Cristoforo de Predis. Saturnus, Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Venus, Mercurius, Luna (top to bottom). De Sphaera. 1450s.
The wild boar of Büdingen castle (medieval fescoe mural), Wetteraukreis, Hesse, Germany. ca. 1530.
Martin Schongauer, Temptation of St. Anthony (engraving), c. 1475,
Curious engravings of several medieval and highly mysterious 'Stone Worms' contained within a late 17th-Century book by Eberhard Werner Happel.
Wellcome Library no. 45066i (Artist Unknown). The Dance of Death. 1600s.
Giotto. The Seven Vices: Desperation, Envy, Infidelity, Injustice, Wrath, Inconstancy, Foolishness (top to bottom). Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua. 1306.
magictransistor reblogged
The siren in the Hortus sanitatis, “De piscibus,” chapter 83, published in 1491. (British Library, IB.344). Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps.
Al-Jazari. Elephant Clock. 1206.
The elephant clock was a medieval invention by al-Jazari, consisting of a weight powered water clock in the form of an elephant. The various elements of the clock were designed to move and make a sound each half hour.
In addition to its mechanical innovations, the clock itself is seen as an early example of multiculturalism represented in technology. The elephant represents the Indian and African cultures, the dragon Chinese culture, the phoenix ancient Egyptian culture, the water work represents ancient Greek culture, and the turban Islamic culture.
The Aberdeen Bestiary. Illuminated Manuscript. 12th Century.
Aurora Consurgens. Illuminated Manuscript in Zürich Zentralbibliothek. CH. 1516.