Cicero’s Arateain an Anglo-Saxon miscellany

The constellation Sagittarius – taking its name from the Latin for ‘archer’ – is illustrated in this Anglo-Saxon manuscript as a centaur drawing back its bow. The arrow is aimed at Capricorn on the opposite page; the stars are represented by orange-red orbs, around which the centaur’s outline is drawn. This manuscript was made shortly before the Norman Conquest of England. In October 1731, it narrowly escaped destruction by fire: sadly, the edges of its pages were singed by the heat of the flames. Shown here: ff. 36v–37r