De natura rerum (Beda Venerabilis)
De natura rerum (Beda Venerabilis) is a scientific script that Beda Venerabilis created in Latin at the beginning of the 8th century . Subareas of cosmology (the earth and the heavenly bodies) and a meteorologica in the sense of Aristotle are treated.
swell
Large parts of the writing are reformulations and almost literal excerpts from the De natura rerum of Isidore of Seville and the Naturalis historia of Pliny the Elder . Probably these are his only sources. He shortens the information that he finds in Pliny, since otherwise the scope of his work would be blown. In 47 De circulis Terrae , which consists mainly of a long list of geographical terms, he deletes around two thirds of the names. It is surprising that cities like Milan and Rome will be omitted. Pliny is cited only once in the work, in chapter 14 even with a reading recommendation:
De quibus si plenius scire uelis, put Plinium Secundum ex quo et ista nos excerpsimus
If you want to know more comprehensively, then read Pliny Secundus, from which we have taken this .
The cuts at Isidore of Seville have a different background. Beda Venerabilis does not appreciate this. It is said that he shortened the work of Isidore of Seville so that his students would not read mendacia = untruths . Beda Venerabilis has deleted all quotations from ancient authors, but also the numerous quotations from church fathers . As a result, the text loses much of its poetic ornament. This becomes clear in chapter 8 Of The Heavenly Waters . While Isidore of Seville ( 14 Of the Heavenly Waters ) quotes the Church Father Ambrose of Milan , who is considering whether these waters mentioned in the Bible can be present because of the shape of the sky and the heat of the stars, Beda Venerabilis says succinctly: These waters are there and serve, if necessary, for the flood . The name Isidore of Seville is not mentioned in any of the scriptures.
content
The work begins with two chapters with a linguistically exaggerated description of the fourfold work of God and a representation of Genesis according to the Bible . With this introductory sequence, the author places the content of Christian teaching above the following pre-Christian knowledge and thus achieves a theosophical legitimation of the entire work.
The following 49 chapters largely follow chapters 8 to 46 of De natura rerum by Isidore of Seville. Chapters 3 to 24 deal with the complex earth and celestial bodies , the rest form a meteorologica .
Earth and heavenly bodies
Topics are dealt with such as the nature and shape of heaven and earth, the zodiac , the planets, size of the sun and moon, causes of solar and lunar eclipses. Beda Venerabilis follows the explanations given by Isidore of Seville and, if necessary, supplements with excerpts from Pliny. In Chapter 14, From the Apses of the Planets, he goes back to Pliny Naturalis Historia , II, 63-64, to describe the confusing course of the planets. In chapter 20 there is evidence that Beda Venerabilis himself observed the sky:
Nouissimam uero primamque lunam ... nullo alio in signo Ariete conspici
In spring I only saw the new light of the moon in the sign of Aries.
Meteorologica
The second part is a Meteorologica in the sense of Aristotle , a representation of the events in the “space adjacent to the celestial sphere” and processes on earth. It covers lightning, thunder, rainbows, earthquakes, the tides and much more. By using the excerpts from the Naturalis historia , Isidore of Seville is surpassed in scientific weight. In Chapter 39 On the Tides e.g. B. Beda Venerabilis describes the effects of the moon on the course of the ebb and flow of the tide exactly, while Isidore of Seville only roughly mentions the moon together with other reasons.
Continuation of action and tradition
The book achieved a high reputation in the Middle Ages, was distributed all over the continent and was only ousted from its leading position in the period of high scholasticism. This is also proven by the more than 130 manuscripts that have survived. The first printed version was published by Hervagius in Basel in 1563, editions in Cologne in 1612 and 1688, an edition by Giles in London in 1843, and in 1850 Jacques Paul Migne included the work in his Patrologia Latina .
Text output
- Ch. W. Jones: Bedae Venerabilis Opera , Turnholt, Brepols 1975
literature
- Franz Brunhölzl : History of Latin Literature in the Middle Ages , Munich 1975
- Brigitte English: The artes liberales in the early Middle Ages , Stuttgart 1994
- Ch. W. Jones: Bedae Venerabilis Opera , Pars I Opera didascalica, Introduction, Turnholt, Brepols 1975
- Paul Meyvaert: Benedict, Gregory, Bede and Others , London 1977
- William H. Stahl: Roman Science , Wisconsin 1962
Individual evidence
- ^ William H. Stahl: Roman Science , p. 227
- ↑ Pliny the Elder: Naturalis historia , VI, 212-219
- ↑ Paul Mayvaert: Benedict, Gregory, Bede and Others , p IX, 68
- ↑ Brigitte English: Die artes liberales in the early Middle Ages , p. 247
- ↑ Aristotle: Meteorology. Across the world , A1, 338 a25 - 339 a5
- ↑ Pliny the Elder: Naturalis historia , II, 212-216
- ^ Franz Brunhölzl: History of Latin Literature in the Middle Ages , p. 211
- ↑ Ch. W. Jones: Bedae Venerabilis Opera , Pars I, Introduction, pp. 174-185