BONATUS, Guidus.

by Guidus Bonatus

£45,000 · Offered by Sokol Books

.Remarkably good, crisp copy, in two vols, of the first edition of this very handsome, illustrated work on astronomy, and much easier to read and use in this unusual two-volume format. The early provenance, and probably the binding, can be traced to the wealthy Austrian monasteries of Lilienfeld and Melk. The most famous astrologer of the C13, the Friar Minor Guido Bonatti, from Forlì, worked for major figures like Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Guido da Montefeltro, and for several civic governments including Florence. He famously features in Dante s Divine Comedy , residing in hell as a punishment for his astrological practices. Written in 1277, Liber Astronomiae - his most famous work was a standard textbook until the early C16. This first edition is illustrated with nearly 200 handsome woodcuts of planets and constellations. Divided in 6 parts, it begins with a defence of astrology and the principle that astrologers need not be expert astronomers, as well as an introduction to judicial astrology, the properties and aspects of the stars, planets and the zodiac, and the 12 Houses. Part II introduces the theory of the positions, attractions and movements of the planets for devising horoscopes. Part III goes into the detail of horoscope calculations, focusing on each of the 12 Houses and providing judicia for a variety of events such as breastfeeding, conception, the building of churches, buying and selling, theft, hunting, etc. Part IV discusses the Revolutions of

• Binding: Hardcover

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