Easter Table (imperfect); A letter from Dionysius Exiguus to Bonifatius on the date of Easter; Apuleian spheres and scientific diagrams; including Byrthferth of Ramsey’s diagram; T-O world map; Abbo of Fleury, De Differentia Circuli et Spherae
This manuscript contains part of a computus , probably compiled by
Byrhtferth of Ramsey (b. c.970, d. c.1020) in the late 10th
century. This copy was made at Peterborough Abbey in the 2nd
quarter of the 12th century. A fragment of the same manuscript is
now Cotton MS Tiberius C I, ff. 2-17 (see Ker, 'Membra Disiecta',
p. 132). Contents:ff. 1r-2v: Part of an Easter-table with obits and
other historical notices, pertaining to Peterborough Abbey. ff.
3r-4r: A letter from Dionysius Exiguus (b. c 470, d. c 540) to
Bonifatius on the date of Easter. ff. 4r-4v: Notes on years ( anni
communis ) in frames of red arches. f. 4v: Apuleian spheres
(prognosticating devices for predicting the survival of a patient),
including a vertical list of letters assigned to Roman numerals, a
circular diagram labelled 'ratio sp[her]e pythagori' with
compartments labelled 'vita' and 'mors' and two human figures
holding scrolls with Roman numerals. f. 5r: An Apuleian Sphere,
with a diamond-shaped diagram labelled 'organu[m] pp.', plus
explanation beginning, 'De quacumque re scire volueris'. f. 5v: A
circular diagram of the twelve winds, with each wind being depicted
as a human head with wings, and a text beginning 'Martian. inq[u]it
luna quidem sexcentesimam'. f. 6r: A circular diagram, perhaps
unfinished, listing the months and numbers related to lunar months.
f. 6v: A diagram of the branches of knowledge, labelled
'Phylosophyae divisio'. f. 7r: A diagram of complex acrostic poem
which can perhaps be attributed to Abbo of Fleury (b. c. 945, d.
1004), abbot of Fleury (see Lapidge and Baker, 'More Acrostic
Verses' (1997), p. 6). The first horizontal line begins 'O decus et
cui vernat honor...' f. 7v: A diagram of creation, with a mandorla
surrounded by the names of the four Evangelists, the names of the
Apostles, the names of Old Testament figures, notes on the hours of
the day and night and the Old English names of the directions and
wnds, along with notes on the place of the heavens in the structure
of the creation. f. 8r: 'Byrthferth's diagram' of the physical and
cosmological fours, labelled 'H[a]ec figura composite est de
concordia mensium atque elementorum'. This copy of Byrhtferth's
diagram does not have some of the text or the ogham inscriptions
found in the copy in Oxford, St John's College MS 17, f. 7v. f. 8v:
A map of the world based on a T-O model, with some major cities and
regions labelled. ff. 8v-10v: Abbo of Fleury, De Differentia
Circuli et Spherae (On the Difference between the Circle and the
Sphere), including tables (ff. 9v-10r), a diagram listing the signs
of the zodiac (f. 9v), a diagram showing the phases of the moon in
relation to the sun (f. 10r) . Decoration: Frames, arches and
decorative lines in red (ff. 1r-2v, 4r-5r, 6r). Drawing of figures
with halos holding scrolls with Roman numerals written on them (f.
4v). Drawing of the personification of the winds in brown, red, and
green (f. 5v). Full-page charts, maps, or diagrams in brown and
red, a few also with yellow, green and/or purple washes. Large
initials in green, red or purple, some with penwork decoration.
Rubrics in red.
