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Zodiac signs as medieval weapons11/24/2023 ![]() In other medieval works the planets of the cosmos (and sometimes their children!) were personified as human figures. ĥ. The “Heaven of Saturn” in Dante, Divina Commedia, Naples, ca. The lower two vignettes similarly depict Jupiter’s exaltation in Cancer by pairing him with the zodiacal crab, and his dejection in Capricorn by tumbling onto a goat. On folio 33v, Saturn’s exaltation in Libra is represented by the zodiacal scales, and his dejection in Aries shows him falling headfirst onto the back of a ram. 1574–1595), now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which contains images of the “exaltation” and “dejection” of the planets-that is, when they are in apogee and perigee ( Fig. A much later figuration of the planets is found in this sixteenth century “Book of Felicity” ( Matali’ al-saadet) made for Sultan Murad III (r. A possible early figuration of the planet Saturn can be seen on this ancient papyrus fragment in the Metropolitan Museum of Art as an Egyptian deity ( Fig. ![]() Representations of the planets are found in the artistic traditions of many cultures in which astronomy was an important science, including the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Hellenistic, Indian, Byzantine, Islamic, and Chinese spheres. Saturn on an astronomical papyrus fragment from Egypt, ca. Holst calls Jupiter “The Bringer of Jollity” and Saturn-colloquially also known as “Father Time”-“The Bringer of Old Age.” These names doubtless influenced the artistic expression in the series of dance performances for Holst’s Planets by the Princeton University Ballet in 2018 linked above.Ģ. Each was thought to have a distinctive personality, an idea still reflected in Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets, composed between 19. In the Middle Ages, the seven “planets”-Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the sun and moon-were important celestial bodies in the heavenly realm. And according to Canadian astronomer and historian Vibert Douglas, the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan abruptly ended his military campaign in China, possibly owing to the phenomenon of five separate planetary conjunctions over the years 12. The mendicant friar, preacher, and later saint Francis of Assisi died on October 3rd. In the Kingdom of Georgia, the Sultan Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, last ruler of the Khwarezmian Empire, captured Tbilisi in the Battle of Garni. In Norway, the cleric Brother Robert translated the popular chivalric romance of Tristan and Iseult into Old Norse at the request of King Haakon IV. In France, the reign of Louis IX, the only French king to be canonized by the Catholic Church, began following the death of his father Louis VIII. The 1226 Saturn-Jupiter conjunction coincided with several historical milestones. While an alignment of Saturn and Jupiter happens about every 20 years, when it happens in 2020 it will be one of the closest alignments of these two planets for over 800 years, and by some accounts since the year 1226. During this “Longest Night,” the planets Saturn and Jupiter will be within a tenth of a degree to one another, appearing to form a single “star.” Medieval Iconography of Saturn and Jupiter for a Great Planetary Alignmentīy Jove! This year a special planetary alignment will occur on December 21st, also the Winter Solstice, when earth’s northern pole is at its greatest tilt away from the Sun.
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