Part 1: Bern 88

Why a diplomatic edition of Bern 88 is interesting

• The manuscript differs, in its selection of content and its ordering of lines, from other manuscripts of the Aratea.
• The illustrations, and their relationship to the text, show a level of comprehension and engagement with the text on the part of the illustrator.
• A second reader annotated the manuscript, and offers a window into both the use of the manuscript, and the textual variation of the manuscript tradition.

To see on-going work defining editorial policies for the project, see the project wiki.

Design and organization of the manuscript

A visual “table of contents”

This illustration on folio 11 verso serves both as a diagram of the relative positions of the constellations and as a guide to the text. The concentric green circles represent varying degrees of latitude on the celestial sphere. The orange ring shows the proceeding order of the zodiac.

Image, Text, and Scholia As A Unit

The ordering of different sections of the text in Bern 88 differs substantially from other manuscripts. Sections on each constellation have been moved around as though they function as individual units. The manuscript’s layout reflects this grouping by positioning as a distinct unit the text, scholion, and illustration for each constellation. Here, on folio 2 recto, we see, from left to right, the illustration, description and a scholion on the constellation Corona.

The Relationship Between Image and Scholia

The illustrations for each constellation depict the position and number of stars as outlined in the adjoining block of text, demonstrating the illustrator’s comprehension of the content discussed in the scholia. They also contained artistic representations of identifying mythological attributes (such as Hercules’ lion pelt shown here on folio 2 recto).

The scholion for each constellation formulaically starts with the name of each constellation, and lists the number of stars in particular regions of the constellation. This scholion is coordinated with the above image of Hercules.

A second hand

A second reader with a distinct hand offers textual variations that reflect different manuscript traditions and scribal corrections to the main text. In this example, the second hand adds an entire additional line to the passage, and as seen in the first word of the line, offers an orthographic variation of quod for quid. The underdot deletes the original i, and the substituting o is written above.