Top of page

Book/Printed Material Boethius's "Commentaries on Cicero's 'Topics'" and Other Astronomical Treatises. Commentarii in Ciceronis Topica/Boethuis. Somnium Scipionis, ex lib. VI De re publica/M. Tullius Cicero. Commentarii in Ciceronis Somnium Scipionis/Macrobius. Naturalis historia, ex lib. II (excerpta Eboracensia)/C. Plinius Secundus. Epistola de ratione horologii

View 182 images in sequence.

About this Item

Title

  • Boethius's "Commentaries on Cicero's 'Topics'" and Other Astronomical Treatises.

Other Title

  • Commentarii in Ciceronis Topica/Boethuis. Somnium Scipionis, ex lib. VI De re publica/M. Tullius Cicero. Commentarii in Ciceronis Somnium Scipionis/Macrobius. Naturalis historia, ex lib. II (excerpta Eboracensia)/C. Plinius Secundus. Epistola de ratione horologii

Summary

  • This miscellany contains the following works: Commentarii in Ciceronis Topica (Commentaries on Cicero's "Topics"), by Boethius; the famous Somnium Scipionis (ex libris VI De re publica) (The dream of Scipio, book six from "The Republic"), by Cicero; Commentarii in Ciceronis Somnium Scipionis (Commentaries on Cicero's "The Dream of Scipio"), by Macrobius; Naturalis historia, ex libris II (excerpta Eboracensia) (Natural history, Book two with York excerpts), by Pliny the Elder; and Epistola de ratione horologii (Letter on time reckoning). In the Middle Ages, the commentary by Macrobius, a late-Roman philosopher and grammarian, was often illustrated with what are called zonal maps. Folio 74 recto of this codex contains a beautiful example of this type of map, based on the description of the world by the Greek grammarian and philosopher Crates of Mallus (active second century BC). Crates divided the world into five zones. The middle zone could not be inhabited because of excessive heat; the two outer zones also were uninhabitable because of extreme cold. Only the two temperate zones between the outer zones were considered inhabitable, especially the northern zone, which constituted the then-known world (Oikumene). As shown on this map, the world consists of four isolated continents: "Europa," "Africa," and "Arabia", as well as "Terra incognita" or the unknown, hitherto unexplored world. The zonal map in this volume is unusually detailed: it contains topographic details such as the names of a few countries, seas, and cities. Next to the city of Rome is a drawing of a building which can be identified as Castel Sant'Angelo.

Names

  • Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus, circa 480-524 Author.
  • Cicero, Marcus Tullius Author.
  • Macrobius, Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius Author.
  • Pliny, the Elder Author.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1000 to 1025]

Headings

  • -  Germany--Bavaria--Freising
  • -  25 to 524
  • -  Astronomy, Ancient
  • -  Chronology
  • -  Cosmology
  • -  Geography, Ancient
  • -  Logic
  • -  Natural history
  • -  Scipio Aemilianus, P. Cornelius (Publius Cornelius), Africanus minor, 185 B.C. or 184 B.C.-129 B.C
  • -  World maps

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "BSB shelfmark: Clm 6362|This description of the work was written by Wolfgang-Valentin Ikas of the Bavarian State Library."--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 85 folios : parchment ; 28 x 20.5 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Bavarian State Library.
  • -  Content in Latin.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021668092

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus, Circa 480-524 Author, Marcus Tullius Author Cicero, Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius Author Macrobius, and The Elder Author Pliny. Boethius's "Commentaries on Cicero's 'Topics'" and Other Astronomical Treatises. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1025, 1000] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668092/.

APA citation style:

Boethius, A. M. S., Cicero, M. T. A., Macrobius, A. A. T. A. & Pliny, T. E. A. (1000) Boethius's "Commentaries on Cicero's 'Topics'" and Other Astronomical Treatises. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1025] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668092/.

MLA citation style:

Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus, Circa 480-524 Author, et al. Boethius's "Commentaries on Cicero's 'Topics'" and Other Astronomical Treatises. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1025, 1000] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021668092/>.