Magic Manuscript

Magic fascinates. The Vatican Library has just digitized a manuscript, Vat.lat.4085, which rounds up many of the key astral magic works circulating in the late 15th century. David Juste's summary lists authors including Andalò di Negro, Haly, Sagid ibn Umail, Ali ibn al-Hatim and others including the nameless somebody denominated Pseudo Hippocrates.

There are also handy lists of astral ascent for different cities in northern Italy, which is a clue to where the manuscript was made.

A 1988 article by Kristen Lippencott notes that it is a unique source for part of an ibn al-Hatim text. See also the listing in Jordanus.

It's one of 29 manuscripts digitized in the past week, with another major arrival the Codex Ursianus (see DigiVatLib's tweet below), an amazing book of sketches by Pirro Ligorio of the stonework surviving in 16th century Rome. The full list:

1. Patetta.839,
2. Ross.14,
3. Ross.27,
4. Ross.29,
5. Ross.31, Italian
   
6. Ross.36 (Upgraded to HQ),
7. Vat.lat.2624,
8. Vat.lat.3147,
9. Vat.lat.3151 (Upgraded to HQ),
10. Vat.lat.3439, mid-16th-century Codex Ursinianus, an album of sketches of different dates, also referred to as the Sylloge of Inscriptions by Pirro Ligorio. Among its vital records are sketches of the Severan Marble Plan of Rome. See this summary (PDF). It featured in the Rome Reborn exhibition. Anthony Grafton notes of the following: Ligorio took details from surviving classical reliefs and worked them up into a comprehensive, imaginative picture of a pagan sacrifice, consistently classical in both its style of representation and the clothing and objects shown.
    

    Totally in love with these very accurate and surprising drawings from the Codex Ursinianus, now among the #LatestDigitizedManuscripts. Album of drawings (The subjects are predominantly antique monuments) once belonging to Fulvio Orsini, 16th cent. 😍✍🏻🏛https://t.co/XGd9aHvJXz pic.twitter.com/Troe3UJMLL

    — Digita Vaticana (@DigitaVaticana) October 3, 2018

11. Vat.lat.3742 (Upgraded to HQ),
12. Vat.lat.3748,
13. Vat.lat.3779,

    https://t.co/nvxFdwgGFC.3779 — Book of Hours, Use of Rome. Uncatalogued as far as I can tell. My guess would be late 15th C, France but not Paris

    — AaronM (@gundormr) October 7, 2018

14. Vat.lat.3849,
15. Vat.lat.3854,
16. Vat.lat.3855,
17. Vat.lat.3856,
18. Vat.lat.3882,
19. Vat.lat.3902, arithmetrical works by Johannes de Sacrobosco and Gisbertus, see Jordanus
20. Vat.lat.3906 (Upgraded to HQ), works by Varro, Pliny, Gellius, and others. See Jordanus. From the library of Angelo Colocci?
    
21. Vat.lat.3914,
22. Vat.lat.3925,
23. Vat.lat.3927,
24. Vat.lat.3940,
25. Vat.lat.3957,
26. Vat.lat.3995 (Upgraded to HQ),
27. Vat.lat.4055,
28. Vat.lat.4085 (Upgraded to HQ), Astral magic (see above). See eTK.
29. Vat.lat.4088,

This is Piggin's Unofficial List number 180. Thanks to @gundormr for harvesting. If you have corrections or additions, please use the comments box below. Follow me on Twitter (@JBPiggin) for news of more additions to DigiVatLib.