Londres. Wellcome Library, MS.510

Biblissima authority file: https://data.biblissima.fr/entity/Q149786

  • Other Form of the Shelfmark :
    • London. Wellcome Collection, MS.510
    • London. Wellcome Library, MS.510
    • Londres. Wellcome Library, MS.510
    • Wellcome Library, MS.510
  • Held at : Londres. Wellcome Library
  • Date of Origin :
    • 1450-1500?
  • Composition :
    • 1 volume; 50 leaves 4to. 22 x 15 cm. On vellum, 19th century half-calf binding. Ff. 5, 21, 24 and 37 are half-page or smaller; some fragments of leaves laid down. Ff. 1, 10, 14, 16-20, 22, 23, 25-31, 39-45, 48 and 50 are damaged, and in some cases repaired. A leaf or leaves are probably missing after foleave 4 and foleave 45, as also some leaves at the beginning. By several hands, in Latin and English. Written by several semi-current English hands. Initials, headings and paragraph marks in red. A foliation in pencil has been added.

IIIF manifest

IIIF Drag and Drop Icon

Full digitisation

Former owners

Formerly part of

Notes

Data Source: Wellcome Collection - Online Collections

  • Collection of short tracts and excerpts on astrology, chiromancy, physiognomy, etc.

    Contents

    1. ff. 1r-4v Anonymous, De planetis

    f. 1r De planetis in quo signo sunt inveniendi. Expeditis autem vocabulis signorum si planetarum ... f. 2r De temporibus anni cognoscendis ... f. 3r De natura planetarum ... f. 4v De natura saturni ... et ipsum declinet. Explicit. De planetis.

    2. f. 4v Anonymous, De quatuor complexionibus

    f. 4v De quatuor complexionibus. Largus amans hilaris ridens rubieque coloris ... parum potest quia siccus.

    3. ff. 4v-5v Notes

    f. 4v Si vis aliquam purgere ... f. 5r Respicit splen. Si quis nascatur ... f. 5v Saturnus malencoliam et eius egritudines ... a yer hoot and moyste ver chyldhod sanguinis.

    4. ff. 6r-v De septem planetis

    f. 6r Saturnus est masculinus septimo celo ... f. 6v ... medium motum. The benevolens of the (moon symbol) is to discipulis and masyngers.

    5. f. 7r Properties of the seven planets

    f. 7r A propertie of the vii planettis. Saturnus betokeneth infortune the mylte and the mawe ... it comyth hym of gret blod.

    6. ff. 7r-v A treatise on which planets rule which body parts

    f. 7r These be the stedes that the folke be turment yn by the vii planettis. In arite. Saturnus the breste ... f. 7v In aquario ... luna the membris.

    7. ff. 8r-10r Prognostication by months

    f. 8r Ianuarius signum habet Aquarii. Si tonitruum fuerit in signo ... f. 10r ... luna existente in eodem signo.

    8. f. 10r Tract on the nature of zodiacal signs

    f. 10r Aries. Leo. Sagitter. Beth nature of fyre ... Gemini. Virgo. Sigitter. Pisces. By nature comyn stydfaste ... but by twene.

    9. ff. 10v-11v Zodiacal lunary relating to travel

    f. 10v Whan luna is in Ariete then it is good to go estwarde by land ... f. 11v Also Saturnus and Mars ... sol and Mercurius be fryndis.

    10. ff. 12r-14v Nicholas of Lynn, Canon pro minutionibus

    f. 12r Quia secundum sentenciam Ptholomei in suo ... f. 14v Aerea sanguinea digestione.

    11. ff. 15r-v Pseudo-Hippocrates, Capsula eburnea

    f. 15r Pervenit ad nos quod cum Ypocrates morti ... f. 15v in principio sue egritudinis. Explicit.

    f. 15v Unidentified text

    12. ff. 16r-18r Chiromantic tract, illustrated with 10 drawings of hands

    f. 16r Hit ys to know that this lyne that goth about ... f. 18r ... when men troweth not.

    f. 18v Divers Parts of Complexions of Men, tract on physiognomy

    f.18v Among all sheus this is which it behouythe the to know... f. 18v sone he dyeth & he shall neuer be fulfyllyd with money

    13. ff. 19r-20v Tract on physiognomy

    f. 19r Of the forehed. A playn forehed and that hathe few heres ... f. 20v Of evenesse and unevenesse off a man ... to the more provable parte.

    14. f. 21r Table of planets and signs, showing which rules each body part. Signed Willelmus Mauncell (late fifteenth/early sixteenth century hand).

    15. f. 21v Physiognomy.

    f. 21v Ho that hathe gret yen ys envyouse ... most to be reproved.

    16. f. 22r Physiognomy

    f. 22r The fysonomies off the 12 signes. Aries the firste face is a rounde visage with an hye mouthe ... a litill rounde face blake yen red heere.

    17. ff. 22v-23r Tract on the properties of the planets

    f. 22v The myght of the [seven] planetis bennyngithe at Saturnus ... f. 23r Luna is womanly ... and his nature is cold and moyste.

    ff. 23v-24r blank

    18. f. 24v On the opposition of the moon

    f. 24v Opposicio (moon symbol). Jupiter. Dies cavendum est. Mercurius. Dies mediocris ... si horum similem.

    19. f. 25r On lunar aspects

    f. 25r Aspectus (moon symbol) ad ceteras planetas. Jupiter. Dies fortunata bonum ... coniunccio (moon symbol). Jupiter. Dies caviendum est ... opera magna.

    20. f. 25v Anonymous, De effectibus lunae

    f. 25v De effectibus (moon symbol). Multum prodest scire in quo signo luna est ... naturam impediatur.

    21. ff. 25v-26v Short texts on planets and their properties, including De terre motuet divisione on f. 26r

    22. ff. 26v-27r Astrological tract

    f. 26v Hora solis infortuna est in omni re ... f. 27r ... cito salvabitur.

    23. ff. 27v-28v Three tables in red and black for determining planetary houses, with accompanyng text

    f. 27v Pro domificatione ... accipe diem et horam ...

    24. ff. 29r-31v On the properties of the planets

    f. 29r Nota quod aries habet ex capricornu ... f. 31v Scorpio ... anni et Saturnus.

    25. ff. 32r-39r On the practice of astrology, with tables in red and black ff. 36r-37v

    f. 32r Virgo Maria Anna Katrina. The first howse ys clepyd Ascendent ... f. 39r ... grete sekenes sorow and hevynes.

    26. ff. 39v-41r On the 28 houses of the moon

    f. 39v Dixit Hermes cum luna fuerit in alnach ... f. 41r Pisces. Alphagalagie capud Albaethen venter.

    27. ff. 41v-42v On the effects of planets and signs

    f. 41v Now woll y tell the effectis of the planetis and of the signys ... the mone hath qualities the which ... f. 42v ... and to bynde them.

    f. 43r blank

    28. f. 43v Names for making magic images

    f. 43v Here beth vii names the which muste be wrete or gravyn ...

    29. ff. 44r-49v Anonymous, De signis celestibus

    f. 44r Finito tocius creationis primordio. 12 signa ... f. 49v ... sic enim aliquam nobilissimam tenuisse.

    Ff. 16-18 contain 10 rough pen-drawings of hands. On fol. 28 is a horoscopic figure in black and red, and on fol. 28v, two similar figures in black. On ff. 36, 37 are astrological tables in red and black.

  • Signature of William Mauncell f. 21r. On f. 28v a natal chart has been added, entitled 'Figura celi 1494 2 Maii ...', in navitate Willelmi Damport. No record has been traced of the first personage, but in Foster's 'Alumni Oxonienses', Vol. 1, p. 376, there is an entry for a William Davenport (Damport or Damforde), who was B.A. in 1518, and Vicar of Lydden (Kent) in 1544. On f. 50v is a calculation 'ad meridiem Oxonie'.

  • The Middle English thorn has been replaced with the modern 'th', the yogh with a 'gh'

  • Armorial book-plate of Thomas William Bateman of Middleton Hall, and small crest of Lord Amherst. It is MS. 42 in Ricci's 'Handlist' 1906, p. 231. Sold Sotheby's (Bateman Sale) 31/7/1896, Lot 552.
  • Purchased Sotheby's (Amherst Sale) 24/3/09, Lot 644.

Bibliography

  • Bibliography

    Eldredge, L. M. The Index of Middle English Prose, Handlist IX: Manuscripts in the Ashmole Collection, Bodleian Library, Oxford (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2008), pp. 9, 19.

    Kurtz, Patricia Deery and Voigts, Linda Ehrsam. 'A Significance of Now-Dispersed Bute 13: A Mixed-Language Scientific Manuscript', Communicating Early English Manuscripts ed. Pahta, Päivi and Jucker, Andreas H. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), p. 52.

    Petruccioli, Sandro. Storia della scienza vol. 4 (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 2004), p. 290.

Data source