Planet children

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Planet children of the Luna, Medieval house book of the Counts of Waldburg Wolfegg, fol. 17r, Princely Collection, ca.1470

The astrological conception of the planet children assigns people (as "planet children" born under the influence of a planet) to one of the seven classical planets, which were assumed to transfer their specific properties to their protégés according to a system based on premodern cosmology .

Overview

The concept, which originated in antiquity , gained great cultural and historical significance in Europe in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance and led to independent text, verse and image traditions. Vulgästrological planetary child texts are already known from the Roman Empire , but did not lead to pictorial representations until around 1300. Planetary pictures not only serve as illustrations for the corresponding texts in manuscripts , block books and early prints , but are also often added to other lay astrological texts and calendar works . In addition, they appear in the fine arts of Europe up to the 17th century, e.g. B. as relief , sculpture and picture frieze . The elaborated planet children picture series can in a certain way be understood as stories in the comic style.

Basics

In astrology, which is committed to an archaic-mythical way of thinking, the categories of time and space are neither purely quantitative nor homogeneous concepts. Every time period and every direction of space is primarily characterized by qualitative properties.

Already in ancient Egypt there was a "deification" of time periods. Every time period - e.g. B. periods of the day or age - a special quality was assigned, which was usually personified as a deity . Everything that this deity had done forever left its stamp on the period that it ruled. Such an astrological-cosmological space-time concept can already be found in ancient oriental incantation texts, in which, in addition to natural powers and deities, temporal variables such as day , month or year also appear; the latter are used as “ computist helpers” in the ritual .

This qualitative conception of space also exists in medieval cosmology . The geocentric model of the spheres does not understand the planetary spheres as a counterpart to the modern notion of the movement of heavenly bodies on orbits . The spheres represent spatial sections that have certain qualities. The astrological-cosmological systems of the seven planets and twelve signs of the zodiac in late antiquity and the Middle Ages dominated not only cosmic space, but also the segments of time segmentation. These time rulers (“chronocrators”) are at the same time symbolic representatives of those periods of time on which they impress their characteristics. As so-called day and hour gods, the planets (gods) played a more important role than the signs of the zodiac.

Planetary images

moon

The children's pictures of the moon mainly depict professions on the water: bathers, fishermen with pots and nets, mills with mill streams and ponds, to which a donkey with a grain sack and an accompanying person is often on the way. In addition, a messenger, a player at the gaming table with dice and cups and a bird catcher with liming rods, drinkers in a tavern. In the background a sailing ship on the water.

Mercury

In the pictures of the children of Merkur, mainly technical and artistic professions are shown: a sculptor carving a statue, a goldsmith making a beaker, a painter who creates an altarpiece , an organ builder who tunes his instrument, a scribe with his manuscript, and so on a dining table where people eat in a small group.

Venus

Francesco del Cossa: Monthly pictures in the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara. Detail: planet children of Venus.

The pictures of the children of Venus mainly show couples in love who are hugging and kissing and are in some cases already in clear positions on the floor. Often men and women are also shown in the bathroom. Furthermore, various musicians are shown in the pictures: singers with sheet music, musicians with harps , trombones , shawms and lutes . Often individual couples perform a courtly dance to the music.

Jupiter

In the Jupiter children's pictures, people can mainly be seen doing sports. One man pushes a stone like a shot put, another fiddles with a long rod. Two people wrestle with each other. Some practice swords lie on the floor. Another group of motifs consists of prayers kneeling in front of a small altar. In addition, a king with a crown can be seen on a throne, before whom a harpist plays his instrument.

Mars

On the Martian pictures there are mainly depictions of violence. A group of partially mounted soldiers raids some thatched houses by pillaging. Some are already on fire or being lit with torches. The soldiers drive away the cattle. Some fighters can be seen: a person kills a helpless person lying on the ground with an ax or a club, another image shows two opponents stabbing each other with knives or swords. A woman is overwhelmed, in the background a bull on a cow suggests the rape.

Sun

On the pictures of the sun children, people are shown doing physical exercises and competitions or wrestling matches, showing their vitality.

Saturn

The Saturn children's pictures depict people who have to do with earth, poverty and old age: peasants plowing or slaughtering pigs, prisoners in a block, beggars, feeding the poor, basket weavers in the water.

Content and structure

Planet children of Saturn, woodcut, ca.1470

The planet and planet children's texts, together with the lunars and the zodiac doctrines, are among the most widely passed down lay astrological texts. These teach the reader about the properties of the seven classical planets, their rule over the different periods of time and their influence on humans.

The German and Latin planetary tracts are mostly in collective manuscripts, often together with similar texts, such as a spherical tract or a doctrine of the seasons. The content and length of such textbooks, which as a rule were written in prose, vary depending on the line of transmission, but they have at least the two focal points "properties of the seven planets" and "planet children" in common. An examination of the history of the text and the various editorial offices is still a research task.

The text structure is open and variable and there are a number of special traditions. The treatises are usually divided into an introduction and seven uniformly structured chapters on the individual planets. The sections therefore follow a fixed pattern, apart from minor adjustments, duplications and varying weightings. The planetary children's texts are often illustrated with pictures of planets and planet children.

The structure of a typical planetary tract forms the planetary sequence. This usually begins with Saturn as the outermost planet and ends with the moon as the closest planet to earth. This order can also be reversed; the “most important” planet, the sun, is very rarely the starting point. A typical treatise begins with a general introduction that names some astrological and astronomical features of the planets and, depending on the textual witness, can have considerable differences in length. Then each planet is presented according to a fixed scheme in one of seven stereotypical chapters. These can describe the “planetary nature” (e.g. etymology of the planet's name, astrological dignities , basic astronomical data, planetary verses), introduce the characteristics of the “planet children” (physical and character traits, occupations and social position, planetary children's poems) or the “planetary day” ”And characterize the“ planetary lesson ”(reigns, horoscopes of nativity, elections). Depending on the editing and handwriting, other text elements may have been added, such as the connections to the Roman gods, additions to the planetary properties, lists of the hours ruled by the planets and advice based on them, different horoscopes of nativity , as well as various versed text parts and illuminations .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Francis B. Brévart: ' Book of Planets'. In: Author's Lexicon . 2nd Edition. Volume 7, Col. 713-715, here: Col. 714.
  2. ↑ Kocku von Stuckrad : The struggle for astrology. Jewish and Christian contributions to the ancient understanding of time. De Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 2000 (= Religious-historical experiments and preliminary work. Volume 49), p. 71, ISBN 3-11-016641-0 .
  3. ^ Wilhelm Knappich, Wilhelm: History of Astrology. 3. Edition. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1998, p. 7, ISBN 3-465-02984-4 ; or Wolfgang Huebner: Space, time and social role play of the four cardinal points in the ancient catarch horoscopy. Saur, Munich a. a. 2003 (= contributions to antiquity. Volume 194), p. 17, ISBN 3-598-77806-6 .
  4. ^ Wilhelm Knappich: History of Astrology. 3. Edition. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1998, p. 13.
  5. ↑ Monika Schulz: Magic or The Restoration of Order. Lang, Frankfurt am Main a. a. 2000 (= contributions to European ethnology and folklore: Series A, Texts and Studies. Volume 5), ISBN 3-631-36643-4 , p. 143 f.
  6. ↑ Martin Mosimann: The "Mainauer Naturlehre" in the context of the history of science. Francke, Tübingen et al. 1994 (= Basler Studies on German Language and Literature. Volume 64), ISBN 3-7720-1982-X , p. 43.
  7. ^ Arno Borst: The Carolingian calendar reform. Hahn, Hannover 1998 (= Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Schriften. Volume 46), ISBN 3-7752-5446-3 , pp. 555 f.
  8. ↑ Wolf-Dieter Müller-Jahncke: Astrological-magical theory and practice in medicine in the early modern period. Steiner, Stuttgart 1985 (= Sudhoffs Archiv. Supplement 25), ISBN 3-515-03928-7 , p. 23.
  9. ↑ Viktor Stegemann: Planets. In: Concise dictionary of German superstition . Volume 7, Col. 36-294, here: Col. 58.
  10. ↑ Ortrun Riha : Knowledge organization in medical collective manuscripts: classification criteria and combination principles for texts without a work character. Habil.-Schr. Wurzburg. Reichert, Wiesbaden 1992, ISBN 3-88226-537-X (= knowledge literature in the Middle Ages. Volume 9), p. 158 and note 3, and Francis B. Brevart, Gundolf Keil: “Planetentraktate” (and “Planetenkinder” texts ). , Col. 719.

See also

literature

Monographs

  • Dieter Blume: Regents of Heaven: Astrological Images in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-05-003249-9 (studies from Warburg House 3)
  • Anton Hauber : Planetary images and constellations. On the history of human belief and error. Strasbourg 1916 (= studies on German art history. Volume 194). Online .
  • Annett Klingner: The power of the stars. Planet children: an astrological motif in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-00-057688-1 online
  • Viktor Stegemann : From a medieval German astronomical-astrological textbook: An investigation into the formation, origin and aftermath of a chapter on planetary children. Reichenberg 1944 (= Prague German Studies. Volume 52).
  • Markus Mueller: Controlled time: Life orientation and shaping the future through calendar forecasting between antiquity and modern times. Kassel 2010 (= publications of the Kassel University Library. Volume 8), here especially pp. 247–299.

Essays / Articles

  • Zdravko Blazekovic: Variations on the Theme of the Planets' Children, or Medieval Musical Life According to the Housebook's Astrological Imagery. In: Art and Music in the Early Modern Period: Essays in honor of Franca Trinchieri Camiz. Ed. by Katherine A. McIver. Aldershot, Burlington 2002, pp. 241-286, ISBN 0-7546-0689-9
  • Francis B. Brévart, Gundolf Keil: 'Planet tracts' (and 'Planetenkinder' texts). In: ²VL , Vol. 7, Col. 715-723.
  • Kurt Grasshoff: Physical exercises in pictures of planet children from the 15th and 16th centuries: The children of the planet god Sol. In: Stadion 2 (1976), H. 2, pp. 218-232.
  • Fritz Saxl: Problems of the children's planetary images. In: Kunstchronik und Kunstmarkt 54 (1918/19), pp. 1013-1021.

expenditure

  • Iatromathematic calendar book: Farbmikrofiche-Ed. der Hs. Tübingen, University Library, Md 2. Ed. Lengenfelder, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-89219-063-1 (Codices illuminati medii aevi 63).
  • Venus and Mars: The medieval house book from the collection of the princes of Waldburg Wolfegg. Ed. V. Christoph Graf zu Waldburg Wolfegg. Prestel, Munich a. a. 1997, ISBN 3-7913-1839-X .
  • Gundolf Keil (Ed.): From the influence of the stars on the health and character of the human being. The 'Iatromathematische Hausbuch', shown on the Nuremberg Codex Schürstab. Volume 1: Facsimile, Volume 2: Commentary on the facsimile edition of manuscript C 54 of the Zurich Central Library. With the participation of Friedrich Lenhardt and Christoph Weißer and a foreword by Huldrych M. Koelbing, Facsimile-Verlag, Lucerne / Vienna / Berlin a. a. 1981-1983, ISBN 3-85672-013-8 .

Web links

Commons : Medieval house book from Wolfegg Castle  - collection of images, videos and audio files