f82v: those rainbows

[MarcoP]

In 2016, Darren Worley pointed out You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. the interesting engravings in the Lapidary section of the early printed Hortus Sanitatis (or “Ortus Sanitatis”).

The book includes a “rainbow-like” stone called Yris or Iris (in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. the engravings were painted in color).

Transcription: Ca. cxli Iris. Isidorus. Iris apud | arabiam nascitur in ma | ri rubro coloris cristalli | ni sexangulata. dicta ex | argumento iris. Nam | sub tecto percussa sole spe | cies et color celestis ar | cus proximo parietes imitatur. Plinius[?] | Optima iris est que maximos facit arcus | similimosque celestibus.

Translation: Chapter 141. Iris. Isidore [of Seville?]. Iris grows in Arabia in the Red Sea. It is of a crystalline color and has six angles. It is called “iris” for a specific reason: if, inside a house, it is struck by the sun, the shape and color of the celestial bow is reproduced on the nearby wall. Pliny [?]. The best iris is that the produces the greatest bows and most similar to the celestial ones.