[Marʼeh ha-ofanim] ... [etc.]

Contributor:

Avigdor, Solomon ben Abraham, 1384- (translator); Tibon, Yehudah ibn, approximately 1120-approximately 1190 (attributed name); Judith Montefiore College (Ramsgate, England) (former owner)

Name:

Sacro Bosco, Joannes de, active 1230

Timespan:

Early works to 1800

Date:

1425

Description:

Hebrew translation of a fundamental treatise on medieval astronomy and cosmology that describes and illustrates the Ptolemaic model of a spherical earth divided into climactic zones at the center of the concentric spheres of the universe. Followed by Ruaḥ ha-ḥen, a 13th-century philosophical work that was a popular introduction to science, here attributed to Yehudah ibn Tibon. It has also been attributed to Jacob ben Abba Mari ben Samson Anatoli and Zeraḥyah ha-Yeṿani. Occasional marginal notes. Final page contains Hebrew notes and pen trials by various hands (f. 22v).

Language:

Hebrew

Provenance:

Possible ownership inscription: Mazliah Finzi (possibly Mazliah ben Zacharias Finzi of Parma, f. 22v).; Formerly owned by Polish scholar and bibliophile S. J. Halberstam (ms. 244, Montefiore label inside upper cover; number in pencil, f. 1r).; Sold as part of Halberstam's library to Judith Montefiore College (Ramsgate, England), after 1887, ms. 424 (label inside upper cover, Montefiore MS. 424; gilt number on spine; stamps, f. 1r, 22v; number in pencil, f. 1r).; Placed on deposit at Jews' College (London) as part of the Montefiore Endowment, 1899.; Sold at auction at Sotheby's (New York) as part of a collection of manuscripts from the Montefiore Endowment, 27 Oct. 2004, lot 309.; Sold by Les Enluminures (Paris and Chicago) to Lawrence J. Schoenberg, August 2008.; Deposit by Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle, 2013.; Gift of Barbara Brizdle Schoenberg, 2021.; Finzi, Mazliah, former owner.; Halberstam, S. J. 1832-1900, former owner.

Relation:

The Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle Manuscript Initiative Fund Home Page: http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017.12/366278; Digital facsimile for download (OPenn): https://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0001/html/ljs494.html

Subject:

Astronomy -- Early works to 1800; Astronomy; Cosmography -- Early works to 1800; Cosmography; Jewish philosophy -- Early works to 1800; Jewish philosophy

Resource Type:

Text

Form/Genre:

Codices; Diagrams; Treatises; Manuscripts, Hebrew; Manuscripts, Renaissance; manuscripts (documents)

Physical Description:

22 leaves : paper; 209 x 151 (143 x 104) mm bound to 220 x 186 mm

Rights:

https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Notes:

Ms. codex.; Title supplied by cataloger.; Table of contents: 1. f.1r-11v: [Marʼeh ha-ofanim / Joannes de Sacro Bosco]; Table of contents: 2. f.12r-22r: [Ruaḥ ḥen / Judah ibn Tibbon]; Foliation: Paper, iii (modern) + 22 + xxxv (modern); 1¹² 2¹⁰; [1-22], modern foliation in pencil, upper left recto.; Layout: Written in 31-34 long lines; ruled in faint ink for horizontals with vertical bounding lines in lead.; Script: Written in Ashkenazic semi-cursive script by 2 hands (f. 1r-11v, 12r-22r).; Decoration: 3 astronomical diagrams (f. 1v, 2v, 10r); occasional manicules (f. 9v, 13r).; Watermark: Briquet Tête de boeuf à yeux 14871 (Brescia, 1434-1445).; Binding: 20th-century half morocco over cloth; gatherings sewn on stubs.; Origin: Written in northern Italy in the second quarter of the 15th century (based on watermark information).; Lawrence J. Schoenberg & Barbara Brizdle Manuscript Initiative.; Hebrew.

Physical Location:

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Manuscripts, LJS 494

Collection:

Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection (University of Pennsylvania)