Balancing form, function and aesthetic: A study of ruling patterns for zodiac men in astro-medical manuscripts of late Medieval England
The Zodiac Man is an image of a man marked with astrological signs according to the parts of the body over which those signs were thought to have influence. In the late medieval period, when such diagrams commonly appeared in astro-medical texts, efficient access to this information would have been...
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Pace University Press
2017
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| _version_ | 1797103678348328960 |
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| author | Witherden, SCV |
| author_facet | Witherden, SCV |
| author_sort | Witherden, SCV |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | The Zodiac Man is an image of a man marked with astrological signs according to the parts of the body over which those signs were thought to have influence. In the late medieval period, when such diagrams commonly appeared in astro-medical texts, efficient access to this information would have been especially useful for physicians attempting to determine the best time for bloodletting. However, Zodiac Men diagrams often betray a desire to be visually impressive as well as practical, whilst having to negotiate with the manuscript form too. The ruling patterns for Zodiac Men, i.e. the lines organising text and image on the page, provide a crucial insight into these interlocking imperatives. This article provides a survey of different approaches to ruling Zodiac Men in late medieval English astro-medical manuscripts—especially the Kalendarium of John Somer—before examining the functional, aesthetic, and social implications of these choices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T06:23:31Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:f3786ba8-b2f7-469a-a64a-4c4a5790c4cb |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T06:23:31Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Pace University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:f3786ba8-b2f7-469a-a64a-4c4a5790c4cb2022-03-27T12:12:25ZBalancing form, function and aesthetic: A study of ruling patterns for zodiac men in astro-medical manuscripts of late Medieval EnglandJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:f3786ba8-b2f7-469a-a64a-4c4a5790c4cbSymplectic Elements at OxfordPace University Press2017Witherden, SCVThe Zodiac Man is an image of a man marked with astrological signs according to the parts of the body over which those signs were thought to have influence. In the late medieval period, when such diagrams commonly appeared in astro-medical texts, efficient access to this information would have been especially useful for physicians attempting to determine the best time for bloodletting. However, Zodiac Men diagrams often betray a desire to be visually impressive as well as practical, whilst having to negotiate with the manuscript form too. The ruling patterns for Zodiac Men, i.e. the lines organising text and image on the page, provide a crucial insight into these interlocking imperatives. This article provides a survey of different approaches to ruling Zodiac Men in late medieval English astro-medical manuscripts—especially the Kalendarium of John Somer—before examining the functional, aesthetic, and social implications of these choices. |
| spellingShingle | Witherden, SCV Balancing form, function and aesthetic: A study of ruling patterns for zodiac men in astro-medical manuscripts of late Medieval England |
| title | Balancing form, function and aesthetic: A study of ruling patterns for zodiac men in astro-medical manuscripts of late Medieval England |
| title_full | Balancing form, function and aesthetic: A study of ruling patterns for zodiac men in astro-medical manuscripts of late Medieval England |
| title_fullStr | Balancing form, function and aesthetic: A study of ruling patterns for zodiac men in astro-medical manuscripts of late Medieval England |
| title_full_unstemmed | Balancing form, function and aesthetic: A study of ruling patterns for zodiac men in astro-medical manuscripts of late Medieval England |
| title_short | Balancing form, function and aesthetic: A study of ruling patterns for zodiac men in astro-medical manuscripts of late Medieval England |
| title_sort | balancing form function and aesthetic a study of ruling patterns for zodiac men in astro medical manuscripts of late medieval england |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT witherdenscv balancingformfunctionandaestheticastudyofrulingpatternsforzodiacmeninastromedicalmanuscriptsoflatemedievalengland |