Astronomical Myths Part 14

Similar to this were the ideas of other doctors of the

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 41.--EXPLANATION OF SUNRISE.]

Church, such as S. Hilary and Theodorus, some of whom supposed that the angels carried the stars on their shoulders like the _omoph.o.r.es_ of the Manichees; others that they rolled them in front of them or drew them behind; while the Jesuit Riccioli, who made astronomical observations, remarks that each angel that pushes a star takes great care to observe what the others are doing, so that the relative distances between the stars may always remain what they ought to be. The Abbot Trithemus gives the exact succession of the seven angels or spirits of the planets, who take it in turns during a cycle of three hundred and fifty-four years to govern the celestial motions from the creation to the year 1522. The system thus introduced seems to have been spread abroad, and to have lingered even into the nineteenth century among the Arabs. A guide of that nationality hired at Cairo in 1830, remarked to two travellers how the earth had been made square and covered with stones, but the stones had been thrown into the four corners, now called France, Italy, England, and Russia, while the centre, forming a circle round Mount Sinai, had been given to the Arabians.

Alongside of this system of the square was another equally curious--that of the egg. Its author was the famous Venerable Bede, one of the most enlightened men of his time, who was educated at the University of Armagh, which produced Alfred and Alcuin. He says: "The earth is an element placed in the middle of the world, as the yolk is in the middle of an egg; around it is the water, like the white surrounding the yolk; outside that is the air, like the membrane of the egg; and round all is the fire which closes it in as the sh.e.l.l does. The earth being thus in the centre receives every weight upon itself, and though by its nature it is cold and dry in its different parts, it acquires accidentally different qualities; for the portion which is exposed to the torrid action of the air is burnt by the sun, and is uninhabitable; its two extremities are too cold to be inhabited, but the portion that lies in the temperate region of the atmosphere is habitable. The ocean, which surrounds it by its waves as far as the horizon, divides it into two parts, the upper of which is inhabited by us, while the lower is inhabited by our antipodes; although not one of them can come to us, nor one of us to them."

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 42.--THE EARTH AS AN EGG.]

This last sentence shows that however far he may have been from the truth, he did not, like so many of his contemporaries, stumble over the idea of up and down in the universe, and so consider the notion of antipodes absurd.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 43.--THE EARTH AS A FLOATING EGG.]

A great number of the maps of the world of the period followed this idea, and drew the world in the shape of an egg at rest. It was broached, however, in another form by Edrisi, an Arabian geographer of the eleventh century, who, with many others, considered the earth to be like an egg with one half plunged into the water. The regularity of the surface is only interrupted by valleys and mountains. He adopted the system of the ancients, who supposed that the torrid zone was uninhabited. According to him the known world only forms a single half of the egg, the greater part of the water belonging to the surrounding ocean, in the midst of which earth floats like an egg in a basin.

Several artists and map-makers adopted this theory in the geographical representations, and so, whether in this way or the last, the egg has had the privilege of representing the form of the earth for nearly a thousand years.

The celebrated Raban Maur, of Mayence, composed in the ninth century a treatise, ent.i.tled _De Universo_, divided into twenty-two books. It is a kind of encyclopaedia, in which he gives an abridged view of all the sciences. According to his cosmographic system the earth is in the form of a wheel, and is placed in the middle of the universe, being surrounded by the ocean; on the north it is bounded by the Caucasus, which he supposes to be mountains of gold, which no one can reach because of dragons, and griffins, and men of monstrous shape that dwell there. He also places Jerusalem in the centre of the earth.

The treatise of Honorus, ent.i.tled _Imago Mundi_, and many other authors of the same kind, represent, 1st, the terrestrial paradise in the most easterly portion of the world, in a locality inaccessible to man; 2nd, the four rivers which had their sources in Paradise; 3rd, the torrid zone, uninhabited; 4th, fantastic islands, transformed from the Atlantis into _Antillia_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG 44.--EIGHTH CENTURY MAP OF THE WORLD.]

In a ma.n.u.script commentary on the Apocalypse, which is in the library of Turin, is a very curious chart, referred to the tenth, but belonging possibly to the eighth century. It represents the earth as a circular planisphere. The four sides of the earth are each accompanied by a figure of a wind, as a horse on a bellows, from which air is poured out, as well as from a sh.e.l.l in his mouth. Above, or to the east, are Adam, and Eve with the serpent. To their right is Asia with two very elevated mountains--Cappadocia and Caucasus. From thence comes the river _Eusis_, and the sea into which it falls forms an arm of the ocean which surrounds the earth. This arm joins the Mediterranean, and separates Europe from Asia. Towards the middle is Jerusalem, with two curious arms of the sea running past it; while to the south there is a long and straight sea in an east and west direction. The various islands of the Mediterranean are put in a square patch, and Rome, France, and Germany are indicated, while Thula, Britannia, and Scotia are marked as islands in the north-west of the ocean that surrounds the whole world.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 45.--TENTH CENTURY MAPS.]

We figure below two very curious maps of the world of the tenth century--one of which is round, the other square. The first is divided into three triangles; that of the east, or Asia, is marked with the name of _Shem_; that of the north, or Europe, with that of _j.a.phet_; that of the south, or Africa, with that of _Cham_. The second is also divided between the three sons of Noah; the ocean surrounds it, the Mediterranean forms the upright portion of a cross of water which divides the Adamic world.

Omons, the author of a geographical poem ent.i.tled _The Image of the World_, composed in 1265, who was called the Lucretius of the thirteenth century, was not more advanced than the cosmographers of the former centuries of which we have hitherto spoken. The cosmographical part of his poem is borrowed from the system of Pythagoras and the Venerable Bede. He maintains that the earth is enveloped in the heavens, as the yoke in the white of an egg, and that it is in the middle as the centre is within the circle, and he speaks like Pythagoras of the harmony of the celestial spheres.

Omons supposed also that in his time the terrestrial paradise was still existing in the east, with its tree of life, its four rivers, and its angel with a flaming sword. He appears to have confounded Hecla with the purgatory of St. Patrick, and he places the latter in Iceland, saying that it never ceases to burn. The volcanoes were only, according to him, the breathing places or mouths of the infernal regions. The latter he placed with other cosmographers in the centre of the earth.

Another author, Nicephorus Blemmyde, a monk who lived during the same century, composed three cosmographical works, among them the following: _On the Heavens and the Earth, On the Sun and Moon, the Stars, and Times and Days_. According to his system the earth is flat, and he adopts the Homeric theory of the ocean surrounding the world, and that of the seven climates.

Nicolas of Oresmus, a celebrated cosmographer of the fourteenth century, although his celebrity as a mathematician attracted the attention of King John of France, who made him tutor to his son Charles V., was not wiser than those we have enumerated above. He composed among other works a _Treatise on the Sphere_. He rejected the theory of an antichthonal continent as contrary to the faith. A map of the world, prepared by him about the year 1377, represents the earth as round, with one hemisphere only inhabited, the other, or lower one, being plunged in the water. He seems to have been led by various borrowed ideas, as, for instance, theological ones, such as the statement in the Psalms that G.o.d had founded the earth upon the waters, and Grecian ones borrowed from the school of Thales, and the theories of the Arabian geographers. In fact we have seen that Edrisi thought that half of the earth was in the water, and Aboulfeda thought the same. The earth was placed by Nicolas in the centre of the universe, which he represented by painting the sky blue, and dotting it over with stars in gold.

Leonardo Dati, who composed a geographical poem ent.i.tled _Della Spera_, during this century, advanced no further. A coloured planisphere showed the earth in the centre of the universe surrounded by the ocean, then the air, then the circles of the planets after the Ptolemaic system, and in another representation of the same kind he figures the infernal regions in the centre of the earth, and gives its diameter as seven thousand miles. He proves himself not to have known one half of the globe by his statement of the shape of the earth--that it is like a T inside an O. This is a comparison given in many maps of the world in the middle ages, the mean parallel being about the 36th degree of north lat.i.tude, that is to say at the Straits of Gibraltar; the Mediterranean is thus placed so as to divide the earth into two equal parts.

John Beauvau, Bishop of Angiers under Louis XL, expresses his ideas as follows:--

"The earth is situated and rests in the middle of the firmament, as the centre or point is in the middle of a circle. Of the whole earth mentioned above only one quarter is inhabited. The earth is divided into four parts, as an apple is divided through the centre by cutting it lengthways and across. If one part of such an apple is taken and peeled, and the peel is spread out over anything flat, such as the palm of the hand, then it resembles the habitable earth, one side of which is called the east, and the other the west."

The Arabians adopted not only the ideas of the ancients, but also the fundamental notions of the cosmographical system of the Greeks. Some of them, as _Bakouy_, regarded the earth as a flat surface, like a table, others as a ball, of which one half is cut off, others as a complete revolving ball, and others that it was hollow within. Others again went as far as to say that there were several suns and moons for the several parts of the earth.

In a map, preserved in the library at Cambridge, by Henry, Canon of St.

Marie of Mayence, the form of the world is given after Herodotus. The four cardinal points are indicated, and the orientation is that of nearly all the cartographic monuments of the middle ages, namely, the east at the top of the map. The four cardinal points are four angels, one foot placed on the disc of the earth; the colours of their vestments are symbolical. The angel placed at the Boreal extremity of the earth, or to the north of the Scythians, points with his finger to people enclosed in the ramparts of Gog and Magog, _gens immunda_ as the legend says. In his left hand he holds a die to indicate, no doubt, that there are shut up the Jews who cast lots for the clothes of Christ. His vestments are green, his mantle and his wings are red. The angel placed to the left of Paradise has a green mantle and wings, and red vestments.

In his left hand he holds a kind of palm, and by the right he seems to mark the way to Paradise. The position of the other angels placed at the west of the world is different. They seem occupied in stopping the pa.s.sage beyond the _Columns_ (that is, the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean). All of them have golden aureolas. The surrounding ocean is painted of a clear green.

Another remarkable map of the world is that of Andrea Bianco. In it we see Eden at the top, which represents the east, and the four rivers are running out of it. Much of Europe is indicated, including Spain, Paris, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, which are named, England, Iceland, Spitzbergen, &c., which are not named. The portion round the North Pole to the left is indicated as "cold beneath the Pole star." In these maps the systematic theories of the ancient geographers seem mixed with the doctrines of the Fathers of the Church. They place generally in the Red Sea some mark denoting the pa.s.sage of the Hebrews, the terrestrial paradise at the extreme east, and Jerusalem in the centre. The towns are figured often by edifices, as in the list of Theodosius, but without any regard to their respective positions. Each town is ordinarily represented by two towers, but the princ.i.p.al ones are distinguished by a little wall that appears between these two towers, on which are painted several windows, or else they may be known by the size of the edifices.

St. James of Compostella in Gallicia and Rome are represented by edifices of considerable size, as are Nazareth, Troy, Antioch, Damascus, Babylon, and Nineveh.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 46.--THE MAP OF ANDREA BIANCO.]

One of the most remarkable monuments of the geography of the last centuries of the middle ages is the map in Hereford Cathedral, by Richard of Haldingham, not only on account of its numerous legends, but because of its large dimensions, being several square yards in area.

On the upper part of this map is represented the Last Judgment; Jesus Christ, with raised arms, holding in His hands a scroll with these words, _Ecce testimonium meum_. At His side two angels carry in their hands the instruments of His pa.s.sion. On the right hand stands an angel with a trumpet to his mouth, out of which come these words, _Levez si vendres vous par_. An angel brings forward a bishop by the hand, behind whom is a king, followed by other personages; the angel introduces them by a door formed of two columns, which seems to serve as an entrance to an edifice.

The Virgin is kneeling at the feet, of her Son. Behind her is another woman kneeling, who holds a crown, which she seems ready to place on the head of the Mother of Christ, and by the side of the woman is a kneeling angel, who appears to be supporting the maternal intercessor. The Virgin uncovers her breast and p.r.o.nounces the words of a scroll which is held by an angel kneeling in front of her, _Vei i b' fiz mon piz de deuiz lauele chare preistes--Eles mame lettes dont leit de Virgin qui estes--Syes merci de tous si com nos mesmes deistes.--R ... em ... ont servi kaut sauveresse me feistes_.

To the left another angel, also with a trumpet to his mouth, gives out the following words, which are written on a scroll, _Leves si alles all fu de enfer estable_. A gate, drawn like that of the entrance, represents probably the pa.s.sage by which those must go out who are condemned to eternal pains. In fact the devil is seen dragging after him a crowd of men, who are tied by a cord which he holds in his hand.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 47.--FROM THE MAP IN HEREFORD CATHEDRAL.]

The map itself commences at its upper part, that is, the east, by the terrestrial paradise. It is a circle, in the centre of which is represented the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve are there in company with the serpent that beguiled them. The four legendary rivers come out of the base of the tree, and they are seen below crossing the map. Outside Eden the flight of the first couple, and the angel that drove them away, are represented. At this extreme eastern portion is the region of giants with the heads of beasts. There, too, is seen the first human habitation, or town, built by Enoch. Below appears the Tower of Babel. Near this are two men seated on a hill close to the river Jaxartes; one of them is eating a human leg and the other an arm, which the legend explains thus:--"Here live the Essedons, whose custom it is to sing at the funerals of their parents; they tear the corpses with their teeth, and prepare their food with these fragments of flesh, mixed with that of animals. In their opinion it is more honourable to the dead to be enclosed in the bodies of their relations than in those of worms."

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 48.--FROM THE MAP IN HEREFORD CATHEDRAL.

Tower of Babel.

Essedons.

Dragons.

Pigmies.

The Monoceros.

The Mantich.o.r.e.

A Sphinx.

The King of the Cyclops.

Blemmye.

Parasol lip.

Monocle.]

Below are seen dragons and pigmies, always to the east of Asia, and a little further away in the midst of a strange country, _the King of the Cyclops_.

This extraordinary geography shows us in India the "Mantich.o.r.e, who has a triple range of teeth, the face of a man, blue eyes, the red colour of blood, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion; its voice is a whistle."

On the north of the Ganges is represented a man with one leg, shading his head with his foot, which is explained by the following legend:--"In India dwell the Monocles, who have only one leg, but who nevertheless move with surprising velocity; when they wish to protect themselves from the heat of the sun they make a shadow with the sole of their foot, which is very large."

The Blemmys have their mouth and eyes in their chest; others have their mouths and eyes on their shoulders. The Parvini are Ethiopians that have four eyes.

To the east of Syene is a man seated who is covering his head with his lip, "people who with their prominent lip shade their faces from the sun."

Above is drawn a little sun, with the word _sol_. Then comes an animal of human form, having the feet of a horse and the head and beak of a bird; he rests on a stick, and the legend tells us it is a satyr; the fauns, half men and half horses; the cynocephales--men with the head of a dog; and the cyanthropes--dogs with the heads of men. The sphinx has the wings of a bird, the tail of a serpent, the head of a woman. It is placed in the midst of the Cordilleras, which are joined to a great chain of mountains. Here lastly is seen the _monoceros_, a terrible animal; but here is the marvel: "When one shows to this _monoceros_ a young girl, who, when the animal approaches, uncovers her breast, the monster, forgetting his ferocity, lays his head there, and when he is asleep may be taken defenceless."

Near to the lake Meotides is a man clothed in Oriental style, with a hat that terminates in a point, and holding by the bridle a horse whose harness is a human skin, and which is explained thus by the Latin legend: "Here live the griffins, very wicked men, for among other crimes they proceed so far as to make clothes for themselves and their horses out of the skins of their enemies."

More to the south is a large bird, the ostrich; according to the legend, "the ostrich has the head of a goose, the body of a crane, the feet of a calf; it eats iron."

Not far from the Riphean Mountains two men with long tunics and round bonnets are represented in the att.i.tude of fighting; one brandishes a sword, the other a kind of club, and the legend tells us, "The customs of the people of the interior of Scythia are somewhat wild; they inhabit caves; they drink the blood of the slain by sucking their wounds; they pride themselves on the number of people they have slain--not to have slain any one in combat is reckoned disgraceful."

Near the river that empties itself into the Caspian Sea it is written: "This river comes from the infernal regions; it enters the sea after having descended from mountains covered with wood, and it is there, they say, that the mouth of h.e.l.l opens."