Title

Tabulae ad meridianum Salamantinum

Polonio, Nicolás [attributed to] (Active in Salamanca between 1460-1464)

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Object history

This manuscript, known as Tabulae ad meridianum Salamantinum, comes from the University of Salamanca. It was used by students of the chair of astrology to study. Although the Alphonsine tables (Gingerich, 1987) were generally used for this purpose, the truth is that they were too complex for the students. Thus, they decided to prepare new ones adapted to the city, something that is explained in the prologue:

"Quoniam tabularum Alfonsi laboriosa dificultas et m0d0nim operandi inextricabilis prolixitas videtur astrologie studentibus nimis virulens et honerosa, quare in alleviatione predictarum tabulamm,ne studentes a tam nobilis scientie fmctu sint omnino refragati, alie tabule utilissime que vocantur resolute eis proponuntur in quibus se exerceant ad civitatem Salamantinam in regno Castelle constitutam ordinate" (Beaujouan, 1962; García Avilés, 1994).

The dating of the codex has been discussed by different researchers: some, such as Pächt and Alexander (1966) date it to the third quarter of the 14th century; however, Coxe (1854) considers that it was made in the 15th century. However, it was Walis Singer and Guy Beaujouan (1962) who specified the specific date of the copy (García Avilés, 1994). Both affirm that in the heading of one of the tables (f. 118r) the following can be read: "Tabula introitum solis in 12 signa et ascensionis ascendentis ad iddem tempus, facta ad Salamancam, anno currente 1461". Thus, the manuscript was made in 1461.

To find out who the author of the tables was, we must turn to a booklet that Diego de Torres, professor of astrology at the university, published in 1480. In it he specified that Nicolás Polonio, one of his predecessors, had carried out some tables to calculate the planetary positions following the coordinates of the city. Therefore, it is plausible to think that the author of the tables is Polonius (García Avilés, 1994).

It is not known how and when the volume left the University of Salamanca, although it is possible that the suppression of the colegios mayores by Charles IV in 1798 had something to do with it. Be that as it may, the manuscript ended up in the private collection of Matteo Luigi Canonici at the end of the 18th century. This Jesuit settled in Venice in 1773, where he collected more than four thousand manuscripts, including this one. After his death in 1805 the copies of his collection were dispersed. The Tabulae ad meridianum Salamantinum ended up in the hands of his brother, Giuseppe Canonici, who was also a great bibliophile. In 1807 Canonici died and his nephews Giovanni Perissinotti and Girolamo Cardina divided the collection. Perissinotti was entitled to the manuscripts, which he sold in 1817 to the Biblioteca Bodleiana for 5,444 pounds.

Description

In this manuscript, drawings of the zodiacal constellations can be observed, something that was already present in the tables of Alfonso X the Wise. Next to the illustrations there are labels specifying the astrological characters of each one of them (García Avilés, 1994). In addition, the red dots correspond to the stars of the zodiacal constellation. This specimen has been related to the astrological paintings that Fernando Gallego made for the vault of the University of Salamanca (Yarza, 1992).

Locations

• Third quarter of the XV^th c.

  study center

  University of Salamanca, Salamanca (Spain)

• Last quarter of the XVIII^th c. - 1805

  private collection

  Matteo Luigi Canonici, Venecia (Italy) *

• 1805 - 1807

  private collection

  Giuseppe Canonici, Venecia (Italy) *

• 1807 - 1817

  private collection

  Giovanni Perissinotti, Venecia (Italy) *

• 1817 - present

  library

  Bodleian Library, Oxford (United Kingdom)