2 - MARGGRAFE’s horoscopes

Summary

MARGGRAFE’s horoscopes among the Leiden manuscripts are listed here more-or-less in chronological order of production. For the coordinates of the European birth places mentioned in the horoscopes, MARGGRAFE used the Catalogus Civitatum Germaniae as published in EICHSTÄDT’s Ephemeridum (1634), pages 65–75. This catalogue was mostly copied after a similar list published earlier by TYCHO BRAHE in which he stated the longitudes with respect to a prime meridian belonging to the so-called Insulis Fortunatis, in English, the ‘Fortunate Isles’ or ‘Isles of the blessed’. These were legendary islands in the Atlantic Ocean (positioned west of the Canary Islands), described in the Greek mythology as an earthly paradise. CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY introduced these imaginary islands as a reference point for the measurement of geographical longitude. This practise was continued through the Middle Ages until the seventeenth century. Compared to the current Greenwich meridian, a correction of 24° 03’ West is needed. For the horoscopes of the four children born in Recife, MARGGRAFE used a longitude he had calculated from results he obtained during his observation of the total lunar eclipse of 21 December 1638. The result was a value of 343° 15’ west of Uranienborg, or in present day coordinates 40° 48’ west of Greenwich, which compared to the current longitude of 34° 52’ 37” is in fact almost six degrees too far.

IDENTIFIED HOROSCOPES

• 1. North doc. no. 86vs [list of planetary positions], 88, 89, 90, horoscope 10.

• Probably constructed in Wittenberg, ca. 1634.

• Birth date 20/30 September 1610 [o.s./n.s.] for [no name provided].

• Given location: 51° 06’ N, 38° 05’ E (= corrected 14o 02’ E)

• Identified as GEORG MARGGRAFE (1610-1643) [the author], born in

• Liebstadt, south of Dresden.

• Current location of birth place: 50° 51’ N, 13° 51’ E (difference 0° 17’ Lat., 0° 11’ Long.)

• 2. North doc. no. 86, horoscope 7. Probably constructed in Wittenberg, ca. 1634.

• Birth date 21 September 1607 [o.s.] for ‘M. Christof. Notnagel’, born ‘Hilperhusii’ / ‘Coburgii’.

• Given location: 50o 18’ N, 35o 10’ E (= corrected 11o 07’ E)

• Identified as Christoph Nothnagel (1607-1666), born in Hildburghausen, north of Coburg, professor of astronomy at Wittenberg University in 1634, having taught there already since 1632.

• Current location of birth place: 50° 25’ N, 10° 45’ E (difference 0° 07’ Lat., 0° 22’ Long.)

• 3. North doc. no. 83, horoscope 5. Probably constructed in Stettin, ca. 1635.