Isidorus Hispalensis

It is accompanied by additional excerpts from Isidore’s Sentences, delving into righteous human conduct and other texts, some transcribed as late as the century’s end. Crafted in northern France, likely at Laon, this compendium captivates with over sixty vibrant colored diagrams and drawings.

This remarkable manuscript, a testament to the intellectual curiosity of Carolingian-era Christian scholars, sheds light on their fervent exploration of the natural world’s divine order. Of particular note is the meticulous study of time measurement, pivotal in shaping the Christian calendar, particularly the significant date of Easter.

Saint Isidore’s “On the Nature of Things”, a seventh-century opus on natural history, earned the medieval moniker ‘book of wheels’ for its circular diagrams, two of which grace the Laon manuscript. These wheels feature androgynous human figures representing winds and seasons, cleverly colored to denote equinoxes and seasons. Another striking depiction portrays the first day of Creation as half blue and half orange, marking the spring equinox’s initiation on March 25.

The manuscript’s celestial section, a tapestry of forty-one constellations vividly portrayed across nine pages, captures the night sky’s essence. The figures, both animal and human, come alive in rusty orange and blue hues. Notably captivating is the centaur, his outstretched arm holding the constellation bestia while a dangling rabbit adorns his spear, depicted on folio 30v.

A testament to the hands that crafted it, the Isidorus Hispalensis showcases the mastery of four scribes who meticulously transcribed its contents in the legible Caroline Minuscule script. Display scripts and Uncial, favored for Christian texts in late antiquity, grace the manuscript’s headings and inscriptions within diagrams.

This priceless treasure found its home in the esteemed library of the Notre-Dame Cathedral at Laon by the mid-eighteenth century. Following the upheaval of the French Revolution, it found sanctuary in the Bibliothèque communale of Laon, now the Médiathèque Suzanne-Martinet. Its restored quarter binding of brown leather over wooden boards serves as a testament to its enduring legacy, a tangible link to centuries of intellectual pursuit and creative brilliance.

The facsimile edition of the Isidorus Hispalensis is complemented by a case for its conservation and a complementary study book made by subject matter experts.

This facsimile is a unique edition of 400 books numbered and authenticated by notarial deed.