Manuscript on paper of a miscellany. The manuscript seems to be a compilation organized, corrected and expanded by a single person specialized in pharmacology and medicine and interested in natural history, encyclopedical knowledge and history
Description:
In Latin with some Czech (?), German, and Hebrew., Watermarks: crown (var. Briquet 4616?), circles (var. Briquet 3194?), bull's head (?)., Script: Copied by various scribes, writing Gothica Cursiva Libraria or Currens in various sizes, often very small; ff. 127r-143r, 7 are in a markedly different, larger form of Gothica Cursiva Libraria., The decoration is unevenly spread: heightening of majuscules and plain initials in red. On ff. 162-170 alternance of red and green initials, on f. 162r flourished initial in the same colours. Artt. 21 and 22 are not illustrated, although the text mentions figurae., At many places the paper is deteriorated by the acidity of the ink., and Binding: Original limp parchment. A bifolium from a German manuscript in Gothica Cursiva, worn and stained, lined with a German document on parchment in Gothica Cursiva Antiquior/Recentior. Leather spine stiffener with ornamental stitching.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Christian literature, Latin (Medieval and modern), Manuscripts, Medieval, Medicine, Medieval, Natural history, and Pharmacology
Vol. 2 has title: Donum Dei Samuelis Baruch ... welcher erlernet das grosse Geheimniss des grossen Meisters Tubalkains aus dessen Tabell, gefunden von Abrahamo Eliazare, dem Juden. I. N. U. CXI.
Būnī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī, -1225 بوني، أحمد بن علي، -1225
Published / Created:
1874.
Call Number:
Arabic MSS suppl. 759
Image Count:
528
Resource Type:
text
Abstract:
Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá (Larger Sun of knowledge), by Abū al-ʻAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī al-Būnī (died 1225), a well-known Ṣufī scholar from the city of Būnah (Bône), now ʻAnnābah (Annaba, Algeria), who died in Cairo. This work is designated "al-kubrá" (the larger) to distinguish it from the author's two other treatises: "al-wusṭá"́ (the middle) and "al-ṣughrá" (the smaller). It is also listed in the text under the title "Shams al-maʻārif wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif" (Sun of knowledge and intricacies of diviners), a treatise on magic, alchemy, astrology, divination, Islamic occultism, the name of God (including 'al-Asmāʼ al-Ḥusná', the 99 beautiful names of God), the magical use of the Arabic Alphabet, and talismans. The present work is a lithographed edition, printed from an original copy from India, in four parts, as follows: al-Juzʼ al-awwal (Part one: Pages 1-132), al-Juzʼ al-thānī (Part two: pages 1-116), al-Juzʼ al-thālith (Part three: pages 1-124), al-Juzʼ al-rābiʻ (Part four: Pages 1-148), followed by an index of contents for the four parts (Pages 1-7). The work was printed on 20 Shawwāl, 1291 of the Hijrah (30 November, 1874). Place and name of the printer not mentioned
Alternative Title:
Shams al-maʻārif wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif and شمس المعارف ولطائف العوارف
Description:
In Arabic., Title from cover., Romanization supplied by cataloger., Incipit: "Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm. Shahādat azal, fa-min nūr hādhihi al-shahādah ightarafa al-muṣannifūn ʻilman. Fa-ifham dhālik. Wa-al-tartīb al-abadī fī al-shahādatayn al-muttaṣilatayn bi-al-malāʼikah al-kirām. Wa-awwal al-ʻilm fa-hādhihi shahādat al-abad. Fa-man fahima sirr hātayn al-shahādatayn shāhad al-malakūtayn wa-mā awdaʻāhu bi-sirr al-ittiṣāl bi-al-kashfīyāt ...", Secundo folio: Ammā baʻd, fa-lil-ḥaqq aʻlām., 16.5 x 23.5 cm; written surface: 12 x 20 cm; 31 lines per page., Binding: In green cardboard cover and dark brown paper on the spine., In naskh script, in black ink, on white paper; many illustrations and magic squares; text within double frames; catchwords. At the head of the opening page of each of the four parts is a decorative design., On cover: "Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá", printed in silver., On page 1 of al-Juzʼ al-awwal: "Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif, fī arbaʻat ajzāʼ, lil-Quṭb al-Imām Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī al-Būnī, wa-bi-nihāyat al-arbaʻat kutub, [al-kutub] al-ātiyah: 1. Kitāb Mīzān al-ʻadl fī maqāṣid aḥkām al-raml. 2. Kitāb Fawātiḥ al-raghāʼib fī khuṣūṣīyāt awqāt al-kawākib. 3. Kitāb Zahr al-murūj fī dalāʼil al-burūj. 4. Kitāb Laṭāʼif al-ishārah fī khaṣāʼiṣ al-kawākib al-sayyārah." "Maṭbūʻ ʻalá al-nuskhah al-Hindīyah al-aṣlīyah." These four books are not included in this codex and seem to serve as an advertisement for works to follow., al-Juzʼ al-thānī (Part two), starts with: "al-Faṣl al-khāmis ʻashar. Fī al-shurūṭ al-lāzimah li-baʻḍ dūna baʻḍ fī al-bidāyāt wa-al-nihāyāt.", al-Juzʼ al-thālith (Part three), starts, after al-Basmalah, with: "al-Faṣl al-ḥādī wa-al-ʻishrūn. Fī Asmāʼ Allāh al-Ḥusná, wa-anmāṭihā, wa-mā li-kull namaṭ min al-daʻawāt.", al-Juzʼ al-rābiʻ (Part four), starts, after al-Basmalah, with: "al-Faṣl al-thāmin wa-al-thalāthūn. Fī istikhdāmāt al-ḥurūf wa-khalawātihā.", Colophon: "Tamma Kitāb Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá lil-Imām al-Būnī fī ʻishrīn min Shawwāl, sanat 1291 Hijrīyah. Wa-lammā kādat shams ṭabʻihā tabzughu lil-ṭulūʻ arrakhahā baʻḍ al-madmīyīn [al-mādiḥīn] bi-qawlihi, shiʻr [in Ḥisāb al-jummal (Alphabetical reckoninig)]: ... Wa-fīhā ará al-tārīkh jāda bi-qawlihi // yufīdu al-amānī ṭabʻu Shams al-maʻārif. Sanat 1291.", and Translation of the colophon: "The book 'Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá' of al-Imām al-Būnī was completed on 20 Shawwal, 1291 of the Hijrah [30 November, 1874]. When the sun of its printing started to rise, someone praised it and mentioned the date of printing, in verse [using Ḥisāb al-jummal "Alphabetical reckoning"], saying: ... In it I see the date, saying generously: The printing of Shams al-maʻarif satisfies the wishes. The year 1291."
Subject (Name):
Būnī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī, -1225.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Arabic alphabet, Astrology, Divination, God (Islam), Name, Islamic magic, Islamic occultism, Lithographed books, Magic, and Talismans
Būnī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī, -1225 بوني، أحمد بن علي، -1225
Call Number:
Hartford Seminary Arabic MSS 93
Image Count:
700
Abstract:
Shams al-maʻārif wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif (also called "Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá" to distinguish it from the author's two other smaller treatises: al-wusṭa "the middle one" and al-ṣughrá "the little one"), a treatise on magic, alchemy, astrology, devination, Islamic occultism, the name of God and the magical use of the Arabic alphabet by Abū al-ʻAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī al-Būnī (d. 1225), a famous sufi scholar from the city of Būnah (Bône) now ʻAnnābah (Annaba, Algeria), died in Cairo, Egypt. Name of copyist and place of copying are not mentioned; the date of copying is mentioned enigmatically in the 12th century H (18th century M).
Alternative Title:
Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá and شمس المعارف الكبرى
Description:
In Arabic., Incipit: "Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm wa-ṣallá Allāh ʻalá Sayyidinā wa-Mawlānā Muḥammad wa-ṣaḥbihi wa-sallam. al-Ḥamdu lillāh alladhī aḥāṭa bi-kull shayʼ ʻilman wa-ʻallam al-insān mā lam yaʻlam wa-ashhadu an lā ilāh illā Allāh waḥdah lā sharīka lah wa-ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūl Allāh ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa-sallam, shahida Allāh an lā ilāh illā huwa shahādat azal, fa-min nūr hādhihi al-shahādah ightaraf al-muṣṭafūn ʻilman, fa-ifham dhālika. Wa-al-tartīb al-abadī fī al-shahādatayn al-muttaṣilatayn bi-al-malāʼikah al-kirām wa-ulī al-ʻilm fa-hādhihi shahādat al-abad, fa-man fahima sirra hātayn al-shahādatayn shāhada al-malakūtayn ...", 20 x 29 cm; written surface: 14 x 22 cm, ca. 30 lines per page., Bound., In fair naskh script, on yellowish paper; keywords and markings in red; some notes and corrections on the margins; magic squares and illustrations; text within double red frames; catchwords., Includes table of contents at the beginning of the manuscript: "al-Faṣl al-awwal fī al-ḥurūf al-muʻjamah wa-mā yatarattabu fīhā min al-asrār wa-al-iḍmārāt. al-Faṣl al-thānī fī al-kasr wa-al-basṭ wa-tartīb al-aʻmāl min al-awqāt wa-al-sāʻāt. al-Faṣl al-thālith fī aḥkām manāzil al-qamar al-thamāniyah wa-ʻishrīn al-falakīyah ...", and Colophon: "... Wa-Allāh asʼalu an yulhima li-fahm mā ramaznāh wa-kashf mā satarnāh akh ṣadīq wa-khill ḥaqq [i.e. akhan ṣadīqan wa-khillan ḥaqqan]. Wa-fī hādhā al-qadr kifāyah li-man waffaqahu Allāh taʻālá wa-lā ḥawla wa-lā qūwata illā billāh al-ʻAlī al-ʻAẓīm wa-ṣallá Allāh ʻalá Sayyidinā Muḥammad wa-ṣaḥbihi ajmaʻīn wa-jamīʻ al-anbiyāʼ wa-al-mursalīn wa-al-ḥamdu lillāh Rabb al-ʻĀlamīn. al-Tārīkh: Fī niṣf awwal min khums thālith min thulth awwal min niṣf thānī min suds thālith min niṣf awwal min khums thānī min ʻushr awwal min qarn thānī ʻashar min hijrat khayr al-bashar ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa-sallama taslīman kathīran. Tamma wa-kamula."
Subject (Name):
Būnī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī, -1225.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Arabic alphabet, Astrology, Divination, God (Islam), Name, Islamic magic, Islamic occultism, and Magic
Manuscript on paper in English verse with a Latin verse prologue of Thomas Norton of Bristol's Ordinall of Alchemy, written in 1477
Description:
In English and Latin., Script: Written by a single English hand writing a very fine and regular italic sloping to the right., No color, no illustration., Watermark: arms of Austria with the golden fleece, similar to Briquet 2291., and Binding: Original English binding of white, limp parchment, the covers blocked in gold with the armorial stamp employed by Henry Percy, ninth Earl of Northumberland: the badge of the Percy house, the white or crescent moon, within the representation of the garter, surmounted by an earl's coronet; fore-edges of each cover with overhanging flaps and with remains of two original green linin ties; flat back with four thongs used in the sewing-in exposed at regular intervals on each side of the backstrip, with traces of original lettering at head of backstrip now illegible, later writing in old style below probably the work of a modern repairer, possibly covering an original inscription; plain edges; a strip of parchment, cut from a manuscript in Latin, ca. 1100, is visible surrounding the back of the quires of the manuscript, used in the sewing-in, with writing visible at the front of the volume only.
Manuscript on parchment (rather thick) of a codex containing alchemical verses and other works by Samuel Norton and illustrated with skillful drawings of the arcane figures associated with Norton's work
Description:
In French., Script: Written by a single hand which has also annotated and captioned the drawings in a neat cursive sloping to the right, with the addition of passages in italic and chancery scripts., and Binding: Early, perhaps original, French binding of black morocco, the sides with triple gold fillet around the edges, a similar triple fillet forming a rectangular panel in the center of each cover with fleurons at the corners, the inside edges with a border of small tools stamped in gold, the back gilt compartments formed by five raised bands, modern title label on second compartment from top, some modern repairs with brown leather, including filling up the four holes on each cover which originally held ties, now missing; original gilt edges.
Manuscript on paper of a collection of the works of Nicolaus, mostly related to medicine. In addition the codex has interesting lists of substances in Latin and German, as well as a tract on the distillation of brandy.
Alternative Title:
[Antidotarium]
Description:
Binding: Modern three-quarter binding of light brown buckram, plain brown niger back and corners, the back with five (false?) raised bands, gilt-lettered in the second compartment from the top, ANTIDOTARIUM NICOLAI, and at the foot of the spine, "AB. 1460". Plain edges., Blank binder's leaves not scanned., Large capitals in red at text divisions, sometimes with slight pen ornament, other capitals stroked red throughout, fancy ascenders on top lines transgressing the upper rules and stroked red, similar descenders occasionally below the bottom bordering line, usually not colored., Modern pencil foliation., On paper., Script: Neatly written in a gothic cursive hand., and Watermarks: Two batches of unidentified paper watermarked with a gothic "P," the mark plain and smaller in one batch, larger and surmounted by a trefoil in the other.
Subject (Name):
Duveen, Denis I., bookplate, Nicolaus, Salernitanus, 12th cent., and Nicolaus,--Salernitanus,--12th cent
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Alchemy--Early works to 1800, Brandy, Distilling--Early works to 1800, Latin language--Glossaries, vocabularies, etc.--Early works to 1800, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, Medicine, Medieval, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Two diverse cryptic alchemies written by one copyist and linked by two series of alchemical emblems. The first text, Philosophia hermetica, in Italian verse, is linked to Federicl Gualdi. The second text, Compendiolum de praeparatione auri potabilis veri, is attributed to M[arcus] E[ugenius] Bonacina.
Alternative Title:
Compendiolum de praeparatione auri potabilis veri and Philosophia hermetica
Binders leaves : ff. 4-16, 18, 20, 22, 24-25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 38, 39-40, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51-83 mostly blank with several modern annotations in pencil., ff. 42 : anonymous additions written in England, ca. 1700 (missing from volume)., and On paper with modern foliation in pencil including binder's blanks.
Arnaldus, de Villanova, d. 1311 Carpenter, Richard, d. 1670? Ripley, George, d. 1490?
Published / Created:
circa 1570
Call Number:
Mellon MS 41
Image Count:
15
Resource Type:
Archives or Manuscripts
Abstract:
Manuscript on paper roll of George Ripley (?), Alchemy, in English verse, with additional verses attributed to Richard Carpenter. With Arnold of Villanova, Visio mystica, anonymously translated into English.
Alternative Title:
Ripley scroll
Description:
One roll with multiple illustrated sheets. and Paper rotulus consisting originally of thirteen folio sheets and half-sheets of differing lengths glued together, averaging 540 mm. in width (lateral margins and broad bordering line in black ink partly trimmed away), slightly defective with small losses at beginning and end; now cut into thirteen sections measuring about 435 x 540 each, except for the last which measures 625 x 540.