09-11-2026, 10:48 AM
In the diagram on page f68v1, we see the moon covering the sun, an image often mistaken for an eclipse when in fact the overlapping design of the two celestial bodies is intended to represent the solstices. What we see is that 16 fins, each split into two halves, extend from the center of the image—one half blue and the other featuring stars—to represent the summer solstice (the blue sky) and the winter solstice (the starry night).
Within the sectors into which the circle is divided, we see 8 sections containing stars, which are complemented by 16 blue bands (representing the 24 hours of the summer solstice) and another eight clear sections that correspond to the 16 star-studded bands (representing the 24 hours of the winter solstice).
This ingenious design features a small detail that links it to the f57v: a line drawn on the outer circle, positioned in the same place as the lines that cut across the rings of the f57v. That line, on both pages, marks the end of the day (the 24-hour mark) at the summer solstice in places where the system of "Italian" or "Bohemian" hours was used—as illustrated by the astronomical clock in Prague.
Beyond that line which marks sunset comes twilight—indicated by the Roman numeral VIII on the Prague clock, just as dawn is marked by the numeral IV. The numbers 8 and 4 were, therefore, astronomically significant in all those places whose latitude allowed for approximately 16 hours of daylight at the summer solstice. That is the reason why we see those numbers in a prominent position within the repeated sequence on f57v, and it is the reason why we see the 8 and the 4 opening and closing the group of symbols located outside the outermost ring of f57v.
Within the sectors into which the circle is divided, we see 8 sections containing stars, which are complemented by 16 blue bands (representing the 24 hours of the summer solstice) and another eight clear sections that correspond to the 16 star-studded bands (representing the 24 hours of the winter solstice).
This ingenious design features a small detail that links it to the f57v: a line drawn on the outer circle, positioned in the same place as the lines that cut across the rings of the f57v. That line, on both pages, marks the end of the day (the 24-hour mark) at the summer solstice in places where the system of "Italian" or "Bohemian" hours was used—as illustrated by the astronomical clock in Prague.
Beyond that line which marks sunset comes twilight—indicated by the Roman numeral VIII on the Prague clock, just as dawn is marked by the numeral IV. The numbers 8 and 4 were, therefore, astronomically significant in all those places whose latitude allowed for approximately 16 hours of daylight at the summer solstice. That is the reason why we see those numbers in a prominent position within the repeated sequence on f57v, and it is the reason why we see the 8 and the 4 opening and closing the group of symbols located outside the outermost ring of f57v.