De natura rerum

De Natura Rerum, which translates to “On the Nature of Things,” was created between 612 and 615 CE. The manuscript discusses a range of topics including geography, astronomy, meteorology, and the measurement of time. It is also called the Liber rotarum because of the six circular illustrations that accompany the text.

The six illustrations (“rotarum”) are illuminated in red, yellow, and blue ink. They include a 12-month calendar, a depiction of the cosmos, and diagrams of the seasons and climate zones. In the cosmological diagram, the Earth– a flat circle labeled “Terra”--  is shown to be at the center of the universe, surrounded by the Sun, Moon, and various planets, which move around the earth in circular orbits of increasing size. In the seasonal diagram, a circle representing the year is divided into labeled sections by a series of overlapping arcs. 

The five climate zones are represented by five circles within the larger circle of the earth. The earth is oriented northeast and labeled with the cardinal directions.  The zones, labeled “first” to “fifth", begin in the north and continue clockwise around the world: the first and fifth zones are cold and uninhabitable, the second and fourth zones are habitable, and the third zone is hot and uninhabitable. These climate zones touch at the edges, but do not overlap. The space in the center of the diagram is left blank.

De natura rerum was created by Saint Isidore of Seville, an author from Visigothic Spain. Isidore is most famous for his Etymologies, an encyclopedia of knowledge from the ancient world. He is also known for popularizing the circular representation of the world that is shown in De natura rerum. Isidore dedicated De natura rerum to Sisebut, a Visigothic king who ruled from 612 to 620 and is thought to have commissioned the book from Isidore. A poem about astronomy composed by Sisebut is included at the end of the manuscript. (Clara Fields 2027)

Facsimile Finder - Medieval Manuscript Facsimiles. “Liber Astrologicus by Saint Isidore of Seville.” Accessed Octover 18, 2024.  https://www.facsimilefinder.com/facsimiles/liber-astrologicus-by-saint-isidore-of-seville-facsimile

Fear, Andrew. Putting the Pieces Back Together: Isidore and De Natura Rerum. In Isidore of Seville and his Reception in the Early Middle Ages. Edited by Jamie Wood and Andrew Fear. Amsterdam University Press, 2016. 

Isidore, Calvin B Kendall, and Faith Wallis. On the Nature of Things. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2016.

Woodward, David. Medieval Mappaemundi. In The History of Cartography vol. 1: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, 286-370. Edited by J. B. Harley, David Woodward. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020. https://press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/HOC_V1/Volume1.html

Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Manuscript - Reg.lat.255.