2436
* " " " 12600
** ZURICH: Zentralbibliothek, Car. C. 122
 1 74

The sources of the microfilms and photographs are as

follows:
Baltimore, Walters 73 and Madrid 9^05: photographs in
Warburg Institute, London.
Bamberg, H.J. IV. 22, Montpellier 334, Strasbourg 326 and
Zurich Car. C. 122: microfilms lent by Institut de Reeherches
et d'Histoire des Textes, Paris.
Madrid 3307- microfilm, supplied by the Biblioteca Nacional,
Madrid.
 «"» •"
1 ( o

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 1 76

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 1 77

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 1 78

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 i 79

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 180

DELISLE, L.: "Inventaire des manuscrits latins de la

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 181

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 1 82

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 1 83

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 1 84

LACOMBE, Gr.: Aristo1fl.es latinus ... Pars posterior.

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LOWE, E,A. '• Codices latini antiquiores: a palaeographical
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 185

LOWE, E.A.: Codices latini antiquiores ..., 8: G-ermany:

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L01NE, E.A.: Codices latini antiquiores ..., 10: Austria,

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MAASS, E.: Commentariorum in Aratum reliquiae. Collegit

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MACRAY, G-,D.: Catalogus codioum MSS. Bibliotheoae Bodleianae.

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MACROBIUS: Opera quae supersunt ... emendavit. prolegomena,

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MARTIAMJS CAPELLA: Martianus Capella. edidit Adolfus Dick.

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 1 86

MEIER, G-.: Catalogus codicum manu scriptorum qui in

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MILLAS VALLICROSA, J.: Assaig d! hist6ria de les idees

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MOMMSEN, T.: see Monumenta G-ermaniae historioa

Monumenta G-ermaniae historica: Chronica minora saec. 1V« V,

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Monumenta G-ermaniae historica; Epistolae Karolini aeyi*

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Monumenta G-ermaniae historica; Necrologiae G-ermaniae,

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Monumenta G-ermaniae historica: Poetae latini aevi carolini.

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