Popular treatises on science written during the Middle Ages, in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English / Edited from the original manuscripts by Thomas Wright.

  • Thomas Wright
Date:
1841
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Popular treatises on science written during the Middle Ages, in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English / Edited from the original manuscripts by Thomas Wright. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ji hit wile 'Sincan swySe un-ge-leaffullic un-ge-laeredum man- num, gyf we seegab ge-wislice be 'Sam steorran, j be hyra gange. Arhcton hatte an tungol on norS dsele, se haefS seofon steorran, j is for Si o]/rum naman ge-haten septem- trio, ]?one hataS laewede menu carles-waen. Se ne gaeS naefre adune under ]?yssere eorSan, swa swa oSre tunglan dob, ac he went adune, y hwilon up, ofer daeg J ofer niht. O Ser tungel is on suS daele Jtysum ge-lic, ]?one we ne magon naefre ge-seon. Twegen steorran standaS eac stille, an on suS daele, oSer on norS daele, pa synd on Leden axis ge-hatene; ]?one suSran steorran we ne ge-seoS naefre; ]?one norSran we ge-seoS, ]?one hataS menn scip-steorra. Hi synd ge-hatene axis, f is ex, for jtam Se se firmamentum went on Sam twam steorran, swa swa hweogel tyrnS on eaxe, y for Si hi standaS symle stille. Pliade synd ge-hatene pa seofon steorran pe on haerfeste up agaS, ofer ealne winter scinaS gangende eastan west-weard. Ofer ealne sumor hi gaS on nihtlicre tide under pissere eorSan, ^ on daeg bufan. On winterlicre tide hi beoS on niht uppe, y on daeg adune. Cometa synd ge-hatene Sa steorran Se faerlice 3 un-ge-wunelice aet-eowiaS, j synd ge- leomade, swa p him gaeS of se leoma swylce oSer sunn-beam. Hi ne beoS na lange hwile ge-sewene, ac swa oft swa hi aet- eowiaS, hi ge-bicniaS sum ping niwes to-weard ]?aere leode pe hi ofer-scinaS. peah Se we swiSor sprecaS be heofenlicum tunglum, ne maeg swa peah se un-ge-laereda leornian hyra leoht-baeran ryne. De duodecim Ventis. f)eos lyft Se we on libbaS ys an paera feorSa ge-sceafta pe aelc lichamlic Sing on wunaS. Feower ge-sceafta synd pe tem planet®. And 1 know that it will seem very incredible to unlearned men, if we speak scientifically concerning the stars, and concerning their course. Arcton is the name of a constellation in the north part, which has seven stars, and on that account is called by another name, septemtrio, which untaught men call carle’s-wain. It never goes down under this earth, as the other constellations do, but it turns down and sometimes up during the day and the night. There is another constellation on the south part like this, which we can never see. Two stars stand also still, one on the south part, the other on the north part, which are called in Latin axis; the southern star we never see; we see the northern, which men call the ship-star. These are called axis, that is, axel-tree, because the firmament turns on the two stars, as a wheel turns on the axel-tree, and there¬ fore they stand always still. Pleiades is the name given to the seven stars which rise in autumn, and shine through all the winter, going from the east to the west. Through all the summer they go at night time under this earth, and by day above. In the winter time they are up by night and down by day. The stars are called comets which appear suddenly and unusually, and which are rayed so that the ray goes from them like a sunbeam. They are not seen for any long time, and as oft as they appear, they forebode something new towards the people over whom they shine. Though we should speak more of the heavenly constellations, still the un¬ learned may not learn their luminous course. This atmosphere in which we live is one of the four elements in which every