The enigma of the medieval almanac about:reader?url=[Link]
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The enigma of the medieval almanac
Elma Brenner
5-6 minutos
A remarkable fifteenth-century folding almanac in a green and
pink silk binding was recently acquired by the Wellcome Library.
It stands out because of its exquisite textile binding, and the
high artistic standard of its illustrative features, particularly the
Zodiac Man. Only a handful of such artefacts survive, and this
particular example had been in private hands and was
previously unknown to scholars.
The Zodiac Man in the newly acquired almanac. Wellcome
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The enigma of the medieval almanac about:reader?url=[Link]
Images C0096769
The almanac is written in Latin, and contains a calendar and
astrological tables and diagrams, including lunar and solar
eclipses. The text, diagrams and images are in brown, red and
blue ink with gold leaf. This item joins two other medieval folding
almanacs in the Library: MS. 39 and MS. 40. These slightly later
almanacs contain much less sophisticated drawings than our
new acquisition. The noticeable differences between these
objects raise intriguing questions about how they were produced
and used.
Folding almanacs contain astrological, medical and calendrical
information and were highly portable objects, constructed to
hang from the owner’s belt and unfold like a modern-day map.
Their format points towards their highly functional purpose: they
were reference tools for medical practitioners and others who
used the data they contained to diagnose and prognosticate, as
well as to obtain information about the phases of the moon,
religious feasts and other key moments in the calendar.
The Vein Man in Wellcome MS. 40. Wellcome Images
L0020781
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This usage reveals the importance of ideas about the cosmos to
the understanding of the human body and the practice of
medicine in the Middle Ages. In the Zodiac Man, particular
zodiac signs are placed on specific parts of the body, to indicate
times in the year at which it was believed to be dangerous to
practice bloodletting on those areas. The Zodiac Man
complements the Vein Man, which shows the appropriate points
on the body from which blood should be let in usual
circumstances. The modest, compressed form of the almanac
contrasts with that of larger scale, more luxurious astrological
manuscripts such as ‘The Physician’s Handbook’ (MS. 8004).
Almanacs’ practical function suggests that they were both
ephemeral – readily discarded and replaced – and relatively
inexpensive to produce, as the somewhat crude illustrations of
MS. 39 and MS. 40 would indicate. The Library’s new
acquisition, however, appears to be a very different kind of
object. Its fine artwork and binding, as well as its excellent
condition, indicate that this was a valuable and prestigious item,
which was perhaps never actually used. It may have been
commissioned by a wealthy patron as a special bespoke item, in
contrast to the more workaday almanacs that were probably
produced in workshops in multiple copies. This suggests that
the folding almanac was a more versatile type of object than has
previously been supposed, and could be a precious possession,
as well as a tool of medical and scientific practice.
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The green and pink silk binding of the folding almanac.
Wellcome Images C0096779
The most recent known owner of the almanac was the poet
Dame Edith Sitwell (1887–1964), who received it as a gift in
May 1940. We do not know who first owned it in the fifteenth
century, but it could have been commissioned by a lay person
who was not a physician or surgeon, yet had a keen interest in
the astrological and calendrical data within it, and wished to
have a special exemplar of what may have been a very
fashionable manuscript format. Use could have been made of
its medical content within the household, although the absence
of the Vein Man may suggest that it was never intended to be
consulted for practical purposes. The original owner could have
been a woman, and the textile binding could have been woven
by the owner himself or herself, or within his or her household.
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Detail of the textile binding
This jewel-like, enigmatic object raises important questions
about who possessed medical and scientific knowledge in the
fifteenth century, how that knowledge was used, and the status
and significance of folding almanacs at this time. It encourages
us to see such manuscripts as unique physical artefacts as well
as repositories of information, and reminds us that medieval
manuscripts existed in other formats than the standard codex.
Indeed, the special manuscript format of the folding almanac
merits further study, and we hope that scholars of manuscript
and book history, as well as art historians and historians of
medicine and science, will shed further light on our new
acquisition.
Sir Henry Wellcome sought to acquire folding almanacs for his
collection in the early twentieth century, and this acquisition
increases the importance of the Wellcome Library’s holdings for
the study of medieval astrological medicine. Much remains to be
discovered about this fascinating manuscript, and we are
delighted to have added it to our collections.
Author: Elma Brenner is Specialist, Medieval and Early Modern
Medicine at the Wellcome Library.
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