Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 July 2016
‘Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord’ (Gen. 10.8). This scriptural passage is familiar to many, but to historians of medieval astronomical literature Nimrod assumes a different profession. He stands as the principal character in a mythological astronomical handbook, the Liber Nimrod, cast in the form of a dialogue between the astronomer Nimrod and his disciple, Ioanton. This metamorphosis of Nimrod the Astronomer and his emergence into the medieval West is an interesting topic in its own right and one which this essay will examine.
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8 The text for the size of the universe and the order of the planets is found in MSS Vatican Pal. lat. 1417 (fols. 3v-4r), Venice Marc. lat. VIII.22 (fol. 5v), Paris BN. lat. 14754 (fol. 203v), and Oxford Bodl. Lib. Ashmole 191 (fol. 46r). In the Venice manuscript the text reads: ‘Dico enim quod de oriente usque ad occidentem sunt stadia duo milia milium et sedecim milia. Id sunt cci miriades et sex milia et de celo usque ad celum subtus terram idem numerus, et in dimidio circulo alia pars tanta et dimidia et totus circulus celi tres tantos quantos quantum superius numeravimus. Itaque disponam et dicam que de terra usque ad lunam sunt stadia c milia et xx sex milia; ibi sunt xii miriades et sex milia. Et de luna usque ad solem c milia et xx sex milia, et de sole usque ad martem c milia et xxvi milia, et de marte usque ad mercurium c milia et xxvi milia, et de mercurio usque ad iovem c milia et xxvi milia, et de iove usque ad venerem c milia et xxvi milia, et de venere usque ad saturnum c milia et xxvi milia, et de saturno usque ad celum c milia xx et sex milia. Igitur est summa numeri huius mille milia et octo milia; ibi sunt c miriades et octo milia et enim de una parte celi usque ad alteram ducenti miriades et una miria et vi milia.’ The base figure of 126,000 stades was probably taken from Pliny. In the Historia naturalis 2.19, he states that the distance between the earth and the moon is 126,000 stades, but doubles the distance between the moon and the sun, then triples the distance between the sun and the fixed stars. Censorinus and Martianus Capella also used this figure, which presumably is ultimately derived from Varro. On this probelm, see Stahl, William H., Roman Science. Origins, Development, and Influence to the Later Middle Ages (Madison 1962) 111–12.Google Scholar
9 In the first attempt to determine distances in the solar system, Aristarchos of Samos calculated mean distances of the earth to the sun and moon (in Earth diameters) as 180 and 9.5 respectively. Hipparchos adjusted this to 1245 and 33 2/3; Ptolomy's calculations were 605 and 29.5. Nimrod's figures of 252,000 stades and 126,000 stades translate into mean distances of 3 and 1.5 earth diameters. The modern figures are 11,740 and 30. See Pedersen, Olaf and Pihl, Mogens, Early Physics and Astronomy (New York 1974) 54–55.Google Scholar
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11 Note also the passage on the pliades (Vat. Pal. lat. 1417, fol. 10v) which refers to the ‘Greek’ appellation apolpoeton (ἀπò πλ∊íωv?). Haskins (n. 2 above) 342 n. 38.Google Scholar
12 Venice MS, fol. 3v; Vatican MS, fol. 2v: ‘Nam quod ipse dixit quia discurrunt inter signa disposuit Alexander dicens quia iste fortitudines quas ait ipse Nemroth ipse sunt quas exposuit superius,’ and Vatican MS, fol. 10v; Venice MS, fol. 12v; Paris MS, fol. 210v: ‘In quo signo currit luna ut exposuit Alexander.’ On the astronomical tradition of Alexander, see Van de Vyver, (n. 3 above) 666–84.Google Scholar
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14 Haskins, (n. 2 above) 342–45.Google Scholar
15 Van de Vyver, (n. 3 above) 684–85.Google Scholar
16 The Syriac and Arabic traditions of Nimrod are discussed in de Villard, Ugo Monneret, Le leggende orientali sui magi evangelici, Studi e testi 163 (Rome 1953) 113-24. Dr. David Pingree reports that the name of Nimrod does not occur in astrological or astronomical literature beyond that cited by Haskins. This is confirmed independently by Kennedy, E. S., ‘A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables,’ Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, n.s. 46 (1956) 123–77.Google Scholar
17 See above, n. 8.Google Scholar
18 Cumont, F., ‘Astrologica,’ Revue archéologique (1916) 16–22. See also Van de Vyver (n. 3 above) 666-84. Cumont's hypothesis about the early circulation of the Liber Alchandrei has been criticized by José Maria Millas y Vallicrosa in his analysis of BN lat. 17868. See Assaig d'història de les idees físiques i mathemàtiques a Catalunya medieval… (Barcelona 1931) 246-47.Google Scholar
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20 An example of this type of transmission is seen in St. Gall, Stiftsbibliothek 248, which refers to initium anni Aegyptiorum. Folio 41v contains several short paragraphs on Easter, including one which begins ‘Si vis scire a Septembrio usque ad Decembrem hoc est ab initio anni Aegyptiorum ….’ See Cordoliani, A., ‘Les manuscrits de comput ecclésiastique de l'Abbaye de Saint Gall du viiie au xiie siècle,’ Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique suisse (hereafter RHES) 49 (1955) 161–200, esp. 175.Google Scholar
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22 De civitate Dei, CCL 48.16.3. Trans. Marcus Dods (New York 1950). ‘Quibus enumeratis reditur tamquam ad caput et dicitur: “Chus autem genuit Nebroth; hic coepit esse gigans super terram. Hic erat gigans venator contra Dominum Deum. Propter hoc dicunt: Sicut Nebroth gigans venator contra Dominum. Et factum est initium regni eius Babylon, Orech, Archad et Chalanne in terra Sennaar. De terra illa exivit Assur et aedificavit Nineven et Roboth civitatem et Chalach et Dasem inter medium Ninevae et Chalach: haec civitas magna.” Iste porro Chus, pater gigantis Nebroth, primus nominatus est in filiis Cham, cuius quinque filii iam fuerant computati et nepotes duo. Sed istum gigantem aut post nepotes suos natos genuit, aut, quod est credibilius, seorsum de illo propter eius eminentiam scriptura locuta est; quando quidem et regnum eius commemoratum est, cuius initium erat illa nobilissima Babylon civitas ….’ In the Quaestionum in Heptateuchum, Quaest. Gen. [CCL 33] 18, Augustine asks why Scripture had not discussed Nimrod with the account of the giants in Genesis 6.4: ‘Quaeritur, quomodo dictum sit de Nebroth: “hic coepit esse gigans super terram,” cum gigantes et antea natos scriptura commemoret. An forte quia post diluvium novitas generis humani reparandi denuo commemoratur, in qua novitate hic coepit esse gigans super terram ?’ Bede recognized that Augustine's discussion was based on a pre-Vulgate translation of the Scriptores: ‘… alia editio habet, “Quasi Nemrod gigans venator contra Dominum.” … Facilis ergo patet intellectus de gigante, quia robustus fuerit venator brutorum animalium, quasi homo potens; sed quasi homo impius contra voluntatem conditoris vitam duxerit superbam.’ In Genesim, CCL 118A.3.10.9.Google Scholar
23 Later Biblical commentators quoted Jerome's text but continued to attach the term gigans to Nimrod. See, for example, Claude of Turin, Commentarius in Genesim, 2, Genesis 10.8. PL 50.957-58.Google Scholar
24 De civitate Dei, 16.4. Trans. Dods. ‘Babylon quippe interpretatur confusio. Unde colligitur, gigantem illum Nebroth fuisse illius conditiorem, quod superius breviter fuerat intimatum ubi, cum de illo scriptura loqueretur, ait initium regni eius fuisse Babylonem …. ’ Google Scholar
25 Pauli Orosii historiarum adversum paganos libri VII (Leipzig 1889) 2.6.Google Scholar
26 Josephus, , Antiquitates 1.4.2-3.Google Scholar
27 For a discussion of the Pseudo-Clementine literature, see Harnack, Adolf, Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur bis Eusebius (Leipzig 1958) 1.212-31 and Thorndike, Lynn, A History of Magic and Experimental Science (New York 1923) 1, chapter 17.Google Scholar
28 Recognitiones 1.30. PG 1.632-33. ‘Septima decima generatione apud Babyloniam Nemrod primus regnavit, urbemque construxit, et inde migravit ad Persas, eosque ignem colere docuit.’ Google Scholar
29 In the Greek version, Zoroaster is identified with Nimrod. Homilies, 9, chapters 4 and 5. PG 1.975-76.Google Scholar
30 Recognitiones 4.27-29. PG 1.734-36. ‘Pro his et aliis nonnullis causis diluvium mundo introductum est, sicut iam in aliis dictum est et dicemus; et omnes qui erant super terras, deleti sunt, excepta Noe familia, qui cum tribus filiis eorumque uxoribus superfuit. Et quibus unus Cham nomine, cuidam ex filiis suis qui Mesraim appellabatur, a quo Aegyptiorum et Babyloniorum et Persarum ducitur genus, male compertam magicae artis tradidit disciplinam; hunc gentes quae tunc erant Zoroastrem appellaverunt, admirantes primum magicae artis auctorem, cuius nomine etiam libri super hoc plurimi habentur. Hie ergo astris multum ac frequenter intentus, et volens apud homines videri Deus, velut scintillas quasdam ex stellis producere et hominibus ostentare coepit, quo rudes atque ignari in stuporem miraculi traherentur, cupiensque augere de se huiusmodi opinionem, saepius ista moliebatur usquequo ab ipso daemone, quern importunius frequentabat, igni succensus concremaretur. ’Sed stulti homines qui tunc erant, cum debuissent utique opinionem, quam de eo conceperant abiicere, quippe quam poenali morte eius viderant confutatam, in maius eum extollunt. Exstructo enim sepulcro ad honorem eius, tanquam amicum Dei ac f ulminis ad coelum vehiculo sublevatum, adorare ausi sunt, et quasi vivens astrum colere. Hinc enim et nomen post mortem eius Zoroaster, hoc est vivum sidus, appellatum est ab his, qui post unam generation nem Graecae linguae loquela fuerant repleti. Hoc denique exemplo etiam nunc multi eos qui fulmine obierint, sepulcris honoratos tanquam amicos Dei colunt. Hic ergo cum quartadecima generatione coepisset, quintadecima defunctus est, in qua turris aedificata est, et linguae hominum multipliciter divisae sunt. ‘Inter quos primus magica nihilominus arte quasi corusco ad eum delata, rex appellatur quidam Nemrod, quem et ipsum Graeci Ninum vocaverunt, ex cuius nomine Ninive civitas vocabulum sumpsit. Sic ergo diversae et erraticae superstitiones ab arte magica initium sumpsere. Etenim quoniam difficile erat humanum genus ab amore Dei abstrahi, et ad surda atque exanima simulacra deduci, idcirco excelsioribus usi sunt magi molitionibus, ut astrorum signis ac motibus tanquam coelitus et voluntate Dei delatis, ad suadendos cultus erraticos verterentur. Et eius quem supra diximus indignatione daemonis, cui nimis molestus fuerat conflagrasse, busti cineres, tanquam fulminei ignis reliquias colligentes hi, qui erant primitus decepti, deferunt ad Persas, ut ab eis tanquam divinus e coelo lapsus ignis, perpetuis conservaretur excubiis, atque ut coelestis Deus coleretur.’ Google Scholar
31 Regarding the Revelationes, see Nau, F., ‘Revelations et legendes: Methodius-Clement-Andronicus,’ Journal Asiatique Ser. 11, 9 (1917) 415–71, who published two Syrian fragments of the text, and Kmosko, Michael, ‘Das Rätsel des Pseudomethodius,’ Byzantion 6 (1931) 273-96, who discussed the most complete form of the original text in Cod. Vat. Syr. 58. See also the introduction to the edition of the Latin text in Sackur, Ernst, Sibyllinische Texte und Forschungen (Halle 1898) 1-59, and the preface by Raoul Manselli in the reprint edition (Turin 1963). In 1898, Sackur was unaware of the Syriac text, and suspected that it might have been written in Syria. Paul J. Alexander, using Vatican, cod. Syrus 58, has shown that the text was probably written in Mesopotamia near Tour Shiggar between a.d. 644 and 678. See The Syriac Original of Ps. Methodius‘ Apocalypse,’ Proceedings of the 27th International Congress of Orientalists, ed. Sinor, Denis (Ann Arbor, Mich. 1971) 106-107. In a series of recent works, he has also discussed the transmission of the text into Western Europe and its use both in the Middle Ages and in relatively recent times. See ‘Byzantium and the Migration of Literary Works and Motifs. The Legend of the Last Roman Emperor,’ Medievalia et humanistica series 2, 2 (1971) 47-68; ‘Medieval Apocalypses as Historical Sources,’ American Historical Review 73 (1968) 997-1018; and ‘The Diffusion of Byzantine Apocalypses in the Medieval West and the Beginnings of Joachimism,’ Prophecy and Millenarianism: Essays in Honour of Marjorie Reeves (London 1980) 55-106. Google Scholar
32 The ascription of gigantic stature to Nimrod in this Greek text (and its Latin translation) probably resulted from the Septuagint text, which uses γíγáç. See Septuaginta, I: Genesis ed. Wevers, John William (Göttingen 1974) 134–35.Google Scholar
33 Sackur, (n. 31 above) 63–65: ‘C. autem anno de terciam chiliadam natus est Noe filius secundum ipsius similitudinem et vocavit nomen eius Ionitum. CCC. vero tempore de trium milium annorum dedit Noe donationes filio suo Ionito et dimisit eum in terram Eoam et post obitum Noe DC et XC. anno in eosdem trium milium annorum ascenderunt filii Noe de terra Eoam et aedificaverunt sibi turrem in terra Sennahar, et illuc divise sunt linguae et disperse sunt super faciem totius terrae. Ionitus autem, filius Noe, introivit in Eoam usque ad mare, qui vocatur hiliu chora [ἡλíov χὡα?], id est regio solis, in quo solis ortum fit et habitavit ibidem. Ionitus accipit a Deo donum sapientiae, qui non solum hoc tantum, sed et omnem astronomiae articulum factusque inventor. Ad hunc discedens Nebroth, qui fuit gigans, et eruditus ab eo accipit ab illo consilium, in quibus regnare coepissent. Hi autem Nebroth ex filiis discendebat hiroum [ἡωv?]; qui fuit filius Sem et ipse primus regnavit super terram. DCC vero et XC tertiae chiliadem, quod agebatur trium milium annorum, aedificata et Babillon magna et regnavit in ea Nebroth. Et post haec fecerunt sibi filii Cham regem ex ipsis, cui nomen est Pontipus. Et iam DCCXC et nono anno temporis trium milium, anno tertio regni Nebroth, miserunt viros potentes ex filiis Iapheth, sapientes et artifices arte tectonicam constructores et discenderunt in eoam terram ad Ionitum, filium Noe, et aedificaverunt ei civitatem, quam nuncupaverunt Ionitum iuxta nominis illius noncupationem. Et pax multa erat in regno Ioniti et Nebroth usque in presentem diem.’ Google Scholar
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59 These three chapters were borrowed from Bede, , De natura rerum, ed. Jones, Charles W., CCL 123A chapters 49, 50, 51.Google Scholar
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68 Haskins, (n. 2 above) 341.Google Scholar
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71 Regarding St. Gall 225, which was written at St. Gall in the second half of the eighth century, see Bruckner, A., Scriptura medii aevi helvetica (Geneva 1936) 2.71 and Lowe, E. A., Codices latini antiquiores VII: Switzerland (Oxford 1956) p. 27. A second manuscript of the Revelationes, Bern 611, was written in East France during the eighth century; see Hagen, Herman, Catalogus codicum Bernensium (Bern 1875) 479-83; Lowe, , CLA VII p. 9; Cordoliani, A., ‘Les plus anciens manuscrits de comput ecclésiastique de la bibliothèque de Berne,’ RHES 51 (1957) 101-12.Google Scholar
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73 The commentators discussed below consist of a representative sample of exegetical work on the Genesis account. For an exhaustive examination, see Borst, Arno, Der Turmbau von Babel (Stuttgart 1957-63). The Liber Nimrod apparently was never cited in the commentaries Borst examined, for he learned of the text only in the course of writing the fourth volume, when it was brought to his attention by Mile d'Alverny. See IV 2089.Google Scholar
74 Commentarius in Genesim, 2, chapter 10.8 and chapter 11.7. PL 50.937-38, 941.Google Scholar
75 Maurus, Rabanus, Commentarii in Genesim, PL 107.528: ‘… ultra naturam suam coeli alta penetrare contendit, non incongrue diabolo comparetur, qui, cogitatione cordis sui intumescens, super sidera se exaltari voluit, id est, super omnem potestatem angelorum Deo se coaequare disponens, dum dicit: “Ascendam super altitudinem nubium, et ero similis Altissimo” [Isa. 14. 14].’ Google Scholar
76 Commentarius in Genesim, 4.43. CCL cont. med. 21.330-31.Google Scholar
77 Bruno of Asti, Expositio in Genesim 10–11, PL 164.185-86; Damian, Peter, Expositio mystica historiarum libri Genesis, PL 145.841-58.Google Scholar
78 Historia scholastica, Liber Genesis 37-38. PL 198.1087-89: ‘… et filius Chus Nemrod, qui coepit primus potens esse in terra, et robustus venator hominum coram Domino, id est exstinctor, et oppressor amore dominandi, et cogebat homines ignem adorare; ad hoc exiit proverbium, ad dicendum de aliquo, quod fortis sit et malus: “Quasi Nemrod robustus venator coram Domino.” Hoc ideo diximus, quia Methodius dicit hunc fuisse de filiis Hirom filii Sem. Quare vero primus coeperit dominari ostendit, agens de quodam filio Noe, de quo non egit Moyses, sic dicens : Centesimo anno tertiae chiliadis natus est Noe filius in similitudinem eius, et dixit eam Jonithum. Trecentesimo anno dedit Noe donationes filio suo Jonitho, et dimisit eum in terram Ethan, et intravit eam Jonithus usque ad mare orientis, quod dicitur Elioschora, id est solis regio, hic accepit a Domino donum sapientiae, et invenit astronomiam. Ad quem veniens Nemrod, Gigas decem cubitorum, eruditus est ab eo, et accepit ab eo consilium, in quibus locis regnare coepisset. Jonithus iste futuros quosdam eventus praevidit, et maxime de ortu quatuor regnorum, et occasu eorum per successionem…. Post obitum vero Noe, moventes pedes suos ab Oriente, convenerunt duces in unum, in campum Sennaar, et timentes diluvium, consilio Nemrod volentis regnare, coeperunt aedificare turrim.’ For an illustrated example of this material, see the fourteenth-century Anglo-French illustrated book of Genesis, now Egerton 1894: James, M. R., Illustrations of the Book of Genesis (Oxford 1921) 27–28, 31-32.Google Scholar
79 Speculum historiale (Strassburg 1473) 2.61-62, 100–102.Google Scholar
80 Postilla super totam Bibliam (Rome 1471-76) I, fols. 26v-27r: ‘Porro Chus genuit Nemroth. Iste fuit qui induxit posteritatem Noe ad faciendum turrim et civitatem contra Deum dicitur sequenti. Circa ideo dicitur ipse coepit esse potens in terra quia per potentiam alios sibi submittebat et nolentes ad opus praedictum compellebat. Ideo sequitur. Et erat robustus venator id est oppressor hominum. Coram Domino quia nihil latet eius aspectum. Ob hoc exivit, proverbium id est verbum commune vel vulgatum quasi Nemroth, etc. Quando enim postea videbatur aliquis oppressor hominum vocabatur alter Nemroth vel similis Nemroth. Fuit autem principium regni eius Babylon. Hoc nomen hie dicitur per anticipationem quia impositum est propter divisionem linguarum.’ Concerning idolatry, Nicholas says (fol. 28r): ‘Dicunt enim Hebrei quod Thare Idolatra existens accusavit Abraham filium suum ipsi Nemroth eo quod nolebat ignem colere sicut faciebant Chaldei de precepto Nemroth propter quod Abraham de precepto Nemroth projectus est in ignem. Aram autem frater eius assistens dicebat in corde suo: “Si viceret Abraham illesus ab igne sequar eius fidem sin autem colam ignem sicut alii.” Cum ergo Abraham virtute divina illesus liberatetur ab igne quereretur ab Aram de eius cultura. Respondit velle se sequi Abraham; tunc projectus est in ignem et ibi mortuus est quia non fuit tante fidei sicut Abraham …' On Nicholas’ use of Jewish exegesis, see Hailperin, Herman, Rashi and the Christian Scholars (Pittsburgh 1963) 137-264.Google Scholar
81 Lemay, (n. 4 above) 89.Google Scholar
82 In ascensione Domini, Sermo 4. PL 183.311-12. In this second article on the subject, Lemay suggests that Bernard probably never saw the Nimrod text: ‘Le cas de géants,’ Revue des études Italiennes 11 (1965) 273.Google Scholar
83 Didascalicon, ed. Buttimer, Charles Henry (Washington, D.C. 1939) 3.2. Trans. Taylor, Jerome (New York 1961): ‘Dicunt quidam quod Cham filius Noe astronomiam primus invenerit. Chaldaei primum astrologiam docuerunt, secundum nativitatis observantiam. Iosephus autem asseverat Abraham primum instituisse Aegyptios astrologiam. Astronomiam Ptolomaeus rex Aegypti reparavit. Hie etiam canones instituit quibus cursus astrorum invenitur. Aiunt quidam Nemroth gigantem summum fuisse astrologum, sub cuius nomine etiam astronomia invenitur. Graeci dicunt hanc artem ab Atlante prius excogitatam, propter quod etiam caelum sustinuisse fertur.’ Google Scholar
84 Haskins, (n. 2 above) 338; Van de Vyver, (n. 3 above) 685, 688.Google Scholar
85 Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae, ed. Lindsay, W. M. (Oxford 1911) 3.25: ‘Astronomiam primi Aegyptii invenerunt. Astrologiam vero et nativitatis observantiam Chaldaei primi docuerunt. Abraham autem instituisse Aegyptios Astrologiam Iosephus auctor adserverat. Graeci autem dicunt hanc artem ab Atlante prius excogitatam, ideoque dictus est sustinuisse caelum.’ Idem. 3.26: ‘In utraque autem lingua diversorum quidem sunt de astronomia scripta volumina, inter quos tamen Ptolemaeus rex Alexandriae apud Graecos praecipuus habetur: hic etiam et canones instituit, quibus cursus astrorum inveniatur.’ Cassiodorus, Institutiones , ed. Mynors, R. A. B. (Oxford 1937) 2.7.3: ‘De astronomia vero disciplina in utraque lingua diversorum quidem sunt scripta volumina; inter quos tamen Ptolomeus apud Graecos praecipuus habetur, qui de hac re duos codices edidit, quorum unum minorem, alterum maiorem vocavit Astronomum. Is etiam canones, quibus cursus astrorum inveniantur, instituit….’ Google Scholar
86 Adnotationes elucidatoriae in Pentateuchon, Gen. 11. PL 175.49. ‘Potest etiam dici a Nemroth [turris] factam esse cupidate regnandi. Unde divisis linguis, ipse cum familia sua ibi remansit caeteris recendentibus, et Assur expulso, cui paterno jure contingebat illa mansio, quia erat de Sem majore filio. Assur autem, recedens in terram quae postea ab ipso dicta est Assyria, multiplicatus est usque ad regem Ninum, qui ab eius progenie ortus est. Hic condidit civitatem, et vicit Cham in bello, qui usque ad illud tempus vixerat: factus rex Bactriae Nino vicinus, et vocatus Zoroastes inventor, et auctor maleficae mathematicae artis; qui etiam septem liberales artes quatuordecim columnis, septem aeneis et septem lateritiis, contra utrumque diluvium in utilitatem posterorum praevidens scripsit. Huius libros mathematicae Ninus adeptus victoriam combussit. Post haec audacior factus invasit Nemroth, id est, Chaldeos, et acquisivit Babylonem, transferens illuc caput imperii sui…. ’ Google Scholar
87 In addition to Lemay's first article on the subject (n. 4 above), see also Lemay, , ‘Le cas de géants’ (n. 82 above) 266. For another interpretation, see Jacob, E. F., ‘The Giants,’ in Medieval Miscellany Presented to Eugene Vinaver, edd. Whitehead, F. et al. (Manchester 1965) 167-85.Google Scholar
88 For example, in Lilienfeld, Stiftsbibliothek 151, fol. 183v, Nimrod stands with a horn slung from his shoulder, a spear in his right hand, and a leash of dogs held in his left hand. In Vatican, Vat. gr. 746, fol. 60r, Nimrod is portrayed shooting an arrow at a stag.Google Scholar
89 De vulgare eloquentia, 1.74. Nimrod is similarly cast elsewhere in the Comedia: see Purgatory, canto xii, 34-36 and Paradise, canto xxvi, 126. See also Toynbee, Paget, A Dictionary of Proper Names and Notable Matters in the Works of Dante (Oxford 1898) 395–97 and Moore, Edward, ‘Scripture and Classical Authors in Dante,’ Studies in Dante Ser. 1 (Oxford 1896) esp. 73-74.Google Scholar
90 The text is edited in Mall, Eduard, Li Cumpoz Philipe de Thaün (Strassburg 1873). An earlier edition and a brief biographical sketch is contained in Popular Treatises on Science Written during the Middle Ages , ed. Wright, Thomas (London 1841). See also Meyer, Paul, ‘Fragment du Comput de Philippe de Thaon,’ Romania 11 (1911) 70-76, Mann, Max, ‘Der Physiologus des Philipp von Thaün und seine Quellen,’ Anglia 7 (1884) 420-68, and Krappe, Alexander H., ‘The Historical Background of Philippe de Thaon's Bestiare,’ Modern Language Review 59 (1944) 325-27. Since 1963 there has been a revival of interest in Philippe's work. Rupert T. Pickens has argued convincingly that the date of the Comput must be 1113 and not 1119 as was previously thought: ‘The Literary Activity of Philippe de Thaün,’ Romance Notes 12 (1970) 208-12. For current biographical information see the following: Dominica Legge, M., Anglo-Norman Literature and its Background (Oxford 1963) 18-26; Legge, , ‘Les origines de l'Anglo-Normand littéraire,’ Revue de linguistique Romane 31 (1967) 44-54; McCulloch, Florence, Medieval Latin and French Bestiaries (Chapel Hill 1970); and Shields, Hugh, ‘Philippe de Thaon, auteur du Livre de Sibylle?’ Romania 85 (1964) 455-77. Pickens has announced a new edition of the Comput to be published by the Anglo-Norman Text Society.Google Scholar
91 Legge, , Anglo-Norman Literature 21.Google Scholar
92 Venice MS fols. 5v-6v .Google Scholar
93 Venice MS fol. 6r. Haskins mentioned the problem only briefly, stating that he could not find the reference to Leo in the text of the Liber Nimrod without observing the relationship between the first citation (ll. 1239-52) and the second (11. 1315-46).Google Scholar
94 Paris MS fol. 210r: ‘… dum videris lunam trigesimam vide diligenter quod remanserat minus de lx, facias ex quinque unum et fiunt hore et quod superest, hi sunt puncti; et quod est summa adde super xxviiii et dimidium in die ipsius lune, et considera summam et in ipsa hora vel puncto comitatur luna.’ Google Scholar
96 Paris MS fol. 222r; Venice MS fol. 24r; Vatican MS fols. 13v-14r .Google Scholar
96 Paris MS fol. 226v .Google Scholar
97 William of Conches, Philosophicorum et astronomicorum institutionum Guilelmi Hirsaugiensis olim abbatis libri tres (Basel 1531) 30. The work is also found in PL 172 and attributed to Honorius of Autun.Google Scholar
98 Dronke, Peter, Fabula: Explorations into the Uses of Myth in Medieval Platonism (Leiden 1974) chapter 1.Google Scholar
99 Cf. Southern, R. W., ‘Humanism and the School of Chartres,’ in Medieval Humanism and Other Studies (Oxford 1970) 61–85 and Dronke, Peter, ‘New Approaches to the School of Chartres,’ Anuario de Estudios Medievales 6 (1969) 117-40. While Southern questioned whether William ever taught at Chartres, Dronke maintains that circumstantial evidence to the contrary is very strong. See also Nikolaus Häring's rebuttal of Southern's position in ‘Chartres and Paris Revisited,’ in Essays in Honour of Anton Charles Pegis, ed. Reginald O'Donnell, J. (Toronto 1974) 268-329, and Southern's further remarks given at the C. H. Haskins Conference (November 1977) now in press. Google Scholar
100 Commentariorum in Aratum reliquiae , ed. Maass, E. (Berlin 1898) 210-12 (ll. 167-78): ‘Hic [Taurus] dicitur inter astra poni, pro eo quod Europem adduxerit a Phoenice in Cretem (certum est) per medio aequore, sicut Euripides ait in Frixo. pro hac ratione inter inlustrissimis est a love honorificatus. alii quoque aiunt bovem esse, imitatorem Ius. inter astra etiam pro hoc a love honoratum. Tauri quoque frons, quae Subuculae nominantur. idcirco ait Pherecydis Atheniensis mammas esse Liberi patris, quae Dodoniadae sponsae vocabantur.’ See also Martin, Jean, Histoire du texte des Phénomènes d'Aratos (Paris 1956) 37–57.Google Scholar
101 Hygini Fabulae, ed. Rose, H. I. (Leiden 1933) 178.Google Scholar
102 Hygini Astronomica, edd. Chatelain, Emile and Legendre, Paul (Paris 1909) 2.21: ‘Taurus hic dicitur inter astra esse constitutus, quod Europam incolumen transvexerit Cretam, ut Euripides dicit: Non nulli cum in bovem sit conversa, ut Iuppiter ei satisfacere videretur, inter sidera constituisse, quod eius prior pars appareat ut tauri, sed reliquum corpus obscurius videatur.’ Google Scholar
103 Munich, , Staatsbibliothek Clm 10268, fol. 19a–b. We are indebted to Glenn M. Edwards, who provided a photocopy of the manuscript and a text from his edition now in progress. The text reads: ‘Et cum iste Cham tot et talia cognovisset, optans eandem artem perpetuo conservari ut valeat successoribus sui earn in duabus columpnis constanter scripsit quarum una fuit enea altera vero latericia. Causa est ut quodcumque iudicium advenisset ignis vel aque, iam habens prophetiam finis mundi per aquam et ignem, altera collumpnarum integra permaneret quia si ignis causa aliquo eneam liquifaceret latericia in columis remanet et econverso; quod factum est et hec collumpne sunt hodie in syria, transacte quippe diluvio aquarum. Iste Cham genuit filium nomine Chanaam quern eius pulcritudine dilexit multum. Et ideo ipsum docuit in hac arte quantum plus potuit pervigili cura qui, cum esset iam factus patre subtilior in omni sciencia artium quas pater sciebat amore sapiencie, 30 volumina librorum de artibus divinationis composuit ordinate. Hic genuit filium unum nomine Nemroth quern dilexit ultra modum, et volens quod ipse sit sapiens in eiusdem artibus more condam patris sui Cham discipulos quam plures accepit in domo propria causa filii sui Nemroth et eos cum illo ex omni sciencia earum artium quas noverat dilligenter instruxit. Cum vero iste Chanaan famosus esset scienciarum et ut deus conputaretur populus sue patrie, devenit in grandem guerram qua ordinatum fuit prelium generale. Ipse vero cum quadam die deceptus bello regis Egyptiorum incidens constituto gladio interemptus est et eius patria per illum regem devicta est et omnis libri quos cum grandi labore studii longo tempore conposuerat sunt conbusti eo quod domus eius conbusta est, ut multe aliarum. Post vero mortem eius venit iste Nemroth eiusdem Chanaan quicquid de arte ipse et socii sui noverant in unum coligens examinatione memorie, eandem artem astronomie quam melius potuit reperavit. Unde iste Nemroth quia filius tanti viri et talis loco patris conputatus est deus a multis adoratus est et in questionibus requisitus.’ Google Scholar
104 Fol. 19b .Google Scholar
105 Thorndike, Lynn, Michael Scot (London 1965) 27–28, 35-36.Google Scholar
106 Alberti Magni opera omnia, ed. Borgnet, Augustus (Paris 1898) 10.631. The bibliographic sections of the Speculum are also available in a critical edition in Catalogus codicum astrologorum graecorum , edd. Cumont, Fr. and Boll, Fr. (Brussels 1904) 5, pt. 1, 85-105. See also the new edition of the Speculum, edd. Caroti, Stefano, Pereira, Michela, Zamponi, Stefano, and Zambelli, Paola (Pisa 1977) and the review by James Weisheipl in Isis 69 (1978) 616-18. We are grateful to Father Weisheipl for his help with this question. Google Scholar
107 Mandonnet, P., ‘Roger Bacon et le Speculum astronomiae,’ Revue néo-scholastique 17 (1910) 313–35 and Siger de Brabant et l'Averroïsme latin au XIIIe siècle (Louvain 1911) 1.244-47.Google Scholar
108 Thorndike, Lynn, A History of Magic and Experimental Science (New York 1923) 2.692–719. Van de Walle, B., ‘Roger Bacon et le Speculum astronomiae: Examen critique de cette étude,’ La France Franciscaine 12 (1929) 178-96.Google Scholar
109 Van de Walle, , 195-96: ‘Le style du Speculum diffère totalement du style de Bacon: en plus, celui-ci n'aurait pas conservé l'anonymat; ce style semble concorder avec la manière d'écrire habituelle d'Albert le Grand.’ Google Scholar
110 Geyer, Bernhard, ‘Das Speculum astronomiae kein Werk des Albertus Magnus,’ Münchener theologische Zeitschrift 4 (1953) 95–101.Google Scholar
111 Thorndike, Lynn, ‘Further Consideration of the Experimenta, Speculum astronomiae, and De secretis mulierum Ascribed to Albertus Magnus,’ Speculum 30 (1955) 413–43, esp. 423-27.Google Scholar
112 See Zambelli, (n. 106 above), together with the review by Father Weisheipl in Isis 69. In Albertus Magnus and the Sciences: Commemorative Essays 1980 ed. Weisheipl, James A. (Toronto 1980), several authors discuss the Speculum without making a firm commitment to Albert or others. See especially Ashley, B. M., ‘St. Albert and the Nature of Natural Science’ (73-102 at 88-89) and Price, B. B., ‘The Physical Astronomy and Astrology of Albertus Magnus’ (155-85 at 179).Google Scholar
113 Zambelli, Paola, ‘Da Aristotele a Abu Ma'shar, da Richard de Fournival a Guglielmo da Pastrengo,’ Physis 15 (1973) 375–400.Google Scholar
114 Speculum (n. 106 above) 631b; Biblionomia (n. 60 above) 56.Google Scholar
115 Speculum 632a; Biblionomia 58. The volume described by the Biblionomia has been identified as item LVI.21 of the 1338 Sorbonne catalogue and Paris BN lat. 16648. See Birkenmajer, Aleksander, Bibljoteka Ryszarda de Fournival, Polska Akademja Umiejetnosci, Wydzial Filologiczny, Rozprawy 60.4 (1922) 59 and Rouse (n. 62 above) 263.Google Scholar
116 Biblionomia 60. This item is item LVI.15 of the 1338 Sorbonne catalogue and Paris BN lat. 16209. See Birkenmajer 61 and Rouse 263.Google Scholar
117 Speculum 632b. Note, however, the similarity in super annos Arabum. On this text, see Carmody, F., Arabic Astronomical and Astrological Sciences in Latin Translation (Berkeley 1956) 161.Google Scholar
118 Biblionomia 59.Google Scholar
119 Speculum 632b. On this text, see Haskins (n. 2 above) 51-52. One further difference between the Speculum and the Biblionomia pertains to the Nimrod text itself. As we have seen, the Biblionomia mentions Hermes in its description, which probably indicates that the volume was a close copy of α; the description in the Speculum omits any reference to him.Google Scholar
120 Thus, one cannot accept Thorndike (History of Magic 2.709) and Van de Walle's (n. 108 above, 195) theory that the text was probably written before 1256, as well as P. G. Meerssemann's theory that the text was written before 1250. Meerssemann, , Introductio in Opera omnia B. Alberti Magni O.P. (Bruges 1931) 132–38.Google Scholar
121 Reynolds, L. D., ‘The Medieval Tradition of Seneca's Dialogues,’ Classical Quarterly 62 (1968) 355–72.Google Scholar
122 Opus majus, ed. Bridges, J. H. (Oxford 1897) 2.9. Bacon's sources include Josephus, the pseudo-Clementines, Augustine, Petrus Comestor, and Vincent of Beauvais: ‘… et [Josephus] addit, quod Noe et filii eius docuerunt Chaldaeos partes philosophiae, et quod Abraham intravit Aegyptum et docuit Aegyptios. … Et apud Albumazar in maiori introductorio et alibi, et penes aliquos habetur multipliciter, quod Noe et filii eius multiplicaverunt philosophiam; et praecipue Sem praevaluit in hac parte. Deinde post istos fuerunt viri … [Bridges notes a lacuna here.] … Nam quantumcunque volumus strictius computare Zoroastres invenit artes Magicas, secundum Augustinum vicesimo primo de civitate Dei; et secundum omnes auctores hoc vulgatum est; sed hic fuit Cham filius Noe, ut Clemens, libro suo, et magister historiarum, et speculum historiale conscribunt…. Sed priores fuerunt filii Noe et Abraham qui fuerunt periti astronomi, ut Josephus narrat et Isidorus tertio libro, et Clemens libro primo ….’ Google Scholar
123 Compotus Fratri Rogeri in Opera hactenus inedita Rogeri Baconi, fasc. 6, ed. Steele, Robert (Oxford 1926) 1–211.Google Scholar
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125 Florence, , Ashburnham 205, fol. 2r. The Nimrod citation seems to have been marked off for special use, for in the margin is written ‘Nembrot’ with a nota mark. On Thadeus, see Thorndike (n. 108 above) 3.12-15. The text in Thadeus' commentary continues: ‘Habemus etiam ipsam traditam a Ptolomeo in Almagesti Bonum fuit scire, etc. Item ab Albategni que ea que Ptolomeus dixerat prolixe abreviat competenter ibique corriguntur quaedam que non ex errore Ptolomei sed ex suppositione radicium abrazis dicit accidisse in suo libro Universa, etc. Item habemus eam traditam in parvo almagesti quod quidam vir ex illis duobus libris collegit stilum Euclidis cuius commentum continet utriusque sententiam scilicet Ptolomeus et Albategni et incipit Omnium recte philosophantium, etc.’ Google Scholar
126 The text quoted here is from the second edition, Augustini Ricii de motu octaoae sphaerae, opus mathematica atque philosophia plenum … (Paris 1521). On Agrippa and his Italian circle, see Nauert, Charles G. Jr., ‘Agrippa in Renaissance Italy: the Esoteric Tradition,’ Studies in the Renaissance 6 (1959) 195–222 and Nauert, , Agrippa and the Crisis of Renaissance Thought (Urbana, Ill. 1965) esp. 35-54, 131-33. On Ricci, see Thorndike, (n. 108 above) 5.284; Biographical and Bibliographical Dictionary of the Italian Humanists , ed. Cosenza, Mario Emilio (Boston 1962) 4.4042-43; Delambre, M., Histoire de l'astronomie du moyen âge (Paris 1819) 377-81; Steinschneider, M., Catalogus librorum hebraeicorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana (Berlin 1852-60) 2143-45; and Steinschneider, , Jewish Literature from the Eighth to the Eighteenth Century (New York 1965) 189-90.Google Scholar
127 The text is edited in Haskins (n. 2 above) 340.Google Scholar
128 Nauert (‘Agrippa in Italy’ 210) places him there with Agrippa.Google Scholar
129 Included in the title of the 1513 edition is the following: ‘Nuper in civitate Casalis … sub divo Gulielmo marchione Montifferati editum.’ Google Scholar
130 See above, page 226. On John Dee, see Yates, Frances A., Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition (New York 1964) 148–50, 187-88, et pas.; Smith, Charlotte Fell, John Dee (London 1909); and James, M. R., Lists of Manuscripts Formerly Owned by Dr. John Dee. Bibliographical Society, Transactions. Supplement no. 1 (Oxford 1921). A full study of John Dee's library is in progress by Andrew Watson.Google Scholar
131 Speiser, E. A., ‘In Search of Nimrod,’ Eretz-Israel: Archeological, Historical and Geographical Studies 5 (1958) 32. See also Speiser's comments on the Nimrod text in Genesis, The Anchor Bible, 1 (New York 1964) 64-73.Google Scholar
132 Dronke, (n. 98 above) chapter 1, esp. 47-55.Google Scholar
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