Astronomicon - Treccani

Bodley Codex 646, held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, contains Basinio da Parma's Astronomicon libri, the first astronomical poem of Italian humanism, written around 1455 at the court of Sigismondo Malatesta. Within the manuscript tradition of the poem, the parchment Bodley 646 represents one of the finest and most fascinating examples. In the Astronomicon libri, Basinius describes in detail the structure of the cosmos, the constellations and their stars, and the motions of the Sun and planets. The codex was copied in Italy around 1460 at the behest of the English scholar John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, who had a series of works transcribed during his stay in Italy, which he brought with him to England upon his return. The manuscript was later donated by Sir Richard Worsley to the Bodleian Library in the 17th century. Miniatures of the zodiac constellations and celestial diagrams Consisting of thirty-five leaves (plus two flyleaves), the codex is richly decorated. Its preciousness is enhanced by the thirty-eight colored miniatures of the zodiac constellations that accompany the descriptions provided by Basinius in his Latin hexameters. The beautiful illustrations also highlight the stars that make up each constellation in gold. On the verso of the first flyleaf, entirely colored, the name of the scribe, Angelo Aquilano, appears on a red background. On f. 1r is a magnificent illustration in which the title and author of the work are written in gold capital letters against a bright blue background. From top to bottom, a green garland surmounts a palm tree with gold and brown fruits. On either side are two red amphorae, while two cupids hold a scroll inscribed: Basinii Parmensis Astronomicon Liber I. All the elements rest on a marble plinth, at the center of which are the coat of arms and crest of John Tiptoft. The captions in red ink and capital letters accompanying these miniatures provide the reader with specific information for identifying each star group. The codex is completed by a capital letter decorated with blue flowers on a red background (f. 1v) and, above all, the two celestial diagrams containing the description of the heavens and the planets (f. 3v) and the diagram of the celestial circles with the indication of the ecliptic and the zodiacal band (f. 4v). Commentary by Giordana Mariani Canova, who provided the historical-artistic analysis; Donatella Frioli, who compiled the codicological notes; and Anna Gabriella Chisena, who transcribed the text and conducted the philological analysis.

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