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Document Details :

Title: Cosmologies et cosmographies variées dans les manuscrits byzantins tardifs
Author(s): CAUDANO, Anne-Laurence
Journal: Byzantion
Volume: 85    Date: 2015   
Pages: 1-25
DOI: 10.2143/BYZ.85.0.3117796

Abstract :
A few Late Byzantine manuscripts include cosmological texts with conflicting theories about the structure of the world. Three cosmological models are most frequently found: spherical, vaulted (hemispherical) and ovoid. Eleven Late Byzantine manuscripts which reproduce at least two of these models are analysed through a set of questions related to the structure and nature of the manuscripts as such, as well as the content of the cosmological texts. The analysis shows that such an accumulation of texts is often more deliberate than expected. The systematic approach of such eclectic cosmological collections might ultimately offer a clearer view of the variety of ideas about the cosmos that circulated in different intellectual milieus in the Late Byzantine world.

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