My first post here. I am hoping to discuss pre-Renaissance astrological (and astronomical) notation. I am directed here by the excellent article by Deborah Houlding on chart forms in L 497. https://skyscript.co.uk/greek_horoscope.html. I am interested in the early (Italian) Renaissance, a period of flux before the printing press and the strandardization of astrological symbols, along with the arrival of Greek manuscripts and the recovery and circulation of lost texts.

As I understand it, the general situation prior, say, 1450, was that the now familiar zodiac symbols and planetary symbols were all known but not standard, with the exception of the symbol for Sol which is an innovation. Other notation do to with such things as aspects, retrogradation and the like were not standard either. A wide array of Latin letters, Greek letters, Arabic numerals, Roman numerals and other glyphs were deployed for various purposes. Printed books seems to have been the main reason this confusion was overcome and a more or less standard notation was developed. Charts, square or otherwise, were not standard practise either. Astrological data was often set out in tables or text rather than drawn up in charts.

We see this diversity of notation in astrological texts, diagrams and on instrumentation. I particularly have in mind the Ashmole ms. 370, circa 1420. In this and similar designs the signs of the zodiac are marked by the number of hours of daylight/night and not by handy symbols. I am looking for other examples from this period (tricento, early quatrocentro) or any useful texts on the subject. And I am hoping that people in this forum might be knowledgable about.

I am studying astrological and cosmological texts from that period but I need to learn much more about conventions and practices prior to the printing press.

Thanks.

What is currently known about astrological notation is quite sparse. No in depth study has been made on the history of Classical and Medieval notation. The glyphs seem to have been in place since the late antiquity with some variations, but they are not commonly used in both Latin and Arabic charts.
I know this has not been very helpful, but this is a topic that still needs proper research. What we assume today comes from a very limited number of examples.

Thanks Luis. It is as I feared - not much is known. And yet, the problem must arise with any astrological manuscript from before the 1450s or so. Where to begin? The Ashmole 370 is a good case (circa 1420). I am hoping to find an account of other astrological texts from that period. This includes so-called 'lapidaries' which were not uncommon and give an account of the astrological powers of gemstones (the Alfonso Lapidary being the most famous example.)

McAlpine wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2024 7:31 amI am directed here by the excellent article by Deborah Houlding on chart forms in L 497. https://skyscript.co.uk/greek_horoscope.html.

Unfortunately I cannot help with your request but nevertheless I want to thank for the link you mentioned. I didn’t know this article and found it very interesting!