#de natura rerum

[cuties-in-codices]

aquatic creatures (stella, zytiron, serra marina, equus marinus, monachus, scilla)

illustrations from a manuscript copy of thomas of cantimpré's 13th c. liber de natura rerum, bavaria, c. 1424

source: Vatican, Bibl. Apostolica Vaticana, Pal. lat. 1066, fol. 110r-125v

[a-book-of-creatures]

Hey tumblr we need to have a talk about something I noticed.

Specifically going by tags attached to images I’ve blogged or reblogged, there seems to be a misconception that marginalia means “any quirky medieval art”.

It’s not.

Marginalia is anything in the margins of a text.

The ones that will get posted on tumblr will more often than not be quirky drawings, but they also include notes, annotations, scribbles, and whatever else. The quirky drawings just happen to get a lot of press on here because, well. They’re quirky drawings.

For instance, see this image here of a platanista (river dolphin) chomping down on an elephant’s trunk?

This is not marginalia! This is a full-fledged illustration. It’s within the text (Liber natura rerum, Thomas de Cantimpré, Librairie de Valenciennes Ms 0320). It illustrates the entry on Platanista.

This is what it looks like in context.

But you know what are marginalia? Let me circle them for convenience.

Know the difference. It won’t save your life but it will make you more popular at a medievalist conference.

[meanbossart]

Well. @/barbatusart commissioned this.

[barbatusart]

vellioth the martinet from my take on him in DE RERUM NATURA, based on francis bacon's Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X, inspired by @ittybittysword's vellioth fanart based on the original Portrait of Innocent X by diego velázquez

WHEW thats a mouthful!!!!

[fluentisonus]

remember how cool it was when lucretius in writing his poem about atomism & the structure of the material world compared atoms coming together in different combinations to make different things to letters coming together in different combinations to make different words thereby having the text he's writing itself mimic the materiality of the world he's explaining in it -- the poem is both intellectually and structurally describing the idea

[catilinas]

can epicureanism explain ghosts

[latin-literature-tourney]

Latin Literature Tournament - Round 1

Propaganda under the cut!

Lucretius Propaganda:

His description of atomism is pretty damn accurate for an ancient Roman poet with literally no clue what the fuck he's talking

In this house we love Epicureanism

Carmina sublimis tunc sunt peritura Lucreti / exitio terras cum dabit una dies

Petronius Propaganda

You really can't go wrong with the Cena Trimalchionis--crazy food, astrology, werewolves...there's really something for everyone

When Nero ordered him to commit suicide, threw a sumptuous party about it and broke all his expensive stuff so Nero couldn't take it. Queen Shit

Part Menippean satire, part Greek novel: a genuinely Wild fucking combo that makes one of the weirdest and coolest pieces of Latin prose out there

[ittybitsysword]

Ok I think I fucked up the crop on this but ah well. Mostly finished fan art of @barbatusart bg3 comic de rerum natura.

you can read it here or here or here

I'm still not 100% satisfied with this so I might come back to it at a later date.

[odo-dod]

It's your wedding day, and you're ecstatic. You're getting married to the strongest hero Greece has ever seen (not stronger than your dear father, though). It's a beautiful day, the sky is clear and the sun is shining: your sisters are laughing and chatting while helping you get dressed, and your mother is slowly and carefully running her fingers through your hair, braiding it for the occasion; you cannot contain your smile.

The moment of the ceremony has arrived, and you look up to see your beloved father near the altar, waiting for you. But something feels... off. You cannot see your soon-to-be husband anywhere, and as you inspect the crowd, you see several people avoiding your gaze, covering their eyes. You cannot see your mother.

A priest approaches you, and gently lays a sash on your head. The piece of cloth caresses your cheeks. You cannot see your mother. As you look up to your father again, in search for an answer, he avoids your gaze. His sword glistens in the light of the sun, and you understand.

Not a word escapes your lips as you fall to your knees. Strong, rough hands are pulling you to your feet, but you barely feel them. You cannot stop looking at your father. Your mother is not there.

In a moment you're lying on the altar, and you can feel your pulse echoing in your ears. Your father won't look at you. The day is beautiful, the sun is warm on your skin, and you can see your father's ships in the sea, ready to sail. At last, he turns his gaze at you. And Agamemnon's eyes are the last thing you see.

[intotheclash]

Sono poche, dunque, le cose davvero necessarie per natura al nostro corpo, e sono quelle che, allontanando il dolore, ci procurano allo stesso tempo una sensazione di piacere. Tutti i fenomeni naturali che accadono in cielo e sulla terra e che lasciano sospesi e spaventati gli uomini, mortificando i loro animi per la paura del divino e schiacciandoli a terra, hanno una precisa spiegazione materiale. Ma l'ignoranza delle cause induce gli uomini a riferirli all'arbitrio delle divinità e a sottomettersi al loro potere. Tito Lucrezio Caro - De Rerum Natura

[cuties-in-codices]

cyclopes

illustration from a copy of thomas of cantimpré's "de natura rerum", flanders, c. 1475

source: Bruges, Bruges Public Library, Ms. 411, fol. 4r

[a-book-of-creatures]

You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out...

A blemmy from the Liber de Natura Rerum (Valenciennes Ms 0320).

[classics-cassandra]

Born to read pastoral poetry sub ramis arboris altae, forced to read the theory of atoms

[barbatusart]

last hollering about this comic for a bit i promise BUT if anybody would like a pdf of this whole comic it's now up on itchio for your browsing pleasure! it's also FREE WOWZA but feel free to throw me some beer & smokes money if you feel so inclined hehe

suscomics.itch.io/dererumnatura

[fluentisonus]

tried to achieve peace of mind by reading the de rerum natura but unfortunately was overcome by uncontrollable bisexual lust after only a handful of lines because of that venus/mars almost-kind-of-femdom scene he put in there