Astronomica

University Library, MS Ii.3.3, f. 57v
France, 1276 and c. 1300
Vellum, 297 x 210 mm (197–230 x 126–130 mm), III + 281 ff.
(Binski Zutshi 316)

Astrolabes had several functions in medieval Europe. Principally they were an aid to stargazing, providing many of the calculations required to chart the position of a planet, star, or constellation for the reader. In this manuscript, specific details about the position of the stars are compiled in the table at the top of the page. We see the zodiac positions plotted on the curved side of the astrolabe in several rows. Elsewhere in the manuscript, there are exercises in trigonometry and other architectural calculations, as well as the unique diagram seen at the bottom of the page. Astrological information derived from astrolabes was commonly used in medieval medicine, which often relied on zodiacal information in working toward a diagnosis.