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02. 09. 2013. #201.2 Examples of Macrobian Maps World map from a south German manuscript of Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, c.1000. Not

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#201.2

Examples of Macrobian Maps

World map from a south German manuscript of Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream ofScipio, c.1000. Note how space in the text has been left for the drawing. The designation of the


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southern temperate zone as temperata antiktorum is unusual.Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS DOrville 77, fol. 100r.

Commentaire sur le songe de Scipion. Manuscrit sur parchemin.BNF, Manuscrits (Latin 6371 f 20v)


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TITLE: Macrobian world mapDATE: 1560AUTHOR: Ioan Gryphius Excudebat


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DESCRIPTION: A 16th century edition of In Somnium Scripionis, Lib II,Saturnaliorum, Lib. VII. Venetis: Ioan Gryphius Exudebat, ca. 1560 from AmbrosiusMacrobius, who promulgated the idea of a round earth with northern and southernhemispheres showing climate zones and divided by an equatorial ocean. The book isin remarkably good condition, given that it is more than 400 years old.

Ambrosius Macrobius In Somnium Scipionis, Lib. II, Saturnaliorum, Lib. VIIwas published in Venice, probably in 1560, by Ioan Gryphius Excudebat. As well as amap of the world that appeared in manuscripts and printed works for 1200 years, thebook contains the text of CicerosDream of Scipio, with Macrobius commentary.

Macrobius was a follower of the Neoplatonists, philosophers originating inAlexandria around the third century, who believed in blending Platos ideas withtheosophy. His Commentary on Cicero and Plato includes several chapters dealingwith his own conception of the world and the universe.

Macrobius map of the world is the first to be printed denoting ocean currentsand also identifies frigid and temperate zones. His idea of a spherical earth derivesfrom the second century theory of Crates of Mallos.

A fragment of a latefifth century manuscript of Macrobius works fetched $48,875 at auction in San Francisco in 2007.

Macrobius (as he himself states) was not a Roman, but there is no certainevidence whether he was of African or Greek descent. It has been noted that hisworks display a greater familiarity with Latin than Greek authors and that he

frequently mistranslates Greek authors. He may be identical with a Macrobius who ismentioned in the Codex Theodosianus as a praetorian prefect of Spain in 399-400,proconsul of Africa in 410, and lord chamberlain in 422, although he has also beenidentified with a Theodosius who served as praetorian prefect of Italy in 430. Sincethe tenure of high office at that date was limited to Christians, and there is noevidence in the writings of Macrobius that he was a Christian, early writersquestioned both Macrobiuss Christianity and his holding of high civil office. Recentscholarship sees little conflict between his writings and his Christianity, which opensthe way for him to have held the position of pretorian prefect.

Cicero'sDream of Scipio described the Earth as a globe of insignificant size incomparison to the remainder of the cosmos. Many early medieval manuscripts ofMacrobius include maps of the Earth, including the antipodes, zonal maps showing

the Ptolemaic climates derived from the concept of a spherical Earth and a diagramshowing the Earth (labeled as globus terrae - the sphere of the Earth) at the center ofthe hierarchically ordered planetary spheres.


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Illustrations for Macrobius Commentaryon the Dream of Scipio.The text was compiled in the fifth century; the manuscript illustrated here dates fromthe eleventh century. (a) Globus terrae: diagram for Book 1.21.35 showing the Earth

and seven planetary spheres within the zodiac. (b) Diagram for Book 1.22.1112,exemplifying the attraction of weights to the earth.

British Library, Harley MS 2772, fols. 61v and 63v. Appendix 1, no. 22.(Reproduced with permission from The British Library.)


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Further illustrations for Macrobiuss Commentary on the Dream of Scipio.(a) Zonal diagram for Book 2.5.1317, showing the Earth divided into frigid,

temperate and torrid zones. The letters that surround the image refer to the text ofthe Commentary and are intended to allow the reader to understand Macrobius

explanation of zonal theory. (b) Celestial-terrestrial zonal diagram for Book 2.7.36,showing the terrestrial zones within an inner circle surrounded by an outer circle in

which the celestial zones are marked. Note how space has been left in the text for thedrawings.

Cologne, Dombibliothek, MS 186, fols. 106v and 108v. Appendix 1, no. 18.(Reproduced with permission from the Dombibliothek.)


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World map illustrating Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, Book 2.9.78, ina 10th century manuscript from the abbey of Saint Nazarius at Lorsch, now preserved

in Vatican City, the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Palat. lat. 1341, fol. 86v.Appendix 1, no. 4. Compare especially with Figures 5 and 6.

(Reproduced with permission from the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.)


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World map from a 10th or 11th century north Italian manuscript of Macrobius,Commentary on the Dream of Scipio.

North is at the top. The earth is divided into five zones, with the central zone(perusta) unequally divided by the equatorial ocean. Italia and the Orcades aremarked, along with the Caspian Sea, in the northern temperate zone (temperata

nostra). The Red and Indian seas are shown as inlets of the equatorial ocean. Thesouthern temperate zone is marked Temperata antoecorum (temperate zone of the

antoikoi).Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek MS Class. 38, fol. 20r. Appendix 1, no. 5.(Reproduced with permission from the Bamberg Staatsbibliothek.)


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This late 10th or 11th century manuscript of Macrobius Commentary on the Dream ofScipio shows a significantly simplified version of Macrobius world image. North is atthe top. The four cardinal points are marked outside the image. The earth is divided

into five zones, with the frigid zones in the far north and south marked uninhabitable(inhabitabilis), the temperate zones in the northern and southern hemispheresmarked habitable (habitabilis), and the northern tropic identified by the word

tropicus. A prominent equatorial ocean (Oceanus) divides the two hemispheres, andthe word refusio is repeated four times to represent the flow of Ocean from the

equator to the poles.Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 14436, fol. 58r. Appendix 1, no. 9.

(Reproduced with permission f rom the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.)


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11th century manuscript of Macrobius Commentary on the Dream of ScipioThis is unusual for the large amount of ecumenical detail in the northern hemisphere

in contrast to the entirely blank southern hemisphere. Features eccentric to thetradition of Macrobius maps include the ideograms that mark certain cities (Rome,Jerusalem, Corine [?Corinth], Syene and Meroe), and the attempts to represent theBritish isles and the Scandinavian peninsula in the far northwest, Sicily (the triangle

beneath Italy), and other Mediterranean islands. An unmarked river, presumably theNile, extends from the Mediterranean, and surrounds Meroe; a second river extends

from the Atlantic horizontally, dividing Ethiopia from Africa.Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Clm 6362, fol. 74r. Appendix 1, no. 23.

(Reproduced with permission from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.)

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