Appendix — Uranography or Heavenly Description of the Churchmen
Many readers may be interested in seeing a list of the names given to the constellations when, as mentioned in the Introduction, the starry sky was “Christianized.” In the seventeenth century Julius Schillerius put forth his Cœlum Stellatum Christianum, and Jacobus Bartschius a celestial globe, in which all of the well-known constellations received new and strictly orthodox names. Unfortunately the sponsors for these names did not always agree in their choice, and a certain Harsdorfius (who may have been the poet Philip Harsdoerfer, born at Nuremberg in 1607) added to the confusion by further varying the selection. Wilhelm Schickard also introduced variations. In the following list the first of the “Christian” names given is that chosen by Schillerius, while their variants are due to either Harsdorfius, Schickard, or Bartschius:
Aries—St. Peter—Abraham’s Ram.
Taurus—St. Andrew—The Burnt Sacrifice.
Gemini—St. James the Elder—Jacob and Esau.
Cancer—St. John the Evangelist.
Leo—St. Thomas—The Lion of Judah. (Observe that the variants are generally more imaginative.)
Virgo—St. James the Younger—The Virgin Mary.
Libra—St. Philip—Belshazzar’s Balances.
Scorpio—St. Bartholomew.
Sagittarius—St. Matthew—Ishmael.
Capricornus—St. Simon.
Aquarius—St. Jude—Naaman.
Pisces—St. Mathias—The Gospel Fishes.
Ursa Minor—St. Michael—One of Elisha’s Bears—The Wagon of Joseph.
Ursa Major—St. Peter’s Fishing-boat—Elisha’s other Bear—The Chariot of Elias.
Draco—The Innocents—The Dragon Infernal. (Quite a difference of opinion.)
Boötes—St. Sylvester—Nimrod.
Coma Berenices—The Scourge of Christ—Absalom’s Hair—Samson’s Hair.
Corona Borealis—The Crown of Thorns—Queen Esther’s Crown.
Hercules—The Three Wise Men of the East—Samson.
Lyra—The Saviour’s Manger—David’s Harp.
Cygnus—The Cross of Calvary.
Cassiopeia—St. Mary Magdalen—Bathsheba.
Cepheus—St. Stephen—Solomon. (Solomon seems a better choice.)
Perseus with Medusa’s Head—David with the Head of Goliath—St. Paul.
Andromeda—The Holy Sepulchre—Abigail. (The last reverses Andromeda’s romance with a vengeance.)
Auriga—Jacob—St. Jerome.
Ophiuchus et Serpens—St. Benedict—St. Paul and the Viper. (The latter very pat.)
Sagitta—The Lance of Calvary—Jonathan’s Arrow.
Aquila—St. Katharine—The Standard of Rome.
Delphinus—The Canaanitish Woman’s Pitcher—Leviathan.
Equuleus—The Mystic Rose.
Pegasus—St. Gabriel—Jeremiah’s King of Babylon.
Triangulum—St. Peter’s Mitre—Emblem of the Trinity.
Cetus—Sts. Joachim and Anna—Jonah’s Whale.
Eridanus—The Red Sea with Moses Crossing It—The Brook of Cedron.
Orion—St. Joseph—Joshua. (The last a good choice.)
Lepus—Gideon’s Fleece.
Canis Major—Tobias’s Dog—St. David.
Canis Minor—The Paschal Lamb.
Argo Navis—Noah’s Ark. (Inevitable!)
Hydra—The River Jordan.
Crater (together with Corvus)—The Ark of the Covenant.
Corvus (according to Schickard)—Elias’s Crow.
Centaurus—Abraham and Isaac.
Lupus—Jacob.
Ara—The Altar of Incense.
Corona Australis—David’s Crown—Solomon’s Crown.
Piscis Austrinus—The Widow’s Meal Barrel—St. Peter’s Fish with Money in Its Mouth.
Grus
Phœnix}—Aaron.
Indus
Pavo }—Job.
Apus
Chameleon }—Eve.
Piscis Volans
Triangulum Australe—The Cross of Christ. (At that time the Southern Cross seems not to have been known.)
Dorado
Toucan }—St. Raphael.
Hydrus
The southern constellations, Grus, Phœnix, Indus, Pavo, Apus, Chameleon, Piscis Volans, Triangulum Australe, Dorado, Toucan, and Hydrus, were all named by Bayer at the beginning of the seventeenth century, so that the revisers were not upsetting any antique legends in giving them more sacred names.
Letters of the Greek Alphabet Employed in Uranography
α—Alpha
β—Beta
γ—Gamma
δ—Delta
ε—Epsilon
ζ—Zeta
η—Eta
θ—Theta
ι—Iota
κ—Kappa
λ—Lambda
μ—Mu
ν—Nu
ξ—Xi
ο—Omicron
π—Pi
ρ—Rho
σ—Sigma
τ—Tau
υ—Upsilon
φ—Phi
χ—Chi
ψ—Psi
ω—Omega