Albumazar Treatise (Liber astrologiae)
The British Library, London
The Albumazar Treatise is one of the most fascinating picture books of the Middle Ages. The intellectual voyage unfolding upon its pages evokes the migration of the myths of Antiquity through Arab civilization into Western, medieval illuminations. The text consists of fragments of the writings of the greatest Arab astrologer of all times, Abū Maʿshar.
This treatise is significant because it condenses the astral mythology of the great civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Persia and India into a single lavishly illustrated book for the very first time. Its breathtaking iconographic cycle features not only unusual forms of the planets and the signs of the zodiac of Greek origin, but also a series of rather disconcerting images of constellations devised by different oriental cultures to pinpoint the position of the stars.
Astrology had a lasting effect on almost all fields of medieval knowledge. In the late Middle Ages, astrology was taught in Europe’s great schools of medicine which regarded a knowledge of celestial positions as essential for medical prognosis.
First, unique and unrepeatable edition limited to 987 copies numbered and certified by notary public.
This treatise is significant because it condenses the astral mythology of the great civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Persia and India into a single lavishly illustrated book for the very first time. Its breathtaking iconographic cycle features not only unusual forms of the planets and the signs of the zodiac of Greek origin, but also a series of rather disconcerting images of constellations devised by different oriental cultures to pinpoint the position of the stars.
Astrology had a lasting effect on almost all fields of medieval knowledge. In the late Middle Ages, astrology was taught in Europe’s great schools of medicine which regarded a knowledge of celestial positions as essential for medical prognosis.
First, unique and unrepeatable edition limited to 987 copies numbered and certified by notary public.
The Albumazar Treatise is one of the most fascinating picture books of the Middle Ages. The intellectual voyage unfolding upon its pages evokes the migration of the myths of Antiquity through Arab civilization into Western, medieval illuminations. The text consists of fragments of the writings of the greatest Arab astrologer of all times, Abū Maʿshar.
This treatise is significant because it condenses the astral mythology of the great civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Persia and India into a single lavishly illustrated book for the very first time. Its breathtaking iconographic cycle features not only unusual forms of the planets and the signs of the zodiac of Greek origin, but also a series of rather disconcerting images of constellations devised by different oriental cultures to pinpoint the position of the stars.
Astrology had a lasting effect on almost all fields of medieval knowledge. In the late Middle Ages, astrology was taught in Europe’s great schools of medicine which regarded a knowledge of celestial positions as essential for medical prognosis.
First, unique and unrepeatable edition limited to 987 copies numbered and certified by notary public.
This treatise is significant because it condenses the astral mythology of the great civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Persia and India into a single lavishly illustrated book for the very first time. Its breathtaking iconographic cycle features not only unusual forms of the planets and the signs of the zodiac of Greek origin, but also a series of rather disconcerting images of constellations devised by different oriental cultures to pinpoint the position of the stars.
Astrology had a lasting effect on almost all fields of medieval knowledge. In the late Middle Ages, astrology was taught in Europe’s great schools of medicine which regarded a knowledge of celestial positions as essential for medical prognosis.
First, unique and unrepeatable edition limited to 987 copies numbered and certified by notary public.
