Astronomical compendium

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, LJS 490. Germany, 1450. Collection of astronomical and astrological texts. Includes tables of solar declination (f. 13r), fixed stars (f. 22r), elevation of the pole star in various cities (f. 26r), new and full moons (f. 83r-84v), sightings and transits or eclipses of Venus and Mercury (f. 87r), and the position of the sun in the ecliptic (f. 87v); treatises on instruments, such as the astrolabe (f. 17r-22r, 29r-33v, 43r-49r, 50r-50v), the sundial (f. 23r-25v), the quadrant (f. 27r-28v, 78v), the Jacob's staff (baculus, f. 45r-49r, 79r, 91r), and the chilinder or traveler's dial (f. 77r-78v); treatises on other scientific subjects, such as practical geometry (f. 41r-42v), determination of the date of Easter (computus, f. 64v-67v, 70v-75r, 89r-90v), and analysis of urine (f. 68r-70r); digressions on the work of Johannes Sacrobosco (f. 35r-39r); and excerpts from the Compilatio de astrorum scientia of Leopold of Austria (f. 80r-81v). Cities in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany are mentioned frequently, along with major cities in Europe, especially Italy. Penn Libraries Catalog: go to Find